File: ch08.rtf, Chapter 8, Ethical Problems of Managers
Matching
Reference: Types of Employee Engagement
a) Actively engaged
b) Not engaged
c) Actively disengaged
1. David is willing to put in his time at work, but he exhibits no passion or no energy for what he
does.
Ans: b
Response: See page 293.
Difficulty: Easy
2. Lucy is passionate and enthusiastic about her work. She is eager to go the extra mile.
Ans: a
Response: See page 293.
Difficulty: Easy
3. Don is sometime willing to go the “extra mile,” but generally comes to work to do what needs
to be done and to go home.
Ans: b
Response: See page 293.
Difficulty: Easy
4. Jane frequently refuses to do work that “is not her job.”
Ans: c
Response: See page 293.
Difficulty: Easy
True/False
5. Research has shown that the best way to encourage ethical behavior is to create an
organizational culture that is built to enhance employee engagement.
Ans: True
Response: See page 293.
Difficulty: Easy
6. Managers play a limited role in increasing employee engagement and building an ethical
culture.
Ans: False
Response: See pages 293-294.
Difficulty: Easy
7. One of a manager’s most important responsibilities is to bring good people into the
organization.
Ans: True
Response: See page 295.
Difficulty: Easy
8. According to a survey of executives, most respondents would rather lie to employees about
performance than confront them about performance problems.
Ans: True
Response: See page 297.
Difficulty: Medium
9. Those who survive company layoffs rarely exhibit negative behaviors (such as decreased
productivity or low morale).
Ans: False
Response: See page 302.
Difficulty: Easy
10. People do not want to believe that the world operates on the principles of fairness.
Ans: False
Response: See page 303.
Difficulty: Medium
11. The intention of most dress codes is to restrict individuality and project the company image.
Ans: False
Response: See page 306.
Difficulty: Medium
12. The best way to ensure that you are not going to be asked to compromise your values is to
clearly communicate what people can expect from you.
Ans: True
Response: See page 316.
Difficulty: Medium
13. Actively engaged employees help an organization by keeping turnover and absenteeism low,
while promoting higher customer loyalty.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 293
Difficulty: Medium
14. Performance evaluations have little effect on employee performance so evaluating employee
performance once every 18 months is sufficient.
Ans.: False
Response: See page 296
Difficulty: Easy
15. Honest feedback is a two edge sword. Telling employees truthfully how they are performing
alienates the strong performers and has a negative effect on the organization’s culture.
Ans. False
Response: See page 297
Difficulty: Medium
16. Turkey farming is the fine art of placing poor performers alongside strong performers so that
the organization benefits.
Ans.: False
Response: See page 298
Difficulty: Medium
17. Discipline is important to ensure worker productivity, set standards of acceptable behaviors,
and meet the requirements of the U. S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 299
Difficulty: Medium
18. To make it easy to terminate a subordinate, ensure that you are being fair, that you deliver the
news in a way that is aligned with your organization’s values, and allow the employee to
maintain his personal dignity.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 302
Difficulty: Easy
19. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received more than 93,000
workplace discrimination complaints in 2009, and monetary relief for victims totaled more than
$376 million.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 303
Difficulty: Difficult
20. Employees who perceive that they have been unfairly treated are less satisfied, less likely to
go the extra mile, and more likely to steal from the organization.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 304
Difficulty: Medium
21. Compliments are just that, compliments, and employees too sensitive to accept them should
receive sensitivity training.
Ans.: False
Response: See page 306
Difficulty: Easy
22. Managers earn their subordinates’ credibility and respect by setting clear standards,
deliberately communicating those standards, and insisting that all adhere to the standards.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 311
Difficulty: Medium
23. According to management experts, “Management by walking around” is passé in the Internet
age where managers can easily communicate with employees using technology.
Ans.: False
Response: See page 312
Difficulty: Medium
24. If your manager asks you to betray your ethical standards, respond politely but firmly that
you will not compromise your standards.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 316
Difficulty: Medium
25. Framing business decisions in ethical terms goes a long way toward increasing moral
awareness, communicating your standards, and emphasizing the importance of ethical behavior.
Ans.: True
Response: See page 313
Difficulty: Medium
Multiple Choice
26. Which of the following is false?
a) Employee engagement is how committed employees are to their work.
b) Actively disengaged employees have lower turnover and absenteeism.
c) Actively disengaged employees cost the US economy billions each year.
d) Engaged employees are more productive.
Ans: b
Response: See page 293.
Difficulty: Medium
27. This driver of engagement, __________, refers to the fact that employees should understand
the company’s strategic direction and how their individual efforts play a role in the company’s
revenue-generating enterprise.
a) Line of sight
b) Involvement
c) Information sharing
d) Rewards and recognition
Ans: a
Response: See page 294.
Difficulty: Easy
28. Federal law prohibits discrimination against individuals with specific characteristics. Which
of the following characteristics is not on that list (i.e. not protected under Federal law)?
a) Religion
b) Gender
c) Pregnancy
d) Mental ability
Ans: d
Response: See page 295.
Difficulty: Difficult
29. As a manager of ABC Corporation, you are in a tough situation. You must send an employee
to work with your new client in Europe and Sam is clearly the most qualified candidate.
However, ABC Corporation is located in an area where several people of Sam’s race have been
violently attacked. You must choose to send Sam or Tonya. What should you do?
a) Automatically send Tonya to Europe without telling Sam he was considered.
b) Automatically send Sam to Europe because he is clearly the most qualified.
c) Ask Sam if he wants to go to Europe and discuss the situation.
d) Assign Sam to a new task and send the Tonya to Europe.
Ans: c
Response: See page 295.
Difficulty: Medium
30. Continuous performance evaluation is categorized under which of the four drivers of
employee engagement?
a) Line of sight
b) Involvement
c) Information sharing
d) Rewards and recognition
Ans: d
Response: See page 297.
Difficulty: Easy
31. Which of the following is not an effective way to discipline employees?
a) Discipline must be constructive and done in a professional manner.
b) Discipline should be done privately.
c) Employees should be encouraged to explain their side of the story.
d) Discipline should be consistent with what other employees at the same level or position
received.
Ans: d
Response: To be effective, discipline must be consistent across all levels of employees—from
top management to factory worker. See page 300.
Difficulty: Medium
32. You are a manager forced to layoff certain employees. What is the primary objective that
should guide your treatment of these individuals?
a) To make the process as quick and painless to the company as possible.
b) To ensure the grapevine is passing truthful information.
c) To ensure layoff survivors understand why they were not chosen.
d) To allow the terminated employee to maintain personal dignity.
Ans: d
Response: See page 302.
Difficulty: Medium
33. One of the higher performing employees in your group has recently had family troubles.
These personal issues caused him to be less flexible with his work schedule. For example, he
has come in late some mornings and missed several late afternoon meetings. However, he
continues to be productive when he is at work. As his manager, what should you do?
a) Reprimand the employee and put him on notice immediately.
b) Ignore the situation because he is generally a high performer and the situation is temporary.
c) Institute flexible work hours for all employees in your group and arrange meetings when
everyone can be available.
d) At the next group meeting, make an example out of him and his unethical behavior to deter
other employees’ misbehavior.
Ans: c
Response: See page 308.
Difficulty: Medium
34. Because of a family emergency, John was unable to complete a report for his boss. Instead,
he asks a coworker to finish it for him and in the morning, John tells his boss that he did the
report. Is there anything wrong with John’s action?
a) No, because John’s coworker only finished what John had started.
b) No, because John had a family emergency and his boss don’t need the details. The report is
done.
c) Yes, because John told a lie to his boss and put his reputation on the line.
d) Yes, because John is indebted to his coworker now.
Ans: c
Response: See page 315.
Difficulty: Difficult
Short Answer
35. List the four drivers of engagement and briefly describe each one.
Ans: Line of sight, involvement, information sharing, and rewards and recognition.
Response: See page 294.
Difficulty: Medium
36. How does culture get “baked in” to an organization?
Ans: In this era of teams and empowered employees, it is more important than ever for managers
to spell out “what they stand for” and “how things get done around here.” Ethical standards have
to be demonstrated by the manager and enforced or employees will not believe them. It is what is
meant by “walking the talk.” Employees figure out what really matters to an organization by
observing manager behavior. See page 312.
Difficulty: Moderate