Exam 13: Developing Employee Relations

Policy-setting meetings should close with an action plan and a follow-up memo.

An informal communication tool available to managers that helps them build rapport with employees is:

Effective employee relations is primarily built upon:

Which of the following is most likely associated with e-mail in the workplace?

Public recognition rewards are most effective and fair when a recipient's direct supervisor is a member of the rewards committee.

A(n)________ is a worker who transforms information into a product or service.

With the shift from manufacturing to technology,communication is less important than technical skills for organizational success.

Additional Case 13.1 The HR department at Devlin Enterprises has a variety of communication tasks it has been assigned to handle. First, Isabelle, the HR benefits specialist, needs to communicate recent benefits policy changes to all employees at Devlin. Second, Randall, an operations manager, wants to provide feedback to his subordinates about their performance in his TQM program. Randall also wants to let other managers and employees at Devlin know how well his TQM teams are performing each day. Finally, David, a customer service manager, requests low-cost training for some of his customer service representatives who work from off-site telemarketing centers. -Refer to Additional Case 13.1.David is concerned that his remote customer service representatives are spending too much time with personal e-mails.David wants to set up a system to monitor employee e-mails.Such an action would most likely:

It is important for a company to have an appeals process.This process may take any one of several different shapes.Explain what types of decisions employees commonly appeal and explain how a firm might implement an appeals process.

Memos are most appropriate for conveying:

For a suggestion system to be effective,it should:

Which of the following is a true statement about EAP programs?

Additional Case 13.2 Starline is a small children's clothing manufacturer and retailer that has seen rapid growth in the last twelve months and a significant increase in employees. At a meeting of managers, a number of issues are raised. One manager suggests establishing an EAP because of the increase in troubled employees at the firm. However, other managers state that such programs are costly and would not provide Starline with significant benefits. Another manager states that Starline needs to develop an employee handbook to address issues related to the growing staff. Some managers express concern about the potential legal issues surrounding the use of an employee handbook. Numerous managers state that there has been a noticeable decrease in productivity since every office worker was provided Internet access along with e-mail accounts. Managers discuss methods for increasing productivity and preventing misuse of the system. One manager suggests that the company perform employee attitude surveys in order to help monitor the state of employee relations and make hiring and firing decisions during the next hiring cycle. This manager proposes that a third party perform the surveys and that employees not be told the purpose of the survey. -Refer to Additional Case 13.2.Which term best describes the type of communication that occurred at the meeting between Starline managers?

The speak-up program at CIGNA is an open door policy that:

Ray wants to gather input from all operations managers at the firm.The managers are located in four different states.Ray needs a low-cost way to bring them together and permit immediate interaction.Ray's best choice would be:

Suggestion systems are an important part of employee assistance programs.

In order to express feelings most effectively,face-to-face communication is a necessity because of nonverbal messages.

A negative aspect of informal communication is that it:

Additional Case 13.2 Starline is a small children's clothing manufacturer and retailer that has seen rapid growth in the last twelve months and a significant increase in employees. At a meeting of managers, a number of issues are raised. One manager suggests establishing an EAP because of the increase in troubled employees at the firm. However, other managers state that such programs are costly and would not provide Starline with significant benefits. Another manager states that Starline needs to develop an employee handbook to address issues related to the growing staff. Some managers express concern about the potential legal issues surrounding the use of an employee handbook. Numerous managers state that there has been a noticeable decrease in productivity since every office worker was provided Internet access along with e-mail accounts. Managers discuss methods for increasing productivity and preventing misuse of the system. One manager suggests that the company perform employee attitude surveys in order to help monitor the state of employee relations and make hiring and firing decisions during the next hiring cycle. This manager proposes that a third party perform the surveys and that employees not be told the purpose of the survey. -Refer to Additional Case 13.2.Which of the following is the most appropriate response to concerns about an employee handbook?

A program designed to improve employee communications by giving employees a voice in policy formulation and making sure that they receive due process on any complaints they lodge against managers is referred to as a(n)________.