Chapter 18: Organizational Responsibility and Ethical Issues in Talent Management

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. The interest that employees have in controlling the use of personal information is called ______.

A. confidentiality

B. ethical choice

C. privacy

D. anonymity

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Chapter Opener
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

2. As an HR manager, you make a decision among many alternatives while considering the interests of all parties. You also consult those parties and are open about the decision-making process. This BEST represents ______.

A. ethics and morality

B. ethical choice

C. privacy

D. confidentiality

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Chapter Opener
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

3. Which of the following is NOT listed as part of the triple bottom line of organizational responsibility?

A. global

B. economic

C. social

D. environmental

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Definition and General Framework
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Social responsibility

4. Which of the following is NOT true about OR and accountability?

A. Many critics argue that OR is a ploy of corporations to “look” good.

B. Information about organizations and their policies and actions can now be accessed around the globe almost without delay.

C. The line between internal and external stakeholders is becoming increasingly clear in today’s organizations.

D. Today’s organizations are boundaryless and global.

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Definition and General Framework
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Social responsibility

5. What percentage of consumers penalize a company for not being socially responsible (in a study in Spain)?

A. 45%

B. 55%

C. 65%

D. 75%

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Benefits
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Social responsibility

6. Which of these statements about the benefits of OR is NOT true?

A. Seventy percent of global chief executives think that corporate social responsibility is vital to their companies.

B. The relationship between OR and financial performance is dependent on firm size.

C. There is a positive relationship between social/environmental performance and financial performance.

D. Companies that receive the highest responsibility ratings outperformed those that receive the lowest ratings.

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Benefits
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Social responsibility

7. Which process allows organizations to look at social and environmental issues in a systematic and strategic manner?

A. strategic responsibility management

B. performance management

C. strategic workplace planning

D. program evaluation

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Implementation and the Role of Human Resource Management Research and Practice

Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Social responsibility

8. What is Step 4 in strategic responsibility management?

A. creating a vision and values related to responsibility

B. raising internal awareness through employee training

C. developing initiatives that are integrated with corporate strategy

D. reporting on the status of the dialogue and the initiatives through a yearly OR report

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Implementation and the Role of Human Resource Management Research and Practice

Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Social responsibility

9. Which of the following is NOT true regarding HRM research/practice about OR?

A. Implementing SRM must be accompanied with a change in performance measurement and the reward structure.

B. Business schools are being criticized for not being responsible and are even blamed for training executives deficiently.

C. OR is intrinsically a multilevel phenomenon.

D. HRM research tends to emphasize the organizational level of analysis.

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Implementation and the Role of Human Resource Management Research and Practice

Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Social responsibility

10. Whether or not a company has the right to search their employees’ computer files is an issue pertaining to ______.

A. anonymity

B. privacy

C. confidentiality

D. fairness

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Employee Privacy
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

11. Which percent of companies will give information to an employee’s potential creditors without a subpoena?

A. 42%

B. 57%

C. 66%

D. 80%

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Employee Privacy
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

12. What percentage of organizations have a written policy regarding electronic privacy?

A. 10%

B. 25%

C. 40%

D. 50%

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Employee Privacy
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

13. Which law gave broad power requires employers to report any imminent threats to the government?

A. Civil Rights Act of 1991

B. Intelligence Reform Act of 2004

C. Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986

D. The Patriot Act of 2001

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Safeguarding Employee Privacy
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

14. All of the following are recommended to establish a privacy-protection policy EXCEPT ______.

A. establish a policy that states specifically that employees can waive their rights to privacy

B. permit employees to authorize disclosure of personal information

C. establish a policy that states that any manager or nonmanager who violates these privacy principles will be subject to discipline or termination

D. become thoroughly familiar with state and federal laws regarding privacy

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Safeguarding Employee Privacy
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

15. Which of the following is illegal based on current U.S. law?

A. an organization tapping employees’ phones without employee knowledge

B. the police tapping employee phones after seeking proper authorization

C. the police accessing employee e-mails without a search warrant

D. an organization looking through employee computer files

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Fair Information Practice in the Information Age
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

16. What percentage of employers monitor employees’ use of the Web as of 2001?

A. 33%

B. 47%

C. 63%

D. 74%

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Fair Information Practice in the Information Age
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

17. Which of these is NOT true about guidelines for conducting ethical and lawful workplace investigations?

A. Prevent creating a master key to all lockers and areas that might need to be search, allowing employees to be the ones to provide access.

B. Conduct searches only when you have a reason to believe you will find the specific object of the search.

C. Base the search and seizure policy on legitimate employer interests, such as the prevention of theft.

D. Instruct those responsible for conducting the actual searches to not touch any employee or, if this is not possible, to limit touching to effects and pockets.

Learning Objective: 18-3: Conduct legal and fair workplace investigations.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Employee Searches and Other Workplace Investigations
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

18. Which is the LEAST desirable way to observe employees in the case of a workplace investigation according to the reading?

A. photographic

B. undercover operatives

C. video images

D. investigative interviews

Learning Objective: 18-3: Conduct legal and fair workplace investigations.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Employee Searches and Other Workplace Investigations
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

19. A company that conducted research on their employees without gaining informed consent would be violating which area of AOM Code of Ethics?

A. privacy and confidentiality

B. public statements

C. human relations

D. research and publication

Learning Objective: 18-4: Apply current ethical standards when implementing testing and evaluation programs.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Testing and Evaluation
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

20. Which court case set standards for accepting expert witness testimony?

A. Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals

B. Griggs v. Duke Power Company

C. Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson

D. Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust

Learning Objective: 18-4: Apply current ethical standards when implementing testing and evaluation programs.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Obligations to One’s Profession
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

21. Which of the following is true about individual differences in ethical behavior?

A. Implementation of ethics codes is most successful among individuals who achieved the post-conventional level of moral development.

B. Women are less likely than men to perceive specific hypothetical business practices as unethical.

C. A manager’s narcissism is positively related to supervisor ratings of interpersonal performance and integrity.

D. Individuals in the highest group of the moral development distribution exhibit more transformational leadership behaviors.

Learning Objective: 18-4: Apply current ethical standards when implementing testing and evaluation programs.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Individual Differences Serving as Antecedents of Ethical Behavior
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

22. Implementation of ethical codes is most successful among individuals who achieved the ______ level of moral development.

A. pre-conventional

B. conventional

C. post-conventional

D. extra-conventional

Learning Objective: 18-4: Apply current ethical standards when implementing testing and evaluation programs.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Individual Differences Serving as Antecedents of Ethical Behavior
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

23. Most ethical concerns in organizational research occurs because of ______.

A. lack of research integrity

B. issues with the publication process

C. multiple and conflicting roles

D. the complexity of privacy

Learning Objective: 18-5: Plan organizational research, recruit and select research participants, and protect their rights, based on current ethical guidelines and standards.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Organizational Research
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

24. Before conducting research, it is important for researchers to conduct a ______ to determine if the research should be ethically completed.

A. cost–benefit analysis

B. strategic planning analysis

C. work analysis

D. power analysis

Learning Objective: 18-5: Plan organizational research, recruit and select research participants, and protect their rights, based on current ethical guidelines and standards.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues at the Research-Planning Stage
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

25. Participants in research should have the right to decide who they will reveal their personal information to. This exemplifies which participant right?

A. Right to informed consent

B. Right to privacy

C. Right to confidentiality

D. Right to debriefing

Learning Objective: 18-5: Plan organizational research, recruit and select research participants, and protect their rights, based on current ethical guidelines and standards.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Conducting Research: Protecting Research Participants’ Rights
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

26. A researcher conducts a study involving deceiving participants into thinking they are being treated rudely by a fellow participant (who is actually a confederate). This causes many participants stress, so the researcher tells them after the study about the manipulation and gives them information about the benefits their participation will have. This is an example of being sensitive to which participant right?

A. Right to informed consent

B. Right to privacy

C. Right to confidentiality

D. Right to debriefing

Learning Objective: 18-5: Plan organizational research, recruit and select research participants, and protect their rights, based on current ethical guidelines and standards.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Conducting Research: Protecting Research Participants’ Rights
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

27. Putting one’s name on another’s work, using a large part of someone else’s work without citing it, or claiming others’ ideas as one’s own is called ______.

A. HARKing

B. plagiarism

C. systematic capitalization

D. censoring

Learning Objective: 18-6: Report research results so that they are not misrepresented or censored.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Reporting Research Results
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

28. A researcher finds a result that goes against a long-held idea in Personnel Psychology and thus chooses to leave it out of his manuscript to make publication easier. This relates to what issue related to reporting results?

A. HARKing

B. plagiarism

C. censoring

D. misrepresentation of results

Learning Objective: 18-6: Report research results so that they are not misrepresented or censored.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Reporting Research Results
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

29. When someone is not sure about what role they are supposed to do at a particular time, such as researcher versus. organizational member, it is called ______.

A. role conflict

B. role overload

C. role ambiguity

D. ambiguous norms

Learning Objective: 18-7: Implement strategies for addressing ethical dilemmas when conducting organizational research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Strategies for Addressing Ethical Issues in Organizational Research
Difficulty Level: Easy

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

30. Creating and building role relations and providing for collaborative examination of intended means and ends and potential consequences are helpful for dealing with which source of ethical issues?

A. role conflict

B. role overload

C. role ambiguity

D. ambiguous norms

Learning Objective: 18-7: Implement strategies for addressing ethical dilemmas when conducting organizational research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Strategies for Addressing Ethical Issues in Organizational Research
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

31. When a scientist-practitioner tries to inspire change that runs counter to conventional wisdom, there is pressure to report and present data selectively. Which of these is NOT a guideline for dealing with this pressure?

A. When making presentations to practicing managers, distinguish clearly between what has been observed under certain circumscribed conditions and what is being advocated as a desired state of affairs.

B. Use success stories that managers can expect to duplicate rather painlessly.

C. Respect the limitations of data obtained from a single study.

D. Do not allow advocacy of certain techniques or organizational policies to masquerade as science.

Learning Objective: 18-8: Issue research-based public policy statements with confidence.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Science, Advocacy, and Values in Organizational Research
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

32. According to the chapter, research needs to incorporate more of a ______ perspective going forward.

A. applied

B. scientific

C. instrumental

D. moral

Learning Objective: 18-8: Issue research-based public policy statements with confidence.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Science, Advocacy, and Values in Organizational Research
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

Short Answer

1. Define what it means to be ethical and how it evolves over time.

Learning Objective: 18.1 - Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Chapter Opener
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

2. What is a Corporate Responsibility Officer and what are typically the responsibilities of this position?

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Benefits
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Social responsibility

3. When training employees about OR and responsibility management, what questions should be answered?

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Implementation and the Role of Human Resource Management Research and Practice

Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Social responsibility

4. Provide at least three of the means of implementing fair information-practice policies given in the chapter.

Learning Objective: 18-2: Protect employee privacy and rights regarding the sharing of information.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Fair Information Practice in the Information Age
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

5. Discuss some of the ethical issues in recruiting and selecting research participants.

Learning Objective: 18-5: Plan organizational research, recruit and select research participants, and protect their rights, based on current ethical guidelines and standards.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Recruiting and Selecting Research Participants
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

6. Give some of the reasons why employees might feel coerced to participate in a study at their organization.

Learning Objective: 18-5: Plan organizational research, recruit and select research participants, and protect their rights, based on current ethical guidelines and standards.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethical Issues in Conducting Research: Protecting Research Participants’ Rights
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning

Essay

1. What are the components of organizational responsibility?

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Definition and General Framework
Difficulty Level: Hard

AACSB: Social responsibility

2. Discuss how OR can affect decisions regarding using cognitive ability tests and banding solutions (and/or other selection issues pertaining to diversity).

Learning Objective: 18-1: Strategize the design and implementation of organizational responsibility initiatives.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Organizational Responsibility: Implementation and the Role of Human Resource Management Research and Practice

Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Social responsibility

3. What are some key ethical dilemmas facing HR managers in terms of using selection tests?

Learning Objective: 18-4: Apply current ethical standards when implementing testing and evaluation programs.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Obligations to Those Who Are Evaluated
Difficulty Level: Medium

AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning