Deck 13: Administrative Support and Sales

Question 1

Commissions in sales work are associated with all of the following EXCEPT

A)selling costlier items.
B)gender.
C)traditional practices in the establishment.
D)having specialized information about the product.
E)geographic region of the country.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The "persistence of the secretary" is due to

A)the recognition that technology sometimes fails.
B)the persistence of multiple clerical tasks that require the attention of a single worker.
C)government definitions of what constitutes an occupation.
D)the unwillingness of managers to use technology to replace labor.
E)recognition that hierarchy is dysfunctional in contemporary organizations.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The rationalization of clerical workers produced all of the following specializations, EXCEPT:

A)receptionists
B)typists, in typing pools
C)switchboard operators
D)secretaries
E)word processors, in word processing pools

Answer 3

D

Question 4

An important qualification for nearly every clerical job in the United States is:

A)good looks.
B)being unmarried.
C)good written and spoken English language skills.
D)family connections.
E)job experience.

Question 5

When few jobs were available to working women, an attraction of clerical work was

A)its relatively high status.
B)its relatively shorter hours.
C)its relatively higher pay.
D)its relative cleanliness.
E)all of the above.

Question 6

Telephones made obsolete the work of the

A)receptionist.
B)copyist.
C)bookkeeper.
D)clerk.
E)messenger.

Question 7

Reorganization of work and the introduction of new office equipment were responsible for

A)increased upward occupational mobility among clerical workers.
B)provision of more extensive on-the-job training.
C)promotion into management tasks for secretaries.
D)downsizing most offices.
E)greater occupational specialization among clerical workers.

Question 8

In terms of gender stereotyping, computer operators

A)have always been predominantly female.
B)have always been predominantly male.
C)have been male in male-dominated companies.
D)have been predominantly female if the job was part-time.
E)have been both male-dominant and female-dominant at different times.

Question 9

An important trend in low-paid sales jobs is

A)an increase in male workers.
B)an increase in part-time work.
C)an unwillingness to hire entry-level workers.
D)increasing fringe benefits.
E)increasing the number of hours worked each week.

Question 10

A contributing factor to the increased number of clerical jobs between 1870 and 1930 was

A)the passage of the income tax amendment.
B)implementation of affirmative action guidelines.
C)the need to keep financial records after the introduction of cost accounting.
D)increased literacy in the population.
E)lack of new office technology.

Question 11

Which is NOT an aspect of clerical jobs affected by work reorganization?

A)job content
B)relations among workers
C)authority
D)supervision
E)autonomy

Question 12

In a rationalized office, clerical workers are more likely to be

A)autonomous.
B)loosely supervised.
C)lonely.
D)underworked.
E)highly skilled.

Question 13

What innovation in clerical work occurred during the United States' Civil War?

A)Typewriters were invented.
B)Battlefield logistics planning led to the development of shorthand.
C)A process used to manufacture field artillery shells was adapted to produce carbon paper.
D)The army developed a specialized job of secretary.
E)Because of a shortage of men, women were hired as clerks in the Department of Treasury.

Question 14

Which of the following characterize(s) rationalization of clerical work?

A)increased specialization of tasks
B)management seeks efficiency
C)adoption of new technologies
D)b and c only
E)a, b, and c

Question 15

What is the central feature of job enlargement of clerical work?

A)increased routinization of work
B)in the larger pool of workers each has fewer tasks
C)in the larger pool of workers each has lower status
D)each job is larger and more interesting
E)longer hours with fewer breaks

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the textbook as a marketing innovation that has affected the organization of sales work?

A)the development of department stores
B)the creation of chains of stores
C)the development of self-service stores
D)longer operating hours of retail stores
E)the reinstatement of "blue laws" prohibiting Sunday sales of many goods

Question 17

Some store owners were reluctant to hire _______ in sales jobs for fear that potential customers would dislike the new sales workers.

A)minority group members
B)college graduates
C)unmarried men
D)high school drop-outs
E)middle-aged women

Question 18

Which of the following is true of clerical operatives?

A)They are defined and classified by the machines they operate.
B)They are supervisors of clerical workers.
C)Their jobs indicate a decrease in clerical specialization.
D)They represent a trend toward professionalization among clerical workers.
E)They are more likely than other clerical workers to be men.

Question 19

According to the textbook, why has sales work increased over time?

A)New technology, such as the "intelligent" cash register, necessitate more jobs in sales.
B)Workers have been displaced from shrinking farming and precision craft occupations into sales jobs.
C)Improvements in transportation and communication and increases in disposable income have increased markets.
D)Department stores have displaced specialty stores and provided many more jobs in sales.
E)Direct sales workers create jobs for themselves when other jobs are unavailable.

Question 20

Office specialization is least likely

A)where there is extensive use of office equipment.
B)where there is a typing pool in use.
C)where there are many clerical workers.
D)where the office is small.
E)where pay is low.

Question 21

Which of the following would not be classified as a clerical worker?

A)telephone operator
B)bank teller
C)postal clerk
D)librarian
E)word processor

Question 22

The Christmas holidays are associated with:

A)traditional layoffs of secretaries.
B)higher commissions for sales workers.
C)higher employment of part-time sales workers.
D)lower employment levels for sales workers.
F)the entry of more workers into clerical jobs.

Question 23

Rationalizing of office tasks has led to

A)paying higher salaries to clerical workers.
B)hiring fewer clerical workers.
C)the typing pool.
D)the development of telephones.
E)a general slowdown in business correspondence.

Question 24

High school and business school courses in typing and other clerical skills allowed employers to

A)reduce turnover.
B)increase fringe benefits.
C)avoid discrimination.
D)reduce training costs.
E)reduce supervision.

Question 25

A major change in clerical work between the early 19th century and the late 20th century was

A)the declining literacy required for clerical work.
B)the need for multiple copies of documents.
C)elimination of potential mobility into management.
D)professionalization of clerical work.
E)the development of clerical work as a full-time job.

Question 26

Each of the clerical jobs below, with one exception, has been made obsolete by a technological innovation.What is the exception?

A)copyist
B)bookkeeping machine operator
C)keypunch operator
D)computer operator
E)stenographer

Question 27

Technology

A)affects relatively few clerical jobs.
B)has transformed nearly every clerical occupation.
C)affects only large offices.
D)has had no effect on sales workers.
E)has not affected clerical workers' productivity.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a reason that native-born white women became the major source of labor supply for clerical jobs in this century?

A)willingness to accept lower pay than men
B)the high status and high pay of clerical work relative to factory and service work
C)they already possessed many of the necessary skills because of increasingly widespread secondary education
D)they generally have better written language skills than men, and thus are better suited to the job
E)immigrants and minority women experienced discrimination in hiring for clerical jobs.

Question 29

Displacement, transformation, and the emergence of new occupations characterize

A)the business cycle.
B)responses to new technology.
C)the stereotyping of personnel functions.
D)increased competition.
E)job enlargement.

Question 30

Old office is to new office as boss is to

A)computer.
B)telephone.
C)supervisor.
D)technology.
E)work reorganization.

Question 31

One likely effect of technology upon sales jobs will be

A)to increase the skill needed for sales work.
B)to reduce discrimination in promotions.
C)to increase the number of boutique-type specialty shops.
D)to make sales work resemble clerical work.
E)to increase the number of sales workers needed.

Question 32

In general, managers can save money by not hiring more sales workers and instead

A)cutting prices.
B)instituting self-service.
C)hiring security guards.
D)installing closed-circuit television.
E)building smaller stores.

Question 33

Compared with other occupational groups, clerical workers have

A)higher barriers to entry.
B)lower unemployment rates.
C)more extensive training.
D)lower need for health benefits.
E)more chances for upward mobility.

Question 34

New cash registers in fast food restaurants have pictures of hamburgers and fries on the keys.Why?

A)Prices of the products never change.
B)Sales workers are usually illiterate.
C)Sales workers deal with so many customers that they do not have time to enter the prices.
D)The pictures reduce the levels of skill and training required for sales workers.
E)The cash registers cannot be resold if they are stolen.

Question 35

According to the text, the future of clerical work appears:

A)optimistic.
B)pessimistic.
C)routinized.
D)rationalized.
E)ambiguous.

Question 36

The opposite of job enlargement is

A)downsizing.
B)specialization.
C)technological displacement.
D)productivity.
E)erasure.

Question 37

In the text, the "pessimistic view" of the future of clerical workers is

A)less information available to everyone.
B)bosses getting their own coffee.
C)more technological displacement.
D)more productivity.
E)job reorganization.

Question 38

Why is it difficult to project the number of clerical jobs that will be available in the future?

A)New technology may either displace clerical workers, or lead to new clerical jobs.
B)Some clerical jobs are undergoing professionalization.
C)Some clerical jobs are undergoing deprofessionalization.
D)The lines are often blurred between clerical and sales jobs.
E)The supply of clerical workers is uncertain.

Question 39

An example of professionalization in clerical work is

A)accountants.
B)bookkeepers.
C)cashiers.
D)copyists.
E)typists.

Question 40

An important source of increased numbers of administrative support workers was the growth of

A)hospitals.
B)department stores.
C)airlines.
D)government agencies.
E)wholesale firms.

Question 41

Direct sales does NOT involve

A)telephones.
B)stores
C)payment by customers
D)Inventory
E)financial risk for the workers.

Question 42

Long-distance merchandising has resurged because of

A)the postal service.
B)Federal Express.
C)the Internet.
D)fax machines.
E)money orders.

Question 43

Many law firms continue to employ "runners," workers whose job it is to deliver documents by hand to courts, other law firms, and individuals.This job represents the persistence of what occupation?

A)messenger
B)copyist
C)bookkeeper
D)typist
E)secretary

Question 44

An anomaly about clerical pay in the 1800s was

A)the higher the pay, the lower the productivity.
B)women received less pay than men, but still earned more in clerical work than in any other field.
C)typewriters and bookkeeping machines, which were expensive to acquire, also raised the customary wages of clerical workers.
D)minority women, who were rarely hired as clerical workers, were paid more than men when they were hired.
E)married women were paid more than single women for doing the same work.

Question 45

The smaller the size of the firm,

A)the larger the technology bill.
B)the greater the need for routinization.
C)the lower the significance of paperwork.
D)the more routine the transactions.
E)the lower the level of occupational specialization.

Question 46

Personal shoppers

A)will be hired in large numbers by chain stores.
B)are projected to replace telemarketing.
C)represent a competitive technique of providing greater service to customers.
D)have a narrower range of skills than other sales workers.
E)enjoy less autonomy than other sales workers.

Question 47

Clerks had higher prestige when

A)literacy was uncommon.
B)carbon paper replaced copying.
C)supervisors enforced a dress code.
D)communication was not important.
E)most people spoke English.

Question 48

As a claims adjuster for an insurance company, Catherine has done nothing except process claims.Because of changes in her company, she will now have a group of policies to service, from the purchase of the policy through annual renewals, and including any claims the customer might have.Catherine will be the only point of contact for her group of customers for anything they need from the insurance company.This change in Catherine's job is an example of

A)technological displacement.
B)routinization.
C)rationalization.
D)technological determinism.
E)job enlargement.

Question 49

Employers justified lower pay for women clerical workers because

A)turnover was expected to be high.
B)machines made clerical jobs less strenuous.
C)extensive training was required.
D)both a and b
E)both b and c