In the context of dealing with business problems, what should ideally be the first step?

Which of the following is true regarding international union membership?

The highest percentage of union membership is in the Scandinavian countries.

Which of the following rights does the EAW provide employers with?

Ken works in a pharmaceutical company that sells antibiotics at a low cost to several African countries. He later gets to know that most of these drugs are expired antibiotics that have been re-packaged by the company. Ken immediately informs one of his friends, a federal agent, regarding his company’s illegal activities. Which of the following statements is true of the given scenario?

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act would protect Ken from retaliation by his employer.

The responsibilities of a human resources unit while handling grievances in a unionized company include:

monitoring the trends in grievance rates.

One of the primary reasons for the unionization of employees in the United States is the:

dissatisfaction with how they are treated by their employers.

Jim, a construction employee, is seriously injured when a ladder falls on him while at his work site. The safety committee of the company arrives at the work site to investigate the accident. Which of the following should the safety committee do first? 

Review the scene of the accident.

Meatpacking workers, nursing home aides, building cleaners, and janitors are being targeted by unions for the purpose of union membership growth because these workers:

are relatively dissatisfied with their jobs.

Amanda is suspended by her manager for refusing to work on night shifts. She decides to file a grievance with the human resources unit in her company. Which of the following should be Amanda’s first step?

Discussing the grievance with her union steward and supervisor

Grace is asked by her employer to quit her job on the grounds that she is not punctual. Considering that the law of employment-at-will holds in the given scenario, which of the following statements is true?

Grace has to give in to her employer’s demands and quit her job.

The Landrum-Griffin Act was passed in 1959 to:

ensure that the federal government protects the democratic rights of union members.

Which of the following is typically a part of the organizational approach to safety management?

Implementing safety policies

Which of the following is a part of security audits?

Review of disaster plans of an organization

Which of the following is an advantage of union representation in organizations?

Opportunity to provide feedback to employers

The process whereby representatives of management and workers negotiate over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment is called:

A union is removed as the representative of a group of employees by the process of:  

A security audit is also referred to as a(n) _____.

Considering the reciprocal nature of rights and responsibilities, if an employee has the right to a safe working environment, then the employer has:

an obligation to improve working conditions so as to fulfill that right.

The process of deliberately making conditions intolerable to get an employee to quit is referred to as _____.

An agreement in which an employee who is being terminated agrees not to sue the employer in exchange for specific benefits is called a:

Which of the following is typically a responsibility of the HR unit for ensuring that policies, procedures, and rules are effectively followed in a company?

Designing formal mechanisms for coordinating HR policies

An employer may be in violation of the National Labor Relations Act if:

managers compose a majority on the committee.

A pharmaceutical research firm prohibits the employees who leave the firm from soliciting business from former customers or clients for a period of two years. This best exemplifies the _____ clause.

Which of the following is typically a characteristic of potentially violent employees?

Involvement in telephone harassment

An OSHA compliance inspector arrives at a meat processing unit and presents his credentials to the unit manager. The manager, however, refuses to allow the inspector to carry out the inspection process. Which of the following statements is true?

The OSHA inspector must produce a search warrant to enter the unit.

Rachel manages a team of ten designers in an advertising agency. She encourages all her subordinates to directly approach her and speak with her at any time of the day regarding issues they may be facing at work. On the basis of the given information, we can conclude that Rachel:

practices an open-door policy.

The CEO of a drug manufacturing company suspects that one of the senior scientists in the company has been selling confidential information to a competitor. When asked to take a polygraph test by the CEO, the scientist becomes visibly upset and refuses to take the test. Which of the following is true of the given scenario?

The scientist cannot be fired for refusing to take the polygraph test.

As part of PSM standards, hazard communication standards require employers who use hazardous chemicals to:

provide information about hazardous substances to employees.

Most fitness-for-duty test failures are because of:

_____ typically provide specific customary methods to employers for handling activities.

The Change to Win association has attempted to counteract the overall decline in the U.S. union membership by:

organizing low-paid individuals in service industries.

A security audit typically begins with:

a survey of the area around a company.

Which of the following acts would be violated if a majority of the members of a safety committee is composed of managers?

Employers should have at least _____ to be covered by the OSHA.

Indirect costs associated with accidents in a workplace include:

cost of training substitutes.

Alex, a graphic designer, suffers from a terrible headache while at work. He approaches the company nurse, who gives him aspirins. He gets back to work in an hour when his headache subsides. OSHA would categorize Alex’s illness as a(n):

Claudette is being terminated from her position as the Chief Financial Officer of a private university. She has signed an agreement in which she has agreed not to to sue the employer in return of certain benefits. This best exemplifies a(n):

A(n) _____ is a formal association of workers that promotes the interests of its members primarily through collective action.

_____ typically incorporates a sequence of steps, each becoming more stringent, that are designed to change an employee's inappropriate behavior.

The _____, which prohibited employers from using unfair labor practices, declared that the official policy of the U.S. government was to encourage collective bargaining.

_____ deal with unionized employees in organizations where human resource professionals have limited involvement with labor relations.

Why are obese employees considered more expensive by firms than nonobese employees?

Obese employees have more health issues.

Which of the following is true in the context of a union representation election?

Supervisors cannot be included in bargaining units for unionization purposes, except in industries covered by the Railway Labor Act. 

Discipline is most constructively viewed as _____ that enforces organizational rules.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT):

allows employers to hire outside investigators without notifying the employee under investigation.

It is common practice for terminated employees to be removed from the workplace as soon as possible, either by preventing them from returning to their work station or by requiring the terminated employee to clear out his/her work station under the supervision of security personnel. This policy is primarily intended to:

prevent violence or sabotage by the terminated employee.

Which of the following statements is true of workplace violence?

Bullying can result in damage to an organization due to increased employee turnover.

Which of the following is an immeasurable cost associated with accidents in an organization?

Negative influence on employees’ group morale

After a series of failed negotiations with its union, Sinclair Processing Inc. shuts down its manufacturing unit in order to prevent union members from working. Sinclair Processing is using a _____ to put pressure on the union.

Which of the following laws passed in 1947 is considered to be pro-management?

Which of the following guidelines should be followed when dealing with potentially violent employees?

Indicate the need for time to respond to the concerns voiced, and then set up another time for follow-up.

Which of the following guidelines has been cited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for companies, when managing drug testing in the workplace?

Drug- and alcohol-related problems should not be discussed without the presence of a witness.

Which of the following is a result of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978?

It established the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA).

In 1936 in the United States, airlines and their employees were added to those covered by the:

The monitoring of an employee’s activities on company systems is primarily required for:

controlling employee access to illegal Web sites that could create problems with law enforcement agencies.

_____ is a means by which a third party settles disputes arising from different interpretations of a labor contract.

Which of the following is true of the rights of an employee?

An employee’s contractual rights are based on a specific contract with an employer.

Which of the following statements is true of whistle-blowing?

Whistle-blowers are less likely to lose their jobs in public employment than in private employment.

According to the Data Protection Act, personnel files and records should ideally be maintained by employers for:

Which of the following is typically a characteristic of potentially violent employees?

Tendency to hold obsessive grudges

In an organization, which of the following strategies can be employed to prevent unionization?

Encouraging greater employee feedback and offering better compensation

An employer is guilty of _____ if an employee is terminated for reasons that are illegal or improper.

Which of the following bargaining patterns is relatively rare in U.S. labor history and is illegal?

Claudia, when selected as a senior engineer by her company, is promised that she would start working on live projects within three months from her joining date. She signs a contract stating that she would give three months’ notice before quitting the job. Which of the following statements is true of the given scenario?

Claudia has an implied contract with the company.

Which of the following statements is true of disaster planning?

Having backup databases is a key consideration of human impact planning.

The Privacy Act of 1974, which includes provisions affecting HR recordkeeping systems, applies only to:

federal agencies and organizations supplying services to the federal government.

Employment-at-will is a common-law doctrine holding that:

an employer has the right to hire, fire, demote, or promote whomever it chooses.

In the context of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which of the following statements is true about medical-related information?

It should be maintained separately from all other confidential files, with restricted access and security provisions.

Which of the following represents a group of autonomous national and international unions?

Why are unions considered to be victims of their own successes?

Unions have passed most of the important issues that affect workers into law and are no longer considered necessary.

The ____ approach to safety management focuses on designing jobs, developing and implementing safety policies, and using safety committees.

A de minimis OSHA violation:

does not require the OSHA compliance officer to issue a citation.

_____ is the study and design of the work environment to address the physiological and physical demands on individuals.

Who among the following is considered disabled under the ADA?

A person addicted to alcohol

Explicit employment contracts are more likely to be used by companies while hiring CEOs when:

the company environment and employment situation was risky for the CEO because of uncertainty.

Self-employed workers have higher accident rates than those who work for others because they are:

more likely to work in dangerous industries such as farming.

Matt accepts a job offer as a chemical engineer in the R&D department of Tulip Inc., paint-manufacturing company. After accepting the job offer, he signs an employment contract stating that the results of his research would be the sole property of the company. Matt comes up with an innovative paint formula which could withstand extreme temperatures. He receives a promotion and a handsome package for his work. However he is annoyed that the formula was not patented in his name. In the context of the given scenario, which of the following statements is true?

The advances made by Matt on the job fall under the management and control of his organization.

employees to join the union, usually 30 to 60 days after being hired.

restrict compulsory union membership.

You are conducting a training session on security management for a group of senior employees. Which of the following suggestions would you provide while explaining to them the strategies for effectively dealing with potentially violent employees?

Get assistance from others, perhaps a manager not directly affected by the situation being discussed.

Individuals outside the normal chain of command who act as problem solvers for both management and employees are called:

The long-term decline in the U.S. union membership has been attributed to the:

perception by firms that dealing with unions is expensive.

Sam, an HR manager, is asked to deal with a violent employee who is threatening her supervisor for not giving him an increment. Which of the following should Sam avoid while talking to the employee?

Asking questions that do not require detailed explanations

The most highly unionized part of the U.S. workforce is the:

Which of the following statements is true of workers’ compensation laws?

Under the workers’ compensation laws, employers need to contribute to an insurance fund that compensates employees for injuries received while on the job.

The concept of distributive justice primarily stresses on:

perceived fairness in the allocation of outcomes among employees.

The purpose of OSHA's “lockout/tag-out regulations” is to:

prevent the accidental start-up of defective machinery during repair or adjustment.

The greatest difficulty with the positive approach to discipline is that:

managers have to be trained extensively to become effective counselors.

During a contract negotiation, the management of Wild Mist Inc. and its employee union fail to reach an agreement on an issue related to retirement benefits. A neutral third party is called in to come up with a solution, make the necessary decisions, and reach a settlement. The process used by the third party in the given scenario is referred to as:

In 1932, the U.S. Congress passed the _____ which guaranteed workers some rights to organize and restricted the issuance of court injunctions in labor disputes.

How has the North American Free Trade Agreement affected U.S. unions?

U.S. firms with unionized workforces have moved low-skill jobs to Mexico, thus reducing union membership.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act:

requires employees to be advised of their rights to refuse to take the test.

Which of the following is considered a safe job for workers under the age of 18 years?

The practice whereby union or worker representatives are given positions on a company’s board of directors is called:

ReNaPro Inc., a multinational marketing agency, offers a curriculum in health education for its employees. It provides health promotions on a regular basis and offers incentives to employees for joining the company’s wellness and fitness programs. The company’s health insurance also pays for smoking cessation and substance abuse services. ReNaPro is:

engaged in health promotion at the highest level of organizational commitment.

While reviewing the safety statistics of his company, Gerard, a newly appointed HR manager, notices that the number of slip and fall accidents on the company floor has increased by more than 20 percent over the last year. Which of the following should Gerard do first?

Investigate the likely causes for the increase in the slip and fall accidents.

A(n) _____ shop is an arrangement that makes workers who don’t join a union to make payments equal to union dues and fees to get union representation services.

In the United States, unions have typically focused primarily on:

wages, benefits, job security, and working conditions.

The process by which union members vote to accept the terms of a negotiated labor agreement is called:

Jennifer has been highly unproductive at work for the last few weeks and is counseled regarding organizational policies and rules by her supervisor. She is then asked to identify solutions to prevent further problems and write them down. When her supervisor feels that these activities are not helping her, she is given a paid day off to prepare an action plan that would help her work on her productivity issues. This best exemplifies the _____ approach.

In the United States, why do laws prohibit police officers and firefighters from conducting strikes?

Strikes by firefighters may endanger public health and safety.

Which of the following can be considered as a union security provision?

Who among the following is not covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970?

A farmer with eight employees working for him

Which of the following U.S. unions founded in 1938 focused on semiskilled and unskilled workers?

The Congress of Industrial Organizations

Workplace standards are researched and developed by the:

During a contract negotiation, the negotiator for a union brings up the issue of changing the manner in which work is scheduled. Which of the following is true of this situation?

The management needs to negotiate on this issue as it is a mandatory issue.     

A(n) _____ is a union in which all members do the same type of work, often using specialized skills and training.

The Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 was the result of a joint effort between railroad management and unions to:

reduce the number of transportation strikes.

Samuel applies for work with a local construction company that is located in a country that does not have right-to-work laws. He is told that he must join the employee union at the company so as to be hired. This employer has a(n) _____ shop.

Jeff is a private investigator. According to an agreement with one of his clients, Jeff is required to perform background checks on all the applicants for managerial-level vacancies in the company for a year, for a fixed fee payable every month. He has complete access to all employee-related documents in the company. These provisions made in the agreement are _____.

Sam, a product development manager, and his team are in the process of designing ergonomic desks that would help the employees in their organization work effectively without any discomfort or physical ailments. Which of the following approaches is being used by Sam’s organization for safety management?

In the United States, the right of protection from unreasonable search and seizure:

protects an individual only against searches and seizure by agents of the government.

Concerns regarding pandemic diseases have led OSHA establish special guidelines for the poultry production industry because:

of the high vulnerability of the employees of this industry.

Mark, an operating manager, needs to terminate one of his subordinates, who works on the same floor. The employee has been poorly executing work-related duties even after several warnings. Which of the following is the most appropriate media for dealing with the termination?

Having a “just cause” for employment-related action is necessary primarily for ensuring that:

fairness is taken into consideration.

According to OSHA, having loose ropes in a work area that could impact employees’ health or safety but probably would not cause death or much harm is a(n) _____ violation.

The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988:

requires government contractors to take steps to eliminate employee drug use.

Which of the following statements is true of the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Recovering substance abusers are considered disabled.

The union contract between the union and the management of Gable Electronics Inc. includes a no-strike clause that is valid till the date of the contract’s expiry. When a supervisor threatens salary cut for those unionized employees who refuse to work on a few weekends, the employees conduct a strike. The employees are resorting to a(n) _____ strike.

Colleen, an active union member, applies for a job at a company that her union has targeted so that she can start organizing efforts in favor of the union. She is also being paid by the union for her efforts. Which of the following practices is Colleen employing?

The employee contract of Uranus Inc. clearly states that, “Every employee in the company must avoid smoking within the company premises.” This best exemplifies a:

Union membership, as a percentage of the U.S. civilian workforce, has:

decreased over the years.

The contract between the management of a company and its union is due to expire in 30 days. If the management and the union fail to successfully negotiate a contract within 30 days due unsettled disputes, the Taft-Hartley Act requires them to notify the _____.

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Monica, an active member of a local union, runs the local headquarters and provides assistance to all union members. She helps employees negotiate contracts with their managements and actively works toward increasing the union’s strength. Monica plays the role of a(n) _____.

Which of the following is typically a responsibility of the operating managers for ensuring that policies, procedures, and rules are effectively followed in a company?

Giving feedback on the effectiveness of policies and rules

Employers who provide injured employees with light-duty work, typically:

give them less physically demanding work until they are able to perform their jobs.

Which of the following is true of the view that white-collar workers have about unions? 

Unions are not in touch with the concerns of the more educated workers.

The _____ approach to discipline builds on the philosophy that violations of procedures and rules by employees are actions that usually can be constructively corrected without penalty.

After a personality conflict with his manager, Will is asked by the manager to work for extra hours every day. Will is given the toughest assignments and is often ignored and even insulted during team meetings and discussions. Will considers quitting the job owing to the intolerable work conditions. Will’s manager can be held responsible for _____.

Gloria, an active member of a local union and an employee of Bargello Inc., is elected as the first-line representative of Bargello’s unionized workers. She discusses the grievances of the employees with their supervisors and represents employees at the workplace. Gloria plays the role of an elected _____.

According to the Data Protection Act, which of the following should be avoided by the employers?

Keeping as much information and personal details as possible

_____ strikes exist when members of one union walk out to force the employer to assign work to them instead of to members of another union.

Which of the following factors is responsible for a growth in the unionization of medical professionals?

The loss of control of patient-care decisions due to managed care

Emily is an attorney who has been fired by her employer after she accidentally witnesses a senior attorney, who is also a close friend of the manager, accepting bribe from a client. Emily:

can sue her employer because the reason for her firing is a violation of public policy.

Which of the following is true of unions in the United States?

They typically try to improve working conditions.

Employees cannot be disciplined for including work-related comments in their blogs if the:

blog content is harmless and positive.

During a contract negotiation, the management of RMS, Inc. and its employee union fail to reach an agreement on an issue related to night shift pay scales. A neutral third party is called in to actively work with both sides and help them reach a settlement. This party suggests several ideas that could help in solving the issue. The process used by the third party in the given scenario is referred to as:

Which of the following statements is true of employee handbooks?

The courts use employee handbooks against employers in lawsuits by charging a broken “implied” contract.

The purpose of a material safety data sheet (MSDS) is to:

provide employees with antidotes to be taken if exposed to hazardous materials.

Which of the following employer actions would most likely be a violation of employee privacy?

Placing video cameras in rest rooms

During disaster planning, organizational assessment includes the:

development of a disaster recovery plan.

Which of the following statements is true of the wages of employees in the United States?

Union workers frequently get compensated better in terms of pay than do nonunion workers.

The workers at a construction site are refusing to work saying that the scaffolding on which they have been working is unsafe and that their management has been avoiding their requests for a safer work environment. Is their refusal to work justified?

Yes, because according to the OSHA, workers have the right to refuse to work if their fear is objectively reasonable

_____ typically provide the funds necessary for workers' compensation in a privately-owned company.

Which of the following is a major drug testing policy that most employers follow when testing current employees?

Testing only when there is probable cause

Before a union election can be called, _____ of the employees in the targeted employee group must sign authorization cards of the union.

Which of the following is the first step in conducting effective business research?

What should be one of the primary goals of a business communicator?

What action is most likely to lower a person's credibility quizlet?

When you write a business message which of these steps is usually not part of the process?