Title: Building Positive Employee Relations
Course: Question Banks

Q: A workplace methodology focused on fostering an inclusive and nurturing environment that motivates employees to put forth their best efforts every day is called:
- emotional intelligence (Incorrect. Emotional intelligence is not a measure of employee motivation.)
- workforce improvement (Incorrect. That’s not the name of this effort.)
- workplace culture (Incorrect. Workplace culture has a lot to do with the methodology, though, so you’re headed in the right direction!)
- employee engagement (Correct. Employees who are engaged are motivated and put forth their best effort daily.)
A: employee engagement

Q: From the employee point of view, employee engagement can be broken down into two factors:
- actions and acceptance (Incorrect. This isn’t the right combination)
- attitudes and assimilation (Incorrect. Employees probably do a little bit of assimilation, but this isn’t the right combination, either.)
- acceptance and assimilation (Incorrect. That sounds like a bunch of complacent employees!)
- attitudes and actions (Correct. Employee attitudes and actions are the two most important factors in employee engagement)
A: attitudes and actions

Q: Employees who understand the organization’s strategy and feel like they have a purpose are likely to be:
- less productive. (Incorrect. These steps actually lead to higher productivity.)
- higher paid and more valued by the organization. (Pay and engagement don’t have a lot to do with each other, actually!)
- more efficient at their jobs. (Incorrect. Efficiency isn’t usually impacted by engagement, though the enthusiasm to be more efficient could be! There’s a better answer here.)
- more satisfied and less likely to quit. (Correct. Employee satisfaction and lower turn are results of an engaged workforce.)
A: more satisfied and less likely to quit.

Q: According to Gallup’s Business Journal, unless these people assume some responsibility, other efforts will have a limited effect on overall employee engagement:
- managers (Incorrect. Managers do take on quite a lot of responsibility for employee engagement, but without this extra bit, their efforts are less likely to be effective.)
- human resources (Incorrect. Human resources set the stage for all employee engagement, but without this other element their efforts are less likely to be effective.)
- leadership team (Incorrect. Leaders assume a lot of responsibility for employee engagement, but it might not be enough if this other element is missing.)
- individual employees (Correct. Employees should assume some level of responsibility for their own engagement.)
A: individual employees

Q: If an employee plans to depart, one can gain information helpful to employee engagement by doing what?
- hiring a better employee to backfill the position (Incorrect. A “better” employee might be more engaged, but this isn’t the right answer.)
- conducting a Pulse survey (Incorrect. A Pulse survey is for all employees, not just the ones exiting.)
- analyzing overall employee survey data (That’s helpful, but not a way to leverage the exiting employee)
- conducting an exit interview (Correct. Finding out why employees are leaving the company can help correct culture issues.)
A: conducting an exit interview

Q: What measurement tool is designed to take a quick snapshot of the organization’s employee engagement level by asking questions to measure employee engagement and satisfaction?
- Employee Net Promoter Scores (Incorrect. This gathers only one piece of information.)
- Walking interviews (Incorrect. This would be a gathering of information from only one or two people.)
- Workforce planning questionnaire (Incorrect. This does not gather engagement information.)
- Pulse surveys (Correct. Pulse surveys are a quick and easy way to gather data.)
A: Pulse surveys

Q: A big factor in how an employee offers any kind of valuable engagement feedback hinges on:
- his or her place in the organizational structure. (Incorrect. The level of management doesn’t often have an effect on one’s response.)
- how many direct reports that person has (Incorrect. Direct reports can make things hectic, but overall this is not a distinguished difference.)
- the employee’s tenure. (Incorrect. Just because an employee has been with a company for a long time doesn’t mean that employee is engaged.)
- his or her overall happiness and wellbeing. (Correct. An employee’s own state of mind factors quite heavily in his/her response.)
A: his or her overall happiness and wellbeing.

Q: Some organizations don’t have an effective employee engagement program, and that is because it’s not practical to put all the weight of employee engagement on:
- senior leaders (Incorrect. Senior leaders don’t very often shoulder employee engagement efforts.)
- human resources professionals (Incorrect. HR professionals can have great impact on employee engagement but usually they don’t shoulder as much of the effort.)
- individual employees (Incorrect. Their contribution, to meet their employers part of the way there, is important, but not the right answer here.)
- managers (Correct. Managers can’t shoulder all of the employee engagement responsibility)
A: managers

Q: Where is the disconnect for most companies failing in the area of employee engagement?
- Employees not being involved in their own engagement (Incorrect. That’s an important part, but not what the Forbes contributors cited.)
- Managers shoulder too much of the engagement responsibility (Incorrect. This is often an issue in organizations, but think to a deeper detail. What are the managers failing at?)
- Incentive programs (Incorrect. These can offer short term results but not usually long-term engagement. And it’s not an overall cause of any failings.)
- The connection between engagement and results (Correct. Like a team who practices a sport but will never play a game, they’re less likely to be engaged if they don’t understand the connection between work and results.)
A: The connection between engagement and results

Q: Giorgio tells his employee, Jean, that her product is not sufficient and that she needs to go back to her desk and make necessary changes. Jean’s final product was not of poor quality. This makes her angry, resulting in workplace conflict that delayed the project. What was the cause of this workplace conflict?
- Employee differences (Incorrect. This conflict was not a result of different world views or attitudes.)
- Lack of resources (Incorrect. Resources were not lacking for this project, based on what we know.)
- Irreconcilable differences (Incorrect. It’s not likely that this is an irreconcilable conflict.)
- Different communication styles (Correct. Giorgio’s style of communication was very direct and this made Jean angry.)
A: Different communication styles

Q: Workplace conflict can arise out of employee differences, impacting productivity. What is the best solution for resolving conflict out of employee differences?
- Good employee engagement (Incorrect. Higher employee engagement doesn’t prevent or address conflicts.)
- Efficient performance management feedback (Incorrect. Good feedback in performance appraisals is always good, but won’t solve this!)
- Additional resources (Incorrect. Lack of resources can also ignite conflict between employees, but doesn’t ever solve it.)
- Good communication (Correct. Communication is the best way to resolve employees’ differences.)
A: Good communication

Q: Sara and Coraline both need to meet with their manager, who works remote and is only in the office two days a week. Because the manager is so busy, she can only meet with Sara. This angers Coraline and she neglects to assist Sara, as she should, with a portion of her project. What was the cause of this workplace conflict?
- Employee differences (Incorrect. Sara and Coraline don’t have any different world views or opinions based on what we know.)
- Communication (Incorrect. Coraline missed an opportunity to communicate, but this wasn’t the core of the conflict.)
- Poor performance (Incorrect. No one performed a task that was not up to par.)
- Lack of resources (Correct. Their manager doesn’t have enough time for both and, because Coraline was shortchanged in her resources, a conflict resulted.)
A: Lack of resources

Q: What tool, used to measure an individual’s response to conflict situation, can be leveraged to manage workplace conflict?
- Myers Briggs Assessment (Incorrect. Myers Briggs is a personality assessment. It can certainly help employees understand why they act the way they do, but not resolve conflict.)
- Pulse survey (Incorrect. A pulse survey is a quick employee engagement survey that helps organizations understand their employees’ level of engagement with the company.)
- Employee Net Promoter Score (Incorrect. This is a survey that asks one question and rates engagement based on it.)
- Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Correct. This tool helps promote one-on-one and group conversations around conflict and conflict resolution.)
A: Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

Q: The most effective form of communication for avoiding (or solving) workplace conflict is:
- email communication (Incorrect. Email leaves room for misinterpretation.)
- phone communication (Incorrect. It’s definitely better than email communication, but still leaves room for misinterpretation)
- third party negotiation (Incorrect. The text suggests getting the opinion of a third party, but third party negotiations is not a suggestion.)
- face-to-face communication (Correct. Face-to-face allows everyone involved in the conflict to clearly communicate their viewpoints and frustrations.)
A: face-to-face communication

Q: An emotional response to conflict is normal. When one is in the middle of a conflict and having an emotional response, one should:
- focus on effective communication (Incorrect. It’s always a good idea to make sure your communication is effective, but if an emotional response is part of the issue, don’t rush into the communication.)
- find the cause of the conflict (Incorrect. This is a good step to take, but not the step to take in the event of an emotional response.)
- take ownership (Incorrect. It’s important to own up to your part in the conflict, but this comes a bit later in the conflict resolution process.)
- take a step back (Correct. Addressing emotions in private allows you to approach the issue objectively.)
A: take a step back

Q: Juan’s awareness of his emotions and the emotions of others, and how well he is able to express, control and read emotions, is called:
- conflict resolution (Incorrect. Though this quality is good for resolving conflict.)
- Thomas-Killman conflict management approach (Incorrect. Thomas-Killman is a conflict-resolution style measurement tool)
- intelligence (Incorrect. Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.)
- emotional intelligence. (Correct. That is the definition of emotional intelligence.)
A: emotional intelligence.

Q: The four levels included in emotional intelligence are:
- predicting emotions, understanding emotions, reasoning with emotions and managing emotions (Incorrect. One of these is not quite right.)
- protecting emotions, understanding emotions, reasoning with emotions and managing emotions (Incorrect. Not sure that emotions need protecting, what do you think?)
- proacting emotions, understanding emotions, reasoning with emotions and managing emotions (Incorrect. No sense in performing those emotions in advance!)
- perceiving emotions, understanding emotions, reasoning with emotions and managing emotions (Correct. These are the four levels.)
A: perceiving emotions, understanding emotions, reasoning with emotions and managing emotions

Q: Why is emotional intelligence important in companies experiencing international expansion and globalization?
- Emotional intelligence allows for better hiring practices and better training, which make a difference when a company is expanding. (Incorrect. Better hiring is always a good idea, but this would be true of domestic as well as international companies.)
- Emotional intelligence allows employees to better navigate exchange rates and communication challenges. (Incorrect. This is more “intelligence” and not “emotional intelligence.”)
- It allows for emotional intelligence to be taught to new cultures. (Incorrect. Emotional intelligence isn’t really taught in a classroom.)
- Emotional intelligence allows companies to better navigate cultural differences and the complex ways in which other cultures express their emotions. (Correct. Emotional intelligence helps a person understand the complex interactions of other cultures.)
A: Emotional intelligence allows companies to better navigate cultural differences and the complex ways in which other cultures express their emotions.