Skip to main content

Assessment Questions

1. Which of the following is not a prospective benefit to the firm of implementing a telecommuting program?
  • A. higher productivity of telecommuting workers
  • B. greater connectivity and collaboration among employees
  • C. lower operating costs
  • D. more satisfied workers
correct answer

B

2. A successful telecommuting program would include which of the following?
  • A. a written policy that spells out expectations
  • B. an oral policy the manager can change at will
  • C. subjective criteria for each individual worker
  • D. preference for some people to telecommute over others
correct answer

A

3. True or false? Telecommuting presents some difficulties for on-site technology departments providing security and technical assistance.
correct answer

True

4. True or false? Some telecommuters may be penalized by a perception that they are lazy.
correct answer True

5. How can an employer develop trust in a telecommuting employee?
correct answer

An employer can communicate clear expectations and then regularly check the employee’s successful completion of tasks according to specifications.

6. In what ways does telecommuting help companies recruit and retain employees?
correct answer

Companies can use telecommuting to recruit and retain employees who wish to facilitate work-life balance, or employees from locations that are not within daily travel distance to the facility.

7. When considering the issue of work-life balance, which of the following points does not apply?
  • A. Each employee probably assesses this differently.
  • B. Managers and workers as cohorts often have different perspectives on it.
  • C. Workers with families at home should be entitled to a “better” balance.
  • D. All employees have a right to pursue this.
correct answer

C

8. Which of the following is not a potential downside of a corporate campus?
  • A. Impaired productivity
  • B. Reduced ability of labor markets to adjust to changing conditions
  • C. Adverse impact on local businesses
  • D. Increased fiscal burden on local government
correct answer

A

9. True or false? The design of corporate campuses is meant to enhance opportunities for employees to collaborate.
correct answer

True

10. Why do some companies provide free or inexpensive meals for their employees? Are they behaving ethically by doing so?
correct answer

Making free or inexpensive food available in the workplace is a recruiting and retention tool. The employer may also hope that if food is available on the premises, employees will spend less time getting meals and more time working. It might be considered unethical to try to control employees’ time and limit social interactions away from work.

11. If you were designing an office building for a mid-size advertising firm, what ideas could you incorporate from this section to enhance collaboration?
correct answer

Any new office building could incorporate shared and flexible work space to allow for greater collaboration among employees. Less space would be dedicated to individual offices. A manager would also want to include collaborative technology that allows employees to easily contact customers, vendors, and other suppliers.

12. Some employers allow workers a compressed work week as long as ________.
  • A. the work can be put off until the next week
  • B. the workplace is a store
  • C. it is a week in which a holiday falls on Monday
  • D. the employee can completely finish the work in a shorter time
correct answer

D

13. The primary reason small-business entrepreneurs might want to hire mostly contract labor is that ________.
  • A. the cost of fringe benefits is reduced
  • B. only contract workers can be part-time but employees must be full-time
  • C. only employees can file workers compensation claims
  • D. it improves the company’s stock price
correct answer A
14. True or false? One drawback to job sharing is that employees may become competitive with one another, which could cause communication difficulties.
correct answer

True

15. True or false? The terms “sharing economy” and “access economy” both refer to a marketplace that differs from the traditional, more capital-intensive, shareholder-owned corporations.
correct answer

True

16. How could offering a shared job help an employer recruit more employees?
correct answer

Applicants who are interested in working fewer hours will be encouraged to apply for a job they would have to pass up if it were full-time.

17. Participating in the gig economy often means working for a company as a part-time worker with no guarantee the job will last. Why would someone do it?
correct answer

Gig work allows flexible scheduling, the ability to work for more than one company at a time, and the ability to work more or fewer hours each week, as desired.

18. What advantages does a company gain from hiring gig workers?
correct answer

Advantages include reduced payroll taxes, reduced cost of benefits, and the ability to use and, hence, pay for workers only when they are needed.

19. Robots have usually been operated by a human at the controls but now are becoming more independent. How?
correct answer

The development of artificial intelligence allows robots to act on their own much more often, meaning humans do not always control them.

20. Artificial intelligence and robotics in the United States are thus far largely unregulated. Do you see more regulations coming? Why or why not?
correct answer

Likely yes, for example in the area of self-driving cars, where we have already (in 2018) experienced a pedestrian’s death caused by a self-driving car.

21. The use of robots at work ________.
  • A. can reduce the exposure of humans to dangerous working conditions
  • B. costs more than human labor
  • C. must first be approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  • D. is unlikely to affect the number of people in the overall workforce
correct answer A
22. True or false? Worker displacement is a problem that companies have a legal duty to address when implementing the use of robots.
correct answer

False. Companies have no such duty.

23. Worker retraining programs for employees who lose their jobs to robots ________.
  • A. are a “Band-Aid” solution most of the time
  • B. will be needed only for a small minority of the workers who lose their jobs
  • C. are offered and funded by the employers only if a sufficient number of workers are displaced
  • D. are an obligation taken on by ethical companies
correct answer D
Back to top