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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is interesting about the test Barbara takes when she applies at Wal-Mart again?

2. Barbara notes she feels like a fugitive on this assignment, becoming obsessed with the few __________ she's brought along.

3. The thing Barbara hates to clean most of all is _________ in the bathrooms of their customers.

4. One young girl named ____________ refuses to eat and she grows paler each day as a result, obviously she is ill.

5. The workers at The Maids get free ________ when they arrive at work in the morning, but have to wear uniforms.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Menards offers to Barbara eventually when they call up to hire her?

2. Why does the author decide to go to Maine for her next working assignment?

3. What does Barbara do as the focus of her job at Wal-Mart, as it becomes clearer on the first shift?

4. What surprises Barbara about the cleaning method of The Maids, as described in the book?

5. What is the story of Caroline, the women Barbara uses as a guide to her own difficult situation in Minneapolis?

6. What are the workers in Portland, Maine expected to do as the wages seem to be falling between $6 and $7 an hour?

7. What does the unattractive young cook at the elder care facility reveal to Barbara as they are out on a smoke break?

8. When Barbara goes back to Wal-Mart in order to fill out a new test, what happens when she gets a few wrong?

9. What comes in the emergency food package that Barbara eventually gets from the Community Emergency Assistance Program?

10. What does the prissy women at the first Maids job Barbara is on do for her baby?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Barbara seems to be a good person, someone who looks out for others and even stands up for them when they are being taken advantage of.

Part 1: Do you think Barbara is a good person? Why or why not?

Part 2: Do you think Barbara would have stood up for Holly, for example, if she had actually had to rely on her job for money?

Part 3: How do you think Barbara's assignments affected the way she interacted with the other workers? Or didn't it?

Essay Topic 2

The management styles described in the book are commonplace for those who have already had minimum wage jobs, it seems.

Part 1: Why do you think managers in the book feel they need to be as demanding as they are?

Part 2: Do you think the managers are consciously trying to manipulate their workers? Why or why not?

Part 3: Do you think it's possible to be a fair and balanced manager when you are managing minimum wage workers? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

In many of the jobs the author took, she was working for larger companies with nationwide stores and franchises.

Part 1: How do the larger companies differ from the smaller companies Barbara works for in the book?

Part 2: How might smaller companies treat their employees versus larger companies?

Part 3: Why do you think larger companies handle their employees as though they were really important, but then treat them like they are not?

(see the answer keys)

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