Unit 6 - A

Question 1

What is not a good strategy for changing employee behavior:

a. Hire only good employees
b. Reinforcement programs
c. Training
d. Restructure systems instead of focusing on behavior

Answer 1

a. Hire only good employees

Question 2

The most straightforward application of ABA to business settings would be:

a. Behavioral systems analysis
b. Performance management
c. Behavior based safety
d. Industrial/organizational

Answer 2

b. Performance management

Question 3

Which of the following is not a specific sub-specialty of OBM

a. Instruction and training
b. Pay for performance
c. Performance management
d. Behavioral systems analysis

Answer 3

a. Instruction and training

Question 4

What is the best explanation for why you probably don’t need pay for performance interventions if you own your own business?

a. None of these answers are correct
b. The personal and government contingencies are aligned
c. The personal and business contingencies are naturally aligned
d. You don’t have any employees

Answer 4

c. The personal and business contingencies are naturally aligned

Question 5

A good pay for performance process will always have a _____ component:

a. Systems analysis
b. Employee selection
c. Performance Management
d. Safety

Answer 5

c. Performance Management

Question 6

Loosely, an open system is one in which information:

a. Flows through a strict hierarchical structure
b. Is shared between management and top performers
c. Is freely shared among all members
d. Transfer occurs freely, but only among managers only

Answer 6

c. Is freely shared among all members

Question 7

Which of the following is an advantage of an open system (versus a closed system)?

a. Stable in the face of fickle customer preferences
b. Not subject to fads and external pressures
c. Promotes slow careful change over time
d. Tends to promote continuous improvement

Answer 7

d. Tends to promote continuous improvement

Question 8

Which of the following is not a common objection to a pay for performance system?

a. People will feel manipulated
b. Extrinsic rewards demotivate
c. Money is unlikely to motivate employees
d. Employees can cheat the system

Answer 8

c. Money is unlikely to motivate employees

Question 9

Corporate socialism refers primarily to the tendency of typical pay structures to:

a. Exclude certain ethnicity from promotion
b. Collect lower taxes from corporations than individuals
c. Reward underperformers and not reward top performers
d. Keep poor workers around longer than is warranted

Answer 9

c. Reward underperformers and not reward top performers

Question 10

Management by perception refers primarily to managers:

a. Often evaluating employees without quantitative measures
b. Not collecting enough data
c. Measuring selected target behavior carefully
d. Using qualitative measures only

Answer 10

a. Often evaluating employees without quantitative measures

Question 11

Management by exception refers, in part, to

a. A general reward-based process of performance management
b. Management by inspiration rather than specific performance feedback
c. Controlling performance primarily through negative reinforcement contingencies
d. Identifying exceptional performance with special rewards and promotions

Answer 11

c. Controlling performance primarily through negative reinforcement contingencies

Question 12

Which of the following is not an alternative compensation strategy (as compared to PFP)

a. Goal sharing
b. Performance-based pay
c. Commission
d. Gain sharing

Answer 12

b. Performance-based pay

Question 13

A key concern relating to piece rate - based pay is that:

a. It likely will not motivate performance
b. There must be a demand for the product that matches production
c. It uses too few employees to produce the needed work product
d. It is widely seen as unfair

Answer 13

b. There must be a demand for the product that matches production

Question 14

All of the following alternatives to pay for performance are most likely non-contingent and inequitable, except:

a. Stock options
b. “Merit-based” pay
c. Annual bonuses
d. No exceptions; all of these tend to be non-contingent and inequitable

Answer 14

d. No exceptions; all of these tend to be non-contingent and inequitable

Question 15

When a group of employees successfully reduce costs over the previous year, and the savings are split amongst the employees as a form of pay incentive, this practice is known as ____ sharing.

a. Gain
b. Goal
c. Cost
d. Profit

Answer 15

a. Gain

Question 16

When developing organizational goals, they should include:

a. Short-term goals only
b. Both long- and short-term goals
c. Short-term goals only if long-term goals are not feasible
d. Long-term goals only

Answer 16

b. Both long- and short-term goals

Question 17

Which of the following is not a likely organizational target:

a. Expense control
b. Time sheet accuracy
c. Customer service
d. Cash flow

Answer 17

b. Time sheet accuracy

Question 18

All of the following are short term organizational goals, except:

a. Productivity
b. Regulatory compliance
c. Cash flow
d. Expense control

Answer 18

b. Regulatory compliance

Question 19

Performance scorecards are typically calculated on a ____ basis

a. Daily
b. Yearly
c. Weekly
d. Monthly

Answer 19

d. Monthly

Question 20

A threshold score of 0 indicates that:

a. The company is bankrupt
b. The company has made significant profits, and will share based on the top multiplier
c. The company has made significant profits, but is unwilling to share
d. The company did not make enough profit to share with employees

Answer 20

d. The company did not make enough profit to share with employees

Question 21

Where would be the company multiplier, according to the following scale, if the company earned $107,900 in one month:

0. 00 = $90,000
1. 50 = $97,500
2. 00 = $105,000
3. 25 = $108,750
4. 50 = $112,500
5. 75 = $116,250
6. 00 = $120,000
7. 25 = $123,750
8. 50 = $127,500
9. 75 = $131,250
10. 00 = $135,000

a. 0.50
b. 1.00
c. 1.25
d. 1.50

Answer 21

b. 1.00

Question 22

A company decides to do profit indexed performance pay™. What is exposure if the total payroll is $240,000, and the company decides to implement a basis of 5% for all employees?

a. $95,000
b. $75,000
c. $12,000
d. $120,000

Answer 22

c. $12,000

Question 23

What is the dollar amount for a multiplier scale of 1 if an organization decides to share 30% of profits with employees, has an exposure of 15,000, and a threshold of $310,000?

a. $340,000
b. $347,000
c. $358,000
d. $360,000

Answer 23

d. $360,000

Question 24

Which of the following steps in transitioning to a PFP system is likely to come the latest (compared to the other steps listed)

a. PFP design session with senior management
b. Manager design seminar
c. Set up database to report the scores each month
d. Teach management how to improve the measures

Answer 24

d. Teach management how to improve the measures

Question 25

A company has decided to transition to a performance management system. They have contracted with an individual skilled in OBM, but have not yet implemented any performance management procedures. Which of the following levels will they move to next?

a. Level II
b. Staff orientation
c. Level I
d. Pre-level training

Answer 25

c. Level I

Question 26

When first introducing stakeholder pay, it should be X and offered to Y performers.

a.
X = Mandatory
Y = top

b.
X = Voluntary
Y = all

c.
X = Mandatory
Y = all

d.
X = Voluntary
Y = top

Answer 26

d.
X = Voluntary
Y = top

Question 27

In which phases of a transition to a pay-for-performance system are hiring freezes most likely to be implemented?

a. Level 1 and 2
b. After Level 4
c. Just before Level 1
d. Level 3 and 4

Answer 27

d. Level 3 and 4

Question 28

When a pay-for-performance system is in place, managers are not generally expected to:

a. Improve scorecards
b. Deliver reinforcement
c. Examine worker clock in-and-out times closely
d. Remove working obstacles

Answer 28

c. Examine worker clock in-and-out times closely

Question 29

In a pay for performance system the main job of a manager is to:

a. Take data on employee compliance
b. Ensure that employees can engage in work effectively
c. Deliver punishment for inappropriate behavior
d. Hire employees to fill the gaps that will be created

Answer 29

b. Ensure that employees can engage in work effectively

Question 30

All of the following are positive impacts on management after transition to a pay-for-performance system , except:

a. Employees are more likely to rise to management positions
b. Fewer managers are required in the organization
c. Managers make more money for higher productivity
d. Employees are more likely to listen to, and act appropriately upon, managers’ feedback

Answer 30

a. Employees are more likely to rise to management positions

Question 31

George & Hopkins (1989)demonstrated that when the waitpersons’ hourly pay was replaced by a form of pay-for-performance:

a. Total money earned increased
b. Money earned became unpredictable
c. Total money earned decreased
d. The waitresses stopped attending to the money they earned

Answer 31

a. Total money earned increased