Chapter 6

When deciding whether to take disciplinary action, a supervisor must distinguish facts from allegations andopinions. Which of the following statements is an opinion? A. "The fact is that your attitude has been less than desirable during the past month." B. "You have missed six days during the past two months." C. "Jim was very specific in his complaint. He said you cursed him yesterday when he bumped you in thehallway." D. None of the above.

A. "The fact is that your attitude has been less than desirable during the past month."

Typically, the first step in a progressive disciplinary process is: A. an oral warning. B. suspension. C. written warning D. discharge.

A. an oral warning.

The goal of disciplinary action is to: A. close the gap between an employee's unacceptable behavior and the required standard of performance. B. punish employees who violate company policies and break rules. C. reinforce the command structure of the organization and the formal power invested in the supervisor. D. intimidate other employees so they will not violate company policies and break rules.

A. close the gap between an employee's unacceptable behavior and the required standard of performance.

When conducting a disciplinary session, a supervisor should look for the cause of the unacceptable behavior with the employee by asking: A. "Don't you think the cause of this unacceptable behavior is . . . .?" B. "What do you feel is causing this problem?" C. "Why do you continue to have a problem with this?" D. "Maybe you could help me understand why in the world you're still having this same problem that weseem to address over and over and over again!"

B. "What do you feel is causing this problem?"

When deciding whether to take disciplinary action, a supervisor must distinguish facts from allegations and opinions. Which of the following statements is a fact? A. "The fact is that your attitude has been less than desirable during the past month." B. "You have missed six days during the past two months." C. "Jim was specific in his complaint. He said you cursed him yesterday when he bumped you in thehallway." D. All of the above.

B. "You have missed six days during the past two months."

Which of the following is the best example of positive reinforcement? A. "You could have handled that guest a little better if you had just offered to . . . ." B. "It took a while, but you finally got it right!" C. " Keep up the good work!" D. "Let me show you how that's really done."

C. " Keep up the good work!"

When deciding whether to take disciplinary action, a supervisor must distinguish facts from allegations andopinions. Which of the following statements is an allegation? A. "The fact is that your attitude has been less than desirable during the past month." B. "You have missed six days during the past two months." C. "Jim was very specific in his complaint. He said you cursed him yesterday when he bumped you in the hallway." D. All of the above

C. "Jim was very specific in his complaint. He said you cursed him yesterday when he bumped you in the hallway."

When disciplining employees, the supervisor's role should be seen as that of: A. a judge. B. a jury. C. a coach. D. an enforcer.

C. a coach.

In a session where a supervisor is taking disciplinary action, the employee becomes upset, defensive,argumentative, and hostile. The supervisor should: A. interrupt, and say, "The facts speak for themselves. I didn't call you in here to argue with you about it!" B. listen until the employee has finished, and then say, "Please don't talk to me in that tone of voice." C. listen until the employee has finished, and then say, "I can understand that you are upset and angry." D. tactfully interrupt, and say, "Please don't make this problem worse by having such a poor attitude."

C. listen until the employee has finished, and then say, "I can understand that you are upset and angry."

Positive reinforcement works least effectively when supervisors make it: A. meaningful to the employee. B. timely. C. private. D. frequent.

C. private.

The easiest wrongful discharge case for an employee to win is one in which: A. discipline is used as a form of punishment. B. the organization is shown to be negligent in hiring practices. C. the supervisor enforces rules unfairly. D. the employee was not granted "one last chance."

C. the supervisor enforces rules unfairly.

Which of the following statements about discipline is true? A. Every disciplinary situation must be handled in exactly the same way. B. The purpose of discipline is to punish employees for unacceptable behavior. C. Supervisors who are nice to their employees won't have disciplinary problems. D. Instances of disciplinary action should be documented.

D. Instances of disciplinary action should be documented.

Using disciplinary action as a form of punishment: A. lets employees know who's the boss. B. is the most effective long-term strategy for changing behavior. C. is the most effective short-term strategy for changing behavior. D. fails to address the causes of unacceptable behavior.

D. fails to address the causes of unacceptable behavior.

Before deciding to take disciplinary action, a supervisor should know all of the following except: A. whether the employee knowingly broke the rule. B. if factors beyond the employee's control caused the problem. C. whether the unacceptable behavior has been overlooked in the past. D. the precise cause of the unacceptable behavior.

D. the precise cause of the unacceptable behavior.