Deck 14: Building Positive Employee Relations

Question 1

Joel is a manager who is doing an activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive employee-employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity and a cohesive work environment. This is defined as:

A)employee relations
B)organizational justice
C)public policy
D)ethics

Answer 1

A
Explanation: A)Employee relations is the managerial activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive employee-employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, morale, and discipline, and to maintaining a positive, productive, and cohesive work environment.

Question 2

Which component of organizational justice refers to the fairness and justice of a decision's result?

A)distributive justice
B)procedural justice
C)normative justice
D)interpersonal justice

Answer 2

A
Explanation: A)Distributive justice refers to the fairness and justice of the outcomes.

Question 3

Johnson & Johnson has a corporate ethics code that states "We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services." What is the most likely purpose of Johnson & Johnson's ethics code?

A)establishing disciplinary procedures
B)providing incentives for employees
C)clarifying expectations for employees
D)marketing to potential new customers

Answer 3

C
Explanation: C)Johnson & Johnson's ethics code clarifies the firm's expectations with respect to the values it considers critical. The firm expects its employees to follow the ethics code, but it does not necessarily offer incentives.

Question 4

Which component of organizational justice refers to the fairness of a process?

A)distributive justice
B)procedural justice
C)interactional justice
D)normative justice

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an element of bullying?

A)submission
B)repetition
C)intent to harm
D)imbalance of power

Question 6

Managing employee relations is usually assigned to HR.

Question 7

What are the two main components of organizational justice?

A)distributive justice and normative judgments
B)procedural justice and distributive justice
C)normative justice and ethical treatment
D)interactional justice and ethical justice

Question 8

According to surveys, which of the following is the primary cause of ethical compromises in the workplace?

A)feeling peer pressure
B)meeting schedule pressures
C)advancing a boss' career interests
D)advancing personal career interests

Question 9

Unfair treatment of employees in the workplace causes all the following EXCEPT ________.

A)demoralization
B)negative performance
C)reduced stress
D)reduced morale

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT an effect of an abusive supervisor?

A)more likely to stay with the company
B)higher stress
C)low job satisfaction
D)more likely to quit

Question 11

Employee relations involves managers establishing and maintaining positive employee-employer relationships to contribute to satisfactory productivity and a productive work environment.

Question 12

As a manager, all of the following would most likely encourage ethical behavior among subordinates EXCEPT ________.

A)clarifying expectations
B)serving as a role model
C)rewarding honest work
D)taking credit for others' work

Question 13

When a company rewards employees who behave ethically using the firm's incentive plan and appraisal system, they are ________ to encourage ethical behavior.

A)providing physical support
B)organizing ceremonies
C)clarifying expectations
D)using symbols

Question 14

________ is the activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive employee-employer relationship.

A)Quality circles
B)Employee relations
C)Suggestion teams
D)Focus groups

Question 15

Which of the following best defines procedural justice?

A)fairness of a decision's result
B)manner in which firms conduct business
C)fairness of the process used to make a decision
D)manner in which managers treat subordinates

Question 16

A(n)________ is a type of formal problem-solving team, usually composed of 6 to 12 specially trained employees who meet weekly to solve problems affecting their work area.

A)action team
B)organizational culture
C)suggestion team
D)quality circle

Question 17

The distributive justice component of organizational justice is best defined as the ________.

A)fairness of the decision process
B)fairness of the decision's outcomes
C)degree to which the decision is moral
D)extent to which the decision is good or bad

Question 18

The company Wilson works for believes it should (and it does)channel resources toward improving one or more segments of society other than the firm's owners or stockholders. This is known as:

A)ethics
B)quality circles
C)procedural justice
D)corporate social responsibility

Question 19

According to surveys, at work, fair treatment reflects concrete actions such as, "Employees are treated with respect and ________."

A)properly served
B)treated fairly
C)terminated
D)not abused

Question 20

What is defined as the perceptions a company's employees share about the firm's psychological environment?

A)bullying
B)ethics
C)social responsibility
D)organizational climate

Question 21

Shared perceptions that organizational members have about the firm's psychological environment are called organizational climate.

Question 22

Which element of bullying involves the use of power to control or harm and the people being bullied may have a hard time defending themselves?

A)repetition
B)imbalance of power
C)name-calling
D)intent to cause harm

Question 23

Two components of organizational justice are distributive justice and procedural justice.

Question 24

________ is/are actions not done by accident but with a goal to cause harm.

A)Repetition
B)Imbalance of power
C)Intent to cause harm
D)Merit

Question 25

All of the following are common elements of bullying EXCEPT ________.

A)power imbalance
B)harmful intentions
C)verbal name-calling
D)repetitive incidents

Question 26

Julio is part of a team of 8 at work which runs itself with little supervision to accomplish a specific task. This is an example of what type of team?

A)sales team
B)self-managing work team
C)suggestion team
D)problem-solving team

Question 27

Semi-permanent teams that identify and research work processes and develop solutions to work-related problems are called:

A)suggestion teams
B)orientation teams
C)problem-solving teams
D)self-managed teams

Question 28

The definition of a ________ is a temporary team whose members work on specific analytical assignments, such as how to cut costs or raise productivity.

A)quality circle
B)suggestion team
C)self-managed team
D)work team

Question 29

Self-managed teams typically have how many members?

A)1-2
B)4-6
C)8-10
D)15-20

Question 30

Which type of bullying involves spreading rumors and purposely breaking up friendships in the workplace?

A)physical bullying
B)cyber bullying
C)verbal bullying
D)social bullying

Question 31

Which type of bullying involves hitting, punching, and shoving?

A)verbal
B)social
C)cyber bullying
D)physical

Question 32

Many people in the new business development group at GRS&M feel that Blaine was promoted due to her personal friendship with the supervisor rather than a fair review of the qualified employees in the group. This attitude is the result of the employees' perceived procedural justice relative to the decision.

Question 33

Fair treatment reflects concrete actions such as "employees are treated with respect," and "employees are treated fairly."

Question 34

A quality circle is a type of formal problem-solving team, usually composed of 6 to 12 specially trained employees who meet weekly to solve problems affecting their work area.

Question 35

Which type of bullying involves name-calling and teasing?

A)verbal
B)social
C)cyber bullying
D)physical

Question 36

Self-managed teams are small (usually 8 to 10 members)groups of carefully selected, trained, and empowered employees who basically run themselves with little or no outside supervision, usually for the purpose of accomplishing a specific organizational task.

Question 37

A recent survey found approximately what percentage of organizations use social media tools to communicate with employees and to help develop a sense of community?

A)15%
B)25%
C)50%
D)80%

Question 38

Procedural justice refers to the fairness of the process by which a decision is made.

Question 39

Distributive justice refers to the manner in which managers conduct their interpersonal dealings with employees.

Question 40

Which type of bullying involves using the Internet, mobile phones, or other digital technologies to harm others?

A)verbal
B)social
C)cyber bullying
D)physical

Question 41

Which of the following guides the most serious societal behaviors such as murder, stealing, and slander?

A)normative judgments
B)distributive justice
C)human rights
D)moral standards

Question 42

Which of the following best defines values as they relate to organizational culture?

A)shortcuts to get work done
B)principles of conduct governing an individual or group
C)basic beliefs about what is right or wrong
D)standards of behavior accepted by society

Question 43

What are the main characteristics of workplace bullying? How can employers and their HR departments reduce bullying incidents in the workplace?

Question 44

The applicant screening process would most likely be considered unfair if an HR manager ________.

A)encouraged two-way communication
B)focused mostly on personality issues
C)included an appeals process
D)provided useful feedback

Question 45

Social responsibility refers to the extent to which companies should and do channel resources toward improving one or more segments of society other than the firm's owners or stockholders.

Question 46

Which of the following involves using fingerprints or iris scans to identify employees?

A)electronic performance monitoring system
B)location monitoring system
C)digital dashboard
D)biometrics

Question 47

The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group are referred to as ________.

A)judgments
B)ethics
C)laws
D)virtues

Question 48

Based on research into ethical behavior in the workplace, which of the following is a true statement?

A)Offering rewards for ethical behavior supports the intrinsic nature of personal ethics.
B)Punishing unethical behavior fails to alter the behavior of others in the workplace.
C)Managers significantly influence the ethical behavior of their subordinates.
D)Employees feel uncomfortable discussing ethics, so it should be avoided.

Question 49

What is organizational justice? How does it related to performance appraisal?

Question 50

Ethics refers to the ________.

A)basic beliefs about what is right or wrong
B)principles of conduct governing an individual or group
C)standards used by the organization to decide upon proper conduct
D)standards of behavior accepted by society

Question 51

What is the most likely reason for more firms providing ethics training to employees?

A)Employees seeking professional certification are tested on ethics.
B)State laws require businesses to have written codes of conduct.
C)Businesses fear being sued by customers for ethical misconduct.
D)Federal laws encourage firms to comply with ethics training guidelines.

Question 52

Which of the following best defines organizational culture?

A)basic beliefs about what is right or wrong within a business or corporation
B)characteristic values, traditions, and behaviors a firm's employees share
C)principles of conduct governing an individual, group, or company
D)standards used by an organization to determine proper conduct

Question 53

________ means society's accepted standards of behavior and always involves basic questions of right and wrong.

A)Society assessment
B)Non-normative statement
C)Morality
D)Distributive assessment

Question 54

Discuss at least 2 different types of employee involvement teams. Define each type and when an organization might use them.

Question 55

Health-Tech Materials is a firm that manufactures medical equipment purchased by hospitals and clinics. The firm employs over 2,500 workers in its two manufacturing facilities located in Texas and Arizona. Recently, Health-Tech dismissed a number of employees for ethics violations ranging from improper Internet usage to stealing company funds. In addition, the firm has been sued by two former employees for wrongful discharge. As a result, Health-Tech's top executives are evaluating the firm's hiring process, ethics training system, reward system, and disciplinary system to determine how to promote ethics and fair treatment. Health-Tech's HR department has devised a brief ethics test for employees to use when determining if their actions match Health-Tech's code of conduct. Which of the following questions is LEAST likely to be included on the ethics test?

A)What Health-Tech employees will be affected by my actions?
B)Will my actions reflect negatively on the image of Health-Tech?
C)Would I perform this action if I worked for a Health-Tech competitor?
D)Is the action I am about to perform on behalf of Health-Tech a legal one?

Question 56

The business purpose exception to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act permits ________.

A)employees to access private employer documents if they have reason to suspect unethical behavior by company agents
B)employers to monitor communications if they can show a legitimate business reason for doing so
C)employers to listen to personal employee phone calls if the calls are made on employer time
D)employees to conduct personal business during work hours if they can show it is necessary

Question 57

Studies indicate that some people's traits and behaviors make them more susceptible to bullying.

Question 58

Which of the following is NOT one of the four types of privacy violations upheld by courts?

A)intrusion
B)drug testing
C)disclosure of medical records
D)publication of private matters

Question 59

Which of the following terms refers to the characteristic values, traditions, and behaviors a company's employees share?

A)organizational culture
B)organizational ethics
C)corporate climate
D)corporate mission

Question 60

Health-Tech Materials is a firm that manufactures medical equipment purchased by hospitals and clinics. The firm employs over 2,500 workers in its two manufacturing facilities located in Texas and Arizona. Recently, Health-Tech dismissed a number of employees for ethics violations ranging from improper Internet usage to stealing company funds. In addition, the firm has been sued by two former employees for wrongful discharge. As a result, Health-Tech's top executives are evaluating the firm's hiring process, ethics training system, reward system, and disciplinary system to determine how to promote ethics and fair treatment. Which of the following, if true, best supports the argument that Health-Tech should utilize online ethics program software?

A)Health-Tech executives want to quantify the types of ethical issues that are most common at the firm in order to provide the most relevant training to employees.
B)Health-Tech managers are required to monitor the computer usage of subordinates to determine their levels of productivity.
C)Health-Tech discusses its code of conduct during employee orientation and also provides new employees with the firm's handbook.
D)The Health-Tech legal department requires the firm to post its ethics code and hiring procedures on the firm's Web site to prevent legal problems.

Question 61

The fair treatment of job applicants by HR managers leads to applicants having favorable opinions about the selection procedure and the organization.

Question 62

________ refer to people who are inclined to make unethical choices.

A)Bad bosses
B)Bad cases
C)Bad apples
D)Bad barrels

Question 63

When examining ethical situations, what kind of ethical dilemmas prompt more bad choices?

A)large dilemmas
B)small dilemmas
C)personal life dilemmas
D)group-related dilemmas

Question 64

The consent exception to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act permits ________.

A)employees to access private employer documents if they have reason to suspect unethical behavior by company agents
B)employers to monitor employee communications if the employees have given informed consent
C)employers to monitor communications if they can show a legitimate business reason for doing so
D)employers to listen to personal employee phone calls if the calls are made on employer time

Question 65

Researchers surveyed CEOs to study the CEOs' intentions to engage in two questionable practices: soliciting a competitor's technological secrets, and making illegal payments to foreign officials. What did they find most strongly affected such decisions?

A)outside pressures
B)personal predispositions
C)firms' characteristics
D)number of subordinates

Question 66

A review of 30 years of ethics research concluded that there are three major factors that combine to determine the ethical choices we make. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A)Bad Barrels
B)Bad Cases
C)Bad Apples
D)Bad Behaviors

Question 67

When firms do not deal swiftly and fairly with the unethical behavior of employees, ethical employees feel penalized.

Question 68

A firm's code of ethics outlines its mission, vision, appraisal system, and hiring policies.

Question 69

A principal cause of ethical compromises is based on organizational pressure to meet a schedule or some other objective.

Question 70

All of the following would most likely be addressed in an ethics audit EXCEPT ________.

A)employee discrimination
B)conflicts of interest
C)intranet usage
D)gift giving

Question 71

In the model of 3 factors that combine to determine ethical choices, which factor involves company environments that foster unethical choices?

A)Bad Apples
B)Bad Results
C)Bad Barrels
D)Bad Cases

Question 72

Unfortunately, employers have no tools for measuring the ethics of an individual during the applicant screening process, so employers do not realize they have hired an unethical person until it is too late.

Question 73

Carlos, a marketing manager at Devon Consulting, is attending an ethics training program at his workplace. During the training, Carlos is LEAST likely to learn how to ________.

A)identify ethical dilemmas
B)role play employee dismissals
C)use disciplinary practices ethically
D)use codes of conduct to resolve problems

Question 74

The president of University National Bank in Palo Alto, California has his office on the main floor of the bank just off the lobby, and his door is always open unless he is in a private meeting. This represents a physical manifestation of the company's culture.

Question 75

Which of the following is NOT a major way HR managers can create more ethical organizational environments?

A)enforce the rules
B)increase organizational support
C)punish whistleblowers
D)institute ethics policies

Question 76

According to one study, what percentage of HR professionals have observed misconduct at work?

A)15%
B)33%
C)54%
D)74%

Question 77

The standards an individual uses to decide what his or her conduct should be are known as social responsibility.

Question 78

Most people view invasion of their privacy by employers as fair and ethical.

Question 79

What is the main purpose of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)?

A)help restrict interception and monitoring of oral and wire communications
B)allow organization to monitor employees with no restrictions
C)support ethical worker actions in organizations
D)offer protection for whistleblowers

Question 80

What kind of company cultures tend to lead to more unethical choices?

A)"everyone for him- or herself" culture
B)manufacturing cultures
C)ethical cultures
D)well-being focused cultures