Assessment Questions

8.1 Diversity and Inclusion in the Workforce

A diverse workforce yields many positive outcomes for a company. Access to a deep pool of talent, positive customer experiences, and strong performance are all documented positives. Diversity may also bring some initial challenges, and some employees can be reluctant to see its advantages, but committed managers can deal with these obstacles effectively and make diversity a success through inclusion.

8.2 Accommodating Different Abilities and Faiths

To accommodate religious beliefs, the absence of formal religious faith, or disabilities, businesses should make every reasonable accommodation they can to allow workers to contribute to the company. This may require scheduling flexibility, the use of special devices, or simply an understanding manager.

8.3 Sexual Identification and Orientation

Although about half the states prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in private and public workplaces and a few do so in public workplaces only, federal law does not. Successful companies will not only follow the applicable law but also develop ethical policies to send a clear message that they are interested in job skills and abilities, not sexual orientation or personal life choices.

8.4 Income Inequalities

Income inequality has grown sharply while the U.S. middle class, though vital to economic growth, has continued to shrink. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and many states simply follow the federal lead in establishing their own minimums. Though some economists dispute the existence of a simple, direct link between a shrinking middle class and governmental failure to raise the minimum wage at a sufficiently rapid pace, no one denies that businesses themselves could take the lead here by paying a higher minimum wage. Companies also can commit to hire workers as employees rather than as independent contractors and pay the cost of their benefits, and to pay women the same as men for similar work.

8.5 Animal Rights and the Implications for Business

Mainstream businesses from pharmaceutical and medical companies to grocers and restaurants must all consider the growing public awareness of the ethical treatment of nonhuman animals. This evolving concern has particular consequences for agribusiness in terms of what creatures we consider appropriate to cultivate and eat. Cosmetic companies are increasingly subject to legislative mandates in the global marketplace and to consumer pressure at home to adopt ethical policies with regard to animal testing. An aware consuming public can continue to force improvements in our treatment of animals.

1 . Diversity and inclusion at all levels of a private-sector company is ________. a. mandated by federal law b. the approach preferred by many companies c. required by state law in thirty states d. contrary to the company's fiduciary duty to stockholders 2 . Google ________. a. has the most diverse workforce of any major U.S. company b. uses a strict quota system in its hiring practices c. is similar to other technology companies, most of which lag on diversity d. promotes women at higher rates than men 3 . Diversity programs may fail due to resistance from employees within a company. a. True b. False 4 . Studies have been conducted on the financial performance of companies with high levels of diversity. Briefly discuss the results of such studies. 5 . Since the passage of federal laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the percentage of women in leadership positions has improved but not reached parity with that of men. Briefly discuss the percentage of women in leadership positions in different industries and what might be some of the benefits of improving the representation of women. 6 . The primary law prohibiting religious discrimination in the private sector workplace is ________. a. the First Amendment of the Constitution b. state law c. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act d. the Declaration of Independence 7 . If an ADA accommodation is significantly expensive, ________. a. the courts may rule that it is not reasonable b. the courts may rule that it must be provided anyway c. the EEOC guidelines do not apply d. the federal government must subsidize the expense 8 . There are no similarities between legal protections in the workplace for religion and disability. a. True b. False 9 . The primary law prohibiting discrimination against disabled workers is the ADA. What is its main requirement? 10 . Religious apparel and/or appearance are protected under Title VII’s umbrella of religious nondiscrimination. Give an example. 11 . Are individual states allowed to have laws protecting LGBTQ applicant or employee rights? a. Yes, but it is not really necessary because federal law already protects them. b. No, because it would violate federal law, which prohibits it. c. Yes, some states extend this protection because there is no law at the federal level. d. No, because the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges now protects these rights. 12 . Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. a. True b. False 13 . Federal law does not currently protect LGBTQ applicants from discrimination in hiring. Are there any applicable state laws that do so? 14 . Though federal law does not mandate it, do some companies nevertheless allow LGBTQ employees to extend insurance coverage to partners? 15 . As of 2018, the current federal minimum wage is _______. a. $7.25 per hour b. $10 per hour c. $12.50 per hour d. $15 per hour 16 . The middle class in the United States ________. a. has steadily increased every year since World War II b. has steadily declined every year since 1990 c. shows a significant decline since 2000 d. has grown since the recession of 2008 17 . The percentage of income earned by the top 1 percent of households in the United States has more than doubled since the early 1980s. a. True b. False 18 . Hiring a worker as an independent contractor saves an employer about 30 percent of the cost of an employee in benefits. Identify one or two of these benefits. 19 . Do some states have laws mandating a higher wage than the federal minimum? 20 . Laws protecting animal rights in cosmetic testing are ________. a. more advanced in the United States than in the European Union b. more advanced in the European Union than in the United States c. more advanced in Asia than in the United States d. more advanced in Asia than in the European Union 21 . Alternatives to animal testing for cancer drugs ________. a. do not exist b. exist but are prohibitively expensive c. exist and are not any more expensive than animal testing d. exist and are far cheaper than animal testing 22 . Cosmetics manufacturing is an area where testing with synthetic human skin is an acceptable substitute for animal testing. a. True b. False 23 . There are not yet viable alternatives to animal testing in medical research. a. True b. False 24 . Generally, Europe has more restrictions on animal testing than does the United States. How does this affect U.S. companies?