Business and Government

Question 1

The __________ Standards Act (1938) concerned wages and overtime payments, child labor and equal rights.

Answer 1

Fair Labor

Explanation

This was to stop the use of child labor aged 16 to 18 in dangerous occupations such as mining and logging.

Question 2

The National __________ Recovery Act instituted fair trade codes in each industry, set a 40-hour work week, gave labor the guaranteed right to bargain collectively, and abolished child labor.

Answer 2

Industrial

Explanation

The National Industrial Recovery Act was designed to help the recovery of industry in the United States. The National Recovery Administration was formed to encourage businesses to follow the fair trade codes.

Question 3

The National _______________ Board was created in 1935 to enforce the Wagner Act.

Answer 3

Labor Relations

Explanation

The National Labor Relations Board was created to enforce the Wagner Act, a popular name for the National Labor Relations Act. It supervised union elections and investigated possible unfair labor practices by employers.

Question 4

Collective __________ is an attempt by a union and management to come to an agreement on employment conditions, and if successful, results in a contract.

Answer 4

bargaining

Explanation

The Wagner Act requires employers to engage in collective bargaining with a National Labor Relations Board certified union.

Question 5

Through collective bargaining, unions work out a contract detailing conditions of employment for union employees. When a claim is made that the contract has been violated, this is known as a ________.

Answer 5

grievance

Explanation

The contract should describe a grievance procedure which outlines how the grievance will be dealt with.

Question 6

Unions and companies must _______ in good faith, assuming the union is certified by the National Labor Relations Board.

Answer 6

bargain

Explanation

The union must be certified by the NLRB. To be certified, the union must represent the employees who are affected by this bargaining, and have been elected by those employees to represent them.

Question 7

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) makes it illegal to discriminate against workers, in any aspect of employment, who are over the age of _____.

Answer 7

forty

Question 8

Employers covered by the ADEA are those with more than ___ employees, unions with 25 or more members, employment agencies as well as federal, state and local governments.

Answer 8

20

Explanation

Unions are covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) as well because the opportunity to discriminate based on age also exists in the unions.

Question 9

With ___________________ government regulation, legislatures mandate specific behavior and establish a regulatory agency to monitor and enforce compliance.

Answer 9

command and control

Explanation

Command and control regulation is commonly used by governments to enact social policies. Policies for example related to public housing, state education, welfare etc.

Question 10

Under President ____’s administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created to enforce workplace standards to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths.

Answer 10

Nixon

Explanation

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was established in 1971.

Question 11

To enforce its standards, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducts __________ inspections.

Answer 11

unannounced

Explanation

OSHA conducts unannounced inspections at worksites, most commonly due to complaints or accidents. The highest priority sites for inspections are those which have had a life-threatening situation or accidents involving deaths or three or more workers injured severely enough to require hospitalization.

Question 12

The Occupational Health and Safety Act not only created OSHA; it also created the _________ for Occupational Safety and Health to advise OSHA on new health and safety rules and regulations.

Answer 12

Institute

Explanation

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health was created to perform research on health and safety standards and recommend new standards and regulations to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).

Question 13

The Occupational Safety and Health ______ Commission was created under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to review appeals from OSHA’s decisions.

Answer 13

Review

Explanation

Question 14

In _____, Congress passed the Workers Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (WARN) in response to the sudden dismissal of employees without sufficient notice coupled with company shutdowns.

Answer 14

1988

Explanation

It is stated within this law that companies with more than 100 employees must give 60 days advance notice of layoffs and plant closings to full time staff, unions, and state and local government.

Question 15

In the United States, ____________ has been seriously advocated since the early 1980s.

Answer 15

deregulation

Explanation

Deregulation is the removal of government controls from an industry or sector, to allow for a free and efficient marketplace.

Question 16

In the past few decades, some industries that were under strict government control have been opened up to ___________ through deregulation, or the abandonment or relaxation of existing regulations.

Answer 16

competition

Explanation

Until recent deregulation measures were taken, companies in the airline and banking industries were under such strict government control that they had little or no competition.

Question 17

According to _______, the relationship between business and government is an adversarial one due to a “clash of ethical systems.”

Answer 17

Jacoby

Explanation

The two systems are the collectivistic ethic of government and the individualistic ethic of business.

Question 18

The collectivistic ethic of __________ is characterized by the subordination of individual goals and self interests to group interests and goals.

Answer 18

government

Explanation

Government officials typically view themselves as regulators, taxers and punishers of business.

Question 19

The ___________ ethic of business is characterized by minimizing the obligations society places on individuals and emphasizing personal responsibility and freedom.

Answer 19

individualistic

Explanation

Businesspeople view government officials and regulations as obstacles to economic success with much power to punish and hinder and little power to assist.

Question 20

Businesss primary means of influencing government is through ________.

Answer 20

lobbying

Question 21

A group that tries to influence public policy is called an ______ group.

Answer 21

interest

Explanation

Interest groups are a powerful lobbying force in American politics.

Question 22

A ________ is a representative of an interest group who actively tries to influence public policy.

Answer 22

lobbyist

Explanation

Lobbyists work in Congress to try to put forth issues that are important to their group.

Question 23

Because ___________ in an industry often have common objectives when it comes to government action, they often unite to form a lobbying group in an attempt to persuade legislators to vote for their groups interest.

Answer 23

competitors

Explanation

The American Banking Association and the American Medical Association are both examples of associations typically involved in lobbying activities.

Question 24

One of the methods that interest groups use to achieve their goals is through a ________________ committee.

Answer 24

political action

Explanation

A political action committee (PAC) is a group that raises and distributes money to candidates. Some are independent, and some are associated with a specific interest group.

Question 25

Political Action Committees are organizations which help funnel ________ contributions from interest groups.

Answer 25

financial

Explanation

Political Action Committees (PACs) are organizations used by interest groups to make financial contributions.

Question 26

Since campaign laws limit the abilities of a business to donate money directly to a ________, businesses will often instead funnel money through a PAC.

Answer 26

candidate

Explanation

Through a political action committee (PAC), a business can solicit contributions from its employees and then allocate the money to various candidates. PACs are controversial and will likely be a target of campaign reform in the near future.

Question 27

Also known as the _____________ bill, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 placed restrictions on individual and corporate campaign contributions.

Answer 27

McCain-Feingold

Explanation

The bill sought to limit personal and corporate spending, restrict out of state contributions, ban corporate and labor union contributions and eliminate soft money contributions to political parties.

Question 28

Business influences the public through ___________, public relations and other types of communication.

Answer 28

advertising

Explanation

Public relations often includes using publicity–one of the four ingredients of the promotion mix.