Exam 2 - Compensation

The final result of the job analysis-job description-job evaluation process is a ____________.

hierarchy of work

Broad banding leaves an organization vulnerable to charges of _________

inconsistency and favoritism

Identify a true statement about the application of a point plan to nonbenchmark jobs.

it can be done by people who were not necessarily involved in the design process.

Identify an advantage of the ranking method of job evaluation

simple, fast, and easy to understand and explain to employees. least expensive method least initially

Arrange the steps involved in the determination of an internal skill-based structure in the order of their occurence

skill analysis skill blocks skill certification skill-based structure

Identify the aspects of job content whose values depend on their relationship to market wages.

skills required and customer contacts

Point

Advantage: Compensable factors call out basis for comparisons. Compensable factors communicate what is valued Disadvantage: Can become bureaucratic and rule-bound

Identify a disadvantage of pay grades

They are challenging to design

Identify the true statements about the appeals or review procedures for handling cases of incorrect job evaluation or employee grievances about internal structure

They usually require approval by higher levels of management on completion they may be similar to formal grievance procedures

Equal pay for work of comparable worth

This definition examines the illegality of paying workers in one job group less than workers in another if the two job groups include work that is not identical in content or results

Rank the jobs in an organization's hierarchy in decreasing order of the sizes of their pay ranges, beginning with the positions that have the largest percent above and below their range midpoint

Top level management Entry to mid-level pros and manager positions Office and production work

True or False: Flexible and balanced guidelines are necessary to ensure efficient job evaluation

True

Arrange the steps involved in the determination of an internally aligned job structure in the order in which they occur

job analysis, job description, job evaluation

Identify the statistical measures of variation that are commonly found in pay surveys

quartiles and percentiles

Which of the following affirmative defenses for unequal work has brought about the most number of court cases

some factor other than sex

Skill plans focusing on depth

specialist in corporate law, finance, or welding and hydraulic maintenace

A ___________ is the systematic process of collecting and making judgements about the compensation paid by other employers.

survey

According to the Dept. of Labor, the environmental surroundings and dangers of a job, including factors such as inside vs. outside work, heat, cold, and poor ventilation are known as

working conditions

Which of the following are true of the perspective of researchers who make pay decisions based on job evaluations?

Process that helps gain acceptance of pay differences among jobs. Statically validity is not the only issue Usefulness also comes from providing a framework for give and take - an exchange of views. employees, union reps, and mangers haggle over "the rules of the game" for determining the relative value of work.

Krypton Tech Inc., a technology company, produces high-end gadgets by studying global trends in customer demands and working closely with suppliers. Identify an important compensable factor for this company

Product innovation

A 1999 advisory from the wage and hour division specified that bonus, gain sharing, and stock option payments must be included when determining overtime pay. The burden from extra bookkeeping and calculations forced employers to not provide such forms of pay to ___________ employees.

nonexempt

While designing a point plan, arrange the steps that are conducted after job analysis in the order in which they occur

2. Determine compensable factors 3. Scale the factors 4. Weight the factors according to importance 5. Select criterion pay structure 6. Communicate the plan and train users 7. Apply to nonbenchmark jobs 8. Develop online software support

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1939, overtime provisions requires payment at one-and-a-half times the standard for working more than _________.

40 hours per week

Which of the following is the minimum wage for work done on covered govt. projects or purchase?

A govt.-defined prevailing wage

Which of the following are steps involved in establishing a comparable-worth plan?

Adopt a single gender neutral All jobs with equal job evaluation results should be paid the same Identify the percentages of male and female employees in each job group The wage-to-job evaluation point ratio should be based on the wages paid for male-dominate jobs.

Classification

Advantage: Can group a wide range of work together in one system. Disadvantage: Descriptions may leave too much room for manipulation

Identify the criteria that have been suggested for scaling compensable factors in the point method of job evaluation

Anchor degree definitions with benchmark-job titles and/or work behaviors make it apparent how the degree applies to the job use understandable terminology ensure that the number of degrees is necessary to distinguish among jobs.

Identify the recommendations for minimizing bias in job evaluation plans

Apply the plans in as bias-free a manner as possible Define scales and compensable factors to include the content of jobs held mostly by women Ensure that factor weights are not consistently biased against jobs help mostly by women

What is ther advantage of using existing, standardized point plans?

Being able to compare the relative scope, content, and internal value of jobs in the organization to similar jobs in other organization.

How does job evaluation support work flow?

By setting pay for new, unique, or changing jobs By integrating each job's pay with its relative contributions to the organization.

Which of the following is true of any change to the federal minimum wage

Changes to the federal minimum wage have little direct impact on the software, chemical, oil, and pharmaceutical industries.

Any civil case in which parties indicated their intent to sue on behalf of themselves as well as others not specifically named in the suit at some point prior to the final resolution of the matter is called

Class action lawsuit

Heather, a law school grad, applies for job at one of the leading corporate law firms in her hometown. In the interview, she is asked whether she has any intentions of getting married and having children in the near future. Male candidates applying for the same position are not asked these questions. In the context of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this scenario illustrates the concept of

Disparate Treatment

Problem Solving

Environment - The availabity of guidance for the thinkin in terms of policies, procedures, guidelines, and instructions, along with the degree of definition around the problems Challenge - The inherent complexity of the issues and the thought process required

Accountability

Freedom of Act - The delegated authority vested in the job to act, approve, or make decisions. Impact - the magnitude and nature of the impact that the job has on the organization's ability to achieve its mandate.

Skill plans focusing on breadth

Generalist who know about every phase of operation including marketing, manufacturing, finance, and HR

Which of the following would be considered a measure of success of the training provided to users to help them apply a point plan?

High (inter)rater reliability

Why is it important to maintain some documentation to support the choice of compensable factors while developing a point plan?

It is easier to understand It can withstand a variety of challenges to the pay structure It helps gain acceptance by employees and managers

Internal alignment based on value

It organizes jobs based on the relative contribution of the skills, duties, and responsibilities of each job to the organizations goals

Identify the characteristics of a benchmark job.

Its contents are well known and relatively stable over time. The job is common across a number of different employers. it is not unique to a particular employer A reasonable proportion of the work force is employed in this job.

The first step ibn designing a point plan is _______________.

Job analysis

_________________ is the process of systematically determining the relative worth of jobs to create a job structure for the organization.

Job evaluation

What are the major provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA)?

Minimum wage hours of work (including OT) Child Labor

What is a reliable job evaluation

One where different evaluators provide the same results

External Competitiveness perspective

Pay range is a control device because a range maximum is the highest an organization is willing to pay for the work and the range minimum is the lowest

DSTDB Corporation, a digital marketing agency, establishes a new system to calculate salaries based on skill and proficiency levels, years of experience, market value, and merit. Based on this new system, the agency grants salary hikes to 45 female employees whose salaries were less than the amount computed by then ew system. However, the agency refuses to grant salary hikes to 63 male employees whose salaries were also less than the amount computed by the new system. In this scenario, DSTDB Corporation is in violation of the Equal Pay Act. This violation is an example of ______/

Reverse Discrimination

Which of the following factors have reduced the break-even point at which it pays employers to schedule longer hours and pay the overtime premium, rather than hire, train, and pay benefits for more employees?

Skilled workers with higher training cost Higher benefits cost

Identify the law that bars discrimination on the basis of age and the law that bars discrimination on the basis of disability

The 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Which of the following bars wage discrimination on the basis of gender if workers perform equal work in the same firm?

The Equal pay act (1963)

In the point method of job evaluation, defining, scaling, and weighting the compensable factors is based on ______.

The content of benchmark jobs.

Equal pay for equal work

This definition affirms that it is discriminatory to pay woman less than men when they are performing equal work

Rank the steps involved in filing affirmative action plans in the correct order

Utilization analysis compares a contractors workforce to the available external workforce Goals and timetable are developed for achieving affirmative action. Action steps are developed for achieving goals and timetables.

In the ___________ method of job evaluation, a series of well-described classes covers the range of jobs in an organization, and a job description is compared to the class descriptions to decide which class is the best fit for that job.

classification

Characteristics in the work that the organization values, and those that help it pursue its strategy and achieve its objectives are called

compensable factors

Which of the following terms refers to the criteria used for evaluating jobs in the point method?

compensable factors

__________________________ are observable behaviors that indicate the level fo competency within each competency set.

competency indicators

A company identifies skill as a compensable factor and allocates 45 percent of the total value of factors to it. Skill has three subfactors: Specialized knowledge, planning, and coordination skills, and communication skills, with five degrees each. In his job evaluation, an employee receives five degrees of knowledge, four degrees of planning and coordination skill, and three degrees of communication skill. The total number of points that the employee receives for skill is __________ .

degree x weight = Total Total = 45% Skill has three subfactors - 45/3 = 15% Degree x 15% = 5 x 15 = 75 4 x 15 = 60 3 x 15 = 45 Total: 180

Identify a true statement about involvement in the design of an org.'s internal structure

Committees, task forces, or teams that include reps from key operating functions are often involved.

In the point method of job evaluation, which of the following steps immediately follows the determination of compensable factors?

Construction of scales reflecting the different degrees within each factor

A drawback of the ranking method of job evaluation is t hat evaluators using this method must

know about every single job under study

A ________ links a company's benchmark jobs on the horizontal axis with market rates paid by the competitors on the vertical axis

market line

In a survey of appox. 1,000 members of WorldatWork, _____ was selected by the majority as the primary method of job evaluation.

market pricing

___________________ is meant to provide an income floor for workers in society's least productive jobs.

minimum wage

Unlike job evaluations, market surveys lack

reliability and validity

True or False: Tradition does not influence whether or not the compensable factors used to slot jobs into the pay structure are accepted.

False

True or false: Union representatives who actively participate in the design of the internal structure believe that collective bargaining yields more equitable results.

False

Internal alignment based on content

orders jobs on the basis of the skills required for the jobs and the duties and responsibilities associated with the jobs.

Internal alignment perspective

the range reflects the differences in performance or experience that an employer wishes to recognize with pay.

Ranking

Advantage: Fast, simple, easy to explain Disadvantage: Cumbersome as number of jobs increase. Basis for comparison is not called out

How can a compensation manager ensure that compensation practices conform to judicial interpretation?

Joining professional associates to stay informed Constantly review compensation practices and their results Consult with legal counsel

What are the primary sources of the pay gaps among both black and Hispanic men and women?

Level of schooling and work-related experience

______________ provides a minimum wage tailored to living costs in an area.

Living wage

The wage and hour divison of the dept. of labor specifies stringent norms that must be satisfied in order for jobs to be _________ from minimum wage and OT provisions

exempt

What do unusual shapes of frequency distributions in a pay survey reflect?

problems with job matches widely dispersed pay rates employers with widely divergent pay policies

Identify the advantages of broad banding

provides flexibility to define job responsibilities more broadly support redesigned, downsized, or boundary less organizations that have eliminated layers of managerial jobs. the foster cross-functional growth and development Employees can move laterally across functions within a band in order to gain depth of experience

What survey participants declared guilty of price fixing?

the overall effect of the info exchange is to interfere with competitive prices and articifically hold down wages.

In an organization, competencies are based on ______________.

the executive leadership's views about the organization and its strategic purpose

Which of the following represent government interests in compensation decisions?

determining pay are fair (pay discrimination) safety nets for the unemployed and/or those unable to work (unemployment compensation/workers comp) and worker protection (OT pay, minimum wage, child labor restrictions)

_____________ is a technique that collapses salary grades into only a few broad bands, each with a sizable range.

broad banding

The business strategy of Orient Inc., a clothing company, involves providing customers with clothes at prices lower than those of their competitors. which of the following would be an important compensable factor for this company?

cost containment

Which of the following states that time spent on activities before beginning the principal activity is usually not compensable?

The portal-to-portal Act