hrm chapter 8

A multicultural organization is one that: a. has no gap in organizational identification based on a cultural identity group. b. encourages ethnocentrism among its employees. c. has high levels of job embeddedness. d. promotes normative commitment over affective commitment among its employees

a

Crezenth Inc., an American cosmetics company, decides to have African American models in its next advertising campaign instead of white females, who are commonly used in its competitors' advertisements. Through this advertising campaign, Crezenth would facilitate _____. a. social change b. xenophobia c. ethnocentrism d. job embeddedness

a

In the context of internal knowledge management, organizational learning: a. begins with individual learning and change. b. occurs only in truly diverse multicultural organizations. c. depends more on cognitive processes than on social processes. d. involves developing an ethnocentric attitude among employees.

a

In the years immediately after Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed, many HR managers operated under the assumption that they were required by law to: a. treat everyone equally. b. promote people of African American and Hispanic origins. c. hire knowledge workers from the underprivileged sections of society. d. promote cultural relativism.

a

The cost argument of how diversity contributes to the competitiveness of an organization suggests that: a. an organization that learns to cope with diversity will generally have high levels of productivity and low levels of turnover. b. diversity management is expensive and consequently lowers the profit potential of an organization. c. high levels of diversity in an organization's workforce make it difficult to channel efforts of the human resource department harmoniously. d. the extent of effe

a

Which of the following factors accounts for the increased diversity in organizations? A. The globalization movement B. The privatization movement C. Legislation that mandates organizations to adopt ethnocentric practices D. The increased need for job embeddedness

a

Which of the following is a difference between diversity management and equal employment opportunity? a. Unlike equal employment opportunity, diversity management places a heavier emphasis on appreciating and reasonably accommodating the differences among people at work. b. Diversity management insists on increasing the number of ethnic groups in the workforce, whereas equal employment opportunity does not. c. Diversity management places an emphasis on eliminating minority groups to avoid potent

a

Which of the following is a result of higher legal limits for mandatory retirement in the United States? a. More and more people are working beyond the age at which they might have stopped working a few years ago. b. Accident rates have become substantially lower for older workers than for younger workers up to age 54. c. The average age of the workforce is decreasing substantially. d. Older workers are not likely to require high level of insurance coverage.

a

Which of the following statements is true of female employees in the United States? a. Some male managers are reluctant to promote female managers. b. Women constitute less than 30 percent of all managers. c. The average pay of females in organizations is higher than that of males. d. Women are less likely to face the problem of the glass ceiling than men.

a

Which of the following statements is true of knowledge workers? a. They tend to work in high-technology firms. b. They seldom want to work autonomously. c. They include blue-collar workers. d. They require little or no specialized training.

a

Who among the following is a knowledge worker? a. An employee who designs engines in an automobile manufacturing company b. A shareholder in a firm that is involved in knowledge processing operations c. An employee who assembles products in a factory d. A businessman who owns a group of educational institutions

a

Who among the following is most likely to earn only a living wage? a. An unskilled laborer b. A hardware technician c. A knowledge worker d. An expatriate

a

A firm is less likely to be considered truly diverse when: a. there are no identifiable minority groups within its workforce. b. it follows the law to the letter and engages in passive discrimination. c. there are no subgroup dynamics and conflicts within its workforce. d. it encourages cultural relativism in its work environment.

b

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an organization cannot discriminate against a person with a disability as long as: a. the person's disability is curable. b. the person can perform the essential functions of a job with or without a reasonable accommodation. c. the person's disability is not mental, physically obvious, or disfiguring. d. the accommodation requested by the person is acceptable to other employees who do not have a disability.

b

In the context of organizational practices that help manage diversity, which of the following can be structured in organizations to accommodate individual situations? a. Normative commitment b. Benefits packages c. Glass ceilings d. Ethnocentrism

b

In the context of the actions that individuals can take to deal with diversity, the ability to understand the perspective of others is called _____. a. communication b. empathy c. tolerance d. embeddedness

b

In the context of the competitive advantage of diversity, which of the following arguments suggests that organizations that manage diversity effectively will become known among women and minorities as good places to work? a. The marketing argument b. The resource acquisition argument c. The problem-solving argument d. The cost argument

b

In the context of the contributions of diversity to the competitiveness of an organization, the edge of having multiple perspectives and new ways of doing things is: a. part of the resource acquisition argument. b. the focus of the creativity argument. c. part of the marketing argument. d. the focus of the cost argument.

b

LyTops, an apparel manufacturer in the United States, wants to achieve competitive advantage by expanding its business to Russia, India, and China. The company hires people from each of these countries to better understand how to design and make clothes for the people identifying with the cultures of these countries. Which of the following arguments of how diversity contributes to competitiveness most likely supports LyTops' decision to hire a diverse workforce? a. The cost argument b. The marke

b

Tim, a high-performing engineer at Backing Software, feels that he was laid off by his employer because the company wanted to replace him with a differently-abled engineer. He is, therefore, resentful toward the organization. In this scenario, which of the following became a major source conflict? a. Compensation b. Diversity c. Job embeddedness d. Contextual performance

b

Which of the following groups constitutes a distinct ethnic group in the United States? a. Christians b. Hispanics c. Expatriates d. Women

b

Which of the following is a factor that contributes to the gradual increase in the average age of U.S. workers? a. Continuous aging of the millennial generation b. Declining birthrates among the post-baby boom generations c. Low levels of insurance coverage for older workers d. Low legal limits for mandatory retirement

b

Which of the following statements best describes the glass ceiling? a. It is a pattern that suggests that women are more likely to climb the career ladder than men. b. It is a barrier that keeps many females from advancing to top management positions in many organizations. c. It is a discriminative attitude of organizations that denies reasonable employment opportunities to the disabled. d. It is a staffing model that prefers the recruitment of individuals from one ethnic group to another.

b

Which of the following statements is true of a living wage? a. It is earned solely by immigrants who relocate to other countries. b. It is enough to allow a family to subsist above the poverty level. c. It is equal to the national minimum wage. d. It is earned solely by prison inmates for the jobs that they do inside prison.

b

Who among the following individuals is facing the problem of the glass ceiling? a. Rick, who feels uncomfortable in his new workplace as he finds it difficult to appreciate and adjust to the new culture b. Liza, who turns down a promotion opportunity as she feels that taking up additional responsibilities would reduce the amount of time she spends with her children c. Tamara, who is not given a promotion as she is not technically qualified to manage the work and responsibilities that she would h

b

Identify a true statement about individual learning. a. It does not depend on the cognitive ability of individuals. b. It is not a necessary condition for organizational learning to occur. c. It is not a sufficient condition for organizational learning to occur. d. It does not affect organizational learning.

c

In the context of multicultural organizations, full structural integration suggests that: a. every group represented in an organization works to understand every other group better, thereby influencing the organization's culture. b. employees are treated fairly and equally irrespective of the fundamental differences between them. c. the diversity within an organization is an accurate reflection of the organization's external labor market. d. organizational identification is based on a cultural i

c

Managing diversity in an organization starts with the: a. individual goals of its employees. b. goals that the organization has set for itself. c. policies that the organization adopts because they directly or indirectly affect how people are treated. d. training methods the organization adopts to enhance the skill set of its employees.

c

The ultimate test of an organization's commitment to managing diversity is its _____. a. productivity b. grievance policy c. culture d. compensation package

c

When the employees of an organization face no barriers to entry and participation in any organizational activity, the organization is said to have achieved: a. high levels of job embeddedness. b. ethnocentrism in its system. c. full integration of its informal networks. d. complete structural integration.

c

Which of the following is a characteristic of a multicultural organization? a. It achieves partial structural integration. b. It promotes ethnocentrism in the workplace. c. It is characterized by pluralism. d. It bases gaps in organizational identification on cultural identity groups.

c

Which of the following is a more universal dimension of diversity than other dimensions? a. Disability status b. Sexual orientation c. Religion d. Age

c

Which of the following organizations trades in knowledge? a. An electrical appliance manufacturing firm that produces eco-friendly machines b. An automobile manufacturing company that produces custom-made cars c. An investment firm that helps people in managing their assets d. A bookstore that gives free bookmarks with every purchase

c

Clifton Corp. is a multinational company that has offices in 60 countries across the world. It keeps rotating its employees among its various offices. The employees communicate openly with each other and have tolerance for the opinion of others. As a result, they are comfortable working among a diverse workforce. In the given scenario, the employees of Clifton are most likely to have: a. a gap in organizational identification based on a cultural identity group. b. high levels of contextual perfo

d

The glass ceiling exists in organizations because: a. there are no laws prohibiting discrimination against women. b. women are not interested in reaching management positions in organizations. c. women are not as competent as men in managerial positions. d. many talented women choose to leave their jobs in large firms and start their own businesses.

d

Treating people within an organization fairly and taking actions that do not discriminate against people in protected classes on the basis of some illegal criterion is called _____. a. pluralism b. tolerance c. integrated diversity management d. equal employment opportunity

d

Which of the following generally occurs as the composition of an organization's workforce gradually begins to mirror the composition of the surrounding labor market? a. Job enlargement b. The glass ceiling c. Ethnocentrism d. Social change

d

Which of the following happens when a firm becomes truly diverse? a. It suffers massive trade penalties. b. Its workforce adopts an ethnocentric attitude. c. Many identifiable minority groups appear within its workforce. d. Conflicts and subgroup dynamics in its workforce disappear

d

Which of the following is a dimension of a disability that pertains to the question of whether the disability could have been avoided? a. Tangibility b. Nature c. Duration d. Origin

d

Which of the following statements is true of a multicultural organization? a. A single group has the potential to influence the organization's culture and its fundamental norms. b. Employees in the organization have an ethnocentric attitude. c. Diversity within the organization is different from the diversity in its external labor market. d. No glass ceilings exist in the organization.

d

Which of the following statements is true of a truly diverse organization? a. Minority groups become more prominent in the organization. b. Employees of the organization adopt an ethnocentric attitude. c. Positive gains and problems increase at the same rate for the organization. d. Employees view themselves as members of the same organization.

d

Which of the following statements is true of diversity training? a. It promotes ethnocentrism in the work environment. b. It is legally mandated in organizations that have at least 100 employees on the payroll. c. It focuses solely on behavioral training. d. It helps people gain insights into how their own behaviors affect and are interpreted by others.

d

Which of the following statements is true of organizational learning? a. The process of organizational learning is more cognitive than social. b. Individual learning is a sufficient condition for organization learning to occur. c. It does not depend on sharing of information. d. It can take place as a result of a merger or acquisition.

d

Which of the following statements is true of the age distribution of workers in the United States? a. Accident rates are lower for older U.S. workers than for younger workers up to age 54. b. Increasing birthrates among the post-baby boom generations account for many new entrants into the workforce. c. A low number of retirees combined with many young workers may lead to excess labor supply in the future. d. The average age of U.S. workers is gradually increasing.

d

Which of the following statements is true of the ethnic composition in nonprofessional occupations? a. The percentage of Hispanic firefighters has increased over the last 7-8 years. b. African Americans constitute more than two-thirds of all carpenters. c. Hispanics constitute less than one-third of all carpenters. d. The percentage of African American firefighters has increased over the last 7-8 years.

d