Deck 2: Contextual Influences on Compensation Practice

Question 1

What decision did Wal-Mart make due to the difficulty of hiring well-qualified workers,since the unemployment rate has declined?

A)Wal-Mart has increased advertising to inform the public that it is a good place to work.
B)Wal-Mart introduced incentive pay to augment base pay.
C)Wal-Mart decided to offer employees health insurance.
D)Wal-Mart substantially increased its starting pay rate.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

On average,Gina would be more likely to earn ________ money if she were to work as a sales clerk for a department store rather than as an assembly technician in an aircraft engine manufacturing plant.

Answer 2

less

Question 3

Why do pay rate differentials not fully match relative pay differentials?

A)Pay relative differential measures control for the influence of various variables, and pay rate differentials do not.
B)Pay rate differential measures control for the influence of various variables, and relative pay differentials do not.
C)It is difficult to determine the reason for these measures not fully matching.
D)The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA)minimum wage provision influences relative pay differentials.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Jing is considering whether to take a job placement in Los Angeles,California or Mobile,Alabama.Before deciding,she is interested in understanding the cost-of-living differences between both places.Jing will consult a ________ comparison calculator to inform her decision.

Question 5

In which important way are relative pay and pay rate differentials consistent?

A)magnitude
B)direction
C)absolute value
D)direction and absolute value

Question 6

Antidiscrimination laws have contributed to which of the following?

A)some of the decline in union influence
B)all of the decline in union influence
C)stronger human capital
D)spillover effect

Question 7

Which factors account for considerable variation in pay between occupations?

A)employment laws
B)interindustry wage differentials
C)relevant labor market
D)knowledge, skills, and abilities

Question 8

Which of the following is typically the case for companies that operate in product markets where there is relatively little competition from other companies?

A)lower wages and lower profits
B)lower wages and higher profits
C)higher wages and higher profits
D)higher wages and lower profits

Question 9

Define what an occupation is.Using the example of pharmacists and a pharmacy technician in Chapter 2,explain the rationale for differences in pay within this occupation.

Question 10

A common,but mistaken assumption,is that high demand for workers applies only to which kind of jobs?

A)medical doctors
B)low-skilled jobs
C)highly skilled jobs
D)information security analysts

Question 11

Which term best describes the extent to which companies' operations are based on the use of large-scale equipment?

A)manufacturing capital intensity
B)human capital intensity
C)capital intensity
D)financial capital intensity

Question 12

Which factors account for considerable variation in pay within occupations?

A)employment laws
B)interindustry wage differentials
C)relevant labor market
D)knowledge, skills, and abilities

Question 13

Chrysler,General Motors,and Ford have departed from which of the following bargaining patterns as they seek to secure higher hourly pay rates for automobile workers?

A)guarded
B)concessionary
C)heightened
D)compensationary

Question 14

Define capital intensity and explain how it relates to compensation outcomes.

Question 15

John and Mark hold equivalent secretarial jobs,but John,who makes 20 percent more than Mark,is employed by a manufacturing firm while Mark is employed by a department store.Based on this information,which of the following best explains this pay differential?

A)interindustry wage differentials
B)differences in human capital intensity
C)merit exception of the Equal Pay Act of 1963
D)John's stronger negotiation skills

Question 16

When considering cost-of-living differences between locations,which type of costs stand out?

A)housing
B)education
C)health care
D)food and energy

Question 17

In San Francisco,the typical pay in the installation,maintenance,and repair occupation exceeded the national average by 44 percent.In Johnstown,Pennsylvania,the rate was 9 percent less than the national average.What do these statistics represent?

A)capital intensity effects
B)pay rate differentials
C)interindustry wage differentials
D)relative pay differentials

Question 18

The decline in union influence can be explained by which of the following reasons?

A)a greater sense of social responsibility in today's society
B)lower educational attainment of the workforce
C)the cooperative nature of the union and management relationship in Germany
D)foreign automobile manufacturers producing higher quality vehicles

Question 19

Many nonunion companies offer higher compensation than they would if unions were nonexistent.What is this phenomenon called?

A)progressive compensation
B)the spillover effect
C)concessionary bargaining
D)inter-industry compensation differentials

Question 20

Compared to the duration of most training in capital intensive industries,service industry training tends to be which of the following?

A)the same cost
B)shorter
C)longer
D)higher cost

Question 21

Which amendment to the U.S.Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations,individual states,and Indian Tribes?

A)First Amendment
B)Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1
C)Fifth Amendment
D)Article I, Section 8

Question 22

Intentionally treating women less favorably than men based upon their gender would be what form of discrimination?

A)disparate treatment
B)disparate impact
C)disparate causality
D)situational discrimination

Question 23

In general,the FLSA requires that overtime be paid on all hours worked in excess of ________ hours within a period of 7 consecutive days.

Question 24

An employee has a regular hourly rate equal to $12.According to FLSA,how much should her/his employer pay this employee for each additional hour worked beyond the regular 40 hours within a period of 7 consecutive days?

A)$12
B)$14
C)$16
D)$18

Question 25

Construction contractors,working on government contracts valued at more than $2,000,must pay their laborers and mechanics what type of local area-based wage to be in compliance with the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931?

A)minimum wage
B)prevailing wage
C)prevalent wage
D)discretionary wage

Question 26

An employee has a regular hourly rate equal to $10 and works 45 hours within a period of 7 consecutive days.What is the total amount the employer should pay this employee for 45 work hours?

A)$425
B)$450
C)$475
D)$500

Question 27

Jennifer works as a clerk in a company.The essential function of her job is typing on a keyboard.If she develops crippling arthritis that interferes with her ability to type,which act requires her employer to make reasonable accommodations,such as providing a voice-recognition input device?

A)Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
B)Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
C)Davis-Bacon Act of 1931
D)Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a protected characteristic by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

A)sexual orientation
B)race
C)national origin
D)religion

Question 29

As a result of this law enacted by Congress,employers must now show that employment practices that create disparate impact are a business necessity.This law also made it legal for U.S.citizens working abroad for U.S.companies to file suit.

A)Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
B)Executive Order 11246
C)The Civil Rights Act of 1991
D)The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act

Question 30

The ________ of 1963 makes it illegal to pay one sex more than the other for equal work performed.

Question 31

During the ________,which took place in the 1930s,a great number of businesses failed and unemployment soared,forcing the government to institute social welfare programs.

Question 32

The ________ Amendment allows female employees to charge employers with Title VII violations regarding pay only when the employer has violated the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

Question 33

Briefly summarize right-to-work laws as well as the impact on unionization and compensation.

Question 34

Which of the following examples is NOT considered a compensable work activity?

A)A fireman plays checkers while waiting for an alarm.
B)An employee attends an employer-mandated training.
C)An employee travels from home before the regular workday and returns home at the end of the workday.
D)An employee takes a 15-minute rest during work time.

Question 35

Workers join unions to influence ________-related decisions,especially when they are dissatisfied with job security,wages,benefits,and supervisory practices.

Question 36

Which law defines hours worked?

A)National Labor Relations Act
B)Davis-Bacon Act
C)Equal Pay Act
D)Portal-to-Portal Act

Question 37

Based upon the FLSA child labor provisions,what is the minimum age that a child must be in order to be legally employed?

A)10
B)12
C)14
D)19

Question 38

This act strengthened the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by requiring employers to show that pay disparities are job related rather than sex-based.This act also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who share their salary information.

A)The Paycheck Fairness Act
B)The Civil Rights Act of 1964
C)The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
D)The Pension Protection Act of 2006

Question 39

Until recently,ACME Manufacturing granted every employee one week of paid vacation each year.The company switched its policy,offering substantially more weeks of paid vacation to employees with high seniority (more than 5 years,in this case).The average seniority of female employees at ACME is 2.5 years and 7.75 years for male employees.Which form of discrimination is this policy at risk of creating?

A)disparate treatment
B)disparate impact
C)disparate causality
D)situational discrimination

Question 40

Which amendment to the U.S.Constitution made it illegal to restrict the freedom of religion,speech,and press,as well as protect the right of people to peacefully assemble?

A)Article 1, Section 8
B)First Amendment
C)Fifth Amendment
D)Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1

Question 41

The ________ generation was born between roughly 1946 and 1964,and represents a big swell in the American population as the workforce gets progressively older.

Question 42

Manufacturing is considered to be a ________ intensive industry.

Question 43

The ________ of 1993 sought to provide employees with job protection in case of a medical emergency.

Question 44

Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to overturn several U.S.Supreme Court rulings.Identify three cases and discuss their relevance to compensation practice.