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1) Which pay plan generally rewards employees for acquiring job-related competencies, knowledge, or skills rather than for demonstrating successful job performance?

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D) person-focused

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2) This type of pay system rewards employees for successfully acquiring new job-related knowledge.

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A) person-focused pay

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3) Pay-for-knowledge and skill-based pay are two types of person-focused pay programs that fall under this pay category.

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A) competency-based

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4) This type of pay program rewards employees for successfully learning specific criteria.

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C) pay-for-knowledge

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5) This type of pay system is used by unions and contractors to reward their carpenters for increasing their carpentry abilities.

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C) skill-based

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6) When a filing clerk is trained to maintain employee attendance records, it is an example of acquiring which type of skills?

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A) horizontal

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7) Employees would need to learn these types of skills in order to develop self-managed work teams.

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B) vertical

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8) Teams that have members learn scheduling, coordinating, training, and leading others are emphasized in what type of work team?

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A) self-regulating work groups

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9) This term refers to the level of specialization or expertise an employee possesses in a particular job.

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B) depth of skills

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10) The level of specialization or expertise an employee brings to a job are what type of skills?

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D) depth

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11) Which company emphasizes globalization, product services, and six sigma quality improvements for corporate growth? This company also offers a renowned two-year global program for high potential HR professionals that includes the opportunity for cross-functional experience.

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B) General Electric

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12) Which of the following are the two main reasons given for adopting pay-for-knowledge programs?

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C) technological innovations and increased global competition

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13) Which of the following is a reason many European and Japanese employees are better skilled and able to work more productively than American workers?

answer

A) Both European and Japanese economies provide a higher quality of academic preparation and workplace learning for the non-college portions of their work forces.

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14) Jamie earned a raise in pay when he finished the training for the Technician 2 position. He will receive another raise when he finishes the training for the Technician 3 position. The company is probably using which type of pay program?

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A) the stair-step model

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15) Which person-focused model links pay levels to increased knowledge and skills within the same general job category?

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B) the skill blocks model

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16) In this person-focused pay model, employees are rewarded for increasing their skills within a single job family, even if the skills do NOT build on each other.

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B) skill blocks

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17) Which one of the following would be correct regarding person-focused pay programs?

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B) the stair-step model addresses depth, while the skill blocks model emphasizes both horizontal and vertical skills

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18) Which pay model promotes learning and skills development for a wide variety of jobs from different job families?

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B) job-point accrual

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19) This model is geared to promoting staffing flexibility in a company, by training employees in one department with some of the critical skills that are needed to perform effectively in another department.

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D) the cross-departmental

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20) A company that designs, manufactures, and sells only Halloween costumes would probably benefit most from this type of pay program.

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A) the cross-departmental model

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21) Which of the following is a characteristic of job-based pay?

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C) It compensates employees for the jobs they are currently performing.

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22) This term reflects an approach to job design that results in the development of more intrinsically motivating and interesting work.

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B) job enrichment

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23) In the garment factory of XYZ Co., line workers are trained to be able to work at different manufacturing steps such as grading, cutting, sewing and assembling, pressing, etc. XYZ Co.'s strategy of training its workers to do different tasks is an example of which following term?

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B) skill variety

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24) In a TV set manufacturing facility of XYZ Inc., although there are different assembly lines in which workers focus on certain aspects of production, senior line workers are capable of producing the TV sets from start to finish. Senior workers' capability of doing the entire operation from start to finish is an example of which following term?

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D) task identity

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25) In the XYZ Corp. passenger car manufacturing plant, assembly line station team leaders are allowed to stop the assembly line by pulling a cord available at each station whenever they notice a serious quality problem in the assembly process. This is an example of which of the following terms?

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C) autonomy

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26) Skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and feedback are the elements that make up this theory.

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C) job characteristics

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27) According to the job characteristics theory, this core characteristic refers to the amount of freedom, independence, and discretion the employee enjoys in determining how to do the job.

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C) autonomy

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28) Which of the following is a main reason for the increased costs associated with person-focused pay programs?

answer

A) higher payroll costs B) increased overhead costs C) higher training costs D) all of the above

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29) This is considered "at the heart" of person-focused pay programs.

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C) training

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30) Which company discussed in the chapter tests its employees twice per year, and has abnormally high training costs in assessing the skill levels of its employees?

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D) Federal Express

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31) Both unions and contractors who employ carpenters use ________ pay plans.

answer

skill-based

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32) ________ skills refer to similar skills or knowledge.

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: Horizontal

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33) ________ skills are those skills typically considered supervisory

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Vertical

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34) ________ of skills is the level of expertise or specialization an employee brings to a job.

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Depth

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35) ________ pay programs have been used most widely in service and manufacturing industries.

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Person-focused

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36) Core ________ are often derived from the overall strategic statements of companies, and are very general knowledge and skills.

answer

competencies

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37) A ________ encourages employees to develop skills and learn to perform jobs from different job families.

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job-point accrual

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38) ________ pay compensates employees for jobs they currently perform.

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: Job-based

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39) ________ is the degree which an employee receives clear and direct information about job performance from his or her employer.

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: Feedback

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40) Person-focused pay programs depend in large part on well-designed ________ programs.

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: training

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41) Compare and contrast horizontal skills, vertical skills, and depth of skills.

answer

: One area of contrast is hierarchical level of the employee. Horizontal skills focus on those skills that are at or near the same level of difficulty and tend to be developed at the production or service delivery level. Vertical skills are thought of as supervisory in nature. Depth of skills emphasizes the extent to which employees possess these horizontal and vertical skills.

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42) Compare and contrast the stair-step model and the skill blocks model. What kinds of skills are applicable in each model?

answer

The stair-step model encompasses relatively few significantly different jobs from the same job family. These jobs vary according to skill or complexity. They are arranged in a step fashion that reflects a logical learning progression. The skill blocks model applies to jobs from within the same job family. Although job advancement is arranged in a progressive fashion, its organization is not linear. Employees do not have to learn skills for lower blocks to successfully acquire skills in higher blocks. While the stair-step model emphasizes depth of skills or depth of knowledge, skill blocks model emphasizes both horizontal and vertical skills.

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43) Compare and contrast person focused pay and job-based pay. Discuss the advantages of person-focused pay to employers.

answer

: In job-based pay, employees are compensated for jobs they currently perform. In person-focused pay, managers evaluate employees based on how well they fulfilled their designated roles. In incentive pay, managers award one-time additions to base pay and the raise depends on the attainment of work goals. In person-focused pay, employees are compensated for developing skills to perform a number of jobs effectively. In terms of pay increases, in job-based, employees are awarded on attaining a job-defined goal. On the other hand, in person-focused pay, employees are awarded on their gain in knowledge or skills. In job-based compensation, employees are awarded with job promotion when they exceed job performance standards. In person-focused pay, employees are awarded with job promotion depending on their skills base and proficiency on past work. Advantages of person-focused pay for employers: enhanced job performance (quantity and quality of work is better), reduced staffing (multiskilled employees are good at covering unexpected absenteeism, family leave, training sessions), greater flexibility (employees have a variety of skills, they can perform a wider range of tasks).

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