MGMT 474 Chapter 5: Person-Focused Pay

Which of the following is a reason many European and Japanese employees are better skilled and able to work more productively than American workers? A) Both European and Japanese economies provide a higher quality of academic preparation and workplace learning for the non-college portions of their work forces. B) Partnerships between public educators and employers are much stronger in the United States. C) Learning is accorded a higher standing in the operations of the U.S. economy than the European and Japanese economies. D) Americans do not have equal access to educational opportunities.

Both European and Japanese economies provide a higher quality of academic preparation and workplace learning for the non-college portions of their work forces.

________ of skills is the level of expertise or specialization an employee brings to a job.

Depth

Which company discussed in the chapter tests its employees twice per year and has abnormally high training costs in assessing the skill levels of its employees? A) McDonald's B) Wal-Mart C) Tiffany's D) Federal Express

Federal Express `

Which company emphasizes globalization, product services, and six sigma quality improvements for corporate growth? This company also offers a renowned two-year global program for high potential HR professionals that includes the opportunity for cross-functional experience. A) Lincoln Electric B) General Electric C) Nabisco D) Wal-Mart

General Electric

________ skills refer to similar skills or knowledge.

Horizontal

Which of the following is a characteristic of job-based pay? A) It compensates employees for the number of jobs in which they possess the skills to perform. B) It rewards employees on their promise to make positive contributions to the work place. C) It compensates employees for the jobs they are currently performing. D) A reward is based on the successful acquisition of work-related skills or knowledge.

It compensates employees for the jobs they are currently performing.

________ pay programs have been used most widely in service and manufacturing industries.

Person-focused

________ skills are those skills typically considered supervisory.

Vertical

Which of the following is a main reason for the increased costs associated with person-focused pay programs? A) higher payroll costs B) increased overhead costs C) higher training costs D) all of the above

all of the above

According to the job characteristics theory, this core characteristic refers to the amount of freedom, independence, and discretion the employee enjoys in determining how to do the job. A) skill variety B) feedback C) autonomy D) task identity

autonomy

In the XYZ Corp. passenger car manufacturing plant, assembly line station team leaders are allowed to stop the assembly line by pulling a cord available at each station whenever they notice a serious quality problem in the assembly process. This is an example of which of the following? A) task identity B) skill variety C) autonomy D) feedback

autonomy

Core ________ are often derived from the overall strategic statements of companies and are very general knowledge and skills.

competencies

Pay-for-knowledge and skill-based pay are two types of person-focused pay programs that fall under which pay category? A) competency-based B) innovation-based C) service based D) stair-step

competency-based

The level of specialization or expertise an employee brings to a job are what type of skills? A) work-team B) horizontal C) breadth D) depth

depth

This term refers to the level of specialization or expertise an employee possesses in a particular job. A) vertical skills B) depth of skills C) breadth of skills D) horizontal skills

depth of skills

________ is the degree which an employee receives clear and direct information about job performance from his or her employer.

feedback

When a filing clerk is trained to maintain employee attendance records, it is an example of acquiring which type of skills? A) horizontal B) vertical C) depth D) breadth

horizontal

Skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and feedback are the elements that make up this theory. A) job demands B) position requisite C) job characteristics D) position components

job characteristics

This term reflects an approach to job design that results in the development of more intrinsically motivating and interesting work. A) job security B) job enrichment C) job variety D) job identity

job enrichment

________ pay compensates employees for jobs they currently perform.

job-based

A ________ encourages employees to develop skills and learn to perform jobs from different job families.

job-point accrual

Which pay model promotes learning and skills development for a wide variety of jobs from different job families? A) cross-departmental B) job-point accrual C) stair-step D) skill blocks

job-point accrual

In which settings are person-focused or skill-based pay programs likely to be found?

most commonly found in continuous process settings

This type of pay program rewards employees for successfully learning specific criteria. A) skill-based B) person-based C) pay-for-knowledge D) incentive

pay-for-knowledge

Which pay plan generally rewards employees for acquiring job-related competencies, knowledge, or skills rather than for demonstrating successful job performance? A) knowledge-based B) incentive C) merit D) person-focused

person-focused

This type of pay system rewards employees for successfully acquiring new job-related knowledge. A) person-focused pay B) competency-based pay C) merit pay D) incentive pay

person-focused pay

In this team, members learn scheduling, coordinating, training, leadership. Which of the following describes this type of work team? A) self-regulating work groups B) supervisory work teams C) management teams D) non-supervised work teams

self-regulating work groups

In this person-focused pay model, employees are rewarded for increasing their skills within a single job family, even if the skills do NOT build on each other. A) stair-step B) skill blocks C) job-point accrual D) cross-departmental

skill blocks

In the garment factory of XYZ Co., line workers are trained to be able to work at different manufacturing steps such as grading, cutting, sewing and assembling, pressing, etc. XYZ Co.'s strategy of training its workers to do different tasks is an example of which of the following? A) task identity B) skill variety C) autonomy D) feedback

skill variety

Both unions and contractors, who employ carpenters, use ________ pay plans.

skill-based

Which of the following pay systems is used by unions and contractors to reward their carpenters for increasing their carpentry abilities? A) knowledge-based B) incentive C) skill-based D) merit-based

skill-based

In a TV set manufacturing facility of XYZ Inc.,there are different assembly lines in which workers focus on certain aspects of production.Senior line workers are capable of producing the TV sets from start to finish. This capability of doing the entire operation from start to finish is an example of which following term? A) vertical skills B) feedback C) autonomy D) task identity

task identity

Competency-based pay programs apply to ________ for whom it is difficult to define job performance according to observable or concrete behaviors.

technical, managerial, service, or professionals employees (e.g., HR manager, marketing director)

Which of the following are the two main reasons given for adopting pay-for-knowledge programs? A) smaller labor markets and strategic outlines B) market monopolies and lower labor costs C) technological innovations and increased global competition D) market monopolies and company turnover

technological innovations and increased global competition

This model is geared to promoting staffing flexibility in a company by training employees in one department with some of the critical skills that are needed to perform effectively in another department. A) the skill blocks B) the stair-step C) the job-point accrual D) the cross-departmental

the cross-departmental

A company that designs, manufactures, and sells only Halloween costumes would probably benefit most from this type of pay program. A) the cross-departmental model B) the skill blocks model C) the job-point accrual model D) the stair-step model

the cross-departmental model

Which person-focused model links pay levels to increased knowledge and skills within the same general job category? A) the cross-departmental model B) the skill blocks model C) the job-point accrual model D) the stair-step model

the skill blocks model

Jamie earned a raise in pay when he finished the training for the Technician 2 position. He will receive another raise when he finishes the training for the Technician 3 position. The company is probably using which type of pay program? A) the stair-step model B) the skill blocks model C) the job-point accrual model D) the cross-departmental model

the stair-step model

Which one of the following would be correct regarding person-focused pay programs? A) the skill blocks model only emphasizes horizontal skills B) the stair-step model addresses depth, while the skill blocks model emphasizes both horizontal and vertical skills C) employees do not progress to more complex jobs in the stair-step model D) stair-step models do not apply to jobs within the same family

the stair-step model addresses depth, while the skill blocks model emphasizes both horizontal and vertical skills

What is an important reason for adopting person-focused pay?

these systems treat compensation as a reward earned for acquiring and implementing job-relevant knowledge and skills.

Person-focused pay programs depend in large part on well-designed ________ programs.

training

This is considered "at the heart" of person-focused pay programs. A) innovation B) management C) training D) data

training

Competencies are

uniquely combined characteristics of the person, including personality, attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors that enable an employee to fulfill job requirements well

Employees would need to learn these types of skills in order to develop self-managed work teams. A) horizontal B) vertical C) depth D) breadth

vertical