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A global manufacturing organization is dealing with a high level of attrition among machine operators as well as difficulty recruiting machine operators at a recently acquired factory. The HR director is attempting to address the issue. During exit interviews, multiple employees mention they are leaving to take higher-paying jobs at other companies in the area. The HR director of the factory in that country believes that the company needs to raise the salaries of the machine operators to address this. The HR director contacts the chief human resource officer (CHRO) to discuss the need for a salary adjustment. The CHRO is located in another country and has never been to the country where the factory is located. The CHRO reviews the most recent salary study for the region and indicates that the salaries the company is paying are competitive with other companies in the region. The CHRO also says that due to recent increases in operating expenses and declines in revenue, it would be financially irresponsible to provide raises.
If the HR director does secure a salary raise for the machine operators, how should the HR director assess whether it is effective in dealing with the machine operator recruitment and retention problem?
When deciding whether an employee is eligible to work remotely, which factor should be considered first?
A recent company survey shows that 70% of employees report not having mastered the skills needed to do their jobs. Which approach to learning and development should the HR director implement to best help employees master the missing skills?
Which compensation program is offered to encourage recipients to create long-term shareholder value?
Which is the best example of using strategic management to create a competitive advantage?
A regional government office runs a media broadcasting station that is funded almost entirely by individual and corporate donations. An eight-person team is in charge of planning and coordinating the receipt of gifts including entertaining guests with the CEO and asking philanthropists for large contributions. The manager of the team is results-driven and has consistently led the team to achieve challenging goals for five years. The manager recently moved further away from the office to afford higher quality education. The manager sends an urgent email to the HR director indicating an immediate need to work remotely three days per week. The manager also wants to avoid commuting traffic and come into the office after 11 am. The office has a flexible schedule policy but it has not been reviewed in some time.
The regional government office has been slow to adopt new management approaches, which has made it difficult for the office to compete for top talent in the regional workforce. What should the HR director do to ensure buy-in from managers and executives regarding changes to the telework policy?
An oil and gas company that operates globally signs an agreement to shift the operations part of the business to another organization. As a result, the company must lay off several employees. Some of the employees that must be laid off are working at headquarters while others are currently assigned to another country to support operations in the field. An HR director is tasked with developing a plan for communicating and executing the layoffs.
News about the layoffs is mistakenly revealed before an official announcement is made, leaving the employees feeling betrayed and distrustful of HR. At the upcoming all-employee meeting, what should the HR director focus on to rebuild employee trust?
A start-up company specializing in technology is acquired by a larger international organization located in a foreign country. Following the acquisition, a manager from the international company schedules a virtual social hour so employees on the manager's team can bond outside of work hours. During the virtual social hour, employees from the start-up experience difficulties understanding the international employees due to language barriers. An employee from the start-up writes an inappropriate comment making fun of how the international employees speak intending to send it to a co-worker but accidentally sends the message to the whole team. The manager reports the employee's behavior to an HR specialist, who documents the incident. A few weeks later the HR specialist receives an email from the employee who sent the message indicating that the employee's manager is acting hostile toward the employee, and the employee's manager mentioned that the international company should never have acquired the start-up.
The HR specialist is concerned the manager's negative comment about the acquisition will lead to other employees having negative opinions about the acquisition. Which action should the HR specialist take to address this concern?
A small organization recently hired a new CEO with a strong marketing background. The CEO establishes a new sales approach focused on expanding business opportunities through the creation of new products, which will be marketed and sold by the sales force. The CEO believes her effectiveness is impaired by having too many direct reports. The CEO meets with the CFO and HR director. They decide to reduce the CEO's number of direct reports to those most relevant to the CEO's vision for the organization. The remaining employees are reassigned to the CFO who already oversees a team of three. This change allows the CEO to more effectively focus on the vision HR releases a memo informing employees of the change in reporting structure.
The CEO learns that the change in reporting structure has resulted in disappointment for the employees who are no longer direct reports and asks the HR director for advice. What action should the HR director advise the CEO to take?
An HR department at a midsize company hosts regular manager meetings to provide updates regarding company structure practices, and policies. During the recent meeting, the HR director notified all managers of the company's new code of conduct policy and plans for an upcoming training about the policy. The policy explicitly states that managers must not form personal relationships with their direct reports. The HR director explains that the policy was created because concerns about fairness related to promotions and rumors about favoritism were beginning to cause conflict within some departments. Some of the managers express that training is not necessary, but they all agree to attend it. A few days after the training, the HR director receives a complaint from an HR employee who claims to have seen a manager and one of the manager’s direct reports at a restaurant. The HR director was already concerned about this manager's judgment because the manager approved a promotion for the same direct report even though the direct report has documented performance-related issues. The HR director discusses the issue with the manager. In response, the manager criticizes the new policy and insists the relationship did not impact the direct report's promotion recommendation. The manager also states that the training was unclear and that other managers have the same opinion.
Several employees heard of the manager's personal relationship with the direct report. They approach the HR director with concerns that the direct report may have been unfairly promoted. How should the HR director respond to these concerns?
In one of the warehouses of a retail company, several international employees complain to HR that the warehouse manager has forbidden them from speaking in their native language in the workplace. The HR manager speaks with the warehouse manager, who says there have been several reports that the international employees only interact with each other and they have difficulty conversing with the local employees due to language barriers. The HR manager also learns that the international employees can speak the primary language used in the company well enough to understand instructions from their supervisors. Fortunately, there have been no incidents of safety issues where language has been a barrier between local and international employees. However, senior management believes there is a lack of rapport between local and international employees and instructs the HR manager to resolve the issue.
Senior management asks the HR manager to investigate whether other warehouse locations face similar issues between local and international employees. Which approach should the HR manager take to gather the most accurate information?
At a regional power company, managers are in charge of assigning training and development opportunities to their employees. These opportunities are sponsored by the company, and employees are entitled to their regular pay while attending training and development sessions. Recently, there has been a growing number of complaints that managers were engaging in favoritism by only assigning these training and development opportunities to their favorite employees. Favoritism violates company policy, which states that all employees must be given equal opportunities. The HR director aims to address this issue.
Some managers claim that they assign training and development opportunities to their high-performing employees as they believe it is an incentive to stay at the company. How should the HR director determine whether this has been effective as an objective?
The hiring practices of a company include fully screening prospective employees prior to a job offer, which is then unconditional. A new HR manager wants to instead begin extending conditional offers. Which reason best illustrates an advantage of extending conditional offers from the company's perspective?
Which demand forecasting methodology best supports a workforce management strategy regardless of industry?
During an initial client meeting for a consulting project which is key to ensuring a successful engagement?
Which is the best approach to improve a benefit program's impact on employee retention?
A nonprofit health care facility conducts an engagement and culture survey, and the results indicate that employees throughout the organization believe leadership engages in favoritism by providing unequal opportunities for staff. General perceptions of the company's culture are poor, and many employees report intentions to leave their jobs. Several additional concerning findings are isolated to the philanthropic department, which is responsible for acquiring donors and securing charitable partnerships. Employees from this department report poor working relationships among staff, including gossiping and bullying among co-workers. Although the leadership team is aware of the poor working relationships in the philanthropic department, they have not asked the department director to address the issues because of the department's outstanding performance in recent years. However, after considering the recent survey results the leadership team decides to initiate a project to address the culture issues at the facility overall and within the philanthropy department specifically. The operations VP will oversee the project and ask an HR business partner (HRBP) to lead the project. The VP of operations requests that the HRBP collect additional survey data and conduct focus groups during the first phase of the project.
The philanthropy department director confides in the HRBP that behavioral issues with specific employees have not been addressed because the director prefers to avoid interpersonal confrontation. Which action should the HRBP take?
The president of a large company is planning to retire soon. The president has been with the company for 40 years, the longest tenure of any employee in the company, and has been president for the last 10 years. In addition to replacing its top leader, the company is also in the midst of conducting strategic planning for the next three years. The HR director has been placed in charge of overseeing the selection and transition process for the new president and has organized a search committee consisting of external board members. The search committee has identified three internal candidates for the position and must move forward with the process of selecting one to be president.
Senior leaders at the company have learned of the upcoming transition and the identity of the candidates. What should the HR director do to ensure the senior leaders stay with the company even if their favored candidate is not selected for the job?
A manager accepts a position relocation to a foreign country. Which service should the company provide upon arrival to help the employee in the new environment?
An organization increased its workforce by 50% over the past six months, and 90% of the positions were filled by employees working remotely. Which action best supports the organization's increased workforce?
Which provision should an employer put in place to mitigate security concerns when creating a bring-your-own-device policy?
A CEO is searching for a solution to the increase in health insurance costs. Which benefit should the chief human resource officer suggest to help reduce the high expenses?
During a workforce audit, an HR mobility leader discovers several expatriates who are not part of the organization's global mobility program. Which is the first step the HR leader should take in response to this discovery?
A multinational manufacturing firm recently experienced a series of product line defects and supply chain shortages. At the request of the chief operating officer (COO), the firm hires a new VP of operations who worked for the COO at another company for many years. The VP is well known for achieving results quickly and efficiently. During a conference call with the COO and all operations managers, the new VP begins making angry remarks toward the managers because the VP believes they are not responding quickly to questions about the recent problems. When the managers speak the VP responds by criticizing them and speaking with a loud aggressive tone of voice. The COO advises the VP to focus on identifying the root cause of the problem rather than criticizing the managers. In response, the VP accuses the COO of being too lenient on the managers during a period of crisis that requires quick and deliberate action. After the meeting, the managers send a formal letter to the firm's regional HR director describing the VP's behavior and requesting an immediate response.
The firm's employee handbook includes a section on cultural values that denounces public criticism of others and endorses acceptance of diversity at all levels of the organization. What should the regional HR director do to uphold the firm's cultural values?
A regional government office runs a media broadcasting station that is funded almost entirely by individual and corporate donations. An eight-person team is in charge of planning and coordinating the receipt of gifts including entertaining guests with the CEO and asking philanthropists for large contributions. The manager of the team is results-driven and has consistently led the team to achieve challenging goals for five years. The manager recently moved further away from the office to afford higher quality education. The manager sends an urgent email to the HR director indicating an immediate need to work remotely three days per week. The manager also wants to avoid commuting traffic and come into the office after 11 am. The office has a flexible schedule policy but it has not been reviewed in some time.
The manager is one of the office's top-performing employees with considerable influence over other employees' opinions about how the office is managed. What should the HR director do to prevent disruption to station operations while the flexible schedule policy is reviewed?
A rapidly growing technology start-up company with 200 employees forms a new team to handle recruitment for the company that is independent of the HR team. The recruitment team does not have any specific guidelines for hiring. The HR director wants to establish guidelines to prevent the theft of intellectual property and insists that the recruitment team begin conducting background checks to verify applicants' criminal histones. The recruitment director feels that background checks create unnecessary delays and that the multiple interviews used to make selection decisions serve the same purpose as a background check.
In addition to background checks, the HR director would like for the recruitment director to begin using evidence based selection tools. What would be the most effective way to do this, given that the company is growing rapidly?
When an employee presents evidence of corporate wrongdoing, which is considered the HR leader’s primary responsibility under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002?
A newly hired chief human resource officer (CHRO) discovers a flaw in the time-keeping policy that allows senior executives to receive full salaries and benefits without working the expected full-time hours. The CHRO reviews corporate data and identifies three senior executives in the sales department who regularly worked half the expected full-time hours for the past two years. The CHRO also discovers that the sales department has the lowest levels of employee engagement and morale across the corporation. However, the CHRO knows these three senior executives have been with the corporation for over a decade and have established strong alliances with the CEO. The CHRO presents the issue to the CEO and learns the CEO was unaware of the flaw in the policy. The CHRO and CEO agree to discuss the issue during the next executive team meeting.
During the executive team meeting, the sales department senior executives make allegations about the CHRO’s professional qualifications that the CHRO knows are false. Which action should the CHRO take?
An HR business partner (HRBP) in a large organization has recently been dealing with various issues with the chief human resource officer (CHRO). The HRBP reports to the CHRO. The CHRO does not consistently and clearly communicate information regarding business and strategic issues to the HRBP. The lack of communication has been presenting problems, as the HRBP's internal clients look to the HRBP for information and guidance on all HR topics and initiatives. As a result, the HRBP is often uninformed and unable to assist the clients. The lack of communication and transparency by the CHRO has been negatively impacting the HRBP and the HRBP's clients. The HRBP spends a lot of time trying to get information and often is unprepared to address client issues. In some cases, clients have received HR-related information ahead of the HRBP. Unfortunately, the CHRO has operated in this manner for years, with HR employees often feeling isolated from information and not feeling like they are part of a coherent unit. Despite this, the CHRO has expressed to the HRBP a belief that they have a very effective working relationship with one another.
The HRBP wants to provide suggestions to the organization’s executives about how to improve communication within the company, but the CHRO does not include the HRBP in strategic discussions that the CHRO has with other executives. What should the HRBP do?
The global mobility team contacts an expatriate on assignment and advises that a new position has opened in the home country and a repatriation process will be initiated in two weeks. What is the most effective way to manage the repatriation process in this situation?
In a leadership team meeting, the HR director of a car manufacturing company suggests the company should collaborate with its competitors to provide financial support for research on renewable energy sources. Which business strategy for sustainability is best illustrated by this suggestion?
What design structure allows an organization to capitalize on existing expertise across different departments as opposed to seeking external skilled resources?
An HR department at a midsize company hosts regular manager meetings to provide updates regarding company structure practices, and policies. During the recent meeting, the HR director notified all managers of the company's new code of conduct policy and plans for an upcoming training about the policy. The policy explicitly states that managers must not form personal relationships with their direct reports. The HR director explains that the policy was created because concerns about fairness related to promotions and rumors about favoritism were beginning to cause conflict within some departments. Some of the managers express that training is not necessary, but they all agree to attend it. A few days after the training, the HR director receives a complaint from an HR employee who claims to have seen a manager and one of the manager’s direct reports at a restaurant. The HR director was already concerned about this manager's judgment because the manager approved a promotion for the same direct report even though the direct report has documented performance-related issues. The HR director discusses the issue with the manager. In response, the manager criticizes the new policy and insists the relationship did not impact the direct report's promotion recommendation. The manager also states that the training was unclear and that other managers have the same opinion.
Which action should the HR director take first to address the claim that other managers believe the training on the code of conduct policy was unclear?
TESTED 12 Sep 2025
