Deck 4: Redefining Jobs and Job Analysis

Question 1

Tasks, duties, and responsibilities are grouped and seen as the total work assignment for employees. What is this the definition of?

A)position
B)job
C)assignment
D)KSA

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following presents a defining characteristic of job enlargement?

A)shifting a person from job to job to increase variety
B)increasing the depth of a job to provide more autonomy
C)broadening job scope by expanding the number of different tasks to be performed
D)increasing the amount of impact the job has on other people

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Tasks, duties, and responsibilities are organized into a productive unit of work. Which of the following names that process?

A)job enrichment
B)job evaluation
C)job design
D)job analysis

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Clarke, the CEO of Agon Inc., is studying a proposal for business process re-engineering (BPR) for his firm. Clarke is aware that without extensive communication, planning, and training, the success rates of BPR are limited. Which of the following percentages most accurately reflects that?

A)zero.
B)30 percent
C)50 percent
D)10 percent.

Question 5

An employee is shifted from job to job. Which of the following names that process?

A)job responsibility
B)job enlargement
C)job rotation
D)job scope

Question 6

A company is considering moving its operations to a new city. The reading level of the average citizen of the new city is the third grade. Which of the following approaches should the company take to its jobs to ensure that it will have a wide selection of qualified employees?

A)Make them team based.
B)Enrich them.
C)Enlarge them.
D)Simplify them.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT an example of enriching a job?

A)increasing a person's accountability for work by reducing external control
B)assigning an employee an entire job rather than just a piece of the work
C)giving feedback reports directly to the employee
D)rotating a person among different jobs to break the monotony

Question 8

Which of the following phrases best defines work?

A)productive contribution to society either for pay or for a charitable cause
B)effort applied for the purpose of achieving results
C)a collection of tasks and duties performed by one person
D)labour directed by others

Question 9

Which of the following does job design NOT affect?

A)job satisfaction
B)job performance
C)organizational strategy
D)absenteeism

Question 10

Business process re-engineering has three phases. Which of the following identifies them?

A)unfreeze, change, and refreeze
B)analyze, describe, and specify
C)rethink, redesign, and retool
D)organize ideas, technology, and people

Question 11

Joshua is an extremely successful salesperson for a hospital-products manufacturing company. His sales are approximately twice those of the average salesperson in his category. However, Joshua's skills in managing his administrative work are minimal, and problems with orders, follow-up, and so forth are resulting. Joshua's boss is frustrated because significant training expenditures on Joshua have led to minimal improvement. Which of the following statements point to the best way to address this situation?

A)This is likely a person/job fit issue, and Joshua should be moved to a different job or terminated.
B)Joshua's job should be enriched because the lack of attention to administrative chores indicates boredom with the job.
C)Joshua should be converted from an employee to an independent contractor so that he realizes the importance of his administrative duties.
D)This is probably a person/job fit issue, and Joshua's job should be redesigned.

Question 12

Henry, a manager for a floor-covering manufacturing firm, is at a presentation where a consultant is proposing a project to improve organizational productivity. The consultant proposes to change the organization's very jobs. Which of the following ideas should Henry think the company is planning to implement?

A)re-engineering
B)job analysis
C)outsourcing
D)retooling

Question 13

A workflow analysis begins with an examination. Which of the following is its focus?

A)the analysis of job descriptions and job specifications
B)the quantity and quality of the desired and actual outputs
C)the activities, that is, the tasks and jobs involved
D)the inputs, or the people, material, data, and equipment used

Question 14

Which of the following statements characterizes the jobs most affected by technology and outsourcing?

A)They are capable of being routinized.
B)They are held by minorities.
C)They require significant communication capability.
D)They are managerial.

Question 15

Which of the following is becoming the emphasis of the organization of production?

A)increasing control by headquarters
B)concentration
C)decentralization
D)fragmentation

Question 16

Which of the following are the two tiers that work and jobs in Canada are increasingly dividing into?

A)jobs dominated by majorities and jobs dominated by women and minorities
B)service workers and manufacturing workers
C)highly skilled technical and professional workers and lower-skilled service workers
D)full-time employment and independent contracting

Question 17

The depth of a job is increased when responsibility for planning, organizing, controlling, or evaluating it are added. If so, which of the following has occurred?

A)job enhancement
B)task significance
C)job enrichment
D)job enlargement

Question 18

Kathleen is suffering from high blood pressure, although she has a healthy lifestyle. When she talks with her co-workers, she finds that some of them also have high blood pressure and other stress-related medical problems. How might the medical health of these employees and the company's cost in health benefits be improved?

A)outsourcing these jobs instead of keeping the employees
B)examining the job design in this department
C)introducing flexible scheduling
D)enriching the jobs in this department

Question 19

Which of the following represents a type of analysis of the way work moves through the organization?

A)performance
B)job
C)throughput
D)workflow

Question 20

According to RAND Corporation research, which of the following is NOT a key factor affecting jobs in many corporations?

A)changes in work and job skill requirements
B)globalization of workers
C)use of electronic commerce
D)organization of production

Question 21

A few computer programmers have approached Bill, the manager of computer services, about implementing telework. Bill has several concerns about telework. Which of the following is least likely an issue for him?

A)security
B)overworking
C)employee perceptions of unequal treatment among staff
D)loss of control over staff

Question 22

Which of the following statements does NOT relate to the job characteristics model?

A)Skill variety increases the meaningfulness of work.
B)More autonomy leads to a greater feeling of personal responsibility for the work.
C)A job is more meaningful if it is important to other people.
D)The level to which an employee is accountable for a "whole" unit of work is task responsibility.

Question 23

A full week's work is accomplished in fewer than five days. Which of the following arrangements it that?

A)job sharing
B)compressed workweek
C)double-shifting
D)flextime

Question 24

"The reason I love my work," said a nanny for two preschool boys, "is that I can make sure that as far as affection, nutrition, and intellectual stimulation go, they get the best possible start in life. They enter the world as really well-adjusted children." Which of the following captures why this nanny loves her job?

A)autonomy
B)task significance
C)task identity
D)feedback

Question 25

Companies may seek to increase employees' feelings of personal responsibility for their work. If so, which of the following do they need to incorporate into their jobs?

A)feedback
B)task significance
C)autonomy
D)task identity

Question 26

In one of the following countries listed, workers work significantly more hours than their counterparts in other developed countries. Which country is it?

A)Germany
B)France
C)Canada
D)Britain

Question 27

A worker can sometimes carry out a unit of work from start to finish and experience what is called task identity. Which of the following is a benefit of task identity?

A)a sense of autonomy
B)a sense of meaningfulness
C)a knowledge of the results
D)a sense of responsibility

Question 28

The veterinary assistants at a large veterinary practice alternate between working at the reception desk, working in the lab and X-ray department, and assisting the vets during office visits with patients. Which of the following is the best way to characterize the design of this job?

A)as job enrichment
B)as job rotation
C)as job redesign
D)as job enlargement

Question 29

Which of the following statements outlines an identified disadvantage for employees who telecommute?

A)Their pay scales are lower relative to other employees who do similar work.
B)Their productivity is less than employees who work on-site.
C)They may not advance as quickly as office-based employees.
D)They are assigned heavier workloads than directly supervised employees.

Question 30

Gloria, a cashier at the local grocery store, has been switched from the day shift to the night shift. From speaking with her friends on that shift, Gloria has become prepared for the most obvious differences between the shifts. Which reality does she also need to be aware of?

A)to have more accidents
B)to have some family difficulties
C)to make more mistakes
D)to receive additional pay

Question 31

Which of the following is the usual basis for evaluating telecommuting employees?

A)time spent on-task
B)electronic surveillance
C)results
D)"face-time" spent with supervisors

Question 32

Employees can work from remote locations via electronic computing and telecommunications equipment. Which of the following adjectives best describes such employees?

A)telecommuting
B)pseudo
C)computer-based
D)electronic

Question 33

Several different activities must be done in order to successfully complete work with this characteristic. Which of the following identifies the characteristic?

A)multi-tasking
B)autonomy
C)task identity
D)skill variety

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a major cause of job-related stress?

A)deadlines
B)time pressure
C)fear of losing the job
D)extremely challenging work

Question 35

The documentation used in job analysis is important to the legal defensibility of several functions. Which of the following is NOT relevant to legal defensibility?

A)selection
B)performance appraisals
C)recruiting
D)benefits

Question 36

Erin is a sales representative for a large technology firm. Her job is being changed from an in-office to a telecommuting position. Although Erin is concerned about negative effects, she can also see advantages to this change. Which of the following would she view as a positive aspect of telecommuting?

A)overworking
B)time management
C)increased independence
D)impact on career development

Question 37

Three of the following are factors affecting the success of virtual teams. Which is NOT?

A)training on effective collaboration
B)planning and managing tasks
C)training on use of technology
D)forming teams

Question 38

Employees work a certain number of hours per day but can choose their own starting and ending times. Which kind of scheduling arrangement is this?

A)virtual office
B)flextime
C)work sharing
D)compressed workday

Question 39

Amanda is responding to a job advertisement that describes the company's employees as "crew members." Which of the following is the job design approach this company probably uses?

A)the navy method of management
B)individual productivity bonuses
C)virtual employees
D)work teams

Question 40

George, the director of HR, is writing a memo to the Executive committee, proposing that the company implement telework for some employees. George identifies three of the following as advantages. Which item would he NOT include as an advantage?

A)improvement in recruiting working mothers
B)cost savings
C)better retention of employees
D)improved productivity

Question 41

Individual capabilities can be linked to enhanced performance by individuals or teams. What is this the definition of?

A)competencies
B)abilities
C)talents
D)specifications

Question 42

For legal reasons, Seneca Ltd. wishes to have a job analysis method that will generate easily quantifiable data and lend itself to validity tests. Which of the following method options should the company adopt?

A)panel interviews of SMEs
B)Position Analysis Questionnaire
C)observation of employees on the job
D)employee logs

Question 43

Which of the following does the competency approach to job analysis consider?

A)the tasks, duties, knowledge, and skills associated with a job
B)how performance will be assessed
C)the proportion of qualified workers in the relevant job market
D)how the knowledge and skills are used in a job

Question 44

The Position Analysis Questionnaire considers the behaviours necessary to do a job. On which of the following kinds of elements does it focus?

A)organization-oriented
B)market-oriented
C)worker-oriented
D)job-oriented

Question 45

When people are obliged to perform certain tasks and duties, which of the following do they have?

A)processes
B)responsibilities
C)commitments
D)job descriptions

Question 46

Which type of company is more likely to use the competency-based approach to job analysis than the task-based approach?

A)one making heavy use of telecommuting employees
B)one operating as a low-technology printer of magazines
C)one using cross-functional project teams
D)one having a traditional assembly-line production facility

Question 47

Mark, the director of HR for a large professional services firm, wishes to do a job analysis of the professional staff of the firm. Which of the following methods would the staff find most intrusive and burdensome to carry out?

A)Position Analysis Questionnaire
B)panel interviews
C)employee diary/log
D)work sampling

Question 48

Which job analysis stage identifies who will be conducting the job analysis and what methods they will use?

A)conducting the job analysis
B)preparing for and introducing the job analysis
C)developing job descriptions and job specifications
D)planning the job analysis

Question 49

Which of the following statements provides the best assessment of observation as a job analysis technique?

A)Observation must be done with the job incumbent not knowing it is happening.
B)Observation permits analysis of almost all traditional jobs.
C)Observation must be continuous, not based on sampling.
D)Observation is limited in scope because many jobs lack a complete, easily observable cycle.

Question 50

Questionnaires are one method of gathering data on jobs. Which of the following statements presents a major advantage of this method?

A)Questionnaire data are more reliable and valid than data gathered in other ways.
B)Information on many jobs can be collected in a relatively short period.
C)The same questionnaire can be used for both hourly and managerial jobs.
D)The method can be used with all levels and types of employees.

Question 51

Given that job analysis is systematic, which of the following identifies its focus?

A)gathering and examining in detail information about job content, context, and human requirements
B)breaking down jobs into their component parts in readiness for business process re-engineering
C)evaluating the quality of employee job performance
D)analyzing the distinct, identifiable work activities involved in a specific job classification

Question 52

Which of the following statements characterizes the work sampling type of observation?

A)It is better received by workers because it is less disruptive to their work schedules.
B)It gives a detailed picture of the work.
C)It determines the content and pace of a typical workday.
D)Statistical calculations make it more expensive to conduct than continuous observation.

Question 53

Which of the following is an accurate assessment of the use of group interviews to gather job analysis information?

A)most appropriate for highly technical jobs
B)useful if there are time constraints
C)relatively inexpensive given the information obtained
D)less likely to result in "job inflation" because of the presence of peers

Question 54

Inez, the vice president of HR for a chain of international luxury hotels, may implement a competency-based approach to job analysis because of its ability to contribute to organizational success. She has read the study of three-star hotels cited in the textbook and identified competencies needed by managers in her hotel chain. Which of these competencies will they NOT need?

A)having good relations with hotel customers
B)possessing financial awareness
C)showing computer expertise
D)being able to resolve complaints

Question 55

An organization seeks to keep job descriptions and job specifications updated. Which of the following is the best practice?

A)Conduct job analysis every two years.
B)Conduct job analysis whenever a job-based lawsuit is filed.
C)Review and revise job descriptions and specifications whenever a vacancy occurs.
D)Review all job descriptions and job specifications whenever the organization is restructured.

Question 56

In a typical division of responsibilities related to job analysis, which of the following would a manager do?

A)Write job descriptions and specifications for review.
B)Use job analysis information to identify performance standards.
C)Coordinate job analysis.
D)Seek assistance from outside experts for difficult or unusual analyses.

Question 57

Which of the following is true of the Position Analysis Questionnaire?

A)It consists of checklists.
B)It must be administered by a Subject Matter Expert.
C)It is one of the most time-consuming ways to gather job data.
D)It focuses on job-oriented elements of the technical aspects of the work.

Question 58

Which of the following do HR managers view as the most basic building block of their work?

A)human capital of the firm
B)job design
C)job analysis
D)organizational culture

Question 59

The primary purpose of job analysis is two-pronged. The first part is to understand what is done in a job. Which of the following is the second part that needs to be understood?

A)how the job contributes to the organization's strategic goals
B)whether the job conforms to labour and employment laws
C)what capabilities are needed to do the job
D)how the job holder should be compensated

Question 60

All but one of the following are reasons to use the competency-based approach to job analysis. Which is NOT a reason?

A)to raise competency levels
B)to communicate valued behaviours
C)to emphasize people's capabilities for enhancing the organization's competitive advantage
D)to have a sound legal precedent for job-related decisions about employees

Question 61

As the counselling component of the NOC system, this resource provides global ratings assigned to occupations to better define areas such as skills and worker characteristics. Which of the following is the title of this resource?

A)Career Handbook
B)Occupational Handbook
C)Job Description Reference
D)Position Reference

Question 62

Which of the following statements characterizes the duties that make up the marginal functions of a job?

A)They are covered under the "miscellaneous" clause in the job description.
B)They are typically excluded from what a person with disabilities is expected to perform.
C)They are incidental or secondary to a job's purpose and nature.
D)They can be performed with little assistance by most individuals with disabilities.

Question 63

In which of the following ways is NOC useful to a manager or HR specialist?

A)Its use protects firms from job-related employee lawsuits because the federal government compiled it.
B)It can serve as a recruiting tool because it includes a national database of job seekers classified by occupation.
C)It is a time-saving resource for writing job descriptions and specifications.
D)It can eliminate the need to conduct a job analysis in a small organization.

Question 64

In the Functional Job Analysis method, three job components are examined. Which of the following are they?

A)data, people, and things
B)communicative, objective, and subjective
C)activities, knowledge, and skills
D)manual, mental, and emotional

Question 65

Which of the following statements characterizes computerized job analysis?

A)Identifying mismatches between job scores and salary survey data is difficult.
B)Production of technical reports is required in the analysis.
C)Results cannot be used to develop job evaluation weights.
D)The time and effort involved in writing job descriptions are reduced.

Question 66

Which of the following is synonymous with fundamental duties of a job?

A)essential job functions
B)minimum job elements
C)dominant KSAs
D)primary requirements

Question 67

There are three main considerations in determining whether a task is an essential or a marginal job function. Which of the following is NOT a main consideration?

A)the number of employees performing the task
B)the frequency of the task
C)the percentage of time spent on the task
D)the importance of the task

Question 68

In a job context, which of the following explains what is done, why it is done, where it is done, and briefly, how it is done?

A)description
B)specification
C)performance standard
D)analysis

Question 69

Which of the following statements does NOT express a common fear about job analysis?

A)Employees are under investigation for having done something wrong.
B)Managerial flexibility will be limited.
C)Employees will refuse to do work outside their job description.
D)The job will become too creatively demanding and ambiguous.

Question 70

Which of the following statements presents how employees and managers tend to behave when providing job analysis information?

A)They cooperate with the job analyst.
B)They show resentment about this examination of their jobs.
C)They inflate the importance and significance of their jobs.
D)They are tempted to complain about their supervisors.

Question 71

Which of the following do job specifications list?

A)the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job well
B)the purpose of the job and how performance is measured
C)the things the job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key areas of the job description
D)the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of the job

Question 72

Which of the following aspects does a job description identify?

A)tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job
B)contribution of the job to the strategic goals of the organization
C)knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the job well
D)segment of total organizational work assigned to a single individual

Question 73

At Orion Automobile Insurance, the job of appraiser involves spending 40 percent of the time conducting drive-by assessments of the damage to policyholders' vehicles. Which of the following does this task exemplify?

A)an essential job function
B)a marginal job function
C)a marginal performance requirement
D)an essential performance requirement

Question 74

Which of the following problems often occurs as part of the job analysis process?

A)a focus on the job, rather than on the job incumbent
B)an over-emphasis on the legal concerns
C)non-reporting of duties taken on beyond the job description
D)inflation of the importance of the incumbent's job

Question 75

Which of the following accurately lists the qualifications needed to perform the job satisfactorily?

A)job specifications
B)performance standards
C)job descriptions
D)job standards

Question 76

Which of the following choices indicates what the job accomplishes and how performance is measured in key job description areas?

A)job standards
B)performance standards
C)employee competencies
D)job specifications

Question 77

Which of the following is a fear that a "miscellaneous" clause in a job description will alleviate?

A)Employees' pay may be adjusted downwards.
B)Employees have done something wrong and will be investigated.
C)Employees will find that the work becomes too demanding and ambiguous.
D)Employees will refuse to do work not identified in their job descriptions.

Question 78

Which of the following activities would be considered a performance standard for a clerk at a movie rental store?

A)greets customers within 15 seconds of their entering store
B)files returned videos and DVDs
C)operates cash register
D)stocks coolers of food items and snack racks

Question 79

A secretary needs to have "ability to type 50 words per minute with no more than two errors." Which of the following does this criterion exemplify?

A)a performance standard
B)a job description
C)a job responsibility
D)a job specification

Question 80

Archie is developing performance standards for the job of pediatric nurse practitioner for a pediatrics medical practice. On which of the following resources should Archie directly base these standards?

A)benchmark data from other pediatric medical practices
B)the guidelines set by the accreditation organization for pediatric nurse practitioners
C)the job specifications for pediatric nurse practitioner
D)the pediatric nurse practitioner job description