Topic 2

Question 1

Absolute Level

Answer 1

The reward can be defined. Paying an employee $50,000 salary per year, for example, is a defining absolute level.

Question 2

Broad Input

Answer 2

Help, advice and thoughts from employees of all levels of the organization.

Question 3

Business Strategy

Answer 3

The collection of decisions, approaches, and activities that allow an organization to compete and win

Question 4

Business Strategy Support

Answer 4

Supporting a business’ approach to adapting to changes in its environment in order to compete and win.

Question 5

Centralized Approach

Answer 5

The Human Resources department makes all decisions relating to pay strategy, as well as specific reward decisions.

Question 6

Centralized Global Rewards Strategy

Answer 6

Organizations attempt to have a single set of policies that are determined by the organization and utilized at all locations.

Question 7

Communication Strategy

Answer 7

A plan for creating, sharing, and receiving information relating to its Total Rewards Systems.

Question 8

Cost Leadership Strategy

Answer 8

Focusing business priorities on providing a lower-cost product or service

Question 9

Critical Success Factors

Answer 9

Capabilities, activities, customer perceptions, and market positions that allow an organization to outcompete its rivals

Question 10

Data

Answer 10

Facts and statistics collected for reasoning or calculation.

Question 11

Decentralized Approach

Answer 11

Decisions can be made by the employee’s immediate supervisor or manager.

Question 12

Decentralized Global Rewards Strategy

Answer 12

Rewards policies are established and monitored at the country level with each location having discretion to adapt to their unique situations and contexts.

Question 13

Design Strategy

Answer 13

The process used to design the rewards system.

Question 14

Differentiation Strategy

Answer 14

Providing innovative, exceptional, and high-quality products and/or services to customers

Question 15

Domestic Rewards Strategy

Answer 15

Organizations that operate in a single country can define a single Domestic Rewards Strategy.

Question 16

Global Rewards Strategy

Answer 16

The collection of decisions, guidelines, and policies that define how the total rewards will account for country differences

Question 17

Human Resource Management

Answer 17

The policies, practices, and systems that manage the interface between the organization and its employees in order to enable long-term organizational performance

Question 18

Hybrid Approach

Answer 18

Leading the market on certain forms of rewards while matching or lagging the market on other forms.

Question 19

Hybrid Strategy

Answer 19

Employing a combination of cost-leadership, differentiation, and niche-focused business strategies

Question 20

Lagging the Market

Answer 20

When an organization provides a lesser amount of the reward than its competitors.

Question 21

Leading the Market

Answer 21

A Rewards Strategy in which the firm is trying to provide more of a given reward than its competitors for those employees.

Question 22

Level

Answer 22

Organizations must define what level of each reward will be offered. The level of reward offered can be understood in two ways. First, the Absolute Level of a reward can be defined. Paying an employee $50,000 salary per year, for example, is a defining absolute level. Alternatively, organizations can define their strategy relative to the market.

Question 23

Matching the Market

Answer 23

A Rewards Strategy of providing an amount of the reward equal to the market average.

Question 24

National Culture

Answer 24

Finally, differences in National Culture should be considered when rewards systems are designed because employees from diverse cultures may have very different definitions of what is rewarding.

Question 25

Niche-Focused Strategy

Answer 25

Targeting business priorities toward addressing a specific section of the market

Question 26

Organizational Culture Fit

Answer 26

The extent to which the Rewards Strategy aligns with and supports the ingrained practices, norms, and values of the organization.

Question 27

Relative Level

Answer 27

States the rewards strategy as greater than, equal to, or less than some labor market reference point

Question 28

Reward Equivalence

Answer 28

Organizations also face the important decision Reward Equivalence about across global locations. Due to differences in tax laws, costs of living, exchange rates, and differential perceived costs and rewards of the overseas assignments, organizations have to consider how to motivate the employees to take the expatriate assignment while simultaneously maintaining a sense of equity for those host country employees with which the expatriate works. Anchoring the definition of equivalence to the employees home country, the host country, or some global metric are common approaches.

Question 29

Reward Form Combinations Strategy

Answer 29

The reward forms offered (e.g., cash, benefits, etc.) and the way in which they relate to each other

Question 30

Reward Level Strategy

Answer 30

‘How much is being offered?’ Answering this question is the goal of the Reward Level Strategy. In formulating Reward Level Strategy, organizations must define what Level of each reward will be offered.

Question 31

Rewards Strategy Coherence

Answer 31

The extent to which the parts of the strategy fit together in a logical and clear way.

Question 32

Role and Control Strategy

Answer 32

The policies and practices that allocate design, implementation, and discretionary control of the rewards system.

Question 33

SWOT Analysis

Answer 33

Assessing an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats

Question 34

Strengths

Answer 34

The firm’s core competencies, abilities and capacities that provide an advantage when meeting the needs of target customers. (i.e., production costs, marketing skills, brand image, technology, design and financial resources).

Question 35

Total Rewards Content Strategy

Answer 35

Specifies the type, level, and combination of rewards offered to employees

Question 36

Total Rewards Process Strategies

Answer 36

The decisions, policies, and practices that define how Total Rewards are designed and implemented.

Question 37

Total Rewards Strategy

Answer 37

The combination of pay forms, plans, policies, and practices that enable long-term organizational performance

Question 38

Transparency

Answer 38

Clear information on the who, what, when, and why of the reward system is available to all.

Question 39

Weaknesses

Answer 39

Limitations a firm faces when seeking to deliver value to customers.