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HRCI SPHR® Certification Preparation
Overview Questions and Answers (100%
Correct Answers) Already Graded A+
ADA— Ans: Americans with Disabilities Act: a U.S. law that prevents an
organization or person from discriminating against an employee
because of physical or mental disabilities.
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bell curve— Ans: a graph showing a normal distribution of data; it is
shaped like a bell, with a large rounded peak in the middle which
decreases at each end.
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best practices— Ans: techniques or activities that give the best results;
the methods, processes, or activities that have proven to produce
outstanding results for organizations.
biodata— Ans: information about a person; a shortened term for
'biographical data': information about a person's education,
background, and work history.
breakdown (analysis)— Ans: listing things according to categories;
analyzing and classifying, such as an analysis of revenue sources or a
report on attrition numbers.
breakdown (failure)— Ans: a failure; a collapse, such as a
communication or equipment failure.
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business continuity plan— Ans: the creation of a strategy to protect an
organization from certain risks; a plan which identifies threats and risks
facing a company in order to protect its employees and assets.
cause-and-effect diagram— Ans: a tool used to examine quality
factors; a visual tool to organize factors that contribute to certain
outcomes; also called a 'fishbone' diagram.
central tendency— Ans: average value of a data set; a measure of the
middle of a statistical distribution of data.
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civil law— Ans: regulations set by countries or legislative groups about
the rights of people (different from common laws, which are set by
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judges).
clause— Ans: section or small part of a document; a part of a
document, agreement, proposal, or contract that gives more detail.
cloud computing— Ans: a type of computing that uses groups of servers
and resources, made available on the Internet; using a network of
remote servers hosted on the Internet to access, manage, and process
data.
common law— Ans: case law based on court decisions; laws
established by court decisions and legal precedence (different from civil
laws, which are regulations set by nations or legislative groups).
compliance— Ans: obedience, conforming; following established laws,
guidelines, or rules.
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comply— Ans: follow rules or agreements; to obey requests, laws, or
guidelines.
demographics— Ans: data, information about people; statistics about
groups of people that give information such as age, gender, income,
and ethnic background.
disability— Ans: impairment, handicap; a physical or mental condition
that limits, but does not prevent, the performance of certain tasks.
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document retention— Ans: maintaining important employee records;
managing employee data and records as required by the organization
or rule or law.
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dot chart— Ans: a chart that shows relationships between variables; a
graph with a vertical and horizontal axis with dots at each data point.
scatter plot— Ans: Also called a 'scatter plot' or 'scatter diagram.'
due process— Ans: the way a government enforces laws to protect its
citizens (for example, guaranteeing a person a fair trial)
employee self-service— Ans: a trend in human resources management
that allows employees to handle many job-related tasks (such as
updates to their personnel data) using technology
employment at will— Ans: an employment agreement in which an
employee can quit, or can be fired, at any time and for any reason
environmental responsibility— Ans: the management of products and
processes that show concern for health, safety, and the environment
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equal employment opportunity— Ans: a U.S. law that guarantees equal
treatment and respect for all employees
ergonomic— Ans: designed to be comfortable and avoid injuries (for
example, an ergonomic chair or keyboard)
ERP— Ans: computer software that combines information from all areas
of an organization (such as finance, human resources, operations, and
materials), and also manages contact with people outside the
organization (such as customers, suppliers, and stakeholders)
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extraterritorial laws— Ans: laws from one country that apply to that
country's citizens when they travel or live in countries where they might
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be exempt from some local laws. Similar exceptions can apply to
companies operating abroad
federal regulations— Ans: in the U.S., laws that apply in every state (as
opposed to laws unique to every state)
forum shopping— Ans: the practice of trying to get a trial held in a
location that is most likely to produce a favorable result. Also referred to
as 'jurisdiction shopping'.
governance— Ans: system of rules to regulate behavior
governance— Ans: system of rules and processes an organization
creates in order to comply with local and international laws, accounting
rules, ethical norms, and environmental and social codes of conduct
HIPAA— Ans: a U.S. law that protects workers' health benefits and
medical privacy