Question 1

Steve is an office manager with a financial company. His company recently announced that it will soon implement a flextime plan. Under this new system, Steve is likely to find that

Accepted Answer

A problem with flextime systems is that managers often have to work longer days to be able to supervise and direct workers.

Question 2

This is Anne's year! She finally broke through the "glass ceiling"-meaning she has reached an executive-level position with her company, with a salary upward of $200,000. Recently a competitor firm has approached her offering her $15,000 less in salary, but the job would come with an upgraded car, memberships in two country clubs of her choice, an additional two weeks paid vacation with use of the company's villa in Jamaica, and paid financial counseling. With respect to compensation, Anne

Accepted Answer

Highly paid employees often prefer more fringe benefits instead of a higher salary, in order to avoid paying a higher percentage of their salary in taxes.

Question 3

At Securitas Financial Consulting, employees are allowed to choose what time they start each work day, as long as they arrive between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. They must be on the job from 10:00 a.m. until noon and from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. They are required to work a total of 8 hours each day, so the earlier they arrive, the earlier they can leave. This is a ________ system.

Accepted Answer

The system described is flextime, as employees are allowed to choose their start time within a specific range and have required core hours. Job sharing involves multiple employees sharing the responsibilities of one job, job enlargement involves adding tasks to an existing job, and a compressed work week involves working a full week's hours in fewer than five days.

Question 4

Megamart stores in northern Indiana have gone to a ________, where management works four 10-hour days, and has four days off.

Accepted Answer

The description of management working four 10-hour days and having four days off is indicative of a compressed work week, in which employees work longer hours for fewer days in a week. The other options (flextime, job rotation system, and constrained work week) do not fit the described schedule.

Question 5

Newport Communications uses a flextime plan; however, all employees must be on the job from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. What are these hours called?

Accepted Answer

These hours are referred to as core time, which is a set period during the workday when all employees must be present at work.

Question 6

A ________ plan gives employees some ability to adjust hours when they work, as long as they work the required number of hours.

Accepted Answer

Flextime allows employees to have some control over their work schedule, as long as they meet the required number of hours. A cafeteria-style plan allows employees to choose from a variety of benefits options, but does not necessarily relate to scheduling. Varitime and Gantt scheduling are not commonly used terms in relation to employee scheduling.

Question 7

The time when all employees must be present in a flextime plan is referred to as

Accepted Answer

The time when all employees must be present in a flextime plan is referred to as core time. This refers to the set hours during which all employees are required to be at work, regardless of their flexible schedule arrangements.

Question 8

At a large law firm, Therese works daily as an administrative assistant from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., when she is replaced by Elita who works from 1:00 until 5:00 p.m. The arrangement Therese and Elita have at the law firm is known as

Accepted Answer

The arrangement between Therese and Elita, where they split a job by working part-time hours instead of one full-time worker, is known as job sharing. Job enlargement refers to increasing the scope or variety of tasks within a job, job rotation involves rotating employees through different positions, and job allocation is not a commonly recognized term in the context of job arrangements.

Question 9

BangBang Percussion Company tried to implement a flextime system. However, after only a few months, they abandoned the new system. Which of the following is the most likely reason BangBang would drop its flextime plan?

Accepted Answer

One of the problems with a flextime system is that it can complicate communications among employees. When workers arrive and leave at different times, situations can arise where certain employees are not available when others need to talk to them.

Question 10

A ________ allows workers to work the full number of hours per week in fewer days.

Accepted Answer

A compressed workweek allows employees to work their full number of hours in fewer days, usually by working longer shifts or days. This can be beneficial for both employees, who can enjoy longer periods of time off, and employers, who can potentially save on operational costs by having fewer days of operation. The other answer choices do not describe this type of work arrangement.

Question 11

Martin works for Epic Electronics, a sophisticated electronic equipment company. Martin is happy to see that the value of company stock has reached $53 per share, because certain employees (including himself) have the opportunity to buy a given number of shares of its stock for $25 per share for the next year regardless of how high the market price goes. Epic Electronics is offering some employees a

Accepted Answer

The plan being offered to Epic Electronics employees is a stock option plan, as it allows them to buy shares of the company's stock at a fixed price regardless of the market price.

Question 12

Brad recently earned a real estate license in Missouri and has interviewed with several groups to find a job. All have told him that his income will be based on a percentage of his real estate sales for the month. Brad will be paid

Accepted Answer

Brad will be paid on a commission basis, meaning his income will be based on a percentage of his real estate sales for the month. This is a common payment structure for real estate agents.

Question 13

A firm that wants to reduce its office costs, broaden its base of available talent, and improve job satisfaction could achieve all of these goals by

Accepted Answer

Allowing more workers to work from home would reduce office costs by requiring less physical space and amenities, broaden the pool of available talent as geographic location is no longer a limiting factor for hiring, and increase job satisfaction by giving employees the flexibility to work in an environment that suits them best. Recruiting only from internal sources may not broaden the talent pool, and scientific management techniques and the Hay system of compensation may not necessarily address the specific goals of reducing office costs, broadening talent, and improving job satisfaction.

Question 14

Tony works in purchasing for the Epic Electronics on the East Coast. He arrives at work at 6:00 a.m. and leaves by 3:00 p.m. He enjoys this schedule because he is an early riser. A disadvantage to the company in allowing Tony to use flextime is

Accepted Answer

Allowing Tony to use flextime may create a disadvantage for communication and collaboration with employees who work in different time zones. West Coast employees work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., so there is only a one-hour window of opportunity for Tony to communicate with them. However, there is no evidence to suggest that morning workers are less productive or that flextime will increase absenteeism. Additionally, there is no requirement for the company to hire twice as many people or spend additional funds on training.

Question 15

In a ________ arrangement two part-time employees fill one full-time job.

Accepted Answer

Job sharing is a work arrangement where two part-time employees divide the responsibilities of a full-time job, allowing each employee to work fewer hours per week while still maintaining full-time employment status.

Question 16

Wayne is a supervisor at a small manufacturing plant. His pay starts at $635 per week. Wayne is paid on a(n)

Accepted Answer

The fact that Wayne's pay starts at a set amount per week indicates that he is likely on a salary pay system, as opposed to a commission pay plan where pay is based on sales or a rolling rate system where pay is adjusted based on performance. Additionally, there is no indication that Wayne is using an income averaging plan which would average out his pay over a longer period of time.

Question 17

This year, International Accountants, Inc., implemented a new benefits system that gives employees the flexibility to choose among different benefit options, as long as the total cost of the benefits does not exceed a certain dollar amount. The type of benefits package offered to International Accountants employees is a(n)

Accepted Answer

The new benefits system that International Accountants, Inc. implemented is a cafeteria-style fringe benefits plan because it allows employees to choose among different benefit options as long as the total cost of the benefits does not exceed a certain dollar amount. This is similar to how individuals choose items from a cafeteria, selecting only the items they want and can afford.

Question 18

Which of the following statements about home-based work is most accurate?

Accepted Answer

Option A is incorrect as a significant percentage of workers currently work from home regularly. Option B is also incorrect as home-based work is known to reduce costs for employers. Option C is also incorrect as productivity levels vary from person to person and from job to job. Option D is the most accurate as although home-based work provides freedom and flexibility, it can also create problems for some workers who struggle to maintain a work-life balance.

Question 19

A disadvantage of flextime plans is that they often

Accepted Answer

Flextime plans, which allow employees to choose their working hours within certain limits, can necessitate supervisors and managers to work longer hours to oversee staff who are working at different times. This can be a significant disadvantage as it increases the workload and hours for those in supervisory roles.

Question 20

A major characteristic of a compressed workweek is that

Accepted Answer

A compressed workweek involves working the same number of hours in fewer days. For example, instead of working 8 hours a day for 5 days, an employee might work 10 hours a day for 4 days. This allows employees to have more consecutive days off, but still work the same number of hours each week. Workers usually receive the same pay even though they work fewer days.

Quiz 11: Human Resource Management: Finding and Keeping the Best Employees