Deck 6: Positive Discipline

Question 1

Under extreme circumstances it may be in the supervisor's best interest to take disciplinary action in public.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

If the offense is relatively minor and the employee has no disciplinary record, a written warning is necessary to prove action has been taken.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Regardless of the severity of the offense, a supervisor must maintain self-control when disciplining employees.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

If an employee violates a workplace policy after receiving a verbal warning, the next step would be to suspend the employee without pay.

Question 5

In addition to the employee involved, the supervisor's investigation of an alleged infraction may require questioning other employees who may have relevant information.

Question 6

When a situation arises, before doing anything else the supervisor should investigate what happened and why.

Question 7

If the supervisor does not take appropriate action when required, some of the other employees may be inclined to follow the poor examples of behavior in the workplace.

Question 8

If the supervisor does not take action when required the behavior will most likely continue, but only among those employees who previously misbehaved.

Question 9

Because individuals do not always agree on what are acceptable standards of conduct, top-level managers must rely on employees to use their better judgement.

Question 10

Infractions of rules concerning time schedules, rest periods, procedures and safety are among some of the most common situations requiring supervisory action.

Question 11

It is best for upper management to create ethical codes and policies without input from employees and supervisors.

Question 12

Positive employee discipline requires company rules that are reasonable and well communicated.

Question 13

Positive self-discipline is when employees regulate their behavior out of self-interest.

Question 14

Randy's supervisor has given him a written reprimand for a violation of workplace rules; by this we can infer that Randy's infraction was minor but repetitive or was a more serious infraction that has occurred for the first time.

Question 15

The supervisor should always take quick action in disciplinary situations in order to make an example of the offender.

Question 16

Employees at the departmental level will take most of their cues for self-discipline from their supervisors and managers.

Question 17

A supervisor does not need to have "just cause" to take disciplinary action against an employee.

Question 18

A supervisor should maintain self-control unless the employee's actions are severe.

Question 19

Morale is a composite of the attitudes and feelings that people have toward their work, whereas discipline is primarily a state of mind.

Question 20

In the case of insubordination a supervisor might have a good reason to publicly discipline an employee.

Question 21

Supervisors who do not discipline employees consistently often create doubts among employees as to what the rules really are.

Question 22

No-fault attendance policies do not take into consideration any excuses for being absent to work.

Question 23

If an employee is transferred to another department as part of a disciplinary action, the employee's new supervisor should not be told of the circumstances surrounding the transfer so as not to unfairly bias the supervisor against the employee.

Question 24

When treated unfairly, employees either go with the flow or leave the organization.

Question 25

Transferring an employee to another department usually takes place when supervisors are looking for someone else to deal with the employee so they don't have to go through the termination process.

Question 26

Employment-at-will is the legal concept that employers can dismiss employees at any time and for any reason, except for unlawful discrimination and contractual or other restrictions.

Question 27

The right to appeal gives employees the opportunity to request higher level management to review the supervisor's disciplinary action.

Question 28

The hot stove rule does not believe in advance warning because immediate action must be taken when violations occur.

Question 29

Immediacy means that the supervisor should take disciplinary action as promptly as possible.

Question 30

If a rule has not been enforced in the past, it cannot be enforced in the future.

Question 31

Timothy arrives at work two hours late because his car wouldn't start. If his company has a no-fault attendance policy, he will not be disciplined for being late if he provides his supervisor with a note from his mechanic verifying his story.

Question 32

All employees who commit the same or a similar offense should be penalized.

Question 33

An employee who states, "I'll show them--they can take this job and shove it!" is demonstrating the flight approach to unfair treatment.

Question 34

Organizations that have implemented a discipline without punishment approach have seen employee morale improve.

Question 35

A written warning is a formal document that becomes a permanent part of the employee's record.

Question 36

One of the drawbacks of the disciplinary layoff is that the loss of a trained worker may hurt production.

Question 37

The right to appeal a disciplinary action is merely a formality and not a privilege.

Question 38

The supervisor who feels inclined to be lenient every now and then is doing the employees no favor.

Question 39

For serious employee offenses, discharge is usually preferable to demotion.

Question 40

If an organization has an employee handbook that contains rules and regulations, there is little need for the supervisor to inform the employees about the rules.

Question 41

It is _____ acceptable to discipline an employee in public.

A) Never.
B) Sometimes.
C) Usually.
D) Always.

Question 42

Which of the following is generally considered to be the LEAST desirable form of disciplinary action?

A) Layoff (suspension).
B) Discharge.
C) Transfer.
D) Demotion.

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT a form of disciplinary action?

A) Verbal counseling.
B) Written Reprimand.
C) Suspension.
D) Transfer.

Question 44

Which of the following violates the principle of just cause?

A) A company launches a criminal investigation into allegations that an employee has been intentionally making mistakes in his work to "get back at" his supervisor.
B) David is disciplined because a co-worker, Bonita, tells their supervisor that David has been making personal long-distance calls on company telephones.
C) Employees are notified by their supervisor that they will be disciplined if they leave work before an important job is finished that day.
D) Seth has been with his employer for two years and has a perfect service record. Today, however, his supervisor saw him use a tool unsafely on the shop floor. The supervisor briefly chats with Seth about proper use of tools.

Question 45

Antonio is a supervisor at Croton Industries and has noticed that one of his best employees has been tardy three times in the last month. He also knows that one of his average producers has also been tardy a few times this month. Antonio should:

A) Ignore the tardiness of both employees as it is such a minor problem.
B) Give both employees an informal talk to change the behavior.
C) Give the excellent worker an informal talk and the average worker a written warning.
D) Fire both workers and start advertising for workers who will show up on time each and every day.

Question 46

An example of progressive discipline would be:

A) Written warning, discharge, demotion.
B) Written warning, oral warning, suspension.
C) Oral warning, written warning, suspension, discharge.
D) Oral warning, disciplinary layoff, written warning.

Question 47

Organizations that have implemented discipline without punishment have reported:

A) Improved employee morale.
B) Improved productivity.
C) Improved employee-supervisor relations.
D) Improved customer satisfaction.

Question 48

At the end of the day, Jerrold sees that Mike has neglected to turn off the machine he operates. As Mike's supervisor, Jerrold knows that this is serious offense, and gives him an oral warning right away. Jerrold's action is an example of which element of the hot stove rule?

A) Advance warning.
B) Impersonality.
C) Immediacy.
D) Consistency.

Question 49

Which of the following statements regarding an employee's right to appeal is TRUE?

A) An employee has the right to appeal only when the issue is termination.
B) The right to appeal is solely a union employee right.
C) The right to appeal is simply a formality that follows every disciplinary action.
D) Supervisors and upper-level management should develop and foster an open realistic procedure for an employee's right to appeal.

Question 50

Employees learn about the rules of conduct that they will be expected to follow from a number of sources within the company. Which of the following usually is NOT one of these?

A) Weekly briefings by the shop steward and union representatives.
B) Rules and regulations included in the employee handbook.
C) Booklets on various safety rules and technical regulations.
D) Statements made by the supervisor and his/her application of rules.

Question 51

Employees at the department level will take most of their cues for self-discipline from:

A) No one.
B) Colleagues.
C) Supervisors.
D) Top management.

Question 52

The hot stove rule includes:

A) Advance warning.
B) Immediacy.
C) Impersonality.
D) All of the above.

Question 53

When confronted with disciplinary problems from employees, the supervisor should:

A) Take immediate action to discourage other employees from demonstrating similar behavior.
B) Ignore the problem employee and hope that the "silent treatment" is effective.
C) Handle the matter in public to set an example.
D) Avoid taking action quickly, since some disciplinary situations can and should be overlooked.

Question 54

Where disciplinary action is concerned, which of the following is an UNCOMMON situation?

A) Arriving to work late.
B) Having a bad attitude.
C) Calling in sick.
D) Consuming illegal substances on the job.

Question 55

Carlos has just resolved three different disciplinary cases involving tardiness issues with three different employees. Each employee was given a different disciplinary action. One employee received a written warning, one employee received an informal talk, and another received suspension or layoff. Which of the following circumstances would warrant such action on the part of Carlos?

A) Nothing would warrant such differences in treatment.
B) The employees got along differently with Carlos.
C) One worker was from a protected group, and Carlos didn't like one of the others.
D) The three employees had different records of previous offenses of the same nature.

Question 56

Marcos works for an employer who is routinely dumping toxic waste into the nearby river. If he reports this first to the corporate ombudsman and nothing is done, and then to the local press, we would call him a(n):

A) Do-gooder.
B) Whistle-blower.
C) Stool pigeon.
D) None of the above.

Question 57

When conducting an investigation, the supervisor should interview:

A) Only the employee involved.
B) Only fellow supervisors.
C) Only the employees with relevant information pertaining to the situation.
D) None of the above.

Question 58

On average, how many hours per day do employees spend on non-work-related Internet abuse and misuse?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 4
D) 8

Question 59

What is positive discipline? positive self-discipline?

Question 60

When disciplining an employee who is a member of a labor union, the supervisor should:

A) Have representatives of both management and union present when disciplinary action is communicated to the employee.
B) Ensure that the union is notified after the disciplinary action has been communicated.
C) Communicate the disciplinary action through the union.
D) Discipline the employee in public to "show up" the union.

Question 61

List the six steps of progressive disciplinary action cited in the text, in order of increasing severity. Which of these action is an organization LEAST likely to take against an employee? Why?

Question 62

Simone is a supervisor at Bales Machinery. According to the employee handbook, smoking is prohibited everywhere on company property, but this rule has not been enforced in years. Three of Simone's employees like to gather at break time in front of the loading dock and smoke. Today, Simone noticed these employees smoking at break time and immediately gave them each a written warning for violating company policy. None of the three had ever been a disciplinary problem before. Comment on Simone's actions.

Question 63

What does the "right to appeal" mean in terms of disciplinary action?

Question 64

What is the difference between the fight and flight approaches to unfair treatment in the workplace?

Question 65

Sal is a wonderful employee, who has a long history with the organization, and can usually be counted on to get his work done on time. Paul, his supervisor, has noticed that Sal has demonstrated some attitude problems over the past several months accompanied by a diminished work output. Paul has given Sal some oral warnings about his behavior to no avail. Paul does not wish to further discipline Sal, but knows that something needs to be done. What other alternative is available for Paul to use?

Question 66

It important to discipline employees in private. Why is this the case? In which circumstances should a supervisor take public disciplinary action?

Question 67

What is the purpose of a statement of ethical codes?