Chapter 12: Managing Individuals and a Diverse Workforce
TRUE/FALSE
1. The fastest-growing racial group in the United States is Hispanics.
2. Diversity exists in organizations when there is a variety of demographic, cultural, and personal
differences among the customers who do business there.
3. Race and sex are both dimensions of surface-level diversity. Most of the time, when people of color
talk about diversity, they are referring to race and sex.
4. Affirmative action is purposeful steps taken by an organization to create employment opportunities for
minorities and women. It is required by law for private employers with 15 or more employees.
5. Affirmative action is required by law for all private employers, and diversity is voluntary.
6. Affirmative action and diversity are not only fundamentally different, but they also differ in purpose,
practice, and the reactions they produce.
7. Diversity helps companies to save money by reducing turnover, decreasing absenteeism, and avoiding
expensive lawsuits.
8. Turnover costs typically amount to more than 90 percent of employees’ salaries.
9. Affirmative action actually makes good business sense in terms of cost savings, the ability to attract
and retain talent, and business growth.
10. Surface-level diversity refers to differences such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and physical disabilities
that are observable, typically unchangeable, and easy to measure.
11. Austrian Airlines was sued by a 51-year-old former director of sales who charged that he was
dismissed and replaced by an employee age 32 after he objected to older workers being described as
“worthless and ineffective.” This was an example of age discrimination.
12. Research has shown that performance capabilities decline with age.
13. The glass ceiling is the so-called invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing
to the top jobs in organizations.
14. Darwin N. Davis was one of the first African Americans to ascend to the upper ranks of corporate
America. Between 1966 and 1998, Davis worked for The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the
United States, now a part of AXA Equitable. He broke through the glass ceiling at a time when most
African Americans were prevented from ascending the ranks of corporate America. Today, thanks to
the perseverance of people like Davis, the glass ceiling is no longer a factor in corporate America.
15. Whereas men’s career and job choices are often driven by the search for higher pay and advancement,
women are more likely to choose jobs or careers that also give them the greater sense of
accomplishment, more control over their work schedules, and easier movement in and out of the
workplace.
16. Mentoring programs in companies generally do not help women to advance in their careers.
17. There has been little direct evidence of racial or ethnic discrimination in the workplace in recent years.
18. A disability is defined as a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major
life activities.
19. When a new owner suggested that a hearing-impaired employee should be placed in an environment
that would force him to quit, it was an example of disability discrimination.
20. Reasonable accommodations for disabled workers include assistive technology.
21. The Big Five dimensions of personality are autonomy, Machiavellianism, empathy, locus of control,
and affectivity.
22. If managed properly, the shift from surface- to deep-level diversity can result in reduced prejudice and
conflict, and lead to stronger social integration.
23. Conscientiousness is the degree to which someone is cooperative, polite, flexible, forgiving,
good-natured, tolerant, and trusting.
24. According to the What Really Works, “Conscientiousness: The Organized, Hard-Working,
Responsible Personality,” the average conscientious person is inherently more motivated and is better
at his or her job.
25. Ellen Kullman was leading a successful $2 billion division of DuPont when its CEO at the time asked
her to create a division out of DuPont’s scattered safety businesses. “My peers here were wondering
why in the world I would do such a thing,” she says, “but it was a defining moment to build something
in this company.” While Kullman is a success, she does not have any of the Big Five dimensions of
personality.
26. Authoritarian leaders are highly demanding and expect employees to unquestioningly obey their
orders.
27. People with high Machiavellian tendencies tend to work particularly well in work teams.
28. Top managers are much more likely to have Type B personalities than Type A personalities.
29. Besides believing that what happens to them is largely under their control, people with an internal
locus of control have been found to be easier to motivate, more difficult to lead, more independent,
and better able to handle complex information and solve complex problems.
30. Diane Gulyas now heads a division of Honeywell. Early in her tenure at the firm, she volunteered for
an operating job when she had only sales and marketing experience because she believed she could do
anything that she set her mind to do. In other words, she had a strong external locus of control.
31. The three different methods or paradigms for managing diversity are the discrimination and fairness
paradigm, the access and legitimacy paradigm, and the learning and effectiveness paradigm.
32. The primary benefit of the discrimination and fairness paradigm is that it generally brings about fairer
treatment of employees and increases demographic diversity.
33. The learning and effectiveness paradigm for managing diversity focuses on the acceptance and
celebration of differences, so that the diversity within the company matches the diversity found among
primary stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, and local communities.
34. Among the paradigms for managing diversity, only the learning and effectiveness paradigm focuses on
integrating deep-level diversity differences in addition to dealing with surface-level diversity.
35. The first and most important principle in managing diversity is to treat group differences as important,
but not special.
36. The two basic types of diversity training are cultural training and attitude-based diversity training.
37. Activity-based diversity training teaches employees the practical skills they need for managing a
diverse work force, such as flexibility and adaptability, negotiation, problem solving, and conflict
resolution.
38. Diversity audits are informal assessments that measure employee and management attitudes,
investigate the extent to which customers match the company composition, and review the company’s
diversity-related procedures and policies.
39. In diversity pairing, people of different cultural backgrounds are paired for mentoring.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Diversity:
a.
exists in all organizations
b.
is used to create affirmative action
c.
is federally mandated
d.
can exist in an organization’s employees and its customers
e.
is accurately described by all of these
2. A modem factory owned by 3Com in Morton Grove, Illinois, has 1,200 workers who speak 20
different languages. This factory illustrates:
a.
acculturation
b.
diversity
c.
affirmative action
d.
cultural organization
e.
organizational plurality
3. In order to achieve diversity, organizations must have variety among their employees and their:
a.
regulatory agencies’ inspectors
b.
customers
c.
external environments
d.
shareholders/investors
e.
all of these
4. After the riots in France in 2005, sociologists admitted discrimination is so deeply rooted in French
corporate culture that “the principle of equal opportunity rings hollow in the ears of millions.” Too
many of the country’s unemployed workers are youth, particularly the children of immigrants from
former French colonies in North and West Africa. It would seem apparent that _____ is not
commonplace in French companies.
a.
cultural advantage
b.
affirmative differentiation
c.
diversity
d.
cultural proaction
e.
acculturation
5. Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, supports the Business Women’s Network, the
NAACP, and Latin American Management Association. This support for these different agencies
indicates that Amtrak maintains a strong belief in:
a.
affirmative action
b.
diversity
c.
proactive segmentation
d.
multiculturalism
e.
cultural disparity
6. __________ is a term that describes a situation in organizations when there is a variety of
demographic, cultural, and personal differences among the people who work there and the customers
who do business there.
a.
Cultural advantage
b.
Affirmative differentiation
c.
Diversity
d.
Cultural proaction
e.
Acculturation
7. The fastest-growing population group in the United States is:
a.
Vietnamese-Americans
b.
Hispanic-Americans
c.
African-Americans
d.
Canadians
e.
Chinese-Americans
8. The purposeful steps taken by an organization to create employment opportunities for minorities and
women is called:
a.
discretionary diversity
b.
affirmative action
c.
organizational plurality
d.
cultural proaction
e.
acculturation
9. A key difference between affirmative action and diversity is that:
a.
diversity requires a wider span of management
b.
diversity has a broader focus
c.
diversity is legally mandated in all private companies
d.
affirmative action is legally mandated in all private companies
e.
affirmative action does not alter organizational structures, and diversity does
10. Affirmative action programs are typically designed to:
a.
create homogeneous diversity
b.
be punitive
c.
compensate for past discrimination
d.
protect white, non-Hispanic Americans
e.
do all of these
11. Japanese-based Honda Motors recently opened a manufacturing plant in China. The Chinese balked at
wearing the standard Honda white uniforms because white in China is a funeral color. Honda liked
the white uniforms because they denoted cleanliness. The Chinese workers agreed to wear the white
uniforms if they could wear gray caps. The compromise made everyone happy. This cultural
sensitivity is an example of how __________ influences organizations.
a.
affirmative action
b.
diversity
c.
proactive segmentation
d.
multiculturalism
e.
cultural disparity
12. Unlike __________, which punishes companies for not achieving specific gender and race differences
in their work forces, __________ programs seek to benefit both organizations and their employees by
encouraging organizations to value all kinds of differences.
a.
affirmative action; self-monitoring
b.
diversity; self-monitoring
c.
diversity; affirmative action
d.
affirmative action; diversity
e.
federal agency monitoring; self-monitoring
13. Generally, a diversity program is created to:
a.
create a positive work environment
b.
implement a market growth strategy
c.
avoid internal recruiting
d.
supplement hiring benchmarks
e.
do all of these
14. What action can a medium-sized manufacturing company take if it wants to create a positive work
environment in which every employee does his or her best work and individual differences are
respected and not just ignored?
a.
remove the glass ceiling
b.
use internal loci of control
c.
create a diversity program
d.
narrow the span of management
e.
downsize
15. Companies in several industries are now waking up to the needs of gays and lesbians. Not only are
they valuable consumers, but they are also great employees and actually help their employers to better
understand the market. Companies that have hired gays and lesbians more than likely have:
a.
disparity programs
b.
continuous federal agency monitoring
c.
poor codes of ethics
d.
ethical ombudsmen on staff
e.
diversity programs
16. Which of the following statements explains why diversity actually makes good business sense?
a.
Diversity increases an organization’s retained earnings.
b.
Diversity helps companies attract and retain talented employees.
c.
Diversity makes individuals whole by returning them to the condition or place they would
have been had it not been for discrimination.
d.
Diversity allows a company to act with economic responsibility.
e.
Diversity eliminates glass ceilings.
17. According to the text, __________ typically amount to more than 90 percent of employees’ salaries.
a.
contribution margins
b.
turnover costs
c.
product obsolescence and employee pilferage
d.
training costs
e.
cafeteria benefit plans
18. According to the text, how do companies typically fare when they are accused of discrimination and
must go to court to defend themselves?
a.
Potential employees cannot accuse a company of discrimination, but concerned employees
can file a lawsuit on their behalf.
b.
The strategy used to defend an organization against charges of discrimination actually
makes the company more cohesive.
c.
Companies usually lose in local courts and win in appeals court.
d.
Companies average losing two-thirds of the discrimination cases brought against them.
e.
Companies typically cannot justify the discrimination from a monetary standpoint.
19. Out and The Advocate are two of the highest circulating publications targeted to gays and lesbians. If
the publishers of these two magazines decided not to hire any heterosexuals to work on their editorial
staffs, it would be an example of:
a.
affirmative reaction
b.
a glass ceiling
c.
whistle-blowing
d.
the violation of good business practices
e.
negative diversity
20. U.S.-based McKinsey & Co., the global consultancy, draws its consultants from more than 40
countries. A benefit of its global hiring is that it raises cultural sensitivity. “There’s an obligation to
see things from other points of view,” says one McKinsey partner. In other words, this benefits
McKinsey & Co by:
a.
creating discrimination benchmarks
b.
improving the quality of problem solving
c.
eliminating glass ceilings
d.
requiring the centralization of all marketing and human resources activities
e.
punishing those who have engaged in discrimination
21. Anne Erni, former chief diversity officer of Lehman Brothers, speaks to the value of inviting back
female and retired executives who left their jobs for a while and now want to return to them when she
says, “They hit the ground running, with a greater degree of maturity. It’s easier to retool than train for
judgment and experience.” This diversity program promoted by Lehman:
a.
helps the company avoid expensive discrimination lawsuits
b.
increases turnover
c.
does not influence business growth
d.
negates affirmative action programs
e.
does all of these
22. The _____ at P&G’s management has led the company to realize that Hispanic consumers “are more
likely to support a company or brand that is active in their community.” P&G has embraced this
notion of community involvement with its “Avanzando Con Tu Familia” (Getting Ahead with Your
Family) campaign.
a.
acculturation
b.
diversity
c.
affirmative action
d.
cultural organization
e.
organizational plurality
23. Companies in several industries are now waking up to the market needs of gays and lesbians. Through
diversity programs, organizations are actively recruiting and hiring gays and lesbians to:
a.
drive business growth
b.
encourage litigation
c.
increase fixed costs
d.
achieve fiscal responsibility goals
e.
do all of these
24. Diversity helps companies grow by:
a.
avoiding conflict between employee groups
b.
preventing discrimination
c.
improving marketplace understanding
d.
complying with federal law
e.
creating a homogeneous workplace
25. Diversity helps companies grow by:
a.
creating discrimination benchmarks
b.
improving the quality of problem solving
c.
undoing targeting mistakes
d.
requiring the centralization of all marketing and human resources activities
e.
punishing those who have engaged in discrimination
26. __________ helps companies grow by improving the quality of problem solving and improving
marketplace understanding.
a.
Acculturation
b.
Cultural satisfaction
c.
Diversity
d.
A discrimination management department
e.
Reaffirmation
27. __________ consists of differences communicated through verbal and nonverbal behaviors, such as
personality and attitudes that are learned only through extended interaction with others.
a.
Organizational plurality
b.
Behavioral diversity
c.
Surface-level diversity
d.
Deep-level diversity
e.
Ego-driven heterogeneity
28. __________ is the degree to which group members are psychologically attracted to working with each
other to accomplish a common objective.
a.
Social integration
b.
Norm cohesiveness
c.
Social cohesiveness
d.
Integrative focus
e.
Social attraction
29. With surface-level diversity, differences are immediately observable, easy to measure, and:
a.
a negative way of bundling employees
b.
typically unchangeable
c.
culturally specific
d.
irrelevant to work behavior
e.
time-activated
30. Finland is sometimes called the “Japan of Europe” because of (1) its industries and (2) because of its
large baby boomer population. The Finnish government is working to change the perception of older
workers and encourage Finnish companies to abandon mandatory retirement plans. What kind of
surface-level diversity is the Finnish government hoping to achieve?
a.
age
b.
attitudes
c.
beliefs
d.
ethnic
e.
values
31. In 2007, Chicago won the right to bid for the 2016 Olympics as the U.S. representative. One of the
reasons why Chicago was awarded this privilege was the high degree to which its citizens work with
each other to accomplish citywide goals. Since Chicago has a diverse population, it would appear that
_____ is one source of its success.
a.
discrimination heterogeneity
b.
social integration
c.
organizational plurality
d.
acculturation
e.
an integrative locus of control
32. Assa Abloy is the world’s biggest manufacturer of locks. It makes both Yale and Chubb brand locks.
When it looked at its employee composition, it discovered that it had created a “two-humped camel.”
Its workers were either over 50 or under 30 because the company had done little hiring during the
1980s and 1990s. _____ was needed to get these two groups to respect each other’s work abilities.
a.
Discrimination heterogeneity
b.
Social integration
c.
Organizational plurality
d.
Acculturation
e.
An integrative locus of control
33. When Suzanne Pogell wanted to learn to sail, she could find no one to teach her because men were the
ones who sailed, and women were their crew. She finally did convince someone to teach her to sail,
and after mastering sailing, she started an all-woman sailing school called Womanship as a sole
proprietorship. The male sailors who would not hire her were exhibiting:
a.
organizational plurality
b.
behavioral diversity
c.
surface-level diversity
d.
deep-level diversity
e.
ego-driven heterogeneity
34. Recently, the cable television networks have bombarded viewers with a variety of shows based around
teams that come in to redecorate homes and gardens in a very short time frame. Since these teams are
typically made up of men and women of different ethnic backgrounds, age, and physical capabilities,
the fact they work so well with each other to accomplish the redecorating goal is an example of:
a.
discrimination heterogeneity
b.
social integration
c.
organizational plurality
d.
acculturation
e.
an integrative locus of control
35. Which of the following statements about age discrimination is true?
a.
Age discrimination refers to treating people differently because of their age.
b.
One argument for age discrimination is the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new
tricks.”
c.
Age discrimination is increasingly likely to occur simply because there are millions more
older workers than there used to be.
d.
Twenty percent of all companies have been sued for age discrimination in the last five
years.
e.
All of these statements about age discrimination are true.
36. Older workers:
a.
tend to perform less effectively, compared to younger workers
b.
are more likely to quit, be late, or be absent than younger workers
c.
typically demonstrate poor judgment
d.
care less about the quality of their output than younger workers
e.
are accurately described by none of these
37. To help companies reduce age discrimination, their managers can:
a.
recognize that age discrimination is not a very widespread problem
b.
hire workers under 40
c.
ensure that younger and older workers interact with each other
d.
accept the fact technological obsolescence is one of the costs of doing business
e.
create more glass ceilings
38. The glass ceiling is most closely associated with:
a.
cultural diversity
b.
participative management, delegation, and autonomy
c.
ethnic, racial, and sex discrimination
d.
broad spans of management, decentralization, and flat organizational structures
e.
narrow spans of management and long chains of command
39. When Suzanne Pogell wanted to learn to sail, she could find no one to teach her because men were the
ones who sailed, and women were their crew. She finally did convince someone to teach her to sail,
and after mastering sailing, she started an all-woman sailing school called Womanship as a sole
proprietorship. By creating her own business, Pogell overcame problems associated with __________
while creating a different version of the same problem.
a.
disability discrimination
b.
external locus of control
c.
age discrimination
d.
male introversion
e.
sex discrimination
40. On October 25, 2011, IBM announced that Virginia Rometty would succeed Sam Palmisano as IBM’s
president and CEO. From this statement, one can assume that IBM does not have a(n) __________ to
prevent women from rising to leadership positions.
a.
organizational roadblock
b.
diversity bottleneck
c.
missing key
d.
missing rung
e.
glass ceiling
41. There has not been a great increase of women in seminaries as was projected in the early 1990s. The
primary reason for women not assuming obtaining financially secure and rewarding careers as pastors
is the continuing trends for male seminarians to obtain the better parish positions. In other words,
women are held back by:
a.
affirmative reaction
b.
a stained glass ceiling
c.
whistle-blowing
d.
a violation of good business practices
e.
negative diversity
42. The __________ is a barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing to the top jobs in
organizations.
a.
organizational roadblock
b.
diversity bottleneck
c.
missing key
d.
missing rung
e.
glass ceiling
43. Betsey Bernard is a former president of AT&T. She credited her rise to top management to her
mother who showed her that a woman could work and have a family and to Eunice Assani, a woman
who indoctrinated Bernard with a love of continuous development. Bernard’s mother and Assani to a
greater extent served as:
a.
mentors
b.
benchmarks
c.
glass shatterers
d.
gender analysts
e.
boundary spanners
44. In order to ensure women have the same opportunities for development and advancement as men,
companies should:
a.
promote Machiavellianism
b.
use passive change agents
c.
change the organization’s mission statement
d.
develop mentoring programs
e.
do all of these
45. Which of the following might account for the disparities between the percentages of African, Hispanic,
and Asian Americans in the general population and their smaller representation in management
positions?
a.
Federal Trade Commission regulations
b.
racial or ethnic discrimination in the workplace
c.
watchdog advocacy groups
d.
congressional lobbying
e.
affirmative action programs
46. To make sure that people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds have the same opportunities, companies
should:
a.
eliminate selection and promotion criteria
b.
survey employees about their perceptions and satisfaction
c.
use autonomous hiring programs
d.
use a discrimination ombudsman
e.
build higher glass ceilings
47. Atlanta Rent-A-Car refused to hire two females allegedly because they were wearing Muslim attire.
What federal agency filed charges as a result of this episode?
a.
U.S. Bureau of Immigration
b.
Labor Relations Board
c.
U.S. Department of Justice
d.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
e.
There is no such federal agency.
48. Which of the following statements about disabilities is true?
a.
A disability is only covered by discrimination laws when it is physical.
b.
A disability must be visible to the average person to be considered a true disability.
c.
Accommodations for disabilities needn’t be expensive.
d.
On average, people with disabilities earn the same amount as those without disabilities.
e.
None of these statements about disabilities is true.
49. To make sure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else, organizations
can:
a.
make a commitment to reasonable workplace accommodations
b.
provide assistive technology
c.
actively recruit qualified workers with disabilities
d.
provide employees with training to address incorrect stereotypes
e.
do all of these
50. Finnish-based Assa Abloy is the world’s biggest manufacturer of locks. It makes both Yale and Chubb
brand locks. It has become a part of a national program in which employers are encouraging workers
to continue working as long as they are physically able. To help its aging workers, the lock maker has
provided them with magnifying lenses that give them the vision acuity they need to work on the small
parts within a lock. These lenses are an example of:
a.
assistive technology
b.
job enrichment
c.
management reciprocity
d.
task reengineering
e.
disparity balances
51. To make sure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else, organizations
can:
a.
make a commitment to reasonable workplace accommodations
b.
use a matrix organizational structure
c.
create a code of ethics
d.
use job enlargement
e.
centralize their hiring practices
52. Jean-Marie has excellent keyboarding skills and works entering data for a marketing research firm.
Jean-Marie is also vision-impaired. In order to perform his job, Jean-Marie needs a computer monitor
that produces oversized print so he can read it. The providing of the monitor to facilitate Jean-Marie’s
job performance is an example of:
a.
assistive technology
b.
job enrichment
c.
management reciprocity
d.
task reengineering
e.
disparity balances
53. As the German pharmaceuticals company Schering AG (now Bayer Schering Pharma AG) decided to
implement a diversity training program, its human resources managers discovered the Americans (and,
to a surprising degree, the Australian, Canadian, and Indian participants) reached decisions very
quickly. One German manager described them as “hip shooters.” He said, “We [Germans] are more
analytical. We’re more logical and systematic.” This discovery had to do with:
a.
organizational plurality
b.
behavioral diversity
c.
surface-level diversity
d.
deep-level diversity
e.
ego-driven heterogeneity
54. An individual’s __________ refers to his or her tendency to respond to situations and events in a
predetermined manner.
a.
disposition
b.
personality
c.
motivation
d.
locus of control
e.
attitude
55. __________ is the relatively stable set of behaviors, attitudes, and emotions displayed over time that
makes people different from each other.
a.
Disposition
b.
Personality
c.
Motivation
d.
Self-concept
e.
Cognitive activity
56. Which of the following is NOT one of the Big Five personality dimensions?
a.
emotional stability
b.
extraversion
c.
conscientiousness
d.
empathy
e.
agreeableness