Q&A Hero

Q: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of flextime.

Q: Compare and contrast the job characteristics model and mutual assistance programs in terms of how they lend meaning to an employee's role.

Q: What is job enrichment? Describe various methods of job enrichment based on the job characteristics model.

Q: Andrew is a software tester. He runs through the same types of programs day after day looking for bugs and reporting them. He is taking night classes on programming. Often, he knows the best solution to many of the bugs, but he is still learning to code. Describe two job characteristics that Andrew is striving to improve, and explain two ways that Andrew's manager can redesign his current job to help him reach his goals.

Q: What are the various dimensions of the job characteristics model?

Q: Employee recognition programs are highly susceptible to political manipulation by management.

Q: When it comes to motivating employees, financial incentives may be more motivating in the short term, but in the long run it's nonfinancial incentives.

Q: Flexible spending plans allow employees to set aside pretax dollars up to the dollar amount offered in the plan to pay for particular benefits, such as healthcare and dental premiums.

Q: A flexible benefits package is designed for a male with a wife and two children at home.

Q: When the profits of Emm Corp rose steadily over two quarters three years back, the employees of the company were given the offer of purchasing the company's shares at subsidized rates. Many of the employees who bought the shares have become extremely rich after the phenomenal growth Emm Corp has had in the following years. This is an example of a bonus.

Q: A profit-sharing plan works by tying rewards to productivity gains as the only criterion.

Q: A pure piece-rate plan provides no base salary and pays the employee only for what he or she produces.

Q: A variable-pay program bases a portion of an employee's pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance.

Q: Internal equity refers to the worth of the job to the organization.

Q: Participative management is characterized by the symbolic representation of employees in work councils and board meetings.

Q: The term virtual office describes working from home on a relatively permanent basis.

Q: The major advantage of flextime is that it can be used for all categories of jobs.

Q: A flextime arrangement requires all employees to be at their jobs during the common core period.

Q: To enhance the amount of autonomy employees enjoy, a company must provide its employees with tasks combined into natural work units.

Q: Job enrichment improves employees' skills by periodically shifting an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level.

Q: Jobs with high autonomy give workers a feeling of personal responsibility for the results.

Q: Feedback is the degree to which carrying out work activities generates direct and clear information about one's own performance.

Q: John Dunker is one of the best firefighters in his squad, and he recently received an award for his outstanding performance. From this information, it may be concluded that John's job has low task significance.

Q: Task identity is defined as the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities so the worker can use a number of different skills and talent.

Q: The job characteristics model describes any job in terms of five core job dimensions, and these five dimensions are skill variety, task significance, recognition, reward, and feedback.

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding employee recognition? A) Employee recognition is an extrinsic reward. B) Critics argue that employee recognition programs are highly susceptible to political manipulation by management. C) Employee recognition programs are expensive. D) Centralized programs across multiple offices in different countries can hinder the process of employee recognition programs. E) Employee stock option is a more powerful workplace motivator than recognition.

Q: 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 of 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) recognition B) prospects of growth C) salary D) flextime E) job sharing

Q: Which of the following is an example of an intrinsic reward? A) bonus B) profit-sharing plan C) employee stock option D) employee recognition E) gainsharing

Q: Flexible spending plans consist of ________. A) a core of essential benefits and a menu-like selection of others from which employees can select B) no base salary; the employee is paid only for what he or she produces on the basis of a fixed sum for each unit of production completed C) a fraction of a company's profit margins determined on the basis of an established formula D) pretax dollars up to the dollar amount offered in the plan that an employee sets apart to pay for particular benefits E) modules of benefits, each of which meets the needs of a specific group of employees

Q: 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 provides only a minimum coverage for routine drugs and vision care. Consequently, the HR manager 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 benefits plans should she choose to meet her needs? A) a basic modular plan B) a standardized benefits package C) a core-plus plan D) a fringe benefits plan E) a 401k plan

Q: Core-plus plans consist of ________. A) predesigned packages of benefits that an employee must accept as a whole B) monetary benefits which are linked to one's performance appraisals C) fractions of a company's profit margins determined on the basis of an established formula D) pretax dollars up to the dollar amount offered in the plan that an employee sets apart to pay for particular benefits E) essential benefits and a menu-like selection of other benefits that an employee can choose from

Q: ________ are predesigned packages, or modules of benefits, each of which meets the needs of a specific group of employees. A) Modular plans B) Employee stock ownership plans C) Profit-sharing plans D) Merit-based plans E) Flextime plans

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding flexible benefits? A) Flexible benefits are awarded through uniform packages to cover the requirements of a married couple with two children. B) Flexible benefits are in accordance with the belief that employees have identical needs that must be rewarded identically. C) Gainsharing and profit-sharing plans are two major types of flexible benefits. D) Flexible benefits can be altered to meet employee needs based on age, marital status, and number and age of dependents. E) Flexible benefits are given based on an employee's skills, competence, and productivity.

Q: Individualized rewards that allow each employee to choose the compensation package that best satisfies his or her current needs and situation are called ________. A) variable pay programs B) standardized benefits packages C) employee recognition programs D) employee involvement programs E) flexible benefits plans

Q: For employee stock ownership plans to be effective in improving performance, they must ________. A) be based solely on productivity like gainsharing plans B) be implemented such that employees psychologically experience ownership C) be determined on the basis of performance appraisals and recent performance D) be planned such that they are unaffected by company profitability E) be based on the market compensation philosophy

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)? A) Under this plan, employees acquire company shares, often at below-market prices. B) There exists a strong correlation between ESOPs and employee performance. C) The financial stake in the company is adequate to use ESOPs as an effective means to motivate employees. D) ESOPs are effective because, like bonuses, they reward recent performance. E) ESOPs are also called competency-based pay plans.

Q: At Esco Retail, all employees are constantly driven to work hard. The company places maximum emphasis on stocking high quality goods and providing high quality service to retain the edge they have in the retail industry. To promote organizational commitment further, the company incentivizes employees by enabling them to purchase company shares at below-market prices as a part of their benefits. This mode of providing incentives represents the use of ________. A) flexible benefits plans B) merit-based plans C) modular plans D) employee stock ownership plans E) core-plus plans

Q: Exsell is a popular consumer goods company known for hiring the best resources and using the best technology to produce an extensive range of goods. The manufacturing units consider productivity to be the only criterion; targets are upgraded, supervised, and rewarded amply. The groups with the highest productivity in each manufacturing unit owned by Exsell are incentivized using a substantial monthly monetary reward program. Of late, there have been some rumors about the company not doing very well in the market. Many claims of defective quality, declining market share, and employee unrest have been doing the rounds. However, the CEO of Exsell recently held a conference with the organization and the media to share its expansion plans for the coming year. He ended the conference with a discussion of how the profit margin of the company had grown substantially but many employees were left in doubt. Which of the following, if true, would indicate the need for Exsell to replace gainsharing with profit sharing as a variable pay program for its employees? A) The company used a merit-based pay plan for decades to reward the employees who deserved recognition for good performance. B) The company has opened multiple product categories and is experiencing brand dilution. C) Executives who receive and evaluate client feedback have found a lot of quality concerns with the products dispatched in recent times. D) The economy is showing signs of robust growth after last year's recession and losses. E) The consumer goods industry has traditionally had higher barriers to entry than other industries of similar size and reach.

Q: An advantage of the ________ plan is that because benefits accrue to groups of workers, high-performing workers pressure weaker performers to work harder, improving performance for the group as a whole. A) modular B) gainsharing C) skill-based pay D) flexible benefits E) profit sharing

Q: Which of the following variable pay programs is free from dependence on company profits? A) profit sharing B) job sharing C) bonuses D) employee stock ownership plans E) gainsharing

Q: At Dortix, a manufacturing company, at the end of every quarter, the total production of each department is calculated and compared with the predetermined targets; the rewards for each set of divisional employees are determined this way. Dortix uses a ________ plan to incentivize its employees. A) profit sharing B) gainsharing C) core-plus D) modular E) bonus

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding gainsharing? A) Gainsharing focuses on productivity gains rather than profits. B) Gainsharing involves paying employees based on the number of new skills acquired by them in a specific time period. C) Gainsharing does not distribute profits, only gains in profits. D) Employees working under gainsharing plans have a greater feeling of psychological ownership. E) Gain sharing encourages social loafing.

Q: ________ 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) Employee stock ownership plan B) Gainsharing C) Profit sharing D) Piece-rate pay plan E) Merit-based pay plan

Q: A ________ plan distributes compensation based on some established formula designed around revenue of the company. A) piece-rate B) merit-based C) skill-based D) profit-sharing E) competency-based

Q: In which of the following variable-pay programs is the pay level based on how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do? A) bonuses B) piece-rate pay C) skill-based pay D) gainsharing E) merit-based pay

Q: What is an advantage of bonuses over merit-based pay plan? A) Employees don't view bonuses as a part of their salary. B) Bonuses improve flexibility of the workforce. C) Bonuses are paid based on a formula. D) Bonuses improve performance of the group as a whole. E) Employees are rewarded for recent performance.

Q: Which of the following represents a pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance rather than historical performance? A) bonus B) flexible benefits C) modular plans D) cafeteria plans E) base salary

Q: 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 fared badly received no incentives. Many employees blamed the company for 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) piece-rate plan B) employee stock ownership plan C) modular plan D) merit-based plan E) flexible benefits plan

Q: A ________ pay plan pays for individual performance based on performance appraisal ratings. A) piece-rate B) merit-based C) employee stock ownership D) profit-sharing E) gainsharing

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding a merit-based pay plan? A) It bases pay levels on how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do. B) It is also called competency-based pay plan. C) Unions typically resist merit-based pay plan. D) It distributes compensation based on an established formula designed around a company's profitability. E) A typical merit-based pay plan provides no base salary and pays the employee only for what he or she produces.

Q: Which of the following is an example of a piece-rate plan? A) $20 for each hour of work B) $2 for each unit produced C) stock options at cheaper prices D) straight commission plan E) spot bonuses

Q: The ________ pay plan has long been popular as a means of compensating production workers by paying a fixed sum for each unit of production completed. A) competency-based B) gainsharing C) piece-rate D) profit-sharing E) merit-based

Q: ________ bases a portion of an employee's pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance. A) Guaranteed pay program B) Variable-pay program C) Flexible benefits program D) Modular plans program E) Base pay program

Q: The external competitiveness of an organization's pay relative to elsewhere in the industry is measured by its ________. A) external benefit B) external rotation C) external costs D) external equity E) external liability

Q: Internal equity refers to the ________. A) list of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in a particular job B) arrangement of the elements of different jobs in the organization C) worth of the job to the organization D) organization's pay relative to pay elsewhere in its industry E) framework of tasks, duties, and responsibilities that the job involves

Q: Which of the following is Theory X consistent with? A) the autocratic style of managing people B) the principles of participative management C) the vertical enhancement of jobs to enhance autonomy D) the use of recognition and achievements to motivate employees E) the reduced need of supervision and direction from managers

Q: Woodworth & Baines is a retail chain that has taken up numerous measures to improve employee attitude, motivation, and organizational performance. New training programs, employee engagement initiatives, and an employee welfare council were the three main strategies implemented as part of the employee empowerment program. Norman Kilner was one of twenty employees nominated to the employee welfare council where they were required to interact with the management to promote the interests of the employees. Additionally, the job roles of these twenty employees were vertically enhanced to give them more autonomy in the organization. However, six months into the employee empowerment program, a survey by HR revealed no actual change in employee attitudes. Similarly, a survey conducted by the production manager revealed that work productivity had not increased by any substantial measure either. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome? A) Management strengthened the regulations relating to employee absenteeism in this period. B) Management retained the degree of control they had in the organizational affairs. C) The company moved from a merit-based to a piece-rate pay system in the last quarter. D) The employees performed poorly because of the lack of training and development programs. E) Management implemented a 360-degree feedback system for performance appraisals.

Q: The main drawback of representative participation as an employee involvement measure is that ________. A) it is a time-consuming process B) it is able to exert its impact only in the short run C) it is primarily symbolic in its impact D) it is consistent with the Theory Y view of motivation E) it is likely to require a major change in organizational roles

Q: The two most common forms of representative participation are ________ and board representatives. A) quality circles B) work councils C) employee unions D) task teams E) cross-functional teams

Q: 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) a significant positive impact on employee morale and performance E) compliance with the legal need to redistribute power within organizations

Q: The two major forms of employee involvement are participative management and ________. A) organizational restructuring B) job sharing C) representative participation D) job rotation E) job enlargement

Q: Participative management is a method of management where ________. A) representatives of workers form work councils and these councils must be consulted when management makes decisions about employees B) few representatives of workers sit on a company's board of directors C) subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors D) low-level workers meet occasionally with the CEO to discuss problems within their department E) low-level workers are responsible for making corporate policy decisions

Q: Which of the following is the distinct characteristic of participative management programs? A) joint decision making B) representative participation C) performance norms D) establishment of work councils E) autocratic decision making

Q: To be effective, an employee involvement program must ________. A) rightsize the company by eliminating obsolete positions B) incorporate the unique demands of different cultures C) mandatorily establish work councils in the company D) eliminate the influence of employees in managerial decision making E) implement autocratic ways of handling its employees

Q: ________ is a participative process that uses employees' input to increase their commitment to the organization's success. A) Job enrichment B) Employee involvement C) Vertical integration D) Groupshifting E) Job sharing

Q: The job characteristic model fails to consider the role ________ plays in employee motivation. A) job design B) meaningfulness C) social support D) growth need E) responsibility

Q: Which of the following factors represents the influence of social aspects of the work environment on motivation? A) task identity B) autonomy C) feedback D) interdependence E) skill variety

Q: Telecommuting is an option that suits professionals like ________. A) trainers B) nurses C) analysts D) receptionists E) sales representatives

Q: For management, the major downside of telecommuting is ________. A) decreased productivity B) increased turnover C) reduced morale D) difficulty in scheduling work E) less direct supervision of employees

Q: An MNC in a developing country is operating amidst severe space constraints, and the infrastructural conditions in the city are bad, causing a lot of lost man-hours. Anticipating rapid growth in the months to come, the company has created a recruitment plan based on its revenue expectations. However, it wants to manage this expansion without undertaking an expensive physical expansion. Which of the following could be a solution for the company? A) profit sharing B) groupshifting C) telecommuting D) gainsharing E) codetermining

Q: Amanda McPherson is a working mother with one child and an ailing parent to look after in addition to her duties as a wife and job responsibilities as a legal consultant. Since Amanda always feels pressed for time, the news that the consultancy she works for would allow her to work from home two days a week came as a great relief to her. She now feels more motivated to work for the company, as the company has taken into account her personal and professional needs. The company has allowed Amanda to use the option of ________. A) gainsharing B) offshoring C) telecommuting D) homeshoring E) job sharing

Q: The option of working at home at least 2 days a week on a computer linked to the employer's office is termed as ________. A) job sharing B) social loafing C) offshoring D) telecommuting E) homeshoring

Q: 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 job sharing for the vacant position? A) Trainers are exempted from the requirement of being at the office throughout the common core period of the workday. 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) The headhunting firms that Jennifer contacted are usually helpful in generating a good pool of potential candidates. E) A rival firm recently adopted telecommuting to reduce administrative costs cutting into its bottom line.

Q: Which of the following is the major drawback of job sharing from management's perspective? A) increase in supervisory workload B) increased costs for providing supporting infrastructure (such as desk and computer) to two employees instead of one C) difficulty in finding compatible partners D) difficulty in designing the reward structure E) difficulty in coordinating schedules

Q: 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) telecommuting B) flextime C) gainsharing D) profit sharing E) job sharing

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding job sharing? A) It expands jobs by increasing the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution, and evaluation of the work. B) It is also called cross-training. C) It allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job. D) It involves periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level. E) Job sharing is a method of job enrichment.

Q: 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 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 rotation D) job sharing E) job enrichment

Q: An arrangement that allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job is called ________. A) flextime B) job sharing C) gainsharing D) telecommuting E) job rotation

Q: Employees who use the flextime option have to ________. A) work from the office for three days of the week B) work from home on a relatively permanent basis C) work from the office based on a schedule fixed with the compatible partner they function with D) work from the office during the common core period and put in the extra hours per their convenience E) work from home only two days a week

Q: 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 employees greater control of their schedule? A) flextime B) gainsharing C) job rotation D) job enlargement E) job enrichment