Human Resource Management & Organizational Development Flashcards

A manager wants to reduce voluntary turnover among high performers. Which retention strategy has the STRONGEST evidence of effectiveness?

Answer: Implementing flexible work arrangements and career development opportunities

Research consistently shows that flexible work arrangements combined with clear career development paths are among the strongest drivers of retention for high performers.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what does 'reasonable accommodation' require an employer to provide?

Answer: Modifications that enable a qualified individual with a disability to perform essential job functions, unless it causes undue hardship

The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations that allow qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions, unless doing so creates undue hardship.

A CPM candidate reviews Lewin's change model. What occurs during the 'unfreezing' stage?

Answer: Current attitudes and behaviors are challenged to create readiness for change

Unfreezing involves disrupting the status quo and creating motivation to change by questioning existing assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors.

Which recruitment strategy is typically MOST cost-effective for filling entry-level positions quickly?

Answer: Employee referral programs

Employee referral programs consistently rank among the most cost-effective and fastest recruitment methods, often producing higher-quality hires with better retention.

An organization restructures from a functional hierarchy to a matrix structure. Which challenge is MOST likely to emerge?

Answer: Employees reporting to multiple managers creating role conflict

Matrix structures create dual reporting relationships, which frequently lead to role conflict, divided loyalties, and ambiguity about authority.

Which HR metric directly measures the financial return on employee learning investments?

Answer: Return on Investment (ROI) of training

Training ROI compares the monetary benefits gained from training (e.g., productivity gains, error reduction) against the total cost of delivering the training.

A performance management system uses a forced distribution (bell curve) approach. What is a key criticism of this method?

Answer: It can damage team cohesion and motivation when all team members are high performers

Forced distribution requires rating a fixed percentage of employees as low performers regardless of actual performance, which can unfairly penalize members of high-performing teams.