Human Resources Chapter 9
Which of the following is a disadvantage of competency-based pay?
Rewards employees for acquiring skills even if the employee is not using the skills on the job.
Which of the following is NOT an optional benefits program?
Workers' compensation
The largest part of the total rewards dollar is allocated to:
base pay
When an organization uses pay surveys to compare its own pay practices against those of successful competitors, the organization is engaging in:
benchmarking
The second largest portion of the "total rewards dollar" is allocated to:
benefits
Reducing the number of levels in the organization's job structure is called
broadbanding
The organization's job structure and pay levels:
are policies of the organization.
significant part of executive compensation comes in the form of:
company stock.
CPP/QPP is a mandatory __________ plan that provides retirement pensions, disability benefits, and survivor benefits.
contributory
When all costs of a benefits plan are funded by employees, employers, and the plan's own investments we call this plan a(n):
contributory plan.
Which of the following is an option employers have for communicating information about benefits?
All of the choices are correct.
Job evaluation is an administrative procedure for measuring the relative ________ worth of the organization's jobs
internal
A gradual transition into full retirement by reducing hours or job responsibility is called:
phased retirement
Companies increasingly recognize that increases in employees' pay needs to be linked to corresponding increases in:
productivity
All of the following are types of pay for individual performance, EXCEPT:
profit sharing.
Which of the following is a force that has made benefits and services a significant part of compensation packages?
All of the choices are correct.
Employees and job applicants often lack a clear sense of the _________ value of total rewards that an organization offers.
market
Broadbanding i.e. reducing the number of levels in the organization's job structure, is likely to increase:
organizational flexibility.
What types of measures may be included in a balanced scorecard approach for executives?
All of the choices are correct.
Which of the following would NOT be considered an "employee benefit"?
Actually, all of the choices are types of benefits that may be offered by an employer.
All of an organization's decisions about compensation should comply with which of the following types of legislation?
All of the choices are correct
Which of the following statements about competency-based pay is TRUE?
All of the statements are true.
Which of the following approaches is frequently used in designing executive pay?
Balanced Scorecard
What performance management approach is useful in designing executive pay?
Balanced scorecard
What is an example of a short-term executive incentive?
Bonuses based on the year's profits
What is an example of a long-term executive incentive?
Both "a" and "b".
When employees are paid according to their level of skill or knowledge and what they are capable of doing, this describes what type of pay system?
Competency-based pay system
A highly mobile workforce is likely to benefit from what type of retirement plan?
Defined contribution plan
What do we call compensation in forms other than cash?
Employee benefits
Benefits packages are less complex than pay structures, so benefits are easier for employees to understand and appreciate.
False
Employees tend to over-estimate the cost and value of their benefits.
False
Employees usually prefer receiving an increase in pay rather than an increase in benefits because benefits are taxed at a higher rate.
False
Gen-Y employees tend to place the most value on health benefits, pensions, stability, and formal recognition within total rewards.
False
Generational differences do not have any apparent impact on the type of rewards that employers should offer.
False
Having higher labour costs than your competitors is always something that is considered undesirable
False
Managers play a very small or insignificant role in communication of total rewards.
False
Stock options are the most common form of employee ownership.
False
The HR department has full responsibility for communicating total rewards to employees.
False
What do we call a benefits plan that offers employees a set of alternatives from which they can choose the types and amounts of benefits they want?
Flexible benefits plan
Which of the following benefits is expected to be the most popular over the next few years?
Flexible work hours
What type of pay for team performance is associated with a focus on efficiency?
Gainsharing
Which of the following is NOT a form of pay for individual performance?
Gainsharing
Which of the following statements about gainsharing is FALSE?
Gainsharing is most likely to succeed when managers discourage employee input.
What do we call an alternative to traditional employer-provided insurance in which an employer puts aside a specific amount of money per employee to cover health-related costs?
Health spending account
What do we call a system of linking pay increases to ratings on performance appraisals?
Merit pay
What do we call a set of possible pay rates defined by a minimum, maximum, and midpoint of pay for employees holding a particular job or a job within a particular pay grade or band?
Pay range
What do we call the pay policy resulting form job structure and pay-level decisions?
Pay structure
Which of the following is a long-term executive incentive?
Stock options
____________ is(are) playing an increasing role in providing employees with tools and information related to both communication and administration of employee compensation and rewards.
Technology
A stock ownership plan actually makes employees part owners of the organizations.
True
According to Benefits Canada, a good benefits package serves as a key indication of whether a company would be a good place to work.
True
An increasing number of employers are using technology to provide employees with tools and information related to both communication and administration of employee compensation and rewards.
True
Benefits contribute to attracting, retaining, and motivating employees.
True
Benefits packages tend to be more complex than pay structures, so benefits are harder for employees to understand and appreciate.
True
Communications is often a weak link in an organization's total rewards approach.
True
Competency-based pay systems may increase an organization's costs because employees are paid for acquiring skills even if they do not have an opportunity to use them on the job.
True
The traditional and most widely used approach to developing a pay structure focuses on setting pay:
for jobs or groups of jobs.
Total ___________ is a comprehensive approach to compensating and rewarding employees.
rewards
Rights to buy a certain number of share of stock at a specified price refers to the use of:
stock options.
Competency-based pay systems set pay according to:
the employee's level of skill or knowledge and what he or she is capable of doing.
All types of financial rewards and tangible benefits and services employees receive as part of their employment is called
total compensation
Taken together, direct and indirect compensation including base pay, incentives, and benefits are referred to as:
total compensation
Organizations that redefine their approaches to employee compensation and benefits by also taking into account the "overall work experience provided to employees" are said to have adopted a(n) approach called:
total rewards
Linking pay to stock price can reward _________ behaviour.
unethical