HR Competencies

Question 1

Group decision-making tool designed to analyze the forces favoring and opposing a particular change. A factor is weighted, and the factors on each side are summed compared.

Answer 1

Force-field analysis

Question 2

Technique that progressively collects information from a group of anonymous respondents.

Answer 2

Delphi technique

Question 3

Ability to take an international perspective, inclusive of other cultures’ views.

Answer 3

Global mindset

Question 4

Right of a legal body to exert authority over a given geographical territory, subject matter, or persons or institutions.

Answer 4

Jurisdiction

Question 5

Legal systems based on written codes (laws, rules, or regulations.)

Answer 5

Civil law

Question 6

Ability to use information to gain a deeper understanding of an organization and make sound business decisions.

Answer 6

Business intelligence

Question 7

Capacity to recognize, interpret, and behaviorally adapt to multicultural situations and contexts.

Answer 7

Cultural intelligence

Question 8

Societies in which relationships have less history; individuals know each other less well and don’t share a common database of experience, so communication must be very explicit.

Answer 8

Low-context cultures

Question 9

Constructing a message so that an audience sees communicated facts in a certain way and is persuaded to take certain action.

Answer 9

Framing

Question 10

Concept that laws are enforced only through accepted, codified procedures.

Answer 10

Due process

Question 11

Ratio of gross profit to net sales.

Answer 11

Gross profit margin

Question 12

Business management software, that a company can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities.

Answer 12

Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Question 13

Principles that guide decision making and behavior in an organization.

Answer 13

Code of conduct

Question 14

Money an organization owes its vendors and suppliers.

Answer 14

Accounts payable

Question 15

Money an organization’s customers owe the organization.

Answer 15

Account receivable

Question 16

Statement of an organization’s ability to meet its current and short-term obligations, showing incoming and outgoing cash and cash reserves in operations, investments, and financing.

Answer 16

Cash flow statement

Question 17

Presentation to management that establishes that a specific problem exists and argues for a proposed solution.

Answer 17

Business case

Question 18

Statement of an organization’s financial position at a specific point in time, showing assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity.

Answer 18

Balance sheet

Question 19

Data-sorting technique in which a group categorizes and subcategorizes data until relationships are clearly drawn.

Answer 19

Affinity diagramming

Question 20

Concept that proposes that any organization operates within a complex environment in which it affects and is affected by a variety of forces or stakeholders who all share in the value of the organization and its activities.

Answer 20

Stakeholder concept

Question 21

The benefit created when an organization meets its strategic goals; measure of usefulness, worth, or importance.

Answer 21

Value

Question 22

Statistical method used to test the possible effects of altering the details of a strategy to see if the likely outcome can be improved.

Answer 22

Scenario/what-if analysis

Question 23

Technique in which participants each suggest ideas through series of round and then discuss the items, eliminate redundancies and irrelevancies, and agree on the importance of remaining items.

Answer 23

Nominal group technique

Question 24

Raw average of date that gives equal weight to all values, with no regard to other factors.

Answer 24

Unweighted mean

Question 25

Type of analysis that starts with a result and then works backward to identify fundamental cause.

Answer 25

Root-cause analysis

Question 26

Extent to which an organization's agreements, dealings, information, practices, and transactions are open to disclosure and review by relevant persons,

Answer 26

Transparceny

Question 27

Comparing the sizes of two variables to produce an index or percentage; commonly used to analyze financial statements.

Answer 27

Ratio analysis

Question 28

Ratio of net income (gross sales minus expenses and taxes) to net sales.

Answer 28

Net profit margin

Question 29

Extent to which a measurement instrument provides consistent results.

Answer 29

Reliability

Question 30

Statement that reports revenues, expenses, and profits for a specified period of time, for example, quarterly or annually.

Answer 30

Income statement

Question 31

Extension of the power of a country's laws over its citizens outside that country's sovereign national boundaries.

Answer 31

Extraterritoriality

Question 32

Visualization of the impact of change on productivity. When change is introduced, there is typically a decrease in productivity and then a gradual return to or, ideally, a surpassing of previous levels of productivity.

Answer 32

J curve

Question 33

In communication, structuring a message to include opportunities for correction or clarification. This requires two-way communication.

Answer 33

Feedback loop

Question 34

Data-sorting technique in which group members add related ideas and indicates logical connections, eventually grouping similar ideas.

Answer 34

Mind mapping

Question 35

Societies or groups characterized by complex, usually long standing networks of relationship; members share a rich history of common experiences, so the way they interact and interpret events is often not apparent to outsiders.

Answer 35

High-context cultures

Question 36

Amount of owners' or shareholders' portion of a business.

Answer 36

Equity

Question 37

Process in which negotiations aim for mutual gain, emphasizing the need to focus on the problem instead of personal difference and on mutually beneficial outcomes.

Answer 37

Principled negotiation

Question 38

Distance of any data point from the center of distribution when data is distributed in a "normal" or expected pattern.

Answer 38

Standard deviation

Question 39

Statistical method for identifying the degree of difference between planned and actual performance or outcomes.

Answer 39

Variance analysis

Question 40

Processing applications that store data in a multidimensional "cube," which enable users to analyze data quickly in a variety of different ways.

Answer 40

Online analytical processing (OLAP)

Question 41

Legal system in which each case is considered in terms of how it related to legal decisions that have already been made; evolves through juridical decisions over time.

Answer 41

Common law

Question 42

Concept that stipulates that no individual is beyond the reach of the law and that authority is exercised only in accordance with written publicly disclosed laws.

Answer 42

Rule of law

Question 43

In communication, any factor that can disrupt the sending and receipt of a message.

Answer 43

Noise

Question 44

Components of a message apart from its words. This could include physical gestures and posture and vocal tones, volume, and speed.

Answer 44

Nonverbals

Question 45

The process by which an organization creates the product or service it offers to the customer.

Answer 45

Value chain

Question 46

Exchange of anything of value to gain greater influence or preference.

Answer 46

Bribery

Question 47

Statistical method that examines data from different points in time to determine if a variance is an isolated event or if it is part of a longer trend.

Answer 47

Trend analysis

Question 48

Group decision-making tool in which the group defines the characteristics of a successful decision and then scores each alternative against those criteria.

Answer 48

Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA)

Question 49

Extent to which measurement instrument measures what it is intended to measure.

Answer 49

Validity

Question 50

Ability to create connections or rapport with others.

Answer 50

Social intelligence

Question 51

Value that occurs most frequently in a set of data.

Answer 51

Mode

Question 52

Average score or value.

Answer 52

Mean

Question 53

Factors that initiate, direct, and sustain human behavior over time.

Answer 53

Motivation

Question 54

Process by which tow or more parties work together to reach agreement on a matter.

Answer 54

Negotiation

Question 55

Process of developing mutually beneficial contacts through the exchange of information.

Answer 55

Networking

Question 56

Basic beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, and customs shared and followed by members of a group, which give rise to the group's sense of identity.

Answer 56

Culture

Question 57

Small group of invited persons who actively participate in a structured discussion, led by a facilitator, for the purpose of eliciting their input.

Answer 57

Focus group

Question 58

Communication technique to increase the engagement between communicators and their audiences. It involves two-way communication and attention to nonverbal signs that indicate interest and reactions to the message and speaker.

Answer 58

Active listening

Question 59

Financial, physical, and sometimes intangible properties an organization owns.

Answer 59

Assets

Question 60

Middle value in a range of values.

Answer 60

Median

Question 61

Situation in which a person or organization may benefit from undue influence due to involvement in outside activities, relationships, or investments that conflict with or have an impact on the employment relationship or its outcomes.

Answer 61

Conflict of interest

Question 62

Organization's debt and other financial obligations.

Answer 62

Liabilities

Question 63

Average of date that adds factors to reflect the importance of different values.

Answer 63

Weighted mean

Question 64

Ability to be sensitive to and understand one's own and others' emotions and impulses.

Answer 64

Emotional intelligene (EI)

Question 65

Treatment of personal information that has been disclosed to another person or organization.

Answer 65

Confidentiality