Collins, Business Ethics 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Test Bank
CHAPTER 11: ETHICALLY ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES
Multiple Choice
1. How does the text define “employee engagement”?
a. An emotional bond or attachment an employee has to the work task, organization,
and its members.
b. The ability of organization management to create a positive relationship between
employees and the work.
c. The extent to which employees engage in nonwork socialization with coworkers or
informal employee groups.
d. The attachment an employee has to his or her specific job description.
2. Researchers have shown a positive correlation between employee engagement and
______ organizations.
a. absenteeism
b. ethical
c. ecologically sound
d. smaller, close-knit
3. Which of the following statements about employee engagement is accurate?
a. Highly engaged business units show much fewer product defects than low-
engagement business units.
b. Mid-sized organizations (between 100 and 1000 employees) showed the highest
levels of engagement.
c. New hires are the most engaged class of employees.
d. Some 75 percent of employees report lack of engagement in their work.
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4. Katie feels like the primary reason she works so hard at her job is so she can afford
the nice vacations and cars that she desires. What would Paul Lawrence say about
Katie?
a. She is only influenced by one major innate, subconscious drive.
b. Of the four innate drives, she is most influenced by the drive to acquire.
c. Of the four innate drives, she is most influenced by the drive to defend.
d. Katie works primarily to understand the world around her and her place in it.
5. When a person’s effort at their job is most directed, even subconsciously, by the need
to provide their child with basic resources, this is most related to the drive to ______.
a. acquire
b. defend
c. learn
d. bond
6. According to Paul Lawrence, the drive managers most often suppress in the work
place is the drive to ______.
a. learn
b. acquire
c. defend
d. bond
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7. In which of the following ways does Maslow’s conceptualization of hierarchy of needs
differ from Lawrence’s four drives?
a. Maslow’s conceptualization is less applicable to life in organizations.
b. Maslow’s conceptualization places less of a priority on defensive needs like shelter
and food.
c. Maslow’s conceptualization does not consider social fulfillment to be a part of human
need.
d. Maslow’s conceptualization prioritizes physical needs before other emotional or
intellectual needs.
8. If applying the lessons of Maslow’s hierarchy, what would a manager first need to do
if that manager wanted their employees to forge an emotional bond to their work?
a. Hold employees accountable for pursuing social engagement.
b. Give the employees very high material comfort.
c. Improve the employees’ self-esteem.
d. Make the employees feel safe.
9. Which of the following is most characteristic of a fully engaged employee at work with
respect to Maslow’s hierarchy?
a. powerful in self-actualization without the need to fulfill lower levels
b. achievement of physiological and safety needs
c. fulfillment of all levels of the hierarchy
d. no need for recognition for personal achievements
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10. If Chip Conley evaluated a specific employee’s working life and evaluated that
employee to have achieved “transformation,” which of the following would most likely
apply to that employee?
a. She takes personal fulfillment in her work and sees it as a great life achievement.
b. She has realized she is not happy in her work and is now doing something about it.
c. She feels safe and comfortable in her work environment but is not attracted to the
work itself.
d. She is very unhappy in her work and is not sure how to alter her situation.
11. In Chip Conley’s needs model, what would you have if you had reached the
“success” stage?
a. a job that feels like a “calling” to you
b. a good working and personal relationship with coworkers
c. a high level of self-actualization
d. assurance that you would not be injured on the job
12. In which of the following ways does David McClelland’s needs conceptualization
differ from both Lawrence’s four needs and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
a. He does not specifically consider power or domination as a core need.
b. He has a wider range and bigger variety of needs.
c. He does not specifically consider physical or tangible needs like safety or
possessions.
d. He believes all employees have roughly the same needs in the same intensities.
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13. What would David McClelland recommend that a company give an employee with a
high need for achievement?
a. a high salary and merit-based bonuses
b. frequent breaks
c. regular promotions
d. complex, difficult work
14. How would David McClelland likely differ from Paul Lawrence in assessing an
employee who seems extremely driven to seek promotions and control the work of
others?
a. McClelland would say there is simply a high need for power instead of an imbalance
of needs.
b. McClelland would say the employee had achieved all needs in the hierarchy instead
of a healthy balance.
c. McClelland would say the employee needs more emphasis on social needs instead of
the drive to learn.
d. McClelland would say the employee has a strong drive to learn instead of a strong
need for power.
15. Job dissatisfaction among employees typically leads to ______.
a. higher self-actualization
b. more affiliation
c. more ethical behavior
d. higher turnover
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16. Which of the following statements about job satisfaction is accurate?
a. One should ensure their least experienced employees are highest in job satisfaction.
b. Around two-thirds of workers report very low job satisfaction.
c. Higher job satisfaction will not necessarily lead to higher productivity.
d. More employees are satisfied with their performance review process than their job.
17. How do Frederick Herzberg’s job satisfaction factors relate to Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs?
a. Both address high-level psychological motivation factors and recommend that
employers first provide these to employees before anything else.
b. Neither consider the lack of basic physical needs like safety to be related to job
dissatisfaction.
c. Both address high-level social needs like self-esteem and self-actualization, though
Herzberg calls them motivation factors.
d. Both rank basic physiological needs as most important for happiness and
engagement with work.
18. Which of the following is a commonality among Fortune magazine’s “100 Best
Companies to Work For”?
a. seeking to hire employees that rate very low on McClelland’s power need
b. seeking to hire employees that rate very high on McClelland’s power need
c. eliminating all of Herzberg’s job dissatisfaction factors
d. addressing Lawrence’s conception of employee drives and McClelland’s three needs
19. What is one of the four forms of organizational justice?
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a. procedural
b. organizational
c. relational
d. collegial
20. Adnan has been working at his new job for six months. He perceives that his
coworkers all treat him with respect and make sure that he has a say in decisions that
affect them all. Adnan’s workplace is strong in what form of justice?
a. informational
b. interactional
c. procedural
d. distributive
21. What is the strongest positive influence on organizational justice?
a. ethical subordinates
b. high job satisfaction
c. having a code of ethics
d. ethical leadership
22. Which of the following is an example of distributive justice?
a. Notifications about changes to company polices are communicated to all employees
in a timely way.
b. Promotions are granted in a fair and consistent way.
c. Managers keep an open-door policy for employees to express concerns.
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d. The decision to reprimand or sanction an employee can be appealed by that
employee.
23. How does the Healthy Workplace Bill define bullying?
a. Unequal power relationships between employees that are exploited by one employee
for cruelty or gain.
b. Sexual, verbal, or physical threats by one employee against another.
c. Behavior by an employee that causes one or more other employees to feel that the
work environment is unsafe.
d. Repeated verbal abuse or abusive conduct that is threatening, intimidating, or
humiliating.
24. Which of the following statements about bullying is accurate based on the
Workplace Bullying Institute’s survey of 1,000 employees?
a. Roughly half of bulling incidents are perpetrated by managers.
b. More than half of employees reported being bullied.
c. Hurtful jokes cannot be considered a form of bullying.
d. Most victims reported ignoring or being unaffected by the bullying.
25. Bullying affects organizational performance by causing ______.
a. higher absenteeism
b. lower turnover
c. higher levels of organizational commitment
d. lower levels of unethical company leadership
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26. After reading statistics about bullying in the workplace, Omari, a manager, decides
to make sure it is adequately addressed in his own department. What should Omari’s
first move be?
a. Announce that he is adopting a no-tolerance policy toward maltreatment by
employees.
b. Ask employees if there are any offenders who should be targeted.
c. Make sure hiring process weed out those with bullying tendencies.
d. Do a self-assessment to make sure he has no bullying tendencies himself.
27. As bullying can happen to almost anyone, what should employees always be doing
that can ultimately help if they are ever a victim of bullying?
a. seeking promotions to gain in status/hierarchical powers
b. developing coalitions with ethical workers
c. practicing mindfulness to be better able to handle bullying mentally
d. learning about legal options for litigating against coworkers
28. Which of the following best describes the current state of legal protection against
bullying in the workplace?
a. Employees everywhere are federally protected against workplace abuse.
b. About one-third of states have legal protections against bullying.
c. Legislation has been proposed but never adopted.
d. Employees in any state can sue an organization for allowing an abusive work
environment.
Collins, Business Ethics 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
29. How does the text define “meaningful work”?
a. having a career that gives one both financial and emotional success
b. spending time at work to achieve something that is personally desirable
c. pursuing work that contributes to the health of others or the Earth
d. being part of a collective of workers who care deeply about the product of their labor
30. Sarah thinks of herself as a healer at heart, and all her life, she has wanted to bring
mental and physical health to others. She is now a doctor working in developing
countries, a path that is very aligned with her self-concept. Based on this, we would say
that her work is ______.
a. self-sacrificing
b. special
c. meaningful
d. collegial
31. According to the sources of meaningful work articulated by Lips-Wiersma and
Morris, how does the source “unity with others” differ from “serving with others”?
a. It emphasizes impact on humanity.
b. It involves a sense of belonging, such as with coworkers.
c. It is more related to personal growth.
d. It is more concerned with making a difference in the lives of others.
Collins, Business Ethics 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
32. With respect to the sources of meaningful work articulated by Lips-Wiersma and
Morris, what is likely to happen to an employee too far concentrated in the “doing” side
of the continuum, even if very selfless?
a. material poverty
b. disengagement
c. isolation
d. burnout
33. According to research conducted by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman into the
Gallup Organization’s employee engagement database, what do employees want most
from the workplace?
a. to work for a great manager
b. to have great coworkers
c. to work for an ethical company
d. to find meaning in their work
34. Based on the work of Gallup researchers, which of the following is a likely behavior
of excellent managers in their training and developing of subordinates?
a. They will not engage with very many employees because most will never be good
performers.
b. They will engage with an apathetic employee, but they will not try to turn this
employee into a star performer.
c. They will try to engage and motivate every employee because they believe every
person can show major change in who they are.
d. They will work hard, through training and encouragement, to encourage an unethical
employee to adopt a philosophy of ethical behavior.
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35. A highly talented and engaged worker cites that pay is not the highest motivating
factor for their level of engagement at their company. What evidence helps confirm this
position?
a. This employee could likely get higher or equivalent pay at another company.
b. Talented and hard-working employees are almost always very ethical employees.
c. Polls and surveys show that pay is very rarely a motivating factor for employees.
d. This employee likely developed her level of talent and engagement through long
years of motivated work in a career field she loves.
36. With respect to the workplace, what does “empowerment” mean?
a. employee belief in the mission of the organization
b. giving employees a say in their training
c. making employees feel appreciated
d. giving employees decision-making authority
37. Which of the following statements about employee empowerment is accurate?
a. The same control system or level of empowerment should be imposed on all
employees.
b. Specific workplace criteria should not be imposed between an employee and the
chance at empowerment.
c. Employees that do not want to be empowered should be forced into it.
d. Not all employees should be empowered.
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38. Among subordinates, who should a good manager imbue with the most autonomy
and decision-making authority?
a. all employees equally
b. the best performers
c. the fence-sitters
d. the adversarials
39. Hanson is what the text would classify as a fence-sitter. Which of the following likely
describes a typical workday for Hanson?
a. He arrives on time, competently finishes only the tasks assigned to him, and leaves
at the official end of the workday.
b. He arrives early, finishes his tasks and asks for more, and stays late to put in
maximum effort.
c. He often complains about his work and undermines others but performs well on the
tasks given to him.
d. He does slightly substandard work and refuses attempts to involve him in decision
making about company work or policies.
40. Kalai doesn’t hate her job, but she doesn’t love it either. Her manager thinks of her
as a reliable employee who is an asset to the team. Kalai shows up each day and does
what is needed of her so that she can afford the lifestyle she desires. Kalai is most likely
a(n) ______.
a. manager
b. go-getter
c. adversarial
d. fence-sitter
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SAGE Publishing, 2021
41. Herman is a graphic designer at a large firm. He loves designing and considers it his
calling in life, and he works incredibly hard and puts in extra hours to produce
increasingly great work for the company. But Herman is generally uninterested in
meetings and decision making and avoids attending when possible. He can even be
hostile to coworkers when asked to work on joint projects too much. Overall, Herman
should be classified as a(n) ______.
a. go-getter
b. adversarial
c. fence-sitter
d. unclassifiable; he fits no pattern
42. In which of the following ways do adversarials differ from fence-sitters?
a. They do not self-actualize through work.
b. They should never be empowered.
c. They are eager to leave work at the official end of the work day.
d. They generally do just enough to keep from getting fired.
43. If a manager is going to try to improve the performance of an adversarial employee,
what is the recommended method of experimentation?
a. Supervise them less closely.
b. Give them more responsibility.
c. Put them in close contact with fence-sitters.
d. Reduce the amount of work assigned to them.
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SAGE Publishing, 2021
44. According to Patrick Lencioni, which of the following can we expect if faced with an
ineffective work team?
a. an absentee manager
b. regular constructive conflict
c. a high proportion of adversarials
d. disinterest in collective work or outcomes
45. The members of an ineffective team generally suffer from a lack of commitment.
According to Patrick Lencioni, two components that must already be missing for this to
happen are lack of trust and ______.
a. fear of conflict
b. rejection of collective objectives
c. avoidance of accountability
d. inattention to collective results
46. The achievement of what component makes it possible for team members to be
held accountable to a goal?
a. goal commitment
b. willingness to express disagreement
c. collective trust
d. collective achievement of tasks
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47. A pinch situation is one in which ______.
a. there is a conflict over values though not over group goals
b. the team finds itself evenly divided between two major directions
c. a conflict between team members has the capacity to derail a project
d. there is a difference between people regarding expectations, values, opinions, or
goals
48. In the first half of the pinch theory reconciliation process, the two sides of the conflict
______.
a. agree that they do not want the problem to escalate
b. agree on the common goal of the group or organization
c. air their grievance with the other
d. help each other clarify the problem
49. How does the pinch theory reconciliation process conclude?
a. The second party accepts the first party’s proposed solution.
b. Work in the organization resumes.
c. The parties agree to continue to see a solution to the conflict.
d. The parties sign a mutually agreed-upon written solution to the conflict.
50. How does the team problem-solving process differ from the pinch theory
reconciliation process?
a. It emphasizes clarification of the problem up front.
b. It helps parties to the conflict understand each other’s perspectives.
c. It better utilizes the unique perspectives of parties to the conflict.
d. It prevents the conflict from escalating to a more intense problem.