Exam 13: Employee Rights and Discipline

Assume that Rajas Cable Inc. uses a positive discipline system to correct undesirable employee conduct. In this system, which of the following actions will the firm take to deal with unacceptable performance?

Bill has been found guilty of theft, a termination offence. Before he is dismissed, his manager must apply all the steps of progressive discipline.

A peer-review system, also called a "complaint committee" is composed only of people whose jobs are similar to the person appearing before the board.

Dismissal is the final disciplinary action.

After repeated instances of poor work performance, Robert was given a written warning. In a typical progressive discipline program, what is the most likely next step?

Where should termination meetings be held?

It is not necessary that the employee be given an opportunity to explain his or her side of the issue during the investigative interview.

Constructive dismissal occurs when an employer unilaterally changes an employee's working conditions such that compensation, status, or prestige is reduced.

In a recent Society for Human Resource Management study, which of the following factors was found to be the most important driver of employee trust and loyalty?

Susan is a fast-track employee slotted for a vice-president position. Her next job assignment is a foreign position in a South American country as director of your manufacturing division. Unfortunately, this position requires supervising foreign male managers who are largely opposed to supervision by females. To not send Susan on this assignment would "short-step" her promotion to vice-president, and possibly be viewed as discriminatory. How would you handle this ethical situation? Be specific.

To keep organizational rules effective, employers should do all of the following, EXCEPT which one?

When applying either progressive or positive discipline, it is important to maintain complete records of each step of the procedure.

Assume that the governing political party does not like how some employers have been taking advantage of a loophole in the law to discriminate against women and they want this situation corrected. What should the government do?

Positive discipline relies on encouragement given to employees as a way to improve performance.

Progressive discipline is designed to force an employee to improve his or her performance.

Ethics can be defined as a set of standards of acceptable conduct and moral judgment.

The Hot Stove Rule refers to waiting until both the employee and the manager "cool down" before ever taking disciplinary action.

A major responsibility of the HR department is to develop, and to have top management approve, its disciplinary policies and procedures.

What is a key difference between a step-review process of dealing with employee complaints in nonunionized workplaces versus a grievance procedure in a collective bargaining agreement?

Step-review systems involving nonunion employees are very similar to grievance procedures used in union contracts.