Devry HRM598 Final Exam ANSWERS

HRM 598 Final Exam ANSWERS
1. (TCO A) The new CEO of your company, who just came from a
competitor, has just asked you to discuss the organization’s compensation
system. As the compensation manager, you tell him about the organization’s
nearly 500 employees in about 70 different job titles who are located in three
locations in L.A. He asks you to describe the strategy used to guide
compensation system decisions. You explain that ordinarily, pay models are
guided by several strategic policies. Describe what goals a compensation system
should have and how four strategic pay policies apply to the organization.
(Points : 30)
2. (TCO B) The VP for HR met with you, the compensation manager,
to go over the new strategies for attracting new employees for the offshore oil
recovery division. The division works with oil production companies to help
prevent oil spills and recover oil where leakages have occurred. The division
employs many engineers and scientists with expertise in hydraulics, oil
production, chemistry, etc. Employee assignments are often for three to six
months in different countries around the world. The VP for HR indicates that
you should use a job-based point method.
In creatinga job-based point evaluation plan for the organization,
identify and discuss four compensable factors that you would incorporate in the
job-based point evaluation plan. Please describe a job-based point evaluation
plan. In addition, define each factor, justify why you selected it, and provide
the weights or scales that you would assign to it. (Points : 30)
3. (TCO B) You are the Compensation Director for Forever-Green
Plywood, Inc. The company buys timber, manufactures plywood sheets, and sells
on the international market. The organization’s three major units are timber
purchasing (with five employees), manufacturing plant (with 120 employees), and
sales and management (with 12 employees).
You need to develop a job evaluation plan for the organization.
Describe the difference between person-based plans and job-based plans. Explain
which one you would use. What factors would you consider? What is one advantage
and disadvantage of each? (Points : 30)
4. (TCO C) A high-tech start-up company has retained your services
to assist them in determining a competitive market pay policy for the company
to use as they staff up. In order to help them, what information would you need
about the company? Describe four competitive market pay policies, and give an
example of when an organization might want to use each policy. (Points : 30)
5. (TCO D) You are a consultant who specializes in compensation.
You are working with Midwest Highway, Ltd., a road construction company housing
five plants that produce materials for road building. The CEO of the company
wants to know what type of performance measurement tool should be used in its
production facilities in the future. The main production job in the five plants
(about 85 out of the total of 125) involves operation of machines that mix and
form the surfacing materials. The production lines are well established and
product lines are consistent. The job appears to you to be a low-level one with
prescribed routines.
The CEO asks you the following question: Should we consider a
straight ranking approach, a rating system like a behavioral anchored rating
scale (BARS), a management by objectives (MBO) format, or a 360-degree
multi-rater approach? Describe the four types of performance assessment
approaches. Recommend one and justify why you have chosen it.(Points : 30)
HR598 Final Exam Page 2
1. (TCO D) As the Compensation Manager of a large accounting firm,
you have reviewed the results of the last performance appraisal cycle. It
appears that supervisors and managers may be having difficulty in doing the
appraisals. You are concerned about validity and reliability of the process.
In preparation for a training program for supervisors and
managers, identify at least three common errors in the performance appraisal
process and describe them. In addition, describe steps to minimize these
errors. (Points : 30)
2. (TCO F) You are a Compensation Consultant working with a Top
100 bank on the East Coast of the U.S. The Board of Directors of the bank is in
the process of hiring a new CEO. They indicate that they are concerned about
public perception. You are invited to a Compensation Committee meeting to
recommend an executive compensation strategy.
Describe the components of an executive compensation plan and
explain how these components can help support the organizational strategy.
(Points : 30)
3. (TCO G). The management team of the Fossety Iron Works has
raised questions about compensation policies and procedures. They do not seem
to understand the basic laws and regulations that affect compensation. The
chairperson of the team has asked you, as Compensation Manager, to explain the
most important laws to them. You selected Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to
start with because it is probably the most comprehensive and far-reaching
legislation that affects compensation.
Describe the four key requirements and why they are important in
compensation. (Points : 30)
4. (TCO E). As a Compensation Consultant, you have been asked by a
client organization to brief their management group on incentive plans like
gain-sharing and profit-sharing plans.
Briefly describe what gain-sharing and profit-sharing plans
involve. What conditions should exist prior to implementation to make it easier
to implement? What are the advantages and disadvantages of group incentives
like gain-sharing and profit-sharing plans? (Points : 30)