Deck 2: Managing Demographic and Cultural Diversity

Question 1

Though the glass ceiling was a legitimate issue a few years ago,today the number of women in executive positions of organizations is roughly the same as the number of men at that level.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

One rationale provided for the existence of the glass ceiling for women is that women are viewed as having personality characteristics that are not associated with successful leaders.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Denny's Restaurants were able to successfully institute diversity training efforts that increased the numbers of minority members of its board and management team as well as the number of minority franchise owners.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Race,age,and attitudes are examples of surface level diversity.

Question 5

The Age Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against employees age 40 or older.

Question 6

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment with regard to race,color,sex,religion and national origin.

Question 7

A more diverse work team produces higher quality decisions because more alternatives are considered.

Question 8

When discrimination complaints are filed,the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)acts as a mediator between the company and the complainant.

Question 9

While the American workforce is becoming more diverse,the world's workforce is not.

Question 10

A group with three older males and three younger women will have a strong faultline.

Question 11

It is a commonly held stereotype that men are more relationship-oriented than women.

Question 12

Research indicates that older employees exhibit higher absenteeism than their younger counterparts.

Question 13

In firms pursuing a growth strategy,there is a negative relationship between racial diversity in the firm and company performance.

Question 14

Research indicates that groups with strong faultlines can perform well if certain norms are established.

Question 15

Ethnic minorities experience a wage gap and a glass ceiling even more severe than that faced by women.

Question 16

With the passage of a number of laws in the United States prohibiting discrimination against race,color,gender,religion,national origin and age,complaints filed charging discrimination have largely been eliminated.

Question 17

Deep-level diversity traits are most important for early interactions in the workplace,but as time goes on,surface traits become more important.

Question 18

Employees who are discriminated against experience more stress at work but are no more likely to leave their jobs than those who have not faced discrimination.

Question 19

One of the explanations for the wage gap between men and women is that women pursue occupations that are lower-paying than those pursued by men.

Question 20

The similarity/attraction phenomenon suggests that individuals are attracted to those who are similar to them.

Question 21

To break the ice in an interview situation,an interviewer could legally ask,"What are some of the traditions your family practices for Christmas"?

Question 22

Feminine cultures are more likely to be characterized by a separation of gender roles than masculine cultures.

Question 23

Low power distance societies view an unequal distribution of power as relatively acceptable.

Question 24

Reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities may require the firm's purchase of some equipment for the disabled employees' use but does not require any schedule or job duty modifications.

Question 25

In collectivist cultures,the importance of family is critical to understanding the nature of the society.

Question 26

Companies high in uncertainty avoidance prefer predictable situations and have low tolerance for ambiguity.

Question 27

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures.

Question 28

Research suggests that some employees have a stigma attached to them because they were hired under an affirmative action program.

Question 29

Developing an openness to different experiences is a very viable method to prepare oneself for a global career.

Question 30

Disclosing sexual orientation is the key to explaining work attitudes of lesbian,bisexual,gay and transgender employees.

Question 31

To enhance their cultural intelligence,employees should become experts in one culture.

Question 32

In the United States,the workforce is becoming increasingly multicultural.

Question 33

In high power distance companies,participative decision making is a regular process.

Question 34

Reasonable accommodation for religious reasons does not require schedule modifications although it may require modifications to a firm's dress code.

Question 35

Affirmative action programs are among the most controversial diversity management methods available.

Question 36

Ethical standards held in different societies may emphasize different behaviors as ethical or unethical.

Question 37

One suggestion for building a culture that respects diversity is that managers should be accountable for diversity-related goals.

Question 38

Research suggests that age diversity in a work team can lead to higher performance.

Question 39

An expatriate is an employee who is temporarily assigned to work in a foreign country.

Question 40

Preferential treatment programs for minorities can be illegal in some cases.

Question 41

Which of the following laws prohibits discrimination based on race,color,sex or national origin?

A)Age Discrimination Act
B)Americans with Disabilities Act
C)Family and Medical Leave Act
D)Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Question 42

A total of $3.23 _______ was invested into employment programs in 2008 by Goodwill Industries.

A)billion
B)million
C)thousand
D)dollars

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of effective management of diversity?

A)greater creativity in decision making
B)better service to customers
C)higher productivity of operations
D)more satisfied workers

Question 44

Research on diversity in the workplace has not substantiated which of the following benefit to firms?

A)Diversity,and the presence of faultlines,increases cohesiveness at work.
B)Award-winning diversity management programs lead to higher stock prices for their companies.
C)In companies with a growth strategy,there is a positive correlation between racial diversity in the firm and company performance.
D)Diverse teams make higher quality decisions.

Question 45

IBM,like other firms today,has little difficulty finding minority representation in the computer science and engineering fields.

Question 46

Demographic traits make up

A)deep-level diversity.
B)cultural diversity.
C)collective diversity.
D)surface diversity.

Question 47

Which of the following statements regarding the similarity/attraction phenomenon is INCORRECT?

A)Surface-level traits affect interpersonal interactions only after people have known each other for a long time.
B)Age,race and gender dissimilarity are strong predictors of employee turnover in that employee's early tenure with a firm.
C)Those employees who feel different from other employees in a firm may feel isolated in their early tenure with a firm.
D)Surface traits are attended to because they are assumed to be related to deep-level diversity traits.

Question 48

Which of the following is a deep-level diversity trait?

A)middle-aged
B)Caucasian
C)aggressiveness
D)amputee

Question 49

The similarity/attraction phenomenon may explain which of the following?

A)Minorities are hired as often as their Caucasian counterparts.
B)Disabled individuals are hired as often as those who are not disabled.
C)Women do not earn salaries as high as that of their male counterparts.
D)Women and men have equal access to mentoring opportunities.

Question 50

Goodwill Industries is an advocate for ________.

A)survival of the fittest
B)sales tax
C)using interviews to weed out diverse applicants
D)diversity

Question 51

Which of the following is a surface-level diversity trait?

A)aggressiveness
B)Type A personality
C)being smart
D)being Asian

Question 52

The ways in which people are similar or different from one another is

A)culture.
B)diversity.
C)stereotypes.
D)faultlines.

Question 53

Our first interaction with individuals makes us aware of

A)surface diversity.
B)collective diversity.
C)deep-level diversity.
D)value-based diversity.

Question 54

Managing diversity effectively may have different meanings in different cultures.

Question 55

Surface diversity traits include

A)values.
B)gender.
C)attitudes.
D)beliefs.

Question 56

Which of the following statements on the benefits of effective management of diversity is INCORRECT?

A)Diverse workforces lead to higher-quality decisions.
B)Diverse workforces create cheaper products.
C)Diverse workforces lead to lower litigation costs.
D)Diverse workforces have led to higher stock prices for firms.

Question 57

IBM's diversity management task forces acted on issues that were either based in reality or perception.

Question 58

Deep-level diversity traits include

A)gender.
B)age.
C)attitudes.
D)race.

Question 59

IBM's culture of respecting diversity seems to be creating a competitive advantage for the firm.

Question 60

IBM is a pioneer in programming for a diverse workforce.

Question 61

A faultline is

A)an attribute along which a group is split into subgroups.
B)a generalization about a particular group of people.
C)the way in which people are similar or different from each other.
D)the values,beliefs and customs that exist in a society.

Question 62

The faculty of a Midwestern business school is comprised of 33 males and 4 females.The past five candidates hired have all been male.There seems to be a (an)__________ diversity issue in this workplace.

A)age
B)race
C)religion
D)gender

Question 63

Stereotypes

A)often lead to unfair decisions being made.
B)are never accurate descriptions of particular groups.
C)are assumptions held by only one individual.
D)are often verified prior to making decisions based upon them.

Question 64

Research indicates that groups with faultlines exhibit which of the following characteristics?

A)teams with faultlines make more effective decisions.
B)teams with faultlines are more creative.
C)teams with strong faultlines have the potential to perform well if they can establish certain norms.
D)all diverse teams exhibit faultlines.

Question 65

"Women are bad drivers," is an example of a

A)surface diversity trait.
B)faultline.
C)stereotype.
D)deep-level diversity trait.

Question 66

Which of the following approaches is NOT a viable option to manage the similarity/attraction phenomenon?

A)Develop a formal mentoring program that assigns new employees a mentor in the firm.
B)Provide management training programs that make managers aware of the similarity/attraction phenomenon.
C)Develop a recruiting program based upon peer referrals.
D)Attend to new employees as they enter the organization and during their early stays in the firm.

Question 67

Acme Corporation sales associates are generally attractive Caucasian college age men and women.Individuals who work in the stock room unpacking and readying clothing for displays are young,Asian and African American employees.This scenario suggests that Acme may need to examine their recruiting efforts to address __________ diversity in their stores.

A)gender
B)age
C)race
D)age and race

Question 68

Which of the following statements regarding the explanations for the glass ceiling is INCORRECT?

A)The glass ceiling may exist for women because they lack the education levels necessary to assume high-level managerial positions.
B)The glass ceiling may be based on the stereotype that the male characteristic of assertiveness is necessary to manage,but women tend to be passive.
C)The glass ceiling may exist for women because their accomplishments are often not valued as highly as are those of their male counterparts.
D)The glass ceiling may exist for women because they are viewed as displaying submissive characteristics in contrast to their male counterparts who are viewed as possessing more confidence.

Question 69

Which of the following statements regarding race diversity in the American workplace is correct?

A)Highly-paid minority managers indicate that they have experienced very few situations in the workplace where race was an issue.
B)A majority of American employees surveyed indicate that their firms are quite effective at hiring and promoting minorities.
C)Ethnic minorities experience a slight wage gap but no glass ceiling.
D)Overt discrimination against ethnic minorities still occurs in many workplaces.

Question 70

A workgroup has three Caucasian males and three African American females.How would you categorize the faultline in this group?

A)There is no faultline in the group.
B)There will be a strong faultline in the group.
C)There will be a weak faultline in the group.
D)There will be a faultline of medium strength in the group.

Question 71

Gender discrimination is prohibited by which of the following laws?

A)Age Discrimination Act
B)Americans with Disabilities Act
C)Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
D)Occupational Safety and Health Act

Question 72

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

A)prohibits discrimination against employees older than 65.
B)prohibits discrimination against employees age 40 or older.
C)prohibits discrimination against employees only with regard to pay.
D)is seldom cited in lawsuits as age discrimination is largely absent from the American workplace.

Question 73

All of the following are challenges of managing age diversity in the workplace EXCEPT

A)an age-diverse team has differing opinions on fairness than one not age-diverse.
B)an age-diverse team has different learning styles that vary by generation.
C)an age-diverse team has higher team performance than one not age-diverse.
D)an-age diverse team offers fewer alternatives to a problem than a team where there is limited age diversity.

Question 74

A stereotype is

A)an attribute along which a group is split into subgroups.
B)a generalization about a particular group of people.
C)a way in which people are similar or different from each other.
D)a difference in values,attitudes or beliefs.

Question 75

If a workgroup contained three males,one over 55,one 20 and another 30 years of age,and three females,one 50 years of age,one 30 and one 20 years of age,how would you categorize the faultlines in the group?

A)There will be a strong faultline in this group that aids performance.
B)There will be a strong faultline in the group that weakens performance.
C)There will be a weak faultline within the group.
D)There will be a faultline of medium strength in the group.

Question 76

Age is positively correlated with all of the following behaviors EXCEPT

A)citizenship behaviors.
B)compliance with safety rules.
C)performance.
D)work injuries.

Question 77

Which of the following is not an explanation that has been offered to account for the earnings gap of 21% between the pay of females and males?

A)Women lack the high-level skill sets that men possess.
B)Women have résumé gaps due to time off for childcare.
C)Women pursue lower-paying occupations than men pursue.
D)Women tend to negotiate less than men and when they do negotiate,women attain lower levels of pay than men do.

Question 78

Based on employment statistics,age diversity at work will continue into the future.Thus,the findings from research examining age diversity will become increasingly useful in managing the workforce.Which of the following statements about those research findings is accurate?

A)Older workers are generally stereotyped as more qualified and having higher potential.
B)Older employees are more likely to be absent from their jobs.
C)Older workers are less likely to quit their jobs when dissatisfied at work.
D)Older workers are stereotyped as being more able to handle stress.

Question 79

The glass ceiling

A)is based on a faultline in the employee workgroup.
B)is the underrepresentation of women in executive and upper level management positions of companies.
C)is an issue that was a problem until a decade ago.
D)is the result of the less effective leadership styles practiced by women.

Question 80

Which of the following is a research finding about race diversity? According to prior research findings,

A)African Americans are more likely to turnover than their Caucasian counterparts.
B)the sales performance of Hispanics is equal to their Caucasian counterparts.
C)Caucasian Americans are more likely to be absent from work than their African American counterparts.
D)ethnic minorities are more likely to experience a satisfying work environment than their Caucasian counterparts.