Wk 4- Apply : Assignment
The research and development business unit at Fresh Munchables is currently recruiting several more employees to develop a new line of superfood meal replacement smoothies. Among the new recruits, the unit will need employees who are registered nutritionists and can formulate smoothies that contain all the nutrients needed to serve as a full meal. In considering what type of rewards system to implement for the new employees, which of the following systems will best attract employees who have the skills needed to help the new product line succeed? A capacity-based pay system because it provides a greater incentive to those who are willing to work longer hours and produce a greater variety of products. A capability-based pay system because it provides a greater incentive for employees with the specific qualifications needed by the research and development unit. An employee assistance program because it can provide a means for those who do not have a background in nutrition to gain knowledge on the job and progress beyond their current positions. An employee recognition system because it can provide motivation for employees to innovate and come up with creative new ideas to help the research and development unit succeed.
A capability-based pay system because it provides a greater incentive for employees with the specific qualifications needed by the research and development unit.
Although Fresh Munchables has been hiring many young and highly educated people lately, the company still strongly values its more tenured employees who have been with the company for many years. It's important to the company that all employees, regardless of demographics, are paid fairly within their respective pay ranges. As Fresh Munchables is building out its new compensation system, the compensation team must establish pay ranges that allow for growth within a job. While establishing these ranges, it would be most prudent to do which of the following? Allow pay ranges to slightly overlap successive pay grades in order to allow for higher performance-based pay without moving grades. Move the pay ranges close together in order to allow employees to move to higher pay grades more quickly. Move pay ranges far apart from each other in order to allow for more direct compensation and fewer indirect benefits, thus saving the company money. Exclude the use of pay grades altogether because it is considered to be an outdated practice.
Allow pay ranges to slightly overlap successive pay grades in order to allow for higher performance-based pay without moving grades.
The compensation system at Fresh Munchables aims to better align with its strategic goals and culture. The compensation team has performed an internal evaluation of each job and has analyzed the external market. Which of the following analyses should the team use in order to integrate the job evaluation and market data? 1) A Pearson's correlation analysis because it shows how tightly two variables are correlated. 2) A regression analysis because it has predictive power and produces a line of best fit. An ANOVA because it allows for comparison of the means of several groups. A t-test analysis because it allows for comparison of the means of two groups.
An ANOVA because it allows for comparison of the means of several groups. (wrong)
The compensation team is trying to determine the total number of pay grades that should be used in the engineering unit of Fresh Munchables. This unit has sometimes struggled to meet productivity goals but overall contributes to the company's mission to provide high-quality products to consumers. The engineering unit includes several dynamic job positions, and employees frequently change responsibilities as they work on a variety of different projects. Some engineering employees are promoted to become managers, but others later use the skills they have learned to apply for jobs at other companies. How should the compensation team determine pay grades for the engineering unit? Establish a different pay grade for individual employees based on how much each employee contributes to the company's bottom line. Create a loosely organized structure of pay grades to align with the flexible job responsibilities in engineering positions. Create a highly structured pay grade system to encourage stability and upward mobility within the engineering department. Institute flexible pay grades based on how well the engineering unit meets its productivity goals.
Create a loosely organized structure of pay grades to align with the flexible job responsibilities in engineering positions.
Ena is a mechanical engineer with a history of good performance. He has worked at Fresh Munchables for six years and makes roughly $67,000 a year. Phillip is also a mechanical engineer, but has had poor performance in recent months. He has worked for Fresh Munchables for two years and makes roughly $76,000 a year. Ena recently became aware of the pay discrepancy, and he is upset by the injustice. He brings the issue to the attention of the HR department. What should HR do in this situation? HR should evaluate the company's internal reward alignment and Ena's recent performance, then correct Ena's current pay level in order to ensure pay equity. HR should immediately decrease Phillip's pay to 10% less than Ena's pay and leave Ena's pay the same in order to show Phillip that he must work at the company longer in order to deserve a higher salary. HR should forward the complaint to Phillip and Ena's manager and suggest that Phillip be fired for his poor performance in order to alleviate Ena's complaints about compensation. HR should immediately increase Ena's pay to $76,000 and decrease Phillip's pay to $67,000 in order to show that good performance should be rewarded and bad performance punished.
HR should evaluate the company's internal reward alignment and Ena's recent performance, then correct Ena's current pay level in order to ensure pay equity.
The executive team at Fresh Munchables is working to increase collaboration and flexibility in regard to compensation. They are also trying to motivate lateral changes within the business operations unit without facing compensation-related barriers. How can the compensation specialist achieve this outcome? Incorporate a rigid structure because it provides an incentive for employees to reach strategic company goals that are tied to compensation. Incorporate broadbanding because it allows employees to manage career changes within the organization without a reduction in compensation. Incorporate a hierarchical structure because it increases employee motivation to collaborate and solve problems. Incorporate widebanding because it encourages employees to change roles and responsibilities and bring new perspectives to different parts of the company.
Incorporate broadbanding because it allows employees to manage career changes within the organization without a reduction in compensation.
One goal that is crucial for Fresh Munchables' success is obtaining new retail locations in order to increase revenue streams. With that in mind, the company wants to reward the business operations unit if it reaches its goal of opening 100 new retail locations in the next year. If the goal is met, each employee in the business operations unit will receive a fixed individual bonus. How should HR structure the payout on this incentive plan? Increase the fixed rewards slightly by raising employees' salaries and increasing variable rewards in the form of a bonus. Keep fixed rewards the same and increase variable rewards in the form of a bonus. Raise the amount of intangible rewards by increasing the number of vacation days. Increase the amount of fixed rewards by raising the employees' salaries.
Keep fixed rewards the same and increase variable rewards in the form of a bonus.
The executive team at Fresh Munchables wants to expand the research and development division, which would require the company to attract and hire more food engineers. The overarching compensation goal for this specific job is to pay the job market rate in total compensation. The target population, in general, is highly motivated by a high base salary. What might you do to attract the target population of food engineers and meet the company's desire to match the market in total compensation? Match the market in both base pay and variable compensation. Lead the market in both base pay and variable compensation. Lag the market in base pay but lead in variable compensation. Lead the market in base pay but lag in variable compensation.
Lead the market in base pay but lag in variable compensation.
One of the ways that Fresh Munchables grows its revenue streams is by finding new retail locations to sell products. The company is currently seeking to grow its client base and has established a search team to seek out and acquire new retail locations. The search team is composed of self-motivated employees with a growth mindset toward development and goal achievement, and they are currently being paid a base salary. The compensation team is going to revise the current pay plan to motivate these employees even further. Which of the following forms of pay will help Fresh Munchables reward the desired behaviors? Performance-based pay, because it provides an incentive for the team members to produce the desired result of growing the company's client base. Hourly pay, because the more time the team members spend contacting potential clients, the more they will be paid. Capability-based pay, because some employees naturally have better social skills and are better at persuading new clients to partner with them. Piece-rate pay, because it is the gold standard for customer relations employees and provides a foundation for performance appraisal.
Performance-based pay, because it provides an incentive for the team members to produce the desired result of growing the company's client base.
The marketing department at Fresh Munchables is having trouble meeting deadlines because several employees are vying for their own creative ideas to take center stage rather than listening to the ideas of others. This competitive atmosphere undermines the complex and interdependent nature of their work. Further, it is essential that the team learns how to work together efficiently because no one member of the team has all the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out an entire coordinated marketing campaign on their own. Management has decided to provide an incentive to help the marketing employees develop a sense of teamwork. Which type of performance-based pay would best help the marketing department? Commissions, because they will provide a strong incentive for employees to do their best work and maximize the reach of their marketing efforts. Team-based bonuses, because they require employees to develop team-oriented behaviors and ensure that the whole team performs well in order to receive the bonus. Stock options, because employees will be motivated to perform well in order to raise the stock price in the future. Profit-sharing, because rewards based on pay grades will remind the department that upper-level employees should take the lead on creative projects.
Team-based bonuses, because they require employees to develop team-oriented behaviors and ensure that the whole team performs well in order to receive the bonus.
Allison recently graduated from college and was just offered a position as a food scientist at Fresh Munchables. The hiring director offered her a yearly salary of $48,000. However, Allison heard from a friend who graduated with her that he had been offered a yearly salary of $60,000 for a similar position at Tasty Tidbits, a competitor of Fresh Munchables in the snack industry. Allison then proposed a higher salary of $55,000 to the hiring director who refused and said that the typical compensation for an entry-level food scientist was actually $44,000. Allison turned down the job offer. Since then, Fresh Munchables has had a difficult time hiring and retaining food scientists due to higher salaries being offered at other companies. Which challenge is the company facing in terms of external reward positioning? The cost challenge, because the company did not align Allison's proposed salary with other food scientists within the company. The bad data challenge, because the company does not have accurate data about the average level of compensation for similar jobs within the industry. The ethical challenge, because managers may have colluded to raise their own pay by preventing lower-level employees from earning a reasonable salary. The job matching challenge, because the entry-level food scientist position has not been compared to entry-level positions in other industries.
The bad data challenge, because the company does not have accurate data about the average level of compensation for similar jobs within the industry.
The HR department at Fresh Munchables has assigned a team to revise the company's compensation system to more accurately reflect the company's current strategic goals. The team has defined both the labor and service markets, and they are now ready to identify benchmark competitors. While selecting these benchmark competitors, what should the team keep in mind to provide an accurate standard for comparison? The companies chosen should exemplify the product and service markets in which Fresh Munchables competes in order to provide a standard for the rewards system. The companies selected should have similar values to that of Fresh Munchables in order to maintain high ethical standards in the compensation plan. The companies should be selected at random from an exhaustive list of all competitors in the health food market in order to ensure statistical reliability. The companies chosen should have a similar compensation system to Fresh Munchables so that the same benefits can be compared to each other.
The companies chosen should exemplify the product and service markets in which Fresh Munchables competes in order to provide a standard for the rewards system.
The compensation team at Fresh Munchables is weighing the option of implementing individual-based pay within the company's total rewards system. The individual-based pay would apply to select manufacturing employees. These employees would receive increased pay contingent on their competencies and experience. What is a potential disadvantage of using this approach? The knowledge gained; these select employees now have greater knowledge and higher pay and will use that to leave to competitors for even more lucrative roles. The logistics; individual-based pay plans are overly complicated and cumbersome. The cost; individual-based pay can become expensive as employee performance increases. The impact it has on minorities; often, individual-based pay creates bias against minority employees.
The cost; individual-based pay can become expensive as employee performance increases
Terri, an employee in the marketing department, comes into the HR office upset because she believes that she is not being paid fairly. Terri is a good employee, and you don't want her to leave the office feeling upset. As an HR representative, you fear that if you don't resolve her frustration, she might leave the company. During your conversation, it will be important for you to focus on ________. Terri's compensation in relation to her peers, emphasizing distributive justice. To what degree Terri is treated with respect in the workplace, emphasizing interactional justice. The process that led to the decision regarding her pay, emphasizing procedural justice. To what degree Terri is paid equally to her peers, emphasizing commutative justice.
The process that led to the decision regarding her pay, emphasizing procedural justice.
For the past week, the compensation team at Fresh Munchables has been collecting market data and identifying benchmark jobs. They have collected data from three years ago from a number of different sources to establish external market pay rates. In order for the data to be most accurate, the compensation team must first do which of the following? The team must age the data in order to account for inflation. The team must first aggregate the data, because it comes from multiple sources. The team does not have to do anything to the data because it is already accurate. The team must compare the data to data from another industry in order to account for market biases.
The team must first aggregate the data, because it comes from multiple sources. ( wrong)