13 Jan What are hardship allowances?

Module 2 discussion

Some people argue that there is too much government intervention, whereas others say there is not enough. Based on the presentation of laws in this chapter, do you think there is too little or too much government intervention? Explain your answer (discussion question #5 from the Martocchio text, p. 49).

Module 3 discussion

Read the case study, “Appraising Performance at Precision” on page 74 of Strategic Compensation. Post your answers to both questions.

What are some problems with Precision’s performance appraisal process that might cause challenges for Jackson to implement a merit pay program?

What changes do you recommend Precision make to the performance appraisal process to align it with a merit pay program?

Module 4 discussion

Read the case study, “Internal Consistency at Customers First” on page 143 of Strategic Compensation. Post your answer to the three questions. Be sure to include the role of compensable factors at Customer First in your response, and explain how Saint Leo’s core value of excellence applies.

1. Do you think that job analysis and job evaluation will benefit Customer First?

2. What is your opinion on Joan’s view of job analysis and job evaluation?

3. What do you recommend Customer First do? Why?

Module 5 discussion

You are a compensation analyst for Worry-Not Insurance Company, which is located in Hartford, Connecticut. Define the relevant labor market for insurance claims adjusters and for data entry clerks, explaining the rationale for your definitions.

Module 6 discussion

Discuss your views about whether discretionary employee benefits should be an entitlement or something earned based on performance.

Module 7 discussion

Chapter 16 presents four important issues that will shape every organization’s compensation philosophy in some way or another: Fallout from the “Great Recession,” Rising Wages in China, Challenges in Health Care Reform, and Workforce Demographic Shifts. Which of these issues will have the greatest impact on your organization’s approach to compensation? Why? (Adapted from discussion question #1 on page 366.)

Module 8 discussion

Do you feel that executive level compensation and incentive packages are excessive? Which components of a standard executive compensation package do you feel should be eliminated during an economic down turn? Explain how Saint Leo’s core value of respect plays out in determining executive compensation. Frame your response in light of the three levels of equity presented in the AVP and at least two (2) scholarly sources you selected and reviewed. (Adapted from question #3 on page 293.)

Module 1 Applied Assignment 1

Prepare a paper analyzing the role of Macro Environmental Analysis and Perceived Task Environment at your workplace, or an organization of your choice. In the paper, discuss one trend initiator from each STEEP category and explain how each one impacts the development of organizational, human resource, and compensation strategies at the organization you selected. Then, evaluate current strategies and discuss whether you believe MEA and PTE have influenced the organization’s pay philosophy and pay structure, or if you believe the current strategies should be revised to align with the Macro Environmental Analysis you performed. Support your analysis with at least two recent (2005-present) scholarly sources on MEA.

•The analysis should be presented in APA format.

•The analysis should be 5-7 pages in length, excluding the title page and reference list.

•The “Applied Assignments Scoring Rubric” can be found in Doc Sharing.

Submit this assignment to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Module 2 Applied Assignment 2

Prepare a paper that describes the major employee groups (exempt and non-exempt) that make up an organization. Compare and contrast the two as defined by the FLSA.

•The paper should be presented in an APA format.

•The paper should be 2-3 pages in length, excluding the title page and reference list.

•The “Applied Assignments Scoring Rubric” can be found in Doc Sharing.

Submit this assignment to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Module 3 Applied Assignment 3

Prepare a paper that explains the strategic differences between pay for performance and pay for knowledge systems. Include an analysis of how various pay plans used for teams align with pay for performance and pay for knowledge systems.

•The paper should be presented in an APA format.

•The paper should be 4-6 pages in length, excluding the title page and reference list.

•The Applied Assignments Scoring Rubric can be found in Doc Sharing.

Submit this assignment to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Module 5 Applied Assignment 4

Prepare a paper that presents the 5-step process for constructing a pay structure. The paper should present the steps in chronological order and explain the main objective of each step, as well as describe the key considerations of each. Use at least two recent articles (not older than 5 years) to inform your work in addition to the Martochhio textbook.

•The analysis should be presented in an APA format.

•The analysis should be 4-5 pages in length, excluding the title page and reference list.

•The “Applied Assignments Scoring Rubric” can be found in Doc Sharing.

Submit this assignment to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Module 6 Applied Assignment 5

Imagine you are designing an incentive plan for your organization’s (or an organization of your choice) middle managers. Create both short-term and long-term incentives, explaining why you feel they will be motivating to middle-managers. Why does this group require separate consideration?

•The analysis should be presented in an APA format.

•The analysis should be 3-4 pages in length, excluding the title page and reference list.

•The “Applied Assignments Scoring Rubric” can be found in Doc Sharing.

Submit this assignment to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Module 8 Applied Assignment 6

Read the North American Expansion for Threads Apparel case study on page 352 in the Martocchio text, and then prepare a 2-3 page paper that presents your analysis of the case by answering both questions. APA is not required for this paper.

Submit this assignment to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

Module 3 Labor Legislation Presentation

In Module 1, you selected one piece of protective labor legislation to study.

In Module 2 you prepared and submitted a PowerPoint presentation on that piece of legislation that defines it, explains the background of the law (the civil issues that culminated in its passage), the intention of the law, its basic provisions, and impact on an organization’s compensation structure/system or specific components of the compensation system.

Please post that presentation here by 11:59 PM Monday night. (The presentation should be between 7 and 10 slides in length, not including title slide and reference slide.)

Then, review all of the presentations posted in this forum. Select one (1) and respond to that classmate by 11:59 PM Thursday night by asking one question about the legislation that will deepen your understanding of its background, its implications for your industry, or the future of the legislation. Be sure your question is open-ended so that your classmate will be able to provide a substantive response.

Lastly, reply to the question asked about your own presentation by 11:59 PM Sunday night.

Module 7 Compensation Project Draft

One member of each team will post a draft of the team’s entire project to this Discussion Board. Then, each student will provide feedback to each of the other teams about their projects, including suggestions for improving their documents.

Midterm Exam

Question 1

This type of pay is often given to employees upon involuntary termination, and in some cases also includes continued medical insurance under the company’s policy.

Sympathy pay

Continued employment pay

Resignation pay

Severance pay

Question 2

These describe the terms of employment that are set between management and union bargaining representatives.

Collective bargaining agreements

Joint employment agreements

Employee relationship agreements

Workplace requisite agreements

Question 3

This strategic human resource concept allows employees to work the hours that are most suitable to them in order to meet both their personal and business needs.

Flextime

Reward time

Free time

Personal time

Question 4

What is type of pay system rewards employees for partially or completely attaining a predetermined work objective?

Incentive pay

Seniority pay

Merit pay

Skill-based pay

Question 5

What US federal law established a national minimum wage for employees involved in commerce (rather than just those employed by companies working for the US government), as well as prohibit most employment of minors in oppressive child labor?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Equal Pay Act of 1963

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

Question 6

What are responsible for guiding the activities of a particular company in the market?

Tactical decisions

Strategic decisions

Informative decisions

Worker majority decisions

Question 7

Which of the following would be an example of a non-monetary reward?

All of the above

Vacations

Medical insurance

Day care assistance

Question 8

What is the primary factor that will prevent companies from growing in the next decade?

Caps on executive pay in some organizations

Increased government regulations

The inability to attract and retain employees

Increased global competition

Question 9

This is a way in which companies often trim their payroll responsibilities by encouraging higher paid workers with more seniority to voluntarily leave the company earlier than previously planned.

Early retirement programs

Resignation plans

Employee expenditure plans

Severance plans

Question 10

This group is directly involved in producing goods and delivering services for a company.

Executives

Line employees

Managers

Staff employees

Subsection

Question 11

What governmental agency enforces the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (in addition to enforcing many other employment discrimination laws)?

EEOC

ATF

WWE

NAACP

Question 12

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against people with physical and mental disabilities both within and outside employment settings, including public transportation, public accommodations, and employment.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Executive Order 11246

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1991

Question 13

This amendment to the US Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, individual states, and Indian Tribes.

The Fifth Amendment

The First Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1

Article I, Section 8

Question 14

A policy that applies to all company employees, but unintentionally hurts a protected group disproportionately would be what form of discrimination?

Disparate impact

Disparate treatment

Situational discrimination

Disparate causality

Question 15

This act strengthened the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by now requiring employers to show that pay disparities are job related rather than sex-based. This act also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who share their salary information.

The Davis Act

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Paycheck Fairness Act

Question 16

What are the revised guidelines introduced in 2004 for determining whether jobs are exempt from FLSA overtime pay provisions called?

Overtime Nonexempt Rules

Fair Pay Rules

Glass Ceiling Act

Bennett Amendment

Question 17

Which of these was given as a reason why union influence has diminished?

Technological advances

All of the above

Foreign automobile manufacturers producing higher quality vehicles

Union companies demonstrating lower profits than non-union companies

Question 18

These types of jobs are subject to the FLSA overtime provisions?

Equal

Nonexempt

Nonequal

Exempt

Question 19

This was enacted in order to allow employees who are terminated, laid off, or have a change in their employment status to temporarily remain on the employer-sponsored medical insurance plan.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA)

The Civil Rights Act of 1991

Question 20

Construction contractors, working on government contracts valued at more than $2,000, must pay their laborers and mechanics what type of local area based wage according to the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931?

Prevailing wage

Minimum wage

Prevalent wage

Discretionary wage

Subsection

Question 21

For a merit pay system to work for a company using the lowest-cost competitive strategy which two conditions must be met?

Employees are creative risk takers & the company’s competitive strategy has a long term focus.

Employees are creative risk takers & pay increases are tied to productivity.

Pay increases are tied to productivity & productivity levels are maintained over time.

Productivity levels are maintained over time & employees are creative risk takers.

Question 22

This ratings error term refers to managers who have a tendency to allow their initial judgment about an employee to ignore or distort their appraisal of that employee’s actual performance?

Critical incident error

The first-impression effect

Bias error

The similar-to-me effect

Question 23

Which evaluation system requires that supervisors compare each employee to every other employee, identifying the better performer in each pair?

The critical incident technique

Paired comparison

Forced distribution

Hierarchical

Question 24

Which of the following is an advantage of seniority pay systems?

They encourage employees to continue to increase their skill sets

They reward exemplary performance

They reward employees on an objective basis

They help to promote product quality

Question 25

Among the various performance appraisal techniques, this appraisal system is the most defensible in court because it is based on actual observable job performance behaviors.

Forced distribution

Paired comparison

360 degree performance appraisals

Behaviorally-anchored rating scales

Question 26

This type of performance rater’s error occurs when the rater generalizes bad behavior on one aspect of the employee’s job performance to the employee’s over-all performance.

Negative leniency error

Negative halo effect

Error of strictness

Negative impression errors

Question 27

Which performance appraisal tool is most often used with managers and professional employees?

Comparison systems

Management by objectives

Behavioral systems

Trait systems

Question 28

Which performance appraisal error reflects the tendency to rate every employee at the low end of the rating scale, regardless of actual performance?

Negative halo error

Contrast errors

Errors of strictness

Error of central tendency

Question 29

This term refers to the minimum pay increase that employees view as a significant change in their compensation amount?

Minimal pay incident

Just-meaningful pay increase

Satisfactory compensation payment

Halo effect increase

Question 30

Which performance appraisal system displays illustrations only of positive behaviors shown by an employee in various job dimensions?

Behavioral observation scales (BOS)

Management by objectives (MBO)

Behaviorally-anchored rating scales (BARS)

Critical incident technique (CIT)

Subsection

Question 31

This incentive plan has a buy-back provision.

ESOPs

Rucker

Scanlon

Improshare

Question 32

Behavioral encouragement plans work best as an incentive for which type of competitive strategy?

Cyclical

Differentiation

Lowest-cost

Highest quality

Question 33

Which of the following is true concerning incentive pay?

Motivates employees to be more productive, but does little to control payroll costs.

Awards are granted in one-time payouts.

Incentive levels are generally subjective in nature.

The award is earned only when the predetermined work objective is totally completed.

Question 34

Which of the following is true about the level of risk involved with incentive pay?

The level of risk is lower for higher-level employees than those who are lower in the job structure.

The level of risk decreases as incentive pay represents a greater proportion of total core compensation.

The level of risk depends on the extent to which employees control the attainment of a desired goal.

The level of risk is dependent on subjective performance appraisals.

Question 35

Which of the following is true of most general stock compensation plans?

Company stock represents partial equity in the company.

The company stock shares represent equity segments of equal value.

Stock options refer to what an employee can do with the stock once they purchase it.

Employees own the stock upon purchase.

Question 36

Which gain sharing program measures productivity physically rather than in terms of dollar savings, and emphasizes the rapid completion of products by employees?

Rucker

Management incentive plan

Improshare

The Scanlon Plan

Question 37

The general rule of thumb is that short-term company goals last less than how long?

1 month

5 years

6 months

1 year

Question 38

Gunther Rohn was rewarded for making a suggestion that saved Ewe and Eye Electronics thousands of dollars. Which type of incentive compensation approach might have worked best?

Group incentive programs

Ganagement incentive plans

Employee stock ownership plan

Gain sharing plan

Question 39

Which gain sharing plan focuses on lowering the percentage of labor costs using a value-added formula?

Behavior encouragement plan

Improshare

Scanlon Plan

Rucker Plan

Question 40

This group incentive system was designed to provide employees with financial incentives for increasing customer satisfaction, increasing productivity, lowering costs, or improving safety.

Gain Sharing

Team based

Small group

Profit sharing

Subsection

Question 41

Skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and feedback are the elements that make up this theory.

Position requisite

Job characteristics

Position components

Job demands

Question 42

Teams that have members learn scheduling, coordinating, training, and leading others are emphasized in what type of work team?

Supervisory work teams

Management teams

Non-supervised work teams

Self-regulating work groups

Question 43

Pay-for-knowledge and skill-based pay are two types of person-focused pay programs that fall under this pay category.

Service based

Competency-based

Innovation-based

Stair-step

Question 44

Jamie earned a raise in pay when he finished the training for the Technician 2 position. He will receive another raise when he finishes the training for the Technician 3 position. The company is probably using which type of pay program?

The stair-step model

The skill blocks model

The job-point accrual model

The cross-departmental model

Question 45

Which of the following are the two main reasons given for adopting pay-for-knowledge programs?

Smaller labor markets and strategic outlines

Market monopolies and company turnover

Technological innovations and increased global competition

Market monopolies and lower labor costs

Question 46

Which of the following is a characteristic of job-based pay?

It rewards employees on their promise to make positive contributions to the work place.

It compensates employees for the number of jobs in which they possess the skills to perform.

It compensates employees for the jobs they are currently performing.

A reward is based on the successful acquisition of work-related skills or knowledge.

Question 47

This is considered “at the heart” of person-focused pay programs.

Management

Innovation

Training

Data

Question 48

In this pay-for-knowledge model, employees are rewarded for increasing their skills within a single job family, even if the skills do NOT build on each other.

Cross-departmental

Stair-step

Job-point accrual

Skill blocks

Question 49

This term refers to the degree to which the job enables the employee to work on it from start to finish.

Skill variety

Task significance

Task identity

Feedback

Question 50

What is one of the main differences between a skill blocks model and a stair-step model?

The skill blocks model only emphasizes horizontal skills.

The stair-step model addresses depth, while the skill blocks model emphasizes both horizontal and vertical skills.

Stair-step models do not apply to jobs within the same family.

Employees do not progress to more complex jobs in the stair-step model.

Subsection

Question 51

The federal GS classification system is divided into how many classifications?

21

6

10

15

Question 52

Developing internally consistent job structures affects the competitive strategy of a company. Which of the following is a potential constraint on competitive strategy?

Internally consistent job structures lead to less routinization.

Internally consistent job structures potentially create far more bureaucratization within an organization.

Internally consistent structures potentially reduce a company’s rigidity to respond to moves by the competition.

Internally consistent job structures potentially cause the definition of jobs to become less fluid.

Question 53

This replaced the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, and identifies 23 major occupational groups.

American Occupational Classification Network

O*NET

Standard Occupational Classification System

Occupational Information Network

Question 54

Which job evaluation method entails ordering jobs on the basis of extremes?

Classification

Paired comparison

Factor comparison

Alternation ranking

Question 55

What was the main effect created by the revisions to the ADA regulations passed in 2008?

It is now easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.

Costs will be contained much more than in the past.

Companies may no longer perform job analyses to see if they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

There are more hurdles for individuals seeking protection under the ADA to pass through in order to weed out false claims.

Question 56

In the job analysis process this term represents a group of positions that are identical with respect to their major tasks.

Job family

Occupation

Job

Element

Question 57

These two are job evaluation techniques.

Market-based & job content

Market-based & appeals-based

Compensable content & job-based

Compensable content & job content

Question 58

Which job evaluation plan is most widely used by companies due to its ability to balance internal and external market considerations?

Ranking

Factor comparison

Point method

Classification

Question 59

Universal compensable factors are derived from which federal Act?

Fair Labor Standards Act

Civil Rights Act of 1963

Equal Pay Act

Americans with Disabilities Act

Question 60

Which job evaluation technique orders all jobs from lowest to highest according to a single criterion?

Point method

Paired comparison

Simple-ranking

Alternation

Subsection

Question 61 Explain the job characteristics theory. How does it tie in with intrinsic compensation?

understanding the work in which they are carrying out. Hence, developing a sense of greater personal achievement ,hence the workers are intrinsically compensated.

Question 62 Explain the compensation professional’s role in serving each of the following stakeholders: Employees, executives, and the U.S. government.

Final exam

Question 1 (1 point) Question 1 Und

Which term is used to describe the situation where the pay spread between newly hired employees and more qualified job incumbents is small?

Question 1 options:

Pay structures

Red circle pay rates

Pay compression

Green circle pay rates

Question 2 (1 point) Question 2 Und

In March 2011, U.S. companies spent approximately how much per employee for discretionary benefits?

Question 2 options:

$3,050

$15,000

$1,200

$28,995

Question 3 (1 point) Question 3 Und

How are compa-ratios calculated?

Question 3 options:

Dividing the green circle rates mid-point by the normal pay range

Dividing an employee’s pay rate by the pay range midpoint

Dividing the employee’s pay rate by the market line rate

Dividing the red circle rates by the normal pay range

Question 4 (1 point) Question 4 Und

This type of commission draw acts as a salary because employees are not obligated to repay the loans if they do not sell enough to cover the amount.

Question 4 options:

Graduated draw

Nonrecurring draw

Nonrecoverable draw

Safe draw

Question 5 (1 point) Question 5 Und

Which of the following are the three measures of dispersion?

Question 5 options:

Percentile standard, deviation, arithmetic mean

Arithmetic mean, percentile, quartile

Standard deviation, quartile, percentile

Quartile, arithmetic mean, standard deviation

Question 6 (1 point) Question 6 Und

This federal Act requires contractors with federal contracts worth over $2,000 to pay wages at least equal to those prevailing in the area where the work is being done.

Question 6 options:

Davis-Bacon Act

Fair Labor Standards Act

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Equal Pay Act

Question 7 (1 point) Question 7 Und

This term refers to a group of two or more jobs that are based on similar work characteristics, duties, and responsibilities.

Question 7 options:

Market pay line

Benchmark jobs

Quartiles

Occupational classification

Question 8 (1 point) Question 8 Und

Market lag policies are generally set to which quartile in the salary survey?

Question 8 options:

2nd

4th

1st

3rd

Question 9 (1 point) Question 9 Und

This is a loan from the company to the employee that is carried forward indefinitely until the employee sells enough to repay it.

Question 9 options:

An interest-free loan

A non-recoverable draw

A recoverable draw

Commission-plus-draw plan

Question 10 (1 point) Question 10 Und

The Consumer Price Index represents the average price changes for the price of goods and services in how many regions?

Question 10 options:

8

6

4

2

Question 11 (1 point) Question 11 Und

Which BLS survey covers the incidence and detailed provisions of selected benefit plans, with the data being presented as a percentage of employees who have access to the benefit plans?

Question 11 options:

Employer Costs for Employee Compensation

National Compensation Survey

National Benefit Index

Employment Cost Index

Question 12 (1 point) Question 12 Und

If the company adopts a market lag policy, how will that company’s pay range midpoint compare to the market average?

Question 12 options:

The midpoint will be lower than the market average.

There is not enough information to determine the answer.

The midpoint will be the same as the market average.

The midpoint will be higher than the market average.

Question 13 (1 point) Question 13 Und

When these are used to develop pay grade widths, the grades are based on a set number of job evaluation points for each grade that increases as an employee moves up the pay structure.

Question 13 options:

Pay rate spreads

Absolute job evaluation points spreads

Percentage-based job evaluation point spreads

Pay range spreads

Question 14 (1 point) Question 14 Und

Market match policies are generally set to which quartile in the salary survey?

Question 14 options:

1st

3rd

4th

2nd

Question 15 (1 point) Question 15 Und

This term refers to the groupings of jobs based on compensable factors, for the purpose of applying pay policies.

Question 15 options:

Pay grades

Market-competitive pay structures

Pay ranges

Market lines

Question 16 (1 point) Question 16 Und

These are tools used by employers to determine the pay levels needed to recruit highly qualified employees.

Question 16 options:

External market surveys

Compensation surveys

Strategic surveys

Internal market surveys

Question 17 (1 point) Question 17 Und

This type of pay rate applies to an employee who is demoted but is paid more than the maximum rate for the pay grade he is now in.

Question 17 options:

Green circle

Multi-tier pay

Red circle

Graduated pay

Question 18 (1 point) Question 18 Und

What does it mean when the distribution of data is skewed to the right?

Question 18 options:

There is a lower frequency of larger values and the median is greater than the mean.

There is a higher frequency of larger values and the median is greater than the mean.

There is a lower frequency of larger values and the mean is greater than the median.

There is a higher frequency of larger values and the mean is greater than the median

Question 19 (1 point) Question 19 Und

This theory suggests that an employee must regard his own ratio of merit increase pay to performance as similar to the ratio for other comparably performing people in the company.

Question 19 options:

Comparable ratio theory

Equality theory

Comparable pay theory

Equity theory

Question 20 (1 point) Question 20 Und

Jose Escobar conducts a survey of salaries at UB2 Enterprises and finds that 50% of the workers fall below the market pay average of $32,000. In which quartile do the workers at ERL Enterprises fall?

Question 20 options:

Fourth

First

Third

Second

Question 21 (1 point) Question 21 Und

Discretionary benefits are generally divided into which three categories?

Question 21 options:

Intellectual enhancements, health benefits, and services

Health benefits, intellectual enhancements, and paid time-off

Services, paid time-off, and protection programs

Pension benefits, protection programs, and health benefits

Question 22 (1 point) Question 22 Und

What specifies the rate at which participants accumulate benefits?

Question 22 options:

Combination procedures

Sarbanes-Oxley

Build-up rules

Accrual rules

Question 23 (1 point) Question 23 Und

Which type of contingent worker tends to have specialized skills that are in relatively limited supply in the labor market?

Question 23 options:

Temporary employees

Leased employees

Part-time employees

Independent contractors

Question 24 (1 point) Question 24 Und

Marty’s employer has a prescription drug plan that will only make him pay 20% of cost of his prescription, if he goes only to certain pharmacies. What type of prescription drug plan does he have?

Question 24 options:

Mail order prescription drug plan

Prescription reimbursement plan

Medical reimbursement plan

Prescription card program

Question 25 (1 point) Question 25 Und

Which of the following is associated with 401(k) plans?

Question 25 options:

Employees cannot deduct their contributions from taxable income.

Employees pay taxes on their contribution.

Investment gains are taxed.

Employees do not pay taxes on their contributions.

Question 26 (1 point) Question 26 Und

What is the term used when a company offers stock to its employees?

Question 26 options:

Stock grant

Stock allocation

Stock disposition

Stock option

Question 27 (1 point) Question 27 Und

Who has the authority to define a “year of service” for pension protection purposes?

Question 27 options:

The U.S. Department of Labor

The union

The human resources department

The chief executive officer

Question 28 (1 point) Question 28 Und

How many hours (including all paid time for performing work and paid time off) will Jamal have to work to complete a “year of service”?

Question 28 options:

100

270

100

185

Question 29 (1 point) Question 29 Und

A short-term incentive plan would most likely be used for which company employee?

Question 29 options:

A new employee in training

The company’s CEO

A mid-level manager

A sanitation worker

Question 30 (1 point) Question 30 Und

What is the only state that requires employee contributions under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA)?

Question 30 options:

Michigan

Alaska

Florida

California

Question 31 (1 point) Question 31 Und

To be fully insured under OASDI, Simone would have to work at least how long?

Question 31 options:

5 years

10 years

12 months

24 months

Question 32 (1 point) Question 32 Und

This type of consumer driven health care program allows employees to carry-over the unused funds still in their account.

Question 32 options:

Health reimbursement account

Health savings account

Flexible spending account

Flexible savings account

Question 33 (1 point) Question 33 Und

The approximate annual cost of employee assistance programs (EAPs) is usually no more than how much?

Question 33 options:

$60

$10

$200

$100

Question 34 (1 point) Question 34 Und

Which type of contingent worker would work for a company on a long-term basis, presumably on an indefinite basis?

Question 34 options:

Temporary employees

Leased employees

Part-time employees

Independent contractors

Question 35 (1 point) Question 35 Und

What is the only state where employers are not required to fund workers’ compensation programs?

Question 35 options:

Texas

New York

Michigan

Oregon

Question 36 (1 point) Question 36 Und

When a telecommuting employee works from a remote extension from the employer’s office that includes a clerical staff and a full-time manager, that employee is said to be working at what type of office?

Question 36 options:

Neighborhood work center

Remote work office

Nomadic work center

Satellite work center

Question 37 (1 point) Question 37 Und

The safe harbor rule requires that the contingent worker be covered by whose

pension plan?

Question 37 options:

The leasing company

The client company

The employee is responsible for his or her own pension

Depends on the contractual arrangement between the leasing company and the employer

Question 38 (1 point) Question 38 Und

In which state would an employee be eligible for an additional 13 weeks of emergency unemployment insurance (for a total of 33 weeks) under the Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008 due to excessively high state unemployment?

Question 38 options:

Montana

Alabama

Michigan

North Dakota

Question 39 (1 point) Question 39 Und

How many days must temporary and seasonal employees work to meet ERISA requirements to participate in a company’s qualified retirement plan?

Question 39 options:

200

100

125

250

Question 40 (1 point) Question 40 Und

Outplacement assistance programs are best suited for which condition?

Question 40 options:

Workforce increases

Global operations

New plant openings

Mergers and acquisitions

Question 41 (1 point) Question 41 Und

To be covered by FLSA overtime and minimum wage provisions, seasonal employees must work for a company that is open how many months in a year?

Question 41 options:

4

12

11

7

Question 42 (1 point) Question 42 Und

Most contingent workers were employed as what, in 2005?

Question 42 options:

Temporary employees

Independent contractors

On-call employees

Leased employees

Question 43 (1 point) Question 43 Und

As of March 2011, discretionary benefits accounted for as much as what percentage of an employer’s total payroll costs?

Question 43 options:

50%

60%

75%

30%

Question 44 (1 point) Question 44 Und

A worker considered part-time is working less than how many hours in a week?

Question 44 options:

25

39

35

30

Question 45 (1 point) Question 45 Und

This term refers to the percentage of the health bill the insured employee is required to pay.

Question 45 options:

Coinsurance

Co-admission

Co-payment

Co-premiums

Question 46 (1 point) Question 46 Und

Which of the following would be considered an act as part of a company’s wellness program?

Question 46 options:

Offering anti-smoking courses

Giving out cigars to expecting fathers

Putting a soda machine in the break room

Giving employees free pizza at lunch

Question 47 (1 point) Question 47 Und

Julio wants to apply for unemployment benefits, how much will he have to have earned, in the last four quarters, to qualify?

Question 47 options:

$1,000 total

$10,000 total

$100 total

$5,000 total

Question 48 (1 point) Question 48 Und

MomPop’s General Store can avoid paying workers’ compensation taxes if it keeps its staff to less than how many employees?

Question 48 options:

25

50

12

100

Question 49 (1 point) Question 49 Und

The IRS uses the term “highly compensated employees” for what purpose?

Question 49 options:

Fo determine the necessity of top-heavy provisions in health insurance plans

For non-discrimination rules in employer-sponsored health insurance benefits

To determine the necessity of top-heavy provisions in qualified retirement plans

For non-discrimination rules in employer-sponsored retirement benefits

Question 50 (1 point) Question 50 Und

As of 2011, how much would you have to earn to qualify for one quarter of credit for OASDI coverage?

Question 50 options:

$920 a month

$1,090 a year

$625 a month

$625 a year

Question 51 (1 point) Question 51 Und

According to the safe harbor rules, leased employees can make-up no more than what percentage of your company’s total workforce?

Question 51 options:

20%

10%

25%

33%

Question 52 (1 point) Question 52 Und

Which type of contingent worker is most likely to be involved in a job sharing

arrangement?

Question 52 options:

Part-time employees

Temporary employees

Independent contractors

Leased employees

Question 53 (1 point) Question 53 Und

This is the difference between the stock price at the time of purchase and the lower stock price at the time an executive receives the stock option.

Question 53 options:

Fair market value

Capital gains

Discounted value

Disposition value

Question 54 (1 point) Question 54 Und

Which executive bonus amount varies with the extent to which a pre-established minimum performance level is met?

Question 54 options:

Target plan

Discretionary

Performance-contingent

Predetermined allocation

Question 55 (1 point) Question 55 Und

In the end, Yolanda beat Tristen and Michel in a series of competitions among top-level managers to become CEO of National LemGlass. Which compensation theory did the company probably use?

Question 55 options:

Competition

Comparison

Agency

Tournament

Question 56 (1 point) Question 56 Und

This type of executive bonus is based on a bonus pool that is determined by a fixed-formula that is not determined by the executive’s performance.

Question 56 options:

Predetermined allocation

Target plan

Performance-contingent

Discretionary

Question 57 (1 point) Question 57 Und

A golden parachute clause can be triggered by which of the following?

Question 57 options:

Retirement

Disability

Corporate takeover

Resignation

Question 58 (1 point) Question 58 Und

The SEC requires compensation information on the CEO and how many of the highest paid executives?

Question 58 options:

2

7

10

4

Question 59 (1 point) Question 59 Und

When he became CEO, Duane was given a stock option that does not require him to exercise his options in order to receive income. Which plan is it?

Question 59 options:

Golden parachute

Stock appreciation rights

Restricted stock

Discount stock

Question 60 (1 point) Question 60 Und

The IRS considers Sylvia to be a highly compensated employee for Beautiful Pictures, Inc., which means she has at least one of which of the following qualifications in the preceding year?

Question 60 options:

1% owner in the top paid employee group

Made over $75,000

Made over $50,000

5% owner in the top paid employee group

Question 61 (45 points) Question 61 Und

What are hardship allowances? What are their features? How does the U.S. Department of State determine the value of these allowances? Your response should be 200-250 words in length.

Who are the key players in setting executive compensation? Detail their different roles. Your response should be 200-250 words in length.