Question 1
According to the job characteristics model, task significance is the degree to which ________.
A. a job generates direct and clear information about performance
B. a job bears an impact on the lives or work of other people
C. a job provides the worker freedom in scheduling work and determining its procedure
D. a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work
E. a job requires a variety of different activities
Question 2
Beyond redesigning the nature of the work itself and involving employees in decisions, another approach to making the work environment more motivating is to alter work arrangements to meet employee needs. Which of the following is designed to give an employee greater control of their schedule?
A. job enlargement
B. job rotation
C. flextime
D. job enrichment
E. gainsharing
Question 3
With reference to the job characteristics model, which of the following defines task identity?
A. the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities
B. the degree to which work activities generate direct and clear information about performance
C. the degree to which a job has an impact on the lives or work of other people
D. the degree to which a job provides the worker freedom in scheduling and procedure
E. the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work
Question 4
Which of the following statements is true of the job characteristics model?
A. The operation of the model is relatively individualistic in nature.
B. The operation of the model is universal and unaffected by cultural factors.
C. The operation of the model cannot be quantitatively measured.
D. The operation of the model fulfils only extrinsic motivational needs.
E. The operation of the model requires employees to have similar skill sets.
Question 5
Which of the following variable pay programs is free from dependence on company profits?
A. gainsharing
B. bonuses
C. profit-sharing
D. job sharing
E. employee stock ownership plans
Question 6
Employees who use the flextime option have to ________.
A. work from home only two days a week
B. work from the office during the common core period and put in the extra hours as per their convenience
C. work from the office for three days of the week
D. work from the office based on a schedule fixed with the compatible partner they function with
E. work from home on a relatively permanent basis
Question 7
Which of the following is an example of a piece-rate plan?
A. stock options at cheaper prices
B. $2 for each unit produced
C. $20 for each hour of work
D. straight commission plan
E. spot bonuses
Question 8
What is an advantage of bonuses over merit-based pay plan?
A. Bonuses improve flexibility of the workforce.
B. Employees are rewarded for recent performance.
C. Employees don't view bonuses as a part of their salary.
D. Bonuses are paid based on a formula.
E. Bonuses improve performance of the group as a whole.
Question 9
A ________ plan distributes compensation based on some established formula designed around revenue of the company.
A. merit-based
B. competency-based
C. profit-sharing
D. piece-rate
E. skill-based
Question 10
The periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level is defined as ________.
A. job analysis
B. job enlargement
C. job sharing
D. job rotation
E. job enrichment
Question 11
Sally Peterson, who works as an entry-level editor, wants to go for dental reconstruction surgery and sent a query to her HR department asking for a list of preferred hospitals. The HR looked through her healthcare plan which provided only a minimum coverage for routine drugs and vision care. Consequently, the HR manager has recently informed her that if she wishes to carry on with the dental procedure, she will have to pay for it on her own. Which of the following healthcare plans should she avail to meet her needs?
A. a 401k plan
B. a standardized benefits package
C. a fringe benefits plan
D. a basic modular plan
E. a core-plus plan
Question 12
Which of the following statements is true regarding a merit-based pay plan?
A. Unions typically resist merit-based pay plan.
B. It bases pay levels on how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do.
C. A typical merit-based pay plan provides no base salary and pays the employee only for what he or she produces.
D. It is also called competency-based pay plan.
E. It distributes compensation based on an established formula designed around a company's profitability.
Question 13
________ bases a portion of an employee's pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance.
A. Base pay program
B. Guaranteed pay program
C. Modular plans program
D. Flexible benefits program
E. Variable-pay program
Question 14
For management, the major downside of telecommuting is ________.
A. increased turnover
B. difficulty in scheduling work
C. decreased productivity
D. reduced morale
E. less direct supervision of employees
Question 15
Daichi Inc. is a Japanese software development firm known for its high quality products. Recently, the company held its annual conference and awarded all those employees who were in the top five percent with substantial monetary rewards. Their performance was evaluated on the basis of target achievement, client feedback, and quality ratings. Employees whose performance had not changed drastically were given a minor raise and those who faired badly received no incentives. Many employees blamed the company of creating differences among employees because they felt that it would harm the company in the long run, but Daichi Inc. truly believes that to retain and motivate its best performers, a large incentive is a good step. Daichi Inc. is using a(n) ________ here.
A. modular plan
B. flexible benefits plan
C. merit-based plan
D. piece-rate plan
E. employee stock ownership plan
Question 16
Jack Holmes is a middle-aged, lower-level employee at an automobile service center. Though he is not paid very well, he loves his job. His supervisor speaks to him with respect and he is the favored candidate for mentoring new employees because on the vast experience he holds in the job. Based on this information, which of the following is most likely to be the reason Jack likes his job?
A. job sharing
B. prospects of growth
C. recognition
D. salary
E. flextime
Question 17
Individualized rewards by allowing each employee to choose the compensation package that best satisfies his or her current needs and situation are called ________.
A. employee involvement programs
B. flexible benefits plans
C. employee recognition programs
D. standardized benefits packages
E. variable pay programs
Question 18
________ is a formula-based group incentive plan that uses improvements in group productivity from one period to another to determine the total amount of money allocated.
A. Profit-sharing
B. Employee stock ownership plan
C. Gainsharing
D. Piece-rate pay plan
E. Merit-based pay plan
Question 19
The core dimensions of the job characteristics model can be combined into a single predictive index called ________.
A. motivating potential score
B. personal outcome score
C. job diagnostic score
D. extrinsic motivation score
E. potential development score
Question 20
The external competitiveness of an organization's pay relative to elsewhere in the industry is measured by its ________.
A. external equity
B. external liability
C. external benefit
D. external rotation
E. external costs
Question 21
Which of the following statements is true regarding job rotation?
A. It decreases the flexibility with which an organization can adapt to a change.
B. It decreases the flexibility in scheduling work.
C. It decreases productivity in the short-run.
D. It decreases employee motivation.
E. It decreases supervisory workload.
Question 22
The two major forms of employee involvement are participative management and ________.
A. job enlargement
B. job rotation
C. organizational restructuring
D. representative participation
E. job sharing
Question 23
Janice and Shane are both senior software analysts. They have worked together on projects for six years and get along very well. Janice is anticipating the arrival of her first child and will not be able to work on a full-time basis in the future. Shane is also contemplating opening his own business as a home media installation consultant and does not want to continue to work full time. They both need some income. Which of the following alternative job structures would be best for Janice and Shane?
A. job enlargement
B. telecommuting
C. job sharing
D. job enrichment
E. job rotation
Question 24
Representative participation is characterized by ________.
A. joint decision making by employees and management
B. democratic leadership behaviors
C. open and honest two-way communication
D. compliance with the legal need to redistribute power within organizations
E. a significant positive impact on employee morale and performance
Question 25
CalTrack Services has been facing employee-related issues like decreased productivity, low morale, and poor organizational commitment in recent times. At a meeting to discuss strategies to address these issues of immediate concern, Joe McEnroe, the production manager, proposed that the roles of employees working on key projects be enhanced to increase autonomy. He felt that this would enhance productivity, motivation, and accountability. Taking a cue from McEnroe, Paul Wilbur suggested job rotation as a solution to the problem they were facing. Paul felt that a change of job roles would make the employees keener to learn and perform. He emphasized that job rotation would help management create a larger skill base to choose from, depending on the needs of specific projects.
Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument in favor of adopting job rotation?
A. The company is currently facing numerous budget constraints.
B. The company has recently given employees new responsibilities by combining their routine tasks into natural work units.
C. The company has launched a new brand which is cannibalizing one of its existing products.
D. Two front-level managers have resigned in the last quarter as they were not promoted.
E. The company can enhance productivity of existing employees in various areas for different projects.
Question 26
Which of the following alternative work arrangements enables the organization to draw on the talents of more than one individual in a given job?
A. job sharing
B. gainsharing
C. telecommuting
D. profit-sharing
E. flextime
Question 27
An arrangement that allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job is called ________.
A. flextime
B. telecommuting
C. job rotation
D. job sharing
E. gainsharing
Question 28
Which of the following statements is true regarding job sharing?
A. Job sharing is a method of job enrichment.
B. It expands jobs by increasing the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution, and evaluation of the work.
C. It is also called cross-training.
D. It involves periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level.
E. It allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job.
Question 29
Which of the following statements is true regarding gainsharing?
A. Employees working under gainsharing plans have a greater feeling of psychological ownership.
B. Gain sharing encourages social loafing.
C. Gainsharing does not distribute profits, only gains in profits.
D. Gainsharing focuses on productivity gains rather than profits.
E. Gainsharing involves paying employees based on the number of new skills acquired by them in a specific time period.
Question 30
Adam Sears is an assembly line employee with Swenson Motors. Though Adam is popular among his supervisors and colleagues, Adam experiences low morale and lack of motivation. He feels frustrated that his job is restricted to fixing nuts and bolts on the car parts. He fears that he has no chances of advancing in his career as he cannot completely assemble a car. Which of the following is true with regard to Adam?
A. Adam's job has high task significance.
B. Adam's job has low role definition.
C. Adam's job has high task complexity.
D. Adam's job has low task identity.
E. Adam's job has a high span of control.
Question 31
For employee stock ownership plans to be effective in improving performance, they must ________.
A. be determined on the basis of performance appraisals and recent performance
B. be based on the market compensation philosophy
C. be implemented such that employees psychologically experience ownership
D. be based solely on productivity like gainsharing plans
E. be planned such that they are unaffected by company profitability
Question 32
At Dortix, a manufacturing company, at the end of every quarter, the total production of each department is calculated, compared with the predetermined targets, and the rewards for each set of divisional employees is determined this way. Dortix uses a ________ plan to incentivize its employees.
A. modular
B. core-plus
C. profit-sharing
D. bonus
E. gainsharing
Question 33
Which of the following series of dimensions of the job characteristics model (JCM) combine to create meaningful work?
A. skill variety, task identity, and task significance
B. feedback, task identity, and task significance
C. skill variety, autonomy, and feedback
D. autonomy, task identity, and feedback
E. skill variety, autonomy, and task significance
Question 34
A prerequisite condition for job rotation is the ________.
A. presence of employee involvement programs
B. presence of high level of autonomy among workers
C. presence of employees with similar skill sets and requirements
D. presence of alternative work arrangements for employees to avail
E. presence of high need for affiliation among workers
Question 35
A ________ pay plan pays for individual performance based on performance appraisal ratings.
A. gainsharing
B. merit-based
C. employee stock ownership
D. piece-rate
E. profit sharing
Question 36
Telecommuting is an option that suits professionals like ________.
A. nurses
B. sales representatives
C. receptionists
D. analysts
E. trainers
Question 37
Which of the following is the distinct characteristic of participative management programs?
A. autocratic decision making
B. joint decision making
C. performance norms
D. establishment of work councils
E. representative participation
Question 38
Which of the following statements is true regarding an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)?
A. There exists a strong correlation between ESOPs and employee performance.
B. Under this plan, employees acquire company shares often at below-market prices.
C. ESOPs are effective because, like bonuses, they reward recent performance.
D. ESOPs are also called competency-based pay plans.
E. The financial stake in the company is adequate to use ESOPs as an effective means to motivate employees.
Question 39
Which of the following is Theory X consistent with?
A. the autocratic style of managing people
B. the vertical enhancement of jobs to enhance autonomy
C. the principles of participative management
D. the reduced need of supervision and direction from managers
E. the use of recognition and achievements to motivate employees
Question 40
After the training and development manager at Add Worth, Nicole Hayes, resigned, the CEO has made it a priority that the position be filled soon by someone of equal expertise and experience as Nicole. To locate the right candidate, Jennifer Ray, the HR manager, has been contacting recruitment firms, checking job sites, and pushing for referrals from the employees. However, she has only found candidates with little or no experience in the field who were willing to work full time for the position. At the next meeting with the CEO, Jennifer proposes an alternative strategy; she suggests hiring two experienced candidates who are open to the idea of handling the training needs on a part-time basis as a team. The CEO listens to her proposal but is not too convinced by it. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Jennifer's proposal to use work sharing for the vacant position?
A. The headhunting firms that Jennifer contacted are usually helpful in generating a good pool of potential candidates.
B. The employees of the company on the work council have planned to demand the flextime option.
C. A good proportion of the company's prized workforce comprises employees from the baby boomer generation who are set to retire in the impending future.
D. Trainers are exempted from the requirement of being at the office throughout the common core period of the workday.
E. A rival firm recently adopted telecommuting to reduce administrative costs cutting into its bottom line.