9-2 - faculty website index valencia collegefd.valenciacollege.edu/file/jconrick1/test study guide 9...

9-2.Evidence suggests that U.S. manufacturing firms can no longer compete against the best firms in the rest of the world.

Answer: False LG: 1/LL: 1 Page: 268

9-7.Firms that specialize in accounting, finance, and management consulting are all part of the service sector.

Answer: True LG: 1/LL: 1 Page: 269

9-8.Operations management is a specialized area in management that is concerned with the production of both goods and services.


9-17.When it comes to location decisions, labor costs are no longer an important consideration for most manufacturing firms.


Facility layout is a function of operations management that involves determining the best way to arrange resources in order to produce goods and services effectively and efficiently.


9-33. Quality control techniques such as statistical process control reduce the need to have an expensive quality control inspection at the end of the production process.


9-40. ISO 9000 refers to a set of international standards for quality management and assurance.


9-44. Firms that satisfy the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards have demonstrated a world-class management system in both quality and environmental standards.


9-45. Abdou Ndiaye currently is a manager at a large manufacturing company. However, he has accepted a management position with a company that provides a service. Both his current job and the one he has accepted involve operations management responsibilities. Abdou is likely to find that operations management functions in his new firm are totally different than they are in the manufacturing company.


Rationale: Operations management in the service sector involves many of the same functions as in the manufacturing sector. For example, whether Abdou works for a manufacturing firm or a firm that provides services, he would be involved in decisions concerning facility location, facility layout, and quality control.

9-48.Solarsys Aeronautics has just been awarded a contract to build a large lab module that will be attached to a new space station. The module is approximately 48 feet long, 17 feet in diameter, and weighs over sixty tons. Solarsys should use an assembly line plant layout to produce this module.


Rationale: Firms are moving away from assembly line layouts. Moreover, a product as large as this module would be awkward and difficult to move along an assembly line. When producing a large, bulky, one of a kind item such as a bridge or ship (or a large space station module), firms normally use a fixed position layout.

9-51. Recent research suggests that the best way to maintain consistently high quality in the production process is to give a group of specialists in a separate quality control department the authority to inspect each product at the end of the production process.

Answer: False LG: 2/LL: 2 Page: 275-276

Rationale: Today, quality control tries to catch errors before they happen. Standards and methods such as six sigma, statistical quality control, and statistical process control focus on what is happening at each stage of the production process. These techniques eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) the need for a quality control inspection at the end of the production process.

9-53. Managers who are trying to improve the quality control process at the Bondstock Corporation have recently discussed the importance of the Deming Cycle. This suggests that these managers are aware of the need to find potential problems before they occur.


Rationale: The Deming Cycle (named after the father of the quality control movement) consists of four stages: plan, do, check, and act. Modern quality control techniques such as SQC and SPC provide ways to implement this cycle. The idea behind these approaches is to find problems before they occur.

9-54. Managers who are trying to improve the quality control process at the Bondstock Corporation have recently discussed the importance of the Deming Cycle. This suggests that these managers are aware of the need to find potential problems before they occur.


Rationale: The Deming Cycle (named after the father of the quality control movement) consists of four stages: plan, do, check, and act. Modern quality control techniques such as SQC and SPC provide ways to implement this cycle. The idea behind these approaches is to find problems before they occur.

9-67. A key to success for service firms is to establish a dialog with customers that will enable operations managers to focus on meeting consumer demands faster and more efficiently.


9-85. Materials requirement planning (MRP) enables a firm to make sure that the right amount of each material or component is available at the right time to satisfy its production needs.


9-84. One drawback of intermittent production processes is that they tend to be much slower than continuous processes.


9-90. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) can be used to link multiple firms into one integrated production unit.


9-85. Materials requirement planning (MRP) enables a firm to make sure that the right amount of each material or component is available at the right time to satisfy its production needs.


9-94. The main difference between process manufacturing and an assembly process is that process manufacturing uses sophisticated robots and automated machinery to produce a good or service, while an assembly process uses labor and simple tools to make a product.


Rationale: Process manufacturing involves physically or chemically changing materials. An assembly process combines components to make a product.

9-95. Featured Furnishings is a company that specializes in producing custom-made furniture. A continuous production process would be the most efficient way for Featured Furnishings to produce its products.


Rationale: Since it’s products are made to order rather than mass produced, Featured Furnishings would be more likely to use an intermittent process that would allow it to respond more flexibly to specific customer preferences.

9-99. Frolichstein Fabrics promotes itself as a specialty manufacturer that will produce according to customer specifications. This firm will probably be best served by using an intermittent process in production.


Rationale: An intermittent process is characterized by short production runs and frequent adjustments to machinery in order to produce different products. This type of system works well for firms producing customized products in small batches.

9-105. The primary characteristic of a just-in-time inventory system is that suppliers deliver parts and materials "just in time" to go on the assembly line.


9-113. Today, rather than purchase goods and services from a large number of firms, manufacturers often try to develop a close relationship with one or two key suppliers.


9-121. CAD/CAM has made it possible to custom-design products to meet the tastes of small markets with very little increase in costs.


9-128. A major advantage of a just-in-time inventory system is that it reduces costs and the effort for both the producer and its suppliers.


Rationale: A just-in-time inventory system requires more effort from suppliers to coordinate with producers and deliver goods on a frequent basis. This extra effort may increase the cost to suppliers.

9-129. Although lean manufacturing attempts to reduce the amount of labor used in the manufacturing process, it typically does so by increasing the amount of most of the other resources used in the production process.


Rationale: Lean manufacturing is the production of goods using less of everything compared to mass production: less human effort, but also less investment in tools, less manufacturing space, and even less engineering time.

9-132. Carol Preston is the plant manager for a firm that makes coats and jackets. She would like to use CAD/CAM techniques to be able to custom-make these items. Unfortunately, CAD/CAM is much better suited for producing industrial goods like machinery and equipment than it is at producing consumer goods like coats and jackets.


Rationale: CAD/CAM techniques are revolutionizing the design and production of both industrial and consumer goods. In fact, the text cites the clothing industry as one in which CAD/CAM holds great promise.

9-135. A major purpose of the program evaluation and review technique (PERT) is to identify the minimum time needed to complete a project.


9-140. Compared to PERT networks, Gantt charts provide a more basic way to track progress on a given project.


9-191. Which of the following events would be the strongest evidence that a firm's efforts to improve quality control were achieving their desired result? A) A survey of customers indicates a significant increase in the level of

customer satisfaction. B) The quality control department indicates that the number of defective parts

has dropped significantly. C) Costs per unit of output decline by more than 10 percent. D) Total output increases by 20 percent without an increase in labor or

materials.

Answer: A LG: 2/LL: 3 Page: 276

Rationale: today, customers determine the ultimate standard for quality. A survey that showed a significant improvement in customer satisfaction would be a strong indication that quality control programs were working.

1010-7.A key element of Frederick Taylor's approach was the time and motion study, which

examined the tasks performed to complete a job and the time needed to complete each task.


10-9.Scientific management became the dominant strategy for improving productivity during the early 1900s.


10-5. When unhappy workers leave a company, the firm normally ends up benefiting financially.


10-18. Randy is a supervisor at an assembly plant for a major manufacturer. Randy has observed that most workers he supervises are more productive if he lets them have some freedom and flexibility in how they go about their work. Randy's experience is consistent with the teachings of scientific management.


Rationale: Scientific management emphasized that all workers should use the most efficient methods for performing tasks, as determined by time and motion studies. In this sense, scientific management viewed workers as if they were machines that could be programmed to complete a job as efficiently as possible.

10-34. According to Maslow, a satisfied need is no longer a motivator.


10-15. Frederick Taylor encouraged managers to make use of psychological techniques to improve worker motivation.


10-48. Herzberg found that the sense of achievement workers experienced when they performed their jobs was an important motivator.

Answer: True LG: 4/LL: 1 Page: 305-306

10-53. Herzberg's findings suggest that the best way for firms to increase worker motivation is to focus on improving pay and making working conditions more pleasant.


Rationale: Herzberg found that pay, working conditions, and other aspects of the job environment were hygiene factors, not motivators. The best motivators all involve job content. Thus, to improve motivation, firms should focus their efforts on making the work itself more interesting and rewarding.

10-64. Job simplification attempts to increase task efficiency by breaking the job into simple steps and assigning people to perform each of those steps.


10-65. Job simplification is an effective strategy for managers who want to achieve job enrichment .


10-79. Managers who make Theory X assumptions about workers tend to watch their subordinates very closely and provide detailed instructions to workers about how they should do their jobs.


10-81. Theory Y assumes that the most people are capable of using a relatively high degree of imagination and cleverness to solve problems.


10-78. Theory X-type managers try to motivate workers by giving them a great deal of freedom and responsibility.


10-83. Theory Y managers are unlikely to use empowerment to motivate workers.

Answer: Flase LG: 6/LL: 1 Page: 310

10-89. Theory Z calls for the creation of a sense of participation and cooperation within an organization.


10-90. Theory Z emphasizes reliance on individual creativity and initiative rather than collective decision-making.


10-94. Jenny is a creative and intelligent person who likes to work independently on challenging projects. Jenny would be most effective when working for a Theory X-type manager.


Rationale: Theory X-type managers expect workers to follow orders and give them little freedom and flexibility to be creative. Jenny probably would become very frustrated under the direction of a Theory X-type manager.

10-102. Management by objectives is a strategy for involving all members of an organization in goal setting and implementation.


10-107. Management by objectives seeks to get everyone in the organization involved in the discussion, review and evaluation of the organization’s objectives.


10-118. According to researchers David Nadler and Edward Lawler, managers should set performance standards that are attainable only by the most talented and dedicated employees.


10-123. The basic principle of equity theory is that workers try to maintain fairness between their efforts and their compensation compared to others in similar positions.


10-124. Equity theory tells us that when workers perceive inequitable treatment they will respond in a manner that will attempt to reestablish fairness.


10-132. Ruth Eday is sorry she ever hired Helen Highwater. Helen’s work is sloppy and often late. Moreover, she doesn’t get along well with most of the other employees and frequently initiates arguments. According to reinforcement theory, the most effective way for Ruth to deal with Helen’s behavior is to wait for Helen to do something good, and then praise and reward her for the result.


Rationale: Reinforcement theory suggests that employees are motivated both by desire to receive a reward (positive reinforcement) and by the desire to avoid punishment (negative reinforcement). Thus, while Ruth could certainly try to use positive reinforcements such as praise, she could also try to change Helen’s behavior by using negative reinforcements such as reprimands.

10-134. You get a lower grade in a course than your friend did even though you studied more during the semester and attended class more often. As a result, equity theory predicts that you might convince yourself that "Grades aren't all that important. After all, lots of people who succeed in the real world didn't make good grades in school."


Rationale: According to equity theory, if people perceive what they believe is an unfair result, they tend to react in one of two ways: (1) by reducing their effort, or (2) by rationalizing. A student could rationalize receiving a lower grade than someone else by downplaying the importance of good grades.

10-153. One way for a firm to improve motivation of workers is to establish special rest rooms, dining areas, and parking areas for top executives.


Rationale: Modern motivational techniques emphasize the need for open two-way communication among workers and managers. Special facilities for executives are barriers to effective two-way communication within an organization, and create an "us versus them" attitude among workers.

10-160. _________________ was the father of scientific management. A) Elton Mayo B) Frank Gilbreth C) Henry Gantt D) Frederick Taylor

Answer: D LG: 1/LL: 1 Page: 300

10-169. According to the principles of scientific management, the best way to improve productivity is to: A) give workers greater recognition for their efforts.B) establish open two-way communications among all of the organization's

workers and managers.C) use time-motion studies to find the best method of doing each job, then

teach those methods to workers. D) use job rotation and job enlargement to make work more interesting and

challenging.

Answer: C LG: 1/LL: 2 Page: 301

Rationale: Taylor was the father of scientific management. He thought that the best way to improve productivity was to use scientific studies to determine the most efficient way to do each job, then teach workers how to use these methods.

10-186. According to Maslow, a higher order need:A) always provides greater motivation than a lower order need.B) never provides as much motivation as a lower order need.C) becomes a source of motivation after lower order needs are satisfied.D) contributes directly to the physical survival of the individual.


10-206. Herzberg's research identified several ___________ factors that did not necessarily motivate workers if they were increased, but could cause workers to become dissatisfied if they were missing or inadequate. A) retroactive B) inferior C) hygiene D) negative


10-217. The characteristic of work that is concerned with the amount of direct and clear information workers receive about performance is called: A) linkage. B) feedback. C) autonomy. D) task significance.

Answer: B LG: 5/LL: 1 Page: 308

10-220. ________ emphasizes motivating the worker through the characteristics of the job itself. A) Automation B) Job engineering C) Scientific management D) Job enrichment


10-221. The practice of moving workers from one job to another to make work more interesting is known as: A) task mobility. B) job rotation. C) job incrementation. D) worker alternation.


10-290. Two things shared by many companies with highly motivated workforces are: A) Theory X management styles and high wage rates. B) open communications systems and self-managed teams. C) acceptance of scientific management and centralized decision-making. D) clear distinctions between managers and workers and a simple line and

staff organizational structure.


10-288. Matt works for a sports marketing firm. He feels that he has been treated unfairly by the organization. He helped three other employees organize a series of successful street hockey tournaments in different regions of the country. While the other employees were given a bonus and corporate recognition, his efforts were ignored. According to equity theory, Matt is likely to respond by: A) ignoring the perceived inequity. B) reaching the conclusion that his treatment is not related to the treatment of

others. C) reducing his efforts on future projects. D) working even harder in the future.


Rationale: Equity theory states that if workers perceive inequity, they will try to reestablish equitable exchanges of their efforts and their rewards. A common reaction is to reduce efforts on future projects.

11

11-2. Human resource management is receiving increased attention because the shift from traditional manufacturing industries to service and high-tech manufacturing industries requires workers to have more technical job skills.


11-3. Recruiting is relatively easy today because qualified labor is so plentiful.


11-20. One purpose of a human resource inventory is to determine whether the labor force is technically up-to-date and well trained.


11-26. A job description identifies and describes the type of person who should perform the job, including important qualifications, such as deduction, skills, and experience.


11-29. Chris Schubert is a human resource manager with the Night Owl Publishing Company. He has just finished a study of what is done by employees who fill various job titles. The study Chris has completed is known as a human resource inventory.


Rationale: A study of what is done by employees who fill various job titles is call a job analysis.

11-30. Lani wants to know how many workers in her company have a certain specialized skill and have received training to update their qualifications within the past year. She could use a human resource inventory to help her find this type of information.


Rationale: A human resource inventory includes the names, ages, education, training, specialized skills and other capabilities and relevant characteristics of a firm’s employees.

11-38. When recruiting, human resource managers must attract people who not only have the right skills, but also fit in with the corporate culture.


11-40. An advantage of hiring from within is that it improves employee morale.


11-47. The Hapennen Corporation is about to diversify into an entirely new market. This move will create the need for several new positions in the production and marketing departments. However, the production technologies and the marketing environment in this new market are very different than in Hapennen’s traditional market. The company is likely to rely on external sources to fill many of the positions created by its diversification.


Rationale: Given the differences in technologies and marketing environments, it is unlikely that Hapennen’s will be able to find enough qualified applicants within the organization to fill the new positions. Thus, it will have to look outside the organization. This is known as external recruitment.

11-49. The amount most businesses spend on selecting and training workers is relatively low.


11-50. Because current legal guidelines limit the types of questions that can be asked, completed job application forms contain very little useful information about job candidates.


11-58. Most U.S. companies now test their employees and job applicants for drug use.


11-59. Part-time workers, seasonal workers and independent contractors are all examples of contingent workers.


11-74. On-the-job training is best suited for jobs that are easily learned or require the employee to perform repetitive physical tasks.


11-85. Randall Rahn is learning to be a carpenter by working alongside experienced carpenters. After one more year of this type of training, his union will classify Randall as a journeyman. Randall is involved in an apprenticeship program.


Rationale: In an apprenticeship program a worker learns a skill by working alongside experienced workers for an extended period of time. Unions frequently require new members to serve as apprentices to assure excellence, and to limit entry into their profession. A worker who successfully completes an apprenticeship program is classified as a journeyman.

11-91. Establishing performance standards is a crucial step in the performance evaluation process.


11-99. Performance appraisals are very useful for new, inexperienced workers and first-line managers, but have little value for top management.


11-104. Mollie Herndon is an office manager at Beaux Neaux Legal Services. The company’s top management recently announced it was adopting a 360-degree review process for performance appraisals of its office managers. Once this policy goes into effect, Mollie can expect her evaluations to include feedback from both the managers above her and the employees she supervises.


Rationale: A 360-degree review is so named because it calls for feedback from all directions: up, down, and all around. In other words, opinions are gathered from workers above, below, and at the same level as the worker being evaluated.

11-109. In recent years labor unions representing workers in the steel and automobile industries have taken a strong stance against accepting any cuts in pay or other forms of compensation.


11-117. Expenditures on fringe benefits have declined as a percentage of total payroll costs over the past several decades.


11-124. As a salesman, Rob Lytle's pay is based on a percentage of his total sales. This type of pay arrangement is known as a commission.

Answer: True LG: 7/LL: 2 Page: 345 (Figure 11.5)

Rationale: A commission is a pay system that is based on a percentage of sales

11-130. Flextime plans are popular with employees because they allow them to work fewer hours while still earning the same income.


11-133. Flextime plans are particularly well suited for workers on an assembly line.


11-134. In a compressed workweek, employees work more hours each day, but work fewer days each week.


11-137. Telecommuting can actually save employers money by reducing their need for office space.


11-138. Job sharing has received a great deal of attention in recent years as more women with small children have entered the labor force.


11-142. Akiko Animoto works for a company that allows her to choose when she begins and ends her workday, as long as she works a required number of hours and is at her job station at certain specified core times. Akiko's company is using a compressed workweek plan.


Rationale: A system which gives employees some flexibility in when they begin and end their work days, as long as they work a required number of hours, is called a flextime plan. Such systems usually specify core times when all employees are expected to be at their workstations.

11-143. Bev Bird's company has announced that it will implement a compressed workweek schedule. If Bev takes part in this plan, she will be allowed to work fewer hours each week, as long as she completes all assignments.


Rationale: Compressed workweeks allow employees to work fewer days per week by working more hours each day. Total hours worked per week are not reduced.

11-147. Transferring an experienced worker to a new position at the same level within an organization can be an effective way to motivate the worker to remain with the company.


11-148. The "employment at will" doctrine maintained that a firm could only fire a worker if it could demonstrate “just cause.”


11-149. In recent years, many companies have avoided hiring permanent workers during periods of growth by using temporary employees and outsourcing some of their functions.


11-151. Exit interviews by a third party can be an effective way for a firm to prevent future losses of valuable employees.


11-152. The prevalence of flatter corporate structures in recent years has increased the number of workers that firms promote.


Rationale: In a flat organization there are fewer levels of management, and thus fewer positions available for promotions. Therefore, it is more common to transfer workers to new positions at the same level than it is to promote them to a higher level.

11-153. The doctrine of "employment at will" means that employees must be allowed to keep their jobs as long as they are willing and able to perform their required duties. Under this doctrine, employers can only fire or layoff an employee if the firm is in serious financial difficulty or the employee is grossly incompetent or has committed a felony.


Rationale: Employment at will is a doctrine that says firms should have as much freedom to fire or layoff workers as the workers have to voluntarily leave.

11-346. Dee's performance appraisal allowed the director to evaluate her performance, but also allowed peers and subordinates to provide feedback as well. This type of appraisal is called a(n): A) vertical appraisal. B) horizontal appraisal. C) global review. D) 360 degree review.


Rationale: A relatively new type of performance appraisal is called a 360 degree review, because it calls for feedback from all directions in the organization. Thus, it allows peers and subordinates to offer comments and suggestions about an employees performance.

11-344. Before the director's accident, Dee had worked with him to devise a plan that would allow each employee to select the fringe benefits he or she wants up to a certain dollar amount. The type of plan Dee and the director developed is known as a(n): A) cafeteria-style fringe benefits plan. B) benefits buffet. C) open options plan. D) flexible spending plan.


Rationale: A cafeteria-style benefits plan allows employees to choose the benefits they want up to a certain dollar amount.

11-335. Laura Benitez was hired as a management trainee by Simulex Corporation through a special program designed to "right past wrongs" by giving females and minorities greater opportunities for employment and advancement. The program is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Laura was hired through a(n) ____________ program. A) discrimination alleviation B) cultural diversity C) positive response D) affirmative action


Rationale: Affirmative action programs are designed to increase opportunities for employment and advancement for women and minorities. The purpose of affirmative action is to "right past wrongs" endured by women and minorities as the result of discrimination.

11-332. Evan McConnell is angry and upset because he was passed over for a promotion even though he believes he was the most qualified candidate. He heard through the company grapevine the promotion went to a female because the firm was afraid of possible action by the EEOC if they did not select a female. What Evan is experiencing is known as: A) reverse discrimination. B) double indemnity. C) de facto discrimination. D) compensatory discrimination.


Rationale: Reverse discrimination is discrimination against whites or males.

11-331. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act gave the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission the authority to: A) prevent firms from firing workers based on union affiliation. B) issue guidelines for employer conduct in administering equal employment

opportunity programs. C) set salary schedules for protected groups. D) require firms to pay women and minority workers more than whites males

for the same work.


Rationale: The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 gave the EEOC the power to establish guidelines for acceptable employer conduct in administering equal employment opportunity, to establish specific record-keeping procedures, and to enforce its mandates.

11-326. Probably the most controversial program enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerns: A) mandatory retirement. B) affirmative action. C) equal pay reporting. D) green card requirements for illegal aliens.


11-320. A firm would be most likely to implement a policy of holding exit interviews if it wanted to:

A) find out why so many of its good employees were quitting.B) implement a golden handshake policy.C) allow immediate supervisors one more chance to convince retiring

workers to stay on the job.D) make sure workers who agreed to telecommute understood their new

responsibilities.


11-311. Two advantages of using ___________ to fill an opening in a company are that it improves the morale of current employees, and the person filling the position is already familiar with the organization’s culture and procedures.A) discouraged workersB) apprenticed workersC) promotions D) external sources


11-307. Steely Percussion Inc. briefly tried to implement a flextime system only to abandon it after a few months. Which of the following is the most likely reason Steely would drop its flextime plan? A) It caused an increase in traffic congestion. B) It often made communication among employees more difficult. C) The employees resented being required to come to work early or stay late.

D) Workers tend to be less productive when they have to work longer hours in a single day.


Rationale: One of the problems with a flextime system is that it can complicate communications among employees. When workers arrive and leave at different times, situations can arise where certain employees are not available when others need to talk to them.

11-298. Most workers resist taking advantage of flexible work schedules because: A) they believe doing so may hurt their careers. B) the plans usually require them to take a pay cut. C) their existing schedules already fit their lifestyles. D) such schedules give them less time to interact with other workers in the

organization.


11-299. In a _____________ arrangement two part-time employees fill one full time job. A) job enlargement B) multitasking C) job sharing D) split shift


11-297. A disadvantage of flextime plans is that they often:A) confuse workers.B) lead to a higher level of absenteeism.C) cause worker morale to decline.D) require supervisors and managers to work longer hours.

Answer: D Lg: 8/LL: 1 Page: 349

11-287. Ruby Bethune works for ElekTek, a firm producing sophisticated electronic equipment used in state-of-the-art security systems. Ruby is happy to see that the value of ElekTek's stock has reached $47 per share, because her company allows many of its employees, including Ruby, to buy a given number of shares of its stock for $30 per share for the next year regardless of how high the market price goes. Electek is offering its employees a stock: A) annuity plan. B) reinvestment plan. C) dividend. D) option plan.

Answer: D LG: 7/LL: 2 Page: 29 (Figure 11.5)

Rationale: A stock option plan allows employees to buy their firm's stock at a specific price for a specific period of time. If the value of the stock rises, this can allow employees to acquire the stock at huge savings.

11-286. Roy Hinds just accepted a job as a supervisor at a small manufacturing plant. His pay starts at $635 per week. Roy is paid on a(n): A) salary system. B) commission plan. C) rolling rate system. D) income averaging plan.

Answer: A LG: 7/LL: 2 Page: 345 (Figure 11.5)

Rationale: A salary system pays workers a fixed amount weekly, biweekly, or monthly.

11-267. Rita Lawless has just evaluated the performance of her subordinates as part of a performance appraisal process. Her next step in this process should be to: A) meet with employees to discuss the results. B) write up a performance review report and submit it to top management. C) adjust the standards based on how well the employees did. D) make decisions about training, promotions, and pay raises.


Rationale: Evaluating the performance of subordinates is the third step in the performance appraisal process. The fourth step is to discuss the results with the employees.

Rationale: Firms need to know why good employees are leaving a company in order to prevent further losses of valuable human resources. One way to obtain this information is to conduct an exit interview. However, this type of interview should be conducted by a third party rather than by the departing employee’s immediate supervisor.

12

12-2.A union is an organization of employees with the main goal of representing its members in employee-management bargaining over job-related issues.


12-3. The main goal of most labor unions has always been to provide members with increased political power.


12-4. Labor unions played a major role in establishing minimum wage laws, child-labor laws, and improvements in job safety.


12-8.The main reason membership in labor unions has declined in recent years has been the passage of anti-labor legislation in the late 1980s that guaranteed all employees of a firm the same wages and benefits whether they joined a union or not.


12-24. Union membership is likely to rise in the coming decade, because the same economic and political conditions that gave rise to unions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are now reappearing.


Rationale: There is a great deal of debate concerning the future strength and viability of unions. However, it would be hard to argue that the conditions that plagued workers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are reappearing. U.S. workers now have legal protection from abuse, exploitation, and discrimination, and contemporary managers tend to take a positive and progressive approach toward dealing with employees.

12-27. The Industrial Revolution slowed the growth of unions by creating a rapidly rising standard of living for most workers.


Rationale: The Industrial Revolution created harsh working conditions for most workers. Hours were long, pay was low, and job security was rare. Child labor was common. These conditions set the stage for the emergence of national labor organizations.

12-35. The National Labor Relations Act gave labor the legal justification to pursue collective bargaining and other key labor issues.


12-36. The process by which a union is recognized by the NLRB as the authorized bargaining agent for a group of workers is called collective bargaining.


12-37. Once a union is certified to represent a group of workers, there is no formal way for the workers to decertify that union.


12-38. Collective bargaining is the process by which representatives of the union and management attempt to negotiate a contract for workers.


12-48. The workers at the Kerriton Company are unhappy with the way their union has been representing them. The Wagner Act allows these workers to take away the union's right to represent them through a process known as decertification.


Rationale: The Wagner Act established a process to take away the right of a union to represent a group of workers. This process is known as decertification.

12-59. Under a union shop agreement, workers must belong to a union before they can be hired.


12-61. A union shop agreement is illegal in states that have passed right-to-work laws.


12-62. In an agency shop, workers who do not belong to the union must pay a union fee or pay regular union dues.


12-63. Under an agency shop agreement, only union members are represented at the bargaining table.


12-65. The majority of grievances are handled by shop stewards and supervisory managers.


12-66. A mediator has the power to impose a binding settlement on labor and management.


12-67. Arbitration is an agreement to bring in an impartial third party to render a binding decision in a labor dispute.


12-69. Winona was recently hired to work at a production plant for Additup Manufacturing. When hired, she was told she must join the union at the plant within 90 days in order to keep her job. Winona is employed in an agency shop.


Rationale: An arrangement that requires workers to join a union within a specified period of time in order to keep their jobs is called a union shop agreement.

12-70. Marina works for a company in which a union is recognized as the bargaining agent for the workers who perform her type of job. However, under the arrangements at her company, Marina is not required to join the union, nor is she required to pay any fees or dues to the union. Marina works under an agency shop agreement.


Rationale: Under an agency shop agreement, workers cannot be required to join a union, but those workers who do not join must pay a union fee. The type of arrangement described in this question appears to be an open shop.

12-71. Mississippi has passed a right-to-work law. This means that union shops are illegal in Mississippi.


Rationale: The Taft-Hartley Act recognized the legality of a union shop, but allowed individual states to declare them illegal through the passage of right-to-work laws.

12-77. The strike historically has been the most powerful weapon unions use to achieve their objectives in labor disputes.


12-80. Postal workers and other employees of the federal government who provide important services are allowed to form unions, but are denied the right to strike.


12-81. The "blue flu" refers to a situation in which union members who are not allowed to strike refuse to work under the pretext of illness.


12-82. In a primary boycott, a union encourages its members and the general public not to buy the goods and services produced by a firm involved in a labor dispute.


12-84. Tactics used by management when collective bargaining breaks down include injunctions and lockouts.


12-91. Hiring strikebreakers to replace striking workers used to be a common management tactic during labor disputes, but it is seldom used today.


12-92. The Taft-Hartley Act gives the president the right to ask for a cooling-off period to temporarily prevent a strike in a critical industry.


12-113. CEO's only earn high salaries and bonuses when their companies earn substantial profits.


12-117. Despite their high pay, most CEOs work fewer hours per week than the average employee in their companies.


12-122. The law protects both women and men from sexual harassment.


12-129. Small firms often offer innovative child care programs as a way of competing for qualified employees.


12-137. It is legal for firms to test only job applicants who belong to groups having a high risk of harboring the HIV virus as a way of reducing the chance of hiring employees who are likely to develop AIDS.


12-141. The high cost of illegal drug use in the workplace has resulted in a rapid rise in the number of firms that test employees and job applicants for drugs.


12-144. ESOPs can be used to improve employee satisfaction by offering them an opportunity to share in the profits of the firm.


12-147. Reece is upset with her employer, the Community Hospital of Springfield. She has just discovered that a male is paid $1.50 per hour more than she is even though they have the same job title, have similar qualifications, and have been employed the same length of time. Unfortunately for Reece, it is legal for the hospital to pay different salaries to different workers who perform the same job.


Rationale: The Equal Pay Act of 1963 states that men and women who perform the same job must receive equal pay

12-298. After gaining union representation, workers with complaints regarding promotions, layoffs, and job assignments will file a(n) ________ with their shop steward. A) grievanceB) arbitration requestC) injunctionD) yellow-dog contract


Rationale: A grievance is a charge by employees that management is not abiding by or fulfilling the terms of the negotiated labor agreement.

12-297. The steps Ima, Boyd and their fellow workers must take to get the union recognized as their authorized bargaining agent are parts of the __________ process. A) accreditation B) arbitrationC) certification D) collective bargaining


Rationale: The process by which a union is recognized by the NLRB as the authorized bargaining agent for a group of workers is known as certification.

12-290. Which of the following statements about sexual harassment is most accurate?A) Only men can be charged with sexual harassment.B) Sexual harassment cannot be proven unless the employee’s submission

to such conduct is made explicitly a term of employment or is used to influence the results of the employee’s performance appraisal.

C) One flaw with the current laws concerning sexual harassment is that they do not take into account the possibility of same-sex harassment.

D) In evaluating charges of sexual harassment, the courts place a great deal of emphasis on whether the behavior was unwelcome.


Rationale: In evaluating charges of sexual harassment, a key word seems to be unwelcome. Unfortunately, this is a difficult standard to define, and the courts are likely to continue to debate its interpretation in the future.

12-287. Which of the following statements about the costs of elder care is most accurate?

A) It should be much less expensive for firms to provide elder care than for them to provide child care.

B) The financial burdens of elder care on the children of aging parents are likely to become less serious in the future than they are today, because many senior citizens are now remaining employed into their 70s rather than retiring in their early 60s.

C) Although elder care is expensive, the good news is that companies can receive a great deal of assistance from the federal government when they establish qualified elder care programs.

D) The costs of elder care are likely to rise very rapidly in coming years as an increasing number of older and more experienced employees face the need to care for aging parents and other relatives.


Rationale: As the workforce of the United States ages, an increasing number of employees will face the need to care for aging parents or other relatives. Since the workers who have elderly parents are likely to be among the company’s most experienced employees, they are likely to be in positions of greater authority and responsibility than workers who have child care needs. Thus, the

cost of absenteeism, tardiness, turnover and reduced productivity of workers with elder care responsibilities could be especially high. Moreover, the federal government currently provides little assistance to providers of elder care.

12-282. Comparable worth primarily is concerned with: A) ensuring equal pay for men and women who work for the same firm and

have the same job title. B) reducing the gap between pay for executives and the pay for non

managerial employees.C) ensuring equal pay for jobs requiring similar levels of skill, education and

training. D) determining whether men or women are better suited to perform various

jobs.


Rationale: Comparable worth does not mean that men and women who perform the same job should receive the same pay. Rather, it focuses on comparing different jobs, to ensure that jobs that require the same levels of skill, education and training receive equal pay.

12-280. One of the major criticisms of executive compensation in the United States is that: A) despite their high pay, top managers usually work fewer hours than other

employees in the firm. B) the compensation of top executives often seems to have little or no

relationship to how well their companies are performing. C) top executives' compensation does nothing to encourage them to improve

the value of their company’s stock. D) many U.S. executives are paid much less than their counterparts earn in

Europe and Japan..


Rationale: The salaries, benefits, stock options, and bonuses earned by top executives sometimes rise even when their companies perform poorly. The text cites the examples of CEO Richard McGinn of Lucent Technologies, who received $12.5 million for getting fired, and Kenneth Lay of Enron, who received over $67 million while his company went into bankruptcy. Additional examples of high pay for poor performance are provided in the Legal Briefcase box in this chapter.

12-278. A program which enables employees to buy part or total ownership of the firm where they work is referred to as a(n): A) negotiated labor-management agreement. B) employee stock ownership plan. C) leveraged buyout. D) golden parachute.

Answer: B LG: 5/LL: 1 Page: 387 12-271. In the United States, child care programs at work are:

A) growing in popularity. B) provided only by the largest U.S. corporations. C) now commonly financed by grants from the federal government. D) declining in popularity as more firms look for ways to cut expenses.


12-267. ____________ refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature. A) Sexual harassment B) Gender bias C) Sexual opportunism D) Sexual coercion


12-253. Managers at BU&U have hired temporary workers to replace striking employees. Management hopes that this will cause striking workers to worry about losing their jobs. The firm is making use of: A) strikebreakers. B) yellow dogs. C) wildcatters. D) underground employees.


Rationale: Strikebreakers is the most commonly used term for workers hired to replace striking workers

12-252. A labor dispute between the AFL-CIO and Gainesville Brewery is into its eighth month. The AFL-CIO has called on its membership and the general public to refuse to purchase Gainesville products. The AFL-CIO is calling for a: A) general boycott. B) secondary boycott. C) primary boycott. D) public boycott.


Rationale: A primary boycott occurs when organized labor encourages its membership and the general public not to buy products produced by a firm involved in a labor dispute.

12-251. A large number of striking workers are currently picketing at the plant entrance to a Memphis Tire and Rubber plant. Because the pickets have threatened people entering the plant and have vandalized some company property, Memphis' management believes it has just cause to ask a court for a(n) __________ placing limits on the number of pickets and their actions while picketing. A) preemptive judgmentB) writ of contentionC) arbitration judgmentD) injunction


Rationale: A court order directing someone to do something, or to refrain from doing something is called an injunction. Courts will only issue injunctions in labor disputes if the company can show just cause.

In recent years some unions have granted concessions and given up benefits secured in earlier contract negotiations in an attempt to save jobs. These concessions are called: A) injunctions. B) givebacks. C) buyouts. D) disbenefits.


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