Chapter 15: Managing Employee Separations

Question 1

Employee relations

Answer 1

The activity that involves establishing and maintaining the positive employee-employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, morale, discipline, and to maintaining a positive, productive, and cohesive work environment

Question 2

Fair treatment

Answer 2

reflects concrete actions such as “employees are treated with respect” and “employees are treated fairly”

Question 3

Employee Engagement

Answer 3

The emotional and intellectual involvement of employees in their work, such as intensity, focus, and involvement in his or her job and organization

Question 4

Organizational justice has three components, what are they?

Answer 4

1) distributive justice
2) procedural justice
3) interactional justice

Question 5

1) distributive justice

Answer 5

Fairness of a decision outcome

Question 6

2) procedural justice

Answer 6

Fairness of the process used to make a decision

Question 7

3) Interactional Justice

Answer 7

Fairness in interpersonal interactions, treating others with dignity and respect

Question 8

Turnover

Answer 8

the termination of an individual’s employment with an organization

Question 9

Most popular reason for Voluntary turnover

Answer 9

Employee sough new challenges

Question 10

Most popular reason for Involuntary turnover

Answer 10

Downsizing or restructuring

Question 11

here are four main components associated with the cost of the turnover: what are they?

Answer 11

1) Separation cost
2) Vacancy costs
3) Replacement costs
4) Training costs

Question 12

Separation costs

Answer 12

the cost of exit interviews, administrative functions associated with the turnover, and separation or severance pay

Question 13

Vacancy costs

Answer 13

the net savings or cost incurred of increased overtime, the use of temporary workers, and the loss of sales associated with the vacancy

Question 14

Replacement costs

Answer 14

the cost of recruiting and hiring a replacement to fill the vacant position (including the cost of interviews, testing, administrative expenses, travel or moving expenses, etc.)

Question 15

Training costs

Answer 15

formal and informal training (including the performance differential between employees exiting the organization and their replacements

Question 16

Overall, the reasons for turnover can be classified into two subgroups: what are they?

Answer 16

Voluntary

Involuntary

Question 17

Voluntary turnover

Answer 17

employee initiated,

usually in the form of quits or retirement

Question 18

Involuntary turnover

Answer 18

employer initiated

is usually in the form of dismissals or layoffs

Question 19

Why Do Employees Engage in Voluntary Turnover? (In Priority Order)

Answer 19

According to managers: Insufficient pay or unfair pay practices

According to employees: Insufficient pay or unfair pay practices

Question 20

Quitting

Answer 20

Voluntary, employee-initiated resignation

most often caused by low job satisfaction

Question 21

Retirees on call

Answer 21

A program where retirees ca continue to work on part-time or as-needed basis past-retirement

Question 22

Phased retirement

Answer 22

Potential retirees gradually reduce the number of hours worked per week over time

Question 23

Preretirement counselling

Answer 23

Counselling provided to employees some months (or even years) before retirement, which covers such matters as benefit advice, second careers, and so on

Question 24

A fair and just disciplinary process is based on three foundations: what are they?

Answer 24

1) Rules and regulations,
2) Progressive discipline
3) an appeals process

Question 25

Dismissal

Answer 25

Involuntary termination of an employee’s employment

Question 26

Dismissed for just cause

KNOW FOR MIDTERM

Answer 26

An employer-initiated termination based on an employee’s poor behaviours; in these situations no severance, reasonable notice periods, or additional payments beyond what the employee has already earned are owed

Question 27

Insubordination

Answer 27

Willful disregard or disobedience of the boss’ authority or legitimate orders; criticizing the boss in public

Question 28

Progressive Discipline

KNOW FOR MIDTERM

Answer 28

A system of progressive penalties

Penalties may range from verbal warnings, to written warnings, to suspension (paid or unpaid) from the job, and finally to dismissal

Finally, there should be an appeals process as part of the disciplinary process; this helps to ensure procedural fairness.

Question 29

Downsizing

Answer 29

refers to an intentional decision made by executives within the organization that involves a reduction of the workforce to improve efficiency or effectiveness of the organization by affecting the work process

Question 30

Layoff

Answer 30

The temporary withdrawal of employment to workers for economic or business reasons

Question 31

There are several alternatives to layoffs, such as:

Answer 31

1) voluntary reduction in pay, where all employees agree to reductions in their pay to keep everyone working
2) Other employers arrange to have all or most of their employees accumulate their vacation time and to concentrate their vacations during slow periods
3) contingent employees hired with the understanding that their work is temporary and they may be laid off at any time
4) work-sharing program, available through Service Canada, allows employers to reduce the workweek by one to three days, and employees can claim employment insurance for the time not worked

Question 32

Wrongful dismissal

Answer 32

An employee dismissal that does not comply with the law or does not comply with a written or implied contractual arrangement

Question 33

Reasonable notice legislation

Answer 33

Laws that require an employer to notify employees in the even that they decide to terminate employees through layoffs (i.e. no just cause). Minimize notice varies on size of the layoffs, with smaller layoffs determining minimum notice based on employee tenure and mass layoffs determining minimum notice based on total layoff size

Question 34

A rule of thumb some organizations follow for reasonable notice is about ____________ per year of service

Answer 34

three to four weeks

Question 35

bad-faith damages

Answer 35

Reserved for extreme circumstances in which the employers was untruthful, misleading, or unduly insensitive to the employee in the course of a dismissal

Question 36

Punitive Damages

Answer 36

Reserved for malicious or outrageous cases in which an employer engages in harsh and vindictive treatment of an employee, or if the employee suffered undue distress from not being given adequate notice of termination

Question 37

Constructive Dismissal

Answer 37

When the employer makes unilateral changes in the employment contract that are unacceptable to the employee, even though the employee has not been formally terminated

Example of unilateral changes: demotion, reduction in pay and benefits, forced resignation, forced early retirement, forced transfer, and changes in job duties and responsibilities

Question 38

Termination Interview

Answer 38

An interview in which an employee is informed of the fact that they have been dismissed

Question 39

Termination Interview Guidance / help

Answer 39

1) Plan the interview
2) Get to the point
3) Describe the situation briefly
4) Listen
5) Review all elements of the severance package
6) Identify the next step

Question 40

Five major reactions after termination often occur:

Answer 40

1) Hostile / angry
2) Defensive / bargaining
3) Formal controlled manner
4) Stoic facade (masking emotions)
5) Emotional with tears and sadness

Question 41

According to the textbook, which of the following is the general rule for organizations to follow when providing reasonable notice?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 41

3 to 4 weeks per year of service

Question 42

Which of the following is the most drastic disciplinary step that can be taken towards an employee?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 42

Dismissal

Question 43

According to the textbook, factors such as globalization, technological advancements, and market pressures have resulted in

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 43

a decrease in job stability.

Question 44

Helena feels that her employer’s method and process for deciding on pay increases is not fair; this indicates Helena’s concern with which of the following components of organizational justice?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 44

Procedural justice

Question 45

Antoinette reviews the performance of an employee who continually produces less than the standard for her job. Antoinette informs the employee that she is fired; what kind of turnover is this an example of?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 45

Involuntary

Question 46

According to the data presented in the textbook, what was the most common voluntary turnover reason?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 46

Employee sought new challenges

Question 47

Chantelle owns an education company that provides services to colleges, universities, and publishers. One of her workers, Anthony, would like to retire but is unsure of how to assess his financial situation or what he would do in retirement. Chantelle hires a Retirement Consultant to speak with Anthony about transitioning into retirement; what term best describes this?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 47

Pre-retirement counselling

Question 48

The indirect costs of turnover include the cost of advertising the job and interviewing new candidates.

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 48

FALSE

Question 49

What is the average age of retirement for private sector employees in Canada?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 49

62

Question 50

According to the Ontario Employment Standards Act, at least how many weeks of notice must an employee, who has worked more than two years for the same employer, provide the employer when quitting?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 50

2 Weeks

Question 51

Diana has 5 employees in her marketing department. Their years of age are as follows: Don is 19, Sarah is 22, Muhammad is 31, Miko is 38, and Paulo is 41. Which employee is least likely to experience turnover with Diana’s company based on his/her age?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 51

Paulo

Question 52

Which of the following is an example of involuntary turnover?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 52

Dismissal

Question 53

The temporary withdrawal of employment to workers based on economic or business reasons is referred to as

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 53

Layoff

Question 54

If just cause is not present, then a termination without reasonable notice is considered unfair and is known as which of the following?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 54

Wrongful dismissal

Question 55

Which of the following is a program where retirees can come back to work on a part-time or on an as-needed basis?

QUIZ QUESTION

Answer 55

Retirees on call