50) Ray, an IT specialist, often daydreams at work, fails to focus on tasks, and arrives late. Ray’s
actions are most likely an example of ________.
A) voluntary turnover
B) disengagement
C) withdrawal
D) retention
51) A talent management approach to employee retention focuses primarily on ________.
A) retaining key employees
B) reducing turnover costs
C) minimizing coaching needs
D) retaining executive managers
52) Which term refers to actions intended to place physical or psychological distance between
employees and their work environments?
A) absenteeism
B) job withdrawal
C) employee retention
D) voluntary turnover
53) High unemployment increases the voluntary turnover rate.
54) The lack of promotion opportunities is the primary reason that top-performing employees
leave an organization.
55) Frequent absences, daydreaming, and undeserved work breaks are examples of job
withdrawal.
56) What are the primary reasons that top-performing employees leave a firm? What can a firm
do to retain these employees?
57) What is job withdrawal? What are common causes for job withdrawal? What are potential
solutions to job withdrawal?
58) Discuss the relationship between employee engagement and turnover. How can a firm foster
engagement?
59) Which of the following is the LEAST relevant question to ask when establishing an
organization-wide promotion process?
A) How should competence be measured?
B) How much time should the process take?
C) Should the process be a formal or informal one?
D) Should promotion be based on seniority or competence?
60) Which of the following organizations would most likely base promotions on seniority?
A) small business
B) private corporation
C) union jobs
D) multinational enterprise
61) The employer’s promotion process should do all EXCEPT ________.
A) allow promotion decisions to invite claims of age discrimination
B) comply with all antidiscrimination laws
C) assure that promotion decisions avoid a discrimination claim
D) make promotion procedures clear and objective
62) In most private firms, what is the typical measure of competence when determining
promotions?
A) performance potential
B) cognitive skills tests
C) past performance
D) assessment centers
63) The 9-box matrix is used by firms to assess an employee’s ________.
A) past performance
B) job skills knowledge
C) communication skills
D) promotional potential
64) Which of the following is most likely important in a firm that has informal promotion
processes?
A) employee qualification data banks
B) nine-box assessments
C) job posting policies
D) networking skills
65) Which of the following would most likely encourage working mothers to remain with a
firm?
A) job coaching
B) flexible scheduling
C) appraisal interviews
D) performance monitoring
66) Which term refers to moving from one job in a firm to another with no change in salary or
grade?
A) promotion
B) turnover
C) retention
D) transfer
67) Which of the following most likely ensures the legality of a firm’s promotion process?
A) objective evidence
B) informal procedures
C) union agreements
D) salary increases
68) What is the most common reason that employers transfer employees?
A) rewarding a high-performing employee
B) finding a better job fit for the employee
C) giving the employee more challenging work
D) allowing the employee to work part-time
69) What is the most likely reason that retirement planning is increasingly important to firms?
A) rising number of acquisitions
B) changes in federal employment laws
C) concerns about future labor shortages
D) rising need for cost containment strategies
70) Managers at M&M Enterprises want to retain a greater number of the firm’s older workers.
Which of the following would most likely help the firm accomplish this goal?
A) offering flexible work arrangements
B) providing more full-time positions
C) establishing a coaching program
D) setting achievable career goals
71) Promotions are always upward.
72) Promotions at most private firms are based on competence rather than seniority, but public
sector job promotions emphasize seniority over competence.
73) Flexible work arrangements and part-time positions are offered by firms that seek to retain
older workers.
74) What are traditional and modern ways that organizations measure competence for the
purpose of promotions? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
75) Which of the following terms refers to the involuntary termination of an employee’s
employment with a firm?
A) leave of absence
B) insubordination
C) sabbatical
D) dismissal
76) Which of the following best defines “termination at will”?
A) Employers can end business relationships with clients even if a contract exists.
B) Employees can refuse to collaborate with specific co-workers for personal reasons.
C) Customers can end relationships with service providers for any reason at any time.
D) Either the employer or the employee can end the employment relationship at any time.
77) Which of the following exceptions is NOT responsible for eroding the strength of the
“termination at will” doctrine?
A) EEO laws
B) public relations campaigns
C) public policies
D) common law exceptions
78) Under the public policy exception to the termination at will doctrine, courts have held that
________.
A) discharge is wrongful when it is against an explicit, well-established law
B) even in the absence of a written document, an implied contract existed based on
representations in the employee handbook
C) employers should not fire employees without good cause
D) persistent failure to perform assigned duties or to meet prescribed standards on the job is
reason for dismissal
79) All of the following are reasonable bases for dismissal EXCEPT ________.
A) unsatisfactory performance
B) whistle blowing
C) misconduct
D) lack of job qualifications
80) Tracy is frequently absent from work and almost always late, so her manager has decided to
fire her. Which of the following grounds for dismissal will her manager most likely use?
A) misconduct
B) insubordination
C) unsatisfactory performance
D) lack of qualifications for the job
81) Dismissal based on unsatisfactory performance is most appropriate if an employee
________.
A) shows an adverse attitude towards co-workers
B) fails to accomplish tasks despite diligence
C) acts in an insubordinate manner
D) steals the employer’s property
82) Which of the bases for dismissal is defined as the persistent failure to complete assigned
duties or to meet prescribed standards on the job?
A) misconduct
B) unsatisfactory performance
C) lack of qualifications for job
D) changed requirements of job
83) Which of the bases for dismissal is defined as the deliberate and willful violation of the
employer’s rules and may include stealing and insubordination?
A) unsatisfactory performance
B) whistle blowing
C) misconduct
D) disregard
84) Misconduct, one of the bases for dismissal, is defined as ________.
A) the deliberate and willful violation of the employer’s rules and may include stealing and
insubordination
B) an employee’s inability to do the assigned work despite his or her diligence
C) the persistent failure to perform assigned duties or to meet prescribed standards on the job
D) an employee’s inability to do the work assigned because the nature of the job has changed
85) Which of the following is NOT an example of employee insubordination?
A) deliberately defying company rules
B) repeatedly failing to perform tasks
C) disregarding the chain of command
D) publicly criticizing a supervisor
86) Which of the following terms refers to the willful disregard or disobedience of a supervisor’s
authority?
A) insubordination
B) infraction
C) harassment
D) mutiny
87) When an employee’s dismissal does not comply with the law or with the contractual
agreement stated or implied by the firm via its employment application forms, employee
manuals, or other promises, ________ has occurred.
A) mutiny
B) insubordination
C) wrongful discharge
D) emotional hardship
88) During which of the following is an employee informed of the fact that he or she has been
dismissed?
A) outplacement interview
B) termination interview
C) appraisal interview
D) exit interview
89) Which of the following terms refers to a systematic process by which a terminated employee
is trained and counseled in how to perform a self-appraisal and secure a new position?
A) exit interview
B) outplacement counseling
C) job counseling fair
D) discharge interview
90) Which of the following is conducted with employees who are leaving a firm for the purpose
of eliciting information about what is right or wrong with the job and the firm?
A) outsourcing interview
B) termination interview
C) screening interview
D) exit interview
91) Which of the following terms refers to permanently dismissing a relatively large proportion
of employees in an attempt to improve productivity and competitiveness?
A) downsizing
B) offshoring
C) outsourcing
D) bumping
92) Which of the following requires that employers of 100 or more employees give 60 days’
notice before closing a facility or starting a layoff of 50 or more people?
A) COBRA
B) ERISA
C) Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
D) Electronic Communications Privacy Act
93) The plant closing law requires that employers ________.
A) provide employees with training for different jobs
B) offer employees comparable jobs in other facilities
C) provide severance pay for at least 3 months
D) notify employees 60 days in advance of the plant closing
94) During a merger and acquisition, it is especially important for managers to be sensitive to
employees who are dismissed so that ________.
A) lawsuits stemming from ADA and OSHA violations can be avoided
B) remaining employees will remain productive and committed
C) exit interviews will reveal positive details about the firm
D) bumped employees can continue being promoted
95) Employers today are finding that they do not have the blanket right to fire employees.
96) A signed employment application that contains a statement regarding the employer’s right to
terminate at will serves as a procedural step in avoiding wrongful discharge suits.
97) Wrongful discharge occurs when an employee’s dismissal does not comply with the law or
with the contractual agreement stated or implied by the firm via its employment application
forms, employee manuals, or other promises.
98) In a constructive discharge claim, plaintiffs argue that they quit because their employer made
the work situation intolerable.
99) Outplacement counseling is a systematic process by which a former employee is trained and
counseled in the techniques of securing a new job appropriate to his or her needs and talents.
100) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers of 100 or more
employees to give 60 days’ notice before closing a facility.
101) An employee caught stealing from a cash register would most likely be dismissed on
grounds of unsatisfactory performance.
102) Jeff works diligently at his job as a data analyst and is well-liked among co-workers and
managers. However, Jeff is unable to perform tasks satisfactorily. Jeff‘s dismissal from the firm
would most likely be on the grounds of unsatisfactory performance.
103) According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, managers can be held personally liable for their
supervisory actions in some situations.
104) Exit interviews are scheduled when an employee has been dismissed from the firm for
misconduct.
105) Discuss the ways an employer can effectively manage dismissals.