SHRM Society for Human Resource Management MCQ 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is an example of a leading HR indicator, as opposed to a lagging indicator?
- Annual turnover rate
- Time-to-fill open positions (Correct answer)
- Employee engagement score from last quarter's survey
- Workers' compensation claims filed this year
Correct answer: Time-to-fill open positions
Time-to-fill is a leading indicator because it reflects current recruiting pipeline health and predicts future staffing capacity, not past outcomes.
Question 2: Under COBRA, a qualified beneficiary who loses group health coverage due to a qualifying event must be offered continuation coverage for how long when the event is voluntary or involuntary termination (other than gross misconduct)?
- 12 months
- 18 months (Correct answer)
- 24 months
- 36 months
Correct answer: 18 months
COBRA requires employers to offer 18 months of continuation coverage for qualifying events including voluntary or involuntary termination of employment.
Question 3: A new HR manager discovers that the company's performance appraisal system consistently rates minority employees lower than majority employees, despite similar objective performance data. This is an example of:
- Halo effect
- Recency bias
- Rater bias leading to potential disparate treatment (Correct answer)
- Central tendency error
Correct answer: Rater bias leading to potential disparate treatment
Systematic rating differences correlated with protected class membership suggest rater bias, which can constitute disparate treatment discrimination under Title VII.
Question 4: Which federal agency is primarily responsible for enforcing the Occupational Safety and Health Act?
- Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Correct answer)
- National Labor Relations Board
Correct answer: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSHA, within the Department of Labor, is the federal agency charged with setting and enforcing workplace safety and health standards.
Question 5: An organization is transitioning from a traditional hierarchical structure to a team-based structure. Which change management model emphasizes creating urgency, forming a guiding coalition, and embedding change in culture?
- Lewin's Force Field Analysis
- Kotter's 8-Step Change Model (Correct answer)
- ADKAR Model
- McKinsey 7-S Framework
Correct answer: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
Kotter's 8-Step Change Model begins with creating urgency, builds a guiding coalition, and ends with anchoring change in organizational culture.
Question 6: An employer requires job applicants to disclose all prior arrests, including those that did not result in convictions. This practice is most likely problematic because:
- It violates the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search
- It may have a disparate impact on certain racial groups and violates EEOC guidance (Correct answer)
- It is prohibited by the Fair Credit Reporting Act in all circumstances
- It constitutes invasion of privacy under common law tort
Correct answer: It may have a disparate impact on certain racial groups and violates EEOC guidance
The EEOC cautions that blanket consideration of arrest records without conviction can disproportionately screen out minority applicants, creating disparate impact liability.
Question 7: In the context of HR's strategic role, which of the following best describes what it means for HR to act as a 'strategic partner' per Ulrich's HR model?
- HR focuses primarily on administrative efficiency and transaction processing
- HR aligns people practices with business strategy to drive organizational results (Correct answer)
- HR serves as the sole advocate for employee interests against management
- HR outsources all transactional functions to third-party vendors
Correct answer: HR aligns people practices with business strategy to drive organizational results
In Ulrich's model, HR as strategic partner means aligning HR strategy and practices with business goals to help the organization achieve competitive advantage.
SHRM Society for Human Resource Management MCQ 5
Which of the following is an example of a leading HR indicator, as opposed to a lagging indicator?