Q&A Hero

Q: The authors' use of attitudes rather than abilities as one of the three types of learning outcomes is based on A) their bias toward attitudes. B) the fact that abilities and attitudes are fairly similar. C) the fact that abilities are redundant with knowledge and skills. D) The fact that abilities are not learned.

Q: Learning is defined as A) A temporary change in cognition that results from experience and may influence behavior. B) A relatively permanent change in understanding and thinking that results from experience and directly influences behavior. C) A relatively permanent change in understanding and thinking that models behavior. D) A temporary change in understanding and thinking. E) A relatively permanent change in cognition that results from self"‘efficacy and indirectly influences behavior.

Q: Which of the following career paths best prepares a trainer for a supervisory or coordinator position? A) Several years' experience in a specific function B) Working in a line position C) Rotation through various specialist positions D) None of the above E) All of the above

Q: When comparing ISO certified companies with companies that were not certified, the text noted that ISO certified companies A) Have employees who are more satisfied with their jobs. B) Have more bureaucracy set up to meet all the ISO standards. C) Are less likely to file for bankruptcy. D) Have lower training costs. E) Have slightly lower productivity.

Q: ISO certified companies A) Have lower than normal training costs. B) Are much less likely to experience bankruptcy. C) Have less bureaucracy within their company structure. D) Both B & C. E) All of the above.

Q: What is the focus of the ISO standards? A) A series of standards to assure consistency in product quality B) An HR software package to assure legal compliance C) A quality standard set by the Japanese D) A strategic quality forecasting model E) A method designed to improve productivity

Q: Which of these steps is part of the continuous improvement model? A) Gap analysis B) Preaudit C) Process mapping D) Higher productivity E) None of the above

Q: Which of the following are predicted to contribute to a labor shortage in the next 10 years? A) Baby boomers will retire B) Changes in technology C) Continuing recession D) Both A & B E) All of the above

Q: Which of the following statements is true? A) Twitter and Facebook have shown to be ineffective as enhancements to training. B) Social networking can be used to support on-the-job training. C) The number of females in the workforce has reached 38 percent. D) Hispanics are by far the largest minority group in both Canada and the USA. E) Both C & D are true.

Q: Which of the following statements is true?A) Training has yet to show a positive effect on the bottom line.B) Training managers are alone in realizing that alignment of training with the business strategy is important.C) Worker knowledge provides a competitive advantage.D) Alignment of training with the business strategy is quite simple to do.

Q: When evaluating training, the major type of evaluation to consider is A) Process evaluation. B) Analysis evaluation. C) Outcome evaluation. D) Both A & C. E) Both B & C.

Q: All aspects of the training program come together in the A) Design phase. B) Implementation phase. C) Development phase. D) Analysis phase. E) Evaluation phase.

Q: Which of the following is NOT true of outcome evaluation? A) It uses training objectives as its criteria for success. B) This is all the information you need to improve a training program. C) It is conducted at the end of training. D) All of the above are true.

Q: In the evaluation of training, a determination of whether the trainer actually covered all aspects of the training as designed is called A) Outcome evaluation. B) Outcome. C) Phase evaluation. D) Process evaluation. E) Procedural evaluation.

Q: Input into the developmental phase of the training model comes from A) Needs analysis. B) Design. C) Evaluation. D) Both B & C. E) None of the above.

Q: Which of the following sources is an input to the analysis process? A) The organization structure B) Problematic operational areas C) The people within the operational areas D) Both B & C E) All of the above

Q: In the training model, a triggering event is A) An organizational performance gap. B) A signal that training has been successful. C) A type of behavioral-based evaluation. D) Input into the development phase of training. E) None of the above.

Q: Viewing training as a subsystem of an organizational system, the inputs into the training subsystem include an organization's A) Strategies. B) Mission. C) Resources. D) People. E) All of the above.

Q: In an open system model, which of the following statements is NOT true? A) Open systems have a dynamic relationship with their environment. B) Open systems may exist as part of another open system. C) The system is open to influences from its environment. D) Outputs never have an influence on future inputs. E) All of the above are true.

Q: Which of the following is evidence supporting the assertion that companies are investing in more training? A) Higher net sales per employee B) Higher gross profits per employee C) Higher ratios of market to book value D) Both A & B E) All of the above

Q: Sometimes referred to as "churn" or "slippage," the _____ recognizes the fact that when people leave an organization, they typically are replaced by employees who earn a lower wage.A.productivity effectB.conflict effectC.turnover effectD.morale effect

Q: Why is outsourcing a viable alternative for organizations? What are the major potential advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?Value chain analysis and Six Sigma are processes used to improve quality and ensure that value is added by each technique and at each stage in a process. For the compensation system, the basic question to ask is, "Does each specific activity directly contribute to our objectives?" If some added value is not apparent, then the question is, "How should it be redesigned? Or should it be dropped?" Of those activities that do add value, the next question is, "Who should do it?" "Should the activity be done in-house, or can others do it more effectively? That is, should it be outsourced?

Q: What are some of the software packages that help in making information useful?

Q: Briefly summarize compa-ratios.

Q: What are red circle rates?

Q: What are the steps involved in the bottom-up budgeting process?

Q: What is the consumer price index (CPI)?Explain with an example.

Q: Distinguish the concepts of the cost of living, changes in prices in the product and service markets, and changes in wages in labor markets.

Q: What is the turnover effect?

Q: What is the top-down method of budgeting?

Q: What are the potential problems associated with headcount reductions?

Q: The most important components of a pay communication program are the business- and work-related rationales on which the system is based.

Q: If a pay system is not based upon work-related or business-related logic, it is best to not conduct a formal compensation communication program.

Q: The final step in the compensation communication cycle is conducting the communication sessions.

Q: A key reason to communicate pay information is that the goodwill engendered by the act of being open about pay may also affect perceptions of pay equity.

Q: Employees in companies with open pay systems express higher satisfaction with their pay system but not their pay than employees in more secret pay systems.

Q: Over half of employees in the private sector work in companies with open pay policies.

Q: Less than 10 percent of compensation professionals strongly agree that employees know their own pay range and the one above them.

Q: Pay and pay policies are more open in the public than the private sector.

Q: Manager self-service answers questions, explains compensation policy, and explains how systems affect their pay.

Q: Generally, management prefers a higher proportion of variable pay versus base wages and salary.

Q: Comp-ratios above or below 1 suggest compensation is not well-managed.

Q: The is the average actual pay divided by the midpoint of the pay grade.

Q: Broad bands provide managers greater discretion in pay for their subordinates than in grades and ranges.

Q: Employees should never be paid below the minimum of their pay range.

Q: If an organization has a number of red circle pay rates, this suggests problems with pay ranges and/or job evaluations.

Q: An individual employee cannot earn more pay than the maximum of the pay grade of their current job.

Q: Policy lines and skill-based pay plans are examples of inherent controls on managers' compensation decisions.

Q: Job analysis and gain-sharing are not examples of inherent controls on managers' compensation decisions.

Q: The component of compensation most likely subject to unethical practices are employee profit-sharing payouts and executive stock valuations.

Q: An area that presents an ethical dilemma for compensation managers is the manipulation of measures on which variable pay is based.

Q: Managing compensation ethically is comparatively easy since much of compensation is guided by many laws and regulations.

Q: Tying changes in pensions, social security payments, and labor agreements to changes in the CPI is called indexing.

Q: A CPI of 180 in Memphis and 220 in Philadelphia means that it is more expensive to live in Philadelphia than in Memphis

Q: Changes in the CPI only indicate whether prices have increased more or less rapidly in an area since the base period.

Q: The CPI measures the cost of living.

Q: The "churn", "slippage" or turnover effects assume that employees who leave earn, on average, less than employees likely to replace them.

Q: The phenomenon of turnover effect means that organizations must budget additional money for next year's budget to cover effects of turnover.

Q: Executive estimation is the budgetary approach that begins with an estimate from top management of the pay increase budget for the entire organization.

Q: In the past 2 decades, the average variable pay budget has increased.

Q: From 1991 to 2011, the average merit raise budget has gradually increased.

Q: Rather than define employment as hours of work, number of employees is often used.

Q: Many employers achieve flexibility and control employment costs by utilizing contingent workers rather than expanding and contracting the core workforce.

Q: Exit incentives frequently lead to loss of high performing employees.

Q: If a company pays above the market for only one of five jobs, total compensation for these jobs may be above competitors.

Q: In calculating labor costs, employment level includes only core employees not contingent workers.

Q: Under the contract pay system, each worker was paid according to a uniform contract for each company.

Q: In a total decentralized pay system, employees are likely to be treated unequally and unfairly.

Q: Replacing merit grids with _____ eliminates the link between the pay increase and the employees' salary position in the range and performance rating. A.banding B.skill- or competency-based plans C.job evaluation D.bonuses

Q: A major potential advantage of outsourcing is _____. A.stockholder returns B.improved employee satisfaction C.fewer problems with legislative compliance D.cost savings

Q: For the compensation system, the basic question to ask is _____ A."Who should do the activity?" B."How should the technique be redesigned?" C."Does each specific activity directly contribute to our objectives?" D."Should the activity be done in-house, or can others do it more effectively?"

Q: A management strategy of giving separate organization units the responsibility to design and administer their own compensation systems is _____. A.centralized authority B.decentralized responsibility C.the best approach to design D.rarely done in today's organizations

Q: Which of the following statements about anchoring/framing is true? A.Initial data strongly affect decisions/beliefs. B.Reluctance to accept evidence that contradicts existing beliefs. C.Following fashions in programs/techniques. D.People "discover" patterns in random events.

Q: In a _____ approach in a compensation communication program, the focus is on explaining practices and how pay is determined. A.communication B.marketing C.management D.mixed

Q: All of the following are recommended steps in the compensation communication cycle by WorldatWork except _____.A.defining the objectives of the communication programB.a communication program that will convey the information needed to accomplish the original objectivesC.collecting information from executives, managers, and employeesD.operate an informal communication network

Q: Research shows that employees tend to _____ the actual pay of those in jobs above them and _____ the pay of those below them.A.underestimate; underestimateB.overestimate; overestimateC.access; overestimateD.overestimate; underestimate

Q: According to two surveys, approximately ___ percent of employees either don"t understand the link between their performance and pay or how their pay ranges functioned.A.10B.25C.33D.45

Q: _____ is a system that allows employees to make health care choices, allocate savings to 401Ks or other savings vehicles, access vacation schedules and other activities. A.Manager self-service B.Employee self-service C.Cafeteria plans D.A communication portal

Q: _____, designed for employees or managers, explain compensation policies and practices, answer frequently asked questions, and explain how these systems affect their pay. A.Communication portals B.Manager self-services C.Cafeteria plans D.Content delivery networks

Q: Approximately _____ of 600 surveyed companies calculate the cost and value added of their pay programs. A.three-fourths B.one-fourth C.one-half D.one-third