SHRM Exam questions and well verified
answers
Recently, HR has received complaints about the fairness of the CEO's compensation. Which
should the HR manager do first to ensure that the executive compensation practices of the
company are fair?*
a. Identify the rewards being offered to incentivize long-term goals.
b. Analyze the company culture and compensation structure history.
c. Confirm the plan is balanced with long-term and short-term incentives.
d. Determine which objectives are being used to evaluate executives. - ANSWER>>Analyze
the company culture and compensation structure history. Rationale: Analyzing the company
culture and compensation structure history sets the groundwork for determining if the CEO's
compensation plan is fair and consistent with the existing values of the company. After the
compensation structure is examined and understood, the HR manager can determine what, if
any, objectives, rewards, and incentives are used.
A CEO thinks the best way to make his organization a leading competitor is to merge with a
healthcare organization that recently acquired the rights to new technology. Which best
describes the degree and timing of the change the CEO is implementing?*
a. Incremental-reactive
b. Radical-anticipatory
c. Radical-reactive
d. Incremental-anticipatory - ANSWER>>Radical-reactive. Rationale: The degree of change
would be radical because the merger is a major change to how the organization currently
does business. The time of change would be reactive because they are forced to change by
some event in the external environment. Thus, the correct ANSWER is B.
Which incentive plan is most likely to cause frustration to higher-performing employees?*
a. Profit sharing
b. Gain sharing
c. Piecework
d. Behavioral encouragement - ANSWER>>Gain sharing. Rationale: With group incentive
plans, such as gain sharing, some employees may make fewer contributions to the group
,goals because they have lower ability, skills, experience, or desire. This may make the high-
performing employees frustrated because they feel these employees are not contributing
equally to the attainment of group goals. Piecework, profit sharing, and behavioral
encouragement are individual incentive plans.
Which is the best way to address the lack of diversity within organizational units?*
a. Confirm that recruiters incorporate diversity policy into the recruitment process.
b. Implement incentives to employees for candidate referrals.
c. Develop a diversity initiative with targeted hiring objectives.
d. Consult legal to mitigate discrimination claims in hiring. - ANSWER>>Develop a diversity
initiative with targeted hiring objectives. Rationale: The best way to address lack of diversity
is to create a diversity initiative because it places importance on diversity by aligning it with
the business priorities. The initiative will also outline what changes are needed in the
workforce and what strategies will be put in place to achieve these changes. Simply
confirming that recruiters are incorporating the diversity policy is not specific enough to
address the issue. Legal will advise to mitigate discrimination claims, hire more diverse
applicants. Candidate referrals are more likely to be similar to existing employees, thus
perpetuating the diversity issue.
Which measure shows how much more valuable an organization has become because of its
investment in human capital?*
a. Return on investment
b. Human capital return on investment
c. Human economic value added
d. Human capital value added - ANSWER>>Human economic value added.
Rationale: Human economic value added shows the wealth created per employee. It shows
how much more valuable the organization has become because of its investment in human
capital. Return on investment shows the value of investments in human capital. Human
capital return on investment shows the amount of profit derived from investments in labor.
Human capital value added shows the operating profit per full-time employee.
Scenario Background: A manufacturer has secured a contract from a large hospital to build
and supply operating room equipment. The hospital specifies the steps in the manufacturing
and quality control processes that it expects, and the manufacturing company has
contractually committed to meet these specifications. The production line employees
discover that they can skip one of the steps in the quality control process when building
, respirators without any noticeable change in the final product. The client unknowingly
accepts the finished respirators as meeting specifications. During an exit interview, a
departing employee reveals to the senior HR director that his entire unit is skipping a critical
step in the quality control process for building the respirators. No one in the production's
supervisory line or management is aware this is happening.
What is the first thing the HR director should do?*
a. Confer with co - ANSWER>>Initiate an investigation to swiftly determine the accuracy of
employee's claim. Rationale: Situational judgment test (SJTs) require you, as an examinee, to
think about what is occurring in the scenario and decide which response option identifies the
most effective course of action. Other response options may be something you could do to
respond in the situation, but SJTs require thinking and acting based on the best of the
available options. Do not base your ANSWER on your organization's approach to handling the
situation, but rather, ANSWER based on what you know should be done according to best
practice. Panels of SHRM-certified subject matter experts rate the effectiveness of each
response option, and the "best" ANSWER is derived by statistical analysis of those expert
opinions.
Scenario Background: A manufacturer has secured a contract from a large hospital to build
and supply operating room equipment. The hospital specifies the steps in the manufacturing
and quality control processes that it expects, and the manufacturing company has
contractually committed to meet these specifications. The production line employees
discover that they can skip one of the steps in the quality control process when building
respirators without any noticeable change in the final product. The client unknowingly
accepts the finished respirators as meeting specifications. During an exit interview, a
departing employee reveals to the senior HR director that his entire unit is skipping a critical
step in the quality control process for building the respirators. No one in the production's
supervisory line or management is aware this is happening.
The HR director reviews performance expectations for employees on the - ANSWER>>Work
with supervisors to determine improvements that will help employees meet production
goals.
Scenario Background: A year after a premium hotel opened in a medium-sized town, the
discount hotel across town is forced to close. Many of their housekeepers and desk
attendants get picked up by the premium hotel. A few weeks later, the managers of the hotel
notice that the former discount hotel employees are clashing with the other employees. The
hotel manager discovers that one of the housekeepers from the affordable motel is allowing
answers
Recently, HR has received complaints about the fairness of the CEO's compensation. Which
should the HR manager do first to ensure that the executive compensation practices of the
company are fair?*
a. Identify the rewards being offered to incentivize long-term goals.
b. Analyze the company culture and compensation structure history.
c. Confirm the plan is balanced with long-term and short-term incentives.
d. Determine which objectives are being used to evaluate executives. - ANSWER>>Analyze
the company culture and compensation structure history. Rationale: Analyzing the company
culture and compensation structure history sets the groundwork for determining if the CEO's
compensation plan is fair and consistent with the existing values of the company. After the
compensation structure is examined and understood, the HR manager can determine what, if
any, objectives, rewards, and incentives are used.
A CEO thinks the best way to make his organization a leading competitor is to merge with a
healthcare organization that recently acquired the rights to new technology. Which best
describes the degree and timing of the change the CEO is implementing?*
a. Incremental-reactive
b. Radical-anticipatory
c. Radical-reactive
d. Incremental-anticipatory - ANSWER>>Radical-reactive. Rationale: The degree of change
would be radical because the merger is a major change to how the organization currently
does business. The time of change would be reactive because they are forced to change by
some event in the external environment. Thus, the correct ANSWER is B.
Which incentive plan is most likely to cause frustration to higher-performing employees?*
a. Profit sharing
b. Gain sharing
c. Piecework
d. Behavioral encouragement - ANSWER>>Gain sharing. Rationale: With group incentive
plans, such as gain sharing, some employees may make fewer contributions to the group
,goals because they have lower ability, skills, experience, or desire. This may make the high-
performing employees frustrated because they feel these employees are not contributing
equally to the attainment of group goals. Piecework, profit sharing, and behavioral
encouragement are individual incentive plans.
Which is the best way to address the lack of diversity within organizational units?*
a. Confirm that recruiters incorporate diversity policy into the recruitment process.
b. Implement incentives to employees for candidate referrals.
c. Develop a diversity initiative with targeted hiring objectives.
d. Consult legal to mitigate discrimination claims in hiring. - ANSWER>>Develop a diversity
initiative with targeted hiring objectives. Rationale: The best way to address lack of diversity
is to create a diversity initiative because it places importance on diversity by aligning it with
the business priorities. The initiative will also outline what changes are needed in the
workforce and what strategies will be put in place to achieve these changes. Simply
confirming that recruiters are incorporating the diversity policy is not specific enough to
address the issue. Legal will advise to mitigate discrimination claims, hire more diverse
applicants. Candidate referrals are more likely to be similar to existing employees, thus
perpetuating the diversity issue.
Which measure shows how much more valuable an organization has become because of its
investment in human capital?*
a. Return on investment
b. Human capital return on investment
c. Human economic value added
d. Human capital value added - ANSWER>>Human economic value added.
Rationale: Human economic value added shows the wealth created per employee. It shows
how much more valuable the organization has become because of its investment in human
capital. Return on investment shows the value of investments in human capital. Human
capital return on investment shows the amount of profit derived from investments in labor.
Human capital value added shows the operating profit per full-time employee.
Scenario Background: A manufacturer has secured a contract from a large hospital to build
and supply operating room equipment. The hospital specifies the steps in the manufacturing
and quality control processes that it expects, and the manufacturing company has
contractually committed to meet these specifications. The production line employees
discover that they can skip one of the steps in the quality control process when building
, respirators without any noticeable change in the final product. The client unknowingly
accepts the finished respirators as meeting specifications. During an exit interview, a
departing employee reveals to the senior HR director that his entire unit is skipping a critical
step in the quality control process for building the respirators. No one in the production's
supervisory line or management is aware this is happening.
What is the first thing the HR director should do?*
a. Confer with co - ANSWER>>Initiate an investigation to swiftly determine the accuracy of
employee's claim. Rationale: Situational judgment test (SJTs) require you, as an examinee, to
think about what is occurring in the scenario and decide which response option identifies the
most effective course of action. Other response options may be something you could do to
respond in the situation, but SJTs require thinking and acting based on the best of the
available options. Do not base your ANSWER on your organization's approach to handling the
situation, but rather, ANSWER based on what you know should be done according to best
practice. Panels of SHRM-certified subject matter experts rate the effectiveness of each
response option, and the "best" ANSWER is derived by statistical analysis of those expert
opinions.
Scenario Background: A manufacturer has secured a contract from a large hospital to build
and supply operating room equipment. The hospital specifies the steps in the manufacturing
and quality control processes that it expects, and the manufacturing company has
contractually committed to meet these specifications. The production line employees
discover that they can skip one of the steps in the quality control process when building
respirators without any noticeable change in the final product. The client unknowingly
accepts the finished respirators as meeting specifications. During an exit interview, a
departing employee reveals to the senior HR director that his entire unit is skipping a critical
step in the quality control process for building the respirators. No one in the production's
supervisory line or management is aware this is happening.
The HR director reviews performance expectations for employees on the - ANSWER>>Work
with supervisors to determine improvements that will help employees meet production
goals.
Scenario Background: A year after a premium hotel opened in a medium-sized town, the
discount hotel across town is forced to close. Many of their housekeepers and desk
attendants get picked up by the premium hotel. A few weeks later, the managers of the hotel
notice that the former discount hotel employees are clashing with the other employees. The
hotel manager discovers that one of the housekeepers from the affordable motel is allowing
