Pass the HRCI HRCI certification GPHR Questions and answers with CertsForce

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Reduction of Office Rental and Mortgage Costs– If the workforce is furloughed, operations can be paused, reducingoverhead costs, including rent and utilities, particularly innon-essential or closed facilities.

Increased Near-Term Labor Demands Anticipated– Furloughs are temporary; they preserve the workforce for aquick return to operations, ideal whenbusiness recovery is expected soon.

GPHR Study Guide Extract – Workforce Relations and Risk Management / Downsizing and Alternative Workforce Strategies:

“Furloughs are temporary suspensions of employment where employees retain their jobs and benefits but are not actively working. They are advantageous when short-term cost reduction is needed, and the organization anticipates a rebound in labor demand.”

Layoffs, by contrast, are often permanent and lead tolonger rehiring cyclesandpotential loss of skilled labor.

Cross-border teams withshared leadership responsibilitiesfosterglobal collaborationandknowledge transfer. This aligns with thetransnational model, which balances global integration with local responsiveness.

GPHR Concept:Transnational HR strategies emphasize cross-functional, cross-border collaboration.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Inmediation, participation isvoluntary, which means:

Either party may withdraw at any time

No resolution can be forced

It requires mutual willingness to cooperate

This can limit its effectiveness if one party resists.

GPHR Study Guide Extract – Workforce Relations and Risk Management / Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods:

“Mediation is a voluntary process that relies on the willingness of both parties to participate. While it promotes mutual understanding, its success depends on engagement from both sides.”​

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Thehome-based paystructure keeps expatriates' compensation tied to their country of origin, often using a balance sheet approach that maintains living standards consistent with their home country. This can make it difficult to transition these employees to local salaries, particularly if they've been on assignment for a long time and have grown accustomed to higher compensation levels.

GPHR Topic Reference:

Global Compensation and Benefits – Expatriate Compensation Approaches:

“Home-country-based balance sheet approaches can create long-term inequities and hinder the ability to transition expatriates into localized roles.”

Balancing global consistency withlocal cultural observanceis essential. A flexible, inclusive calendar respectsdiversitywhile maintaining HR policy structure.

GPHR Concept:Culturally responsive HR practices improve engagement and reduce cultural missteps.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

The issue should be addressed through aperformance management lens. Whether the behavior is due to alcohol or another cause, the manager’s role is to:

Document the behavior(tardiness, absenteeism, inappropriate conduct)

Apply organizational policies consistently

Initiate disciplinary or support actionbased on performance, not assumptions

GPHR Study Guide Extract – Workforce Relations and Risk Management / Managing Performance Abroad:

“Issues such as substance abuse should be addressed based on their impact on performance and team dynamics. Documented evidence and consistent HR policies must guide any disciplinary or repatriation action.”

Jumping to conclusions or acting on unverified suspicions can create legal and ethical risks.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

While theS.M.A.R.T.framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) is a helpful tool, the most critical aspect here isalignment. When global employees input goals into an HRIS for the first time, ensuring that those goals are directlylinked to organizational strategyis essential for:

Performance management

Strategic clarity

Shared accountability

GPHR Study Guide Extract – Talent and Organizational Development / Goal Setting and Alignment:

“The integration of employee goals with corporate strategy ensures consistency and alignment across geographies. Strategic goal alignment enhances employee understanding of their contributions to business success.”

Aligning employee goals to company-wide strategy is especially crucial in decentralized organizations where business units may otherwise lack a unified direction.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Each country hasunique benefit expectations, regulatory requirements, and delivery mechanisms. This makes it incredibly complex to:

Ensure competitive parity

Achieve compliance

Adapt programs to cultural norms

GPHR Study Guide Extract – Global Compensation and Benefits / Benefits Strategy and Design:

“The wide variety of approaches to benefits—from state-funded healthcare to mandated pensions—creates one of the most difficult design challenges in global HR strategy.”

This complexity exceeds technical or cost challenges, requiringdeep local expertise and cross-border coordination.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

While legal compliance and awareness matter, theprimary objectiveof D&I initiatives isbusiness impact— improving innovation, collaboration, and performance byharnessing diverse perspectives.

GPHR Study Guide Extract – Strategic Global Human Resources / Diversity and Inclusion Strategy:

“The true value of D&I lies in its ability to enhance productivity by tapping into the full range of employee skills, perspectives, and experiences.”​

Gender balance and affinity groups support inclusion, butproductivity is the strategic outcome.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

TheOECDdoes not enforce legal mandates. Instead, it issuesvoluntary guidelinesthatmember countries are encouraged to adopt. These recommendations covercorporate responsibility,employment standards, andethical labor practices.

GPHR Study Guide Extract – Workforce Relations and Risk Management / International Employment Standards:

“OECD guidelines are voluntary principles and standards for responsible business conduct addressed to multinational enterprises. They are non-binding and are designed to complement existing labor laws and ILO conventions.”

This makes OECD guidelinesadvisory, unlikeILO conventions, which can beratifiedandlegally binding.