Chapter 9 T/F—Human Resources and Diversity
TRUE/FALSE
1. Hiring and keeping quality employees is one of the most urgent concerns for today’s organizations.
2. The set of activities that are undertaken to attract, develop, and maintain an effective workforce refers
to human resource management.
3. Human resource management is a matching process, integrating the federal laws with employee skills.
4. All managers are involved in human resource management.
5. A key element of the strategic approach to human resource management argues that human resource
management is not a matching process and managers should avoid attempts to match or integrate
employees to organization’s strategy and goals.
6. The three primary goals of HRM are to attract the right people, manage talent so people achieve their
potential, and maintain the workforce over the long-term.
7. The economic value of the knowledge, experience, skills, and capabilities of employees refers to
personal capital.
8. Discrimination in employment on the basis of race or religion is prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of
1964.
9. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
10. Affirmative action requires that an employer take positive steps to guarantee promotion from within.
11. Affirmative action is a policy requiring employers to take positive steps to guarantee equal
opportunities for people within protected groups.
12. Prohibition of discrimination of qualified individuals by employers on the basis of disability and the
requirement that “reasonable accommodations” be provided are enforced by the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990.
13. Vocational Rehabilitation Act provides for possible compensatory and punitive damages plus
traditional back pay for cases of intentional discrimination.
14. The Family and Medical Leave Act established mandatory safety and health standards in organizations
for working families.
15. Sexual harassment is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
16. Employability and personal responsibility are part of the old social contract between employees and
employers.
17. Employability and personal responsibility are part of the new social contract between employees and
employers.
18. Standard training programs and routine jobs are part of the old social contract between employees and
employers.
19. Challenging assignments and creative development opportunities are part of the new social contract
between employees and employers.
20. People who work for an organization, but not on a permanent or full-time basis are called “employees
of choice.”
21. An “employer of choice” is a company that is highly attractive to potential employees because of
human resources practices that focuses on tangible and intangible benefits.
22. Unfortunately, today, part-time and temporary workers are not used by most companies.
23. Telecommuting means using computers and telephones at the office.
24. The first three steps involved in attracting an effective work force are HR planning, choosing
recruiting sources, and selecting the candidate.
25. Human resource specialists, with the matching model, exploit the newly hired employees.
26. Human resource planning refers to the forecasting of human resource needs and the projected
matching of individuals with expected job vacancies.
27. One of the questions that human resource planning should consider includes “what is the profit margin
and inventory turnover rate?”
28. Recruiting activities can be divided into (1) internal recruiting including “promote from within”
policies, and (2) external recruiting including the use of headhunters.
29. A systematic process of gathering and interpreting information about the essential duties refers to job
design.
30. Research shows that realistic job previews lower employee satisfaction and increase turnover.
31. Affirmative action refers to the use of goals, timetables, or other methods in recruiting to promote the
hiring, development, and retention of protected groups.
32. Getting referrals from current employees is a highly effective method used for recruiting.
33. One of the fastest-growing approaches to recruiting today is the use of the Internet, called E-cruiting.
34. A one-way communication channel that allows the organization to obtain information about the
applicant is an interview.
35. Job description is the process of determining the skills, abilities, and other attributes a person needs to
perform a particular job.
36. A virtual interview is an interview in which the candidate meets with several interviewers who take
turns asking questions.
37. A device for collecting information about an applicant’s education, previous job experience, and other
background characteristics refers to a resume.
38. A written test designed to measure a particular attribute such as intelligence or aptitude is called an
employment test.
39. Assessment centers are normally located in a firm’s accounting department and have the responsibility
of assessing other departments for the costs involved with human resource management.
40. Orientation tests may include intelligence tests, aptitude and ability tests, and personality inventories.
41. An example of an in-basket simulation would require the applicant to play the role of a manager who
must decide how to respond to ten memos in his or her in-basket within a two-hour period.
42. According to SPOTLIGHT ON SKILLS in chapter 9, job applicants should wear clothing that makes a
fashion statement to interviews.
43. Recruiters are now viewing the profiles and pictures of candidates on social networking sites such as
Facebook and MySpace.
44. Training and development represent a planned effort by an organization to facilitate employees’
learning of job-related skills and behaviors.
45. A type of training in which an experienced employee “adopts” a new employee to teach him or her
how to perform job duties is known as on-the-job training.
46. A corporate university is an in-house training and education facility that offers broad-based learning
opportunities for employees.
47. An in-house training and education facility that offers broad-based learning opportunities for
employees refers to on-the-job training.
48. Coaching is when an experienced employee guides and supports a less-experienced employee.
49. Coaching is a method of directing, instructing, and training a person with the goal to develop specific
management skills.
50. Job evaluation comprises the steps of observing and assessing employee performance, recording the
assessment, and providing feedback to the employee.
51. A process that uses multiple raters, including self-rating, to appraise employee performance and guide
development refers to 180-degree feedback.
52. Managers must acknowledge that jobs are multidimensional and job performances may be
multidimensional as well to obtain an accurate performance rating.
53. BARS stand for Behaviorally Administered Rating Scale and is used to measure performance
evaluation errors.
54. A type of rating error that occurs when an employee receives the same rating on all dimensions
regardless of his or her performance on individual ones refers to the halo effect.
55. BARS is a rating technique that relates an employee’s performance to specific job-related incidents.
56. Competency-based pay systems are also called skill-based pay systems.
57. The process of determining the value of jobs within an organization through an examination of job
content refers to job evaluation.
58. Wage and salary surveys show what other organizations pay incumbents in jobs that match a sample of
“key” jobs selected by the organization.
59. Pay-for-performance is incentive pay that ties at least part of compensation to employee effort and
performance.
60. In the United States, due to the recessionary times, organizations offer only the benefits required by
law.
61. Unfortunately, today’s organizations offer universal, “one-size-fits-all” benefits packages, rather than
pay-for-performance.
62. An exit interview is an interview conducted with departing employees to determine the reasons for
their termination.
63. Exit interviews are valuable HR tools only if the departing employee leaves voluntarily.
64. The value of an exit interview is to provide an excellent and inexpensive tool for learning about
pockets of dissatisfaction within the organization and hence for reducing future turnover.
65. Finding the right people to apply new information technology for e-business is a current strategic issue
of particular concern for HR managers.
66. Because the legal and regulatory environment is constantly changing, HR managers have to stay on
top of issues that might have legal consequences.
67. The Family and Medical Leave Act prohibits gender-based differences in pay for substantially equal
work.
68. Job security is an employee expectation that existed with the old social contract, but is no longer an
expectation in the new social contract.
69. The percentage of contingent workers in the United States has shrunk as a result of the recession of the
late 2010s.
70. Recruiting is sometimes referred to as talent acquisition to reflect the importance of the human factor
in the organization’s success.
71. In the recruiting process, employers assess applicants’ characteristics in an attempt to determine the
“fit” between the job and applicant characteristics.
72. It is okay for a job application to ask whether the applicant has a legal right to work in the United
States.
73. Structured interviews allow the applicant a great deal of freedom in determining the course of the
conversation, with the interviewer taking care not to influence the person’s remarks.
74. Cognitive tests assess such characteristics as openness to learning, agreeableness, responsibility,
creativity, and emotional stability.
75. Training is typically used to refer to teaching people how to perform tasks related to their present jobs,
while development means teaching people broader skills that are not only useful in their present jobs
but also prepare them for greater responsibilities in future jobs.
76. Skill-based pay means linking compensation to the specific tasks an employee performs.
77. Restructuring refers to intentionally reducing the company’s workforce to the point where the number
of employees is deemed to be right for the company’s current situation.
78. The genuine efforts to accept and manage diverse people in North America are a phenomenon that
emerged in the 1800s.
79. Today’s workforce is growing older with an average age of 40.8 years in 2006 and it is expected to
increase to 42.1 years in 2016.
80. In 1970, Joseph Searles became the first African American member of the New York Stock Exchange.
81. In 2010, PepsiCo appointed its first female CEO.
82. Americans tend to be indecisive.
83. Americans pay close attention to appearance.
84. Workforce diversity refers to hiring people from different geographic regions of the country but of
same nationality.
85. The traditional dimension of diversity can be acquired or changed throughout one’s lifetime.
86. Age, race, and gender are included in the primary dimension of diversity.
87. Nationality and work style are included in the inclusive dimension of diversity.
88. Traditional dimensions of diversity such as work style, communication style, and educational or skill
level are particularly relevant in the organizational setting.
89. Managing diversity means creating a climate in which the potential advantages of diversity for
organizational or group performance are maximized while the potential disadvantages are minimized.
90. A diverse workforce is better able to anticipate and respond to changing consumer needs.
91. Homogeneous top management teams tend to be broadminded in their perspectives.
92. Unfortunately, companies that foster a diverse workforce increases turnover, absenteeism, and the risk
of lawsuits.
93. Discrimination is the tendency to view people who are different as being deficient.
94. A rigid, exaggerated, irrational belief associated with a particular group of people defines prejudice.
95. Stereotype threat describes the psychological experience of a person who, usually engaged in a task, is
aware of a stereotype about his or her identity group suggesting that he or she will not perform well on
that task.
96. Stereotyping is based on cultural differences verified by scientific research methods.
97. An organization which accommodates several subcultures, including employees who would otherwise
feel isolated and ignored refers to pluralism.
98. The belief that your group and subculture is not as good as other groups and subcultures is
ethnocentrism.
99. A culture that accepts only one way of doing things and one set of values and beliefs, produced by
ethnocentrism, is known as monoculture.
100. The belief that ethics are not absolute but instead need to be evaluated relative to the situation refers to
ethnorelativism.
101. Most organizations make a conscious effort to shift from a pluralism perspective to one of
monoculture.
102. An invisible barrier that separates women and minorities from advancement to important lateral
movement within the organization defines the glass ceiling.
103. In 2005, according to the text, women employed full-time earned 81 cents for every dollar that men
earned.
104. In a recent survey, 37 percent of highly qualified women report that they voluntarily left or “opted-out”
of the workforce at some point in their careers.
105. Uncovering diversity problems, strengthening top management commitment, choosing solutions to fit
a balanced strategy, and demanding results are all steps to implementing a diversity plan.
106. The five major steps in implementing a change for a program to develop a truly diverse workplace is
to: (1) change structures and policies, (2) focus on diversity recruiting, (3) establish mentor
relationships, (4) accommodate special needs, and (5) offer training and education.
107. A higher-ranking, senior organizational member who is committed to providing upward mobility and
support to a protégé’s professional career is known as a sponsor.
108. The mentoring relationship is an excellent way to overcome the problem of a glass ceiling.
109. Research indicates that women and minorities are more likely than men to develop mentoring
relationships.
110. Diversity training is special training which can help people become aware of their own biases and
stereotypes, and is used by many organizations.
111. Mentoring programs are not consistent with the Civil Rights Act of 1991 that requires the
diversification of middle and upper management.
112. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
113. Solicitation with the promise of reward is the highest level of sexual harassment.
114. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, sexual harassment does not include harassment by the same sex.
115. Multicultural teams are made up of members from diverse national, racial, ethnic, and cultural
backgrounds.
116. Between 1980 and 2008, nearly a third of all immigrants entering the United States were estimated to
be unauthorized.
117. Because employees with different backgrounds bring different options and ideas to the table, a diverse
workforce may lead to increased conflict, anxiety, and misunderstanding.
118. The term prejudice refers to rigid, exaggerated, irrational beliefs associated with a particular group of
people.
119. Stereotypes assume that all members of a group have the same characteristics.
120. Research shows that companies with several senior-level women underperform financially and
organizationally in comparison to those without senior-level women.
121. A successful diversity plan leads to a workforce that demonstrates cultural competence in the long run.
122. A cultural audit takes place during step three of the diversity development process, whereby solutions
are chosen to fit a balanced strategy.
123. The first step in diversity skills training is to help people learn how to communicate and work
effectively in a diverse environment.
124. An important characteristic of network groups is that they are created informally by employees, not the
organization, and membership is voluntary.