Deck 17: Managing a Diverse Workforce

Question 1

The number of working women who have told researchers they have been sexually harassed on the job is between 40 and 70 percent.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A diversity council is a group of managers and employees responsible for developing and implementing specific action plans to meet an organization's diversity goals.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The term diversity refers to variation in the important human characteristics that distinguish people from one another.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Beginning on a major scale in the 1960s, U.S. presidents issued executive orders and Congress enacted laws intended to promote equal treatment of employees.

Question 5

The variation in the important human characteristics that distinguish people from one another is called:

A) Workforce variability.
B) Diversity.
C) Difference.
D) Affirmative action.

Question 6

By 2009, around 25 percent of businesses were owned or controlled by women, according to the Center for Women's Business Research.

Question 7

Workforce diversity represents both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses.

Question 8

Even though racial and gender bias has been lowered in most organizations, women and persons of color remain underrepresented in executive level positions.

Question 9

The term pay gap refers to the inequitable concentration of a group, such as minorities or women, in a particular job category.

Question 10

By 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that what percentage of all workers will be women?

A) 25 percent.
B) 47 percent.
C) 75 percent.
D) 90 percent.

Question 11

Sexual harassment is limited to overt acts of individual coworkers or supervisors.

Question 12

Age, ethnicity, gender, mental or physical abilities, race, and sexual orientation are what dimensions of diversity?

A) Primary.
B) Secondary.
C) Tertiary.
D) None of the above.

Question 13

Companies that promote equal employment opportunity generally do better at attracting and retaining workers from all backgrounds.

Question 14

Which ethnic group, as defined by the U.S. Census, is predicted to grow the fastest as a proportion of the labor force?

A) African-Americans.
B) Hispanics.
C) Asians and Pacific Islanders.
D) Native Americans.

Question 15

Affirmative action occurs when one group is unintentionally discriminated against in an effort to help another group.

Question 16

Sexual and racial harassment will happen, and there is little a business can do to eliminate the problem.

Question 17

The major agency charged with enforcing equal opportunity laws and executive orders in the United States is the Americans with Disabilities Council (ADC).

Question 18

According to U.S. Census data released in 2000, in about one-third of all married couples with children, both parents worked at least part-time.

Question 19

Under the Family Medical Leave Act, companies that employ 50 or more people must grant unpaid, job-protected leaves for up to 12 weeks to employees with serious family needs, including the birth or adoption of a baby.

Question 20

The growing diversity in the U.S. workforce is due to:

A) Millennials entering the workforce.
B) Immigration from other countries.
C) Shifting patterns of work and retirement.
D) All of the above.

Question 21

Which of the following government rules on equal treatment of employees does not apply to businesses?

A) Discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or age is prohibited in all employment practices.
B) Government contractors must have written positive affirmative action plans to overcome the past and present effects of discrimination in their work force.
C) Women and men must receive equal pay for performing equal work.
D) Affirmative action plans must be permanent.

Question 22

Women have entered the workforce:

A) For income to support their families.
B) Due to the inadequacies of retirement plans and health care programs.
C) To sustain an accustomed standard of living.
D) All of the above.

Question 23

Reverse discrimination occurs when:

A) The government discovers that one group was discriminated against over 10 years ago.
B) One group is unintentionally discriminated against in an effort to help another group.
C) One group is intentionally promoted to meet government-mandated quotas.
D) All of the above.

Question 24

The pay gap for Hispanic women:

A) Declined by almost 15 percent since 2000.
B) Declined by almost 5 percent since 2000.
C) Increased by almost 15 percent since 2000.
D) Increased by almost 5 percent since 2000.

Question 25

Racial harassment is illegal under:

A) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
B) The third Amendment of the Constitution.
C) The Equal Pay Act.
D) Family Medical Leave Act.

Question 26

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created in:

A) 1932.
B) 1964.
C) 1972.
D) 1990.

Question 27

Executive Order 11246, established in 1965, mandates:

A) Affirmative action for all government employees.
B) Affirmative action for all federal contractors and subcontractors.
C) Equal pay for equal work for all federal contractors and subcontractors.
D) Family and medical leave for all federal employees for illness, or the birth of a child.

Question 28

What percentage of Fortune 500 companies have diversity programs to promote sensitivity and awareness?

A) 25 percent.
B) 50 percent.
C) 75 percent.
D) 90 percent.

Question 29

Which of the following is not true about women business owners?

A) They own or control almost two-fifths of all U.S. companies.
B) They are forming businesses at roughly the same rate that men are.
C) Female entrepreneurs are just as successful as male entrepreneurs.
D) Collectively they employ more people in U.S. than the Fortune 500 companies do worldwide.

Question 30

Which company launched a "Women in Line Roles" initiative to provide promising women with opportunities to try out production and technical roles?

A) Alcoa.
B) Lowes.
C) KPMG.
D) Pitney Bowes.

Question 31

Sexual harassment applies to:

A) Only men who are being harassed.
B) Only women who are being harassed.
C) Either men or women who are being harassed.
D) Only attractive employees who are being harassed.

Question 32

According to a 2005 study of 360 leading companies in the European Union and Scandinavia, which company was the only one that had a CEO from a minority group?

A) Verizon.
B) Vonage.
C) Vodafone.
D) Virgin.

Question 33

Which of the following is an action that companies take to manage diversity effectively?

A) Do not actively recruit ethnic minority workers.
B) Set up a diversity council to monitor the company's goals.
C) Replace existing workers with ethnically diverse workers.
D) All of the above.

Question 34

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a "qualified disabled worker" as:

A) One who can perform the "essential functions" of a job, with reasonable accommodations.
B) One who can perform the "essential functions" of a job, without reasonable accommodations.
C) One who can perform the "essential functions" of a job, with or without reasonable accommodations.
D) One who cannot perform the "essential functions" of a job.

Question 35

Which of the following is not true about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?

A) It is charged with enforcing federal equal employment opportunity laws and executive orders.
B) It was created in 1964.
C) It monitors foreign governments' employment practices.
D) It was given added enforcement powers in 1972 and 1990.

Question 36

Which of the following is an argument against affirmative action?

A) It costs American business too much money.
B) There are no mechanisms in place to verify that it is actually taking place.
C) It is inconsistent with the principles of fairness and equality.
D) It violates individuals' basic human rights.

Question 37

How do "glass walls" differ from "glass ceilings?"

A) They don't; they are the same thing.
B) Glass walls do not exist, only glass ceilings are real.
C) Glass walls apply to mid- and lower-level women managers.
D) Glass walls focus on sideways promotions in the organization.

Question 38

Which of the following is not true about occupational segregation?

A) It concentrates women in traditionally female-dominated jobs.
B) The pay gap in American businesses persists, in part, because of it.
C) It means that women cannot get the jobs that could break the cycle of relatively low pay.
D) The large pay gap for Hispanic workers partly reflects their concentration in several high-paying occupations.

Question 39

"Glass walls" refers to:

A) Fewer opportunities for upward advancement.
B) Fewer opportunities to move sideways into jobs that lead to the top.
C) Reliance on word of mouth by recruiters for top positions - "the old boys' network" from which women are excluded.
D) A company's lack of commitment to diversity.

Question 40

In 2008, what percentage of corporate officers of the Fortune 500 companies were women?

A) 12 percent.
B) 25 percent.
C) 45 percent.
D) 69 percent.

Question 41

Government regulations ban both sexual and racial harassment. Discuss both kinds of harassment and why they are a growing concern to employers. What can companies do to combat sexual and racial harassment?

Question 42

When a mother or father is granted time off when children are born or adopted and during the early months of a child's development, this is called:

A) The parent track.
B) Baby care.
C) Parental leave.
D) Family leave.

Question 43

Less than five percent of top executives in U.S. firms are women. What factor best explains this fact: women's education and job experience, discrimination against women by companies, preferences of women employees, different family roles and responsibilities between women and men, or something else? Why do you think so?

Question 44

What steps have companies been taking to support homosexual employees' rights?

A) Adopted written antidiscrimination policies.
B) Provided management training on sexual diversity issues.
C) Provided health benefits to same-sex partners.
D) All of the above.

Question 45

What is the role of government in the area of equal employment opportunity? Discuss from a historical perspective.

Question 46

(p. Entire chapter) Over time the workforce will continue to change. How do you see the face of the workforce in 20 years? In what ways will continued diversity create competitive advantages for companies? Discuss based on the material in the textbook.

Question 47

Who do you believe should be primarily responsible for the advancement of minorities in the workplace: the individual, the government, or businesses? Why?

Question 48

Do you believe that support programs for work and family primarily benefit women employees, men employees, or both equally? Explain.

Question 49

Which of the following is (are) true about child care programs?

A) They help reduce employee absenteeism and tardiness.
B) They aid in recruiting by making the company more attractive to parents.
C) They help retain talented employees.
D) All of the above.

Question 50

What did General Mills do to integrate family considerations into its operations?

A) Established an on-site infant care center.
B) Established on-site health care services.
C) Offered exercise classes at the company's health and fitness center.
D) All of the above.

Question 51

Do you believe companies are ever justified in treating women or minority employees differently, with respect to wages, benefits, job assignments, or promotions? If not, why not? If so, under what conditions, and why?

Question 52

Which of the following is not a benefit of managing diversity effectively?

A) These businesses get tax breaks from the federal government.
B) These businesses can often more effectively serve customers.
C) These businesses are better able to attract and retain workers from a variety of backgrounds.
D) None of the above. Each of these is a benefit of managing diversity effectively.