Chapter 11
Which of the following statements is true about administering employee compensation?
Compensation is dictated by prevailing conditions in the job market and the value each employee brings to the organization.
In US culture, elderly is often associated with strength, energy, possibilities, and freedom. True or False
False, youth
The ethnic composition of the US has been on a long-term trend of decreasing diversity. True or False
False; US has been on a long-term trend of greater and greater diversity
The _______ provides retirement, disability and medical coverage for employees and their dependents and is jointly funded by employers and employees.
Social Security Act
An employee who works from home and uses electronic communications to stay in touch with colleagues is said to be telecommuting. True or False
True
Effective orientation programs help employees become more productive in less time, help eliminate confusion and mistakes, and can significantly increase employee retention rates. True or False
True
Headhunters refer to outside agencies that specialize in finding and placing employees. True or False
True
In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law, featuring a variety of changes designed to improve access to health care. True or False
True
The 360-degree review can uncover weaknesses that employees and even their direct managers might not be aware of. True or False
True
The Age Discrimination In Employment Act outlaws mandatory retirement based on age alone. True or False
True
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for childbirth, adoption, or the care of oneself, a child, a spouse, or a parent with serious illness. True or False
True
Work-life balance is the concept that employees need to juggle the competing demands of their professional and personal lives. True or False
True
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
a company-sponsored counseling or referral plan for employees with personal problems
401(k) plan
a defined contribution retirement plan in which employers often match the amount employees invest
Rightsizing
a euphemism used to suggest that an organization is making changes in the workforce to match its business needs more precisely
Baby Boomers are _______.
a large segment of the workforce who were born between 1945 to 1964.
360-degree review
a multidimensional review in which a person is given feedback from subordinates, peers, superiors, and possibly outside stakeholders such as customers and business partners
Flextime
a scheduling system that allows employees to choose their own hours, within certain limits
Employee burnout
a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that can result from constant exposure to stress over a long period of time
Job specification refers to _______.
a statement describing the kind of person who would be best for a given job - including the skills, education, and previous experience that the job requires
Which of the following enables employees to become partial owners of a company?
an employee stock-ownership plan
Glass ceiling refers to _______.
an invisible barrier attributable to subtle discrimination that keeps women and minorities out of the top positions in business.
_______ refers to flexible benefit programs that let employees personalize their benefits packages.
cafeteria plans
Landrum-Griffin Act
combats financial fraud within unions
Employee benefits refer to _______.
compensation other than wages, salaries, and incentive programs
Pearl Architectural Design, an architecture firm in Vermont, hired several junior-level architects on a temporary basis to fill the workforce requirement for a specific project. In this example, Pearl Architectural Design uses _______.
contingent employees
Sexual harrassment
creation of a sexist environment in which employees are made to feel uncomfortable by lewd jokes, remarks, or gestures
Michelle works as a nurse at Queens Diagnostic and Treatment Center, in New York. She wants to leave the hospital for two years to work with "Doctors Without Borders," a volunteer organization that provides urgent medical care to victims of war and disaster. The human resource manager at the hospital is reluctant to lose a good employee, and considers using alternative work arrangements to meet her needs. Which of the following incentives is he most likely to take to address this particular situation?
flexible career paths
Quality of hire measures _______.
how closely incoming employees meet the company's needs
Skills inventory
identifies both the current skill levels of all the employees and the skills the company needs in order to succeed
Wellness programs
include everything from dietary advice to exercise facilities to smoking-cessation classes
Which of the following initiatives is most likely taken by a firm that aims to help employees with disabilities perform activities that might otherwise be difficult or impossible for them?
investing in assistive technologies
Glass ceiling
invisible barrier attributable to subtle discrimination that keeps women and minorities out of the top positions in business
Bonus
is a cash payment, in addition to regular wage or salary, that serves as a reward for achievement
A wage differs from salary in that the wage _______.
is paid by the unit of time
Megan is an HR representative at Canales Investment firm. The firm needs to recruit new sales representatives, as the firm plans to expand its business. Megan is asked to review the job responsibilities of the current sales representatives, and makes a list of the key tasks and responsibilities associated with the position. She is also asked to create an optimal employee profile to fill the sales representative position. The task assigned to Megan can be classified under which of the following processes?
job analysis
_______ is the process of gathering information about the demands, responsibilities, and worker requirements of each position in the organization.
job analysis
Linda W. Taylor is the recruitment manager at Creative Solutions, a brand management firm. The creative director of the firm recently quits, and Linda needs to find a replacement for the position. She conducts a job analysis to identify the nature and demands associated with the position of the creative director, as well as the skills required to fill the position. Based on this research, she creates a summary stating the tasks the creative director is responsible for, the working hours, and the working conditions. Linda posts this document in key job portals to inform potential applicants what to expect from the job. This document is an example of a _______.
job description
_______ refers to a statement of the tasks involved in a given job and the conditions under which the holder of a job will work.
job description
_______ refers to pay tied to an employee's acquisition of skills.
knowledge-based pay
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
made it illegal for employers to practice sexism
Aligning the workforce refers to _______.
matching the right employees to the right jobs at the right time
Arc Techsystems Inc., a global technology services and outsourcing company, was forced to layoff several employees due to business slow-down. To help laid-off employees re-orientate to the job market, the company provided them resume-writing courses, career counseling, office space, and secretarial help. In this example, Arc Techsystems Inc. provides which of the following services to laid-off employees?
outplacement
Diversity initiatives refer to _______.
programs and policies that help companies support diverse workforces and markets.
Wagner Act
prohibits employers from interfering in union activities
Harmony House, a software development firm, had recently hired a large number of software developers to work on several new projects. Colleen, the manager of the human resource department, wanted to assess the effectiveness of the recruitment team. She used a combination of criteria including the percentage of qualifications met, and subjective assessment by managers to measure how closely newly-hired employees met the company's needs. Colleen is most likely to be using which of the following tools?
quality of hire
An overall environment that results from job and work conditions is called _______.
quality of work life
The process of attracting appropriate applicants for an organization's jobs is known as _______.
recruiting
Outplacement
refers to secretarial help offered to laid-off executives and blue-collar employees
Pay for performance _______.
requires employees to accept a lower base pay but rewards them with bonuses, commissions, or stock options if they reach agreed-upon goals.
With a _______, employers charge for health insurance based on salary, making insurance more affordable for lower-wage workers.
sliding-scale plan
Layoffs are _______.
the termination of employees for economic or business reasons unrelated to employee performance.
Job description refers _______.
to a statement of the tasks involved in a given job and the conditions under which the holder of a job will work.
Gain sharing refers to _______.
trying rewards to profits or cost savings achieved by meeting specific goals.
Manthis Manufacturing is losing approximately 19% of its workforce each year. This shows that it has a high _______.
turnover rate
job-sharing
two employees share a single full-time job and split the salary and benefits
Succession planning refers to _____.
workforce planning efforts that identify possible replacements for specific employees, usually senior executives.
Succession planning refers to _______.
workforce planning efforts that identify possible replacements for specific employees, usually senior executives.
Which of the following acts prohibits any form or testing that can be construed as a preemployment medical examination?
Americans with Disabilities Act
_______ services, such as resume-writing courses, career counseling, and secretarial assistance are offered to laid-off employees by many companies.
Outplacement
_______ identifies key employees who are considered critical to the company's ongoing operations and lists potential replacements.
Replacement chart
Effective orientation programs help employees _______.
become more productive in less time, help eliminate confusion and mistakes, and can significantly increase employee retention rates.
Sexism refers to _______.
discrimination on the basis of gender
IBM established executive-led task to represent women, Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, people with disabilities, and individuals who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. This is an example of _______.
diversity initiatives
Work-life balance
efforts to help employees balance the competing demands of their personal and professional lives
_______ refers to the percentage of the workforce that leaves every year.
employee turnover
Employee retention programs _______.
ensure a steady supply of experienced employees for new opportunities
Stock options grant employees the right to purchase a set number of shares of the employer's stock at a specific price, called the _______.
exercise price
Salary refers to _______.
fixed amount of compensation employees receive per year.
