Deck 3: Rewarding Teamwork: Compensation and Performance Appraisals

Question 1

Regarding team evaluations and rater biases, of the following descriptions, what is the best definition of the primacy and recency bias?

A) People want to hold the same opinion of someone, as does the rest of the group.
B) People are overly affected by their first impression or most recent interaction with a person.
C) People feel a strong obligation to return favorable treatment to a person who has shown them favorable treatment.
D) People tend to perceive people's behaviors as reflecting their personality rather than temporary, situational factors.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When using incentives to motivate a team, the team can respond with unintended negative behaviors such as __________.

A) social loafing and free riding.
B) severely pressuring other team members to decrease performance.
C) a decrease in team competitiveness.
D) performance gains and increased communication.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

People feel a strong social obligation to return favors. Thus a potential flaw of 360-degree programs is that they are subject to collusion: "I'll give you a good rating if you give me one." This situation is an example of:

A) experience effect.
B) bandwagon bias.
C) reciprocity bias.
D) conflict of interest bias.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

When a team member receives insight that changes their perspective about a manager's business decision, such as the business reasons and considerations behind a manager's ultimate decision to pursue a certain course of action, this team member:

A) will likely find it difficult to take on the uninformed perspective of a coworker who was not privy to the options the manager weighed when considering what decision she was going to make.
B) will not tolerate to talk with any other team member who is uninformed about the reasons behind the manager's decision.
C) will feel morally superior to those team members who are still uninformed about the manager's reasons for the decision.
D) avoids social interaction with other team members who were also privy to this information.

Question 5

All of the following are potential problems with 360-degree feedback EXCEPT:

A) getting enough sources of feedback.
B) some systems can be abused or compromised if members make side-deals to rate one another favorably.
C) team members may be unpopular for reasons other than performance.
D) raters are guaranteed anonymity, and because they don't fear retaliation, they are overly critical in their evaluations.

Question 6

Recognition is considered one type of team-based pay. Recognition is best described as an):

A) opportunity to indirectly point out the worst performers in a team.
B) monetary award of at least $2500.
C) percentage of corporate profits given to the highest performing teams on an annual basis.
D) one-time award for a team performing well beyond expectations, or for completing a project, program, or product.

Question 7

A situation in which people believe they are more talented and contribute more than others give them credit for illustrates which type of bias?

A) Social comparison bias
B) Egocentric bias
C) Fairness bias
D) Intrinsic interest bias

Question 8

The 360-degree feedback method is best described as:

A) an employee is rated by others each day of the year for a full year.
B) an employee is evaluated on 360-data-points by a group of upper management directors who generally have no day- to-day contact with the employee.
C) multiple raters from different levels and vantage points evaluate an employee.
D) an employee evaluates his or her own performance, and compares it to the standards put forth by the company at large.

Question 9

The extrinsic incentives bias is best described as the tendency for people to:

A) care more about short-term gain than long-term interest.
B) care more about what others think of them than their own self-view.
C) believe that others are motivated more by money than by the meaning of the work.
D) believe that others are self-motivated when, in fact, they are free riders.

Question 10

A student feels less proud of an "A" they received on a difficult test when they learn that everyone in the class received an "A" on the test. This type of ratee bias is attributed to:

A) listening to advice bias.
B) fairness bias.
C) bandwagon bias.
D) social comparison bias.

Question 11

Base pay is a person's regular salary. Base pay differs from variable pay. Base pay is based on:

A) internal equity job evaluation) and external equity market data).
B) the number of people applying for the position, and how quickly the position needs to be filled.
C) government-determined diversity quotas, and the tax credits available to the employer.
D) the familiarity with a candidate's professional reputation, and the size of the candidate's network of social connections.

Question 12

The Team Diagnostic Survey, developed by Wageman, Hackman, and Lehman, assesses team members' quality of work relationships, motivation, satisfaction, and:

A) financial health.
B) policy compliance.
C) effectiveness of team task processes.
D) emotional maturity.

Question 13

An incentive plan where a portion of the bottom-line economic company profits is given to employees is called __________. An incentive plan that combines a measurement of productivity with a financial bonus related to any increases in organizational productivity is called __________.

A) job-based pay; skill-based pay
B) competency-based pay; productivity-based pay
C) profit sharing; gain sharing
D) bonus sharing; incentive pay

Question 14

There are several useful "guiding principles" that leaders should follow when instituting team-based pay. All of the following are useful guidelines EXCEPT:

A) the balance between individual- and team-based pay should be in proportion to the amount of individual and team-based work an employee does.
B) the goals should be difficult enough that members cannot actually reach them so as to provide a true stretch of performance.
C) team members who will be affected by the program should be consulted ahead of time.
D) the criteria used to determine the pay should be quantified.

Question 15

Of the following, which is an advantage of competency-based pay?

A) Competency-based pay systems promote less flexibility in employees.
B) Individuals who get the opportunity to use their multi-faceted skill set often develop accurate perspectives on organizational problems and challenges.
C) This pay system leads to less committed employees.
D) An organization with a competency-based pay system must invest a large amount of company money in training and evaluating employees.

Question 16

In addition to biases existing on the part of people who do the ratings, the people who receive evaluations i.e., the ratees) can be biased as well. One example of ratee bias is egocentric bias, which is best described as the tendency to:

A) evaluate oneself more favorably than others do.
B) believe that one is not in touch with their inner needs.
C) believe that oneself is less fortunate and more incompetent than others.
D) believe that others are envious of one's good looks and competencies.

Question 17

Regarding the building of a variable team-based pay structure, which of the following choices is most true in relation to this guiding principle: "Goals should cover areas that team members can directly affect"?

A) In effective programs, rewards are contingent upon who makes the most sacrifices for the team's goals.
B) Compensation will not motivate employees unless there is a direct line of sight between performance and results.
C) When incentives are exclusively tied to the final profit of a company or group, the connection between performance and reward is strengthened.
D) In effective, variable team-based pay structures, rewards are contingent upon the employee's social status.

Question 18

Which type of performance appraisal is best used with teams?

A) Skill-based pay
B) Job-based pay
C) Competency-based pay
D) They are all used for team performance appraisals.

Question 19

In regard to job-based pay systems, a key advantage for organizations is:

A) the organization can determine what other companies are paying, and can assess whether they are paying more or less than their competition.
B) the team members are typically paid only for the skills that they have and are willing to use.
C) this system promotes skill flexibility in employees, thereby increasing the number of things one employee can do.
D) this system encourages decentralized control of an organization's pay system.

Question 20

An example of the Halo Bias is:

A) a white female manager shows more favor towards her white female subordinates than she does to the white male subordinates.
B) Kathy's work productivity has declined because she is suffering from a toothache. Kathy's boss doesn't know about her toothache and rates her work unfavorably this week.
C) Jim gives Bill more favorable feedback when he meets with him face-to-face than he would if he was able to give him feedback via e-mail.
D) a physically attractive team member is perceived to be smart.

Question 21

Many team programs fail, not because they are inherently flawed, but because they create problems with other teams within the organization. Managers of these teams often have __________ in regard to how their own team issues affect other teams within the company.

A) future-oriented work expectations
B) organizational myopia
C) emotional frustration
D) a conflict of interest

Question 22

When building a variable team-based pay structure, __________ measurement periods and __________ payouts motivate employees more, and are __________.

A) longer; slower; more predictable
B) shorter; faster; fairer
C) variable; smaller; better for performance
D) longer; higher; easier to track

Question 23

The process by which an organization introduces a program is more important than the program itself. The programs with the greatest likelihood of success are those that:

A) treat everyone equally.
B) implement input from all levels of the organization.
C) have a diverse mix of employees.
D) have motivated employees.