Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
1. (p. 386) The term diversity refers to variation in the important human characteristics that
distinguish people from one another.
2. (p. 386) Workforce diversity represents both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses.
3. (p. 389) The term pay gap refers to the inequitable concentration of a group, such as
minorities or women, in a particular job category.
4. (p. 391) Even though racial and gender bias has been lowered in most organizations, women
and persons of color remain underrepresented in executive level positions.
5. (p. 394) By 2009, around 25 percent of businesses were owned or controlled by women,
according to the Center for Women’s Business Research.
6. (p. 395) 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.
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
7. (p. 396) The major agency charged with enforcing equal opportunity laws and executive
orders in the United States is the Americans with Disabilities Council (ADC).
8. (p. 397) Affirmative action occurs when one group is unintentionally discriminated against in
an effort to help another group.
9. (p. 398) Sexual harassment is limited to overt acts of individual coworkers or supervisors.
10. (p. 399) The number of working women who have told researchers they have been sexually
harassed on the job is between 40 and 70 percent.
11. (p. 400) Sexual and racial harassment will happen, and there is little a business can do to
eliminate the problem.
12. (p. 401) 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.
13. (p. 401) Companies that promote equal employment opportunity generally do better at
attracting and retaining workers from all backgrounds.
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
14. (p. 402) 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.
15. (p. 403) 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.
16. (p. 386) The variation in the important human characteristics that distinguish people from
one another is called:
Difficulty: Easy
17. (p. 386) Age, ethnicity, gender, mental or physical abilities, race, and sexual orientation are
what dimensions of diversity?
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
18. (p. 386) By 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that what percentage of all
workers will be women?
Difficulty: Hard
19. (p. 387) The growing diversity in the U.S. workforce is due to:
Difficulty: Medium
20. (p. 387) Which ethnic group, as defined by the U.S. Census, is predicted to grow the fastest
as a proportion of the labor force?
Difficulty: Medium
21. (p. 388) Women have entered the workforce:
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
22. (p. 389) The pay gap for Hispanic women:
Difficulty: Hard
23. (p. 390) Which of the following is not true about occupational segregation?
Difficulty: Easy
24. (p. 391) In 2008, what percentage of corporate officers of the Fortune 500 companies were
women?
Difficulty: Medium
25. (p. 393) 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?
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
26. (p. 394) “Glass walls” refers to:
Difficulty: Easy
27. (p. 394) How do “glass walls” differ from “glass ceilings?”
Difficulty: Medium
28. (p. 394) Which of the following is not true about women business owners?
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
29. (p. 395) Which of the following government rules on equal treatment of employees does not
apply to businesses?
Difficulty: Medium
30. (p. 396) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created in:
Difficulty: Hard
31. (p. 396) Which of the following is not true about the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC)?
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
32. (p. 396) Executive Order 11246, established in 1965, mandates:
Difficulty: Hard
33. (p. 397) The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a “qualified disabled worker” as:
Difficulty: Hard
34. (p. 397) Which of the following is an argument against affirmative action?
Difficulty: Medium
35. (p. 397) Reverse discrimination occurs when:
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
36. (p. 398) Sexual harassment applies to:
Difficulty: Easy
37. (p. 399) Racial harassment is illegal under:
Difficulty: Hard
38. (p. 400) What percentage of Fortune 500 companies have diversity programs to promote
sensitivity and awareness?
Difficulty: Medium
39. (p. 401) Which company launched a “Women in Line Roles” initiative to provide promising
women with opportunities to try out production and technical roles?
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
40. (p. 401) Which of the following is an action that companies take to manage diversity
effectively?
Difficulty: Medium
41. (p. 401 – 402) Which of the following is not a benefit of managing diversity effectively?
Difficulty: Medium
42. (p. 403) Which of the following is (are) true about child care programs?
Difficulty: Easy
43. (p. 403) 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:
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
44. (p. 405) What did General Mills do to integrate family considerations into its operations?
Difficulty: Medium
45. (p. 406) What steps have companies been taking to support homosexual employees’ rights?
Difficulty: Medium
46. (p. 388 – 395) 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?
47. (p. 388 – 395) Who do you believe should be primarily responsible for the advancement of
minorities in the workplace: the individual, the government, or businesses? Why?
Chapter 17 – Managing a Diverse Workforce
48. (p. 388 – 395) 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?
49. (p. 395 – 398) What is the role of government in the area of equal employment opportunity?
Discuss from a historical perspective.
50. (p. 398 – 402) 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?
51. (p. 402 -406) Do you believe that support programs for work and family primarily benefit
women employees, men employees, or both equally? Explain.
52. (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.