Question 1

The Americans With Disabilities Act protects people who are born with physical disabilities, exclusively, but not those who acquire disabilities later in life.

Accepted Answer

The Americans with Disabilities Act protects both individuals who are born with disabilities as well as those who acquire disabilities later in life. It prohibits discrimination in areas such as employment, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications, among others.

Question 2

Ramona is a recent HR hire for a security firm that hires retired law enforcement officers to provide security for retail malls across the nation. Her supervisor was impressed with Ramona's knowledge of current laws with respect to hiring practices, but asked her to quickly get up to speed on compensation and training laws. This is a reasonable request if Ramona plans to stay in the HR field.

Accepted Answer

It is reasonable for Ramona's supervisor to ask her to quickly become familiar with compensation and training laws since these are important aspects of HR that she will need to understand in her new role.

Question 3

When it comes to human resource management issues, the federal government generally has taken a "hands off" approach since the early 1960s.

Accepted Answer

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 brought the federal government directly into the operations of human resource management. Additional legislation such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 extended the government's influence into human resource management even further.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

One of the purposes of a human resource inventory is to assess the skills, knowledge and abilities of employees, which includes determining whether they are up-to-date with current technology and whether they have received sufficient training to perform their job duties effectively.

Question 5

Chip Dodson is a middle-aged white male employed by a large company. Recently, he was passed over for a promotion, despite receiving an excellent performance appraisal. The promotion went to a woman Chip felt was less qualified. His supervisor told him the woman got the promotion because the business was trying to comply with affirmative action guidelines. Critics of affirmative action would cite this situation as a case of reverse discrimination.

Accepted Answer

Critics of affirmative action often argue that it leads to reverse discrimination, which is a situation where a member of a majority group is disadvantaged or discriminated against in favor of a member of a minority group. In this case, Chip felt that he was passed over for a promotion because the company was trying to comply with affirmative action guidelines, and the woman who got the promotion was less qualified. The perception of reverse discrimination is often a contentious issue surrounding affirmative action policies.

Question 6

Like all management, human resource management begins with planning.

Accepted Answer

Human resource management involves various functions like recruitment, training, compensation, and performance management among others, which require planning to ensure the best use of organizational resources and achievement of organizational goals. Thus, planning is the first step in the process of human resource management.

Question 7

Sean works for a large discount retailer. His wife works for a large bank with several branches. After recently adopting a child, the couple agreed that each would take six-weeks of leave from work in order to care for the newborn. According to the Family and Medical Leave Act, one, but not both are eligible for leave.

Accepted Answer

The Family and Medical Leave Act allows both parents to be eligible for leave to care for a newborn child, as long as they meet certain criteria such as being employed by a covered employer and having worked a certain number of hours.

Question 8

In their efforts to accommodate disabled workers, most firms experience difficulties with cultural changes, more so than with structural changes.

Accepted Answer

Cultural changes often require a shift in attitudes and values among employees, which can be more difficult to implement than structural changes such as adding wheelchair ramps or installing adaptive technology.

Question 9

Sonny Skies is in his late fifties and loves his work as a pilot for a major airline. He wants to continue working for many more years. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act provides Sonny with the right to keep his job as long as his company is financially sound and he does not commit a felony.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sonny Skies is in his late fifties...

Question 10

One way human resource managers can keep current on human resource legislation and rulings is to read current business literature such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week.

Accepted Answer

Yes, reading current business literature such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week can keep human resource managers informed about changes in laws and regulations affecting their field.

Question 11

The Americans With Disabilities Act protects qualified persons from discriminatory hiring practices, but does not require employers to provide suitable accommodations in the workplace, or opportunities for promotion. This is left to occupational safety laws.

Accepted Answer

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) does require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the workplace, as well as opportunities for promotion and advancement. The law aims to ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal employment opportunities as those without disabilities.

Question 12

The first step in the human resource planning process is to prepare a job analysis for each available position within the firm.

Accepted Answer

The first step in the human resource planning process is typically to assess and forecast the organization's demand for labor, not to prepare a job analysis for each position. Job analysis may follow as part of detailing the specific requirements of the jobs identified in the planning process.

Question 13

The result of a job analysis is a written document called a human resource inventory.

Accepted Answer

The result of a job analysis is a written document called a job description. The human resource inventory is a separate document that lists the skills, qualifications, and experience of all employees within an organization.

Question 14

Zorn Enterprises hired several qualified soldiers returning from the war with hearing impairment to rehab its recently acquired apartment complexes. As a growing business, it is abiding by the law as currently stated. It is not required to adapt the work site to help these soldiers hear and communicate better with each other.

Accepted Answer

The business may be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, including hearing impairments. Adapting the work site to accommodate communication needs may be considered a reasonable accommodation.

Question 15

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act only prevents discrimination against employees who are over the age of 65.

Accepted Answer

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only prevents discrimination against employees who are over the age of 40, not 65.

Question 16

Ruth Gray is a manager who takes pride in her ability to be fair and impartial. She treats all workers the same way, and evaluates them all using the same standards. Ruth is likely to have difficulty with the adjustments needed to accommodate disabled workers.

Accepted Answer

Treating all workers the same way and evaluating them using the same standards may not take into account the specific needs and accommodations that disabled workers may require. Ruth may need to make adjustments to accommodate disabled workers, which may go against her usual approach of treating everyone the same way.

Question 17

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act permits age limits in professions where it can be established that ability to perform the job declines significantly with age.

Accepted Answer

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act does permit age limits in professions where it can be established that ability to perform the job declines significantly with age. However, the burden of proof is on the employer to demonstrate that age is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) for the position in question.

Question 18

Mario and Marla are web development professionals for a popular high tech company. Due to injuries Mario sustained while serving in the Army Reserves, upon his return the company provided him and other returning soldiers with ergonomic desks and chairs that accommodates wheel chairs and bad backs. Although Marla is hearing impaired, the company does not need to consider providing her with a headset that magnifies sound because she is the only employee out of 200 requiring this accommodation.

Accepted Answer

The statement is not entirely true. The company should consider providing Marla with a headset that accommodates her hearing impairment to ensure equal opportunity and accessibility in the workplace. The fact that she is the only employee out of 200 requiring this accommodation should not be a barrier to providing it.

Question 19

Introduction to Business students know that the creation of laws are the first step that a society takes in order to act in an ethical manner. The U.S. government learned that unless it stepped in and created business laws, many firms would not concern themselves with fair practices when it comes to hiring, firing, and non-discriminatory actions.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Business laws were created to ensure fair practices in hiring, firing, and non-discriminatory actions, as many firms would not concern themselves with these ethical standards without government intervention.

Question 20

There are laws that protect employees from undo harm due to hazardous work conditions.

Accepted Answer

Various laws, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Act (MSHA), aim to ensure that employers provide a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. These laws set standards and regulations for workplace safety, require training and education on workplace hazards, and establish enforcement measures for noncompliance.

Quiz 11: Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees