Question 1

A ________ is a special type of formal problem-solving team consisting of 6 to 12 specially trained employees who meet weekly to solve problems affecting their work area.

Accepted Answer

A quality circle is a special type of formal problem-solving team, usually composed of 6 to 12 specially trained employees who meet once a week to solve problems affecting their work area.

Question 2

All of the following are areas in which employees currently have legal rights EXCEPT ________.

Accepted Answer

Currently 11 states have debated legislation that would give victims of verbally abusive bosses the right to sue for damages, but such laws do not exist yet. Employees have the legal rights to participate in political and union activities. Laws also exist to protect workers from injury, illness, and defamation.

Question 3

How can an employer use communication tools to improve employee relations?

Accepted Answer

Employers use various communications tools to bolster their employee relations efforts.An open-door policy that encourages communication between employees and managers and an employee handbook covering basic employment information are both useful tools.Hosting employee focus groups,making available ombudsman and suggestion boxes,and implementing telephone and Web-based hotlines are additional communications tools.Other employers use surveys,newsletters,and staff meetings to facilitate communications.

Question 4

Kareem belongs to a temporary work group that analyzes manufacturing productivity.The group meets informally to brainstorm and develop ideas to raise productivity.Kareem most likely belongs to a ________.

Accepted Answer

Suggestion teams are temporary teams whose members work on specific analytical assignments, such as how to cut costs or raise productivity. One employer, an airline, split employees such as baggage handlers and ground crew into separate teams, linking team members via its website for brainstorming and voting on ideas.

Question 5

Marco belongs to a specially trained team of eight employees that performs assignments with little or no oversight from managers.Marco most likely belongs to a ________.

Accepted Answer

A self-managing/self-directed work team is a highly trained group of around eight employees, fully responsible for turning out a well-defined segment of finished work. Suggestion teams are temporary teams whose members work on specific analytical assignments, such as how to cut costs or raise productivity.

Question 6

All of the following have been linked to employees' perceiving their employers as fair EXCEPT ________.

Accepted Answer

Employees' fairness perceptions have important organizational outcomes. Perceptions of fairness relate to enhanced employee commitment; enhanced satisfaction with the organization, jobs, and leaders; and enhanced organizational citizenship behaviors.

Question 7

Which of the following is a formal,semi-permanent work group that identifies and researches work processes and develops solutions to work-related problems?

Accepted Answer

Problem-solving teams identify and research work processes and develop solutions to work-related problems. They usually consist of the supervisor and five to eight employees from a common work area.

Question 8

What would be the best tool for evaluating employee attitudes about workplace safety?

Accepted Answer

Employee attitude, morale, or climate surveys play an important part in many employers' employee relations efforts. They use the surveys to "take the pulse" of their employees' attitudes toward a variety of organizational issues including leadership, safety, role clarity, fairness, and pay, and to thereby get a sense of whether their employee relations need improvement.

Question 9

According to employee surveys,fair treatment in the workplace is exemplified by managers who ________.

Accepted Answer

Surveys show that fair treatment reflects concrete actions such as "employees are treated with respect," and "employees are treated fairly." Challenging tasks and career planning are beneficial to workers but not indicative of fairness.

Question 10

Which term refers to fair processes?

Accepted Answer

Procedural justice refers to fair processes. Distributive justice refers to fair outcomes.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT considered a component of bullying?

Accepted Answer

Bullying usually involves an imbalance of power, an intent to cause harm, and repeated incidents. Actions done by accident are not considered bullying.

Question 12

Which term refers to singling out an individual for the purpose of harassment and mistreatment?

Accepted Answer

Bullying refers to singling out someone to harass and mistreat them. Bullying usually involves an imbalance of power, an intent to cause harm, and repeated incidents.

Question 13

The periodic administration of employee opinion surveys helps managers to ________.

Accepted Answer

Some firms administer periodic opinion surveys to facilitate two-way communication. Opinion surveys allow employees to express feelings about the company and their managers and to some extent about service, pay, and benefits. Each manager then has an opportunity to discuss the anonymous department results with his or her subordinates, and create an action plan for improving work group commitment.

Question 14

Which of the following actions would most likely reduce an employee's chances of becoming a bullying victim?

Accepted Answer

Building team cohesion through team-building training, social gatherings, and friendly inter-team competition can head off such envy and victimization.

Question 15

What is the most likely result of unfair treatment and abusive supervision in the workplace?

Accepted Answer

Unfair treatment reduces morale, increases stress, and has negative effects on performance. Employees of abusive supervisors are more likely to quit, and to report lower job and life satisfaction and higher stress.

Question 16

Which of the following terms refers to fair outcomes?

Accepted Answer

Procedural justice refers to fair processes. Distributive justice refers to fair outcomes.

Question 17

Which activity involves establishing and maintaining positive employee-employer relationships?

Accepted Answer

Employee relations is the activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive employee-employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, morale, and discipline, and to maintaining a positive, productive, and cohesive work environment.

Question 18

Health-Tech Materials is a firm that manufactures medical equipment purchased by hospitals and clinics.The firm employs over 2,500 workers in its two manufacturing facilities located in Texas and Arizona.Recently,Health-Tech dismissed a number of employees for ethics violations ranging from improper Internet usage to stealing company funds.In addition,the firm has been sued by two former employees for wrongful discharge.As a result,Health-Tech's top executives are evaluating the firm's hiring process,ethics training system,reward system,and disciplinary system to determine how to promote ethics and fair treatment. Which of the following best supports the argument that Health-Tech should distribute an opinion survey to employees?

Accepted Answer

Employee opinion surveys are used by firms to provide employees with an anonymous method of bringing questions or problems to management's attention. Employees who feel uncomfortable raising concerns with managers or fear retribution for doing so would benefit from an opinion survey, which facilitates two-way communication in a nonthreatening manner.

Question 19

An employee who perceives an employer as providing high distributive and procedural justice will most likely experience ________.

Accepted Answer

Perceptions of fairness relate to enhanced employee commitment; enhanced satisfaction with the organization, jobs, and leaders; and enhanced organizational citizenship behaviors. People who view themselves as victims of unfairness also suffer a range of ill effects including poor health, strain, and psychological conditions.

Question 20

Which term refers to the shared perceptions that organizational members have about their organization and work environment?

Accepted Answer

Experts define organizational climate as the shared perceptions organizational members have about their organization and work environment. Employee relations is the activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive employee-employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, morale, and discipline, and to maintaining a positive, productive, and cohesive work environment.

Quiz 12: Maintaining Positive Employee Relations

A ________ is a special type of formal problem-solving team consisting of 6 to 12 specially trained employees who meet weekly to solve problems affecting their work area.

All of the following are areas in which employees currently have legal rights EXCEPT ________.

How can an employer use communication tools to improve employee relations?

Kareem belongs to a temporary work group that analyzes manufacturing productivity.The group meets informally to brainstorm and develop ideas to raise productivity.Kareem most likely belongs to a ________.

Marco belongs to a specially trained team of eight employees that performs assignments with little or no oversight from managers.Marco most likely belongs to a ________.

All of the following have been linked to employees' perceiving their employers as fair EXCEPT ________.

Which of the following is a formal,semi-permanent work group that identifies and researches work processes and develops solutions to work-related problems?

What would be the best tool for evaluating employee attitudes about workplace safety?

According to employee surveys,fair treatment in the workplace is exemplified by managers who ________.

Which term refers to fair processes?

Which of the following is NOT considered a component of bullying?

Which term refers to singling out an individual for the purpose of harassment and mistreatment?

The periodic administration of employee opinion surveys helps managers to ________.

Which of the following actions would most likely reduce an employee's chances of becoming a bullying victim?

What is the most likely result of unfair treatment and abusive supervision in the workplace?

Which of the following terms refers to fair outcomes?

Which activity involves establishing and maintaining positive employee-employer relationships?

An employee who perceives an employer as providing high distributive and procedural justice will most likely experience ________.

Which term refers to the shared perceptions that organizational members have about their organization and work environment?