Question 1

Which of the following do unions have greater effects for?
A) Women employees
B) Residents of Northern states
C) Whites
D) Transport operatives

Accepted Answer

Unions have greater effects for transport operatives because they are more likely to be unionized and to have collective bargaining agreements that cover wages, benefits, and working conditions.

Question 2

What effect did the voluntary employee benefits association (VEBA)have on automobile manufacturers?
A) Rapidly escalated the cost of health care benefits for retirees
B) Compelled the companies to deposit $1,500 per vehicle manufactured to fund VEBA
C) Allowed them to transfer their liability to provide medical care for retirees
D) Reduced their global competitiveness and profitability

Accepted Answer

The voluntary employee benefits association (VEBA) allowed automobile manufacturers to transfer their liability to provide medical care for retirees, which reduced their costs and financial obligations. This helped to improve their financial stability and competitiveness in a challenging market.

Question 3

In the Scanlon plan,which party is responsible for determining bonuses to be paid?
A) Employee committee
B) Screening committee
C) Production committee
D) Executive committee

Accepted Answer

The Screening committee in the Scanlon plan is responsible for determining the bonuses to be paid, as it evaluates performance and suggests improvements.

Question 4

Which pay system refers to entitlements that individuals accrue from continuous employment?
A) Scanlon plan
B) Productive efficiency
C) Benefit status seniority
D) Gainsharing plan

Accepted Answer

Benefit status seniority is a pay system that refers to entitlements that individuals accrue from continuous employment. This means that employees who have been with the organization for a longer period of time earn more benefits, such as more vacation time, higher retirement benefits, and better health insurance coverage. The other options listed do not specifically refer to this type of pay system.

Question 5

Profit-share bonuses are influenced by:
A) individual employee performance.
B) executive bonus committee.
C) product design decisions.
D) union's ability to negotiate.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Profit-share bonuses are influenced by:
A) individual employee...

Question 6

Which of the following is a method used to determine how much an individual will earn within a job?
A) Shift differentials
B) Land-and-step plans
C) Piece rate systems
D) Two-tier structures

Accepted Answer

Piece rate systems determine earnings based on the amount of work completed, directly linking pay to productivity.

Question 7

Which factor directly affects the health care cost of the employer?
A) Standard-of-living of workforce
B) Age and gender composition
C) Ethnic background of workforce
D) Manual labors and nonmanual labor composition

Accepted Answer

The age and gender composition of the workforce directly affects the health care cost of the employer as older and female employees tend to have higher healthcare costs.

Question 8

When would employers prefer overtime workers than new hires?
A) When more work is needed and the employee wants to reduce costs
B) When person-tied benefits and paid time off exceed 50 percent of base pay
C) When the overtime contract requires higher premium
D) When costs are incidental to hiring and benefits are lower than overtime premium

Accepted Answer

The answer of When would employers prefer overtime workers than...

Question 9

Health insurance benefits are:
A) wage-tied.
B) age-tied.
C) gender-tied.
D) person-tied.

Accepted Answer

Health insurance benefits are person-tied, meaning they are based on the individual receiving the coverage, rather than their age, gender, or wages. The insurance plan will cover the person's medical expenses, regardless of these factors.

Question 10

Why do employers currently choose the 401(k),401(a),or 403(b)plan rather than a traditional defined benefit pension plan?
A) Employers receive increased incentives to offer these plans and they carry substantially reduced risk.
B) There are guaranteed benefits for employees and the employer bears no risk of investment under these plans.
C) These plans ensure that if the company fails,the accrued pension benefits will nevertheless be paid.
D) Under these plans,employers have 40 years to fully fund an underfunded plan.

Accepted Answer

Employers currently choose 401(k), 401(a), or 403(b) plans rather than traditional defined benefit pension plans because they receive increased incentives to offer these plans and they carry substantially reduced risk. With defined benefit pension plans, the employer bears the risk of investment and ensuring guaranteed benefits for employees, which can be costly and volatile.

Question 11

One of the Scanlon plan's major purposes is to:
A) minimize employee participation.
B) increase labor input for a given output.
C) reward only employees for productivity gains.
D) tie pay to company performance.

Accepted Answer

The Scanlon plan is designed to tie employee pay to company performance by sharing productivity gains with the employees. It is a way to incentivize employees to work harder and more efficiently, which in turn benefits the company as a whole. The plan does not aim to minimize employee participation, increase labor input, or only reward employees for productivity gains, although these may be indirect results of the plan's implementation.

Question 12

Which of the following statements is true regarding pension plans?
A) Under salary reduction plan,the employer's fiduciary decides where to invest funds.
B) Under defined benefit plan,the employee elects to contribute some amount of pretax income to his/her retirement account.
C) Under defined contribution plan,the risk of investment is borne by the employer.
D) Under ERISA,employer is not required to offer a pension plan.

Accepted Answer

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), employers are not mandated to offer a pension plan, but if they do, the plan must meet certain minimum standards to ensure the protection of individuals in these plans.

Question 13

Across workers' subgroups,becoming unionized or not is associated with:
A) company profitability.
B) increased wages.
C) job satisfaction.
D) gainsharing programs.

Accepted Answer

Becoming unionized is often associated with increased wages due to collective bargaining and negotiation for better pay and benefits. Company profitability may be impacted, but this is not consistently associated with unionization across all workers' subgroups. Job satisfaction and gainsharing programs may also be impacted but are not consistently associated with unionization across all workers' subgroups.

Question 14

Which of the following is a difference between the Scanlon plan and Impro-Share?
A) Impro-Share employees can easily calculate their bonus amount.
B) In the Scanlon plan,the bonuses are shared across work groups.
C) Impro-Share is aimed at increasing employee participation.
D) In the Scanlon plan,the bonus committee determines the bonus formula.

Accepted Answer

In Impro-Share, employees can easily calculate their bonus amount based on the formula, while in the Scanlon plan, a bonus committee determines the bonus formula that is shared across work groups. Impro-Share is also aimed at increasing employee participation, while the Scanlon plan is focused on creating an incentive for cost reduction and productivity improvement.

Question 15

Aaron,an employee at a manufacturing company,earns $18 an hour.If the company agrees to a new wage contract,Aaron will be paid $18.72 an hour.What is the percentage of wage increase the company must agree to?
A) 5 percent
B) 3.5 percent
C) 4 percent
D) 2.5 percent

Accepted Answer

The wage increase is calculated as (($18.72 - $18) / $18) * 100 = 4%.

Question 16

What is an industrial effect of unions on pay level?
A) Union workers are paid lesser than nonunion workers on an average.
B) Industries having highest union wage premium had the lowest employment decrease in the 1970s.
C) Unions are able to bargain larger-than-normal increase in firms that created specific assets.
D) Wage premiums come with cost to labor making the firms less profitable.

Accepted Answer

Unions have the ability to negotiate higher wages, especially in firms that have invested in specific assets that are unique to their operations, making it more costly for these firms to replace their workforce. This bargaining power can lead to larger-than-normal wage increases for unionized workers.

Question 17

ERISA obligates that:
A) all employers must offer a pension plan.
B) employers with pension plans must create a set of rules and comply with them.
C) employers with pension plans must allow all employees aged 21 and over to participate.
D) employers with defined benefit plans must make contributions that will cover immediate retirement costs.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ERISA obligates that:
A) all employers must offer...

Question 18

What did Joseph Scanlon propose to avoid a firm's closure?
A) Parties work together to increase productivity to which a bonus is linked.
B) All employees should participate and rewards should be given to highly skilled labor.
C) Management should decide the best solution and workers should follow it.
D) Bonus should be given to the work group that came up with the best solution.

Accepted Answer

Joseph Scanlon proposed a plan where parties (management and employees) work together to increase productivity, with a bonus system linked to the productivity improvements. This approach emphasizes collaboration and shared rewards.

Question 19

If an employee selects a pension plan in which a fixed percentage of profit is allocated to each employee in proportion to his/her proportion of total employee pay in that employee group,which pension plan did he/she select?
A) Defined benefit
B) Salary reduction
C) 403(b)
D) Defined contribution

Accepted Answer

The employee selected a defined contribution pension plan where a fixed percentage of profit is allocated to each employee based on his/her proportion of total employee pay in that employee group. This type of plan is also referred to as a profit-sharing plan. In a defined contribution plan, the employee bears the investment risk, and the benefit at retirement depends on the amount of contributions and the investment returns earned on those contributions.

Question 20

In which pension plan is the amount paid on a monthly basis?
A) Defined benefit plan
B) Salary reduction plan
C) Defined contribution plan
D) Tax-free fund transfer

Accepted Answer

In a defined benefit plan, the amount paid out is predetermined and typically paid on a monthly basis. This is based on factors such as salary history and length of employment.

Quiz 9: Wage and Benefit Issues in Bargaining

Which of the following do unions have greater effects for?

What effect did the voluntary employee benefits association (VEBA) have on automobile manufacturers?

In the Scanlon plan,which party is responsible for determining bonuses to be paid?

Which pay system refers to entitlements that individuals accrue from continuous employment?

Profit-share bonuses are influenced by:

Which of the following is a method used to determine how much an individual will earn within a job?

Which factor directly affects the health care cost of the employer?

When would employers prefer overtime workers than new hires?

Health insurance benefits are:

Why do employers currently choose the 401(k) ,401(a) ,or 403(b) plan rather than a traditional defined benefit pension plan?

One of the Scanlon plan's major purposes is to:

Which of the following statements is true regarding pension plans?

Across workers' subgroups,becoming unionized or not is associated with:

Which of the following is a difference between the Scanlon plan and Impro-Share?

Aaron,an employee at a manufacturing company,earns $18 an hour.If the company agrees to a new wage contract,Aaron will be paid $18.72 an hour.What is the percentage of wage increase the company must agree to?

What is an industrial effect of unions on pay level?

ERISA obligates that:

What did Joseph Scanlon propose to avoid a firm's closure?

If an employee selects a pension plan in which a fixed percentage of profit is allocated to each employee in proportion to his/her proportion of total employee pay in that employee group,which pension plan did he/she select?

In which pension plan is the amount paid on a monthly basis?