Deck 15: Managing Employee Separations: Turnover, Communication, and Employee Engagement

Question 1

Consequences of unfair treatment in the workplace can include all of the following except

A) employees feel demoralized.
B) employees feel distrustful.
C) employees' performance may be impacted.
D) employees are highly engaged.
E) employees are less productive.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to the textbook,which of the following industries has the highest turnover rate in Canada?

A) Automotive
B) Communications
C) Financial
D) Construction
E) Health

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Colin's company manufactures cable wire.A new employee informs Colin that he is leaving.Colin considers the costs associated with his veteran employee,Moira,who will have to start over again to show a new employee how to run the cable process.Which turnover cost is Colin thinking about?

A) Separation or severance pay
B) The use of temporary workers
C) The cost of selection interviews and testing
D) Training costs
E) The loss of sales associated with the vacancy

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Diana has 5 employees in her marketing department.Their years of age are as follows: Don is 19,Sarah is 22,Muhammad is 31,Miko is 38,and Paulo is 41.Which employee is least likely to experience turnover with Diana's company based on his/her age?

A) Sarah
B) Don
C) Miko
D) Paulo
E) Muhammad

Question 5

Your CEO has asked you to identify three things the company can do to improve employee relations.What advice will you give her?

Question 6

What are the four components associated with the cost of turnover discussed in the textbook?

A) Separation, vacancy, replacement, and training
B) Vacancy, legal, separation, and training
C) Replacement, separation, legal, and administrative
D) Administration, overhead, operating, and human resources
E) Overhead, operating, human resources, and communication

Question 7

Umair resigns from his current employer to pursue further education; what kind of turnover is this an example of?

A) Informal
B) Voluntary
C) Formal
D) Involuntary
E) Dysfunctional

Question 8

Employee engagement is important because it drives performance.

Question 9

According to the textbook,what percentage of employees turnover each year in the hospitality industry?

A) 50%
B) 30%
C) 20%
D) 40%
E) 10%

Question 10

The indirect costs of turnover include the cost of posting the job,recruiting and interviewing new candidates.

Question 11

Which of the following costs of turnover directly includes the cost of exit interviews and separation or severance pay?

A) Separation
B) Vacancy
C) Replacement
D) Training
E) Overhead

Question 12

A study of more than 34,000 workers in the Canadian labour force was conducted and described in the textbook; what did this study find as employees gain tenure in a company?

A) Employees sought more challenges with other companies
B) Separations decreased
C) Promotions decreased
D) Training decreased
E) Turnover increased

Question 13

With respect to employee relations,experts generally define organizational justice in terms of three components

A) distributive, procedural, and interactional justice.
B) distributive, performance, and interactional justice.
C) engagement, procedural, and interactional justice.
D) distributive, procedural, and managerial justice.
E) external, procedural, and interactional justice.

Question 14

Liliana runs a personal planning and insurance company.An employee has left in the middle of RRSP season.Liliana is worried about the potential customers she may not be able to place investments for now that she is short a person.Which cost of turnover is Liliana concerned about?

A) Separation
B) Vacancy
C) Replacement
D) Training
E) Overhead

Question 15

According to the data presented in the textbook,what was the most common involuntary turnover reason?

A) Downsizing or restructuring
B) Company's financial instability
C) Company relocation
D) Poor relationship with managers
E) Seeking a better fit for their skills

Question 16

According to the textbook,what is the cost of turnover?

A) 50 to 70 percent of salary
B) 70 to 100 percent of salary
C) 10 to 20 percent of salary
D) 5 to 10 percent of salary
E) 150 to 250 percent of salary

Question 17

What is the formal term used for the termination of an individual's employment with an organization?

A) Firing
B) Parting
C) Severance
D) Turnover
E) Quitting

Question 18

Ahmed is the General Manager in a pharmaceutical distribution company.Ahmed is conducting the exit interviews for a group of employees who have left the company.Which turnover cost is Ahmed part of?

A) Separation
B) Vacancy
C) Recruitment and hiring
D) Training
E) Overhead

Question 19

Managing employee relations is usually assigned to a company's Finance department.

Question 20

According to the data presented in the textbook,what was the most common voluntary turnover reason?

A) Poor relationship with managers
B) Employee disliked work-life balance
C) Employee sought better compensation or benefits
D) Ineffective leadership
E) Employee sought new challenges

Question 21

Having employees gradually reduce the number of hours that they work is known as which of the following?

A) Retirees on call
B) Phased retirement
C) Pre-retirement schedule
D) Post-retirement schedule
E) Planned employment discontinuation

Question 22

According to the Ontario Employment Standards Act,at least how many weeks of notice must an employee,who has worked less than two years for the same employer,provide the employer when quitting?

A) 3 weeks
B) 4 weeks
C) 2 weeks
D) 0 weeks
E) 1 week

Question 23

According to the Statistics Canada data presented in the textbook,what is the average life expectancy for women?

A) 93 years
B) 90 years
C) 83 years
D) 80 years
E) 75 years

Question 24

Antoinette reviews the performance of an employee who continually produces less than the standard for her job.Antoinette informs the employee that she is fired; what kind of turnover is this an example of?

A) Informal
B) Voluntary
C) Formal
D) Involuntary
E) Dysfunctional

Question 25

According to the data presented in the textbook,in the early 1900s,what was the average life expectancy for women?

A) 50 years
B) 70 years
C) 80 years
D) 40 years
E) 60 years

Question 26

Which of the following describes the situation where good performers choose to leave an organization while poor performers stay?

A) Informal turnover
B) Dysfunctional turnover
C) Formal turnover
D) Functional turnover
E) Involuntary turnover

Question 27

In Canada,the public sector has lower turnover levels than the private sector.

Question 28

Which of the following is an example of involuntary turnover?

A) Quitting
B) Resignation
C) Dismissal
D) Retirement
E) An employment discontinuation decision made by the employee

Question 29

According to managers,what is the number one reason for employees engaging in voluntary turnover?

A) Lack of feedback or recognition
B) Insufficient pay or unfair pay practices
C) A desire to pursue personal goals
D) An excessive workload
E) A job opportunity

Question 30

Amin runs a café.A competitor recently opened a café across the street from his location.An employee left Amin to work for the competitor.Amin was happy about this because the employee was his weakest worker; what kind of turnover is this an example of?

A) Informal
B) Dysfunctional
C) Formal
D) Functional
E) Involuntary

Question 31

Alternatives to layoffs include voluntary reductions in pay,voluntary time off,and work-sharing programs.

Question 32

In Canada,employees are forced to take mandatory retirement once they reach the age of 65.

Question 33

Which of the following is a program where retirees can come back to work on a part-time or on an as-needed basis?

A) Retirees on call
B) Phased retirement
C) Contracting out retiring employees
D) Hiring younger workers
E) Information technology automation

Question 34

According to the Ontario Employment Standards Act,at least how many weeks of notice must an employee,who has worked more than two years for the same employer,provide the employer when quitting?

A) 3 weeks
B) 4 weeks
C) 2 weeks
D) 0 weeks
E) 1 week

Question 35

What is the average age of retirement for public sector employees in Canada?

A) 75.5
B) 70
C) 65.9
D) 61.6
E) 55

Question 36

According to the textbook,factors such as globalization,technological advancements,and market pressures have resulted in

A) an increase in job stability.
B) a decrease in job stability.
C) an increase in employee job tenure.
D) an increase in affective organizational commitment.
E) a decrease in continuance organizational commitment.

Question 37

According to employees,what is the number one reason for voluntary turnover?

A) A lack of work-life balance
B) A lack of trust in senior leaders
C) An unhealthy or undesirable culture
D) Insufficient pay or unfair pay practices
E) A lack of honesty, integrity, and ethics

Question 38

Many firms are now providing pre-retirement counselling to employees who are about to retire,which cover matters such as financial planning,relationship issues,and health issues.

Question 39

Chantelle owns an education company that provides services to colleges,universities,and publishers.One of her workers,Anthony,would like to retire but is unsure of how to assess his financial situation or what he would do in retirement.Chantelle hires a Retirement Consultant to speak with Anthony about transitioning into retirement; what term best describes this?

A) Pre-retirement strategies
B) Retirement education
C) Pre-retirement counselling
D) Involuntary retirement planning
E) Involuntary retirement scheduling

Question 40

What is the average age of retirement for private sector employees in Canada?

A) 60.5
B) 72
C) 63.8
D) 82
E) 55

Question 41

What are the laws that require an employer to notify employees in the event that the employer decides to terminate employees without just cause known as?

A) Dismissal legislation
B) Involuntary turnover legislation
C) Termination legislation
D) Downsizing legislation
E) Reasonable notice legislation

Question 42

Jennifer regularly disregards her manager's instructions.This is known as

A) reprimanding.
B) insubordination.
C) wrongful conduct.
D) employer sabotage.
E) dismissal.

Question 43

The Wong Accounting firm has recently purchased a smaller accounting firm.As a result,they have merged two marketing departments into one and no longer need three Marketing Managers.This is referred to as

A) a voluntary leave.
B) a layoff.
C) full termination.
D) progressive discipline.
E) partial termination.

Question 44

The intentional decision made by executives that involves a reduction of the workforce to improve efficiency or effectiveness of the organization by affecting the work process is referred to as which of the following?

A) Division of work
B) Job specification
C) Downsizing
D) Job specialization
E) Layoff analysis

Question 45

According to the textbook,which of the following is the general rule for organizations to follow when providing reasonable notice?

A) Never more than 3 weeks
B) 3 to 4 weeks per year of service
C) Always at least 24 months
D) 1 to 2 weeks per year of service
E) At least 6 weeks per year of service

Question 46

Which of the following terms is used to describe the damages that are reserved for malicious or outrageous cases in which an employer engages in harsh and vindictive treatment of an employee,of if the employee suffered undue distress from not being given adequate notice of termination?

A) Faithless damages
B) Insubordination damages
C) Termination damages
D) Punitive damages
E) Dismissal damages

Question 47

Describe the six acts managers should communicate to employees that are regarded as insubordination.

Question 48

Which of the following terms is used to describe the damages that are reserved for extreme circumstances in which the employer was untruthful,misleading,or insensitive to the employee in the course of a dismissal?

A) Bad-faith damages
B) Insubordination damages
C) Termination damages
D) Malicious damages
E) Dismissal damages

Question 49

Willful disregard or disobedience of the boss' authority or legitimate orders is known as which of the following?

A) Reprimanding
B) Insubordination
C) Wrongful conduct
D) Employer sabotage
E) Dismissal

Question 50

Rarely have periods of notice during employee separations exceeded 24 months.

Question 51

The temporary withdrawal of employment to workers based on economic or business reasons is referred to as

A) a voluntary leave.
B) a layoff.
C) full termination.
D) progressive discipline.
E) partial termination.

Question 52

A layoff refers to a situation where there is a permanent shortage of work for employees and management does not intend to recall the employees when work is again available.

Question 53

Which of the following is the most drastic disciplinary step that can be taken towards an employee?

A) Suspension
B) Written warning
C) Verbal warning
D) Training and development
E) Dismissal

Question 54

The finding that instances of wrongful dismissal claims increase as negative treatment becomes more extreme is known as which of the following?

A) The wrongful dismissal effect
B) The vendetta effect
C) The employee grievance effect
D) The mismanagement revenge effect
E) The deconstructive dismissal effect

Question 55

Identify and briefly describe three foundations of a fair and just discipline process.

Question 56

A system of progressive penalties usually begins with warnings (verbal and written),then suspensions (paid or unpaid),and,ultimately,dismissal.

Question 57

If just cause is not present,then a termination without reasonable notice is considered unfair and is known as which of the following?

A) Wrongful dismissal
B) Employment contract grievance
C) "At will" termination
D) Quasi-legal termination
E) Valid termination

Question 58

Which of the following terms is used to describe the situation whereby the employer makes unilateral changes to the employment contract that are unacceptable according to the employee,even though the employee has not been formally terminated?

A) Bad-faith damages
B) Insubordination
C) Constructive dismissal
D) Punitive actions
E) Involuntary turnover

Question 59

Richard resigned from his role as a data analyst to go back to school and pursue a graduate degree.This is referred to as

A) a voluntary leave.
B) a layoff.
C) full termination.
D) progressive discipline.
E) partial termination.

Question 60

In Canada,employers cannot fire employees at will,as is the case in the United States.

Question 61

Questionnaires that ask employees for their opinions about the company,management,and work life are referred to as which of the following?

A) Employee opinion surveys
B) Employee sampling surveys
C) Employee questionnaire programs
D) Employee training programs
E) Employee development programs

Question 62

Helena feels that her employer's method and process for deciding on pay increases is not fair; this indicates Helena's concern with which of the following components of organizational justice?

A) Allocation justice
B) Distributive justice
C) Interactional justice
D) Procedural justice
E) Pay equity justice

Question 63

The interview in which an employee is informed of the fact that he or she has been dismissed is called the

A) nonpunitive interview.
B) selection interview.
C) punitive interview.
D) termination interview.
E) "at will" interview.

Question 64

In the second step of the termination interview process described in the textbook,the manager should

A) move slowly but positively through the termination interview.
B) get to the point by informing the employee of the decision.
C) get to the point, but reassure the employee this was not the manager's decision and that the final decision is open for discussion.
D) smile and be friendly, but also be direct and accommodating in order to ensure that the employee's opinion is considered in the final decision.
E) start with discussing the employee's positive characteristics, deliver the termination decision news, and then end with a positive comment about the employee's skillset.

Question 65

In the termination interview process described in the textbook,which of the following was the final step in that process?

A) Identify the next step
B) Listen to the employee
C) Review all elements of the severance package
D) Describe the situation briefly
E) Arrange for an outplacement counselling meeting

Question 66

Concern with the fairness and justice of the outcome of a termination decision is most related to which component of organizational justice?

A) Allocation justice
B) Distributive justice
C) Interactional justice
D) Procedural justice
E) Pay equity justice

Question 67

What is the emotional and intellectual involvement of employees in their work,such as intensity,focus,and involvement known as?

A) Employee engagement
B) Employee loyalty
C) Employee tenure
D) Employee commitment
E) Employee fidelity

Question 68

Tim feels mistreated by his manager.He made an error in completing a customer profile and his manager disrespected him by angrily criticized his work in front of his fellow workers.Tim is most likely concerned with which of the following components of organizational justice?

A) Allocation justice
B) Distributive justice
C) Interactional justice
D) Procedural justice
E) Pay equity justice

Question 69

Minimum notice varies based on the size of the layoffs,with smaller layoffs determining minimum notice based on employee tenure,and mass layoffs determining minimum notice based on total layoff size.

Question 70

Identify and briefly describe the six steps to be followed in a termination interview.

Question 71

In the third step of the termination interview process described in the textbook,the manager should

A) describe the situation rather than attack the employee personally.
B) smile and be friendly, but also be direct and accommodating in order to ensure that the employee's opinion is considered in the final decision.
C) get to the point by informing the employee of the decision.
D) get to the point, but reassure the employee this was not the manager's decision and that the final decision is open for discussion.
E) describe the situation extensively and spend a significant portion of the interview comparing the employee's performance to that of his/her colleagues.