Deck 6: Person-Based Pay Structures

Question 1

Which of the following is true of job evaluation?

A)Job evaluation influences internal pay structures.
B)Job evaluation is free of gender bias.
C)Job evaluation fixes pay scale for each employee in every organizations.
D)Job evaluation involves periodical assessment of employees' performance.
E)Job evaluation is free of subjectivity.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is true about job evaluation?

A)It perpetuates any bias that exists in current wages when structured to mirror existing pay rates.
B)It is not susceptible to gender bias.
C)It does not bear any influence on skill-based pay structure.
D)It is free of subjectivity.
E)It involves identifying an employee's visionary competency.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Lack of consistency among evaluators:

A)increases when employees are unionized
B)is common when evaluators work in similar jobs to those being evaluated
C)can be reduced by training
D)is a greater problem in quantitative job evaluation than conventional job evaluation
E)has little effect on results

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is the first step in determining an internal skill-based structure?

A)arranging skill blocks into a skill structure
B)performing skill analysis
C)describing and evaluating the skills
D)grouping related skills into a single unit
E)performing skill certification

Question 5

In the context of job evaluation, validity is defined as:

A)the degree to which different evaluators produce the same results
B)the ability of employees to request a re-evaluation of skills
C)the degree to which the evaluation achieves the desired results
D)a skill-based approach for determining pay
E)the underlying, broadly applicable knowledge needed to perform a job effectively

Question 6

If a job evaluation method consistently yields the same results under different evaluators it can be said that the method is:

A)valid
B)reliable
C)systematic
D)unpredictable
E)random

Question 7

Competency-based pay plans are different from skill-based plans in that:

A)competency-based plans are a type of job-based pay structures
B)competency-based plans are applied only to blue-collar jobs
C)competency-based plans eliminate the need to control costs
D)competency-based plans do not allow for lateral movement
E)competency-based plans are not very specific; they are more general, paying for broadly applicable knowledge, skills and behaviour

Question 8

Which of the following is true about certification methods?

A)Recertification has been replaced with one-time certification.
B)Newer certification procedures are moving away from on-demand review and towards scheduling fixed-review points..
C)Certification cannot be accomplished through on-the-job demonstrations.
D)Certification cannot be accomplished through peer review.
E)Scheduling makes it more difficult to budget and control payroll increases.

Question 9

Reliability of job evaluation can be measured by:

A)the degree of agreement between rankings that resulted from the job evaluation
B)determining the degree to which the job evaluation achieved the desired results
C)determining the degree to which the job evaluation method is accepted by employees
D)hit rates-the degree to which the job evaluation plan matches an agreed-upon ranking
E)determining if different evaluators produce the same results

Question 10

"In order to establish a rational pay structure, a company performs job evaluation. The evaluation is found to be reliable." Which of the following statements indicate this?

A)The evaluation plan matched an agreed-upon pay structure.
B)The majority of the employees found the evaluation acceptable.
C)All the evaluators produced the same results.
D)The evaluation achieved the desired results.
E)The evaluation was found to be subjective.

Question 11

The primary purpose of using an appeal process for job evaluation results is to:

A)ensure that different evaluators produce the same results after job evaluation
B)set pay level of the employees below that of the competitors
C)provide employees' with the opportunity to request skills re-evaluation
D)reduce employee interest in unionization
E)reduce employee involvement in the job evaluation process

Question 12

Which of the following is an advantage of competency-based systems?

A)They are free of vagueness and subjectivity.
B)They are more flexible than job-based pay systems.
C)They are free of perceptual biases.
D)They eliminate the need to control costs.
E)They are free of potential bureaucracy.

Question 13

Which of the following is true about competencies?

A)They tend to be unfair to the employees by justifying pay differences based on inferred proficiencies.
B)They discourage employees from assuming leadership roles.
C)They make people lose their focus.
D)They focus on average performance rather than optimum performance.
E)They fail to provide a common basis for working together.

Question 14

In a skill-based structure, managers' focus is on:

A)linking employees to the job done.
B)controlling costs solely via pay for job.
C)promotion and placement.
D)providing training.
E)controlling costs solely via budget increase.

Question 15

Observable behaviours that indicate the level of competency within each competency set are known as:

A)cognitive patterns
B)core mnemonics
C)competence builders
D)core competencies
E)competency indicators

Question 16

Which of the following individuals possesses "personal characteristics" competency?

A)Joshua possesses leadership skills.
B)Katie works constantly to improve customer interaction.
C)Jake demonstrates an uncompromising integrity toward company values.
D)Eric works respectfully in multicultural environments.
E)Lisa shows interest in developing others.

Question 17

Research on skill-based plans has shown that skill-based plans:

A)do not provide enough motivation for individuals to increase their skills
B)are not affected by organizational strategy
C)are generally well accepted by employees
D)are long-term initiatives for specific settings
E)encourage employees to focus on seeking promotions to earn more pay

Question 18

Which of the following is true of competency-based plans?

A)These plans are free of biases and judgments.
B)These plans eliminate the need to control costs.
C)Managers who use these plans focus on placing the right people in the right job.
D)These plans maximize flexibility.
E)Results of these plans are always reliable and valid.

Question 19

Which of the following can be classified under visionary competency?

A)flexibility
B)global perspective
C)respect for others
D)personal integrity
E)loyalty

Question 20

A(n)system is one where pay increases come with certification of new abilities.

A)task-based
B)multiskill-based
C)work-based
D)assignment-based
E)job-based

Question 21

Visionary characteristics are the lowest level competencies that can be used to collect information about competencies.

Question 22

Skill-based plans are generally not well accepted by employees because it is difficult to see the connection between the plan, the work, and the size of the paycheque.

Question 23

The heart of the person-based plan is that employees get paid for the specific skills they use in their jobs, not for the relevant skills or competencies they possess.

Question 24

Competency indicators translate the core competencies into specific actions.

Question 25

One of the advantages of skill-based pay is continuous learning.

Question 26

A pay structure in which employees are paid based on the work knowledge that they acquire is known as:

A)work-based pay structure
B)duty-based pay structure
C)task-based pay structure
D)skill-based pay structure
E)assignment-based pay structure

Question 27

Skill-based plans are usually applied to so-called white-collar work, and competency-based plans to so-called blue-collar work.

Question 28

A limitation of a competency-based structure is that it requires cost controls.

Question 29

Competency analysis is a:

A)process used to clarify the purpose of a competency system
B)process used to evaluate the degree of subjectivity involved in a competency system
C)process used to measure the reliability of a competency system
D)process used to measure the validity of a competency system
E)process used to understand the nature and characteristics of a job

Question 30

Pay structures that link pay to the depth or breadth of the abilities and knowledge a person acquires, which are relevant to work are known as pay structures.

A)job-based
B)skill-based
C)mission-based
D)opportunity-based
E)task-based

Question 31

Employees like the potential of higher pay that comes with learning.

Question 32

The skills on which a structure is based should be directly related to the organization's objectives and strategy.

Question 33

The purpose of job-based and person-based procedures is to:

A)to match pay levels in competing markets
B)design and manage an internal pay structure that helps achieve the organization's objectives
C)understand the level of competition with other organizations
D)to exceed the pay levels in competing markets
E)use outside consultants for internal decisions

Question 34

Employee acceptance is crucial for person-based plans because it is the key to employees' perceptions of fairness regarding the pay structure.

Question 35

One of the main advantages of a skill-based plan is that it can match people to a changing workflow more easily.

Question 36

In a skill-based structure:

A)managers focus on providing training rather than promoting
B)individuals are paid only for those certified skills that are required to perform their job
C)employees seek promotions to earn more pay rather than enhancing their knowledge
D)managers control costs via pay for job rather than certification
E)employees are paid for their assigned jobs, regardless of the knowledge they possess

Question 37

Reliability refers to the degree to which the evaluation achieves the desired results.

Question 38

Advocates of competencies say that they can empower employees to take charge of their own development.

Question 39

Using evaluators who are familiar with the jobs they are evaluating enhances reliability of the evaluation.

Question 40

Skill-based pay structure does not allow people to be deployed in a way that matches the flow of work.

Question 41

What is the process for determining a skill-based structure?

Question 42

What are the recommendations that can ensure that job evaluation plans are bias-free?

Question 43

In the context of job evaluation, how can an organization improve employee acceptability?

Question 44

What are the two types of skill plans?

Question 45

What is a competency-based approach?

Question 46

Define competencies and explain what is meant by core competencies, competency sets, and competency indicators.

Question 47

What is the purpose of a skill-based structure?

Question 48

How are "personal characteristics" competencies different from "visionary" competencies?

Question 49

How do competencies motivate behaviour toward organization objectives?

Question 50

How is the validity of job evaluation measured?