Exam 1: Contemporary Labor Relations: Objectives, Practices, and Challenges

Since 1935,U.S.labor law has proved to be very adaptable to changes in the business climate including the decline of mass manufacturing,blurring distinctions between management and nonmanagement jobs,and globalization.

Explain why voluntary,market-based economic theory places property rights over worker rights and describe how worker rights are protected in this system.

Traditional adversarial bargaining relationships between employers and employees has made meeting employers' increasing need for ____________________ more difficult?

Compared to businesses in other countries,U.S.businesses are more likely to welcome the opportunity to bargain collectively with their employees.

With collective bargaining,the employer's __________________ authority is replaced with bilateral negotiations.

In 2012,Triple Play Sports Bar,was found to have committed an unfair labor practice when it unlawfully terminated the employment of two employees who had engaged in a Facebook conversation about the way their employer was handling tax withholdings.The National Labor Relations Board held that the discussion of their tax treatment was substantively related to wages,hours,and working conditions and therefore protected by the National Labor Relations Act.In what ways might the study of labor relations have prevented Triple Play from violating a federal law protecting worker rights?

Is the study of labor relations still relevant in today's workplace?

Which of the following characterizes the current business environment as compared to that at the time the National Labor Relations Act was passed?

A ________________ perspective sees the employment relationship as analogous to a political society in which multiple parties have legitimate but sometimes conflicting interests and rights.

Which of the following can at least partially explain the decline in union density rates in the United States since the 1960's?

From a societal standpoint,the weakened position of unions in the U.S.is potentially problematic for all of the following reasons except:

Conflicts between employers and employees are seen as conflicts between the _____________ rights of employers and workers' rights of the employees.

Which of the following is not considered an argument for treating employees as "more" than simply another commodity that can be bought and sold in the labor market?

An employer creates a safety team of 6 employees who are asked to recommend changes to the workplace that will reduce accident rates.The team recommends eliminating a job rotation program that allows the employer to move employees in and out of various jobs on an as-needed basis.They argue that job rotation both increases employee stress and reduces the amount of experience that employees have with the various safety procedures associated with a particular job.This scenario describes a conflict between which two objectives of the employment relationship?

When an employer uses an employee suggestion box to gather ideas and concerns from its employees,it is primarily addressing the labor relations goal of efficiency.

The goals of efficiency,equity,and voice in the workplace rarely conflict with one another.

The legal doctrine stating that employers have the right to fire employees for "good cause,for no cause,or even for cause morally wrong" is known as the __________________ doctrine.

Explain the objectives of the employment relationship from the perspective of employers,employees,and society.Give at least one example of how these perspectives may conflict.

From a societal standpoint,the main purpose of a labor relations system is:

Which of the following best summarizes the trends in U.S.union density since the 1980s?