Deck 16: Creating High Performance Work Systems

Question 1

Ironically,involving employees in decision making and giving them the power to act tends to decrease employee engagement.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Moving power downward in organizations frequently requires structural change.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The primary principles that support high performance work systems are teams,empowerment,and hierarchy.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Knowledge development goes hand-in-hand with information sharing in high performance work systems.

Question 5

High-performance work systems depend on the shift from knowledge work to touch labor.

Question 6

Many high-performance work systems begin with highly directive recruitment and selection practices.

Question 7

It is not uncommon for employees to intentionally or unintentionally pursue outcomes that are beneficial to them but not necessarily to the organization as a whole.

Question 8

High-performance work systems frequently begin with the way work is designed.

Question 9

Employees who are given timely information about business plans,performance,and strategies,are more likely to make good suggestions for improving business.

Question 10

Open pay systems create a more egalitarian environment.

Question 11

Most high-performance work systems focus their training efforts on ensuring that employees have the skills necessary to assume a greater degree of responsibility.

Question 12

Training focuses on ensuring that employees have the skills they need to assume greater responsibility in a high-performance work environment.

Question 13

Redesigning workflow around key business processes results in a focus on employee tasks and tends to detract from teamwork.

Question 14

Today organizations are relying more on the expertise and initiative of employees.

Question 15

The principle of shared information typifies a shift in organizations away from the mentality of command and control toward one more focused on employee commitment.

Question 16

The compensation package is not significant for high performance work systems to succeed,as HPWSs generally focus on knowledge development and information sharing.

Question 17

To encourage employees to pursue job outcomes that are in alignment with the organization's goals,managers should be sure to link rewards to performance.

Question 18

One of the underlying ideas of high-performance work systems is that workers are intimately acquainted with the nature of their own work and are therefore in the best position to recognize problems and devise solutions to them.

Question 19

The principle of shared information is part of the implementation of a command and control organizational system.

Question 20

Most high performance work systems are able to isolate a single approach to a pay system that works for everyone.

Question 21

In a union environment,organization power in negotiating is the key criterion for successfully implementing high-performance work systems.

Question 22

Efforts to achieve external fit help focus the design of high-performance work systems on strategic priorities.

Question 23

The gap between today and the future represents a starting point for discussion when communicating business needs to employees.

Question 24

With fewer layers of management and a focus on team-based organization,the role of managers and supervisors is substantially different in an environment of high-performance work systems.

Question 25

Timely and accurate communications are essential for high-performance work systems to succeed.

Question 26

Most employees welcome change efforts.

Question 27

Using the HR scorecard,managers assess internal fit by determining whether particular HR practices reinforce one another.

Question 28

The richest communication occurs face to face.

Question 29

To achieve internal fit,high-performance work systems must support the organization's goals and strategies.

Question 30

In an environment of shared information,the richest communication occurs face-to-face.

Question 31

The synergy achieved through overlapping work and human resources practices is at the heart of what makes a high-performance system effective.

Question 32

To successfully implement high-performance work systems,managers should emphasize the strategic importance of the change effort.

Question 33

In a work system with a high degree of internal fit,adjusting one HR practice is not likely to substantially impact the other components of the work system.

Question 34

The HR Scorecard can be used to diagnose both internal and external fit.

Question 35

The HR scorecard helps managers assess the strategic alignment of their work systems.

Question 36

Formal commitments between management and unions to jointly implement high-performance work systems serve to institutionalize the relationship so that it keeps going even if key champions leave.

Question 37

When the components of a high-performance work system support the organization's goals and strategies,internal fit is achieved.

Question 38

One of the best ways to communicate the business needs to employees is to show them the gap between today's current performance and capabilities and where the organization needs to be in the future to be successful.

Question 39

Involving union members only after the design process and implementation plan has been completed helps build a bridge toward employee buy-in.

Question 40

When the elements of the work system complement and reinforce one another,internal fit is achieved.

Question 41

Which of the following principles typifies a shift way from mentality of command and control in organizations?

A) shared information
B) knowledge development
C) totalitarianism
D) linking rewards with performance

Question 42

Employee skills,knowledge,and abilities that are not equally available to all organizations are difficult to imitate.

Question 43

Which of the following is not a primary principle for support of high-performance work systems?

A) shared information
B) knowledge development
C) totalitarianism
D) linking rewards with performance

Question 44

Each organization has unique circumstances,and parties are more likely to commit to procedures they create and own.

Question 45

Because high performance work systems are difficult to implement,successful organizations
are difficult to copy.

Question 46

_____ occurs when all the internal elements of the work system complement and reinforce one another.

A) synergy
B) external fit
C) internal fit
D) benchmarking

Question 47

High-performance work systems need to be periodically evaluated in terms of organizational priorities and initiatives.

Question 48

To invest in employee knowledge development,all of the following HR practices would be appropriate except:

A) selecting the best and brightest candidates available.
B) providing all employees with continuous training.
C) rewarding employees for the acquisition of new skills.
D) evaluating employees based on task performance.

Question 49

According to the research organization Gallup,only _____ of U.S.employees are actively engaged on the job.

A) 14 percent
B) 29 percent
C) 44 percent
D) 59 percent

Question 50

The advantage of high-performance work systems is that they are flexible and,therefore,more easily adapted.

Question 51

Connecting rewards to organizational performance ensures:

A) lower total labor costs.
B) fairness and focuses employees on the organization.
C) competitive wages in the market place.
D) lower employee turnover.

Question 52

High-performance work systems that are designed around team processes and capabilities that cannot be transported,duplicated,or copied by rival firms are said to be difficult to imitate.

Question 53

According to the research organization Gallup,_____ of U.S.employees are actively disengaged on the job

A) 15 percent
B) 28 percent
C) 41 percent
D) 60 percent

Question 54

Skills,knowledge,and abilities that are not equally available to all organizations are known as rare.

Question 55

The number of jobs requiring little knowledge and skills is ____ and the number of jobs requiring greater knowledge and skills is ____,in recent years.

A) increasing;increasing.
B) decreasing;decreasing.
C) increasing;decreasing.
D) decreasing;increasing.

Question 56

Line managers typically own the responsibility for implementing high performing work systems.

Question 57

Once implemented,a process audit is used to determine whether the high-performance work system has been profitable.

Question 58

Which of the following principles are critical for the success of empowerment and involvement initiatives in organizations?

A) shared information
B) knowledge development
C) totalitarianism
D) linking rewards with performance

Question 59

To successfully implement a high-performance work system,managers should try to implement all facets of the change at once.

Question 60

Some research studies have found that unions can be a barrier to high-performance
work systems.

Question 61

In high-performance organizations,training is undertaken in order for employees to:

A) assume greater responsibility.
B) earn higher wages.
C) lower organizational costs.
D) remain loyal to the organization.

Question 62

A recent Gallup study reported that firms with top engagement scores had _____ higher productivity.

A) 9 percent
B) 18 percent
C) 36 percent
D) 72 percent

Question 63

According to a study by the Corporate Executive Board,engaged employees outperform average employees by _____.

A) 10 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 33 percent
D) 40 percent

Question 64

Many high-performance work systems begin with highly directive

A) compensation policies.
B) work flow systems around family friendly principles.
C) recruitment and selection practices.
D) top-down communication systems.

Question 65

A recent Gallup study reported that firms with top engagement scores had _____ higher profitability.

A) 6 percent
B) 8 percent
C) 16 percent
D) 18 percent

Question 66

____ refers to the component of a high-performance work systems that help organizations develop and harness skills,knowledge,and abilities that are not equally available to all
Organizations.

A) value
B) rarity
C) organization
D) difficulty in imitation

Question 67

To create a more flexible pool of employees,managers should:

A) rely on job-based pay structures.
B) rely on skill-based pay structures.
C) implement a gainsharing incentive system.
D) implement an employee stock ownership plan.

Question 68

_____ is a situation in which the work system supports the organization's goals and strategies.

A) Synergy
B) External fit
C) Internal fit
D) Flattening

Question 69

According to a study by the Corporate Executive Board,engaged employees are _____ less likely to leave their organizations than highly disengaged employees.

A) 24 percent
B) 45 percent
C) 66 percent
D) 87 percent

Question 70

Organizations that wished to emphasize teamwork involvement and continuous improvement would promote which type of training?

A) spot training
B) efficiency-training
C) cross-training
D) work-training

Question 71

What type of fit describes high-performance work systems that complement and reinforce one another?

A) lateral fit
B) depth fit
C) external fit
D) internal fit

Question 72

Which of the following is not a typical method of increasing the power of employees?

A) job enlargement
B) enrichment
C) standardization
D) relying on self-managed teams

Question 73

To achieve internal fit,organizations should use the following HR practices together except:

A) first-rate selection system.
B) training and development.
C) compensation.
D) morale testing.

Question 74

High-performance work systems frequently begin with:

A) selecting employees.
B) writing a mission statement.
C) employee training.
D) looking at how work is designed.

Question 75

Work environments in which collaboration and teamwork are encouraged and status and power differences are diminished is known as:

A) an egalitarian environment.
B) an autocratic environment.
C) a democratic environment.
D) a self-actualization environment.

Question 76

Which of the following compensation systems does not focus employee efforts on outcomes that are beneficial to both themselves and the organization as a whole?

A) profit-sharing plans
B) employee stock ownership plans
C) hourly based pay systems
D) gain sharing

Question 77

Which of the following questions is NOT likely to be in a process audit?

A) Are employees getting the information they need to make empowered decisions,
And are they engaged?
B) Are union officials on notice and cooperating with organizational changes?
C) Are training programs developing the knowledge and skills employees need?
D) Are employees being rewarded for good performance and useful suggestions?

Question 78

____ is a pool of money employees can spend on capital improvements if the company meets profitability goals.

A) profit-sharing fund
B) employee stock ownership
C) intracapital
D) skill-based pay

Question 79

The richest communication occurs:

A) in writing
B) face to face
C) via videos
D) using technology

Question 80

Egalitarian work environments reduce or eliminate ____,while increasing or improving ____.

A) the need for skill-based pay systems,team performance
B) status and power differences,collaboration and teamwork
C) the need for shared information,teamwork
D) status and power differences,other disparities