Deck 11: Global Employee Relations

Question 1

Employee relations (ER) is best considered as the field within human resource management that consists of matters dealing with:

A)union employees.
B)non-union employees.
C)industrial and labor relations (ILR).
D)both union and non-union employees.

Answer 1

both union and non-union employees.

Question 2

The parties that make up the primary employment relationship underlying an organization's employee relations (ER) activity are the:

A)organization and employees.
B)organization and government regulations.
C)employees and the unions representing them.
D)employees and local legal systems.

Answer 2

organization and employees.

Question 3

The most common form of forced labor is:

A)Imposed by the military (official or guerilla).
B)Slavery.
C)Bonded servitude.
D)Related to sexual economic exploitation.

Answer 3

Bonded servitude.

Question 4

A great majority of forced labor cases in industrialized counties is due to:

A)bonded servitude.
B)illegal recruitment among the socio-economically disadvantaged.
C)threats of firing if extra working hours are not accepted by employees.
D)human trafficking from developing countries.

Question 5

Which region has the greatest incidence of child labor?

A)Latin America
B)Sub-Saharan Africa
C)Eastern Europe
D)Asia/Pacific

Question 6

As part of a vicious cycle, child labor is recognized as a cause of poverty because it:

A)contributes to unemployment by depriving other adults of work opportunities.
B)deprives children of the education they need to find suitable employment at an appropriate age.
C)causes downward pressure on wages, thus keeping overall wages for lower-level jobs at or below the poverty line.
D)supports and reinforces the emphasis in a country's economy on industries characterized by low-paying assembly and manufacturing jobs.

Question 7

Many MNCs are finding that they face a(an) __________, in which their legal liability for unfair discrimination can cross national borders to protect their expatriate employees assigned to other countries where antidiscrimination laws may be weak or nonexistent.

A)border transfer principle
B)global rights regulation
C)extraterritoriality effect
D)multinational legal accountability requirement

Question 8

International and local __________, compared to the overall decreasing influence of unions, are increasingly vocal and influential in bringing changes and improvements in employee safety and rights protection.

A)NGOs
B)EAPs
C)labor collectives
D)worker councils

Question 9

Although companies may truthfully deny conscious intent to discriminate, statistical patterns of HR practices (such as related to hiring and promotion) may point to unfair discrimination against protected groups, such as women and minorities, leading to a condition called __________.

A)prejudiced treatment
B)biased HR practice
C)unfair labor practice
D)disparate impact

Question 10

As illustrated by Alcoa's strategic focus on employee safety, besides reducing operating costs associated with workplace accidents and injury, attention to health and safety also can point to opportunities for

A)work process innovation.
B)improved employee recruitment.
C)employee skill development.
D)new job creation.

Question 11

Organizations holding managers accountable for their contributions represents which major priority for achieving success in planning and dealing with employee health and safety?

A)Ongoing Risk Assessment
B)Regular Audits and Inspections
C)Ongoing Communication and Training
D)Management Support

Question 12

General trends across diverse industries have found that which employees tend to have fewer accidents?

A)Motivated employees
B)Older employees
C)Younger employees
D)Employees newer to the job who tend to be more cautious

Question 13

This is a form of professional support that organizations can provide for employees who are experiencing emotional or psychological difficulty that interferes with both employee well-being and overall productivity.

A)Employee Attraction Program
B)Employee Achievement Potential
C)Employee Assistance Program
D)Environmental Awareness and Planning

Question 14

Especially for employees from high __________ cultures, providing upward constructive feedback directly face-to-face to their supervisors for performance improvement.

A)Individualist
B)Uncertainty Avoidance
C)Masculine
D)Power Distance

Question 15

In this typically last step of an orderly process of employee grievance and dispute resolution an unbiased third party examines the evidence and makes a final decision.

A)arbitration
B)ombudsperson
C)mediation
D)peer review

Question 16

The most important purpose of employee correction and discipline is

A)improved company profitability.
B)workplace justice and perceived fairness.
C)employee performance improvement.
D)workplace morale enhancement.

Question 17

This analogy was described as useful in illustrating key characteristics of an effective disciplinary system, such as impartial, consistent, and immediate.

A)Hot stove
B)Free, open marketplace
C)Bee hive
D)Professional orchestra

Question 18

In this alternative to a layoff or redundancy strategy, two or more employees share a position for an indefinite period:

A)furloughs
B)job-sharing
C)redeployment
D)coordinated leave

Question 19

Some cultures have a federally legislated principle called __________, where worker councils and company board representation are required for addressing employee interests and concerns.

A)worker interest representation
B)collective bargaining
C)status equalization
D)co-determination

Question 20

Labor unions may restrict MNC strategic options and flexibility by:

A)limiting a company's ability to utilize effective employee involvement initiatives.
B)closing down plants and transferring work to operations in other countries.
C)increasing production in parallel operations in other countries.
D)compensating employees indefinitely for remaining on strike, thus paralyzing local company operations.

Question 21

One way in which MNCs can be vulnerable to unions is:

A)through unions forcing MNCs to move their operations to less-costly countries.
B)through unions influencing the increased hiring of knowledge workers.
C)through union influence on local governments against reduced employee costs.
D)by using union dues to reward employees for not cooperating with management.

Question 22

Which of the following represents a potential advantage of an MNC over a domestic labor union?

A)Influencing local government requirements for wage and benefits levels
B)Restricting the ability to unilaterally change employment levels
C)Increasing production in parallel operations in other countries
D)Limiting the ability to utilize active employee participation and involvement initiatives linked to productivity

Question 23

Employee relations is the broad area of human resources dealing with the nature and quality of the relationship between organizations and their employees.

Question 24

Unlike other areas of HR, employee relations primarily deals internally with the nature in which employees' needs are protected and served by their employing organizations, with little influence by external forces.

Question 25

Global competitive pressure for foreign direct investment and lower labor costs have contributed to increased global labor force vulnerability to workplace abuse.

Question 26

Globally, the majority of cases of forced labor are created by private agents for the purpose of sexual economic exploitation.

Question 27

Generally, nonsexual economic exploitation in many cases can be combined with government-imposed forced labor because governments often provide contracted services for MNCs through their state-owned enterprises.

Question 28

Human trafficking is involved in the majority of cases of forced labor for economic exploitation.

Question 29

Human trafficking typically involves the illegal transfer of workers from industrialized countries to developing countries.

Question 30

Organizations, in the interest of securing cheap labor contracts in their own domestic context, often overlook their due diligence responsibilities regarding the documentation details and working conditions of their contracted workers.

Question 31

An extreme, inflexible policy against all child labor, even part-time, under the age of 18 could prove more harmful than the child labor itself.

Question 32

Although unfair employee discrimination should be avoided for ethical reasons to protect an individual's interests and rights, there is little to argue against discrimination based on productivity reasons alone.

Question 33

Despite a MNC's location of home headquarters, it typically still is subject to the anti-discrimination laws of the host country.

Question 34

Besides decreased performance capability and increased legal liability due to workplace discrimination, companies can suffer significant damage in image and reputation among consumers and potential employees.

Question 35

Although a MNC may be barred from illegal discriminatory practices in their headquarters home country, their employees are not legally protected from such practices when they are assigned by the MNC as expatriates to other countries.

Question 36

Competitive pressures of globalization and technological advancements contribute to increased job insecurity and displacement in developing as well as industrialized countries.

Question 37

An unfortunate reality in ER is that an ethical commitment to meeting employee health and safety needs also tends to conflict with a company's productivity and competitive performance goals.

Question 38

Measures aimed at improving occupational safety and health can help considerably in raising the sustained performance and productivity of workers.

Question 39

Internal company factors such as company culture, general management philosophy, and prevailing management style can be very influential in determining ER policy and practices despite heavy governmental regulations and union pressure.

Question 40

Disparate or adverse impact, with its focus on actual statistical patterns of employment practices, is a tool to surface unfair discriminatory practices regardless of conscious intention or motive.

Question 41

Where necessary, management must work to counter deep cultural values that discourage the timely reporting of safety threats or violations, or that do not support healthy workplace lifestyles or work behavior.

Question 42

Both ongoing health and safety risk assessment and audits and inspections should be conducted at local operations by independent inspectors rather than local managers.

Question 43

Safety inspections and audits conducted by independent and impartial groups external to the company can raise external credibility and enhance company reputation, as well as raise standards and expectations in the global business environment.

Question 44

Although employee incentives have been found to be very successful in lowering accident rates and safety and health care costs, approaches using competition (internal or external to the firm) have been found to invariably fail.

Question 45

An important ethical goal of employee relations that also has important bottom-line benefits includes the design of work that is personally satisfying and meaningful beyond just providing a job to support personal and family livelihood.

Question 46

Organizations should develop clear procedures, both formal and informal, for airing employee dissatisfaction and complaints.

Question 47

To be fair and effective, MNCs should be consistent and use the same standardized procedures in accessing employees' honest concerns and input across all of its international operations.

Question 48

One particular challenge with union working environments is the lack of clearly outlined procedures for handling such matters as employee grievances and discipline.

Question 49

Beyond helping to surface new productive information and insights, genuine two-way communication also can benefit an organization by encouraging a more open and trusting organizational culture.

Question 50

When initial efforts at employee discipline do not bring about a desired change in employee performance, employee correction should begin.

Question 51

The nature of an organization's disciplinary system, including the behaviors to avoid and their negative consequences if engaged in, should be clearly communicated to employees.

Question 52

This morning an employee who has worked with a company for five years came to work 15 minutes late, whereupon his supervisor met with and fired the employee. Under a progressive disciplinary system, it is feasible that the supervisor's behavior would be appropriate.

Question 53

The most effective disciplinary action is characterized by public punishment and minimal opportunity for the guilty employee to provide excuses for unacceptable performance.

Question 54

Many countries require that companies, regardless of reason for termination, provide payment to former employees based on such factors as employee age, years of employment with the company, and most recent rate of pay.

Question 55

Regardless of governmental requirements, organizations are wise to carefully consider, even during an economic downturn, possible viable alternatives to layoffs to preserve a positive image and to have a head start with a ready workforce when economic conditions improve.

Question 56

Although many areas of human resource management can differ greatly in various countries of the world, the area of labor union relations differs very little in concept and practice across national boundaries due to the common concern for protecting the rights of workers.

Question 57

The influence of employee unions continues to grow worldwide, and is expected to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.

Question 58

Overall, there are fewer union strikes worldwide, and the global trend has been away from collectivism and trade unionism, with the fastest-growing sectors of the world economy being nonunion.

Question 59

What are the key ER issues regarding employee protection that MNCs need to address in managing a global workforce? In your opinion, which issues are the most pressing and deserve the immediate attention and why?

Question 60

MNCs have a principal influence on the nature and duration of the employment relationship in which employee relations (ER) takes place. Identify areas of important MNC practices and explain how each practice can help them effectively manage ER.

Question 61

What kinds of roles do labor unions play in improving the employee relations in managing a global workforce? Why do think the roles of the labor unions are generally weakening as the world economy becomes increasingly global?