1 | Page
HRCI- SPHR Practice Exam Questions and
Correct Answers
One of your production managers uses incentives to reward
employees for meeting operational objectives. This is the best
example of which of the following leadership styles?
A. Charismatic leadership
B. Transactional leadership
C. Laissez-faire leadership
D. Authoritarian leadership Ans: B. Transactional leaders are
characterized by a "this for that" style. These leaders use both
rewards and discipline when necessary to accomplish
organizational and departmental objectives.
Consensual romantic relationships at work represent what type of
risk?
A. Intimate partner violence
B. Unlawful treatment
C. Sexual harassment
D. None, because it's consensual Ans: C. Relationships at work,
even those that are consensual, have the potential for issues in
which HR will have to intervene. This includes the risk of sexual
harassment should the relationship become unwanted by either
party.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
The international gas utility company for which you direct HR
does not have an organized health and safety program for its
workers. What should be your first step?
A. Focus on becoming compliant with international, federal, state,
and local safety standards.
B. Identify the employees who are most at risk and begin safety
efforts with them.
C. Obtain approval for a company-wide incentive program based
on zero accidents or injuries.
D. Meet with the workers' compensation brokers to assess the
costs of lack of a safety program.
See the answer Ans: B. In this high-risk industry, it would be
prudent for human resources to begin building a safety program
for those workers who are most at risk. This effort may include
data collection, incentives, and compliance efforts as part of the
overall intervention strategy.
The food distribution center for which you work has seen an
increase in the number of loading-dock workers reporting ankle
injuries. What strategy would be most effective to reduce or
eliminate the risk?
A. Require employees to wear high-top steel-toed work boots.
B. Review the injury records for patterns of unsafe behaviors.
C. Conduct a root-cause analysis with a committee made up of
dock workers.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3 | Page
D. Ask the occupational clinic to come in and provide safety
training. Ans: C. Any time there is an increase in injuries and
accidents, HR should take the time to analyze for root causes.
From this, hazard abatement strategies may be developed and
could include new personal protective equipment requirements or
worker training.
The major Internet provider for which you are the VP of human
resources has just experienced the largest customer and employee
data breach in the history of the United States. In an effort to
comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), you
should first do what?
A. Evaluate the areas where the company's data is still at risk for
hackers
B. Research credit monitoring services to offer affected
individuals.
C. Wait to notify investors until the executive team can sell their
shares of company stock.
D. Assess the depth of the data breach and notify investors as
soon as is practicable. Ans: D. When a data breach of this
magnitude occurs, it is important for HR to help the company
respond in accordance with governing agencies but also in a
manner that protects the interests of both the company and the
affected individuals.
Which of the following are examples of the physical assets that
must be secured to prevent a cybersecurity attack?
A. The employees
B. The buildings
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 4 | Page
C. The workstations
D. The power lines Ans: C. Physical assets such as workstations
and servers can be tracked and monitored as part of a company's
efforts to prevent cyberattacks on sensitive company and
customer data.
Establishing a hierarchy of assets helps companies do what when
it comes to data protection?
A. Identify priorities when it comes to building a robust data
security program
B. Determine what skills in data security personnel to hire for
C. Write policies that protect critical assets
D. Purchase external layers of protections, making the data harder
to breach Ans: A. Establishing a hierarchy of assets helps a
company craft an effective data security program. Building
controls for these assets may include policies, practices, and the
deployment of internal and external resources, but it will be
difficult to know where to deploy the resources without
understanding what is most at risk/important.
The hospital for which you work has hired an outside agency to
staff the parking lot security posts. The guard works only at night
and is unsupervised. Recently there has been a rash of attacks in
the area against security guards in general. What steps should you
take to protect this contingent worker from becoming a victim of
workplace violence?
A. Allow him to carry his personal gun while on duty.
B. Install security cameras that are monitored from the inside.
© 2025 All rights reserved
HRCI- SPHR Practice Exam Questions and
Correct Answers
One of your production managers uses incentives to reward
employees for meeting operational objectives. This is the best
example of which of the following leadership styles?
A. Charismatic leadership
B. Transactional leadership
C. Laissez-faire leadership
D. Authoritarian leadership Ans: B. Transactional leaders are
characterized by a "this for that" style. These leaders use both
rewards and discipline when necessary to accomplish
organizational and departmental objectives.
Consensual romantic relationships at work represent what type of
risk?
A. Intimate partner violence
B. Unlawful treatment
C. Sexual harassment
D. None, because it's consensual Ans: C. Relationships at work,
even those that are consensual, have the potential for issues in
which HR will have to intervene. This includes the risk of sexual
harassment should the relationship become unwanted by either
party.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
The international gas utility company for which you direct HR
does not have an organized health and safety program for its
workers. What should be your first step?
A. Focus on becoming compliant with international, federal, state,
and local safety standards.
B. Identify the employees who are most at risk and begin safety
efforts with them.
C. Obtain approval for a company-wide incentive program based
on zero accidents or injuries.
D. Meet with the workers' compensation brokers to assess the
costs of lack of a safety program.
See the answer Ans: B. In this high-risk industry, it would be
prudent for human resources to begin building a safety program
for those workers who are most at risk. This effort may include
data collection, incentives, and compliance efforts as part of the
overall intervention strategy.
The food distribution center for which you work has seen an
increase in the number of loading-dock workers reporting ankle
injuries. What strategy would be most effective to reduce or
eliminate the risk?
A. Require employees to wear high-top steel-toed work boots.
B. Review the injury records for patterns of unsafe behaviors.
C. Conduct a root-cause analysis with a committee made up of
dock workers.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3 | Page
D. Ask the occupational clinic to come in and provide safety
training. Ans: C. Any time there is an increase in injuries and
accidents, HR should take the time to analyze for root causes.
From this, hazard abatement strategies may be developed and
could include new personal protective equipment requirements or
worker training.
The major Internet provider for which you are the VP of human
resources has just experienced the largest customer and employee
data breach in the history of the United States. In an effort to
comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), you
should first do what?
A. Evaluate the areas where the company's data is still at risk for
hackers
B. Research credit monitoring services to offer affected
individuals.
C. Wait to notify investors until the executive team can sell their
shares of company stock.
D. Assess the depth of the data breach and notify investors as
soon as is practicable. Ans: D. When a data breach of this
magnitude occurs, it is important for HR to help the company
respond in accordance with governing agencies but also in a
manner that protects the interests of both the company and the
affected individuals.
Which of the following are examples of the physical assets that
must be secured to prevent a cybersecurity attack?
A. The employees
B. The buildings
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 4 | Page
C. The workstations
D. The power lines Ans: C. Physical assets such as workstations
and servers can be tracked and monitored as part of a company's
efforts to prevent cyberattacks on sensitive company and
customer data.
Establishing a hierarchy of assets helps companies do what when
it comes to data protection?
A. Identify priorities when it comes to building a robust data
security program
B. Determine what skills in data security personnel to hire for
C. Write policies that protect critical assets
D. Purchase external layers of protections, making the data harder
to breach Ans: A. Establishing a hierarchy of assets helps a
company craft an effective data security program. Building
controls for these assets may include policies, practices, and the
deployment of internal and external resources, but it will be
difficult to know where to deploy the resources without
understanding what is most at risk/important.
The hospital for which you work has hired an outside agency to
staff the parking lot security posts. The guard works only at night
and is unsupervised. Recently there has been a rash of attacks in
the area against security guards in general. What steps should you
take to protect this contingent worker from becoming a victim of
workplace violence?
A. Allow him to carry his personal gun while on duty.
B. Install security cameras that are monitored from the inside.
© 2025 All rights reserved
