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Homework answers / question archive / CHAPTER 12 1)An effective incentive pay plan should: encourage group performance and dispirit individual achievements
CHAPTER 12
1)An effective incentive pay plan should:
encourage group performance and dispirit individual achievements. |
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have performance measures linked to the organization's goals. |
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have performance measures based on employees' requirements. |
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not be provided as a direct percentage of employees' performance. |
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be the same for all types of employees in the organization. |
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2When designing incentives, managers should make sure that:
all the employees are paid equal amounts. |
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employees think that the pay plan is fair. |
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even the lowest performing employees get some rewards. |
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they focus on hiring employees for whom earning money is the only reason to do a good job. |
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employees focus only completing the task quickly. |
3Which of the following types of incentive pay plans are used to reward individual performance?
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Merit pay |
Stock ownership |
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Gainsharing |
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Profit sharing |
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Scanlon plan |
4Piecework rate plans are most suited for _____.
routine, standardized jobs |
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innovative tasks |
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managerial jobs |
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jobs with difficult-to-measure output |
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non-standard jobs |
5An incentive system in which an organization links pay increases to ratings on performance appraisals is referred to as:
profit sharing. |
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merit pay. |
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a Scanlon plan. |
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gain sharing. |
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commission |
6In merit pay programs, an individual's compa-ratio represents his/her:
pay relative to performance of other workers in the industry. |
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ratio of pay to benefits. |
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comparable worth versus others. |
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the average worth of the skills possessed by the individual. |
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pay relative to average pay. |
7An advantage of merit pay is that:
it provides merit increases to employees only on the basis of performance. |
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it results in a bigger short-term reward for the best performers. |
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it promotes group performance instead of promoting individual behavior. |
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it would never become costly for the employers. |
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it makes the reward more valuable by relating it to economic conditions. |
8Which of the following is true of a performance bonus?
It should be re-earned by employees during each performance period. |
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It lacks flexibility and hence it is less popular. |
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It is designed to reward group performance. |
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It is rolled into base pay and provided yearly or monthly. |
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It is not a one time reward in most of the cases. |
9When an employee's pay is calculated as a percentage of sales, it is referred to as:
commission. |
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profit sharing. |
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variable wage plan. |
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merit plan. |
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gain sharing. |
10Which of the following types of incentive plans are specifically designed to promote group performance?
Commissions |
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Gainsharing |
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Performance bonuses |
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Merit pay |
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Standard hour plans |
11An organization uses a gainsharing program in which employees receive a bonus if the ratio of labor costs to the sales value of production is below a set standard. This incentive plan is referred to as:
Scanlon plan. |
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piecework rate. |
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team award. |
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group bonus. |
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merit pay plan. |
12What should employees do to earn bonuses under the Scanlon plan?
They should produce products at a rate which is much higher than the standard production time. |
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They should create goodwill with customers and close as many sales as possible. |
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They should improve their performance year after year so that they re-earn the bonus during each performance period. |
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They should keep labor costs to a minimum and produce as much as possible with that amount of labor. |
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They should follow a defined set of quality standard to produce the desired outcome. |
13What is the difference between bonuses and team awards?
Bonuses are for bigger work groups whereas team awards are for small teams. |
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Bonuses reward attainment of goals measured in terms of physical output whereas team awards reward performance in terms of cost savings. |
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Bonuses are usually given to employees who meet deadlines whereas team awards are given only when the team as a whole meets the targets. |
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Bonuses encourages competition among individuals whereas team awards only foster cooperation. |
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Bonuses reward individual performance whereas team awards encourage cooperation. |
14Which of the following is an incentive plan that is intended to improve the overall performance of an organization?
Scanlon plan |
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Group bonus |
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Profit sharing |
Merit pay |
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Gainsharing |
15Identify the disadvantage of using profit sharing plans.
Sharing profit with the employees ultimately reduces the organization's profitability. |
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Profit sharing is not directly linked to individual behavior. |
They cost more when the organization experiences financial difficulties. |
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The employees may develop a narrow view of their roles in the organization. |
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They cannot be used to improve the organization's performance as a whole. |
16The link between employees' performance and pay is harder to establish in:
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stock ownership plans. |
standard hour plans. |
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merit pay plans. |
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piece rate plans. |
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Scanlon plans. |
17Stock options have their greatest motivational potential during periods of:
high unemployment. |
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high economic growth. |
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slowdown in the company's growth. |
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downturns in the economy. |
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low inflation. |
18What is the difference between stock options and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)?
In stock options, stocks are placed into a trust whereas ESOPs give employees the right to buy a certain number of shares of stock. |
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Stock options carry significant risk whereas ESOPs are risk-free. |
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Stock options are usually used with top management whereas ESOPs are provided to all employees. |
Under stock options, employees can sell their stocks whereas ESOPs do not allow employees to sell their stocks. |
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Earnings from stock options are exempt from income taxes whereas earnings from ESOPs are taxable. |
19Which of the following is a reason for ESOPs' popularity?
Employees can use ESOPs to buy their company during financial crises. |
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ESOPs require companies to invest 51 percent in the company's own stocks. |
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ESOPs provide very high risk-free retirement income. |
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Earnings of the trust holdings are exempt from income taxes. |
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The employees are provided with many more stocks than they actually own. |
20Which of the following is a method where a combination of performance measures directed toward the company's long- and short-term goals are used as the basis for awarding incentive pay?
Scanlon plan |
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Gainsharing |
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Profit sharing |
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Merit pay |
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Balanced scorecard |
21Which of the following is an advantage of using balanced scorecard?
It helps employees understand the organization's goals. |
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It reduces employee stress as it does not focus on financial targets. |
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It provides more pay to all employees in the organization. |
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It eliminates managerial effort when providing incentives to employees. |
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It eliminates the need to communicate the details of the plan to the employees. |
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22Employee participation in pay-related decisions can be part of a general move toward:
federalism. |
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self ownership. |
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power system approach. |
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centralized decision making. |
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employee empowerment. |
23If employee participation in making pay-related decisions is encouraged in an organization, then:
the organization's interests can be best protected. |
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the cost borne by the organization decreases. |
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monitoring performance becomes difficult. |
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the incentive plan has more chances of being successful. |
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administering the plans become simple. |
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24How does the balanced scorecard help organizations deal with unethical behaviors of executives?
It allows companies to deduct executive pay that exceeds $1 million. |
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Rewarding the achievement of a variety of goals reduces temptation on the executive's part to gain bonuses by manipulating data. |
It encourages executives to hold on to their stock options when the company is undergoing financial problems. |
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It forces executives to focus on company's long-term success because funds in ESOP are guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. |
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In a balance scorecard, maximum points are given to ethical behavior. |
25How does linking executive pay to stock performance lead to unethical behavior?
Executives can roll in the stock price into their base pay to avoid paying a huge tax. |
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The executives can obtain as many shares as they need at a price that is much lower than the market rate. |
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Executives can use the advantage of knowing the company's inside information to buy or sell stock and create huge personal gains. |
Executives can use the employee stock ownership plan to buy their company if it is experiencing financial problems. |
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Executives do not inflate the stock price in order to enjoy bonuses. |