SPHR Ultimate Senior Professional in Human Resources 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When conducting a job analysis for a newly created executive role, which method provides the most strategically valuable data for defining competencies?
- Time-and-motion study
- Structured interviews with future incumbents and stakeholders (Correct answer)
- Observation of current employees in similar roles
- Reviewing industry salary surveys
Correct answer: Structured interviews with future incumbents and stakeholders
Structured interviews with future incumbents and key stakeholders capture strategic context and future-state competency requirements that other methods miss.
Question 2: A company is considering implementing a broadbanding compensation structure. Which outcome is MOST likely?
- Increased clarity in career progression paths
- Greater flexibility in rewarding lateral moves and cross-functional skills (Correct answer)
- Reduced administrative burden for payroll processing
- Improved compliance with FLSA overtime regulations
Correct answer: Greater flexibility in rewarding lateral moves and cross-functional skills
Broadbanding consolidates pay grades into wide bands, giving managers flexibility to reward skill development and lateral movement without promotion.
Question 3: Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, employers with 100 or more employees must provide how many days' advance notice before a plant closing?
- 30 days
- 45 days
- 60 days (Correct answer)
- 90 days
Correct answer: 60 days
The WARN Act requires covered employers to provide 60 calendar days' advance written notice of plant closings and mass layoffs.
Question 4: An organization wants to measure the ROI of its leadership development program. Which formula correctly calculates HR ROI?
- (Benefits - Costs) / Costs × 100 (Correct answer)
- Benefits / Costs × 100
- (Costs - Benefits) / Benefits × 100
- Benefits × Costs / 100
Correct answer: (Benefits - Costs) / Costs × 100
ROI is calculated as net benefits (benefits minus costs) divided by costs, multiplied by 100 to express as a percentage.
Question 5: Which Supreme Court case established that employers can be held liable for a hostile work environment created by supervisors even without tangible employment action?
- McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green
- Burlington Industries v. Ellerth
- Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
- Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Faragher v. City of Boca Raton
Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998) held employers vicariously liable for supervisor harassment and established the affirmative defense requiring a reasonable harassment prevention policy.
Question 6: In talent planning, the term 'flight risk' refers to employees who are:
- High performers likely to be targeted by competitors (Correct answer)
- Employees with poor safety records
- Workers approaching retirement eligibility
- Those identified for international assignments
Correct answer: High performers likely to be targeted by competitors
Flight risk describes high-value employees who are likely to voluntarily leave the organization, often because they are sought by external competitors.
Question 7: A multinational corporation sends an employee from the US to manage a new subsidiary in Germany. This type of employee is classified as a(n):
- Host-country national (HCN)
- Third-country national (TCN)
- Parent-country national (PCN) (Correct answer)
- Repatriate
Correct answer: Parent-country national (PCN)
A parent-country national (PCN) or expatriate is an employee from the country where the parent company is headquartered who is assigned to work abroad.
SPHR Ultimate Senior Professional in Human Resources 2
When conducting a job analysis for a newly created executive role, which method provides the most strategically valuable data for defining competencies?