May/June 2013
Section A
1. The following are all methods of appraising performance, except for the ____ method.
1. Factor comparison
2. Category rating
3. Rating
4. Narrative
2. Which of the following refers to the performance management system?
a. relies on a once a year formal review
b. is a continuous process
c. concerns all members of the organisation
d. concerned with individual performance
e. concerned with both individual and team performance
Choose the correct option
1. a, b and e
2. b, c and e
3. a, c and d
4. a, d and e
3. During the end of year performance appraisal process, your manager, Mrs. Tolerant, rates some employees in your
department as good performers without having any formal discussions with any of you. Which rating error does Mrs.
Tolerant make when she rates the employees in your department?
1. Halo effect
2. Rater bias
3. Central tendency
4. Leniency
4. The performance appraisal interviews generally comprise of the following steps
Please refer to the options below and choose the option that reflects the correct missing words, in the steps above.
1. (a) State the purpose of the interview, (b) Invite participation
2. (a) Introduce parties to the interview, (b) Invite suggestions and comments
3. (a) State the purpose of the interview, (b) Discuss corrective steps
4. (a) Discuss method used for appraisal, (b) Invite participation
5. “Mr. Tough, the supervisor acts as judge and jury and needs to persuade Tom to change his behaviour in a prescribed
manner”. To which type of appraisal interview does his interviewing technique refer?
1. The tell and sell approach
2. The problem-solving approach
3. The tell and listen approach
4. The listen and sell approach
6. Whether employees conduct career planning through a course or seminar or through formal career counseling, the first
step is the assessment of _________.
1. Personal interests, salary, skills and abilities
2. Personal interests, aims, skills and hobbies
3. Personal interests, salary, skills and aims
4. Personal interests, aims, skills and abilities
7. Employees generally progress through four career stages. Each stage is characterised with its own set of opportunities,
problems and circumstances – the needs of employees change as they pass from one stage to the next. Which of the
, following is the correct order of the four career stages?
a) establishment
b) advancement
c) withdrawal
d) maintenance
1. a, b, c and d
2. a, b d, and c
3. a, c, d and b
4. a, c, b and d
8. Joseph has reached the highest position he can possibly obtain within his organisation and has no prospect of being
promoted due to the restructuring of his company and the lack of his skills. This process can be referred to as
__________.
1. Career plateau
2. Career ladder
3. Career problems
4. Career crisis
9. The development of the production division of B&T Motor manufacturers resulted in opening a new warehouse. The
compliance of the safety measures within this new warehouse is of utmost importance. Therefore, the Health & Safety
committee has developed a training course to suite B&T’s manufacturing environment. Which of the following training
courses will suite the B&T’s manufacturing environment?
1. Employee education
2. Management development
3. Specific training
4. Specific general training
10. You are the training & development officer at a provincial branch of a retail clothing store. Select the correct order in
which you will apply the phases of the systems approach to T&D.
a) needs assessment
b) training delivery
c) training design
d) evaluation
1. a, b, c and d
2. a, b, d and c
3. a, c, b and d
4. a, c, d and b
11. Ntombi is nervous after being promoted to senior HR administrative assistant, as she feels she does not have sufficient
experience in working on the SAP system. Bianca, her manager, convinces Ntombi that she will be fine as she will be
trained at work on the system by Bianca herself. Which T&D technique will be appropriate for training Ntombi?
1. Job instruction training
2. On-the-job training
3. Job rotation training
4. In-house training
12. In order to rectify the imbalances of the past and the resulting shortages of skilled manpower, the South African
government embarked on a number of activities. The following Acts relate to addressing the serous skills shortages in
companies, except ________.
1. National Qualifications Framework Act
2. Skills Development Act
3. Employment Equity Act
4. Skills Development Levies Act
13. Johan’s organisation offers all employees on management level food services as part of their total remuneration
package. That is, Johan is provided daily with morning tea snacks and lunch. This type of compensation is a/an ________
reward.
1. Intrinsic
2. Direct
3. Non-financial
4. Extrinsic
14. In large, established companies, members of top management are paid differently from mid-level and lower-level
managers. In general, executives’ pay package includes ONE of the following.
1. Base salary, commission, annual bonus and long-term incentives
, 2. Benefits and perquisites, commission, annual bonus and long-term incentives
3. Long-term incentives, base salary, annual bonus, benefits and perquisites
4. Base salary, commission, annual bonus, benefits and perquisites
15. GMR & Sons offers all their sales assistants compensation based on their performance during the month. It was agreed
that 10% of the total sales will be paid to the sales assistants. Anita sold a total of R50 000 worth of goods in October
and is therefore compensated with R5000. This form of compensation is called ____________.
1. Gain sharing
2. Commission
3. Individual incentive plans
4. Piece-rate pay
16. Shona is an HR manager at a small accounting firm and he is busy with the process of job evaluation because the firm is
experiencing financial problems and is looking at retrenching some employees. The firm needs to determine the relative
worth of jobs within the company to decide which employees to retrench. The job evaluation method he is considering
has the major advantage that it is fast and easy to complete, is relatively inexpensive and easy to explain. This method
has the disadvantage that it is limited to smaller organisations, it assumes equal intervals between jobs, and it is highly
subjective. Which job evaluation method is Shona considering?
1. Job classification method
2. Job ranking method
3. Point method
4. Factor comparison method
Question 17 and 18 are based on the following scenario:
XYZ Manufacturing employs approximately 200 staff members on their shop floor. Management of XYZ Manufacturing has
recently developed a health and safety policy for their factory environment and thus requires to employ health and safety
representatives.
17. How many representatives will they require for the 200 staff members?
1. Three
2. One
3. Two
4. Four
18. Once a month, management and the health and safety representatives will hold a health & safety meeting. One of the
objectives of this meeting is to remind representatives of their duties. Which one of the following options is NOT a duty
of a health & safety representative?
1. Fine employees who are found guilty of contravening the health and safety policy
2. Review the effectiveness of health & safety measures
3. Identify potential hazards and potential major incidents at the workplace
4. Consult with inspectors at the workplace and accompany them on inspections
19. Harry is a newly appointed manager of the marketing division in his organisation. Ever since his promotion, he barely
has time to have lunch, let alone casually chat to his staff. Although he is constantly stressed about meeting his
deadlines, he feels a great intrinsic satisfaction with the work that he does Harry’s condition is related to ___________.
1. Burnout
2. Distress
3. Stress
4. Eustress
20. Which of the following is NOT a component of a successful employee assistance program (EAP)?
1. Confidentiality
2. Lenient disciplinary procedures
3. Separate locate
4. Insurance coverage
21. In a diversity management meeting, the HR manager had to present the pros and cons of implementing an effective
diversity management program within the organisation. Line management had to be convinced that investing a large
sum of money in this program would not only benefit the organisation by complying with legislation and affirmative
action policies, but also benefit the organisation as a whole. The following options refer to reasons why organisations
promote diversity management except:
1. Attracting and retaining the best talent
2. Promoting greater productivity
3. Utilising all people to the minimum
4. Developing advanced creativity and problem-solving
, 22. Which of the following legislations were introduced in response to diversity management?
a) Labour Relations Act
b) Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration
c) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
d) The Employment Equity Act
1. a, b and d
2. a, c and d
3. a, b and c
4. b, c and d
23. Following a grievance case in which an aggrieved employee felt discriminated against because of his/her disability, the
diversity management team decided to send all staff members on diversity management awareness training. Which one
of the following diversity awareness training was used for the group to openly explore statements that one group may
make about another?
1. Perceptual differences
2. Values clarifications
3. Personalising experiences
4. Exploring cultural assumptions
24. Maria is a single parent who is finding it difficult to balance her work and family life, that is attending to her 2
adolescent children. Therefore, she arranges a meeting with her direct supervisor, Tom, to discuss the possibility of a
flexi time work arrangement. Tom agrees to this arrangement on condition Maria agrees to his sexual advances. What
type of harassment is described in the above scenario?
1. Quid pro quo harassment
2. Hostile environment harassment
3. Can’t take it anymore
4. Hostile harassment
25. _________ is a behaviour, knowledge, skill or capability, which describes the expected performance in a particular work
context.
1. Technical competency
2. Competency
3. Organisational capabilities
4. Core competency
26. Employees use competency-based rewards to __________
1. Motivate people, increase workforce flexibility, change people behaviour and promote competition
2. Motivate people, increase workforce flexibility, increase competition and access job progression
3. Motivate people, increase competition, change people behaviour and decrease workforce flexibility
4. Motivate people, increase workforce flexibility, change people behaviour and access job progression
27. Which model of virtual workplace arrangement relates to teams involving customers, suppliers and/or producers who
come together to manage work collaboratively?
1. Frontline
2. Telecommuting
3. Cyberlink
4. Technology
28. Management of TC Technologies is concerned about the wasted commuting time and office space for its employees.
They decide to implement virtual work arrangements with a group of employees having specialised skills for a specific
purpose with measurable outputs. The team then decides to meet once a month and work in subgroups to complete
their individual outputs. Which one of the following teams did TC Technologies use to implement the virtual workspace
arrangement?
1. Service team
2. Project team
3. Process team
4. Virtual team
29. Robert is the CEO of a South African car manufacturing company. The company has a workforce of 200 employees. He
instils faith, respect and trust amongst his staff and he also respects the opinion of others. Robert’s leadership style is
called ___________.
1. Flexible leadership
2. Charismatic leadership
3. Courageous leadership
4. Respectful leadership
Section A
1. The following are all methods of appraising performance, except for the ____ method.
1. Factor comparison
2. Category rating
3. Rating
4. Narrative
2. Which of the following refers to the performance management system?
a. relies on a once a year formal review
b. is a continuous process
c. concerns all members of the organisation
d. concerned with individual performance
e. concerned with both individual and team performance
Choose the correct option
1. a, b and e
2. b, c and e
3. a, c and d
4. a, d and e
3. During the end of year performance appraisal process, your manager, Mrs. Tolerant, rates some employees in your
department as good performers without having any formal discussions with any of you. Which rating error does Mrs.
Tolerant make when she rates the employees in your department?
1. Halo effect
2. Rater bias
3. Central tendency
4. Leniency
4. The performance appraisal interviews generally comprise of the following steps
Please refer to the options below and choose the option that reflects the correct missing words, in the steps above.
1. (a) State the purpose of the interview, (b) Invite participation
2. (a) Introduce parties to the interview, (b) Invite suggestions and comments
3. (a) State the purpose of the interview, (b) Discuss corrective steps
4. (a) Discuss method used for appraisal, (b) Invite participation
5. “Mr. Tough, the supervisor acts as judge and jury and needs to persuade Tom to change his behaviour in a prescribed
manner”. To which type of appraisal interview does his interviewing technique refer?
1. The tell and sell approach
2. The problem-solving approach
3. The tell and listen approach
4. The listen and sell approach
6. Whether employees conduct career planning through a course or seminar or through formal career counseling, the first
step is the assessment of _________.
1. Personal interests, salary, skills and abilities
2. Personal interests, aims, skills and hobbies
3. Personal interests, salary, skills and aims
4. Personal interests, aims, skills and abilities
7. Employees generally progress through four career stages. Each stage is characterised with its own set of opportunities,
problems and circumstances – the needs of employees change as they pass from one stage to the next. Which of the
, following is the correct order of the four career stages?
a) establishment
b) advancement
c) withdrawal
d) maintenance
1. a, b, c and d
2. a, b d, and c
3. a, c, d and b
4. a, c, b and d
8. Joseph has reached the highest position he can possibly obtain within his organisation and has no prospect of being
promoted due to the restructuring of his company and the lack of his skills. This process can be referred to as
__________.
1. Career plateau
2. Career ladder
3. Career problems
4. Career crisis
9. The development of the production division of B&T Motor manufacturers resulted in opening a new warehouse. The
compliance of the safety measures within this new warehouse is of utmost importance. Therefore, the Health & Safety
committee has developed a training course to suite B&T’s manufacturing environment. Which of the following training
courses will suite the B&T’s manufacturing environment?
1. Employee education
2. Management development
3. Specific training
4. Specific general training
10. You are the training & development officer at a provincial branch of a retail clothing store. Select the correct order in
which you will apply the phases of the systems approach to T&D.
a) needs assessment
b) training delivery
c) training design
d) evaluation
1. a, b, c and d
2. a, b, d and c
3. a, c, b and d
4. a, c, d and b
11. Ntombi is nervous after being promoted to senior HR administrative assistant, as she feels she does not have sufficient
experience in working on the SAP system. Bianca, her manager, convinces Ntombi that she will be fine as she will be
trained at work on the system by Bianca herself. Which T&D technique will be appropriate for training Ntombi?
1. Job instruction training
2. On-the-job training
3. Job rotation training
4. In-house training
12. In order to rectify the imbalances of the past and the resulting shortages of skilled manpower, the South African
government embarked on a number of activities. The following Acts relate to addressing the serous skills shortages in
companies, except ________.
1. National Qualifications Framework Act
2. Skills Development Act
3. Employment Equity Act
4. Skills Development Levies Act
13. Johan’s organisation offers all employees on management level food services as part of their total remuneration
package. That is, Johan is provided daily with morning tea snacks and lunch. This type of compensation is a/an ________
reward.
1. Intrinsic
2. Direct
3. Non-financial
4. Extrinsic
14. In large, established companies, members of top management are paid differently from mid-level and lower-level
managers. In general, executives’ pay package includes ONE of the following.
1. Base salary, commission, annual bonus and long-term incentives
, 2. Benefits and perquisites, commission, annual bonus and long-term incentives
3. Long-term incentives, base salary, annual bonus, benefits and perquisites
4. Base salary, commission, annual bonus, benefits and perquisites
15. GMR & Sons offers all their sales assistants compensation based on their performance during the month. It was agreed
that 10% of the total sales will be paid to the sales assistants. Anita sold a total of R50 000 worth of goods in October
and is therefore compensated with R5000. This form of compensation is called ____________.
1. Gain sharing
2. Commission
3. Individual incentive plans
4. Piece-rate pay
16. Shona is an HR manager at a small accounting firm and he is busy with the process of job evaluation because the firm is
experiencing financial problems and is looking at retrenching some employees. The firm needs to determine the relative
worth of jobs within the company to decide which employees to retrench. The job evaluation method he is considering
has the major advantage that it is fast and easy to complete, is relatively inexpensive and easy to explain. This method
has the disadvantage that it is limited to smaller organisations, it assumes equal intervals between jobs, and it is highly
subjective. Which job evaluation method is Shona considering?
1. Job classification method
2. Job ranking method
3. Point method
4. Factor comparison method
Question 17 and 18 are based on the following scenario:
XYZ Manufacturing employs approximately 200 staff members on their shop floor. Management of XYZ Manufacturing has
recently developed a health and safety policy for their factory environment and thus requires to employ health and safety
representatives.
17. How many representatives will they require for the 200 staff members?
1. Three
2. One
3. Two
4. Four
18. Once a month, management and the health and safety representatives will hold a health & safety meeting. One of the
objectives of this meeting is to remind representatives of their duties. Which one of the following options is NOT a duty
of a health & safety representative?
1. Fine employees who are found guilty of contravening the health and safety policy
2. Review the effectiveness of health & safety measures
3. Identify potential hazards and potential major incidents at the workplace
4. Consult with inspectors at the workplace and accompany them on inspections
19. Harry is a newly appointed manager of the marketing division in his organisation. Ever since his promotion, he barely
has time to have lunch, let alone casually chat to his staff. Although he is constantly stressed about meeting his
deadlines, he feels a great intrinsic satisfaction with the work that he does Harry’s condition is related to ___________.
1. Burnout
2. Distress
3. Stress
4. Eustress
20. Which of the following is NOT a component of a successful employee assistance program (EAP)?
1. Confidentiality
2. Lenient disciplinary procedures
3. Separate locate
4. Insurance coverage
21. In a diversity management meeting, the HR manager had to present the pros and cons of implementing an effective
diversity management program within the organisation. Line management had to be convinced that investing a large
sum of money in this program would not only benefit the organisation by complying with legislation and affirmative
action policies, but also benefit the organisation as a whole. The following options refer to reasons why organisations
promote diversity management except:
1. Attracting and retaining the best talent
2. Promoting greater productivity
3. Utilising all people to the minimum
4. Developing advanced creativity and problem-solving
, 22. Which of the following legislations were introduced in response to diversity management?
a) Labour Relations Act
b) Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration
c) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
d) The Employment Equity Act
1. a, b and d
2. a, c and d
3. a, b and c
4. b, c and d
23. Following a grievance case in which an aggrieved employee felt discriminated against because of his/her disability, the
diversity management team decided to send all staff members on diversity management awareness training. Which one
of the following diversity awareness training was used for the group to openly explore statements that one group may
make about another?
1. Perceptual differences
2. Values clarifications
3. Personalising experiences
4. Exploring cultural assumptions
24. Maria is a single parent who is finding it difficult to balance her work and family life, that is attending to her 2
adolescent children. Therefore, she arranges a meeting with her direct supervisor, Tom, to discuss the possibility of a
flexi time work arrangement. Tom agrees to this arrangement on condition Maria agrees to his sexual advances. What
type of harassment is described in the above scenario?
1. Quid pro quo harassment
2. Hostile environment harassment
3. Can’t take it anymore
4. Hostile harassment
25. _________ is a behaviour, knowledge, skill or capability, which describes the expected performance in a particular work
context.
1. Technical competency
2. Competency
3. Organisational capabilities
4. Core competency
26. Employees use competency-based rewards to __________
1. Motivate people, increase workforce flexibility, change people behaviour and promote competition
2. Motivate people, increase workforce flexibility, increase competition and access job progression
3. Motivate people, increase competition, change people behaviour and decrease workforce flexibility
4. Motivate people, increase workforce flexibility, change people behaviour and access job progression
27. Which model of virtual workplace arrangement relates to teams involving customers, suppliers and/or producers who
come together to manage work collaboratively?
1. Frontline
2. Telecommuting
3. Cyberlink
4. Technology
28. Management of TC Technologies is concerned about the wasted commuting time and office space for its employees.
They decide to implement virtual work arrangements with a group of employees having specialised skills for a specific
purpose with measurable outputs. The team then decides to meet once a month and work in subgroups to complete
their individual outputs. Which one of the following teams did TC Technologies use to implement the virtual workspace
arrangement?
1. Service team
2. Project team
3. Process team
4. Virtual team
29. Robert is the CEO of a South African car manufacturing company. The company has a workforce of 200 employees. He
instils faith, respect and trust amongst his staff and he also respects the opinion of others. Robert’s leadership style is
called ___________.
1. Flexible leadership
2. Charismatic leadership
3. Courageous leadership
4. Respectful leadership
