Human Resource Management, 14e, Global Edition (Dessler)
Chapter 14 Ethics and Employee Rights and Discipline
1) The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group are referred to as ________.
A) judgments
B) ethics
C) laws
D) virtues
2) ________ 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
3) 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
4) ________ “consist of political decisions for implementing programs to achieve societal
goals.”
A) Public policy
B) Fair Labor standards
C) Bill of Rights.
D) Unalienable laws
5) Unfair treatment of employees in the workplace cause all the following EXCEPT ________.
A) demoralizing
B) negative performance
C) reduced stress
D) reduce morale
6) 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
7) 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
8) 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
9) What are the two 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 morality
10) 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
11) 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
12) Which component of organizational justice refers to the fairness of a process?
A) distributive justice
B) procedural justice
C) interactional justice
D) normative justice
13) 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
14) 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
15) 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
16) 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
17) Which of the following best defines values as they relate to organizational culture?
A) characteristic values, traditions, and behaviors a company’s employees share
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
18) According to research, which of the following has the greatest impact on work-related ethical
decisions?
A) organizational characteristics
B) environmental pressures
C) management attitudes
D) personal inclinations
19) 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
20) 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
21) 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
22) According to surveys, which of the following is the primary cause of ethical compromises in
the work place?
A) feeling peer pressure
B) meeting schedule pressures
C) advancing a boss’ career interests
D) advancing personal career interests
23) Which of the following makes the CEO of a publicly traded firm accountable for ethics
compliance?
A) Taft-Hartley Act
B) Landrum-Griffin Act
C) Norris-LaGuardia Act
D) Sarbanes-Oxley Act
24) 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
25) 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.
26) 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?
27) 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.
28) Which of the following is NOT an element of bullying?
A) submission
B) repetition
C) intent to harm
D) imbalance of power
29) 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 best supports the argument that Health-Tech should distribute an
anonymous survey to gather information about employee attitudes about management?
A) Health-Tech monitors its employees’ phone calls and Internet usage to protect itself from
lawsuits and ethical violations.
B) Independent contractors working for Health-Tech are not allowed to work for the firm’s
competitors, which angers most contractors.
C) Exit interviews at Health-Tech indicate that employees feel uncomfortable about raising
ethics concerns with managers.
D) Health-Tech managers have been reluctant to terminate disruptive employees for fear of
lawsuits.
30) 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 best supports the argument that Health-Tech should make significant
changes to its disciplinary process?
A) According to surveys, Health-Tech employees feel that managers do not listen to their
concerns or take their opinions seriously.
B) Health-Tech requires employees to receive annual ethics training to ensure that they
understand the firm’s latest policies.
C) Health-Tech’s main competitor uses fictional scenarios to test applicants’ morality and has
fewer ethics problems than Health-Tech.
D) Historically, arbitrators have overturned the dismissal decisions of Health-Tech’s managers
because of unclear company rules.
31) Which of the following is the primary element of properly developed disciplinary
procedures?
A) electronic employee monitoring
B) clearly established rules
C) legal representation
D) severe penalties
32) In which organizational document are an organization’s rules and regulations usually stated?
33) Which of the following terms refers to discipline without punishment?
A) democratic punishment
B) nonpunitive discipline
C) corporal punishment
D) positive discipline
34) Employees at R&R Carpet and Tile are allowed to take one-hour lunch breaks. Todd’s
assistant, Suzanne, took a two-hour lunch break today without prior approval. Suzanne has never
broken any other rules since being employed by the company. R&R has a nonpunitive discipline
policy. Which of the following will most likely be Todd’s response to Suzanne’s violation?
A) issuing a formal written reminder to Suzanne
B) giving Suzanne a one-day leave with pay
C) telling Suzanne that she is dismissed
D) issuing an oral reminder to Suzanne
35) 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 undermines the argument that Health-Tech should shift from a traditional
discipline system to a non-punitive discipline system?
A) The most common employee discipline situations at Health-Tech involve theft or physical
altercations.
B) Health-Tech has already modified its hiring process to include ethics tests when screening job
applicants.
C) A court ruled in a wrongful discharge case against Health-Tech that the employee handbook
served as an implied contract.
D) Frequent tardiness is the primary infraction among Health-Tech employees who receive
decision-making leave.
36) ________ 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
37) 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
38) 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
39) 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
40) 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
41) Which of the following terms refers to the involuntary termination of an employee’s
employment with a firm?
A) sabbatical
B) dismissal
C) insubordination
D) leave of absence
42) Which of the following best defines “termination at will”?
A) employees can refuse to collaborate with specific co-workers for personal reasons
B) either the employer or the employee can end the employment relationship at any time
C) employers can deny employees’ requests for vacation and leave for any reason
D) customers can end relationships with service providers for any reason at any time
43) Which of the following is the first step in FedEx’s guaranteed fair treatment program?
A) officer complaint
B) management review
C) executive appeals review
D) EEO laws
44) When a court determines that an employee handbook implies an employment contract, the