ACCA BT · Chapter 12
Recruitment, selection, training and development MCQs with Answers
10 multiple-choice questions on Recruitment, selection, training and development for ACCA BT Business and Technology. Try each one before revealing the answer and explanation.
Practise this chapter interactivelyQuestion 1
Which document sets out the qualifications, experience, skills and personal qualities required of a person to do a particular job?
- A) A job description
- B) A job advertisement
- C) An employment contract
- D) A person specification
Show answer & explanation
Answer: D) A person specification
A person specification describes the ideal candidate in terms of attributes such as qualifications, experience, skills and disposition. A job description describes the job itself (purpose, tasks, responsibilities and reporting lines). The advertisement and contract are produced later in the recruitment and appointment process.
Question 2
Rodger's seven-point plan is used as a framework for which of the following?
- A) Drawing up a person specification
- B) Evaluating the effectiveness of training
- C) Designing an appraisal interview
- D) Analysing a team's role balance
Show answer & explanation
Answer: A) Drawing up a person specification
Rodger's seven-point plan sets out attributes against which candidates are assessed: physical make-up, attainments, general intelligence, special aptitudes, interests, disposition and circumstances. Munro Fraser's five-fold grading is an alternative framework. Training evaluation uses models such as Hamblin's, and team role balance uses Belbin.
Question 3
Which of the following is an advantage of recruiting internally rather than externally?
- A) It brings new ideas and perspectives into the organisation
- B) It always produces a larger pool of applicants
- C) It avoids creating a vacancy elsewhere in the organisation
- D) The candidate is already familiar with the organisation's culture and procedures, reducing induction time
Show answer & explanation
Answer: D) The candidate is already familiar with the organisation's culture and procedures, reducing induction time
Internal candidates know the organisation, their performance is already known, and promotion can motivate staff, while induction time and recruitment costs are reduced. External recruitment is more likely to bring fresh ideas and a wider pool, and internal recruitment typically creates another vacancy to fill.
Question 4
An organisation wants a selection method that tests how candidates would actually perform on key tasks of the job, such as handling a set of typical emails under time pressure. Which method is most appropriate?
- A) An unstructured interview
- B) A personality questionnaire
- C) A work sample test such as an in-tray exercise
- D) Reference checking
Show answer & explanation
Answer: C) A work sample test such as an in-tray exercise
Work sample tests, such as in-tray exercises, ask candidates to perform tasks representative of the job and tend to have good predictive validity. Unstructured interviews are prone to bias, personality questionnaires measure traits rather than task performance, and references provide others' opinions of past performance.
Question 5
Which of the following is a weakness of interviews as a selection method?
- A) They allow the candidate to ask questions about the organisation
- B) Interviewers may be influenced by first impressions or by candidates who are similar to themselves
- C) They enable the interviewer to explore gaps in the application form
- D) They allow the candidate's communication skills to be assessed
Show answer & explanation
Answer: B) Interviewers may be influenced by first impressions or by candidates who are similar to themselves
Interviews are prone to biases such as the halo effect, first-impression bias and 'similar to me' bias, which reduce their reliability as predictors of job performance. The other options are recognised advantages of interviews.
Question 6
Kolb's experiential learning cycle consists of four stages. What is the correct sequence?
- A) Concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, active experimentation
- B) Reflective observation, concrete experience, active experimentation, abstract conceptualisation
- C) Abstract conceptualisation, concrete experience, reflective observation, active experimentation
- D) Active experimentation, abstract conceptualisation, concrete experience, reflective observation
Show answer & explanation
Answer: A) Concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, active experimentation
Kolb's cycle runs from having a concrete experience, reflecting on it (reflective observation), drawing conclusions and theories from it (abstract conceptualisation), and then testing those ideas in practice (active experimentation), which creates new experience. Learners can enter at any point but the order of progression is fixed.
Question 7
According to Honey and Mumford, which type of learner prefers to understand the underlying concepts and logic, and likes to learn from models and structured theories?
- A) Activist
- B) Reflector
- C) Pragmatist
- D) Theorist
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Answer: D) Theorist
Theorists like to understand principles and fit observations into logical frameworks. Activists learn best from new experiences and hands-on involvement, reflectors prefer to observe and think before acting, and pragmatists learn best when they can see the practical application of ideas.
Question 8
Hamblin identified five levels at which training can be evaluated. At which level is the trainer assessing whether trainees are applying their new skills in their day-to-day work?
- A) Reaction
- B) Job behaviour
- C) Learning
- D) Ultimate value
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Answer: B) Job behaviour
Hamblin's levels are reaction (trainees' feelings about the training), learning (what they have learned), job behaviour (whether learning has been applied at work), organisation (the effect on departmental performance) and ultimate value (the effect on the organisation's overall goals). Application in day-to-day work is the job behaviour level.
Question 9
Which of the following is the best description of 'development' as distinct from 'training'?
- A) Development teaches the specific skills needed for an employee's current job
- B) Development is a broader process of growth that prepares an individual for future roles and career progression
- C) Development is only provided to new employees during induction
- D) Development is always delivered in a classroom by external providers
Show answer & explanation
Answer: B) Development is a broader process of growth that prepares an individual for future roles and career progression
Training focuses on acquiring specific knowledge and skills for the current job, whereas development is a wider, longer-term process aimed at realising an individual's potential and preparing them for future responsibilities. Development can include job rotation, mentoring, secondments and education, and is not limited to induction or classroom delivery.
Question 10
Which of the following is generally a main purpose of a staff appraisal system?
- A) To decide which candidates should be invited for interview
- B) To calculate the statutory deductions from employees' pay
- C) To set the organisation's long-term strategic objectives
- D) To review past performance and identify training and development needs
Show answer & explanation
Answer: D) To review past performance and identify training and development needs
Appraisal systematically reviews an individual's performance, provides feedback, agrees future objectives and identifies training and development needs; it may also inform reward and promotion decisions. Shortlisting candidates is a selection task, payroll deductions are a finance task, and strategic objectives are set by the board.