Exam 11: Rewarding Performance

Casey wants a pay-for-performance incentive program that will increase both productivity and quality and that has few performance measurement difficulties.Her best choice is a(n):

It is not an uncommon problem for individual-based pay-for-performance plans to work against achieving quality goals.

Team-based incentive plans work best when:

When setting up a compensation plan for salespeople to encourage them to service accounts,a ________ plan is the best choice.

What is the most common type of pay for performance used by firms?

In regards to pay-for-performance programs,which of the following is most likely characteristic of small firms than large firms?

Which of the following is an advantage of corporatewide pay-for-performance plans?

Which of the following would most likely enhance the perceived fairness of a pay-for-performance system?

Expectancy theory claims that:

Liz wants to begin a plantwide incentive compensation plan.She is setting up employee-management committees to solicit and screen cost-saving ideas.Liz is considering a variety of elements in the cost-savings calculation,not just labor costs.Her best choice of plan would be:

Individual-based pay-for-performance is most likely to:

David is frustrated at his company's inability to maintain a single system of pay-for-performance and is finding it difficult to adapt to new policies.David is probably:

Which of the following is the LEAST likely reason for the distance between executive performance and long-term incentives?

Dan,Laura,and Chuck are preparing a poster presentation for an upcoming business conference.Laura and Chuck have each dedicated over 10 hours to the task.Dan has contributed about 2 hours to the project,but he will receive equal credit with Laura and Chuck for the project's completion.In HR terms,Dan is:

A firm should most likely use merit pay as an element of a(n):

Which of the following is a negative aspect of straight-salary sales compensation plans?

Additional Case 11.2 Richland Manufacturing uses an individual-based pay-for-performance plan for employees. Manager input in the form of performance evaluations primarily determines individual employee rewards. Performance appraisals at Richland are used for multiple purposes including compensation, training, and work planning. Since implementing the plan, many managers have noticed that employees tend to play it safe by setting modest rather than challenging goals for themselves. Employees have also been avoiding important tasks, such as satisfying the needs of customers and keeping work areas neat. In addition, most employees express disbelief that pay and performance are actually linked. As a result, Richland is considering making modifications to the system. The HR Director wants a system that will reward all employees based on the entire company's performance because he wants to increase employee commitment. The VP of Operations wants to reward specific productivity and quality improvements with a simply structured system that considers labor costs as well as other production expenses. The VP of Operations also believes that labor and management should work together to allocate the rewards. -Refer to Additional Case 11.2.Most Richland managers want to use an individual-based pay-for-performance plan to reward high performers but are concerned about increasing employees' base pay permanently due to costs.Which of the following would most likely be appropriate in this case?

Awards,merit pay,and bonuses are all similar in that they are paid once a year,do not raise the employee's base salary,and are based on performance.

Richland Manufacturing uses an individual-based pay-for-performance plan for employees. Manager input in the form of performance evaluations primarily determines individual employee rewards. Performance appraisals at Richland are used for multiple purposes including compensation, training, and work planning. Since implementing the plan, many managers have noticed that employees tend to play it safe by setting modest rather than challenging goals for themselves. Employees have also been avoiding important tasks, such as satisfying the needs of customers and keeping work areas neat. In addition, most employees express disbelief that pay and performance are actually linked. As a result, Richland is considering making modifications to the system. The HR Director wants a system that will reward all employees based on the entire company's performance because he wants to increase employee commitment. The VP of Operations wants to reward specific productivity and quality improvements with a simply structured system that considers labor costs as well as other production expenses. The VP of Operations also believes that labor and management should work together to allocate the rewards. -Refer to Additional Case 11.2.Which of the following would most likely meet the demands of managers,the HR Director,and the VP of Operations?

It is most likely true that the use of pay-for-performance systems is: