Deck 6: Person-Based Structures

Question 1

Routine work is also termed _____.

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

Answer 1

A

Question 2

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

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Skill-based pay applications is most common in:

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In a multiskill system,pay increases come with:

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

Question 5

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 6

_________ are the observable behaviors that indicate the level of a competency.

A) Competency sets
B) Core competencies
C) Competency indicators
D) Behavior scale points

Question 7

(p.179 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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

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.

Question 13

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 14

_____ 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 15

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 16

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.

Question 17

_____ 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 18

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

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

Question 19

_____ translate each core competency into action.

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

Question 20

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 21

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 22

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 23

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 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

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 28

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 29

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 30

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 31

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 32

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 33

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

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

Question 34

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

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

Question 35

(192-93)Which of the following is a source of gender bias in job evaluation?.

A) Compensable factors related to job content
B) Gender of evaluator
C) Gender of incumbent
D) Race of evaluator

Question 36

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 37

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 38

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 39

Transactional work is typically paid more than tacit work.

Question 40

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 41

Scaled competency indicators are similar to degrees of compensable factors.

Question 42

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

Question 43

Skill-based pay is used for the same types of jobs as competencies.

Question 44

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

Question 45

The process of identifying compensable factors is similar to the process used to identify compensable factors.

Question 46

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

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 49

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

Question 50

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

Question 51

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

Question 52

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

Question 53

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

Question 54

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

Question 55

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 56

Research shows that fewer supervisors are required when skill-based plans are used.

Question 57

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

Question 58

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

Question 59

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

Question 60

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

Question 61

Briefly discuss skill-based plans.

Question 62

How do modern organizations analyze work processes?

Question 63

(p.191Validity refers to the degree to which the evaluation assesses the relative worth of jobs to the organization.

Question 64

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

Question 65

What is the relevance of certification in a multiskill system?

Question 66

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

Question 67

In the judgment of the text authors,basing pay on judgments of competencies is not good practice.

Question 68

The text argues validity should be expanded to include impact on pay decisions.

Question 69

(p.1781Competencies provide guidelines for behavior and keep people focused.

Question 70

(p.182Customer orientation is an example of a visionary competency.

Question 71

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

Question 72

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

Question 73

Research on person-based pay systems has focused on the reliability and validity of the systems.

Question 74

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 75

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

Question 76

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

Question 77

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

Question 78

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

Question 79

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 80

Recent research shows that use of on-line job evaluation by independent managers is more reliable than traditional job evaluation committees.