In order to achieve external equity, a company must first benchmark key jobs.
Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor motivation theory focuses on the fit between the
employee’s needs and abilities and the characteristics of the job and the organization.
Career development-related information services include: a job posting system, skills
inventories, career paths, and a career resource center.
In 2012, 1,080 homicides happened on the job.
Cut scores are used to make final decisions regarding employee selection.
Employment discrimination is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964.
The foreign subsidiary of a U.S.-based company must follow the same EEO laws as if it
were operating within the U.S. borders.
Typically, long-term disability compensation replaces about 40-50% of employees’
income after they have been disabled for at least three months.
Some of the advantages of using local employees to staff international subsidiaries are
lower labor costs, the demonstration of trust in the local citizenry, and the increased
acceptance of the company by the local community.
While it is illegal to ask domestic candidates questions about their family, it is essential
to explore this area with candidates for an expatriate assignment.
One selection technique that will improve the effectiveness of the appointment of
expatriate managers is the use of foreign-born employees.
The first step in achieving pay equity for job-based compensation plans is conducting a
job analysis.
Latinos are always individuals who are from Latin American descent.
Positive discipline poses certain advantages over progressive discipline in that positive
discipline features a structure and a series of steps a manager must move through,
which progressive discipline does not.
Theft from employers costs U.S. business approximately $120 million dollars a year.
Computer-based training tends to be more costly than classroom training.
A job hierarchy lists jobs in order of their importance to an organization.
According to the courts, e-mail belongs to the company, not the originator of the
message.
The primary difference between a grievance panel and a union grievance procedure is
that the former is for nonunion employees.
Managers are permitted by law to show movies and distribute anti-union messages prior
to a union certification election.
Which of the following would most likely make a final and binding decision in a union
grievance procedure?
A) Local judicial court
B) Panel of managers
C) Union leader
D) Arbitrator
Studies of performance appraisal systems show that the most influential element on the
effectiveness of the system is the:
A) number of employees for whom the rater is responsible.
B) intelligence and experience of the rater.
C) type of tool or system being used.
D) job category being evaluated.
Additional Case 4.1
As the Director of HR, David is leading a management discussion to plan and
implement a diversity management program. David is concerned that management,
while tolerant, tends to stereotype minorities and this will eventually lead to difficulties
for the firm. The company’s top three markets are in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami.
All three markets are heavily Latino in make-up. The senior management team is all
male. The youngest member is 58 years of age.
Martinez, the VP of Operations, feels that people should blend together and that
focusing on differences merely creates divisions. He thinks that you should have a
common training program to create a unified “American” company culture. Patrick, VP
of Finance, doesn’t see the need for a program. He respects that people are different, but
he feels that once you get to know a Hispanic, African-American, or Asian-American,
you know how to work with any Hispanic, African-American, or Asian-American.
Moreover, Patrick doesn’t believe the company should get into affirmative action
programs. The firm tried it ten years ago, and it created many problems.
Simon, the CEO, thinks a diversity management program is important. He believes the
company is missing some important talent without such a program. Simon feels that the
company can create a competitive advantage by being in the lead on this issue and also
believes the changing workforce is going to require adjustments in the future.
Refer to Additional Case 4.1. David most likely believes that:
A) affirmative action programs have improved communication and retention rates
within the firm.
B) a diverse workforce would improve the firm’s ability to compete in multicultural
markets.
C) diversity management is not a long-term issue for the company.
D) minority shareholders are disappointed with the firm’s direction.
Additional Case 15.2
TimeTable, Inc. plans to expand its manufacturing facilities. It is considering expansion
either here in the United States or in Europe’”Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, or
France. It may also look at Japan or China, but those are currently second-tier choices.
In selecting a country, the CEO wants to avoid political involvement. While friendly
toward unions, he doesn’t want a union that is politically oriented. In fact, the CEO of
TimeTable was once a union official. He went through a career change, earned an
MBA, and moved into the executive management ranks about ten years ago.
TimeTable has a strong positive working relationship with its union. Management feels
the NLRB is wrong in its ruling about the Wagner Act and is aggressively building
labor-management teams. The CEO of TimeTable is even considering giving the union
a seat on the board of directors.
Refer to Additional Case 15.2. Based on TimeTable’s CEO’s attitudes about politically
active unions, which country would be LEAST appropriate?
A) China
B) Japan
C) Germany
D) France
The use of performance appraisals in career development gives employees and the
organization important insights into employees’:
A) underlying skills.
B) interests and attitudes.
C) strengths and weaknesses.
D) future advancement potential.
Which job analysis tool asks 194 questions and uses a five-point scale to determine
which job elements are involved in performing a specific job?
A) Task inventory analysis
B) Functional job analysis
C) Position analysis questionnaire
D) Management position description questionnaire
A self-insurance pool is best defined as a:
A) policy in which individual employees are exclusively responsible for their insurance.
B) group of companies who jointly hire an administrator to organize insurance
functions.
C) policy offered by insurance companies that allows employees to choose their own
benefits.
D) group of individual employees who shop for the most cost-effective health
insurance.
Which of the following is a problem associated with employee handbooks?
A) Employee handbooks can serve as implied contracts between employers and
employees and limit an employer’s ability to discharge employees.
B) The use of employee handbooks usually increases the amount of litigation brought
against employers by disgruntled former employees.
C) Employee handbooks become out of date nearly every month, which is costly and
time consuming.
D) Small businesses and family-owned businesses fail to benefit from employee
handbooks.
Additional Case 9.1
Ron, the CEO at CableNet, wants to invest in career development because he is
concerned that the firm is not prepared to meet future needs and challenges. Rudy, the
operations manager, states that CableNet has already invested significantly in employee
training, and a career development program would be a costly duplication. Rudy
produces a recent productivity and quality study that shows significant improvement
among employees to support his assertion that a development program is unnecessary.
Charles, an IT manager, states that most supervisors currently discuss career options
with their subordinates as part of the management process. Charles asserts that
managers are taking care of their employees well enough and that nothing else is
necessary. Tanya, the HR director, suggests that assigning employees to various jobs
would give them a wider base of skills at a minimal expense. She asserts that an active
career development program would help the company with EEO-related matters, which
are a concern to her. The workforce is about 30% female and 45% minority, but upper
management is 100% Asian-American male.
Refer to Additional Case 9.1. Which of the following best describes Ron’s primary
concern?
A) Ensuring that the organization has a diverse and well-trained staff
B) Preparing employees for anticipated management openings
C) Helping employees balance their work and personal lives
D) Matching employee strengths and interests
According to your book, which of the following would LEAST likely minimize EEO
complaints in organizations?
A) Documenting decisions
B) Being honest in employee evaluations
C) Providing training to employees
D) Asking applicants personal questions
Health insurance typically covers all of the following EXCEPT:
A) prescriptions.
B) medical leave.
C) hospital costs.
D) physician charges.
Mentoring is one program commonly used in the ________ phase of career
development.
A) directing
B) development
C) allocating
D) assessment
Van Siclen and Company is a German firm that fills top management and other key
positions with Germans. Van Siclen is most likely using a(n) ________ approach to
managing its international subsidiaries.
A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) geocentric
D) multinational
In order for a firm to benefit the most from plantwide pay-for-performance plans,
managers should:
A) encourage competition between employees.
B) encourage independence among employees.
C) reward employees with mostly nonfinancial rewards.
D) encourage employees to work for the plant’s common good.
Based on information in the text, which of the following is a true statement?
A) Italians use meetings to make decisions and take action.
B) Japanese gather information and analyze data during meetings.
C) U.S. managers utilize meetings to demonstrate their power.
D) Women tend to dominate the conversation in most meetings.
It is important for a company to have an appeals process. This process may take any
one of several different shapes. Explain what types of decisions employees commonly
appeal and explain how a firm might implement an appeals process.
What are the most common challenges of implementing a successful
pay-for-performance system? Describe four challenges and offer a solution for each.
The process of reorganizing a company’s employees to improve their efficiency is
referred to as ________.
A federal law that requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks’ unpaid leave to
eligible employees for the birth or adoption of a child; to care for a sick parent, child, or
spouse; or to take care of health problems that interfere with job performance is called
________.
A(n) ________ is a program in which promising prospective employees are groomed
before they are actually hired on a permanent basis.
The process of formulating HR strategies and establishing programs or tactics to
implement them is called ________.