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SHRM-CP Competencies Questions - Part 4

Jenny Clarke

Sat, 25 Jan 2025

1. A member of the HR team tells her colleagues that she has been approached by one of the business heads and pressured to support a solution that would leave the vacation policies of one of the merged entities intact. She asks advice about responding. What is the best piece of advice to give in this situation?

A) A. Suggest she tell the VP of HR about this incident and ask that they manage this behavior.
B) B. Explain that she has to support the best interests of the organization; however, she should work to understand the reason for the request.
C) C. Recommend that she proactively contact the business head and request that this not happen again.
D) D. Encourage her to transition the request to the CEO and the VP of HR because this is beyond her responsibility.



2. The team decides to hold focus groups with employees currently covered by the different policies. What should the team do to ensure that this is a productive tactic?

A) A. Conduct mixed but balanced focus groups with a trained facilitator.
B) B. Conduct separate focus groups for employees covered by the existing policies, asking for comments on their own current policies.
C) C. Limit the amount of unstructured discussion so as not to encourage conflict.
D) D. Share the plan that will most likely be implemented.



3. An HR professional has just joined an organization and wants to better understand its informal characteristics. What should she pay attention to?

A) Reporting structure in the organization and number of management levels
B) Mission statement on the organization's website
C) Who people interact with and the nature of their interactions
D) Kinds of business decisions the organization has made in the past



4. Influencing Which action would be most important in building trust with a colleague?

A) Socializing outside work more frequently
B) Acting consistently in line with shared values
C) Clarifying roles and authority
D) Developing one's professional expertise



5. Executives at a company have identified the need to promote diversity and develop a global mindset within the organization. According to Goleman, what leadership ability would best complement this initiative?

A) Effective communication
B) Adaptability to change
C) High intellectual capability
D) Emotional intelligence



1. Right Answer: B
Explanation: B is the best answer. Counseling the team member to be respectful while maintaining her independence and integrity supports her role as an organizational leader. A is incorrect. Reporting the action might heighten tension and damage any future relationship. C is incorrect. This could potentially create an unnecessary conflict, and the team leader may also not want you to share this information with anyone. D is incorrect. Deflecting the business head's request does not show leadership.

2. Right Answer: A
Explanation: A is the best answer. Mixed focus groups would foster the communication needed at this stage of the merger, and a trained facilitator would be able to keep discussion productive and respectful. B is incorrect. Separate focus groups will probably only reinforce preference for existing policies. C is incorrect. Limiting discussion will create resentment and distrust. D is incorrect. This would defeat the purpose of soliciting feedback from the focus groups because a decision has essentially been made.

3. Right Answer: C
Explanation: The informal aspects of an organization are learned best by observing how people behave, communicate, and interact. The other choices all refer to the formal characteristics of an organization, aspects that have been articulated or documented in some way for all of the organization's members.

4. Right Answer: B
Explanation: Walking the talk, or showing consistency with what one says or believes in, is most likely to generate a trusting relationship. Expertise builds credibility but not trust if one is not honest or does not follow through on commitments. Socializing may be a path to understanding each other's values but does not offer proof of consistency with those values. Clarifying roles and responsibilities is necessary to avoid some conflicts, but it does not build trust.

5. Right Answer: D
Explanation: Without emotional intelligence (EI), the behaviors needed to support diversity and a global mindset would not be possible. Daniel Goleman suggests that five components of emotional intelligence—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills—are essential in establishing EI in an organization.

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