MGMT 3351 - Ch 7
All of the following activities are part of designing a market-competitive pay system EXCEPT ________. A. matching job descriptions to pay levels B. determining compensation policies C. conducting strategic analyses D. integrating internal job structures with external market pay rates E. assessing competitors' pay practices with surveys
A.
Compensation specialists hope to gain information regarding ________ from compensation surveys. A. competitors' base pay and mix of total monetary compensation B. employee preferences regarding pay C. labor unions' preferences regarding pay D. competitors' hiring practices E. competitors' benefits packages
A.
Custom compensation surveys designed by consulting firms for clients may be superior to existing surveys because they ________. A. include questions specifically designed to meet client needs, unlike existing surveys B. cost much less than existing surveys C. consider the total compensation package of the client, unlike existing surveys D. are not as out of date as existing surveys E. use multiple sources to collect data, unlike existing surveys, which use one source
A.
What is the balance that companies must strike when it comes to designing a differentiation pay strategy? A. Attracting and retaining qualified candidates with sufficient pay and giving them adequate resources with which to work B. Providing employees generous benefits while keeping compensation costs to a minimum C. Trying to match their overhead costs to their competitors while keeping up with productivity levels D. Paying employees lower pay than competitors and keeping employees from joining unions E. Paying employees competitively while pursuing a lowest-cost strategy
A.
Who should be involved in job leveling in a company? A. Job incumbents and supervisors B. Employees and union leaders C. Compensation professionals D. Employees and HR professionals E. Compensation professionals and HR specialists
A.
A hospital that has been looking to fill the position for a neurosurgeon (a highly skilled and specialized job where demand is high and supply is low). Which of the following would the relevant labor market be based on? A. Occupational classification B. Geography C. The local area where the hospital is located D. Service market competitors E. Product market competitors
B.
A relevant labor market can be defined on the basis of all of the following EXCEPT ________. A. geography B. customer type C. occupational classification D. product market competitors E. service market competitors
B.
An appropriate pay mix should consider the relative worth of jobs within a structure. Keeping this in mind, most of the bonus compensation in a technology company like Intel would likely be given to which of the following groups? A. Blue collar workers B. Engineers C. Administrative staff D. Custodial staff E. Sales and marketing staff
B.
Companies traditionally competed for qualified candidates on the basis of ________. A. generous relocation allowances B. base pay C. quality pension plans D. benefits E. sign-up bonuses
B.
In recent years, ________ have become part of compensation surveys because they are key elements of market-competitive pay systems. A. merit increases B. employee benefits C. wage rates D. pension plans E. bonuses
B.
Many companies use market match or market lead policies for which types of employees? A. Unskilled employees B. Professional and managerial employees C. Administrative employees D. Part-time employees E. New employees
B.
Pay mix policy may be expressed in ________. A. dollars expressing total payroll taxes paid in a given year B. a percentage of total dollars allocated for compensation C. total savings in compensation D. hours spent on the job E. wages and benefits
B.
The ________ survey is a monthly survey of the payroll records of businesses establishments that provides national estimates of average weekly hours and average hourly earnings for the private sector for all employees and for production and nonsupervisory employees. A. Consumer Price Index B. Current Employment Statistics C. Bureau of Labor Statistics D. National Compensation E. National Estimates
B.
Which of the following is the correct equation that models the prediction of the market pay line? A. Predicted salary equals the X intercept plus the job evaluation points. B. Predicted salary equals the Y intercept plus the slope multiplied by job evaluation points. C. Predicted salary equals the Y intercept plus the slope multiplied by job evaluation points divided by the number of predicted employees. D. Predicted salary equals the total budget divided by the total number of employees. E. Job evaluation points equal the Y intercept plus the slope multiplied by the predicted salary.
B.
Which of the following measures the purchasing power of a dollar? A. Standard deviation B. Real compensation C. Market pay line D. Central tendency E. Nominal compensation
B.
A key piece of information that compensation specialists hope to gain from compensation surveys is about ________. A. the cost-of-living adjustments being given at other companies B. the type of on-site facilities employees want C. the pay practices of their competitors and employee preferences for different forms of compensation D. the role supervisors play at other companies regarding pay E. the types of benefits their competitors are offering
C.
Before investing time and money into compensation surveys, which question is most important for compensation professionals to consider? A. How long will the survey be valid? B. How long will it take to conduct the survey? C. What does the company want to gain from the survey? D. Should company employees be involved in constructing the survey? E. Should the survey focus on benefits or compensation?
C.
Following which type of pay level policy would enable a company to follow a lowest-cost strategy? A. Base wage B. Market match C. Market lag D. Pay mix E. Market lead
C.
The index component of National Compensation Data, the Employer Cost Index (ECI), measures changes in ________. A. benefits B. pay raises C. labor costs D. pay relative to inflation E. hourly versus salaried wages
C.
What statistical method makes it possible for compensation specialists to set pay rates for a set of jobs that are consistent with the pay rates in the market? A. Hypothesis testing B. Normal distribution C. Regression analysis D. Average deviation E. Standard deviation
C.
When a company thoroughly examines its external market context and its internal factors, it is, in essence, ________. A. assessing competitors' pay practices B. conducting a compensation survey C. conducting a strategic analysis D. determining compensation policies E. conducting a management analysis
C.
When compensation analysts use regression analysis, they are trying to ________. A. come up with an average of the salaries on a survey B. predict salary increases in the future C. predict the values of one variable from another D. study the amount of deviation in salaries E. establish the highest and lowest salary levels on the survey
C.
____________ policies refer to the combination of core compensation and employee benefits components that make up an employee's total compensation package. A. Pay match B. Central pay C. Pay mix D. Market lead E. Market match
C.
Companies emphasize some elements relative to others such as merit pay and short-term incentives focused on individual performance in formulating ____________. A. pay match B. core benefits C. long-term compensation awards D. pay mix E. stock options
D.
The data collected on compensation by professional and industry association members tends to be accurate because ________. A. it takes a very long time to compile the data B. it is valuable information, and therefore goes through several cycles of accuracy checks C. it is extremely expensive to purchase the data D. members themselves stand to benefit from the data E. members are proficient in statistical techniques
D.
What are the components of a pay mix? A. Total cost of all bonuses B. Total cost of benefits and incentives C. Percentage of total pay and merit pay D. Employer compensation costs compared to core compensation and benefits E. Core compensation cost compared to incentive pay
D.
What does the term market pay line imply when conducting a regression analysis? A. The highest wages paid in the market B. The deviation in pay rates C. The lowest wages paid in the market D. The typical market pay rates expressed as a mean or median E. Insignificant pay rate increases in the market
D.
Which statement about compensation surveys is FALSE? A. The custom development of surveys involves potential risks for employers. B. Most companies lack qualified personnel who can design accurate surveys. C. Developing a customized survey requires specialized knowledge. D. Published compensation surveys are mostly inaccurate. E. Developing in-house surveys is expensive.
D.
Who is ultimately responsible for making compensation policy decisions? A. Supervisors B. HR specialists C. Labor unions D. Top management E. Employees
D.
Compensation professionals must be aware of certain characteristics of compensation surveys. Which statement about compensation surveys is FALSE? A. Compensation surveys become outdated quickly. B. Compensation survey data requires statistical analysis. C. Compensation surveys contain a wide range of pay rates across companies. D. Compensation surveys are loaded with information. E. Compensation surveys represent real-time data.
E.
Which of the following is TRUE in regard to benefits? A. Benefits are currently far less important to employees than base pay. B. Benefits are becoming a smaller component of total compensation packages. C. Benefits costs have been falling for most companies. D. Compensation surveys do not take into account benefits; they concentrate on base pay. E. Benefits costs have increased, giving rise to greater variability in benefits among companies.
E.
Which statement about benchmark jobs is TRUE? A. Benchmark jobs are used for determining appropriate employee benefits. B. Benchmark jobs increase the time required to determine pay levels. C. Benchmark jobs are typically unstable over time in most industries. D. Benchmark jobs represent a limited number of jobs within a company. E. Benchmark jobs are common across many different employers.
E.
Which term refers to the set of data that clusters around a typical numerical value? A. Variation B. Standard deviation C. Regression analysis D. Quartile E. Central tendency
E.
________ is when companies make corrections for differences between their jobs and external benchmark jobs. A. Objective correction B. Subjective correction C. Occupational classification D. Point factor leveling E. Job leveling
E.
