PMP Practice Exam : Human Resource Management

1.       According to McGregor’s theory X:

a)      Group consensus is the most effective routs to management improvements

b)      Quality circles are the most important factor in reducing the cost of quality

c)       Poor working conditions are the most important reason for absenteeism

d)      Workers are inherently unmotivated and need strong guidance

2.       As an interpersonal skill, negotiation has been defined as:

a)      The exchange of information to reach a decision

b)      The ability to get things done

c)       Conferring with others to reach an agreement

d)      Problem definition and timely decision making

3.       The objectives of develop project team include the following except:

a)      Enhance project performance

b)      Get the right people on the project team

c)       Improve team members’ skills and abilities to complete project tasks

d)      Improve trust and cohesiveness among team members

4.       According to Abraham Maslow, human beings have a variety of potential needs. Maslow contended that the ______ need for a works is ___________. Which means that ___________?

a)      Lowest-level; self-actualization; workers are motivated by a desire for personal growth and challenging work

b)      Lowest-level; self-esteem; workers are motivated by respect and recognition

c)       Highest- level; self-actualization; workers are motivated by desire for personal growth and challenging work

d)      Highest-level; self-esteem; workers are motivated by respect and recognition

5.       “The tendency to rate high or low on all factors doe to the impression of a high or low rating on some specific factor” is called:

a)      Relativity error

b)      Halo error

c)       Nepotism

d)      Heteroscedasticity

6.       The planning tool used to show human resources are allocated over time is called:

a)      Resource loading chart

b)      Responsibility matrix

c)       Resource leveling

d)      Strong matrix

7.       At a recent luncheon, a question arose about benefits and perquisites. The HR Director correctly pointed out that ____________.

a)      They ate essentially the same thing

b)      Fringe benefits standard items such as health insurance whereas perquisites are special awards such as access to the executive dining room

c)       A corner office is a fringe benefit whereas access to training is a perquisite

d)      Membership in the donut of the month club is a fringe benefit whereas stoke in the donut shop is a perquisite

8.       You ate collaborating with another company in the development of satellite technology to achieve easier and faster communication processes. Today you reached an impasse regarding a technical issue (one group favors round pags and the other is adamantly committed to virtual pages). While this disagreement is significant, many areas of common agreement exist. Which conflict resolution method might work best in this situation?

a)      Smoothing

b)      Withdrawing

c)       Compromising

d)      Problem solving

9.       Autocratic project managers:

a)      Often have abrasive personalities

b)      Work closely with their team members

c)       Make decisions without input from others

d)      Make decisions without from others

e)      Usually have excellent management information systems

10.   Which of the following is not part of problem solving as an interpersonal skill?

a)      Defining the problem

b)      Identifying alternatives

c)       Getting things done

d)      Making a timely decision

11.   You are performing the work associated with acquiring the project team. If some of the staff that you need to complete the project are not available in house, which tool would you use to resolve the situation?

a)      Acquisition

b)      Pre-assignment

c)       Negotiation

d)      Virtual teams

12.   An important tool for identifying when people are allocated to tasks is called?

a)      Resource leveling

b)      Responsibility matrix

c)       WBS

d)      Resource Gantt chart

13.   The resource management tool that focuses on “who is to do what” is called:

a)      Resource leveling

b)      Fast tracking

c)       Responsibility matrix

d)      PERT (personnel enhancement reliability tool)

14.   Which of the following conflict management approaches is least likely to produce lasting results?

a)      Smoothing/accommodating

b)      Withdrawing/avoiding

c)       Confronting/problem solving

d)      Compromising

15.   Which of the following is an obstacle to team building in a matrix organizational structure?

a)      Teams are too large

b)      Here are too many technical geeks in the teams

c)       Large salary differences cause resentment

d)      Team members are borrowed and can be hard to motivate

16.   The kick-off meeting should:

a)      Identify team goals

b)      Undertake detailed planning of tasks

c)       Occur periodically during the life of the project

d)      Always include the customer

17.   A project manager can best create a sense of identify among team members by:

a)      Mandating the frequent use of e-mail

b)      Reading the project mission statement at the start of all meetings

c)       Getting and using a project war room

d)      Implementing the use of name tags

18.   You have been dismayed at recent behavior within your team. Sub-groups have formed (you are worried about cliques affecting long-team behavior) and seem to be competing to gain control of the project. There are so many differing ideas and such competition for specific jobs that you have become quite worried. What stage of the Tuckman model does you the team is experiencing? What would the next stage be?

a)      Forming; storming

b)      Joining; performing

c)       Storming; norming

d)      Norming; performing

19.   Legitimate power is also known as ________ authority.

a)      Reward (of purse string)

b)      Bureaucratic

c)       Technical

d)      Formal

20.   If both parties in a conflict employ forcing, the most likely result is:

a)      Stalemate

b)      Compromise

c)       Win-win

d)      A busy pizza delivery person

21.   Which of the following statements about conflict the true?

a)      Conflict should be resolved by first separating the parties

b)      Conflict should be avoided

c)       Conflict is bad

d)      Conflict can be positive

22.   Concurrent engineering involves

a)      Crashing the project schedule

b)      Multi-functional teams and overlapping of project phases

c)       Managing the work force by scheduling all design activities the same timeframe

d)      Eliminating the need for a separate production division

23.   A responsibility matrix does not show:

a)      Who is doing what

b)      A list of project tasks

c)       Functional resources

d)      The timing of specific tasks

24.   “Employees who believe their efforts will lead to effective performance and who also believe they will be rewarded for their accomplishments will productive as long as the rewards meet their expectations”. This statement illustrates:

a)      Theory Z

b)      Expectancy theory

c)       Requirements-rewards matrix

d)      Hygiene factors

25.   Education, medical benefits, insurance and profit sharing are examples of:

a)      Overhead

b)      Entitlements

c)       Direct costs

d)      Fringe benefits

26.   Parking spaces, corner offices and access to the executive dining room are examples of:

a)      Perquisites (“perks”)

b)      Overhead

c)       Self-actualization

d)      Fringe benefits

27.   As a rule, engineering staff are often responsive to:

a)      Referent authority

b)      Formal authority

c)       Technical authority

d)      Purse string authority

28.   Which approach to resolving conflict is most likely to provide a lasting solution?

a)      Smoothing

b)      Compromise

c)       Forcing

d)      Referent

29.   One of your team members is fond of name dropping and in particular, is constantly mentioning what the project sponsor wants the team to do. Which source of power is this team member using?

a)      Charisma

b)      Formal

c)       Expert

d)      Referent

30.   The hearing and resolution of a labor dispute by a nature third party is called:

a)      Two-step collective bargaining

b)      Force majeure

c)       Arbitration

d)      Bi-model negation process

31.   Managers who ascribe to McGregor’s theory Y generally believe that employees:

a)      Dislike their work

b)      Are inherently motivated and ambitious

c)       Respond primarily to penalty power

d)      Need perquisites as a form of motivation

32.   You need to make an important decision quickly and you are reasonably confident that you already have the information needed to make a good decision. Which leadership style is appropriate?

a)      Autocratic

b)      Democratic

c)       Laissez-faire

d)      Ready-fire-aim

33.   Which of the following is not a form of power derived a project manager’s position?

a)      Penalty

b)      Reward

c)       Expert

d)      Formal

34.   What are the most common causes of conflict on a project?

a)      Schedules, project priories, personalities

b)      Schedules, project priories, resources

c)       Schedules, project priories, cost

d)      Schedules, personalities, project priories

35.   Which of the following is not a typical objective of a kick-off meeting?

a)      Identify and review project goals

b)      Present the detailed project management plan

c)       Achieve team commitment and buy-in

d)      Introduce key players

36.   Dan D. Mann is the Director of project management services for an explosives manufacturing conglomerate owned by Kennedy, Andersen, Burton, Oliver, Osteen and Millwood (KABOOM inc.) Dan’s desk is positioned nest entrance to the office suite and he arrives early every morning. He observes when employees arrive, monitors how long they are gone at lunch and frequently patrols the office area to prevent personal conversations and computer solitaire from hampering productivity. As a boss, which of the following motivation theories does Dan seem to follow most closely?

a)      Theory X

b)      Theory Y

c)       Hygiene factors

d)      Expectancy theory

37.   The design team is late in delivering their work to the test and evaluation team on a rather important and costly project. The project manager is aware of the problem but, in typical fashion, has done nothing. At breakfast this morning, Tabita Valikanas  (head of test and evaluation) reluctantly concluded that the project manager would probably not handle the problem. Realizing that she would have to handle the problem herself, which of the following actions should she take FIRST?

a)      Go directly to the project sponsor

b)      Go to the project manager and the sponsor

c)       Go to the manager of the design team and the PM

d)      Go to the change control board

38.   You are the lead negotiator for the government team in an endeavor to reach an agreement with a large company in Orlando, Florida. The company, Helicopter Universal Gyration Equippers (HUGE,) has a dozen representatives on their team from the areas of finance, engineering, production, procurement and project management. You are trying to start an initiative to jointly fund improvements in manufacturing processes and then share the resulting cost savings. On the second morning of negotiations, the procurement representative from HUGE misunderstood a comment you made and has begun to act in a belligerent and insulting manner. Among other angry remarks, he questioned whether a fence post is smarter than you. You realize that he thinks you have questioned his integrity. Which of the following conflict resolution techniques might be most appropriate at this point?

a)      Problem solving

b)      Compromise

c)       Smoothing

d)      Withdrawing

39.   You need qualified resources for a project that starts in two months. You have been directed to get these resources through an outside temporary hiring agency. You have perused the yellow pages and talked to several friends and have decided to use Bodies (Building on Diligence, Integrity, Expertise, & sobriety). What is the most important thing to emphasize?

a)      The requirements of the job and the specific skills needed

b)      The project objectives and the organizational structure

c)       The numerous expense-paid trips to Baghdad

d)      The communication technology in your organization

40.   As an experienced project manager, you personally believe that managing the human side of projects is crucial to your overall success. You are aware that the project management process for "manage project team" involves tracking team performance, providing feedback and resolving issues. Which 0f the following is not a tool of manage project team?

a)      Observation and conversation

b)      Performance appraisals

c)       Conflict management

d)      Ground rules

41.   You were provided with a graph that was inadvertently unlabeled. The graph contains vertical bars. The vertical axis tracks how many hours are needed for specific resources and the horizontal axis contains time frames. You instruct your assistant to have the graph labeled as a________ with the primary purpose of_________.

a)      Responsibility assignment matrix; identifying time frames when team members will perform assigned tasks

b)      Responsibility assignment matrix; identifying time frames when team members will attend training

c)       Resource histogram; identifying time frames when team members are needed

d)      Resource histogram; identifying time frames when training is needed

42.   The graph identified in question 41 above is part of the __________ management plan.

a)      Training

b)      Staffing

c)       Acquisition

d)      Teaming

43.   Your dynamic but troublesome duo, team members Patricia Norman and Dawn Carlson, are at it again. At your last meeting of key project team members, they got into a loud but entertaining argument. Patricia vehemently contended that, above all, communication must be truthful. Dawn countered that tact is also an absolute requirement and stated that Patricia should try it some time. They are discussing which classic theory?

a)      Blake and Mouton: Concern for Production vs. Concern for People

b)      Herzberg's Hygiene Factors

c)       Myers-Briggs: Thinking vs. Feeling

d)      Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Social vs. Self-Esteem