Functions of Human Resource Management (D351) – WGU 2025 | Comprehensive Study Guide, Practice Questions, and Step-by-Step Notes to Master Key HR Principles and Pass with Confidence

T/F: HR policies must work in compliance with the organization's overall strategy?

True

Which of the following is NOT a function of Human Resource Management?

-Compensating & motivating employees

-Planning HR needs

-Staffing the organization's needs

-Appraising client behavior

Appraising client behavior

What is an example of indirect compensation when it comes to rewards that are given to employees?

-Rewards that are given for simply being a part of the organization

-Rewards that are linked to performance on the job

-Rewards that are only given to managers or above

-Rewards that are given for employee of the month

Rewards that are given for simply being a part of the organization

Performance appraisals are important for both measuring and monitoring an employee's contribution, but they are also often the basis for deciding what?

-Whether or not to change the management system

-Whether or not to implement certain retention strategies

-Whether or not to give promotions

-Whether or not to implement certain HR strategies

Whether or not to give promotions

When working to improve the organization's quality of work life, it is important to look at which part of the organization?

-The product materials in manufacturing

-The bonuses paid to the CEO

-The physical health environment at work

-The compensation packages offered by competitors throughout the world

The physical health environment at work

Define Human Resource Management, or HRM/HR,

Responsible for the recruitment, selection, training, and motivation of the organization's employees. Therefore, HRM is concerned with the fundamental task of defining and analyzing jobs in organizations.

Define Millenials.

People born between 1980 and 2000, considered to value being recognized for their individual contributions within a team. They generally seek work that is productive and meaningful; leading-edge, innovative technology that supports information sharing; the ability to receive continuing education; the opportunity to voice opinions on workplace situations; and workplace flexibility in scheduling, attire, and work arrangements. They are especially resistant to authority due to cynicism regarding managerial decisions.

HR functions are important because they serve to attract employees (an explicit objective). HR also has a few implicit objectives. Which of the following is an implicit HR objective?

-Improvement of productivity

-Improvement in developing individuals

-Improvement of wages

-Improvement in retaining individuals

Improvement of productivity

Which position in the organization determines how important human resource management will be to that organization?

-Middle managers

-Supervisors

-Top management

-Front-line workers

Top management

In the early 1900s, what was Human Resources primarily concerned with?

-Distributing paychecks and working with unions

-Being a protector

-Engaging in training and development

-Being a strategic partner

Distributing paychecks and working with unions

Which of the following is not a way HR professionals can create an ethical organizational culture?

-Establishing an open-door policy

-Creating a positive work environment

-Hiring ethical individuals

-Constant monitoring of employees

Constant monitoring of employees

What is one way that HR can improve the quality of life for most employees in today's world?

-Increase the amount of control employees have over their own jobs

-Give the employee a specific job without letting them expand beyond that

-Be very detailed in defining employee tasks and responsibilities, creating a very structured work environment

-Let the employees be less involved in their work

Increase the amount of control employees have over their own jobs

Define Quality of Work Life, or QWL.

The quality of life experienced by employees in their work environments.

Define Moral Philosophy.

The principles, rules, and values that individuals use in deciding what is right or wrong.

Define Business Ethics.

The values and principles that are used to evaluate whether the collective behavior of an organization's members is appropriate.

Define Consequentialist Theories.

Evaluates the rightness or wrongness of an action based on the consequences of that action.

Define Deontological Theories.

Evaluate the rightness or wrongness of an action based on how well that action conforms to some rule or principle, regardless of the consequences.

T/F: HR department executives are now just as concerned with profits as any other executive.

True

What is a societal trend that affects HR and its functions?

-Decreased competition

-A decrease in the speed of external changes

-Higher unemployment

-Symptoms of dysfunction in the workplace

Symptoms of dysfunction in the workplace

Many millennials entering the workforce can be describe as _______________?

-Happy

-Excited

-Wanting to please authority

-Cynical

Cynical

What is "strategy"?

-Strategy is an explanation of past performance.

-Strategy is innovation within the firm.

-Strategy refers to how an organization is going to compete.

-Strategy describes environmental efforts of the firm.

Strategy refers to how an organization is going to compete

Because new millennials entering the workforce are cynical and less patient with respect to authority, they sometimes do not get along with older workers who do accept authority. What is the HR function that will help resolve this conflict?

-Know how to retain employees

-Know how to manage the skills of young workers

-Know how to recruit employees

-Know how to manage supervisors

Know how to manage the skills of young workers

Define Strategy.

The plan an organization has to compete in a marketplace. A strategy can consist of products and services, employees, and the organization's goals, among other things.

The economy, changes in technology, and competition are all examples of what type of environment that an organization has to be aware of?

-External

-Internal

External

T/F: The internal environment includes factors that the organization has no control over.

False

The economy is a critical element of the external environment and can have a significant impact on HR activities. What does a strong economy tend to create?

-A reduction in the need for training

-An increase in unemployment

-A decrease in wages

-A more competitive market for recruiting talent

A more competitive market for recruiting talent

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was created in 1994, were corporations forced to become more or less competitive?

-More

-Less

More

What have organizations started doing with their structure as the use of technology has increased in the workplace?

-There is no consistent trend in organizational structure.

-They have decreased the number of management levels in the organization.

-They have kept the number of management levels basically the same.

-They have increased the number of management levels in the organization.

They have decreased the number of management levels in the organization

Define Internal Environment.

Factors that organizations control as they interact in the global marketplace, such as culture, product development, and strategy.

Define External Environment.

The factors that organizations and their managers have no control over, such as legislation, changes in technology, competition, and so on.

Define Culture.

Represents an organization's value system. It includes factors such as employees' willingness to work, their ethics, how the organization thinks they should be treated, and so on.

Define Technology

The equipment and knowledge used to produce goods and services. The exact meaning of technology varies widely among industries and fields.

Define SWOT Analysis.

An acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT analysis provides the firm actionable direction for competing in the marketplace.

Define Strengths.

A company's core competencies, abilities, and capacities that give it an advantage when meeting the needs of target customers.

Define Weaknesses.

The limitations a firm faces when seeking to deliver value to customer

Define Threats.

Conditions, trends, or barriers in the external environment that hinder firm performance.

The effectiveness of an organization's HR management function depends largely upon...

-The quality of people in the HR department

-The hierarchy of the HR department

-The amount of people in the HR department

-The wages of the HR department

As HR professionals engage in more and more roles within the organization, HR will be more effective in helping the organization do what?

-Improve wages

-Improve compensation packages

-Improve quality of work life

-Improve management hierarchy

What is an unnecessary competency for an HR professional today?

-Developing and creating community initiatives

-Keeping up-to-date on technological advances in HR applications

-Designing processes and performance systems

-Keeping things the same in the organization to help stabilize it when change threatens it

T/F: HR professionals need to focus solely on acquiring HR knowledge and skills so that they can be more effective to the organization in all roles they undertake.

What is not needed to have great analytical skills?

-The ability to articulate a complex problem

-The ability to look at a problem and understand it

-The ability to work with others on a complex problem

-The ability to find a solution to a complex problem