Chapter 6

Question 1

Piece-rate

Answer 1

A pay system in which individual workers are paid a certain sum of money for each unit of production completed

Question 2

Wage incentive plans

Answer 2

Various systems that link pay to performance on production jobs

Question 3

Why are wage incentive plans great?

Answer 3

• They increase employees’ productivity

- Decrease turnover

Question 4

What are potential problems with wage incentive plans?

Answer 4

• Lowered quality
• Differential opportunity
• Reduced Cooperation
• Incompatible Job Design
• Restriction of Productivity

Question 5

Restriction of Productivity

Answer 5

The artificial limitation of work output that can ovcur under wage incentive plans

Question 6

Merit pay plans

Answer 6

Systems that attempt to link pay to performance on white-collar jobs

Question 7

What are potential problems with merit pay plans?

Answer 7

• Low discrimination
• Small increases
• Pay secrecy (should inform employees of the average raise received by those doing similar work)

Question 8

Lump sum bonus

Answer 8

Merit pay that is awarded in a single payment and not built into base pay

Question 9

Profit sharing

Answer 9

The return of some company profit to employees in the form of a cash bonus or a retirement supplement

Question 10

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)

Answer 10

Incentive plans that allow employees to own a set amount of a company’s shares and provide employees with a stake in the company’s future earnings and success

Question 11

Gainsharing

Answer 11

A group pay incentive plan based on productivity or performance improvements over which the workforce has some control

Question 12

Skill-based pay

Answer 12

A system in which people are paid according to the number of job skills they have acquired

Question 13

Job design

Answer 13

The structure, content and configuration of a person’s work tasks and roles

Question 14

Job scope

Answer 14

The breadth and depth of a job

Question 15

Breadth

Answer 15

The number of different activities performed on a job

Question 16

Depth

Answer 16

The degree of discretion or control a worker has over how work tasks are performed

Question 17

Job rotation

Answer 17

Rotating employees to different tasks and jobs in an organization

Question 18

Job Characteristics Model

Answer 18

There are several key characteristics of jobs that influence the psychological state of workers, which in turn leads to certain outcomes.

Question 19

Core Job Charcteristics

Answer 19

• Skill Variety
• Autonomy
• Task significance
• Task identity
• Feedback

Question 20

Skill variety

Answer 20

The opportunity to do a verity of job activities using various skills and talents

Question 21

Autonomy

Answer 21

The freedom to schedule one’s own work activities and decide work procedures

Question 22

Task significance

Answer 22

The impact that a job has on other people

Question 23

Task identity

Answer 23

The extent to which a job involves doing a complete piece of work, from beginning to end

Question 24

Feedback

Answer 24

Information about the effectiveness of one’s work performance

Question 25

Growth need strength

Answer 25

The extent to which people desire to achieve higher-order need satisfaction by performing their jobs

Question 26

Job enrichment

Answer 26

The design of jobs to enhance intrinsic motivation, quality of working life, and job involvement

Question 27

Job involvement

Answer 27

A cognitive state of psychological identification with one's job and the importance of work to one's total self-image

Question 28

Potential problems with Job Enrichment

Answer 28

- Poor diagnosis - Lack of desire or skill - Demand for rewards - Union Resistance

Question 29

Job enlargement

Answer 29

Increasing job breadth by giving employees more tasks at the same level to perform but leaving other core characteristics unchanged

Question 30

Work design characteristics

Answer 30

Attributes of the task, job, and social and organizational environment

Question 31

Task charateristics

Answer 31

How the work itself is accomplished and the range and nature of tasks associated with a particular job

Question 32

Knowledge characteristics

Answer 32

The kinds of knowledge, skill and ability demands that are placed on an individual as a function of what is done on the job

Question 33

Social characteristics

Answer 33

The interpersonal and social aspects of work

Question 34

Contextual characteristics

Answer 34

The context within which work is performed, including the physical and environmental contexts

Question 35

Relational architechture of jobs

Answer 35

The structural properties of work that shape employees' opportunities to connect and interact with other people

Question 36

Prosocial motivation

Answer 36

The desire to expend effort to benefit other people

Question 37

Management by Objectives (MBO)

Answer 37

An elaborate, systematic, ongoing program designed to facilitate goal establishment, goal accomplishment and employee development

Question 38

How to do MBO

Answer 38

1. Manager meets workers to develop employee objectives- specific, quantifiable, put in writing 2. Periodic meeting to monitor employee progress 3. Appraisal meeting to evaluate extent to which objectives were or weren't accomplished 4. Repeat

Question 39

Flexible work arrangements

Answer 39

Work options that permit flexibility in terms of "where" and/or "when" work is completed

Question 40

Flex-time

Answer 40

An alternative work schedule in which arrival and departure times are flexible

Question 41

Compressed workweek

Answer 41

An alternative work schedule in which employees work fewer than the normal five days a week but still put in a normal number of hours per week

Question 42

Job sharing

Answer 42

An alternative schedule in which two part-time employees divide the work of a full-time job

Question 43

Work sharing

Answer 43

Reducing the number of hours employees work to avoid layoffs when there is a reduction in normal business activity

Question 44

Telecommuting

Answer 44

A system by which employees are able to work at remote locations but stay in touch with their offices through the use of information and communication technology