HR final study guide 1

Which of the following is LEAST likely an example of workplace bullying?

) Cameron uses profanity when talking to an employee.

An employee refuses to lobby for his boss' favorite political candidate and is fired as a result. The courts would most likely:

) hold this to be a public policy exception to employment-at-will.

About ________ of the U.S. labor force is covered by union contracts.

12%

A 1991 Federal Railroad Administration report showed that approximately________ of workers involved in railroad accidents tested positive for drugs.

3%

Which of the following would LEAST likely receive a probable cause drug test?

A college recruit applying for a programming job

Which of the following is NOT an example of employee theft?

Accumulating overtime

Wallace Consulting is a small firm with 60 employees. In the past, Wallace Consulting has experienced a high level of employee theft. Which of the following would be the LEAST effective method of preventing employee theft at Wallace Consulting?

Appraising performance with 360-feedback

Which of the following is most likely an example of the ethical treatment of employees?

Avoiding disproportionate praise or censure for employee performance

Which of the following is a serious violation that would most likely lead to a shortening of the discipline process?

Bryce takes small items, such as calculators and printer cartridges, home for his personal use.

Which of the following is a basic standard of discipline?

Documentation of the facts leading to the disciplinary action

What is the primary reason that managers resist using the positive discipline process?

Employees receive paid time off.

Ed, the operations manager at Ballston Flooring, has scheduled a meeting with an employee who is habitually late for work. During the meeting, which of the following would be most effective for Ed to do?

Ending the meeting with positive comments

Which of the following is a true statement about the differences between the protection of government versus non-government employees' rights?

Government workers' right to free speech is protected more fully than that of non-government employees.

Abraham is an employee for Monumental International, a company that uses a four-step progressive discipline procedure. He has been disciplined three times for the same offense. What is likely to happen the next time Abraham commits the same offense?

He will be discharged.

Which of the following questions is LEAST relevant to determining how to handle a moonlighting employee?

How much compensation does the second employer pay?

Which of the following countries has the most significant shoplifting and employee theft problems?

India

What is a key element for an effective whistleblowing policy?

Initial anonymity for the whistleblower

Which of the following should be avoided when administering discipline?

Letting employees rationalize their problem behavior

A court would most likely find a discipline decision as arbitrary or unwarranted in which of the following situations?

Management failed to notify the employee of a rule violation.

Hastings is the manager of an insulation manufacturing company. In order to determine the measures he will need to take in order to provide his employees with a safe working environment, he should most likely consult the:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Which of the following is a true statement about office romances?

Only a small percentage of firms have no-dating policies.

Which of the following is most likely true about appealing a disciplinary decision?

Open-door policies and employee relations representatives facilitate quick resolutions.

Which of the following is true about employee privacy rights?

Private employers are not as limited in their ability to invade employees' privacy as are governmental employers.

Which of the following is NOT addressed in most employment contracts?

Protection from discrimination

Which of the following is the best way to control employee theft without invading the privacy of honest employees?

Screening job candidates with pencil-and-paper honesty tests

How can performance appraisals best be used to minimize employee discipline problems?

Setting reasonable standards for employees

In most cases, what role in employee discipline is typically played by HR staff?

Settling manager-employee disputes

For which of the following reasons can employees refuse to obey superiors and be protected from losing their jobs?

Showing reasonable cause of safety concerns

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

Supervisors who dislike disciplinary tasks prefer progressive discipline.

Which of the following is LEAST likely to improve attendance when job avoidance or family demands are the problem?

Suspending employees

Which of the following is the best example of the hot-stove rule?

Tanya was disciplined for Web-surfing on business time. A couple of weeks later, Ashton received the same discipline for the same reason.

Which of the following is a statutory right?

The right to form unions

Which of the following is NOT an employee right that employers must consider?

Unlimited free speech

Which of the following is a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

Whistleblowers are protected from employer retaliation.

An employee's expectation of fair and ethical treatment, in return for providing fair and reasonable amounts of work with a certain degree of quality, is called:

a psychological contract.

Managers that suspect drug use is the source of an employee's performance problems, should most likely:

begin discipline procedures.

The use of alcohol by employees:

can be restricted both on and off the job.

The most appropriate way to handle an employee with an attendance problem would be to:

consider special circumstances when appropriate.

Employees are most likely to accept electronic monitoring as legitimate when employers use it to:

control employee theft

An employment contract explains the terms of employment relationship for both employee and employer. Employment contracts:

cover a very small percentage of the workforce.

Managers can most likely eliminate a substantial amount of employee discipline by:

designing challenging jobs for employees.

An employee's challenge of a manager's disciplinary action will most likely raise questions about:

due process.

Frank, a union member, is discharged by his employer for gross misconduct. When Frank appeals the decision to his union, he is most likely seeking:

due process.

In the employment relationIn the employment relationship, HR should help define the rights of employees and employers in all of the following ways EXCEPT by: ship, HR should help define the rights of employees and employers in all of the following ways EXCEPT by:

eliminating the need for lawyers.

Odette is talking with one of her employees about his inappropriate behavior on the job. She explains the negative consequences the employee faces unless he changes his behavior. Odette is most likely involved in:

employee discipline.

A common-law rule that allows employers the right to terminate employees at any time for any cause is best known as:

employment at will.

All of the following are advantages of performance testing EXCEPT:

government sponsored.

All of the following are common side effects of poor attendance EXCEPT:

higher compensation.

Moonlighting is best defined as:

holding a second job outside normal working hours.

The primary purpose of a probationary employment period is to:

identify incompetent employees

During an interview, the hiring manager tells the job candidate, "You'll always have a job here." That statement most likely constitutes a(n):

implied contract.

An employee's right to privacy is best described as:

implied in the Constitution

Legal limitations to employment at will:

include public policy and implied contract exceptions.

Studies indicate that the electronic monitoring of employees:

increases employee stress levels.

A company's whistleblowing policy should most likely:

involve an appeals process for dissatisfied employees.

Random drug testing:

is required by law for professions where safety is critical.

Harrison, an American citizen, has recently taken a computer technician job in Belgium. The chances that Harrison will be discharged from this position without good cause are:

less likely than if he worked in the United States.

The rights of employers to run a business and retain any resulting profits are called:

management rights.

In most cases involving employee discipline:

managers have difficulty confronting employees

Surveys of workers on the issue of random drug testing show that:

most employees accept random drug testing when it's related to safety.

Poor performance is a common problem for managers. In most cases, ________ can be used to help the employee improve performance before more drastic means are necessary.

performance appraisals

The Privacy Act of 1974:

permits federal employees to review their personnel files.

Discipline that involves employees monitoring their own behavior after collaborative problem solving with the manager is called:

positive discipline.

The manager-centered discipline process that involves a series of management interventions to give employees the opportunity to change their behavior is called:

progressive discipline.

The primary difference between progressive discipline and positive discipline is that:

punishment is replaced with counseling by the manager.

In positive discipline, if the initial solution doesn't work, the second step is:

putting a new solution in writing.

In 1990, a California Supreme Court ruling:

required employers to show a compelling interest to use random drug testing.

One of the drawbacks of positive discipline is that it:

requires more time than progressive discipline.

Due to the legal conflict over employment-at-will discharges, many employers are now:

requiring employees to sign at-will statements

The rights to hire, promote, and determine pay levels for employees are examples of:

residual rights

Management rights are also known as:

residual rights.

Positive discipline advocates assert that a paid day off is effective for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

rewarding the employee's performance.

) Safe working conditions are categorized as:

statutory rights.

The rights given workers by federal laws are known as:

statutory rights.

Employee discipline is most frequently handled by:

supervisors.

When whistleblowing occurs in a company, management should most likely:

take immediate action if the allegations are verified.

In order to create a climate of ethical behavior and fairness in a company, managers and supervisors should do all of the following EXCEPT:

tell white lies to minimize competition between co-workers.

As a first-line supervisor in a plant, Gerald has questions about the legal requirements regarding safety procedures in the plant. This is covered under:

the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The standard for measuring the appropriateness of discharges that involve statutory rights is called:

the just-cause standard of discipline

Employees who are wrongfully discharged under the employment-at-will doctrine

usually have no legal recourse.

The progressive discipline process begins with a:

verbal warning

An employee who holds his employer accountable for improper conduct by informing the proper authorities is involved in:

whistleblowing.

Carine's position at FireWall was terminated when she refused to participate in office theft for her supervisor. This is most likely an example of:

wrongful discharge.

When an employer discharged two women during and shortly after they returned from maternity leave, the women sued. The court found that the employer had:

wrongfully discharged the women and fined the employer.