Question 1

________ is the process of evaluating human resource needs and then recruiting, selecting, developing, motivating, evaluating, compensating, and scheduling employees to achieve organizational goals.

Accepted Answer

The process described in the question matches the definition of human resource management, which is the strategic approach to managing an organization's workforce in order to achieve its goals. A encompasses some of the activities mentioned, but is not comprehensive enough to fully describe the process. B refers specifically to evaluating employee performance, which is only one part of the overall human resource management process. D is the process of identifying the responsibilities and requirements of a particular job, which is a component of human resource management but not the entire process.

Question 2

The golden handshake is a popular method of firing or dismissing senior members of your workforce.

Accepted Answer

The golden handshake is a cash payout offered to employees close to retirement. The company is not firing or dismissing the employee.

Question 3

Recent court cases include drug-addicted employees who claim their addiction is an illness and, therefore, they are protected from wrongful discharge under the American with Disabilities Act.

Accepted Answer

This is true. In some cases, drug addiction can be considered a disability under the ADA and employees may be protected from wrongful discharge.

Question 4

Meghan hired Trent right out of college. Trent had brought a lot to the position at the Outdoor Adventure Sporting Goods firm where Meghan served as Marketing Director over the baseball, basketball, and hockey lines. Yesterday, Trent submitted his resignation after only one year on the job, and disclosed that he is leaving sporting goods and taking a job in Canada where he will be marketing a hockey arena. Meghan is beside herself and has decided to personally conduct an exit interview. In evaluating this situation, you agree that Meghan is probably the best person to conduct this interview.

Accepted Answer

It is best to use an outside agency to conduct exit interviews. Outsiders provide anonymity and usually gain honest feedback from those who are leaving the organization.

Question 5

Management is turning to a strategy of offering more lateral transfers due to the fact that many companies are operating under a flatter organization structure.

Accepted Answer

A flatter structure (as mentioned in Chapter 8) means that there are fewer managers, who usually have a wider span of control. This fact reduces the opportunity of internal promotions. Managers motivate employees to stay with the company by providing lateral transfer opportunities where employees can learn new skills.

Question 6

The Leaves of Green restaurant chain does not permit employees at corporate headquarters to work flextime schedules. The CEO spoke with employees and explained that shift workers at the corporate-owned restaurants cannot reasonably work that way and in order to keep things fair, he prefers that the corporate employees work regular hours from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. or from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., which is the other regular shift where they need staff. Workers at fast food operations do not have the opportunity for flextime schedules because they must be at work prior to the store's serving hours and usually after the store closes. They cannot plan their own schedule, but must comply with the hours that management needs help.

Accepted Answer

Flextime does not meet the needs of all businesses. Particularly shift work, fast-food operations, and assembly line work are not conducive to flextime scheduling.

Question 7

Morgner Communications, a company that provides phone, Internet, and cable services for residential customers, experienced poor customer service ratings with its overseas call center. After reading this chapter, you would suggest that Morgner implement U.S.-based call agents. This will cost them a little more in office space and benefits, but it will certainly increase its customers' perception of their service.

Accepted Answer

Many companies are turning to home-based call agents because it not only improves the communication and service, but it saves operational costs because the company does not provide office space, nor does it provide benefits for these employees.

Question 8

The doctrine of employment at will means that employees must be allowed to keep their jobs as long as they are willing and able to perform their required duties. Under this doctrine, employers can only fire or lay off an employee if the firm is in serious financial difficulty or the employee is grossly incompetent or has committed a felony.

Accepted Answer

Employment at will is a doctrine that says firms should have as much freedom to fire or lay off workers as the workers have to voluntarily leave.

Question 9

Top managers at Unifaze Corporation have decided that the company must downsize, but are concerned about the effect the reduction in employment will have on the morale of the remaining employees. One way top management could keep morale from suffering would be to establish an early retirement program.

Accepted Answer

An advantage of early retirement programs is that they tend to increase the morale of remaining employees. The retirement of older workers also increases promotion opportunities for younger employees.

Question 10

Internal promotions are a cost-effective way of filling positions within a firm because the employees filling the position are already familiar with the organization's culture and procedures.

Accepted Answer

Internal promotions reduce the time and cost of training new employees and ensure a smooth transition, as the promoted employee is familiar with the company's culture, procedures, and work environment. This leads to increased productivity and lower recruitment costs for the organization.

Question 11

In recent years, many companies have avoided hiring permanent workers during periods of growth by using temporary employees and outsourcing some of their functions.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Many organizations have shifted towards temporary and outsourced workers instead of hiring permanent employees during periods of growth in recent years. This helps them reduce costs associated with permanent employees such as benefits and severance pay. Additionally, it provides them with more flexibility in adjusting their workforce size based on their business needs.

Question 12

The employment at will doctrine maintained that a firm could only fire a worker if it could demonstrate just cause.

Accepted Answer

The employment at will doctrine allows a firm to fire a worker at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all, without the need to demonstrate just cause.

Question 13

Bigbux Bank is preparing to introduce a job-sharing plan. Bigbux is likely to find that scheduling workers for peak periods will become easier as the result of this policy.

Accepted Answer

In most cases, job sharing gives firms more flexibility to schedule employees into peak demand periods.

Question 14

Marketing manager Rob Ryan has worked for MedTech Pharmaceuticals for 39 years. He fondly remembers the "good old days" when he could fire a worker for just about any reason. He feels that today's laws and regulations limiting his ability to fire workers undermines his authority and forces him to keep employees that don't measure up to his standards. Rob's views suggest he would favor working in a state that implements the policy of employment at will.

Accepted Answer

The employment at will doctrine said that managers had as much freedom to fire workers as the workers had to leave voluntarily.

Question 15

Exit interviews by a third party can be an effective way for a firm to prevent future losses of valuable employees.

Accepted Answer

Exit interviews conducted by a third party can provide a safe space for departing employees to share honest feedback about their experiences with the company. This feedback can help the company identify areas for improvement and address potential issues before they lead to further employee turnover. Therefore, it can be an effective way for a firm to prevent future losses of valuable employees.

Question 16

Barney's company creates promotional campaigns for other businesses. He just learned that the firm lost the Lisle Account, a long-standing customer. In the short term, this will significantly reduce the need for several creative writers and web content developers the company has on staff. As he prepares to call each employee in for dismissal, Barney reviews the best way to approach this inevitable task. He decides that it is best not to tarnish the image of the company so rather than tell each that they lost an important account, he will blame the need to reduce the workforce on new technology the firm is implementing and his personal evaluation of their work. He also plans to offer a two-month severance payment, as long as each signs a no-compete agreement good for one year. In that way, he may be able to call them back if new accounts emerge. All of these strategies are considered good procedures that would surely avoid "wrongful discharge lawsuits."

Accepted Answer

Blaming the need to reduce the workforce on new technology and personal evaluations of their work, instead of the true reason (loss of an account), could be seen as misleading and unethical. This approach could potentially increase the risk of wrongful discharge lawsuits, especially if the employees find out the real reason for their dismissal. Offering severance in exchange for a no-compete agreement is a common practice, but the overall strategy of misleading employees about the reasons for their dismissal is not recommended.

Question 17

Transferring an experienced worker to a new position at the same level within an organization can be an effective way to motivate the worker to remain with the company.

Accepted Answer

Transferring an experienced worker to a new position at the same level within an organization can help to enhance job satisfaction and motivation as it offers a fresh challenge and opportunities for new learning and growth. This can encourage the worker to remain with the organization for a longer period.

Question 18

A golden handshake refers to the severance pay that is offered to a worker that is laid off when the firm downsizes.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A golden handshake refers to the severance...

Question 19

Managers at a local bank are discussing the absentee problems they are experiencing at their west-side location. Although the workers do a good job and serve customers well when they are on the job, they tend to report to work late at least two days each week, and often want to leave early. Job sharing might be a good staffing arrangement for the managers to consider.

Accepted Answer

People involved in job sharing work fewer hours than full-time employees. This gives them more time away from the job to handle personal chores and problems, so they miss less work and are less stressed out about the need to take care of personal business while at work.

Question 20

The prevalence of flatter corporate structures in recent years has increased the number of workers that firms promote.

Accepted Answer

In a flat organization there are fewer levels of management and thus fewer positions available for promotions. Therefore, it is more common to transfer workers to new positions at the same level than it is to promote them to a higher level.

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