Deck 14: Managing & Enhancing Performance: The Big Picture

Question 1

Which of the following attempts to increase both the number of tasks a worker does and the control the worker has over the job?

A) Job enlargement
B) Job rotation
C) Job characteristics
D) Job enrichment
E) Personality-job fit

Answer 1

D

Question 2

_____ is an alternative work arrangement under whichemployeesdo almost all of their work at home andreceive assignments electronically.

A) Flexible work hour plan
B) Job enlargement
C) Compressed workweek
D) Telecommuting
E) Job enrichment

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Eugene works in a garment factory and is in charge of sewing pockets on newly stitched shirts.Her employer provides her additional training, and she is now qualified to stitch an entire shirt.On which of the following aspects of the job characteristics approach is Eugene's employer focusing to enhance her performance?

A) Skill variety
B) Feedback
C) Task significance
D) Task identity
E) Autonomy

Answer 3

D

Question 4

It is difficult to manage group reward systems when group members do not contribute equally at work.

Question 5

Incentive compensation is one of the oldest forms of performance-based rewards.

Question 6

A(n) _____ is the most general form of a merit-pay plan.

A) quarterlybonus
B) monthlyincentive
C) annual salary increase
D) gainsharing arrangement
E) skill-based pay

Question 7

One method of improving performance feedback isto provide feedback on a regular basis through feedback interviews.

Question 8

Flexible work hour plans allow employees to plan when they report to and leave work.

Question 9

Organizations offering flexible work hour plans decide a _____ during which every employee must be at work.

A) regular time
B) core time
C) full-time
D) flextime
E) part time

Question 10

The management of Garza Silva Inc.allows its employees to report to work four days a week instead of five but for longer hours.This enables full-time employees to avail three days off a week instead of two.Which of the following best describes the arrangement illustrated in this scenario?

A) Scanlon plan
B) Compressed workweek
C) Home work program
D) Flexible work hour plan
E) Piece work

Question 11

James is an employee at a specialty hospital.His job duties vary from day to day in any given week.On Mondays, he reviews and files patient charts.On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he collects lab specimens from patients.On Wednesdays, he enters lab results into the computer database and on Fridays, he does insurance paperwork.Which of the following motivational approaches to the redesign of work is being exemplified in this scenario?

A) Job enrichment
B) Job enlargement
C) Job characteristics
D) Personality-job fit
E) Job rotation

Question 12

The ____ approach is an alternative to job specialization that considers the work system and employee preferences.

A) job enlargement
B) job rotation
C) job characteristics
D) job enrichment
E) work teams

Question 13

In a Scanlon plan,the distribution of gains is tilted much more heavily toward employees.

Question 14

Job rotation involves moving employees from one job to another in order to enhance skills and flexibility.

Question 15

Which of the following is performed at the beginning of a training process?

A) Needs assessment
B) Utility analysis
C) Summative assessment
D) Strategic analysis
E) Performance assessment

Question 16

According to the job characteristic approach, the number of tasks a worker does in a job is called _____.

A) skill variety
B) task significance
C) autonomy
D) task identity
E) feedback

Question 17

Romero Inc.manufactures paper products from 100 per cent recycled scrap.One set of workers at Romero Inc.has the full-time job of sorting scrap as it enters the facility.If the scrap is not sorted properly, the manufacturing process creates defective paper.The quality of sorting is regularly monitored by checking the quality of the paper products, and necessary instructions are given to the scrap sorters.Which of the following aspects of the job characteristics approach is high for the scrap sorters' job?

A) Skill variety
B) Task identity
C) Autonomy
D) Task significance
E) Feedback

Question 18

Which of the following is a disadvantage of implementing compressed workweek arrangements?

A) Individuals who lack the discipline to work in unconstrained environments misuse the arrangement.
B) Labor unions face difficulty in organizing workers.
C) The greater number of days off affects the social aspects of jobs.
D) Employees are more likely to be forced to work overtime.
E) It is more likely that he or she will lose work time to deal with personal business.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT an issue surrounding the use of telecommuting?

A) It requires employees to travel to office and receive their assignments.
B) It becomes more difficult for unions to organize workers.
C) It is difficult for new employees to become socialized into an organization.
D) Some individuals lack the self-discipline to conduct work in an unconstrained environment.
E) It increases employees' sense of alienation at work.

Question 20

Which of the following is a work schedule plan that involves employees working 40 hours, five days a week but with some employee control over starting and ending times for work each day?

A) Flexible work hour plan
B) Compressed workweek schedule
C) Home work program
D) Individual incentive plan
E) Cafeteria-style benefits plan

Question 21

Which of the following is a prerequisite for the effective execution of a merit-pay plan in an organization?

A) The employees participating in a merit-pay program must mandatorily possess a stock-option plan.
B) The organization must have valid and reliable measures of what merit entails.
C) The performance measurement system must not differentiate too greatly among employees.
D) The criteria for reward should be the knowledge level of employees.
E) The evaluation of individual merit should be performed based on an employee's behavior and conduct.

Question 22

Scenario 14.1
Wilkinson Inc., a manufacturer of baby strollers, experiences a decline in sales in the first quarter of a financial year.The top management of Wilkinson meets to discuss ways to improve sales and decides to employ a range of performance-enhancement techniques for its employees.It then entrusts department heads to frame suitable plans for their respective departments.
Refer to Scenario 14.1.The human resource department suggests an arrangement by which employees with low-stress jobs are allowed to work for longer hours for four days and avail off for three days instead of two.Through this system, Wilkinson's management intends to prevent employees from using work time for their personal chores.This alternate arrangement is called _____.

A) compressed workweek
B) flexible work hour plan
C) job enlargement
D) telecommuting
E) gainsharing plan

Question 23

Which of the following incentive reward systems distributes thecost savings resulting from a work team's suggestion among all employees in an organization?

A) Gainsharingplan
B) Scanlon plan
C) Merit-pay plan
D) Sales commission
E) Piece-rate plan

Question 24

The owner of a hardware store decides to pay an incentive to his salespeople based on their ability to sell products to industrial buyers.Each salesperson would receive a share of the amount earned from his or her sales.Which of the following incentive systems is being offered to the salespeople in this scenario?

A) Gainsharingplan
B) Profit-sharing system
C) Piece-rate plan
D) Commission
E) Tucker-Davison plan

Question 25

Scenario 14.1
Wilkinson Inc., a manufacturer of baby strollers, experiences a decline in sales in the first quarter of a financial year.The top management of Wilkinson meets to discuss ways to improve sales and decides to employ a range of performance-enhancement techniques for its employees.It then entrusts department heads to frame suitable plans for their respective departments.
Refer to Scenario 14.1.The administrative department of Wilkinson suggests a scheme by which the routine clerical work will be allotted to different employees during a week.This will reduce boredom and improve productivity by making employees capable of handling multiple tasks.This work arrangement is called _____.

A) a gainsharing plan
B) task identity
C) job rotation
D) job enrichment
E) job enlargement

Question 26

Scenario 14.1
Wilkinson Inc., a manufacturer of baby strollers, experiences a decline in sales in the first quarter of a financial year.The top management of Wilkinson meets to discuss ways to improve sales and decides to employ a range of performance-enhancement techniques for its employees.It then entrusts department heads to frame suitable plans for their respective departments.
Refer to Scenario 14.1.The management of Wilkinson implements a group incentive plan by which the senior executives of the company can purchase company stocks in the future at a predetermined rate.They can sell the stocks when there is an increase in stock prices.This incentive plan is called a(n) _____.

A) gainsharing plan
B) piece-rateplan
C) stock-option plan
D) employee stock ownership plan
E) Scanlon plan

Question 27

Which of the following measures do modern organizations adopt to retain talented and mobile employees?

A) Designing formal policies regarding ownership of Twitter accounts
B) Examining employees' online presence and activities
C) Favoring employees who follow a particular religious faith
D) Offering lavish, unusual, and expensive benefits
E) Educating employees to avoid conducting businesses in public places

Question 28

Scenario 14.1
Wilkinson Inc., a manufacturer of baby strollers, experiences a decline in sales in the first quarter of a financial year.The top management of Wilkinson meets to discuss ways to improve sales and decides to employ a range of performance-enhancement techniques for its employees.It then entrusts department heads to frame suitable plans for their respective departments.
Refer to Scenario 14.1.The management directs the customer service department to design an online response page where customers can record their experiences and offer suggestions for improvement.These suggestions will be directed to individual workers through respective departments and necessary measures would be taken to improve quality and customer experience.Which of the following aspects of the job characteristics approach is given importance by Wilkinson?

A) Task significance
B) Autonomy
C) Task identity
D) Skill variety
E) Feedback

Question 29

Which of the following is an exclusive challenge for human resource departments in faith-based businesses?

A) Employees need to be trained to avoid conducting businesses in public places.
B) Organizations systematically reduce many of the benefits they pay to their employees.
C) Firms need to offer lavish, unusual, and expensive benefits to retain talented and mobile employees.
D) Additional measures need to be taken to protect sensitive information of employees and customers.
E) Contributions to church and charitable activities restrict business growth and career opportunities.

Question 30

Which of the following is the basis for an individual's compensation under a commission incentive system?

A) Diverse work experience
B) Sales volume
C) Educational qualification
D) Age of the employee
E) Technical skills

Question 31

Which of the following is a true statement about the assessment of organizational success?

A) A firm's stock price provides a complete evaluation of organizational success.
B) The accurate method of assessing an organization's success is by measuring the number of units produced.
C) An organization's success needs to be assessed by examining the state of multiple indicators.
D) Financial indicators are more important than human resource indicators while assessing an organization's success.
E) An effective performance-enhancement program has no impact on an organization's success.

Question 32

Which of the following is true of the productivity measurement and evaluation system (ProMES)?

A) It incorporates ideas from goal setting to feedbackand includes incentives for improvement.
B) It rewards employees on the basis of number of units produced or total sales achieved.
C) It allows senior managers of a company to purchase company stocks in the future at a predetermined rate.
D) It allows employees maximum flexibility to choose work hours and location.
E) It allows organizations to use the service of employees who might not be able to work at a given site.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT an example of an incentive pay system?

A) Delgado Inc.provides its sales personnel with additional incentives every time a he or she sells beyond the daily target.
B) Wilkinson Corp.offers a cash prize to the worker who develops the best solution to an organizational problem.
C) A jewelry store chain offers annual bonuses to its workers who are highly productive.
D) An airline pays its pilots a base salary plus a bonus depending on the number of their "on-time" flights.
E) QuLine Inc.provides a higher salary to engineers with a Master's degree than to those with a Bachelor's degree.

Question 34

_____is thesystematic and simultaneous application of positive reinforcementand either punishment or extinction.

A) Job rotation
B) Behavior modification
C) Gainsharing
D) Job enlargement
E) Goal setting

Question 35

Which of the following incentive compensation systems allows an organization to pay an employee a certain amount of money for each unit of output he or she produces?

A) Piece-rate plan
B) Merit-pay plan
C) Bonus
D) Commission
E) Knowledge-based pay

Question 36

Which of the following conditions should be met while applying goal setting as a performance-enhancement technique in an organization?

A) Goals should be always set around achievements that cannot be readily counted.
B) Employees should be given feedback annually to enhance their performance.
C) Employees should be rewarded or punished on the basis of their behavior.
D) Employees should be given specific, difficult goals to work toward.
E) Training should be given to employees on how to guard confidential information.

Question 37

A _____ is an example of a group incentive plan.

A) merit-pay plan
B) skill-based pay plan
C) stock-purchase plan
D) piece-rate plan
E) knowledge-based pay plan

Question 38

Which of the following statements reflects the challenges faced by contemporary human resource departments in the context of cybersecurity?

A) Confidentiality requirements for sensitive data are denying profitable employment opportunities to a large population.
B) Every desktop computer, laptop, or hand-held device isvulnerable to attack in an organization.
C) Large organizations have significantly reduced the benefits they provide to employees due to the increasing importance given to cybersecurity.
D) The human resource personnel in various organizations is finding it increasingly difficult to make the employees understand the importance of cybersecurity training programs.
E) Increasing an organization's employee presence on social media is a huge task.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a beneficial approach while providing performance feedback to an employee?

A) Asking an employee to rate his or her own performance
B) Providing regular feedback to an employee
C) Avoiding discussion on future in formal feedback sessions
D) Focusing on developmental aspects of performance
E) Balancing positive and negative feedback

Question 40

_____ is an example of a human resource indicator.

A) Stock price
B) Controllable cost
C) Turnover rate
D) Market share
E) Profitability

Question 41

Briefly describe individual incentive pay plans.

Question 42

Describe the two common alternate work schedule arrangements.

Question 43

Describe the common team and group incentive systems used by organizations.

Question 44

Scenario 14.1
Wilkinson Inc., a manufacturer of baby strollers, experiences a decline in sales in the first quarter of a financial year.The top management of Wilkinson meets to discuss ways to improve sales and decides to employ a range of performance-enhancement techniques for its employees.It then entrusts department heads to frame suitable plans for their respective departments.
Refer to Scenario 14.1.The human resource department proposes to arrange feedback sessions for employees in order to enhance their performance.Through these sessions, employees would get a clear idea of what they do and what is expected of them.Which of the following approaches to performance feedback should Wilkinsonadopt to ensure employee productivity?

A) Lecturing an employee on the outcome of performance-appraisal interview
B) Avoiding criticism to uphold an employee's confidence and morale
C) Providing feedback annually in tandem with the annual performance-appraisal interview
D) Balancing both positive and negative attributes of an employee's performance
E) Focusing on the present and avoiding discussion on an employee's future prospects

Question 45

Consider the job of a cashier in a supermarket.How will a supermarket manager use the job characteristics approach to improve the design of the cashier position?