Q&A Hero

Q: Of the six behaviors that managers focus on, which behavior typically is the most troubling to an organization? A) job satisfaction B) workplace misbehavior C) organizational citizenship behavior D) employee productivity

Q: Which legislation was responsible for the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission? A) Equal Pay Act of 1963 B) Civil Rights Act of 1866 C) Executive Orders 11246 and 11375 D) Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Q: This "behavior" is really an attitude. A) job satisfaction B) turnover C) workplace misbehavior D) employee productivity

Q: According to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which of the following employers would be legally allowed to refuse employment to an individual based on race, religion, or sex? A) a state agency with 65 employees B) a medical office with 25 employees C) a local restaurant with 10 employees D) a department store with 100 employees

Q: All of the following are included in the six behaviors that managers try to explain, predict, and influence EXCEPT ________. A) productivity and absenteeism B) workplace attitudes and perceptions C) workplace misbehavior and turnover D) organizational citizenship behavior and job satisfaction

Q: Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act explicitly prohibits employers from discrimination based on all of the following characteristics EXCEPT ________. A) race B) religion C) color D) sexual orientation

Q: When managers influence employee behavior, they ________. A) predict what employees will do B) steer it in a particular direction C) understand why a behavior occurs D) try not to change a behavior

Q: Which of the following are the goals of organizational behavior? A) to explain, document, and control behavior B) to control and influence behavior C) to explain, predict, and influence behavior D) to predict, understand, and document behavior

Q: The ________ gives all persons the same right to make and enforce contracts and to benefit from the laws of the land. A) Fifth Amendment B) Civil Rights Act of 1866 C) Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act D) Thirteenth Amendment

Q: The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution addresses the subject of ________. A) due process B) slavery C) private property D) trial by jury

Q: Organizational behavior focuses on ________. A) individual and group behavior as well as organizational aspects B) group behavior only C) individual behavior only D) neither group behavior nor individual behavior

Q: The ________ Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawed slavery, and courts have held that it bars racial discrimination. A) Fifth B) Tenth C) Thirteenth D) Fourteenth

Q: Which of the following is a visible aspect of an organization? A) attitudes B) interpersonal conflicts C) intergroup conflicts D) objectives

Q: Which Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law"? A) First Amendment B) Fifth Amendment C) Tenth Amendment D) Thirteenth Amendment

Q: How has increasing globalization affected business? What effect does globalization have on HRM?

Q: Hidden aspects of an organization that OB provides insight into include ________. A) strategies B) attitudes C) structure D) objectives

Q: Which of the following best defines organizational behavior? A) the actions of organizations in the workplace B) the study of the workplace C) the study of organizations D) the study of the actions of people at work

Q: What ethical issues relate to human resource management? Provide an example to illustrate your answer.

Q: Gen Y individuals tend to be comfortable with new types of electronic technology.

Q: What is evidence-based human resource management? How does evidence-based human resource management benefit firms?

Q: Gen Y individuals are those people who were born after 1997.

Q: What is human resource management? What competencies are necessary for HR managers to succeed in today's business environment? Explain your answer in a brief essay.

Q: Today over two-thirds of the U.S. work force is employed in producing and delivering services, not products. In a brief essay, explain the reasons for this trend.

Q: Which of the following is on the rise in today's organizations? A) respectful behavior B) use of good manners C) hostility and aggression D) amicable relations

Q: Which of the following is a common way in which Gen Y workers differ from workers in other generations? A) office attire B) ability to work hard C) ability to focus D) showing respect

Q: How have technological trends changed the nature of businesses? In what way has technology changed human resources management?

Q: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Gen Y workers? A) high expectations B) little interaction with colleagues C) goal oriented D) seek out creative challenges

Q: What are the three distinct functions carried out by human resource managers? Describe each function in a brief essay.

Q: In a short essay, explain how managers can shape behavior using punishment and extinction.

Q: Explain the difference between line authority and staff authority. What type of authority do human resource managers have?

Q: In a short essay, explain how managers can shape behavior using positive and negative reinforcement.

Q: Why is human resource management important to all managers? What is the role of line managers in human resource management?

Q: What are the five basic functions of the management process? Explain some of the specific activities involved in each function. Which function is most closely associated with human resource management?

Q: In a short essay, describe social learning.

Q: In a short essay, define learning and then explain operant conditioning.

Q: A key concept of the textbook is that effective human resource management practices add measurable value to an organization.

Q: In a short essay, list and discuss three shortcuts frequently used in judging others.

Q: A key concept of the textbook is that human resource management is the sole responsibility of human resource managers, so line managers and staff managers rely heavily on HR specialists to hire the best employees.

Q: Human resource managers who complete professional certification exams can earn SPHR, GPHR, or PHR certificates.

Q: Negative reinforcement is the withdrawal of something unpleasant.

Q: Negative reinforcement penalizes an individual for an undesired behavior.

Q: The SHRM Human Resource Certification exams include testing on management practices, staffing, development, compensation, labor relations, and health and safety.

Q: When a manager praises an employee for a job well done, she is providing positive reinforcement.

Q: Ethical issues such as work place safety, and employee privacy rights are all related to human resource management.

Q: Social learning theory maintains that reinforcement plays no part in this learning process.

Q: The evidence used in evidence-based human resource management may come from actual measurements, existing data, or critically evaluated research studies.

Q: According to research, less than one-third of all workers in the U.S. are mentally and emotionally invested in their work.

Q: Operant conditioning attempts to explain the influence that parents and teachers have on individuals.

Q: Operant conditioning as studied by Skinner has very little applicability to learned behavior in the workplace.

Q: The primary goal of talent management is managing the training and development needs of newly hired workers.

Q: In operant conditioning, if behavior is positively reinforced, it is less likely to repeat.

Q: Strategic human resource management refers to performing transactional duties that satisfy the needs and demands of both the employees and the employer.

Q: Operant behavior deals only with learned behavior.

Q: Modern human resource managers perform transactional duties as well as help top management develop and execute the firm's long-term plans.

Q: In an attempt to get employees to stop congregating, a manager decides to remove free bagels from the company snack bar. Which behavior-shaping method is she using? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction

Q: Millennial/Generation Y employees bring challenges and strengths. They are said to be "the most high maintenance workforce in the history of the world."

Q: In general, Generation Y employees tend to be more family-centric or dual centric than work centric.

Q: When a football coach cancels a grueling "meat-grinder drill" because the team is performing well, he is using which behavior-shaping method? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction

Q: As baby boomers retire from the work force, there will be more people entering the labor pool than leaving it.

Q: When a football coach makes the team run laps because it can't get a play right, he is using which behavior-shaping method? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction

Q: When a manager gives an employee a bonus for a job well done, which behavior-shaping method is the manager using? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction

Q: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between now and 2018 the number of workers classified as "white, non-Hispanic" will decrease, and the number of workers classified as Asian will increase.

Q: Although technology has changed how people communicate, it has failed to alter traditional factory work, which requires the specific skills of manual laborers.

Q: Which of the following is NOT thought to be a tool that managers can use to shape behavior? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) attentional processes

Q: In most firms, top human resource executives have many years of experience working in the human resources department, and about 40% of them have professional HR certification.

Q: When a young basketball player copies the free throw style of an NBA player, he or she is using his or her ________. A) retention processes B) motor reproduction processes C) attentional processes D) reinforcement processes

Q: The amount of influence a model has begins with the ________ process of becoming aware of the model. A) attentional B) retentional C) motor reproduction D) reinforcement

Q: In the majority of firms, the task of interviewing job candidates is shared between HR and the line manager.

Q: Transactional HR teams focus on assisting top management in big picture issues such as developing a firm's long-term strategic plan.

Q: Social learning theory involves learning through ________. A) instinct B) systematic study of books and manuals C) logical inference D) observing models

Q: The role of labor relations specialists includes investigating EEO grievances and collecting data about jobs for the purpose of writing job descriptions.

Q: Operant conditioning is any behavior that occurs as a result of ________. A) coincidence B) an innate behavior program C) reinforcement from reward or punishment D) reinforcement from reward only

Q: Functional authority is the authority exerted by an HR manager as coordinator of personnel activities.

Q: Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience is known as ________. A) reflex B) learning C) instinctual behavior D) intrinsic behavior

Q: Human resource managers assist line managers with hiring, training, evaluating, rewarding, counseling, promoting, and firing employees.

Q: Perceptual shortcuts can sometimes be accurate and valuable.

Q: In stereotyping, observers use group characteristics to judge individuals.

Q: In small organizations, line managers frequently handle all personnel duties without the assistance of a human resource staff.

Q: Individuals tend to attribute their own successes to external factors.

Q: Staff managers have staff authority which enables them to issue orders down the chain of command unlike line managers.