A manager presses HR to hire his nephew over better-qualified applicants. What is this practice called?Answer: Nepotism. Source: Wikipedia, "Nepotism". DSST outline area I (8%), d. Ethical aspects of human resource decision making
In a famous set of factory studies, workers' output rose when they knew they were being watched. What is this effect called?Answer: The Hawthorne effect. Source: Wikipedia, "Hawthorne effect". DSST outline area I (8%), a. Historical development
Which early approach to management, linked to Frederick Taylor, analyzed work flows to raise labor productivity?Answer: Scientific management. Source: Wikipedia, "Scientific management". DSST outline area I (8%), a. Historical development
Which set of tasks belongs to a human resource department?Answer: Recruitment, training and performance appraisal. Source: Wikipedia, "Human resource management". DSST outline area I (8%), b. Human resource functions
Show all 50 questions (46 more)
Human resource planning 5
A clerk who only filed forms is also given data entry and mail sorting, tasks at the same level. What is this change called?Answer: Job enlargement. Source: Wikipedia, "Job enlargement". DSST outline area II (9%), c. Job analysis and job design
A new analyst spends three months each in payroll, benefits and recruiting, at the same grade and pay. What is this practice called?Answer: Job rotation. Source: Wikipedia, "Job rotation". DSST outline area II (9%), c. Job analysis and job design
A team is given authority to plan its own schedule and check its own quality. Which job design approach is this?Answer: Job enrichment. Source: Wikipedia, "Job enrichment". DSST outline area II (9%), c. Job analysis and job design
What does the term "glass ceiling" describe?Answer: An unseen barrier that keeps a group from rising past a certain level. Source: Wikipedia, "Glass ceiling". DSST outline area II (9%), b. Workforce diversity and inclusion
Which process gathers information on a job's duties and the attributes a person needs to do it?Answer: Job analysis. Source: Wikipedia, "Job analysis". DSST outline area II (9%), c. Job analysis and job design
Staffing and talent acquisition 5
A company identifies and develops people to fill its key leadership posts when they fall vacant. What is this process?Answer: Succession planning. Source: Wikipedia, "Succession planning". DSST outline area III (11%), e. Voluntary turnover, retirement and succession planning
A firm pays a bonus to employees whose recommended candidates are hired. Which recruiting method is this?Answer: Employee referral. Source: Wikipedia, "Recruitment", section "Employee referrals". DSST outline area III (11%), a. Recruiting
Before making an offer, a call center lets applicants listen to difficult calls as well as easy ones. What is this practice?Answer: A realistic job preview. Source: Wikipedia, "Realistic job preview". DSST outline area III (11%), b. Selection
Candidates for a management post spend a day on group exercises, presentations, interviews and psychometric tests while assessors rate them. What is this selection process called?Answer: An assessment center. Source: Wikipedia, "Assessment centre". DSST outline area III (11%), b. Selection
Under the WARN Act, how much notice must a covered employer give before a plant closing or mass layoff?Answer: 60 calendar days. Source: Wikipedia, "Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988". DSST outline area III (11%), d. Reduction-in-force
Training and development 4
A senior engineer meets a new hire each month to advise her on her career. What is this relationship?Answer: Mentorship. Source: Wikipedia, "Mentorship". DSST outline area IV (9%), e. Development programs
Three months after a course, a trainer checks whether supervisors now use the coaching steps on the job. Which of Kirkpatrick's four levels is this?Answer: Behavior. Source: Wikipedia, "Donald Kirkpatrick". DSST outline area IV (9%), d. Training programs and methods
What does a training needs analysis look for?Answer: The gap between the training people have and the training they need. Source: Wikipedia, "Training needs analysis". DSST outline area IV (9%), d. Training programs and methods
What is onboarding?Answer: The way new employees gain the knowledge to become effective members. Source: Wikipedia, "Onboarding". DSST outline area IV (9%), a. Onboarding
Performance management (appraisals) 6
A firm requires managers to sort staff into a top 20 percent, a middle 70 percent and a bottom 10 percent. What is this method?Answer: Forced ranking. Source: Wikipedia, "Vitality curve". DSST outline area V (11%), b. Techniques
A manager and an employee agree on goals for the year and later review results against them. Which technique is this?Answer: Management by objectives. Source: Wikipedia, "Management by objectives". DSST outline area V (11%), b. Techniques
A supervisor is so impressed by an employee's punctuality that she rates him high on every other factor too. Which rating error is this?Answer: The halo effect. Source: Wikipedia, "Halo effect". DSST outline area V (11%), c. Challenges
An appraisal gathers ratings from an employee's manager, peers and direct reports as well as a self-rating. What is it called?Answer: 360-degree feedback. Source: Wikipedia, "360-degree feedback". DSST outline area V (11%), b. Techniques
What does a performance appraisal do?Answer: It documents and evaluates an employee's job performance. Source: Wikipedia, "Performance appraisal". DSST outline area V (11%), a. Reasons for performance evaluation
Which rating scale ties each point on the scale to a written example of job behavior?Answer: A behaviorally anchored rating scale. Source: Wikipedia, "Behaviorally anchored rating scales". DSST outline area V (11%), b. Techniques
Compensation and benefits 6
A company collapses fifteen narrow pay grades into four wide ones. What is this called?Answer: Broadbanding. Source: Wikipedia, "Broadbanding". DSST outline area VI (12%), b. Wage and salary administration
A plant shares with its workers the savings from productivity gains they achieve as a group. What is this plan?Answer: Gainsharing. Source: Wikipedia, "Profit sharing", section "Gainsharing". DSST outline area VI (12%), c. Compensation systems
A sewing plant pays each operator a set amount for every shirt finished, however long it takes. What is this pay system?Answer: Piecework. Source: Wikipedia, "Piece work". DSST outline area VI (12%), c. Compensation systems
An executive's contract promises large payments if she loses her job after a takeover. What is this clause called?Answer: A golden parachute. Source: Wikipedia, "Golden parachute". DSST outline area VI (12%), c. Compensation systems
What does job evaluation determine?Answer: The value of a job compared with other jobs in the organization. Source: Wikipedia, "Job analysis", on job evaluation. DSST outline area VI (12%), a. Job evaluation
Which benefit pays wage replacement and medical costs to employees hurt on the job, in exchange for giving up the right to sue the employer?Answer: Workers' compensation. Source: Wikipedia, "Workers' compensation". DSST outline area VI (12%), d. Benefits: mandatory and voluntary
Safety and health 6
The 1970 act that created OSHA also created an agency that researches work hazards and recommends ways to prevent them. Which agency?Answer: NIOSH. Source: Wikipedia, "National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health". DSST outline area VII (12%), d. Employer responsibility
An employer pays for free, confidential assessments, short-term counseling and referrals for its staff. What is this benefit?Answer: An employee assistance program. Source: Wikipedia, "Employee assistance program". DSST outline area VII (12%), b. Quality of work life and wellness
An inspector cites a plant under the general duty clause, although no specific standard was broken. What does that clause of the 1970 safety act demand of an employer?Answer: A workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. Source: OSHA, "OSH Act of 1970, Section 5: Duties". DSST outline area VII (12%), d. Employer responsibility
How does OSHA define workplace violence?Answer: Any act or threat of physical violence, harassment or intimidation at the work site. Source: OSHA, "Workplace Violence". DSST outline area VII (12%), c. Workplace security
Packers who repeat one wrist motion all shift begin to report pain and numbness. Which kind of occupational injury is this?Answer: A repetitive strain injury. Source: Wikipedia, "Repetitive strain injury". DSST outline area VII (12%), a. Occupational accidents and illness
Under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, what must an employer keep available for each hazardous chemical in the workplace?Answer: A safety data sheet. Source: Wikipedia, "Hazard Communication Standard". DSST outline area VII (12%), d. Employer responsibility
Employment law 6
A 45-year-old analyst is passed over for a younger hire because of her age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act covers her because it protects which group?Answer: Individuals who are at least 40 years of age. Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967". DSST outline area VIII (12%), a. Equal employment opportunity laws
A cashier who uses a wheelchair asks for a lower counter. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, what would allow the employer to refuse?Answer: When it would impose an undue hardship on the business. Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990". DSST outline area VIII (12%), a. Equal employment opportunity laws
A hiring rule turns away every applicant born abroad. Which of the five grounds protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does it touch?Answer: National origin. Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964". DSST outline area VIII (12%), a. Equal employment opportunity laws
A warehouse worker who qualifies under the Family and Medical Leave Act needs time off for the birth of a child. What does the act allow?Answer: Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in 12 months. Source: Wikipedia, "Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993". DSST outline area VIII (12%), b. Compensation and benefits related laws
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, what must a covered, non-exempt employee be paid for hours over 40 in a week?Answer: One and a half times the regular rate. Source: Wikipedia, "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938". DSST outline area VIII (12%), b. Compensation and benefits related laws
Which 1974 law sets minimum standards for private-sector pension plans?Answer: ERISA. Source: Wikipedia, "Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974". DSST outline area VIII (12%), b. Compensation and benefits related laws
Labor relations 5
A hospital and the nurses' union meet to settle pay scales and shift rules for the nurses as a group. What is this process called?Answer: Collective bargaining. Source: Wikipedia, "Collective bargaining". DSST outline area IX (10%), c. Collective bargaining
An employee believes the contract was broken when she was passed over for overtime. Under a union contract, what is her formal complaint called?Answer: A grievance. Source: Wikipedia, "Grievance (labour)". DSST outline area IX (10%), e. Contract management
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 created which body to oversee labor relations for federal employees?Answer: The Federal Labor Relations Authority. Source: Wikipedia, "Civil Service Reform Act of 1978". DSST outline area IX (10%), b. Labor laws
The Wagner Act of 1935 lets private-sector workers form unions, bargain as a group and strike. What is its formal name?Answer: The National Labor Relations Act. Source: Wikipedia, "National Labor Relations Act of 1935". DSST outline area IX (10%), b. Labor laws
What did the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 do about the closed shop?Answer: It outlawed it. Source: Wikipedia, "Taft-Hartley Act". DSST outline area IX (10%), b. Labor laws
Current issues and trends 3
A resume-screening program trained on a firm's past hires keeps favoring the kinds of applicants hired before. What is this problem called?Answer: Algorithmic bias. Source: Wikipedia, "Algorithmic bias". DSST outline area X (6%), f. Artificial intelligence (AI) awareness
Temporary staff, freelancers and independent contractors are together known as what?Answer: Contingent workers. Source: Wikipedia, "Contingent work". DSST outline area X (6%), b. Changing patterns of work relationships
What is a human resource information system?Answer: Software that holds employee data and handles payroll and benefits. Source: Wikipedia, "Human resource management system". DSST outline area X (6%), a. Human resource information systems
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the exam content outline in the DSST fact sheet for Human Resource Management (Prometric, Rev 1/2026, https://getcollegecredit.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/HUMAN-RESOURCE-MGT-1.pdf, read 2026-10-14): An Overview of the Human Resource Management Field 8%, Human Resource Planning 9%, Staffing / Talent Acquisition 11%, Training and Development 9%, Performance Management (Appraisals) 11%, Compensation and Benefits / Total Rewards 12%, Safety and Health 12%, Employment Law 12%, Labor Relations 10%, Current Issues and Trends 6%. This bank holds 50: 4, 5, 5, 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5 and 3, the nearest whole numbers to those shares. Every fact was read on 2026-10-14 on the public page named under its question: the statute texts published by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, pages of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Wikipedia. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This free human resources DSST study guide has 50 questions of our own on the Human Resource Management exam's ten areas. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Prometric, which owns the DSST exams.
Read the full guide
The ten areas and their weights
The fact sheet (Rev 1/2026) lists ten areas: overview of the field 8%, planning 9%, staffing 11%, training and development 9%, performance management 11%, compensation and benefits 12%, safety and health 12%, employment law 12%, labor relations 10%, current issues 6%.
The laws by name
The outline names Title VII, the ADA and the ADEA; ERISA, the FMLA and the FLSA; OSHA and WARN; and the NLRA, the Taft-Hartley Act and the Civil Service Reform Act. Each has a question here.
Compensation, safety and employment law are 12% each, over a third of the exam together.
Current issues, 6%, lists social media, sustainability and artificial intelligence awareness beside information systems and global HR.
Questions and answers
Is there a DSST Human Resource Management study guide?
Prometric publishes a free fact sheet for the exam: the ten-area outline, sample questions and three textbooks. This page works as a guide to it, with questions sorted by area and each answer tied to a statute page, an OSHA page or a Wikipedia article.
How many questions are on the Human Resources DSST exam?
The fact sheet says 100 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours. This page's bank is half that size, so its exam mode sets all 50 against a 60-minute clock.
What score do you need to pass the DSST Human Resource Management exam?
There is no published percent. ACE's recommendation is 3 semester hours of lower-level baccalaureate credit for a score of 400 or more, and each college sets its own policy on accepting it.
Are these real DSST Human Resource Management questions?
No, they are our own: 50 questions written from the ten outline areas and the public pages named under them, with no exam item or fact sheet sample copied or reworded. A good score here promises nothing on the exam.