Deck 4: Organizational Structure and the Problem of Pay In-Equity

Question 1

Structure applies to all of these excep?

A) boundaries within and among parts of an organization.
B) changes in patterns of interaction.
C) distinctions among departments.
D) difference between FLSA-exempt and non-exempt employees.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Faultlines are

A) "weaknesses" in an organization based on age, race, or other distinctions.
B) conflicts to be eliminated if an organization is to function well.
C) characteristic only of underperforming organizations.
D) a source of organizational strength.

Answer 2

"weaknesses" in an organization based on age, race, or other distinctions.

Question 3

Organizations are likely to have _______ structure because they are often hierarchical.

A) pronounced vertical
B) complex horizontal
C) informal
D) flexible

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Large or traditional organization structures tend to be ______ while smaller organizations tend to be more ______.

A) growing; stagnant
B) stagnant; growing
C) tall; flat
D) flat; tall

Question 5

Mariette and her close female coworkers feel that they are effectively tied to their low-level jobs with no chance for upward mobility. In fact, they often hear disparaging comments from superiors that "a woman couldn't handle" jobs at a higher level. Which best describes their situation?

A) steel cage
B) sticky floor
C) glass ceiling
D) iron dome

Question 6

Which of these does not refer to vertical organizational structure?

A) glass ceiling
B) sticky floor
C) departmental organization
D) supervisory and managerial levels

Question 7

The concept of a labyrinth is used by Eagly and Carli to describe

A) a particularly difficult type of organizational structure.
B) the varied and complex ways in which at least some women attain leadership roles.
C) the concentration of women and minorities at lower organizational levels.
D) an invisible but strong barrier to advancement.

Question 8

The 1995 Glass Ceiling Commission identified which barrier(s) to progress of women and people of color in organizations?

A) too few qualified candidates.
B) lack of government enforcement and inadequate collection of relevant data.
C) lack of motivation on the part of women and people of color.
D) all of these.

Question 9

Which model identified by Gutek states that the underrepresentation of women and people of color in higher levels of organizations is due to lack of skills and knowledge on the part of most minority candidates?

A) individual deficit model
B) structural model
C) person-job fit model
D) intergroup model

Question 10

Tera and her coworker, Gio, disagreed about why the glass ceiling exists. Tera thought that the glass ceiling was a result of the dynamics between majority and minority groups within their organization. Gio disagreed; he said the cause was based in the company's structure and process. Tera's explanation illustrates the ______ model and Gio's illustrates the ______ model.

A) group dynamics; process
B) dynamic; static
C) intergroup; structural
D) internal; external

Question 11

When men enter female-dominated fields, they sometimes have higher chances of promotion and other upward mobility than their female coworkers. What is the sociological term for these increased odds of upward mobility for men?

A) glass elevator
B) glass escalator
C) golden staircase
D) glass cliff

Question 12

People of different races or sexes usually hold different categories of jobs within an organization. This pattern is called

A) hiring segregation.
B) promotion separatism.
C) job inequality.
D) occupational segregation.

Question 13

What does the Index of Dissimilarity measure?

A) per cent of women (or men) in an occupation.
B) degree of difference between self and others
C) degree of difference in distribution of groups of people across job categories
D) difference between men and women in certain job skills.

Question 14

Which of these is a problem with Duncan's D?

A) Homogenous workplaces are not included in calculations.
B) It does not provide enough detailed information.
C) It only covers specific job categories, not broad ones.
D) It often overestimates the amount of occupational segregation.

Question 15

Which of the following general factors identified by Reskin and Roos (1990) appeared to lead to the so-called "feminization" of some jobs?

A) labor shortages of male workers
B) declining resistance by male workers
C) sex-specific demand for women
D) all of the above

Question 16

The wage gap is usually calculated based o?

A) hourly wages.
B) weekly wages.
C) annual wages.
D) occupational segregation.

Question 17

For a typical female college graduate, the wage gap would amount to __________ over her lifetime.

A) more than the gap for male college graduates
B) more than a million dollars
C) about the cost of good day care
D) more than the racial wage gap.

Question 18

Job evaluation

A) is used to measure the compensable factors of jobs.
B) can lead to gender wage bias if separate systems are used for mens' vs. womens' jobs.
C) results were offered as evidence in a famous lawsuit against Westinghouse.
D) all of these

Question 19

What issue did the Lilly Ledbetter case highlight about pay inequality between the sexes?

A) superficiality of pay equality
B) pay secrecy policies
C) different evaluation systems for different jobs
D) comparable worth

Question 20

The Lilly Ledbetter case dealt wit?

A) pay equity.
B) equal pay.
C) biased job discrimination.
D) race discrimination in wages.

Question 21

Which factor contributes to the idea of "equal work" based on the factors identified in the Equal Pay Act of 1963?

A) Equipment
B) Training
C) Effort
D) Tenure

Question 22

What has limited the effectiveness of the Equal Pay Act in the US?

A) the requirement to compare "equal" rather than "comparable" jobs
B) the decreasing size of the wage gap
C) the increasing focus on race discrimination
D) all of these

Question 23

In an organization, both structures and processes can be formal or informal. Give one example of each of these: formal structure, informal structure, formal process, informal process.

Question 24

What are faultlines and why are they significant in organizations?

Question 25

What is the glass ceiling? The book offers four models that account for the glass ceiling. Choose any two, and show how each implies different proposed remedies.

Question 26

What is a glass escalator and why should diversity managers be aware of the possibility it may exist?

Question 27

Define the glass cliff and explain why it may occur.

Question 28

One example of organizational structure is occupational segregation. To what does this refer, how is it measured, why does it occur, and why is it important?

Question 29

What is the job evaluation process, and how can it be biased to produce lower outcomes for one group than for another?

Question 30

Who was Lily Ledbetter and why is a law named after her?

Question 31

Explain the difference between equal pay and pay equity.

Question 32

Does pay equity apply to racial differences in wages? Why or why not?

Question 33

Suppose you are the Diversity Manager and discover different patterns of outcomes by sex or racio-ethnic group. How can the concepts of organizational structure and process help you to address these differences?