Deck 1: Introduction

Question 1

The basis for the practice of labor relations within a unionized employer is a contract negotiated by the parties.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Local community attitudes have no effect on union power.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Unionization provides employees a voice in how the employment relationship is implemented in their workplace.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The policies of large national unions are influenced strongly by the actions of majorities of local union members.

Question 5

Satisfaction of nonunion employees has drastically decreased when compared to that of unionized workers,thereby eliminating the motivation to organize.

Question 6

A lockout occurs when a unionized employment practice is adopted by nonunion employers in order to avoid unionization by copying what unions have won for their members.

Question 7

If the middle class perceives income distribution as fair,then support for collective bargaining will not be strong.

Question 8

Unions are developed to take over companies.

Question 9

Increasing unionization in the industry where one is employed negatively influences wages.

Question 10

Unions can exist without employers,but employers cannot exist without unions.

Question 11

Employees are more likely to vote for unions due to job task characteristics rather than dissatisfaction with employment conditions.

Question 12

Operational decisions are made by the managers hired by the shareholders' elected board of directors.

Question 13

Spillover is a pervasive phenomenon that occurs when a group perceives danger.

Question 14

Union action cannot influence public policy decisions on potentially favorable tax abatements for employers.

Question 15

Prices,and ultimately wages,are controlled by collective bargaining rather than by the market.

Question 16

Groups of employees coalesce around common interests or group membership to pressurize their employers to address employment issues of particular interest to their groups.

Question 17

Stock markets create the opportunity to make ownership highly liquid by providing an institutionalized mechanism for the purchase and sale of shares.

Question 18

Workers in companies with innovative human resource management practices are less likely to desire unions.

Question 19

Dissatisfaction is consistently associated with turnover.

Question 20

In democracies,laws and regulations ultimately reflect the will of the electorate.

Question 21

While major employers have increasingly exercised global options,unions around the world have maintained jurisdictions largely within their own countries.

Question 22

In democracies,labor laws and regulations ultimately reflect the will of the _____.

A) corporations
B) managers
C) electorate
D) shareholders

Question 23

_____ is the ongoing interchange between the union and the employer that identifies their common and specific interests and creates mechanisms to clarify,manage,reduce,and resolve conflicts over their specific interests.

A) Monopoly power
B) Labor relations
C) Spillover
D) Voice power

Question 24

Which of the following is a feature of individual investors in a corporation?

A) They have limited liability.
B) They can lose more than their original investments.
C) They are prohibited from selling their shares to new owners at any time.
D) They cannot own the corporation collectively.

Question 25

High profitability,high returns on investment capital,and high growth rates lead to _____.

A) higher share prices
B) overflow of money in the market
C) scarcity of certain products
D) greater tax rates

Question 26

Bargaining power is very low for unions that represent workers who deliver services directly to the consumer.

Question 27

What do shareholders do when they are dissatisfied with corporate performance?

A) They fire the management team.
B) They disassociate themselves from the corporate problems.
C) They sell their shares.
D) They ignore corporate problems totally.

Question 28

Which of the following is a reason for the development of unions?

A) To take over companies
B) To eliminate management
C) To counter employer power
D) To assert power of top management

Question 29

While labor is somewhat mobile,with workers able to move between employers as opportunities occur,it is less mobile than _____.

A) shareholder wealth
B) the company itself
C) information
D) financial capital

Question 30

One of the greatest challenges facing private sector unions is the continued increase in the globalization of production.

Question 31

What are shareholders' primary interests?

A) Altering the terms and conditions of employment
B) The introduction of democracy into the employment relationship
C) The financial performance of the corporation
D) Countering employers' powers to unilaterally change employment conditions

Question 32

Which of the following is true about shareholders?

A) Large corporations consist of a single shareholder,who participates in the corporation's day-to-day business.
B) Operational decisions are made by workers hired by the shareholders.
C) Shareholders who are dissatisfied with corporate performance cannot sell their shares or combine with others to oust the current board and its managers.
D) Shareholders may decide,collectively,to sell their interests to another company that seeks to acquire its assets.

Question 33

Unions have generally benefited much from a Democratic president and/or the Congress.

Question 34

Who are responsible for making operational decisions for corporations?

A) Managers hired by the shareholders through their elected board of directors
B) Shareholders
C) Investors and directors of the company
D) The managing directors and the partners of the company

Question 35

Which of the following is a reason behind employers' choice of complete freedom to alter the terms and conditions of employment in their workplaces?

A) Eliminate their responsibilities to shareholders
B) Maximize control on employees
C) Maximize returns on investment
D) Recede from the attainment of organizational goals

Question 36

Why are contracts renegotiated periodically?

A) To lead employees into believing that they are individually unable to influence a change in the conditions causing their dissatisfaction
B) To lead employees into believing that changing jobs would improve conditions more than collective bargaining
C) To take into account changes in the economy and society
D) To take into account changing goals and objectives of the government

Question 37

_____ offers employees a method for countering employers' powers to unilaterally change employment conditions.

A) Spillover
B) Unionization
C) Certification
D) Picketing

Question 38

Traditionally,union membership depended on employment in a workplace governed by a collective bargaining agreement.

Question 39

A corporation's _____ ultimately control decisions about its direction,investments,and existence depending on which best meets their interests.

A) managers
B) shareholders
C) board of directors
D) employees

Question 40

What does unionization introduce into the workplace?

A) Democracy into the employment relationship
B) An institutionalized mechanism for the purchase and sale of shares
C) The risk of diversifying ownership across several corporations
D) Complete freedom to the employer to alter the terms and conditions of employment

Question 41

What must unions generate in order to survive?

A) Limited liability for individual investors
B) Global economic development
C) Economic benefits for their members
D) Global competition

Question 42

Union representation has declined from 35 percent in 1955 to a little more than 11 percent now,indicating that unions exert less influence on employment practices through _____.

A) voice power
B) spillovers
C) collective bargaining
D) monopoly power

Question 43

As economic actors,what do unions seek to control?

A) The supply of labor to the employers
B) The changing goals and objectives of the government
C) The changes in the economy and society
D) The purchase and sale of investors' shares

Question 44

Global competition,free trade,and an emphasis on corporate financial performance have strongly influenced employment patterns and reduced _____.

A) intellectual content of jobs
B) union bargaining power
C) the overall decline in union organizing activity
D) economic relations

Question 45

How do unions maintain cohesiveness?

A) By emphasizing the costs of memberships to outweigh the benefits perceived from remaining a group member
B) By continually convincing employees they will receive greater employment benefits through continued unionization
C) By casting management in the best image
D) By ensuring similar background among their members irrespective of the management's hiring decisions

Question 46

Where is unionization more prevalent?

A) Where jobs require employee-specific knowledge
B) Where external workplace rules influence employee outcomes
C) Where jobs require employer-specific knowledge
D) Where internal workplace rules have no influence on employee outcomes

Question 47

A phenomenon that occurs when a group perceives a threat is known as _____.

A) groupthink
B) collective bargaining
C) wagon circling
D) spillover

Question 48

Forming a _____ enables use of a collective voice in influencing change at work.

A) union
B) worker advisory board
C) board of directors
D) top management team

Question 49

How do unions emphasize the need for cohesiveness?

A) Through calls for solidarity to members during periods of threat
B) By finding alternative employment for the members
C) By quitting or bringing reforms
D) Through exerting collective pressure on the members

Question 50

Which of the following factors is responsible for the decline in unionized employment,in both the proportion and number of workers?

A) A shift from services toward manufacturing
B) The decreasing intellectual content of jobs
C) The globalization of manufacturing
D) An overall increase in union organizing activity

Question 51

Voice option refers to people expressing dissent about their workplace by _____.

A) quitting
B) trying to reform it
C) boycotting
D) trying to take over

Question 52

Which of the following statements about class consciousness is true?

A) Class consciousness may be a catalyst for the formation of worker classes.
B) If mobility between classes is perceived as unlikely,class consciousness is less likely to develop.
C) Large differences between managers and workers within the same organization in terms of employment security,increases class consciousness.
D) American unions have generally emphasized class consciousness.

Question 53

Which of the following is true about unionization?

A) There are no differences in the degree of unionization across industries and occupations.
B) It is more prevalent where jobs require employee-specific knowledge.
C) It creates monopoly power by fixing wages through contracts.
D) It is more prevalent where internal workplace rules have no influence on employee outcomes.

Question 54

Which of the following statements about cohesiveness is true?

A) A cohesive group is characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity in the behavior of its members.
B) Cohesive groups do not display class consciousness.
C) Cohesive groups usually have a group of leaders that strongly reflect the values of the group.
D) Unions ignore the need for cohesiveness to members through calls for solidarity during periods of threat.

Question 55

Union monopoly power costs less than _____ percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

A) 1
B) 5
C) 10
D) 15

Question 56

What is the reason behind the statement,"Today's global economy,combined with the elimination of anticompetitive regulations in several major industries,has reduced union bargaining power"?

A) The costs of increased benefits cannot readily be passed on to consumers.
B) Jobs in the global economy are associated with decreasing intellectual content.
C) Unions exert the highest influence on employment practices through spillovers than they did in the past.
D) The unions control labor supply on an international basis.

Question 57

Which of the following needs to be done by unions to achieve gains?

A) Decrease the intellectual content of jobs
B) Encourage the purchase and sale of investors' shares
C) Provide limited liability to individual investors
D) Exert bargaining power through some degree of labor supply control

Question 58

When an employment practice in unionized companies is adopted by nonunion employers to avoid unionization,a _____ occurs.

A) boycott
B) spillover
C) strike
D) lockout

Question 59

Workers that are LEAST likely to desire unions are those with:

A) lower satisfaction with career prospects.
B) jobs in companies with innovative HR management practices.
C) lower education and lower personal income.
D) higher perceptions of job stress.

Question 60

Which of the following is a reason why unions cannot ensure similar backgrounds among their members?

A) Employees and employers come from the same social classes.
B) Income inequality between employees and employers is low.
C) Management makes hiring decisions and unions are obligated to admit all employees who want to join.
D) The cost of membership outweighs the benefits perceived from remaining a group member.

Question 61

What are the conditions required to predict the outcomes of organizing attempts and a union success?

Question 62

Explain group cohesiveness.

Question 63

What is a spillover?

Question 64

Prices,and ultimately wages,are controlled by _____.

A) collective bargaining
B) administrative orders
C) the government
D) the market

Question 65

Which of the following is true about union memberships?

A) Usually,membership is independent of employment in a workplace governed by a collective bargaining agreement.
B) Only in the building trades and some entertainment unions does membership terminate after employment with a particular employer ends.
C) Traditionally,if employment was lost,membership often terminated.
D) Unions can ensure a similar background among the members,irrespective of the management's hiring decisions.

Question 66

What does a unionization model suggest?

A) Employees have to be dissatisfied and believe that they are individually unable to influence a change in the conditions causing their dissatisfaction.
B) A majority of employees have to believe that collective bargaining would improve conditions more than changing jobs,and its benefits outweigh the costs.
C) The gaps between expectations and achievements motivate employees to find ways to eliminate them.
D) Differences among members of a bargaining unit after unionization may be substantial and must be considered by the union in its representational activities.

Question 67

What are the three ways by which employees can become union members?

Question 68

Identify a condition that has to exist in order to predict organizing attempts and union wins.

A) Employers have to be dissatisfied and believe that they are individually unable to influence a change in the conditions causing their dissatisfaction.
B) A majority of employees have to believe that collective bargaining would improve conditions more than changing jobs,and its benefits outweigh the costs.
C) Employees in a unit covered by a collective bargaining agreement may decide to join unions.
D) Satisfaction with employment conditions and a desire to make things even better than they currently are.

Question 69

Which of the following is a condition in predicting the outcomes of organization attempts and union successes?

A) Employees have to be dissatisfied and believe that they are individually unable to influence a change in the conditions causing their dissatisfaction.
B) A majority of employers have to believe that collective bargaining would improve conditions more than changing jobs,and its benefits outweigh the costs.
C) Employees in a unit covered by a collective bargaining agreement may decide to join unions.
D) Satisfaction with employment conditions and a desire to make things even better than they currently are.

Question 70

Which of the following is a condition that prevented union empowerment in the United States?

A) Employers fiercely protected,and unions ceded to them,the capitalistic,market-driven system that was embraced by the United States.
B) With the exception of the skilled construction trades,employees have always controlled the content of jobs.
C) Employers have absolutely no connection with the U.S.educational system.
D) The small middle class in the United States has had no interest in efficiency and productivity.

Question 71

Describe several historical conditions which have prevented the accumulation of union power in the United States over the past two centuries.

Question 72

Explain how unions are simultaneously economic and political organizations.

Question 73

Which of the following occurs when an employer decides to outsource or move production abroad?

A) Elimination of any kind of internal competition among employees to retain jobs.
B) Unionized workers from two different local unions of the same national will be forced to end operations.
C) Increase in job security and union bargaining power on a companywide basis.
D) Companies may seek tax concessions from governments representing a particular country in deciding where to locate.

Question 74

How do local community attitudes affect union power?

Question 75

Does unionization introduce democracy into the employment relationship? Explain.

Question 76

What is meant by labor relations?

Question 77

What was the reason for membership to survive in the building trades,the maritime unions,and some entertainment unions after employment with a particular employer ended?

A) The industrial unions acted as collective bargaining agents.
B) The industrial unions found it increasingly difficult to attract members in a transient employment environment.
C) The employees preferred to have temporary ties to an employer.
D) Union hiring halls were the primary source of employees in these industries.

Question 78

Briefly explain the median voter concept.

Question 79

Bargaining units are not organized until all of the following occur EXCEPT:

A) a majority of employees desire representation.
B) officers are elected by majorities of local union members.
C) contracts are vetoed by a majority of union members in the bargaining unit.
D) officers are defeated by majorities of local union members.

Question 80

Which of the following conditions results in employees voting more likely for unions?

A) Discontent with employment conditions
B) Job task characteristics
C) Co-worker friction
D) Political unrest in the country