Question : 61. Which of the following not true of individual incentive pay : 1250918

Accounting

61. Which of the following is not true of individual incentive pay programs?
A. Payments are not rolled into base pay.
B. Performance is usually measured by physical output.
C. Individual incentives have the potential to significantly increase performance.
D. Individual incentive pay programs are quite common in organizations.

Individual incentives are relatively rare because of certain drawbacks such as administrative problems, lack of physical output measures for certain jobs, unsuitability for team-based work, and other such limitations.

62. Individual incentive plans are relatively rare for all but one of the following reasons. Name the exception.
A. Because many jobs have no physical output measures.
B. Because there are many potential administrative problems.
C. Because such plans are inconsistent with the goals of acquiring multiple skills and proactive problem solving.
D. Because employees generally do not favor such plans due to their lack of distributive justice.

Certain jobs involve “knowledge work” and hence do not have physical output measures. Administrative problems such as setting and maintaining acceptable standards often prove to be difficult. Moreover, learning new skills requires employees to slow or stop production. If they are paid based on production volume, they may not want to slow down or stop.

63. Which of the following is an advantage of individual incentives?
A. They contribute to a flexible, proactive, problem-solving workforce.
B. They are helpful in the pursuit of total quality management objectives.
C. They encourage employees to go beyond the call of duty.
D. They must be continuously earned and re-earned.

Individual incentives are not rolled into base pay and hence need to be earned.

64. In a(n) _____ plan, payments are based on a measure of organizational performance and do not become part of the employees’ base salary.
A. ESOP
B. profit sharing
C. individual incentive
D. merit pay

Individual incentives and merit pay focus on individual performance while an ESOP is an employee ownership plan.

65. Which of the following is not a recognized characteristic of profit sharing programs?
A. Employers are encouraged to think like owners.
B. Increased employee citizenship is expected.
C. Evidence clearly shows a link to better organization performance.
D. Payments do not become part of base pay.

Although there is consistent support for a correlation between profit sharing payments and profits, questions have been raised about the direction of causality.

66. Of the following pay programs, the weakest link between employees’ performance and their earnings is found in
A. individual incentive plans.
B. merit pay plans.
C. profit-sharing plans.
D. group incentive plans.

Most employees are unlikely to see a strong connection between what they do and what they earn under profit sharing. This means that performance motivation is likely to change very little. Motivation depends on a strong link between behaviors and valued consequences such as pay.

67. In expectancy theory terms, the fundamental drawback of profit sharing in encouraging employee effort occurs because of
A. weak instrumentality perceptions.
B. weak valence perceptions.
C. weak expectancy perceptions.
D. weak equity perceptions.

Motivation depends on a strong link between behaviors and valued consequences such as pay (instrumentality perceptions).

68. Because most profit-sharing plans are of the deferred type, their motivational impact is reduced. This argument is most consistent with the
A. agency theory.
B. equity theory.
C. efficiency wage theory.
D. reinforcement theory.

As per the reinforcement theory, a response followed by a reward is more likely to recur in the future.

69. In which way are employee ownership plans different from profit-sharing plans?
A. Their focus is on the success of the organization as a whole
B. Their relatively weak link between pay and performance
C. Their performance measures
D. Their deferred nature

Both employee ownership and profit sharing encourage employees to focus on the success of the organization as a whole. They are of the deferred type. The link between pay and performance is weak under employee ownership.
The performance measures used in profit sharing is the company profit while in employee ownership programs it is the company’s stock returns.

70. Stock options have their greatest motivational potential during periods of
A. high unemployment.
B. downturns in the economy.
C. high economic and company growth.
D. low inflation.

When there is economic and company growth, employees have the option to purchase stock at a price lower than the prevailing market rate.

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July 1, 2023

Distinguishing Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:

· Textbook: Chapter 8, 9, 17 (Introduction)

· Lesson

· Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)

Click on the following tabs to review the concepts that will be addressed in this activity:

A valid structure is the way in which an argument is put together that assures it will pass the test of logical strength.

Deductive: In deductive arguments, the speaker asserts that her premises are true and, therefore, her conclusion must be accepted. Remember that in a deductive argument, logical strength does not depend on the literal truth of the premises. When we test for logical strength, we assume the premises are true. Once we determine that the argument is logically valid, we can then look at the actual – not presumed – truth of the premises.

Inductive: In inductive arguments, the speaker presents evidence that she claims support the probable truth of her conclusion – that her conclusion is the most likely true – and so you should accept it.

The Basic Structure of Deductive and Inductive Arguments
Argument examples:

Deductive Argument Example: “Tightening laws restricting the use and possession of firearms does not protect average law-abiding citizens; it only puts them at greater risk. Enforcing licensing restrictions, trigger locks, and waiting periods makes it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves, and, as a result, encourages criminal activity. Only criminals benefit when ordinary citizens are deprived of their right to own a firearm and protect themselves, their homes, and their families" (Lott, 2000, p. 169)

Lott, J., (2000). More guns, less crime: Understanding crime and gun-control laws. University of Chicago Press.

The argument boils down to this:

· Laws that are obeyed by ordinary citizens and not obeyed by criminals are laws that put ordinary citizens at risk.

· Tight gun laws are laws that are obeyed only by ordinary citizens.

· Tight gun laws put ordinary citizens at risk.

However, the argument itself is composed of three intertwined syllogisms:

Only ordinary citizens are persons who respect tight gun laws.
Criminal persons are not ordinary citizens.
Therefore, criminals do not respect tight gun laws.

Tight gun laws restrict only ordinary citizens.
No criminal is an ordinary citizen.
No criminal is restricted by tight gun laws.

Laws that disfavor the good are laws that favor the bad.
Tight gun laws favor the bad.
Therefore, tight gun laws disfavor the good.

Notice that you cannot remove any of the “legs” and maintain the claim. Notice, also, that the reasons are closely connected and depend on or follow from each other. Notice, also, that the first premise (called the major premise) must be accepted as true, or the entire argument fails.

Inductive Argument: The United States is too dependent upon foreign oil. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, we rely on imported foreign oil for about 45% of our needs. Of the imported oil, most comes from Canada, but 22% comes from countries in the Middle East. Undeniably, this dependence shapes our foreign policy. We have vast oil reserves that could make us energy independent. Development of these resources would produce much-needed jobs, many of them in areas of the country suffering most from the recession. We should be developing an energy policy that makes us energy independent.

· Reason: We import 45% of our oil.

· Reason: Middle East oil imports shape our foreign policy.

· Reason: Our vast oil reserves could make us energy independent.

· Reason: Development of oil reserves could produce much needed jobs.

· Conclusion: For any or all of the above, independent reasons, we should become energy independent.

Notice that any one of these reasons, standing alone, could support the conclusions; they are not logically related to one another as they would be in a syllogism.

Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, address the following:

· Find and post examples of deductive and inductive arguments. Do NOT use an argument example which clearly indicates it is an example of an inductive/deductive argument.

· For each example, evaluate its logical strength, using the concepts and ideas presented in the textbook readings, the lesson, and any other source you find that helps you to evaluate the validity (deductive) or strength (inductive) of the argument. You can use examples from the text, or you can find examples elsewhere.

oEditorials and opinion columns are a good source, as are letters to the editor. Blogs will also often be based on arguments.

oUse mapping and evaluative techniques to make sure it is an argument.

· Is it inductive or deductive? Explain why.

· Does it pass the tests of validity and strength? Explain.