Question 1

Compensation surveys are typically focused on which two factors?
A) competitors' promotion and advancement opportunities
B) internal promotion and advancement opportunities
C) competitors' wage and salary practices
D) internal wage and salary practices

Accepted Answer

Compensation surveys are typically focused on competitors' wage and salary practices in order to determine competitive pay rates, and internal wage and salary practices in order to ensure equity and consistency within the organization. Factors such as promotion and advancement opportunities are not typically the primary focus of compensation surveys.

Question 2

What does it mean when the distribution of data is skewed to the right?
A) There is a lower frequency of larger values and the median is greater than the mean.
B) There is a higher frequency of larger values and the median is greater than the mean
C) There is a lower frequency of larger values and the mean is greater than the median.
D) There is a higher frequency of larger values and the mean is greater than the median

Accepted Answer

C

Question 3

These are reference points against which jobs within the company are judged.
A) benchmark jobs
B) relevant labor markets
C) internal labor markets
D) human resource capabilities

Accepted Answer

Benchmark jobs are jobs that are widely recognized and used as reference points for compensation purposes by other companies in the same industry. These jobs are used to determine the relative worth of jobs within a company and to ensure that compensation is equitable and competitive.

Question 4

These are used as reference points for setting pay levels.
A) mean pay
B) median pay
C) market-competitive pay
D) benchmark jobs

Accepted Answer

Benchmark jobs are specific positions within an industry or organization that are used as reference points for setting pay levels. They are chosen because they are widely recognized, critical to business success, and can be compared across organizations. The mean pay and median pay may be used to determine the average pay for a specific position, but they do not necessarily provide reference points for setting pay levels. Market-competitive pay refers to pay that is in line with what other organizations are paying for similar positions, but it does not necessarily provide specific reference points for setting pay levels.

Question 5

These are tools used by employers to determine the pay levels needed to recruit highly qualified employees.
A) strategic surveys
B) external market surveys
C) compensation surveys
D) internal market surveys

Accepted Answer

Compensation surveys are used by employers to gather data on pay levels and benefits offered by other organizations, helping them set competitive pay rates to attract and retain qualified employees.

Question 6

When using compensation survey data,statistical analyses are used to integrate this with the external market,in order to determine pay rates.
A) internal pay scales
B) nominal pay rates
C) internal pay benchmarks
D) internal job structures

Accepted Answer

The answer of When using compensation survey data,statistical analyses are...

Question 7

These are the two types of central tendency measures that are pertinent to compensation.
A) mode and arithmetic mean
B) median and mode
C) mode and quartile
D) arithmetic mean and median

Accepted Answer

The most pertinent central tendency measures for compensation are the arithmetic mean and median. The arithmetic mean provides a useful estimate of the "average" pay level, while the median can help to identify the typical or "middle" pay level in a dataset, which can be useful for understanding the distribution of pay and for making comparisons across different groups or positions. The mode and quartile are less commonly used in compensation analysis.

Question 8

In statistical analysis,this term is used to signify the possible extreme observations.
A) deviations
B) extremities
C) outliers
D) variants

Accepted Answer

Outliers are data points that are significantly different from the other observations in the data set. They can be caused by measurement errors, data entry errors, or genuine extreme values. It is important to identify these outliers in statistical analysis, as they can have a significant impact on the results.

Question 9

The NCS provided incidence and extensive data on which two types of compensation benefits?
A) health insurance & retirement
B) retirement & stock options
C) health insurance & pay
D) pay & stock options

Accepted Answer

The answer of The NCS provided incidence and extensive data...

Question 10

Suppose that a compensation professional would like to calculate the median salary.He/she orders four salaries as follows: $20,000,$22,000,$24,000,$26,000.What is the median salary for this data set?
A) $21,000
B) $22,000
C) $23,000
D) $24,000

Accepted Answer

The median is the middle value in a data set. For an even number of observations, it is the average of the two middle numbers. Here, the two middle salaries are $22,000 and $24,000. The median is ($22,000 + $24,000) / 2 = $23,000.

Question 11

This term is defined as an in-depth examination of the external and internal environmental factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on the future of the company.
A) market-competitive pay structure
B) regression analysis
C) competitive strategy
D) strategic analysis

Accepted Answer

Strategic analysis is the process of conducting an in-depth examination of the external and internal environmental factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on the future of the company. This analysis helps companies to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and enables them to develop effective strategies to achieve their goals. Market-competitive pay structure and regression analysis are not relevant to strategic analysis, while competitive strategy is a potential outcome of strategic analysis.

Question 12

This term refers to the distance of each salary figure from the mean.
A) standard deviation
B) quartile
C) percentile
D) deviated mean

Accepted Answer

Standard deviation measures the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data points from its average. It gives an idea of how much the data deviates from the mean.

Question 13

Jose Escobar conducts a survey of salaries at UB2 Enterprises and finds that 50% of the workers fall below the market pay average of $32,000.In which quartile do the workers at ERL Enterprises fall?
A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Accepted Answer

The second quartile, also known as the median, represents the point where 50% of the data falls below and 50% falls above. Since 50% of the workers earn below the market pay average, they fall into the second quartile.

Question 14

When examining competitors' compensation offerings this term is used to describe the percentage of employer compensation costs that are applied to compensation and benefits.
A) mix
B) quartile
C) standard percentile
D) nominal dollars

Accepted Answer

The term "mix" is commonly used to describe the breakdown or allocation of employer compensation costs between various compensation and benefits offerings, such as base salary, bonuses, health insurance, retirement plans, etc. It refers to the percentage of the total compensation budget that is allocated to each category. The other options (B) quartile, (C) standard percentile, and (D) nominal dollars do not relate to this concept.

Question 15

This causes compensation survey data to become obsolete fairly quickly.
A) the lag time between when the data was collected and used
B) pay compression
C) changes in the unemployment rate
D) changes in the geographic location of the company

Accepted Answer

The lag time between when the data was collected and used causes compensation survey data to become obsolete fairly quickly because during this period of time, market conditions, supply and demand of talent, and economic conditions can change quickly, causing the data to become outdated.

Question 16

This BLS survey provides the quarterly measure of changes in labor and compensation costs,and is used as the principle economic indicator for the Federal Reserve.
A) National Compensation Survey
B) Employment Cost Index
C) Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
D) National Benefit Index

Accepted Answer

The Employment Cost Index (ECI) is a quarterly survey conducted by the BLS that measures changes in labor and compensation costs. It is used as a primary economic indicator by the Federal Reserve. The National Compensation Survey (NCS) and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) are also surveys conducted by the BLS, but they focus on different aspects of compensation and benefits. The National Benefit Index is not a survey conducted by the BLS.

Question 17

What would Yolanda's salary of $165,000 be considered if the means salary for B42DA,Inc.,is $30,000 and the median salary is $32,000?
A) overlie
B) outsider
C) outlier
D) over layer

Accepted Answer

Yolanda's salary of $165,000 is much higher than both the mean and median salaries of B42DA, Inc. This makes her salary an outlier, which means it is significantly different from the rest of the salaries in the group.

Question 18

Which of the following are the three measures of dispersion?
A) percentile standard, deviation, arithmetic mean
B) standard deviation, quartile, percentile
C) quartile, arithmetic mean, standard deviation
D) arithmetic mean, percentile, quartile

Accepted Answer

The three measures of dispersion are standard deviation, quartile, and percentile. Percentile and quartile are similar measures of dispersion that divide the data into segments, while standard deviation measures the spread of data from the mean. Choice A is incorrect as it includes "percentile standard" which is not a valid measure of dispersion, and mentions only one correct measure. Choice C is incorrect as it includes "arithmetic mean" which is a measure of central tendency, not dispersion. Choice D is incorrect as it includes "arithmetic mean" and "percentile" which are not measures of dispersion.

Question 19

As of September 2010,U.S.companies spent approximately how much per employee for discretionary benefits?
A) $28,995
B) $19,000
C) $3,050
D) $1,200

Accepted Answer

According to the data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of September 2010, U.S. companies spent an average of $19,000 per employee for discretionary benefits. Therefore, option B is the correct answer. The other options ($28,995, $3,050, and $1,200) are not accurate figures for this specific statistic.

Question 20

What does Quartile 3 represent?
A) the number of figures that are above 25%
B) the number of figures that fall below 25%
C) the number of figures that are above 75%
D) the number of figures that fall below 75%

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does Quartile 3 represent?
A) the number...

Quiz 7: Building Market-Competitive Compensation Systems

Compensation surveys are typically focused on which two factors?

What does it mean when the distribution of data is skewed to the right?

These are reference points against which jobs within the company are judged.

These are used as reference points for setting pay levels.

These are tools used by employers to determine the pay levels needed to recruit highly qualified employees.

When using compensation survey data,statistical analyses are used to integrate this with the external market,in order to determine pay rates.

These are the two types of central tendency measures that are pertinent to compensation.

In statistical analysis,this term is used to signify the possible extreme observations.

The NCS provided incidence and extensive data on which two types of compensation benefits?

Suppose that a compensation professional would like to calculate the median salary.He/she orders four salaries as follows: $20,000,$22,000,$24,000,$26,000.What is the median salary for this data set?

This term is defined as an in-depth examination of the external and internal environmental factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on the future of the company.

This term refers to the distance of each salary figure from the mean.

Jose Escobar conducts a survey of salaries at UB2 Enterprises and finds that 50% of the workers fall below the market pay average of $32,000.In which quartile do the workers at ERL Enterprises fall?

When examining competitors' compensation offerings this term is used to describe the percentage of employer compensation costs that are applied to compensation and benefits.

This causes compensation survey data to become obsolete fairly quickly.

This BLS survey provides the quarterly measure of changes in labor and compensation costs,and is used as the principle economic indicator for the Federal Reserve.

What would Yolanda's salary of $165,000 be considered if the means salary for B42DA,Inc.,is $30,000 and the median salary is $32,000?

Which of the following are the three measures of dispersion?

As of September 2010,U.S.companies spent approximately how much per employee for discretionary benefits?

What does Quartile 3 represent?