Personnel Management
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Personnel Management explores the principles and practices related to managing an organizations human resources effectively. The course covers topics such as recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal, compensation, labor relations, and employee motivation. Students learn how to develop policies and strategies that promote a positive work environment, improve employee productivity, and ensure legal compliance. Emphasis is placed on understanding the evolving role of personnel management in todays dynamic workplace and the importance of aligning human resource strategies with organizational goals.
Recommended Textbook
Strategic Compensation in 6th Canada Edition by Richard Long
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13 Chapters
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591 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: A Road Map to Effective Compensation
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Q1) An effective compensation system is important to most organizations because it can mean the difference between company success and failure.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which statement best describes the key aspect of Maslow's theory of needs?
A) Extrinsic rewards are more important than intrinsic rewards.
B) Intrinsic rewards are more important than extrinsic rewards.
C) Humans tend to first satisfy their basic needs before higher order needs.
D) Self-esteem needs are more closely tied to rewards than the other needs.
Answer: C
Q3) A group of unionized employees negotiating a new contract is holding out for a better indirect pay plan.What should management offer the group in order to reach an agreement?
A) better services and benefits
B) better training and development opportunities
C) pay for performance
D) a more competitive base pay
Answer: A
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Page 3
Chapter 2: A Strategic Framework for Compensation
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Q1) Which rewards are normally associated with a high-involvement managerial strategy?
A) high levels of pay and benefits
B) providing employees with the opportunity to grow professionally
C) providing employees with a pleasant team environment
D) promotions based on a high level of production
Answer: B
Q2) An organization's vision refers to its long-term,optimal desired state.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Which key cultural value would be detrimental to a high-involvement organization?
A) honesty
B) trustworthiness
C) doing things the way they have always been done
D) open communication
Answer: C
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Page 4
Chapter 3: A Behavioural Framework for Compensation
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Q1) The first step in designing a reward system that will produce the behaviour the organization needs is to develop rewards that address salient employee needs.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) What is the definition of membership behaviour?
A) paying ones dues on time
B) being polite with others
C) a decision to join and stay with a firm
D) the attitude one holds toward one's job and the workplace
Answer: C
Q3) Terry was generously rewarded by his parents when he received excellent grades.His parents are hoping that the rewards will help Terry get similar grades in the future.Which theory helps to explain this scenario?
A) Maslow's theory
B) Herzberg's theory
C) expectancy theory
D) reinforcement theory
Answer: D
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Components of Compensation Strategy
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Q1) As a general rule,organizations using a high-involvement managerial strategy use indirect pay as a way to encourage which of the following relationships?
A) employer-community
B) employee-task
C) employer-employee
D) employer-union
Q2) Why might employees prefer base pay over performance pay?
A) Performance pay is more predictable.
B) Base pay is directly related to their performance level.
C) They dislike uncertainty about their compensation.
D) Market conditions are always changing.
Q3) Peter,a manager at a local manufacturing firm,is perplexed that employees tend to respond to management's request by evoking the dreaded "That is not on my job description," or "That is above my pay grade." From a compensating perspective,which base pay method is normally associated with the aforementioned responses?
A) market pricing
B) job evaluation
C) competency-based pay
D) skill-based pay
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Performance Pay Choices
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Q1) Which of the following is a group level organizational pay performance system?
A) gain sharing
B) piece rates
C) merit raises
D) commissions
Q2) Explain the difference between goal-sharing and gain-sharing plans.
Q3) As a human resource specialist,you have been asked by your organization to lead a discussion on the merits of using internal promotions as a main reward mechanism.Which point would you most likely NOT raise?
A) They are an expensive process,as promotions are typically associated with pay increases.
B) They often carry both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.
C) They recognize contributions made by strong performers.
D) They are often seen as a key motivation tool for employees.
Q4) Which statement best describes how North American employees view merit raises?
A) They are viewed as not promoting employee-employer relationships.
B) They are viewed with significant scepticism by employees.
C) They are not viewed in a positive light because of the objective nature of performance reviews.
D) They are viewed in a positive light by unionized employees.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Formulating the Reward and Compensation Strategy
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Q1) In which circumstance does the compensation system need to be relied on less heavily to motivate behaviour?
A) food processing plant
B) shelter helping the homeless
C) underground coal mine
D) tire manufacturer
Q2) As a human resource compensation specialist,you are recommending that your company compensate entry-level factory workers 10 percent below market,while paying 10 percent above market for engineers.What type of compensation policy are you recommending to your organization?
A) lag
B) lead
C) match
D) hybrid
Q3) Golden parachutes generally assure large severance payments for dismissed executives.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Briefly describe the five main steps in the formulation of compensation strategy.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Evaluating Jobs: the Job Evaluation Process
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Q1) Which process is looked upon as the process of gathering data and information about the characteristics required for specific jobs?
A) job analysis
B) job evaluation
C) job description
D) job specifications
Q2) Which evaluation method uses questionnaires to capture time spent on certain activities and the importance of those activities to the successful completion of the job?
A) point
B) factor comparison
C) classification
D) statistical/policy capturing
Q3) A job description serves several purposes,including providing guidance in the selection and recruitment process.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What should a job description contain if it is to be useful for job evaluation?
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Chapter 8: Evaluating Jobs: the Point Method of Job Evaluation
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Q1) Briefly describe the main pitfalls in designing a point method system of job evaluation.
Q2) Which statement best explains how to establish pay grade sizes using the equal interval approach?
A) Look for natural breaks between clusters of jobs when setting up the grades.
B) Increase the grade widths for higher-value jobs but not necessarily by an equal percentage.
C) Reduce the number of pay grades by creating large bands.
D) Make the point spreads equal for all pay grades.
Q3) What is a negative consequence of clustering jobs into pay grades?
A) Pay grades make it difficult to justify and explain pay rates to employees.
B) Pay grades create less stability for the pay system.
C) There may be pressure to reclassify borderline jobs or to promote people to get more money.
D) Similar jobs are grouped into the same grades.
Q4) What are the key considerations in establishing pay grades and pay ranges?
Q5) Broad banding results in fewer jobs in a pay grade.
A)True
B)False
Page 10
Q6) What criteria are used to determine movement through the pay range?
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Chapter 9: Evaluating the Market
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Q1) Which characteristic is NOT typically considered in the selection of market comparator firms?
A) the type of product or service the firm provides
B) whether the firm has achieved pay equity
C) whether the firm is union or non-union
D) the geographic area over which it operates
Q2) Which compa-ratio suggests that,on average,employees are being paid above the mid-point of the range?
A) 0.01
B) 0.92
C) 1.00
D) 1.03
Q3) Briefly discuss some of the limitations of compensation surveys.
Q4) A very large interquartile quotient tends to indicate that all jobs in the sample are equivalent.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Briefly discuss the factors to be considered in defining the relevant labour market for a given firm.
Page 12
Q6) Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of in-house surveys.
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Chapter 10: Evaluating Individuals
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Q1) Merit pay is one of the developmental reasons for performance appraisals.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which source uses many different rating groups to evaluate the employee's performance?
A) professional raters
B) tiered supervisors
C) 360-degree feedback
D) field review
Q3) Which statement best summarizes the general sentiment expressed by stakeholders in describing performance appraisals in Canada?
A) Managers find the process much more worthwhile than employees.
B) A great majority of companies tend to pick one process and stick with it over long periods of time.
C) Managers and employees have little faith that the process leads to valid and reliable results.
D) Employees are much more likely to embrace and find the process valuable.
Q4) Identify the key characteristics and advantages of 360-degree feedback appraisal system.
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Chapter 11: Designing Performance Pay Plans
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Q1) A management report identified the following labour usage ratios for a window manufacturer in Richmond,British Columbia: 1.4 hours of labour per window in 2015; 1.25 hours of labour per window in 2016.Management makes the arbitrary decision to set next year's gain-sharing cutoff at 1.325 labour hours per window (the average of the 2015 and 2016 figures).Which gain-sharing plan is management using?
A) Scanlon plan
B) family of measures plan
C) Rucker plan
D) Improshare plan
Q2) As a medium-sized company owner,you believe that it is morally just that employees receive a portion of the profits they help generate,and you want to provide them with some form of pension plan.Which type of plans should you consider using?
A) deferred profit sharing
B) share appreciation rights
C) registered retirement savings
D) current distribution
Q3) Identify the fundamental ways in which gain-sharing and goal-sharing plans differ.
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14
Chapter 12: Designing Indirect Pay Plans
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Q1) Defined contribution plans are riskier for employees versus defined benefit plans.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a mandatory benefit?
A) Canada Pension Plan
B) defined benefit pension plans
C) workers' compensation
D) employment insurance
Q3) From a funding obligation perspective,why do employers prefer to use a defined contribution pension plan?
A) Liability is limited to the amount placed into the plan.
B) Actuarial predictions are made easier.
C) Pensioners are guaranteed a fixed sum of money.
D) This avoids "underfunded" plans.
Q4) Identify and briefly explain the most common and important employee services.
Q5) Research shows that satisfaction with a benefits plan declines as employees learn more about it.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Activating and Maintaining an Effective Compensation System
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Q1) According to a recent survey of HR professionals,what is the predominant use of human resources management systems?
A) planning and research
B) time and attendance
C) payroll
D) benefits
Q2) Because of complexity and resistance by stakeholders,computers have taken on a secondary role in communicating compensation policies and procedures
A)True
B)False
Q3) A good employee threatens to leave your firm because she has received a higher pay offer from a competitor.The offer is well outside your company's pay range for the job the employee is performing.What should you tell the employee?
A) You will match the other offer.
B) You will beat the other offer to be sure you won't lose her.
C) You will try to get her job put into a higher pay grade.
D) You wish her all the best in her new job with the competitor.
Q4) What are the primary areas for computer applications in a compensation system?
Page 16
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