MGT 561- Final Exam
A study of ratings of managers found that approximately only _____ percent of the managers were rated below average.
5
In the context of managing labor costs, it is a viable option to _____ when the costs of fixed benefits are high.
Add overtime
In which of the following jobs is it most appropriate to use behaviorally anchored rating scales?
An assembly line job that requires tightening nuts on an engine
Average salary (fixed payments) level plus variable compensation payments such as bonuses, gain sharing, stock plans, and/or profit sharing comprise
Average cash compensation
Which of the following is NOT part of the cost-centered approach for deciding to provide a benefit? Checking compliance Evaluating competitiveness of current benefits Examining employee preferences Basing benefits on historical costs
Bashing benefits on historical costs
In order to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors, some companies have eliminated _____.
Defined benefit (pension) plans
In _____ type cases, the focus is on the discriminatory consequences rather than the intent to discriminate?
Disparate impact
What is a contingent worker?
Employment agreements of these employees may cover only short, specific time periods.
As per the ____________, relative pay is important as employees evaluate their pay-effort balance in comparison to other employees.
Equity Theory
For any task completed in standard time or less, earnings are pegged at 120 percent of the time saved under the _____ plan. Halsey 50-50 Gantt Taylor Rowan
Gantt
What are the factors included in the labor cost model?
Hours worked, Number of employees, and Cash compensation
Which of the following is a negative outcome of the management by objectives method?
Increase in performance pressure and stress
Which of the following is an advantage of providing stock ownership options as variable pay to employees?
It defers a portion of taxes to employees
Which of the following is statements is true of leniency errors?
It is the error of consistently rating someone higher than is deserved
Which of the following is true of creating a compensation budget?
It requires trade offs
Who among the following has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938?
Jeremy, who employs his 16-year-old cousin in his meat-packing plant
In _____________, incentive pay is motivating if it helps an employee gain a sense of achievement, recognition or approval.
Maslow's Theory
An incentive system with three piecework rates is the _____ plan.
Merrick
Which of the following does NOT provide for incentives based on standards that are expressed in terms of time period per unit of production?
Merrick system
____________ involves identifying what is important to a person and offering it to them in exchange for some desired behavior.
Motivation
Which of the following is a disadvantage of gain-sharing plans?
Payouts can occur even if a company's financial performance is poor
Which of the following is NOT true regarding performance appraisals?
Race has no effect in layoff decisions
A(n) _____ is "a grouping of employees who perform similar work, and occupy positions with similar responsibility levels and involving similar skills and qualifications."
SSEG
A group of female employees have sued your company claiming their job is substantially equal to a job performed by men. Which of the following is your company's best defense?
Some factor other than sex
_____ is the value employees attach to the organization rewards offered for satisfactory job performance.
Valence
Which of the following benefits is NOT mandated by state or federal legislation? Workers' compensation Work/life balance Social security Unemployment insurance
Work/life balance
In _____ ranking, raters look at a list of employees, decide who the best employee is, and cross that person's name off the list. From the remaining names, the manager decides who the worst employee is and crosses that name off the list—and so forth.
alternation
A key factor in increasing trust in top management is
an acceptable appraisal system.
One common feature of all types of incentive plans is:
an established standard of performance that is used to determine the magnitude of the incentive pay
Subordinate ratings _____. are likely to be inflated if they are not anonymous are immune to halo errors are immune to horn errors are used by 70 percent of all team-style organizations
are likely to be inflated if they are not anonymous
When an organization's performance has regular and large swings and individual performance is unclear and hard to measure, the most effective compensation mix is to offer ______________ with low incentives and a variety of rewards.
base pay
Theories dealing with __________ include expectancy, equity and agency.
exchange
Surveys show that the most highly valued benefit is: dental coverage. life insurance. paid vacation and holidays. medical insurance.
medical insurance
an individual level form of performance pay.
merit bonus
A major criticism of standard rating scales is that:
raters have different definitions of scale levels
the ability triangle includes
selection
Surveys show the most popular type of variable pay plans are _____.
special recognition plans
All of the following support the use of individual incentives EXCEPT:
the presence of a union
According to expectancy theory of motivation theory it important for organizations to pay attention to
the training and development needs of their employees.
Deming's major argument regarding performance appraisals is that:
the work situation is the major determinant of performance
___________ tends to be highest among poor performers.
turnover
The authors argue that for merit pay to live up to its potential, all of the following should be done EXCEPT _____.
using more peer raters than supervisor raters
The ADEA _____.
was amended in 1990 to include the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act
Prevailing wage laws _____.
was passed in response to conditions on projects such as the construction of the Hoover Dam during the Depression
How many weeks of leave does Family Medical Leave Act (1993) mandate for all workers at companies that employ 50 or more people? 4 weeks 8 weeks 12 weeks 16 weeks
12 weeks
Rank the steps involved in top-down budgeting in an organization in the correct order
1: Pay increase-budget for the entire organization is estimated by top management 2: A total budget is allocated to each manager 3: Managers distribute a total budget among subordinates. What is a core employee?
In 1959, benefits were approximately _____ percent of payroll and in 2010 it was approximately _____ percent of payroll .30; 50 20; 38 25; 30 30; 60
25;30
_____ theory argues that performance-based pay is the optimal compensation choice for complex jobs, where monitoring employee performance is difficult.
Agency
When a job involves very routine, mechanistic tasks, the most appropriate appraisal format is: BARS. MBO. standard rating scales. alternation ranking.
BARS
_____ allows employees who have resigned or were laid off to continue to purchase health insurance under their employer's plan.
COBRA 1984
_____ has produced more comparable-worth pay increases than any other approach.
Collective bargaining
Which of the following is an index that is used to evaluate how managers actually pay employees in relation to range midpoints?
Compa-Ratios
_____________ should reinforce attracting and hiring good employees, encourage skill development, and motivate high job performance.
Compensation
Which of the following groups can qualify for the exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938?
Computer employees
Which of the following are headcount reduction strategies that are used by organizations to cut labor costs? (Check all that apply.)
Exit incentives and Layoffs
Which of the following statements regarding wage differences in industries and firms is not true?
Female employment is more heavily concentrated in large than small firms
Decisions to raise the average pay level of employees is in part a function of an organization's _____.
Financial circumstance
Instances where employees are paid below the minimum ranges are referred to as ________________
Green circle rates
Which of the following is statements is true of leniency errors?
It is the error of consistently rating someone higher than is deserved.
Which of the following is NOT a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938?
It requires that employers provide 15 weeks of medical leave to employees.
___________ is an individual level form of performance pay.
Lump-sum bonus
When identifying what is important to employees, which theory would be most useful?
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Which of the following is not true regarding minimum wage?
The percent of women and men earning minimum wage is approximately equal.
In the context of increasing the average pay levels of employees, the _____ recognizes the fact that when workers depart (through layoffs, quitting, retiring), they are usually replaced by workers who earn lesser wages.
Turnover effect
If a benefit forecast suggests future cost containment may be difficult, the benefit should: be completely paid for by employees. be used on a noncontributory basis. not be used. be offered to employees only on a cost-sharing basis.
be offered to employees only on a cost-sharing basis
All of the following are categories of rater training EXCEPT _____ training. rater-error performance-standard behavior modeling performance-dimension
behavior modeling
The motivation triangle includes _____
culture
The government has interests in compensation decisions related to all but _____.
earnings compared to foreign workers
Factors such as shift differential, temporary assignment, and training programs are examples of _____.
factors other than sex
When developing a ___________, Maslow's theory and Herzberg's theory would be most useful.
flexible compensation system
Compensatory time off would _____.
give employers and employees the option of trading overtime pay for time off
When moving from an individual to a group incentive plan, you would expect high turnover among _____________
high performers
no
no
When employees are paid above the range maximum
red circle rates
The Worker Economic Opportunity Act _____.
states that income from most stock plans need not be included in calculating overtime pay
_____ is not a "factor other than sex" in the Equal Pay Act.
An employee's previous pay rate
____________ contends that we choose to do those things that we believe are most likely to lead to desired rewards.
Expectancy Theory
Which of the following rating formats has the lowest rating errors?
MBO
(blank)(blank)(blank) guarantee that different managers grant consistent raises to employees with similar performance ratings and in the same position in their ranges.
Merit increase guidelines or grids
The agency that conducts reviews and seeks remedies where insufficient compliance to Executive Order 11246 is found is the _____.
OFCCP
Which of the following statements is true of individual spot awards?
They are given to employees for exceptional performance as an add-on bonus
The _____ Act extends the prevailing-wage concept to manufacturers or suppliers of goods for government contracts.
Walsh-Healey
Agency theory argues that performance-based pay is best for
complex jobs where monitoring employee performance is difficult.
Herzberg's two-factor theory contends that success-sharing plans will be
motivating but at-risk plans will be de-motivating.
A typical approach to top-down budgeting is planned _____________, which is essentially the percentrage increase in average pay for the unit that is planned to occur.
pay level rise
As per the equity theory, relative pay is important as employees evaluate their
pay-effort balance in comparison to other employees.
_____ is the most frequently used medium for communicating employee benefits. A notice board A seminar An employee benefit handbook A meeting with the chief executive officer
An employee benefit handbook
_____ is the best appraisal format across the five criteria for evaluating rating formats.
BARS
As part of the efforts to bring down the employee benefits cost to the company, GrindStop Corp. restricts the number of visits to the dentists covered in the dental plan to two per year. Which of the following cost-containment strategies is used by GrindStop? Copay Benefit limitation Administrative cost containment Wellness program
Benefit limitation
Which of the following is not a defined contribution plan?
Cash-back
Which of the following occupational groups are not likely to be categorized as exempt?
Clerical
According to _____________, effort level depends on expectancy, valence, and instrumentality factors.
Expectancy Theory
Bottom up approach
Individual employees' pay for the plan year is forecasted and summed to create an organization-wide salary budget.
The most common form of outcomes-based appraisal is: the essay method. MBO. the performance standards review. the BARS.
MBO
Which of the following is not a guideline for interpreting the Equal Pay Act?
Men and women may be paid differently if customers prefer one sex over the other
Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of flexible benefit programs? Administrative burdens and expenses increase. Adverse selection of benefits by employees results in increase in costs. New benefits are more difficult to introduce. Flexible benefits are subject to nondiscrimination requirements in Section 125 of Internal Revenue Code.
New benefits are more difficult to introduce.
Changes in prices in the product and and service markets
This concept is measured by certain government indexes such as the consumer price index (CPI)
Employers were more likely to offer bonuses, gain-sharing, and stock options after the passage of the _____.
Worker Economic Opportunity Act
Which of the following statements is NOT true? Workers who start out high in performance and then get worse are rated lower than workers who remain consistently low. Workers whose performance improves over time are seen as more motivated. Workers whose performance is consistently average are rated higher than those who perform better at the end of a rating cycle. Workers whose performance varies over time are seen as less motivated.
Workers whose performance is consistently average are rated higher than those who perform better at the end of a rating cycle
Components identified as vital to the success of both Scanlon and Rucker plans are:
a productivity norm and effective worker committees
By limiting liability for an employee's hospital stay costs to $200,000, an employer is using a cost-containment measure known as: dual coverage. benefit ceiling. coinsurance. deductible.
benefit ceiling
The key ingredient in _____________ compensation is careful cost analysis to make sure the dollar cost of the package an employee selects meets employer budgetary limits.
cafeteria-style
The key ingredient in cafeteria-style compensation is
careful cost analysis to make sure the dollar cost of the package an employee selects meets employer budgetary limits
Best supports a culture of flexibility and innovation: A strong ______________
commitment to job security
Regarding pay differences for different jobs, _____.
courts continue to uphold use of market data to justify differences
All of the following are advantages of flexible benefits EXCEPT: containment of costs of benefits. increased understanding of benefits by employees. reduced expense of introducing new benefits. decreased administrative expenses.
decreased administrative expenses
Expectancy theory contends that we choose to do those things that we believe are most likely to lead to
desired rewards
Trumbrella Corp. is a pharmaceuticals company. One of its employees reports that he had an on-the-job injury caused by slippery factory floor that broke his back. When Trumbrella initiates its claims processing, it should first: determine whether the accident happened. determine if the employee is eligible for any benefit. calculate the payment required to be paid to the employee. contact the insurance companies to enquire about the possibility of a joint payment.
determine whether the accident happened.
A horn error occurs when an employee is:
downgraded across all performance dimensions because of poor performance on one dimension
In Maslow's theory, incentive pay is motivating if it helps an
employee gain a sense of achievement, recognition or approval.
Under Title VII _____.
intentional discrimination is prohibited whether or not the employees in question hold the same or different jobs
In gain-sharing plan formulas, _____ are in the numerator and _____ are in the denominator.
labor inputs; productivity outcomes
The typical employee can recall _____ percent of the benefits he or she receives. almost 50 less than 15 over 30 40
less than 15
When employee performance is easily measured and the organization's performance is fairly stable over time, the most effective type of compensation is to offer
monetary rewards with large incentives
The primary guiding force that determines needed employee behaviors is
organization strategy.
The key to designing a _______________ rests on standards. Specifically, managers need to be concerned about the objectives, measures, eligibility, and funding.
pay-for-performance system
Various studies have found that only two specific benefits curtailed employee turnover: _____ and _____. vacation days; dental plans profit-sharing plans; life insurance retirement benefits; paid vacations pensions; medical coverage
pensions; medical coverage
Available evidence indicates managers believe the most important factor for pay increases is
performance
_____ allows employees who have resigned or have been laid off through no fault of their own to continue receiving health coverage under their employer's plan at a cost borne by the employee. Health Maintenance Act (1973) FLSA (1938) The tax reform of 1982 COBRA (1984)
COBRA (1984)
Maxwell Construction Corp. employs a lot of uneducated laborers. The company wants to introduce a variable-pay plan that is easy to understand and does not cost much to administer. Which of the following variable-pay plans is Maxwell most likely to introduce?
Cash profit sharing plan
Menthorp Inc. wants to design a variable-pay plan that fosters teamwork and business knowledge of its employees. In order to ensure maximum motivation, Menthorp wants its variable-pay plan to show a clear performance-reward link. Which of the following plans is most suitable for Menthorp?
Cash profit sharing plan
During the performance review of her employees, Sarah gives higher ratings to employees from her hometown, Oklahoma, as she believes that people from Oklahoma are hard working and trustworthy. Which of the following rating errors is Sarah exhibiting?
Clone error
Under the _____, employers can be liable for current pay differences that are a result of discrimination that occurred many years earlier.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
____ are NOT used for determining employee benefit preferences. Demographic data Product market share data Employee surveys Cafeteria-style plans
Product Market
Under the _____ Act, executives cannot retain bonuses or profits from selling company stock if they mislead the public regarding their company's financial condition.
Sarbanes-Oxley
Jennifer is hurt at work while driving a forklift. Her employer claims that she was driving too fast and therefore she is responsible for her own injury and is not eligible for workers' compensation. What will be the outcome of the employer's challenge to her worker's compensation claim?
She will likely receive workers' compensation benefits.
Which of the following is NOT a strength of supervisors as raters? They are knowledgeable about subordinates' jobs. Their ratings are immune to halo and leniency errors. Supervisors have rating experience. They assign work to subordinates.
Their ratings are immune to halo and leniency errors.
Which of the following is a feature of broad bands?
They are more about pay decisions than career management.
Advantages of employer sponsored life and health insurance include all of the following except:
employees can choose coverage levels.
Unemployment insurance is usually financed by:
employer taxes paid to both federal and state funds.
The executive branch of the federal government _____.
enforces laws through agencies and its other bodies
All of the following are criteria used in determining exempt status for executives regarding overtime pay provisions except _____.
engage in semi-routine activities
The Worker Economic Opportunity Act _____.
exempts stock options from the calculation of overtime
Which of the following is not true of the government's effect on the economy?
immigration policy affects labor demand
To determine pay discrimination on jobs of dissimilar content requires a standard that allows jobs of dissimilar content to be declared comparable and allows pay differences for jobs that are not comparable. This standard is _____.
job evaluation
One of the most preferred benefits is _____.
stock plans
The key factors explaining the gender pay gap are differences in _____.
work/occupation and work-related behaviors
Which of the following is NOT true? More companies are using pay systems based upon individual, group, and organization performance. Workers with high security needs may accept lower pay if they come in a package that is stable.Workers may need higher pay to stay and perform in a company that uses at-risk pay plan.Companies are moving back to entitlement-oriented pay to reduce turnover.
Companies are moving back to entitlement-oriented pay to reduce turnover.
Louie received the highest performance rating and is in the second quartile of his pay range. He received a pay increase of 8 percent. Bart also received the highest performance rating and is in the fourth quartile. Given the way most merit increase grids work, what size of pay increase would you expect Bart to receive?
Less than 8%
eltrop Corp. employs two store clerks, Sam and Stella. Stella sues Meltrop claiming unequal pay as she earns $500 a week less than Sam does despite doing the same work as Sam. Which of the following is most likely to be the result of the litigation?
Meltrop will lose the litigation as it has committed valuation discrimination.
Which of the following factors has not been suggested as an explanation of the earnings gap between the sexes and among minorities?
Personality and cultural differences
When pay is based on individual performance, turnover tends to be highest among _____.
Poor Performers
Jake's new car was dented by his employee, Steve. Ever since then, Jake has been consistently giving lower ratings to Steve during performance reviews to get back at him. Which of the following errors has been exhibited by Jake? Halo error Severity error Leniency error Clone error
Severity error
Which of the following is NOT true regarding self-ratings? They are done by someone who has the most complete knowledge about the ratee's performance. They are best used for development. They are often used as the first step in the appraisal process. They are immune to leniency errors.
They are immune to leniency errors.
Which of the following is NOT true of merit bonuses?
They are more expensive than merit pay in the long run
Which of the following is true of contingent workers?
They can be independent contractors or vendors
Which of the following is an advantage of gain-sharing plans?
They increase employees' knowledge of business
Which of the following is an advantage of flexible benefit plans?
They increase the involvement of employees in choosing benefit plans
The cost of living
This concept is measured by examining the personal expenditures of each employee.
_____ prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Which of the following statements is true regarding rater training? Training programs lasting over two hours are less successful than shorter ones. Rater-error training is more effective than performance-standard or performance-dimension training. Lectures to raters on how to improve ratings are always ineffective. Training to reduce halo errors and improve accuracy has been most successful.
Training to reduce halo errors and improve accuracy has been most successful.
A person with low self-esteem is likely to seek _____.
a large, decentralized organization with little performance-based pay
A person with low self-esteem is likely to seek
a large, decentralized organization with little performance-based pay.
Which of the following is NOT true about individual spot awards?
a majority of companies do not feel that these awards are effective
According to _________________ it important for organizations to pay attention to the training and development needs of their employees.
expectancy theory of motivation theory
Theories dealing with exchange include
expectancy, equity and agency.
According to expectancy theory, effort level depends on
expectancy, valence, and instrumentality factors.
The first issue in setting up a benefits package is: finding out who should be protected or benefited. figuring out how much choice should employees have among benefits. determining how benefits should be financed. choosing legally defensible benefits.
finding out who should be protected or benefited.
All of the following factors are reasons for the growth of benefits except:
foreign competition.
All of the following factors are reasons for the growth of benefits EXCEPT: foreign lawsuits. unions. cost-effectiveness of benefits. government impetus.
foreign lawsuits.
The total cost of employee benefits in the U.S. is _____ dollars
four trillion
The trend in recent variable-pay design is to combine the best of _____ and _____ plans.
gain-sharing; profit-sharing
Growing evidence suggests that the major effect of skill-based pay is ____________
high quality products
Growing evidence suggests that the major effect of skill-based pay is
high quality products.
Among peer raters, the most objective evaluations are given by:
high-performing workers
When a firm is _____ on business risk, and its outcomes are _____, its performance is more likely to be higher without any incentive plans.
high; uncertain
When a company moves from an individual incentive plan to a group incentive plan, the company is most likely to experience _____.
higher turnover among high performers
Grabhouse Inc. is experiencing an increase in turnover rates of its top employees. Upon consulting with its managers for the reasons for this increase, Grabhouse finds that employees are uneasy with the current pay mix as it involves too many risky elements. In order to make its pay mix less risky, Grabhouse needs to:
increase the base pay component of its pay mix.
Telling raters that sometimes the work environment and system affect job performance more than the individual employee's behavior:
leads to higher ratings
A person with low self-esteem is likely to seek a large, decentralized organization with little _______________
performance-based pay
Teaching raters what constitutes good, average, and poor performance is _____ training.
performance-standard
All of the following except _____ are provisions of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.
prohibition of hazardous work
All of the following are cost-containment practices designed to reduce benefit costs EXCEPT: probationary periods. provision of skills development training. copay. seeking competitive bids for benefit delivery.
provision of skills development training.
The Davis-Bacon Act _____.
requires that mechanics and laborers on public construction projects be paid the "prevailing wage" in an area
The Davis-Bacon Act _____.
requires that mechanics and laborers on public construction projects be paid the prevailing wage in an area
A survey shows that the majority of employers are responding to increased benefit costs by _____.
requiring employees to pay higher deductibles and copays
A recent survey shows employees ranking employee benefits _____ in explaining job satisfaction. first second third last
second
Experience, training, education, and ability as measured by the performance requirements of a particular job are the Department of Labor's definition of _____.
skill
Company X pays for performance. Allan, an employee of the company, is not in favor of this reward system and, therefore, leaves Company X in search of another company with different rules for getting rewards. This is an example of the:
sorting effect
A team leader with a free-rider problem in his team can most likely maximize the performance of his team by:
specifying performance levels and due dates
If you had repair work done on your car, the shop most likely used the _____ plan to pay the mechanic.
standard hour
TreeDen Corp. experiences an increase in employee turnover rate. Upon investigating, it discovers that employees are dissatisfied with the company's pay. Employees cannot see a direct link between their performance and their pay. They are also unhappy about having to pay out of their pockets to obtain grants. In this case, TreeDen is most likely using a _____.
stock ownership plan
Paying a dime for every bottle collected and turned into a collection center is an example of
straight piecework system
The most frequently used incentive system is the:
straight piecework system
____________ is the belief that when a specified level of job performance is attained, the employee will receive a specified reward.
Instrumentality
Vestal Productions Inc., a multinational entertainment company, intends to raise the average salary of all its employees during its annual appraisal cycle. The company's managers have carefully factored in the current year's rise, ability to pay, market adjustments, turnover effects, changes in the cost of living, and geographic differentials. After doing so, the company has decided that the planned rise in average salary for the current cycle is 7.6 percent. In this scenario, what is the implication of the company's decision?
It means that the company has set a target of 7.6% as the hike in average salary.
Which of the following statements is true of employee benefits? Employers can substitute insurance benefits for job security. Group insurance benefits has relatively easy qualification standards. Most employee benefits are taxable Many group-based benefits are obtained at a higher rate than could be obtained by employees acting on their own.
Group insurance benefits has relatively easy qualification standards
_____ is employees' beliefs that requisite job performance will be rewarded by the organization.
Instrumentality
When employee performance is easily measured and the organization's performance is fairly stable over time, the most effective type of compensation is to offer _____.
monetary rewards with large incentives
MNTX University requires that all its female professors score higher than the male professors in their appraisal rating to qualify for a pay bonus as there are more female professors than male professors in the university. Which of the following statements is true in this case?
MNTX is liable for disparate treatment of women.
Which theories would support a higher minimum wage?
Maslow and Herzberg's two-factor.
A lump-sum bonus requires annually
"re-earning" the added pay.
What is the role of pay in strategic changes in business strategy?
Compensation has to be realigned with changes in business strategy
Line of sight is an important pay implication for which theory or theories?
Expectancy and goal setting.
Which of the following is not one of the steps in establishing a comparable-worth pay plan?
Base the wage-to-job evaluation point ratio on wages paid for female-dominated jobs.
A _____ plan requires division of a task into simple actions and determination of the time required by an average skilled worker to complete each action.
Bedeaux
The turnover effect is also referred to as
Churn
Which among the following components of a reward system is a dimension of empowerment?
Control
Which of the following is true of outsourcing?
Cost savings are a major potential advantage of outsourcing
Which of the following is the most commonly used team incentive performance standard?
Customer satisfaction measures
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of team incentives?
Easy to set equitable targets for all teams
_____ mandates 12 weeks of leave for all workers at companies that employ 50 or more people.
FMLA 1993
Which of the following types of workers are generally not covered by workers' compensation?
Farm workers
When developing a flexible compensation system, Maslow's theory and
Herzberg's theory would be most useful.
_____ theory states that success-sharing plans will be motivating, whereas at-risk plans will be demotivating.
Herzberg's two-factor
_________________ contends that success-sharing plans will be motivating but at-risk plans will be de-motivating.
Herzberg's two-factor theory
Which of the following is NOT a long-term incentive plan?
Improshares
The _____ Act requires workers be given a number of breaks during the workday.
Occupational Safety and Health
Regarding gender pay gaps, which of the following is true?
Overall, the gender gap has decreased
Which of the following types of rankings would be least preferred by managers of more than 10-15 employees?
Paired-comparison ranking
The _____ requires individuals to maintain minimal essential health insurance coverage or pay a penalty unless exempted for religious beliefs or financial hardship.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Which of the following benefits is a federally administered program?
Social Security
Last year your performance was not very good and your performance rating was below average, but this year you have done very well by exceeding your performance goals. To your surprise, your boss gives you just an average performance rating. What error has your boss most likely committed?
Spillover error
Droppiece Inc. is a company that provides more performance-based pay and less base pay than its competitors. Who among the following is most likely to join Droppiece?
Stella, a recent college graduate who loves to take on a challenge
_____ have the disadvantage of requiring employees to spend money to obtain their incentive.
Stock options plans
In order to reduce benefits costs, most companies have recently resorted to _____.
Suspending their matching contributions to employee 401(k) plans
In the context of the factors that influence wages in the labor market, which of the following statements is true of the consumer price index (CPI)?
The CPI measures changes in prices over time.
Which of the following regarding child labor is not true?
The ILO finds that on a global basis child labor is increasing
Susan works in a sterile laboratory that requires her to scrub and put on protective clothing. Which of the following acts determines whether she should be paid for this time?
The Portal-to-Portal Act
Which of the following statements is true of bottom-up budgeting?
The budget forecasted by managers represents a plan, and deviations due to unforeseen changes are common.
To qualify for the administrative employee exemption, which of the following tests must be met?
The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate not less than $455 per week.
Which of the following is the least likely response companies would make to legislation?
Token compliance
Activities that are not unique to an organization and those that can be done cheaper (and perhaps also better) by an outside provider are called
Transactional activities
There is evidence that every 10 percent increase in the bonus paid to employees yields
a 1.5 percent increase in ROA to the firm.
When an organization's performance has regular and large swings and individual performance is unclear and hard to measure, the most effective compensation mix is to offer _____.
a base pay with low incentives and a variety of rewards
A benefit plan that allocates a set dollar amount to employees and allows them to select benefits is called _____ plan. no-deductible flexible benefit flat dollar benefit
a flexible benefit
A study of the effects of the living wage law in Los Angeles found all but the following _____.
a higher proportion of new hires were female
When an organization's performance has frequent highs and lows, but individual performance is fairly stable, and performance measures are clear, the most effective compensation mix is to offer _____.
a large base pay and low-incentive pay
In situations where the nature of the task is so uncertain that it may be difficult to specify expected goals, the most appropriate rating format is _____. an MBO format a standard rating scale a behaviorally anchored rating scale
a standard rating scale
The most obvious sorting factor is
ability.
Denial of jobs, promotions, or training opportunities to qualified women or minorities are examples of _____ discrimination.
access
Lump-sum bonus is
an individual level form of performance pay.
The amount of fairness given to employees refers to
distributive justice
The biggest cost-containment strategy in recent years is the movement to: benefit limitations. HMOs. outsourcing. higher deductibles. outsourcing
outsourcing
The most prevalent practice these days, in place of short-term sick leave is:
paid time off.
The ability triangle includes _____.
selection
The best appraisal format for employee development is: the BARS format. the MBO format. the essay format. the ranking format.
the MBO format
The most widely used benefit survey is conducted by: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Watson-Wyatt. the Society for Human Resource Management. the American Compensation Association.
the U.S Chamber of Commerce
Instrumentality is
the belief that when a specified level of job performance is attained, the employee will receive a specified reward.
The key to designing a pay-for-performance system rests on standards. Specifically, managers need to be concerned about
the objectives, measures, eligibility, and funding.
Under Title VII, pay differences between dissimilar jobs will not be prohibited if the differences are based upon all of the following except _____. A. content of the work B. traditional pay patterns C. value to the organization's objectives D. the ability to attract employees in the external market
traditional pay patterns
