Employer-Employee Relations

Question 1

_______ harassment is any act, statement, or display that implies sexual consent as a condition of employment or any statement or material that is offensive or causes work to be impeded because of its sexual content.

Answer 1

Sexual

Explanation

According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it is illegal to issue punishment or adverse action against an employee for rejection of sexual advances. Any sexual act, suggestions of sex, or behavior that is sexually offensive, hostile, or otherwise adversely affects job performance is also prohibited.

Question 2

The two types of sexual harassment that are unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are quid pro quo harassment and _______ environment.

Answer 2

hostile

Explanation

Hostile environment describes harassment where unwelcome sexual conduct affects the job performance of the victim or creates an unpleasant and offensive working environment.

Question 3

____________ sexual harassment occurs when the agreement or refusal of sexual advances forms the basis for employment decisions.

Answer 3

Quid pro quo

Explanation

This is the definition of this form of sexual harassment and is clearly illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Question 4

___________ action describes the policy whereby employers remedy past discriminatory practices to minorities by adhering to specific guidelines to achieve a balanced and diverse workforce.

Answer 4

Affirmative

Question 5

Affirmative action programs began in the 1970s, and called for minorities and women to be given _______ consideration in employment and education.

Answer 5

special

Explanation

Affirmative action programs seek to redress past discrimination by taking measures to ensure equal opportunity.

Question 6

Critics of affirmative action programs say that such programs are a form of _______ discrimination, which involves discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group.

Answer 6

reverse

Explanation

Reverse discrimination is discrimination against the dominant group in a population, especially white males.

Question 7

Over half of US companies sponsor _________ training to raise awareness of the changing and varied demographics of the workforce.

Answer 7

diversity

Explanation

Employees need to be aware of equal opportunity legislation, affirmative action plans and the benefits of a diverse workforce.

Question 8

If an individual believes he has been discriminated against in employment, he would file an administrative charge with the _____.

Answer 8

EEOC

Explanation

He would file a charge with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). The EEOC then investigates the charge, and if it finds “reasonable cause” to believe that discrimination occurred, it will try to reach a voluntary agreement. Otherwise, it will bring a lawsuit against the employer or issue a Right-to-Sue notice to the charging party.

Question 9

Affirmative action is a highly emotional and contentious issue because it affects all workers and can lead to the charge of reverse ______________.

Answer 9

discrimination

Explanation

Reverse discrimination describes the situation when preference for the protected classes is practiced to the extent that the non-protected classes believe that they are being discriminated against. Since the 1990s the courts have restricted the application of AAPs.

Question 10

Regents of the University of __________ v. Bakke (1978) was the first Supreme Court case to address the constitutionality of affirmative action.

Answer 10

California

Explanation

Alan Bakke, a white student, was refused admission to medical school even though his academic records were superior to the minority students who were accepted. Bakke sued the school for reverse discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled that Bakke’s rights under the 14th Amendment had been violated as the school had used race as the sole criteria for the 16 minority positions. The court ruled that quota systems were unconstitutional.

Question 11

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited _____ discrimination in public accommodations, including hotels, railroads, and theaters.

Answer 11

racial

Explanation

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was an attempt to fight widespread racial discrimination in the South. It was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883.

Question 12

President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order ____, which prohibited discrimination based on race, creed, color, or national origin in defense industries and in the government.

Answer 12

8802

Explanation

The Fair Employment Practices Committee was formed to enforce Executive Order 8802. Up to that point, African-Americans fought in segregated units under white officers, and the ones back at home had trouble getting jobs because of discriminatory policies.

Question 13

Under President Johnson, the Civil Rights Act of ____ was passed, creating the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate complaints of job discrimination.

Answer 13

1964

Explanation

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Act also officially ended segregation in all public accommodations, and authorized the attorney general to file suits to enforce desegregation.

Question 14

The Equal Rights Amendment which prohibited discrimination on the basis of ____ was passed in 1972, after initially being proposed in 1923. However, it was not ratified by the required number of states.

Answer 14

sex

Explanation

The Equal Rights Amendment finally passed both houses of Congress and was signed by President Nixon nearly fifty years after it was first introduced. However, an amendment to the Constitution requires the ratification of three-fourths of the states. Only thirty-five states ratified by the deadline–thirty-eight were required.

Question 15

One of the principles of business ethics is to avoid letting personal interests conflict with business interests. This principle is “Avoiding ____________________.”

Answer 15

Conflict of Interest

Explanation

Avoiding Conflict of Interest is one of the main principles of business ethics. Other principles include Honoring Confidentiality, Acting in Good Faith, Satisfying the Expectations of Your Position, and Respecting the Rights of Others. An example of conflict of interest is hiring a friend, who is not the most qualified candidate.

Question 16

Another Business Ethics principle, involves not disclosing secret information of a firm or in a lawyer’s case, not disclosing a client’s confidential information. This principle is known as “________ Confidentiality.”

Answer 16

Honoring

Explanation

Honoring Confidentiality is a major principle of business ethics. A client must be able to trust his lawyer; a company must be able to trust its employees not to give away technological secrets.

Question 17

An important judgment that managers make about employees is whether they are loyal to the organization. ___________ are individuals who report unethical practices by their employers to authorities inside and/or outside the organization.

Answer 17

Whistle-blowers

Explanation

These people typically act out of loyalty to their organization, but are perceived by management as troublemakers. What is perceived as loyalty by one decision maker may be seen as excessive conformity by another. An employee who questions a top management decision may be seen as disloyal by some, yet caring and concerned by others.

Question 18

A famous example of whistle blowing involved Karen Silkwood and the __________ plutonium company.

Answer 18

Kerr-McGee

Explanation

In November 1974, Karen Silkwood (age 28) was killed while driving to meet a New York Times reporter. Silkwood was carrying information concerning plutonium fuel rod tampering at the Kerr-McGee uranium and plutonium plants in Cimarron, Oklahoma.

Question 19

Whistleblower laws protect people who report _______ conduct by a co-worker, employer, or other person or company.

Answer 19

illegal

Explanation

Whistleblower laws are designed to protect people who report wrongdoing by a company or someone in the company. They may either report it to a supervisor in the company, or to a government agency with responsibility to investigate the alleged wrongdoing.

Question 20

Throughout the _________ process, management and an employees’ union decide on mutual terms and conditions of employment and these are enforced by both groups.

Answer 20

labor relations

Explanation

During this process, the management team of an employer work with a union to make decisions regarding the terms and conditions of employment under which employees will work. These conditions are then enforced by both union and management.

Question 21

The elements that are commonly found in the labor relations process can be applied to the labor activities of not only a single manufacturing facility, but also entire __________.

Answer 21

industries

Explanation

Single manufacturing facilities, multiple facilities, multiple facilities run by the one company, as well as entire industries can all apply common elements of the labor relations process to their labor relations activities.

Question 22

In the past, investigations and research into labor relations lacked a _____ point that would have allowed for the development of an analytical framework to properly analyze the labor relations process.

Answer 22

focal

Explanation

In order for investigations into labor relations to yield applicable insights, a focal point is necessary. With a focal point, observations could be analyzed and useful findings discovered.

Question 23

Following publication of __________ Relations Systems, the negotiation of work rules between management and union officials became a focal point in labor relations.

Answer 23

Industrial

Explanation

Work rules are rules that are negotiated between management and union officials in order to maintain fairness for both the employer and the employee.

Question 24

Work rules are generalized into two categories. One of the categories is ______ and obligations, and these refer to those of both employer and employee.

Answer 24

rights

Explanation

The two categories of work rules cover compensation, and rights and obligations. Examples include rules governing types of compensation payments such as overtime and vacation, as well as rules governing the rights and obligations of both the employer and employee.

Question 25

Sexual __________ is an emotional issue but has no relationship to job performance, management potential, or other desirable job characteristics.

Answer 25

preference

Explanation

Most organizations have established either policies or unwritten practices that treat life-style as an individuals personal choice. These rules apply to a variety of conditions and are of no concern to the organization as long as they do not impact the performance or well-being of others.

Question 26

___ carriers may be excellent employees with minimal or no infectious danger to other employees.

Answer 26

HIV

Explanation

In order to combat fears and misinformation, supervisors have the responsibility for protecting the confidentiality of all medical records.

Question 27

Physically attractive people are perceived as having more positive characteristics, such as kindness, sociability, honesty, etc. This is an example of the ____ effect.

Answer 27

halo

Explanation

The halo effect occurs when people become stereotyped based on earlier impressions and these impressions color future events. It can be positive or negative. The Halo Effect is a common source of error for the interviewer.

Question 28

_________ groups are groups from which ethics are derived.

Answer 28

Reference

Explanation

Being honest and true to ones values is not always easy. Virtually all professional groups publish codes of ethics for their members. Companies publish policy statements defining ethical positions.