Marco and Sam Lost Their Jobs When the Recession Hit

question 83

Multiple Choice

Marco and Sam lost their jobs when the recession hit and their company had to lay off many of its employees. However, a few workers in their department with less seniority than Marco and Sam kept their jobs. When they confronted their supervisor about this, he offered only vague answers and changed the subject quickly. Given what you know about justice in organizations, why do you think their supervisor might have behaved this way?

• A) It is not standard practice for large companies to explain the reasons for laying off large numbers of lower-level employees.
• B) Many managers find sharing bad news to be stressful, leading them to distance themselves rather than to explain decisions.
• C) Their manager was engaging in a passive form of abusive supervision--Sam and Marco likely have a legal case.
• D) Low levels of information tend to prevent wrongful termination claims because most employees just give up.
• E) Honest and adequate explanations actually tend to increase retaliation responses against the organization.

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Definitions:

Operating Activities

Day-to-day actions conducted by a business to generate income, such as sales, providing services, and other core business operations.

Indirect Method

A technique, often used in cash flow statements, that adjusts net income for non-cash transactions to compute cash flow from operating activities.

Net Income

Net Income is the total revenue of a company minus all expenses and taxes, representing the profit earned during a specific period.

Net Cash

The amount of cash a company has after all its cash inflows and outflows have been accounted for, often used in the context of operating, investing, and financing activities.