Deck 6: Person-Based Structures

Question 1

The roots of both job analysis and job evaluation can be traced to _____.

A) Frederick Taylor
B) Karl Marx
C) Adam Smith
D) Ronald McFreyer

Answer 1

A

Question 2

In today's organizations,in order to increase competitiveness and success work is analyzed by separating transactional work from:

A) core work.
B) hygiene work.
C) tacit work.
D) system work.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Compensable factors,skill blocks,and competency sets are all for the purpose of:

A) assessing relative value.
B) collecting work content information.
C) determining what to value.
D) each of the three has a different purpose.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Routine work is also termed _____.

A) transactional work.
B) hygiene work.
C) tacit work.
D) system work.

Question 5

_____ is the most important factor affecting perception of fairness of a skill-based plan.

A) The design of the certification process
B) The rate of movement through the skill blocks
C) Extent of alignment with the organization's strategy
D) The time and effort required to learn skill blocks

Question 6

The main advantage of skill-based pay plans is:

A) the line of sight is clear.
B) they aid in matching workers to the work flow.
C) they are less expensive than job-based plans.
D) courts view them very favorably.

Question 7

Which of the following is least likely to be used as a skill-based certification method?

A) Tests
B) College degree
C) Peer review
D) On-the-job demonstration

Question 8

_____ are to behavioral descriptors as skill analysis is to the certification process.

A) Factor degrees and weights
B) Job analysis
C) Core competencies
D) Competency sets

Question 9

The certification process in skill-based pay is analogous to _____ in a job-based analysis.

A) job analysis
B) compensable factors
C) regression analysis
D) factor degrees and weights

Question 10

The third step in determining skill-based structures is _____.

A) skill certification
B) skills analysis
C) skill blocks
D) skill synthesis

Question 11

Skill blocks are to job evaluation as _____ is to factor degrees and weights.

A) certification process
B) competency sets
C) skill analysis
D) core competencies

Question 12

Skill-based plans tend to work best in organizations using a(n)_____ strategy.

A) innovator
B) defender
C) laissez-faire
D) cost-cutter

Question 13

Information such as quality course,shop floor control,tool setup and plant first aid are examples information that might be used to develop a _____ pay structure.

A) job-based
B) classification
C) competencies
D) skill-based

Question 14

The most important factor determining success of a skill-based pay plan is:

A) its impact on labor costs.
B) how well it aligns with the organization strategy.
C) the stakeholder satisfaction with the plan.
D) its effect on productivity.

Question 15

A "camper" is a person who _____ in a skill-based pay system.

A) "tops out" in a skill-based pay system
B) is a "jack of all trades"
C) is an employee who does not want to rotate jobs
D) who moves too quickly from job to job

Question 16

_____ is the process of identifying and collecting information about skills required to perform work in an organization.

A) Job analysis
B) Core competency analysis
C) Skill analysis
D) Job specifications analysis

Question 17

Skill-based pay applications is most common in:

A) education.
B) manufacturing.
C) health care.
D) service industries.

Question 18

Which of the following regarding skill-based pay is false?

A) Employees have control over their development.
B) Training is a source of complaints.
C) Less supervision is required.
D) Training costs are low.

Question 19

In a multiskill system,pay increases come with:

A) improved efficiency.
B) tenure and seniority.
C) job assignments.
D) certification of new skills.

Question 20

Person-based pay systems are best suited for all of the following except:

A) supporting continuous learning.
B) flexibility.
C) transactional work.
D) complex work.

Question 21

Which are the two reasons that make competencies a risky foundation for a pay system?

A) Number of stakeholders and lack of a global standard
B) Openness and non-quantifiable nature
C) Vagueness and subjectivity
D) Lack of motivation and abstract objectives

Question 22

An inappropriate way to assess the acceptability of a job evaluation plan and its resulting job structure is to:

A) examine the number of formal appeals.
B) examine the number of requests for reanalysis.
C) conduct employee attitude surveys.
D) examine the number of job offers not accepted.

Question 23

Which of the following is not a method for determining validity of job evaluation?

A) Degree of agreement between rankings and rankings of criterion benchmarks
B) Asking the question: "What does the evaluation measure?"
C) Examining "hit rates"
D) Degree to which the job evaluation matches an agreed upon pay structure for benchmark jobs

Question 24

The scheme used in the text for classifying competencies consists of three groups.Which of the following is not one of them?

A) Personal characteristics
B) Team dynamics
C) Visionary
D) Organization specific

Question 25

Competency based structure typically has _____ levels.

A) 2-3
B) 4-6
C) 6-8
D) 8-10

Question 26

Reliability of job evaluations may be measured by:

A) determining if different evaluators produce similar results.
B) asking the question: "What does the evaluation measure?"
C) determining "hit rates."
D) surveying employee attitudes about the evaluation.

Question 27

Which of the following is the most important attribute of competency-based structure in a global work environment?

A) Supports the work flow
B) Fair to employees
C) Common basis for communication
D) Supports the organization strategy

Question 28

Managers whose employers use _____ plans focus on placing the right people in the right job.

A) pay-based
B) skill-based plans
C) competency-based
D) job-based

Question 29

_____ translate each core competency into action.

A) Competency indicators
B) Multi-functional skills
C) Skill-based structures
D) Competency sets

Question 30

Skill-based is to transactional work as competencies are to _____ work.

A) tightly coupled
B) tacit knowledge
C) programmed
D) office and clerical

Question 31

Which of the following is not a method used to apply the job-evaluation plan in a bias-free manner?

A) Include legal advisors while developing a plan.
B) Ensure that the job descriptions are bias-free.
C) Exclude incumbent names from the job evaluation process.
D) Train diverse evaluators.

Question 32

The process of identifying competencies resembles identifying _____ as part of job evaluation.

A) compensable factors
B) job description
C) employee requirement
D) workflow outlay

Question 33

Likely disadvantages of person-based pay plans compared to job-based include all of the following except:

A) higher labor costs.
B) a less flexible workforce.
C) higher training costs.
D) a smaller workforce.

Question 34

A _____ approach controls costs by paying only as much as the work performed is worth,regardless of any greater skills the employee may possess.

A) performance-based
B) competency-based
C) job-based
D) skill-based

Question 35

In analyzing a firm's competencies under "impact and influence",what are "direct persuasion","multiple attempts to persuade",and "multiple actions to influence"?

A) Competency indicators
B) Competency factors
C) Competency sets
D) Core competency scales

Question 36

Competencies are derived from the _____ beliefs about the organization and its strategic intent.

A) executive leadership's
B) stakeholders'
C) employees'
D) customers'

Question 37

Leadership,customer orientation and functional expertise are examples of which group of competencies?

A) Personal characteristics
B) Visionary
C) Organization specific
D) Team dynamics

Question 38

Research shows the reliability among rankings of jobs by different people is:

A) .15-36
B) .35-46
C) .55-66
D) .85-96

Question 39

A study of 400 compensation specialists found that:

A) job evaluation data have a larger effect than market data.
B) current pay data have a larger effect than market data.
C) job titles have a larger effect than job evaluation data.
D) market data have a larger effect than job evaluation data.

Question 40

The growing view of competencies is they are a set of _____.

A) traits
B) skills and knowledge
C) self-concepts and motives
D) behaviors requiring no assumptions

Question 41

Competencies provide guidelines for behavior and keep people focused.

Question 42

Managerial and supervisory analysis provide the data for skill-based pay systems.

Question 43

Advocates of competencies say that by focusing on optimum performance rather than average performance,competencies can help employees maintain their marketability.

Question 44

As experience with competencies has grown,organizations are placing greater emphasis on business-related descriptions of behaviors.

Question 45

Skill-based plans become increasingly economical as the majority of employees become certified at the highest pay levels.

Question 46

Skill-based plans are generally well accepted by employees because it is easy to see the connection between the plan,the work,and the size of the paycheck.

Question 47

Scaled competency indicators are similar to degrees of compensable factors.

Question 48

A potential disadvantage of skill-based pay is labor costs can be a source of competitive disadvantage.

Question 49

Complex work is likely best supported by person-based pay systems.

Question 50

One of the main advantages of a person-based plan is that it facilitates matching people to a changing work flow.

Question 51

Compared to an on-demand review of certifications,scheduling fixed review points makes it easier to budget and control payroll increases.

Question 52

Competency-based plans have the potential to clarify new standards and behavioral expectations.

Question 53

There is far greater uniformity in the use of terms in person-based plans than there is in job-based plans.

Question 54

Employees are very satisfied with skill-based pay systems because these plans guarantee employees doing the same job will receive the same pay.

Question 55

Skill-based pay plans can focus on both depth of work and breadth.

Question 56

Paying employees who are frequently moved from one job to another each day is less complex in a job-based pay than a person-based structure.

Question 57

The main appeal of competencies is the direct link to the organization's strategy.

Question 58

Transactional work is typically paid more than tacit work.

Question 59

The majority of skilled-based pay applications are found in hospitals and R & D organizations where teamwork is essential.

Question 60

By encouraging employees to take charge of their own development,skill-based plans may give them more control over their work lives.

Question 61

How are organizations redefining the original definition of competencies?

Question 62

Reliability of job evaluations can be improved by using evaluators who are neutral third parties or by employing consumer evaluation committees.

Question 63

What is relevance of flexibility in skill-based plans?

Question 64

Validity refers to the degree to which the evaluation assesses the relative worth of jobs to the organization.

Question 65

In virtually all the studies on job evaluation,job-based evaluation is treated as a measurement device.

Question 66

Does skill-based pay systems reduce the requirement for supervision?

Question 67

Customer orientation is an example of a visionary competency.

Question 68

One approach to both improving and measuring the level of acceptance of job evaluation is to establish a formal appeals process.

Question 69

How do skill-based plans motivate employees?

Question 70

What are the objectives that may be used to assess a skill-based pay plan?

Question 71

Basing pay on race or gender seems appalling today,but basing pay on someone's judgment of another person's integrity is considered the norm nowadays.

Question 72

Since competencies are based upon each organization's mission statement or strategy,core competencies are unique for each company.

Question 73

What are the common certification methods organizations use?

Question 74

How do modern organizations analyze work processes?

Question 75

Maturity of judgment and respect for others are examples of organization specific competencies.

Question 76

Briefly discuss skill-based plans.

Question 77

Skill-based plans often fail to account for whether or not an individual is using a particular skill on a particular day.

Question 78

Defining the compensable factors and scales to include the content of jobs held predominantly by women is one of the methods to ensure that job evaluation plans are bias-free.

Question 79

Which are the major skill-analysis decisions?

Question 80

What is the relevance of certification in a multiskill system?