MNGT 463 UNL Final
The base salary plus incentives for expatriates is usually determined by
job evaluation
The ________ is designed to lessen an employer's ability to deny coverage to an employee for a preexisting condition
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Which of the following statements is true about the German traditional national system
Labor markets in Germany remain highly regulated, and tariff agreements set pay for union workers
The ________ specifies the number of breaks that must be provided in an eight-hour workday
Occupational Safety and Health Administration legislation
According to research, which of the following is true about U.S. expatriates
Only 13 percent of U.S. expatriates are women
A key provision of the ________ allows employees in publicly traded companies the freedom to sell off any employer stock purchased through deferrals or after-tax contributions
Pension protection act
Which of the following benefits is a federally administered program
Social security
________ use cash or stock award that is determined by increase in stock price during any time chosen (by the executive) in the option period
Stock appreciation rights
Which of the following countries has the highest number of people in the workforce belonging to unions
Sweden
In a(n) ________, employees have a hypothetical account into which is deposited what is typically a percentage of annual compensation
cash balance plan
With gain-sharing plans, the most common union strategy is to
delay taking a stand until real benefits are more apparent
Unlike U.S. companies, Japanese organizations
encourage flexible workers
Contingent workers receive ________ benefits than regular workers; contingent workers' benefits cost ________ for employers than it does for regular workers
fewer; less
The major potential advantage of outsourcing is
increased cost savings
A health maintenance organization pulls together a group of providers willing to provide services at an agreed upon rate in exchange for employers
limiting employees to these providers for health services
An Indian citizen working for a Japanese company in India is a
local country national
The Equal Pay Act is a part of the
the Fair Labor Standards Act
The average company match for 401(k) retirement plans is ________ on the dollar up to 6 percent of pay
50 cents
At the time they are granted, which of the following have no tax implications for an executive
Incentive stock options
Which of the following is a reason for unions favoring gain-sharing plans
Increased involvement with job activities
Which of the following often go for extended periods in the field with little supervision
Sales staff
Under the ________ Act, executives cannot retain bonuses or profits from selling company stock if they mislead the public about the financial health of the company
Sarbanes-Oxley
KYZ, Inc., a U.S. firm, sends its manager, Ryan, to London to manage its operations there. Ryan's salary is still based on the U.S. pay system; however, KYZ offers him a lump-sum payment to offset the additional standards-of-living expense in London. In this case, which of the following approaches to expatriate compensation did KYZ use
The cafeteria approach
MerTon, Inc. decides to reduce labor costs by using exit incentives to encourage some of its senior, high-earning members to leave the organization. It replaces the employees who quit with new employees and pays them low wages. Which of the following statements is most likely true in this scenario
The salary range midpoint of the company is higher than the actual salary paid
MaxTrain Corp. recognizes that its competitor GlasWell Corp., which is unionized, offers higher wages and benefits. To avoid unionization demands from its workers, MaxTrain decides to offer the same wages and benefits to its employees as GlasWell. Which of the following phenomena is exemplified in this case
The spillover effect
The ________ Act extends the prevailing-wage concept to manufacturers or suppliers of goods for government contracts
Walsh-Healey Public Contracts
A compa-ratio of less than 1 means that, on average,
employees in a range are paid below the midpoint
A management strategy of giving separate organization units the responsibility to design and administer their own compensation systems is
known as a decentralized strategy
A Japanese citizen working for Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky, is a
parent-country national
When designing a sales compensation plan, it should be kept in mind that
salespeople under an incentive system will view customer service as an imposition
The Worker Economic Opportunity Act
states that income from most stock plans need not be included in calculating overtime pay
The highest rates of child labor are in
sub-Saharan Africa
A Korean citizen working for Toshiba, a Japanese company, in Canada is a
third-country national
Roughly ________ of all employees have access to paid life insurance
three-fourths
HoldDesk, Inc. has an annual labor cost of $3,000,000. It has a turnover rate of 10 percent and a planned average increase of 5 percent. The turnover effect is
$15,000
Which of the following plans give employees part ownership in a company
Employee stock ownership plans
________ are one-time cash payments to employees that are not added to an employee's base wages
Lump-sum awards
Which of the following is a feature of defined contribution plans
They are faster to vest than defined benefit plans
The Web page for the compensation society is
WorldatWork
The most common approach to motivating executives to make decisions that are in the best interests of stockholders is
a long-term incentive plan using stock options
Annual bonuses often play a major role in executive compensation and are primarily designed to
motivate better short-term performance
Nonqualified stock options require
purchase of stock at a stipulated price, not conforming with the Internal Revenue Code
Today, top executive pay is more than ________ times the pay of the average worker
300
In the context of the impacts of unions on compensation, which of the following statements is true
Management and professional employees do not enjoy union wage advantage
Which of the following statements about evolution and change in the traditional German model is true
Many of the changes in Germany are the result of global competitive pressures and technological changes
________ is an example of a country with a highly decentralized approach to pay setting with higher wage flexibility
The United States of America
Increased global competition has caused unions to
become more receptive to alternate reward systems that link pay to performance
Financially healthy employers may wish to maintain their competitive positions in the labor market or share financial success through
bonuses and profit sharing
Popular stereotypes of salespeople characterize them as being heavily motivated by
financial compensation
A recent article analyzing the results from over 100 executive pay studies shows that the best predictor of executive pay is by far
firm size
Basically a phenomenon of the union sector, two-tier wage structures differentiate pay based upon the
hiring date
Changes in wages in labor markets are measured
through pay surveys
Steve has a small company with 12 employees. One of his employees, Larry, has been laid off because his work has been outsourced. Larry had health coverage through Steve's company and wants to continue that coverage. According to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, how long can Larry continue his coverage through Steve's company after being laid off
0 months
Union employees in the public sector earn, on average, about ________ more than their nonunion counterparts
22 percent
The majority of defined benefit plans calculate average earnings over the last ________ years of service for a prospective retiree
3 to 5
Which of the following is a factor determining base pay in the Japanese traditional national system
Career category
________ are defined benefit plans that look like a defined contribution plan
Cash balance plans
Which of the following issues most commonly reach arbitration
Discharge and disciplinary issues
Which of the following is true regarding a gain-sharing plan
Not all unions would be in favor of this type of plan
The CEO of BoardCom, Inc., James, negotiates a new union contract with the union leader. If James wants to reduce expenses and keep the union happy, which of the following suggestions is most likely to be helpful
Provide lump-sum awards in exchange for merit pay increases
Which of the following statements about single rates is true
Single rates are usually specified for workers within a particular job classification
________ is defined by the Department of Labor as experience, training, education, and ability as measured by the performance requirements of a particular job
Skill
Which of the following includes a provision that requires public companies to set policies to allow executive compensation to be taken back if it was based on inaccurate financial statements that did not comply with accounting standards
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
________ sets salaries according to the home-country system and simply offers employees lump sums of money to offset differences in standards of living
The cafeteria approach
MayFly, Inc., a firm headquartered in Paris, France, sends one of its employees to Frankfurt, Germany, and Barcelona, Spain, to manage its operations in these cities. The employee would be required to alternate between the two cities every six months. Mayfly offers only a moving expense on top of the base pay as the employee would be moving only within European Union countries. Which of the following approaches to expatriate compensation is exemplified in this situation?
The modified balance sheet approach
Which of the following ties salary to a region
The modified balance sheet approach
________ is the budgetary approach that begins with an estimate from the highest-ranking executives of the pay increase budget for an entire organization
Top-down budgeting
Regarding pay differences for different jobs
courts continue to uphold the use of market data to justify differences
A deferred wage increase
is negotiated at the time of initial contract negotiations with the timing and amount specified in the contract
In ________, employees who are evaluated more highly receive larger or more rapid increments than average or poor performers
merit progression
When employees are paid more than the maximum of their pay grade, these rates are called
red circle rates
A study of unions in 114 companies concluded that
unions make a difference in wages across all studies and time periods
Prevailing-wage laws
were passed in response to conditions on projects such as the construction of the Hoover Dam during the Depression
The ________ often comes into play if organizations target reductions among higher paid employees because higher paid employees also tend to be older employees
ADEA
________ is movement through the wage ranges where seniority is specified as the basis of the movement
Automatic progression
Which of the following is a benefit under Social Security
Lump-sum death payments
The denial of jobs, promotions, or training opportunities to qualified women or minorities are examples of
access discrimination
The denominator for calculating the current year's pay rise is the
average pay at the beginning of the year
Leah, the CEO of SteadyResults Corp., feels that she is underpaid, so she hires a compensation consultant to survey actual competitors of the company. According to agency theory, if SteadyResults performs poorly, her salary will most likely
be increased in order to retain her
In recent years, some firms have tried to deal with the plateau effect and also accommodate the different career motivations of mature scientists and engineers through a(n)
dual-career ladder
The executive branch of the federal government
enforces laws through agencies and its other bodies
An employer experiencing high turnover and seeking to reduce pension costs is likely to prefer
full vesting after three years
he differential between supervisors' base pay and their highest paid subordinate is typically ________ percent
5 to 30
Almost ________ percent of the companies offering child care assistance to employees also offer elder care assistance
50
Total compensation in many organizations makes up at least ________ of operating expenses
50 percent
The ________ prohibits use of several compensation programs, including, but not limited to bonuses, retention awards, and incentive pay, except where part of a preexisting employment contract, during the period Troubled Asset Relief Program funds are received
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
In the context of child labor, which of the following statements is true
Child labor has decreased in most countries across the world in recent years
________ has produced more comparable-worth pay increases than any other approach
Collective bargaining
________, designed for employees or managers, explain compensation policies and practices, answer frequently asked questions, and explain how these systems affect their pay
Communication portals
Which of the following groups can qualify for the exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
Computer employees
In which of the following situations would engineering jobs be most likely treated as a special compensation group
Computer engineers employed at a software firm
The ________ was enacted by the Congress to provide current and former employees and their spouses and dependents with a temporary extension of group health insurance when coverage is lost due to qualifying events
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
Which of the following is a measure of changes in prices of goods and services in the product and service markets over time
Consumer price index
The European Union has issued the ________, which is significantly stronger than U.S. regulations
Data Privacy Directive
In which of the following types of cases is the focus on the discriminatory consequences rather than the intent to discriminate
Disparate impact
Which of the following is the basic question to ask to improve quality and ensure that value is added by each technique and at each stage in the compensation system
Does each specific activity directly contribute to our objectives
________, a software package, allows workers to make health-care choices, allocate savings to 401(k)s or other savings vehicles, and access vacation schedules
Employee self-service
Which of the following is a factor to control in order to manage labor costs in a simple labor cost model
Employment
Which of the following is true of hiring LCNs
Employment of LCNs satisfies nationalistic demands for hiring locals
________ prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
Executive Order 11246
Which of the following is the most popular executive perk offered by most companies
Executive physicals
Which of the following statements regarding wage differences in industries and firms is NOT true
Female employment is more heavily concentrated in large firms
Which of the following is the least popular executive perk offered by most companies
Housing allowance
Which of the following is one of the basic steps in establishing a comparable-worth pay plan
Identifying the percentages of male and female employees in each job group
Which of the following actions is most likely to be favored by unions
Introducing lump-sum awards
Which of the following is the most likely reason for most unions to insist on group-based performance measures with equal payouts to members
It cuts down on strife and internal quarrels
Which of the following is true of the Affordable Care Act
It is aimed at expanding health care coverage through an individual mandate to purchase health insurance and an employer mandate to provide qualifying health insurance coverage
Which of the following statements about anchoring/framing is true
It states that initial data strongly affect decisions/beliefs
Which of the following statements is true of the localization approach to expatriate compensation
It ties an expatriate's salary to the host country's salary scales
Which of the following is true of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
It was amended in 1990 to include the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act
Jacob, an 18-year-old, has been working at HoldVille Corp. for over a year. If HoldVille offers full vesting after one year, which of the following statements is true
Jacob is not eligible for pension as he is not over 21
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
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
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
Michael was laid off by his company owing to budget cuts. Before being laid off, he earned $1,000 per week. If he has been receiving unemployment insurance benefits for 26 weeks, which of the following statements is true in this scenario
Michael is no longer eligible for unemployment benefits
NaxWell Corp. sells a smart wristband that, apart from monitoring heart rate and blood pressure, also reminds users to stand and walk every half hour. As part of its promotional efforts, a celebrity starts wearing the wristband, thereby increasing its popularity and ease of sale. Which of the following is most likely to happen
NaxWell is likely to increase base salaries and decrease incentives
Which of the following statements about ownership and financial markets is true
Recent tax law changes in many countries have made stock options more attractive, but limited ownership of many companies remains the rule
Which of the following is a reason for unions opposing gain-sharing plans
Reduced need for jobs due to increased productivity
________ relieve an employer's liability when a pre employment injury combines with a work-related injury to produce a disability greater than that caused by the latter alone
Second-injury funds
Jennifer is hurt at work while driving a forklift. Her employer claims that she was injured as a result of her careless driving and is therefore 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
GronLan, Inc., a company with a majority of workers with high seniority, decides to hire 1,000 college graduates to meet the sudden productivity requirements generated by a growth in the market. Which of the following statements is most likely to be happen in this situation
The average pay actually paid by the company will fall below its range midpoint
Which of the following approaches seeks to ensure that employees on overseas assignments have the same spending power as they would in their home country
The balance sheet approach
Which of the following is a test that must be met to qualify for the administrative employee exemption
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 true of lump-sum awards
They are typically given in lieu of merit increases
n the context of the general compensation strategies, identify a true statement about localizers
They operate independently of the corporate headquarters
Which of the following is an objective of the unemployment insurance program
To provide an incentive for employers to stabilize employment
Identify Hofstede's national culture dimension that can be described as the extent to which a culture programs its members to feel uncomfortable in unknown and unusual situations and find it difficult to control the uncontrollable
Uncertainty Avoidance
What is the first question that should be asked when determining the amount of retirement income an employer should provide
What level of retirement compensation would the employer like to set as a target, expressed in relation to pre retirement earnings
An early study of the effects of the living wage law in Los Angeles found all of the following EXCEPT that
a higher proportion of new hires were female
Bottom-up budgeting includes the process of distributing forecasting instructions and worksheets where
firms furnish managers with the forms and instructions necessary to preplan increases
An employee who changes jobs four or more times during his or her career will likely receive a pension that is approximately ________ as that of an employee whose working career is spent with one employer, assuming that both employees have the same starting salary and receive annual increases equal to inflation rate
half the size
Pay-for-knowledge plans do all of the following EXCEPT
increase the probability of work being subcontracted out to nonunion organizations
The biggest trend in supervisory pay centers on
increased use of variable pay
Working through a temporary-help agency usually means
low pay in administrative or day labor positions
The degree of discretion managers have to make total compensation a strategic tool is referred to as
managerial autonomy
In recent years, a stable ________ of all major collective bargaining agreements in the private sector have contained a provision for lump-sum payouts
one-third
If improved account retention became a major focus of attention, the performance measure stressed would be
percentage account erosion
A(n) ________ uses cash or stock award if specific goals are achieved
performance share plan
A(n) ________ uses cash or stock award that is determined by an increase in stock price at a fixed future date
phantom stock plan
In the comparison of the pay systems of two well-known Japanese companies Toyota and Toshiba, Toyota
places greater emphasis on external market rates
A ________ plan is a hybrid health plan combining the benefits of a health maintenance organization and a ________
point-of-service; preferred provider organization
If Philadelphia has a CPI of 165 and Houston has a CPI of 145 and if both cities started with bases of 100, it means that
prices have risen faster in Philadelphia since the base year than in Houston
A compa-ratio reflects the
relationship of the average actual salary in each range to the midpoint of the range
When taxes are deducted from employees' earnings up to the same amount of taxes they would pay had they remained in their home country, it is known as
tax equalization
With easily sold products
the base compensation tends to be more important
In the context of Hofstede's national culture dimensions, the "individualism-collectivism" dimension refers to
the degree to which people are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups, usually around the family
If red circle rates become common throughout an organization, then
the design of the ranges and the evaluation of the jobs should be reexamined
The phenomenon where nonunion management continues to enjoy the freedom from union "interference" in decision making and the workers receive the rewards already obtained by their unionized counterparts is known as
the spillover effect
Executives, supervisors, and sales staff often receive special compensation treatment because
these jobs face conflicting demands
The ________ recognizes the fact that when people leave an organization, they typically are replaced by employees who earn a lower wage
turnover effect
In a(n) ________ pay plan, a contract is negotiated that specifies that employees hired after a given target date will receive lower wages than their higher-seniority peers working on the same or similar jobs
two-tier
Which of the following involves periodic adjustments based typically on changes in the consumer price index
A COLA clause
________ curve expresses the relationship between years since last degree, performance, and salary
A maturity
Maxford Corp. offers full vesting after two years. However, it does not offer portability of pension to its employees. Which of the following statements is true in this scenario
Maxford does not have to provide vested benefits to employees who quit before six months
According to Hofstede's cultural dimensions, in Malaysia and Mexico, where there is high power distance, ________ pay structures are appropriate
hierarchical
A compensation consultant is hired to survey actual competitors of the company
if the CEO is truly underpaid
In Japan, internal alignment based on ________ is far more important than other factors
seniority
Today, ________ percent of workers participate in the pension plan coverage provided by their employers
53
Bonuses paid in Japan are
not necessarily related to performance
Which of the following is a benefit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act guidelines for qualified pension plans
Additional life insurance
In the negotiation stage of a multiyear wage contract, Mark, the manager of SifCo Corp., specifies that changes will be made to the wage based on the changes in the consumer price index and mentions the effective dates of adjustment. Which of the following types of clauses has Mark introduced in the contract
An escalator clause
In the context of contracts, which of the following is most appropriate when the necessary job skills are within the grasp of most employees
Automatic progression
Meltrop 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
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
In the context of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which of the following statements is true
The biggest concern for individuals getting health insurance under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act is the relatively brief qualifying period
Which of the following face the possibility that disgruntled stockholders may sue over corporate strategies that do not ''pan out''
The board of directors
________ argues that executive pay rises to maintain the same relative relationship with the salaries of lower-level employees
The social comparison theory
The percentage increase in average pay that is expected for an organizational unit or company is called
a planned pay-level rise
Replacing merit grids with ________ eliminates the link between the pay increase and the employees' salary position in the range and performance rating
bonuses
Experts attribute the stabilization in the dollar cost of workers' compensation since 2010 to
employer safety programs
In the majority of states, unemployment insurance is financed exclusively by
employers that pay federal and state unemployment insurance
Hannah is the CEO of JF Corp., a steel manufacturing company. She finds that the market is exhibiting the signs of a maturing market. She wants to revise the compensation package for her sales employees to adapt to the changing market conditions. In this case, Hannah is most likely to
increase base pay
The rising costs of Social Security have been covered by
increases in the maximum earnings base and the rate at which that base is taxed
Company A and Company B are in the same industry, but Company A is unionized and Company B is not. Therefore,
it is difficult to argue with assurance that wage differences between the two firms are attributable to the presence of a union, although the possibility exists
The determination of pay discrimination on jobs of dissimilar content requires a standard that allows jobs of dissimilar content to be declared comparable and that allows pay differences for jobs that are not comparable. This standard is
job evaluation
When compared to the impact of unions during strong economies, the impact of unions during periods of higher unemployment is
larger
Traditionally, Japan's employment relationships were supported by
lifetime security within the company
A major advantage of a ________ is that it reduces benefits costs, something that the other cost-cutting options ordinarily do not achieve
reduction in force
The Davis-Bacon Act
requires that mechanics and laborers on public construction projects be paid the prevailing wage in an area