Deck 14: Jobs and the Design of Work

Question 1

Scientific management emphasizes job enrichment.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Contrary to the famous statement made by Harold Geneen, former chairman of ITT: "If I had enough arms and legs and time, I'd do it all myself," all organizations must divide work.This statement reflects the understanding that jobs result from:​

A)​job enlargement.
B)​differentiation.
C)​multitasking.
D)​cross-training.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The meaning of work is the way a person interprets and understands the value of work as part of life.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The technocentric approach to work design places human considerations at the center of job design decisions.

Question 5

According to the six patterns people follow in defining work, _____ people define work as primarily a physical activity a person must do that is directed by others and generally performed in a working place.​

A)​Pattern F
B)​Pattern E
C)​Pattern A
D)​Pattern D

Question 6

The process of connecting jobs and departments into a coordinated, cohesive whole is known as:​

A)​differentiation.
B)​job enlargement.
C)​job rotation.
D)​integration.

Question 7

Herzberg believed that only certain jobs should be enriched and that the first step is to select the jobs appropriate for job enrichment.

Question 8

Job enlargement was developed to overcome:​

A)​technostress resulting from job enrichment.
B)​the ambiguity associated with the Job Characteristics Model.
C)​the difficulty of coordinating work within an organization.
D)​employees' lack of motivation due to job rotation.

Question 9

According to the six patterns people follow in defining work, Pattern A people define work as an activity:​

A)​in which value comes from performance and for which a person is accountable.
B)​that is physically and mentally strenuous.
C)a person must do that is directed by others and generally performed in a working place.​
D)​constrained to specific time periods that does not bring positive affect through its performance.

Question 10

According to the Work Value Scales study, the two common basic work dimensions across cultures are:​

A)​work content and job context.
B)​career aspiration and organizational path.
C)​job growth and work scope.
D)​living status and business value.

Question 11

Jenny is hired as an assistant at a local drug store.On Mondays and Wednesdays, she is in charge of managing the store's stock.On other days of the week, she is asked to handle the cash register and attend to customers.This is an example of _____.​

A)​job enrichment
B)​job rotation
C)​work simplification
D)​scientific management

Question 12

Job rotation involves increasing the number of activities in a job.

Question 13

Task significance in the Job Characteristics Model is the degree to which one's job requires completion of a whole task.

Question 14

_____, which can be defined as mental or physical activity that has productive results, is organized into jobs.​

A)​Occupation
B)​Livelihood
C)​Career
D)​Work

Question 15

While the design of work is important, the human spirit's response to job characteristics and work design features is equally important.

Question 16

According to Frederick Taylor, the role of a worker in an organization is to:​

A)​carefully calibrate each task of the organization.
B)​constantly challenge the decisions made by the top management.
C)​think or deliberate what needs to be done.
D)​execute tasks defined by the management.

Question 17

Scientific management, an approach to work design, emphasizes:​

A)​work simplification.
B)​job context.
C)​job enlargement.
D)​work ethics.

Question 18

The social information-processing model emphasizes objective core job characteristics.

Question 19

Which of the following is true of a job?​

A)​It refers to a sequence of organizational positions over time.
B)​It is not the same as an organizational position.
C)​It is not related to work in any way.
D)​It refers to a specific mental or physical activity that has productive results.

Question 20

The Scandinavian approach to work design discourages worker control.

Question 21

A problem with job enrichment as a strategy for work design is that it:​

A)​overemphasizes individual differences.
B)​is inapplicable to higher levels of management.
C)​quickly results in boredom.
D)​is based on an oversimplified motivational theory.

Question 22

Which of the following statements is true of the social information-processing model of job design?​

A)It emphasizes the social context of work.​
B)​It is based on the job characteristics theory.
C)​It is an ergonomics-based model of job design.
D)​It says that what a person thinks of his or her own job is important.

Question 23

An analysis of medical claims was conducted at Broil Technologies.The analysis identified neck and lower back problems due to uncomfortable seating arrangements as the most common health ailment experienced by the software developers of the company.In this scenario, the interdisciplinary approach to job design most appropriate to solve these problems is the:​

A)​scientific management approach.
B)​biological approach.
C)job enlargement approach.
D)motivational approach.​

Question 24

In comparison with other approaches to job design, which of the following is most likely a negative outcome of the mechanistic approach?​

A)​Lower job satisfaction
B)​Greater chance of errors
C)​Greater chance of mental stress
D)​Higher financial costs due to changes

Question 25

The _____ to job design emphasizes a person's interaction with physical aspects of the work environment and is concerned with the amount of physical exertion required.​

A)​biological approach
B)​scientific management approach
C)​job enlargement approach
D)​motivational approach

Question 26

According to the Job Characteristics Model, _____ is the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.​

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

Question 27

In comparison with other approaches to job design, which of the following is most likely a negative outcome of the motivational approach?​

A)​Lower motivation
B)​Lower job involvement
C)​Increased training time
D)​Higher absenteeism

Question 28

Which of the following is a variation of job enlargement?​

A)​Job rotation
B)​Departmentalization
C)​Work simplification
D)​Scientific management

Question 29

The _____ was developed to diagnose jobs by measuring five core job characteristics and three critical psychological states in the Job Characteristics Model.​

A)​Job Diagnostic Survey
B)​Motivating Potential Survey
C)​Career Growth Survey
D)​Organizational Position Survey

Question 30

The ergonomics-based motivational approach to job design is grounded in:​

A)​experimental psychology.
B)​mechanical engineering.
C)​chemical biology.
D)​industrial psychology.

Question 31

Which of the following statements is true of job rotation?​

A)​It is a variation of work simplification.
B)​It results in overspecialization.
C)​It requires strong multitasking skills.
D)​It horizontally enlarges jobs.

Question 32

The social information-processing model of job design has four basic premises about the work environment.One such premise is that:​

A)​other people provide cues we use to understand the work environment.
B)​self-evaluation is the only way to judge what is important in our jobs.
C)​objective job characteristics are unimportant and do not affect organizational workers' motivation.
D)​other people's feedback, both positive and negative, should be ignored.

Question 33

The _____ of job design emphasizes the interpersonal aspects of work design.​

A)​Job Characteristics Inventory
B)​Job Characteristics Model
C)​social information-processing model
D)​scientific management model

Question 34

Job enrichment increases the amount of job responsibility through:​

A)​horizontal loading.
B)​neutral loading.
C)​vertical loading.
D)​aligned loading.

Question 35

According to the Job Characteristics Model, _____ is the degree to which a job provides an employee with substantial freedom, independence, and discretion in scheduling work.​

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

Question 36

In comparison with other approaches to job design, which of the following is most likely a positive outcome of the motivational approach?​

A)​Lesser chance of mental stress
B)​Higher personnel utilization levels
C)​Decreased training time
D)​Greater job involvement

Question 37

Which of the following is a person-job fit model rather than a universal job design model?​

A)Job Enrichment Model​
B)​Job Characteristics Model
C)​Social information-processing model
D)​Scientific management model

Question 38

Which of the following statements is true of the Japanese approach to job design?​

A)​It emphasizes the positive affect, personal identity, and social benefits of work.
B)​It is very similar to the approach to job design used in North America.
C)​It encourages collective and cooperative working arrangements.
D)​It is dependent on a high degree of worker control.

Question 39

Mass production jobs:​

A)​tend to be nonrepetitive.
B)​require surface mental attention.
C)​are self-paced.
D)​require highly skilled workers.

Question 40

_____ is defined as designing or redesigning a job by incorporating motivational factors into it.​

A)​Job enrichment
B)​Work simplification
C)​Job rotation
D)​Cross-training

Question 41

Identify a true statement about job sharing.​

A)​It is common among senior executives.
B)​It enables employees to set their own daily work schedules.
C)​It is a way of addressing demographic and labor pool concerns.
D)​It helps ease traffic and commuting pressures.

Question 42

Which of the following is a feature of the German approach to work?​

A)​Emphasis is laid on a worker's personal identity.
B)​Hierarchy and authority relationships are valued.
C)​Management-labor cooperation is considered unimportant.
D)​Unionism among workers is discouraged.

Question 43

Distinguish between job enlargement and job enrichment with an example of each.​

Question 44

Telecommuting results in:​

A)​reduced opportunities for workers with disabilities.
B)​decreased productivity.
C)​decreased ability to attract and retain talent.
D)​reduced absenteeism.

Question 45

Which of the following statements is true of sociotechnical systems (STS)?​

A)​STS emphasizes teamwork and self-managed and autonomous work groups.
B)​STS is completely different from lean production methods.
C)​STS discourages social considerations in job design.
D)​STS is based on Taylor's scientific management approach to job design.

Question 46

_____ is when employees work at home or in other locations geographically separate from their company's main location.​

A)​Telecommuting
B)​Job enlargement
C)​Flextime
D)​Job sharing

Question 47

A major disadvantage of the _____ work pattern is that longer workdays may be a drawback for employees with many family or social activities on weekday evenings.​

A)​four-day workweek
B)​task simplification
C)​job enlargement
D)​weekday job sharing

Question 48

Identify and briefly describe a few recently developed alternative work patterns.

Question 49

Which of the following statements is true of telecommuting?​

A)​Telecommuting is neither a cure-all nor a universally feasible alternative.
B)​Managers who use telecommuting place a greater emphasis on the worker than the work.
C)​Telecommuting eliminates any chances of feeling a sense of social isolation.
D)​Teamwork is not possible through telecommuting.

Question 50

In the context of adjusting work design parameters, which of the following methods can be used to reduce uncertainty?​

A)​Designing machines and tasks with optimal response times and/or ranges
B)​Having sufficient resources available to meet work demands
C)​Giving workers the opportunity to control several aspects of the work and the workplace
D)​Providing employees with timely and complete information needed for their work

Question 51

Employees may experience technostress when:​

A)​flextime is implemented.
B)​electronic performance monitoring is used.
C)​they are not given enough credit for their work.
D)​they are forced into job sharing.

Question 52

Discuss the scientific management approach to work design as advocated by Frederick Taylor.

Question 53

Flextime, an alternative work pattern, _____.​

A)​allows employees to work at locations other than their company's main location
B)​is a technocentric approach to work design
C)​provides employees with a three-day weekend
D)​is designed to ease traffic and commuting pressures

Question 54

_____ is an alternative work arrangement that is responsive to individual biorhythms.​

A)​Work simplification
B)​Job enlargement
C)​Ergonomics
D)​Flextime

Question 55

Katie has just been promoted to the position of senior engineer at Timolin Industries.Knowing that the company needs to be up to date with the latest engineering methods to maximize profits, she decides to conduct training programs for the junior engineers.In this scenario, it is evident that Katie is implementing a(n)_____ to job design.​

A)​lean production approach
B)​anthropocentric approach
C)​technocentric approach
D)​job rotation approach