NCE PRACTICE EXAM

The purpose of an HR Audit is to provide an organizational review, which can be used in a strategic planning process. Though it may be an eventual outcome, the purpose does not include making immediate employment decisions.

The best plan of action in this circumstance is to adjust the strategic plan to maximize the value of expenses with the greatest return. Only develop a new strategic plan if the ROI is much lower than the competition. If the difference is not significant, only an adjustment is needed to ensure that financial resources expended receive the greatest return.

There are three terms of Vroom's expectancy theory:

• Expectancy - whether an employee expects to achieve their goal;
• Instrumentality – whether an employee is confident in their ability for goal achievement;
• Valence – whether the value of the goal is equal to or more valuable than the effort to achieve it.

Establishing a policy and procedures manual, which expands on the "corporate value statement" and defines acceptable behavior, will give the organization a proper foundation for setting expectations of proper behavior and protocol in the organization. Regular HR Audits ensure that employees are following policy. Writing a corporate ethics statement without detailing a policy and procedures manual will not be an effective way to maintain ethics within the organization.

A SMART goal is specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time-based. SMART goals are used for evaluating employee performance, by setting specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time-based criteria that can be documented and recorded for review.

As long as certain formalities are followed, a corporate entity is a form of business ownership that protects the owners or shareholders from the liabilities and debts of the company. In other words, the owners cannot be sued for the debts of the company unless there are grounds to pierce the corporate veil, like fraud. This is also true of limited liability companies (LLC) that requires less formality in its management.

The gross profit margin is total revenue for a certain period minus the cost of sales for that period divided by total revenue for that period. Comparing the gross profit margin for the two periods is helpful in determining if the new campaign is increasing sales or if a new strategy is needed.

A whistle-blower describes a person who reports that their employer has participated in illegal activity. The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 protects federal employees who report illegal activity. The Office of Special Counsel investigates federal complaints. The Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002 protects employers of publicly traded companies and reports are filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

Valid interview questions are job specific and ensure that answers demonstrate
job-specific skills. Validity demonstrates a relationship between past performance and the interview process.

Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 24, 1965, established requirements for non-discriminatory practices in hiring and employment on the part of U.S. government contractors. It requires contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex or national origin."

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

An HRIS is a software system designed for tracking human resources data, such as, payroll, employee information, management and accounting. A needs analysis should be conducted and answers provided to the listed questions. Additionally, it should be understood whether the HRIS will be integrated with payroll or other systems and what kinds of reports will be produced.

The EEO-1 form is a federally required survey reporting wage and race data. Component 1, a report of race and gender, is required for all employers with over 100 employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees and at least $50,000 in government contracts. The deadline to file component 1 of the EEO-1 is May 31st. Only, employers with over 100 employees are required to also complete component 2 form, due September 30.

Kinesthetic learning is a learning style where understanding and comprehension best occur during physical activity. Auditory learners best learn by hearing instructions. Visual learners best learn by seeing instructions. "Touch Learning" is not a correct term for a style of learning.

Creative works that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright and trademark protection are said to be in the public domain. Works become public when (1) the owner fails to acquire copyright or trademark protection because of a lack of filing or renewal of a copyright or trademark with the government; (2) the rights have expired; (3) the type of work may not be protectable and (4) the owner my intentionally allow public use. If an owner does have copyright or trademark protection, the work is not in the public domain and cannot be used without the permission of the owner. Websites sites have different policies on the use of its content. Some may offer the rights to use their images for payment, while others allow users to use their images for free.

Total Quality Management focuses on eliminating waste and encouraging teamwork to produce the best quality products and services. This management style was developed by the Navy in 1984 and based on the teachings of W. Edward Deming. After being adopted by the Federal government, it gained popularity among American corporations.

The following are the four types of training evaluation:

• Reaction: the participant's immediate thoughts and feelings following participation
• Learning: measurement of knowledge/skills gained by participants via demonstration or test
• Behavior: post training evaluation of how the participant preforms on the job or has changed behavior based on the training
• Results: Any monetary or performance-based reward that occurred as a result of attendance and participation in the training.

A bonus is a form of direct compensation. Direct compensation is a monetary reward for employment. Indirect compensation is a non-monetary reward and includes many benefits, like vacation, mobile phone, health insurance, and more. And also includes legally obligated benefits like payroll taxes, unemployment insurance, and worker's compensation.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII to prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. If benefits are offered to other staff on leave, the same benefits must be offered to those on leave for pregnancy-related conditions

By documenting the attendance in a performance review the event would be considered a job requirement and would meet one of the four requirements for paid training. To be non-paid an event must be outside normal work hours, voluntary, not job related, and no other work is performed during the event.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, children under the age of 16 are prohibited from working in any manufacturing or mining-related job, working during school hours, working more than 3 hours a day or 18 hours a week during a school week or 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week during a non-school week, and working before 7:00 am or past 7:00 pm during the school year or working before 7:00 am or past 9:00 pm during the summer.

The FLSA does not consider travel time outside of regular work hours to be payable. Travel is only eligible for pay during regular working hours (8:00am-5:00pm), including weekend days.

Suggestions must be acted on quickly for employees to see true value in the program. While it does provide value to discuss the suggestions, and sharing the suggestions would provide an opportunity for organizational input, employees need to see management making changes based on the suggestions. Answer a is the best answer.

The NLRB is an independent federal agency created to enforce the National Labor Relations Act. It is the agency's responsibility to protect employee's rights to organize and to be represented by a labor union in the collective bargaining process. A bargaining unit is a group of employees represented by a labor union and protected by a collective bargaining agreement.

When conducting a risk assessment, the first step is to identify the potential threats, which fall under specific categories:

• Environmental (natural disaster),
• Organized or deliberate disruption (terrorism, war, arson),
• Loss of utiilites or services (electrical power failure, public utility failure, communication services breakdown),
• Equipment or system failure (internal power failure, production line failure, equipment failure),
• Security threat (leak of sensitive information, loss of records or data, cyber crime),
• Supplementary emergency situations (workplace violence, public transportation disruption, health and safety hazard). 

A hostile work environment may arise when an employee witnesses the continuous harassment of another employee. A hostile work environment can be created by any person in the workplace including vendors, customers or visitors. One occurrence of harassment does not meet the requirement for hostile work environment.

Individuals must file a claim within 180 days of the alleged violation. In some cases, the limit may be extended to 300 days if the charge is covered by state or local anti-discrimination law.

Internal structural barriers are management, recruitment and corporate practices that limit the opportunities for employment growth for minorities and women. For example, companies that more often recruit from within, will have a smaller and less diverse pool of candidates. Societal barriers include limited educational opportunities and biases related to gender, race and ethnicity. Government barriers include inconsistent enforcement of equal opportunity.

It is important to offer a variety of opportunities for staff and management to meet. An informal setting like a brown bag lunch can provide a more comfortable setting for employees to share more about themselves and what's going on in the company.

An arbitrator tribunal or tripartite arbitration panel consist of three arbitrators who are chosen for the sole purpose of handling a specific dispute.