VI. ASSESSING YOUR HUMAN RELATIONS ABILITIES AND SKILLS
(This section presents a form or Questionnaire students use to assess present skill level.)
Discuss: After completing the profile form you should better understand your strengths and
areas where improvement is most needed. Many of you will have different strengths. There is
no right or wrong answer to this assessment. Let’s share our objectives (SB 1.1)
From your human relations abilities and skills self-assessment, write out your five objectives.
LO 7. Identify your personal low and high human relations ability/skill levels.
LO 8. Identify five human relations objective for the course.
LEARNING OUTCOMES ANSWERS
NOTE: Below are recommend answers to the learning objectives. The learning objectives with answers also appear
in the test bank so that you can test students on them as short answer/essay questions.
You may also want to limit the number of learning objectives that you expect students to know for the exams. For
example, you could select say 2-5 from each chapter that you believe are the most important things that students
should know. Assume you have a total of 10 for an exam. You could tell students to know the answers to all 10 and
that you will select say 3 of them for the exam.
After Completing This Chapter You Should Be Able To:
LO 1. Explain why human relations skills are important.
There are many reasons why human relations skills are important, some of which include:
People are organizations’ most valuable resource. It is the people who cause the success or
LO 2. Discuss the goal of human relations.
Organizations that can create a win-win situation for all have a greater chance of succeeding.
LO 3. Describe the relationship between individual, group, and organizational performance.
Through the systems affect, we learn that individuals affect each other’s performance and that
LO 4. Briefly describe the history of the study of human relations.
In the 1800s Frederick Taylor developed Scientific Management, which focused on
redesigning jobs. Also in the 1800s Robert Owen was the first manager/owner to understand
the need to improve the work environment and the employee’s overall situation. Elton Mayo
LO 5. State some of the trends and challenges in the field of human relations.
1. Globalization, change, innovation and speed; 2. Technology; 3. Diversity; 4. Learning and
LO 6. List 10 guidelines for effective human relations.
1. be optimistic 2. be positive, 3. be genuinely interested in other people, 4. smile and
LO 7. Identify your personal low and high human relations ability/skill levels.
LO 8. Identify five human relations objective for the course.
LO 9. Define the following 14 key terms.
human relations, goal of human relations, win-win situation, total person approach, behavior,
levels of behavior, group behavior, organization, organizational behavior, performance,
The key terms are in the text in color bold type with their definitions italicized making
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The following critical thinking questions can be used for class discussion and/or as written assignments to develop
communication skills. The questions can also be used for exams.
Note: The questions are based on opinions and personal experiences, so there are no correct answers.
1. Which myth about human relations do you think is the one that holds back development of human relations
skills more than the others?
2. Which person and contribution from the human relations past do you find to be the most impressive?
3. Which one of the trends or challenges do you believe is the most relevant to human relations?
4. Which one of the 10 guidelines to effective human relations do you think is the most important?
5. Which of the three ways to handle human relations problems is the easiest and hardest for you?
6. Of the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and leadership skills, which one is your strongest and which is your
weakest?
WORK APPLICATION SAMPLE ANSWERS
You may give these student answers below as part of your lecture before, after, or in place of
getting student answers. You may have students write out their answers and pass them in to be
graded. Another option is to use them on the exams.
All the work application questions appear in the test bank so that you can assess students’
ability to apply the concepts to their work world. However, because student answers will vary,
there are no answers in the test bank.
You may also want to limit the number of work applications that you expect students to pass in for grading and/or to
know for the exams. For example testing, you could select say 2-5 from each chapter that you believe are the most
important things that students should be able to apply to their jobs. Assume you have a total of 10 for an exam. You
could tell students to have prepared answers to all 10 and that you will select say 3 of them for the exam.
WA 1- In your own words, why are human relations skills important to you. How will they
help you in your career?
Student Answer (SA)- When I graduate I want to be a manager. A major part of being a
manager is getting the job done through people, so I need to be able to work well with people.
WA 2- Give an example, personal if possible, of when the goal of human relations was meet.
Explain how the individual’s needs were met and organizational objectives achieved.
SA- This past summer I worked construction to earn money to pay for college. My boss knew
WA 4- Give two specific examples of when you experienced human relations– one in a
positive way, the other in a negative way. Also identify the level of behavior for both human
relations.
SA- I experience individual human relations every time I go out on a date with my boyfriend.
This is a positive experience. I’ve experienced negative human relations with a group before
WA 5- Give two specific examples of how human relations affected your performance– one
in a positive way, the other in a negative way. Be sure to be specific in explaining the effects
of human relations.
SA- When I worked in a cotton department my job was to pull cotton apart and bundle it. I
was working fast and this older man Bill came up to me and said to take it easy, not to work
WA 6- Give a specific example, personal if possible, of when the Hawthorne effect occurred.
It could be when a teacher, coach, or boss gave you special attention that resulted in your
increased performance.
SA- Through the fourth grade I didn’t like school at all. In the fifth grade I had Mrs. Salmon
WA 7- Explain how one of the trends and challenges does, or will personally affect your
human relations.
SA- I’ve experienced a changing work force. Four years ago when I first started working
WA 8- Do you believe that you can and will develop your human relations abilities and skills
through this course. Explain your answer.
SA- Yes. I do believe that people can develop their human relations skills. Looking through
WA 9- Which two of the 10 guidelines to human relations needs the most effort on your part?
the least? Explain your four answers.
SA- The most effort needed is to remember people’s names, but I also have a hard time
WA 10- Give a specific example of a human relations problems in which you elected to
change yourself, rather than the other person or situation. Be sure to identify your changed
behavior.
SA- I used to work this guy who would make these wisecracks all the time about my work. I
APPLICATION SITUATION ANSWERS
NOTE: There are multiple choice test questions in the test bank that are similar to the AS in
the text to assess application ability.
Due to Chapter 1 being primarily an introduction to the course, most of the application
situations are fairly easy, and can be found in the book. In future chapters most application
situations will be more applied.
Application Situation Answers
Understanding Important Terms, AS 1.1
1. E. Performance. Karl has met the expectation or objective.
2. B. The employee is meeting the need for possessions, while achieving organizational
objectives–high performance.
3. C. Human relations. Jack and Jill are interacting.
4. A. Behavior. Working on a report is “doing” something.
5. D. Organization. They include groups of people working to achieve an objective.
Exhibit 1-3 The Relationship between Behavior, Human Relations, and Performance may be
shown to illustrate the relationship.
Application Situation Answers
Focus of Study, AS-1.2
6. C.C. Organizational/Performance. Apple is an organization, and its income statement is a
7. B.C. Group/Performance. Sales is a group/department within the organization, and its sales
8. B.B. Group/Human Relations. Juan and Peg are a group, and they are interacting.
9. C.A. Organizational/Behavior. The entire organization is shown. By looking at the
organization chart, you cannot necessarily determine who is interacting. The department titles
10. A.A. Individual/Behavior. Latoya is an individual, and he is not interacting by writing a
Application Situation Answers.
Human Relations History, AS 1.3
11. A. Berne. He is the author of TA.
12. D. Owen. He has been called the “real father” of personnel administration.
Application Situation Answers
Challenges of Human Relations AS 1-4
16. B. Diversity. Minorities provide diversity at work.
17. E. Ethics. The code is a commonly called a code of ethics.
CASE ANSWERS
W.L. Gore & Associates: How Employees Relate to One Another Sets Gore Apart.
1. What evidence is there that W.L. Gore & Associates aspires to meet the goal of human relations?
Commitment is seen as a two-way street at W. L. Gore & Associates—while associates are expected to commit
2. How does Gore & Associates depict an organization that fully appreciates the “Systems Effect?”
According to the systems effect all people in the organization are affected by at least one other person, and each
person affects the whole group or organization. The organization’s performance is based on the combined
performance of each individual and group. To have high levels of performance, the organization must have
3. One can argue that W. L. Gore’s lattice structure encompasses some of the unexpected discoveries
brought out by Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies. Identify some features of the lattice structure
that align with some of the unexpected discoveries of the Hawthorne studies.
The sponsors program communicates a sense of importance and special attention to new employees and thus
makes them want to perform better for the organization. This is the Hawthorne effect. Direct lines of
4. How does Gore’s “sponsorship” program contribute towards meeting some of the nine human relations
guidelines outlined in the chapter?
The nine human relations guidelines outlined in the chapter are (1) be optimistic, (2) be positive, (3) be
genuinely interested in other people, (4) smile and develop a sense of humor, (5) call people by name, (6) listen
5. Watch the video
(http://www.managementexchange.com/video/terri-kelly-wl-gores-original-management-model-0) of
CEO, Terri Kelly, and describe what she believes people would find surprising about management and
how they work with their people at W. L. Gore.
Terri said at this point she might take it for granted, but the principles at Gore have stood the test of time. First,
Gore management still believes they are not a command and control organization (they don’t just like to tell
CASE EXERCISE AND ROLE-PLAY—There are no answers
OBJECTIVE CASE ANSWERS
Supervisor Susan’s Human Relations
NOTE: There are no cases in the test bank. However, there are multiple choice test questions
in the test bank that are similar to case questions 1-10 to assess application ability.
1. A. Is. Apparently Susan cannot interact with Pete effectively.
2. B. Win-lose. Susan wants high performance (she wins) and she does not care about meeting
3. B. Is not. Susan wants a separation of personal and job roles.
4. D. All three. The systems affect states that each individual’s behavior affects the whole
5. D. All three. Peter’s personal problem is affecting his behavior, the human relations of the
6. B. Individual/performance. Susan’s focus is on and Peter and his work output, not the
7. C. Group/human relations. Tim is responsible for Susan’s human relations within her
8. C. Bring Pete and Susan together to resolve it. Reprimanding Peter or telling him not to
9. D. Be genuinely interested in other people. Susan must realize that an employee’s personal
10. A. Should. Like many people in organizations Susan need to develop her human relations
11. The answers will be personal opinions without one right answer. However, managers with
12. Generally, Susan should listen to Pete and try to create a win-win situation so that Pete can
13. As stated above, Tim should work with Susan to help develop her human relations ability.
NOTE: Susan’s meeting with Pete and/or a meeting held by Tim with Susan and Pete can be
role-played in class. However, the intent of the case is not to teach students how to handle
VIDEOS
Hot Seat Videos and Behavior Model Videos are available to be used with this chapter. See separate Instructor
Resources Guide for each type of video.
SKILL BUILDING EXERCISE, SB 1-1
Getting to Know You by Name
NOTE: Before doing this exercise decide if you will use permanent class groups for all
exercises. Use of permanent groups was discussed in the introduction to this Instructor’s
Manual. If you elect to use permanent groups, and have students add and drop the course you
may want to wait a few classes before setting up the groups. You can do this exercise after
finishing chapter 1, or before you start it.
The author recommends doing this exercise because it helps set the proper tone for a human
relations class. He has done this exercise on the first day of class without permanent groups,
he has created them later and allowed the members to get acquainted at the first time they
work together. The author’s students don’t usually buy the book before the first class, so he
just reads the exercise to them, and writes the three Question categories on the board during
procedure 6.
Total time (up to 50 minutes)
Times will vary with class size. Select a time limit and allot times for each procedure. Below
is a sample time schedule for a 50-minute period.
Remember, your class may need more or less time for each procedure.
Recommended approximate time for a 50-minute period.
8:00 Procedure 1 5 minutes
8:05 ” 2 5 “
8:10 ” 3 2 “ This is for permanent groups only
8:12 ” 4 3 ”
8:15 ” 5 5 “ This is for permanent groups only
8:20 ” 6 8 “
8:28 ” 7 15 “
8:43 Questions 5 “
8:48 Conclusion 2 “
8:50 50 minutes
If you do not use permanent groups you will have 7 minutes for procedures 3 and 5, which
you will skip, you can give them more time during procedure 2, getting to know each other. If
your class is slower, you can finish the exercise during the next class. If your class is faster
you can spend more time on the discussion, and/or do the application, and sharing sections.
Questions/Conclusion:
Most students realize the importance of calling people by name. One technique they can use
to help remember people’s names when they first meet them is to address the other part with a
greeting that states their name, such as “how do you do Bill.” Than call the person by name
Skills Assessment of SB 1.2 (No questions in Test Bank)
Because there are no objectives or correct measures of human relations related to Chapter 1,
the test bank does not have any questions related to SB 1.2. However, throughout the other
chapters, students can be tested on specific human relations skills.
SKILL BUILDING EXERCISE, SB 1-2
Course Objectives
NOTE: Taking some time to do this exercise helps to reinforce the need for students to do the
self-assessment exercises in the text. If you fail to spend any time on them in class, students
may not think they are important and skip over them.
Total time (5-30 minutes)
Select a time limit and option. Option C takes the longest and is the more difficult to time
precisely.
Skills Assessment of SB 1-1 (No questions in Test Bank)
Because there are no correct measures of objectives, the test bank does not have any questions
related to SB 1.1. However, in Chapter 6 students will learn how to write objectives following
a model. Thus, in Chapter 6 you can test students on their skill at writing objectives.
SKILL BUILDING EXERCISE, SB 1-3
Human Relations Overview—OBingo Icebreaker
Total Time (5-15 minutes)
Select a time for them to get OBingo. You may make concluding remarks about the topics or
other issues. Students often enjoy getting up and walking around playing the game.