Deck 2: A Strategic Framework for Compensation

Question 1

Which of the following sets of resources is used by an organization to transform inputs into outputs?

A) human, logistical, administrative, and financial
B) data bases, inventory, customers, and employees
C) human, information, physical, and financial
D) sales, service, marketing, and policies

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Contextual variables such as managerial strategy provide the link to structural variables.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

You recently transferred from a smaller manufacturing firm to a larger one and discovered that, although entirely different, both compensation systems are effective. How is this possible?

A) Both companies have well-trained managers.
B) Both companies do similar work and hire the same kinds of employees.
C) Both systems fit the organization and its strategy.
D) Both provide compensation packages that lead the marketplace.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Porter offers the notion that business strategies may be divided into two broad dimensions: cost and differentiation.

Question 5

What can you determine by examining a firm's structural variables?

A) the managerial strategy a firm is actually using
B) the managerial strategy a firm should be using
C) a firm's corporate strategy
D) the corporate strategy a firm should be using

Question 6

A strategic framework is used as a tool to help determine which aspect of compensation?

A) the most effective compensation system
B) corporate goals
C) corporate strategy
D) the business plan

Question 7

An organization's domain is simply another term for managerial strategy or plan.

Question 8

As a human resources consultant, you decided to recommend to a business owner that she should use a contingency view to organizational design. In order to support your recommendation, what would you look at first from a business structure perspective?

A) structural variables
B) job design variables
C) financial variables
D) contextual variables

Question 9

What can you determine by examining a firm's contextual variables?

A) the managerial strategy that a firm is actually using
B) the type of structure the organization should be using
C) the firm's competitive advantage and required resources
D) organizational goals, mission, and vision

Question 10

Knowing which organization structure to use requires first understanding which of the following aspects?

A) structural variables
B) corporate strategy
C) managerial strategy
D) technology

Question 11

Which of the following terms describes systems that apply a set of procedures to a mix of resources in order to produce outputs that the marketplace values?

A) domain
B) organizations
C) technology
D) Porter's concept of fit

Question 12

What should an effective organizational structure provide an organization?

A) It identifies sources of required inputs for an organization.
B) It reduces internal uncertainty while increasing external uncertainty for an organization.
C) It increases internal uncertainty while decreasing external uncertainty for an organization.
D) It decreases both internal and external uncertainty for an organization.

Question 13

Supporters of the classical managerial approach to management assume employees are inherently lazy and require constant vigilance

Question 14

Which of the following is classified as a "main" managerial strategy?

A) the job design management strategy
B) the laissez-faire management strategy
C) the transformational management strategy
D) the human relations management strategy

Question 15

If a particular compensation system has been successful in one organization, it is very likely that replicating that compensation system will bring success in another organization.

Question 16

The strategic framework for compensation helps to identify the corporate strategy that will best suit a firm's compensation strategy.

Question 17

The key feature of an organizational system is that it transforms input resources into outputs that are valued by a body or group.

Question 18

The three main managerial strategies described in the text are: the classical style, the human relations style, and the high involvement style.

Question 19

According to the textbook, all five contextual variables are of equal importance

Question 20

To determine the most appropriate managerial strategy for a firm to utilize, it is necessary to examine the firm's structural variables.

Question 21

Which of the following rewards are normally associated with a high-involvement managerial strategy?

A) high levels of pay and benefits
B) providing employees with the opportunity to grow professionally
C) providing employees with a pleasant team environment
D) promotions based on a high level of production

Question 22

You are in the process of designing a new reward system for your firm. What is the most important single determinant of what will or will not be a successful reward system for your firm?

A) the particular managerial strategy used
B) the interrelationships among the structural variables
C) corporate strategy
D) competitive advantage

Question 23

What determines the contextual variables?

A) organizational goals
B) structural variables
C) managerial strategy
D) corporate strategy

Question 24

Which of the following organizational variables would complement a classical management strategy?

A) strong policies and procedures dictating work processes
B) high level of horizontal communication
C) significant autonomy given to employees
D) employee-focused organizational culture

Question 25

Which of the following variables indicates to management the most appropriate managerial strategy to use in an organization?

A) organizational processes
B) factors of production
C) contextual variables
D) structural variables

Question 26

Which reward strategy is appropriate for companies using a human relations approach to management?

A) Rewards are mainly extrinsic and focus on loyalty to the organization.
B) A wide variety of both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are used.
C) Only extrinsic rewards are offered.
D) Only intrinsic rewards are offered.

Question 27

You have recently been hired by a manufacturing company in Vancouver, British Columbia. You conclude that the company is using a high-involvement management strategy. Which of the following variables would you review to support your aforementioned conclusion?

A) structural variables
B) organizational policies and procedures
C) contextual variables
D) behaviours of managers

Question 28

Which of the following terms best describes the scope of business operations undertaken by an organization?

A) integration
B) differentiation
C) craft
D) domain

Question 29

Which of the following characteristics are common in a classical organization?

A) joint employee-management planning and goal setting
B) intrinsic rewards often being used as a reward system
C) loyal employees who are dedicated to the norms of the organization
D) strong management control over employees

Question 30

Which of the following production processes refers to long-linked technology?

A) Standardized transactions are used to connect mutually interested people.
B) Tasks are divided into sequential steps and carried out by different employees.
C) Each item or case is unique and dealt with individually.
D) There is no standardization used to produce the product.

Question 31

You have been asked to explain to a manager the notion of structural variables within the context of a strategic framework for compensation. Which of the following variables would you elaborate on?

A) how work is divided into subtasks
B) the market the company serves
C) the level of differentiation in the products and services offered by the company
D) the company's products' life cycle

Question 32

Which of the following conditions has NOT made it increasingly difficult for Canadian firms to make the classical managerial strategy work for them?

A) Educational levels have increased.
B) Globalization has allowed work to be outsourced to a variety of developing countries.
C) Economic security and social security have improved.
D) Social values have become more democratic and egalitarian.

Question 33

Richard, a new employee, is told by a more experienced employee to do only the minimum and not attempt to be a "superstar." What variable best describes what Richard is experiencing?

A) engagement
B) commitment
C) structure
D) culture

Question 34

Which of the following key cultural values would be detrimental to a high-involvement organization?

A) honesty
B) trustworthiness
C) doing things the way they have always been done
D) open communication

Question 35

According to the textbook, which of the following terms would best describe an analyzer business strategy?

A) speed
B) slow
C) balance
D) classical

Question 36

Marie is the new owner of a large apple farm in British Columbia. She hires seasonal workers to pick apples during the months of October and November each year. Historically, there has been an abundance of labour supply. Which of the following managerial strategies should you adopt to increase the farm's performance?

A) human relations
B) classical
C) hybrid
D) high-involvement

Question 37

You have been asked to provide some element of rationale why some companies using a human relations strategy sometimes attempt to change to a more classical framework. Which of the following would best describe the most important issue associated with your explanation?

A) It is simply very hard on management to pursue a human relations strategy.
B) There is pressure from owners to increase profitability.
C) Companies fail to react fast enough to changes in the environment.
D) Greater worker mobility makes a human relations strategy obsolete.

Question 38

A prospector strategy, short life cycle products, a highly skilled work force, and a relatively small organization would be a good combination of variables for which managerial strategy?

A) classical
B) human relations
C) high-involvement
D) mechanical

Question 39

Which of the following sets of strategies reflects different assumptions about employees and how they should be managed?

A) classical, human relations, and high-involvement
B) low-cost, differentiator, and focused differentiator
C) corporate, competitive, and business
D) defender, prospector, and analyzer

Question 40

According to Perrow's approach to classifying technology, an electrical utility or a plant that manufactures washing machines is an example of what type of technology?

A) routine
B) nonroutine
C) mediating
D) focused low-cost

Question 41

Explain the concept of organizations as systems.

Question 42

What are the five contextual variables and why are they important?

Question 43

Briefly explain the difference between the three managerial strategies described in the text.

Question 44

Identify the six structural variables that make up the organization structure and explain why they are so important.

Question 45

What is the purpose of the strategic framework for compensation?