HRM 598 Compensation Final Exam Solution
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HRM 598 Compensation Final Exam Solution
1-(TCO A) You are a consultant hired by the Herrington Specialty Metal Sheeting Corporation of Detroit, Michigan to assist the HR Director in redesigning the compensation system. The organization has just gone through an acquisition of a smaller metal sheet company with similar products. Herrington has grown from 80 to 100 employees as a result. You are scheduled to meet with the HR Director and begin to discuss what will have to be considered. You plan to tell her about the strategic pay policies and pay models. Describe four strategic policy decisions that will have to be made in designing her compensation system. What are these strategic pay policies and how will they be relevant to the organization? In addition, indicate what goals a compensation system should have. The four strategic policy decisions that one must make when creating a compensation system are intemal alignment, external competitiveness, employee contributions, and management. A compensation system should include efficiency, fairness, and compliance.
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(TCO B) Green Screen Technology, Inc. a leader in the motion picture graphics industry, is an 8-year-old southern California company. The Green Screen Technology is generally regarded as the most creative and initiative companies on the West Coast. It has been able to develop the forward-looking technology and attract some of the best employees available. As the compensation director, you have been asked to develop a job-based point evaluation plan for the organization. Briefly describe a job-based point evaluation plan. Discuss four compensable factors that you would include in the job-based point evaluation plan. Be sure to define each factor, justify why you selected it, and provide the weights or scales that you would assign to it.
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(TCO B) You are the compensation manager for Middle Financial Services. The organization buys, repackages, and sells financial instruments. The organization’s five major units are sales and marketing, new products development, legal services and compliance, IT services, and management. 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?
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(TCO C) You are the compensation manager in an established video game company that is having difficulty in hiring staff members in the game development division. Until recently, this division has been able to attract some of the best new graduates of computer science colleges but has seen candidates accept positions with other companies.
What competitive market pay policy would you recommend for the company to use? In order to make your recommendation, what additional 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. 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 such as a behavioral anchored rating scale (BARS), a management by objectives (MBO) format, or a 360-degree multirater approach? Describe the four types of performance assessment approaches. Recommend one and justify why you have chosen it. Spellchecker
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(TCO D) The new HR VP is concerned about the performance appraisal process in the hand-held video game company where you are the compensation manager. You then review 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. Spellchecker I
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(TCO H) You are the HR VP for the Carringten Auto Brake Lining Company. A recent economic downturn has seriously affected the auto industry and your company, as well. Your company has merged with two other brake component companies in an effort to gain production efficiencies and lower unit costs. You are the lead HR person for the new entity. Based on your analysis of the three previous executive compensation approaches, you have decided with board approval to redesign the executive compensation for the new combined organization. Describe the components of an executive compensation plan. Explain how these components can help support organizational strategies, attract candidates to the executive team vacancies, and retain the other current executives. Spellchecker
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(TCO G) As HR Director, you have arranged a management training program for managers and executives on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because it is probably the most comprehensive and far-reaching legislation that affects compensation decisions in the organization. Describe the four key requirements and why they are important in compensation. (Points : 30) Spellchecker
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(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) Spellchecker
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(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
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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) (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 creating a 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) (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) (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) Page Two (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) (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. (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.
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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 farreaching legislation that affects compensation. Describe the four key requirements and why they are important in compensation. (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?