SPHR LEADERSHIP & STRATEGY QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
As the result of an HR audit you conducted to assess risk in your new HR management
position, it is clear that several business practices are out of compliance. Which of the
following is your best first step toward managing the risk?
A. Identify the most obvious abusers, and terminate or demote them to demonstrate a
good faith effort toward compliance.
B. Train all employees and managers about expected standards of behavior. C. Rewrite
the handbook to mitigate the exposure.
D. Recommend employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) until an action plan can
be defined and executed toward compliance. - Answers -D. Recommend employment
practices liability insurance (EPLI) until an action plan can be defined and executed
toward compliance.
Which of the following organizations concentrate decision-making authority at higher
levels within the organization? A. Centralized
B. Organized
C. Decentralized
D. Authoritarian - Answers -A. Centralized
The large healthcare facility for which you work has asked you to evaluate the strategy
of outsourcing the recruiting function to a healthcare specialty group. The executive
com- mittee has asked you to gather the economic costs to identify the impact on both
custom- ers and employees. Which of the following types of analysis would you provide
to the executive committee?
A. Quantitative
B. Return on investment
C. Qualitative D. Cost benefit - Answers -D. Cost benefit
The ability of an employee to update their own personal data, such as contact informa-
tion and dependent status changes, is known as which of the following functions of HR
technology?
A. Self-service
B. Efficiency
C. Human resource information systems D. ATS - Answers -A. Self-service
Shareholders, the board of directors, and management are all included in which of the
following terms?
A. Principal members
B. Responsible parties
C. Stakeholders
D. Employees - Answers -C. Stakeholders
,40. An obligation to act with the highest regard and in the best interest of the company
is known as which of the following? A. Integrity
B. Fiduciary responsibility
C. Moral Code
D. Legal Compliance - Answers -B. Fiduciary responsibility
Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides all of the following except what?
A. Broad protection for employees of publicly traded companies who report SEC
violations
B. Broad protection/relief options employees who suffer an unfavorable employ- ment
action as the result of a whistleblower report
C. Broad protection for employees of private companies that may be engaged in unethi-
cal business practices
D. Broad protection for employees who report violations of federal securities laws -
Answers -C. Broad protection for employees of private companies that may be engaged
in unethi- cal business practices
42. Which of the following is not one of Porter's five forces affecting strategic decision-
making and planning?
A. New competitors
B. Labor force population
C. Suppliers D. Buyers - Answers -B. Labor force population
43. The executive management team has asked you to review the political, economic,
social, and technological influences on the relevant labor market to your industry. Which
of the wfollowing have they asked you for? A. A cost-benefit analysis
B. A human capital management plan
C. A PEST analysis
D. A SWOT audit - Answers -C. A PEST analysis
Providing questions to candidates online to allow them to self-screen out of the hiring
process if they don't meet the minimum qualifications for the position is a function of
which of the following systems?
A. An applicant tracking system
B. A hiring management system
C. Employee self-service
D. A learning management system - Answers -B. A hiring management system
Part of your company's strategic initiative is to shift to a paperless system in as many
functions as possible, integrating the data across departments. Which of the following
HR technology solutions would you recommend to go paperless first?
A. A qualitative analysis system
B. A quantitative analysis system
C. An inventory management system
D. A learning management system - Answers -D. A learning management system
, In a merger or acquisition scenario, HR may be required to provide documents relating
to compensation, policies, procedures, and legal compliance. This is in accordance with
which of the following processes?
A. Full disclosure
B. Risk assessment
C. Risk mitigation
D. Due diligence - Answers -D. Due diligence
The executive management team is seeking an HR tool that ties financial and customer
results to the key internal practices that either supported or hindered positive outcomes.
Which of the following tools should you recommend?
A. Human capital management plan
B. Cost-benefit analysis
C. Balanced scorecard
D. Business impact report - Answers -C. Balanced scorecard
Which of the following can be measured using a correlation coefficient?
A. Absentee rate for new hires
B. Sales forecasting
C. Preferred benefits offering
D. Methods to improve productivity - Answers -A. Absentee rate for new hires
A(n) is to soft costs as is to hard costs. A. Quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis
B. Subjective analysis, objective analysis С. Return on investment, cost-benefit analysis
D. Cost-benefit analysis, return on investment - Answers -D. Cost-benefit analysis,
return on investment
The large merchant services company for which you work has decided that its one-year
strategic focus will be to allocate resources to their core competency of selling point-of-
service devices and software. Consequently, all other departments must cut their
budgets by 10 percent. Which of the following strategies make the most sense for the
HR department?
A. Lay off the compensation specialist B. Reduce the training budget
C. Outsource the benefits function and lay off the benefits specialist
D. Rewrite the travel expense policy to reduce the per diem rate - Answers -C.
Outsource the benefits function and lay off the benefits specialist
34. Ben & Jerry's, the ice cream company, produces a Social and Environmental
Assessment Report every year. It highlights the company's efforts toward creating
synergy between the corporate mission, vision, values, employees, vendors,
franchisees, customers, and communities. This is an example of which of the following
strategic efforts? A. Corporate responsibility
B. Strategic alignment with stakeholders C. Profitability
D. Both A and B - Answers -D. Both A and B
ANSWERS
As the result of an HR audit you conducted to assess risk in your new HR management
position, it is clear that several business practices are out of compliance. Which of the
following is your best first step toward managing the risk?
A. Identify the most obvious abusers, and terminate or demote them to demonstrate a
good faith effort toward compliance.
B. Train all employees and managers about expected standards of behavior. C. Rewrite
the handbook to mitigate the exposure.
D. Recommend employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) until an action plan can
be defined and executed toward compliance. - Answers -D. Recommend employment
practices liability insurance (EPLI) until an action plan can be defined and executed
toward compliance.
Which of the following organizations concentrate decision-making authority at higher
levels within the organization? A. Centralized
B. Organized
C. Decentralized
D. Authoritarian - Answers -A. Centralized
The large healthcare facility for which you work has asked you to evaluate the strategy
of outsourcing the recruiting function to a healthcare specialty group. The executive
com- mittee has asked you to gather the economic costs to identify the impact on both
custom- ers and employees. Which of the following types of analysis would you provide
to the executive committee?
A. Quantitative
B. Return on investment
C. Qualitative D. Cost benefit - Answers -D. Cost benefit
The ability of an employee to update their own personal data, such as contact informa-
tion and dependent status changes, is known as which of the following functions of HR
technology?
A. Self-service
B. Efficiency
C. Human resource information systems D. ATS - Answers -A. Self-service
Shareholders, the board of directors, and management are all included in which of the
following terms?
A. Principal members
B. Responsible parties
C. Stakeholders
D. Employees - Answers -C. Stakeholders
,40. An obligation to act with the highest regard and in the best interest of the company
is known as which of the following? A. Integrity
B. Fiduciary responsibility
C. Moral Code
D. Legal Compliance - Answers -B. Fiduciary responsibility
Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides all of the following except what?
A. Broad protection for employees of publicly traded companies who report SEC
violations
B. Broad protection/relief options employees who suffer an unfavorable employ- ment
action as the result of a whistleblower report
C. Broad protection for employees of private companies that may be engaged in unethi-
cal business practices
D. Broad protection for employees who report violations of federal securities laws -
Answers -C. Broad protection for employees of private companies that may be engaged
in unethi- cal business practices
42. Which of the following is not one of Porter's five forces affecting strategic decision-
making and planning?
A. New competitors
B. Labor force population
C. Suppliers D. Buyers - Answers -B. Labor force population
43. The executive management team has asked you to review the political, economic,
social, and technological influences on the relevant labor market to your industry. Which
of the wfollowing have they asked you for? A. A cost-benefit analysis
B. A human capital management plan
C. A PEST analysis
D. A SWOT audit - Answers -C. A PEST analysis
Providing questions to candidates online to allow them to self-screen out of the hiring
process if they don't meet the minimum qualifications for the position is a function of
which of the following systems?
A. An applicant tracking system
B. A hiring management system
C. Employee self-service
D. A learning management system - Answers -B. A hiring management system
Part of your company's strategic initiative is to shift to a paperless system in as many
functions as possible, integrating the data across departments. Which of the following
HR technology solutions would you recommend to go paperless first?
A. A qualitative analysis system
B. A quantitative analysis system
C. An inventory management system
D. A learning management system - Answers -D. A learning management system
, In a merger or acquisition scenario, HR may be required to provide documents relating
to compensation, policies, procedures, and legal compliance. This is in accordance with
which of the following processes?
A. Full disclosure
B. Risk assessment
C. Risk mitigation
D. Due diligence - Answers -D. Due diligence
The executive management team is seeking an HR tool that ties financial and customer
results to the key internal practices that either supported or hindered positive outcomes.
Which of the following tools should you recommend?
A. Human capital management plan
B. Cost-benefit analysis
C. Balanced scorecard
D. Business impact report - Answers -C. Balanced scorecard
Which of the following can be measured using a correlation coefficient?
A. Absentee rate for new hires
B. Sales forecasting
C. Preferred benefits offering
D. Methods to improve productivity - Answers -A. Absentee rate for new hires
A(n) is to soft costs as is to hard costs. A. Quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis
B. Subjective analysis, objective analysis С. Return on investment, cost-benefit analysis
D. Cost-benefit analysis, return on investment - Answers -D. Cost-benefit analysis,
return on investment
The large merchant services company for which you work has decided that its one-year
strategic focus will be to allocate resources to their core competency of selling point-of-
service devices and software. Consequently, all other departments must cut their
budgets by 10 percent. Which of the following strategies make the most sense for the
HR department?
A. Lay off the compensation specialist B. Reduce the training budget
C. Outsource the benefits function and lay off the benefits specialist
D. Rewrite the travel expense policy to reduce the per diem rate - Answers -C.
Outsource the benefits function and lay off the benefits specialist
34. Ben & Jerry's, the ice cream company, produces a Social and Environmental
Assessment Report every year. It highlights the company's efforts toward creating
synergy between the corporate mission, vision, values, employees, vendors,
franchisees, customers, and communities. This is an example of which of the following
strategic efforts? A. Corporate responsibility
B. Strategic alignment with stakeholders C. Profitability
D. Both A and B - Answers -D. Both A and B
