Deck 7: Work Design and Measurement

Question 1

Ergonomics is the use of computers and robots in the workplace.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

"Self-directed teams" help other work groups make changes to their processes.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Job enrichment involves an increase in the level of responsibility for planning and coordinating tasks.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

"Self-directed teams" are allowed to make changes in the work processes under their control.

Question 5

Job design relates to people therefore technology has little impact.

Question 6

One potential disadvantage of "self-directed teams" is higher training costs.

Question 7

Job enrichment involves giving a workers a greater share of the total task which is why they feel enriched.

Question 8

One therblig is the equivalent of one hour of sustained work by one average person.

Question 9

A flow process chart is helpful for visualizing the portions of a work cycle during which the operator and equipment are busy or idle.

Question 10

One of the potential benefits of "self-directed teams" is higher quality.

Question 11

Many lower level jobs are monotonous and boring.

Question 12

One important factor that influences productivity is trust between workers and managers.

Question 13

One disadvantage of specialization is worker dissatisfaction.

Question 14

One of the potential benefits of "self-directed teams" is higher productivity and greater worker satisfaction.

Question 15

The quickest, most effective way to improve an employee's job satisfaction is increase his or her compensation.

Question 16

Methods analysis cannot be done for new jobs (ones that do not yet exist) since it requires observation of the process.

Question 17

Ergonomics is an important part of job design to consider when we automate the system.

Question 18

Motivation influences quality and productivity, but not the work environment.

Question 19

Specialization is one of the sources of disagreement between the efficiency and behavioral approaches to job design.

Question 20

Trust is a factor influencing productivity.

Question 21

A performance rating of less than 1.0 means that the observed worker was judged to be working at a faster than normal rate - doing the job quicker than normal.

Question 22

One factor in determining how many cycles to time in a time study is the degree of variation that is present in the observed times.

Question 23

Work measurement concentrates on how long the tasks take to accomplish.

Question 24

Work sampling involves the use of some method of randomizing the observations.

Question 25

Predetermined time standards are usually based on observing one very efficient worker performing the task.

Question 26

Predetermined time standards use historical data from a company's own files.

Question 27

An advantage of work sampling, compared to a stopwatch time study, is that observations are spread out over a period of time in work sampling.

Question 28

For purposes of obtaining good time standards using a stopwatch time study, the analyst should try to avoid having the worker discover he or she is being observed.

Question 29

Studies on worker efficiency and time of day suggest the greatest efficiency is at the end of the day when workers are 'warmed up'.

Question 30

The most widely used method of work measurement is work sampling.

Question 31

The standard time for a job can be obtained by multiplying the normal time by an appropriate allowance factor.

Question 32

Therbligs are basic elemental motions.

Question 33

Predetermined time standards involve the use of published data regarding how long various activities are expected to take.

Question 34

We incorporate the average seriousness of accidents by measuring the number of lost-time accidents per million labor-hours worked.

Question 35

Work sampling can be used to estimate the proportion of time a machine is idle.

Question 36

No stopwatch is required in a work sampling study.

Question 37

The normal time in time study is obtained by multiplying the observed time by the performance rating.

Question 38

The design of work systems, because objective standards are used, avoids most ethical issues.

Question 39

Ergonomics is important for preventing common workplace injuries such as back injuries and repetitive-motion injuries.

Question 40

The normal time for a job is multiplied by the performance rating to obtain the standard time for the job.

Question 41

A worker-machine chart can be used to determine how many machines an operator can manage.

Question 42

Micromotion studies should be limited to periodic activities where breakthrough improvements are possible.

Question 43

A worker-machine chart can help identify non-productive parts of a process.

Question 44

Many management compensation systems are being revised to reflect increased emphasis on quality and customer service.

Question 45

Which of the following is not generally considered an advantage of specialization?

A)high productivity
B)low wage costs
C)ease of training employees
D)low equipment costs
E)all are advantages

Question 46

Methods analysis and motion study techniques do not directly consider behavioral aspects of jobs.

Question 47

Process chart symbols don't include ________.

A)Delay
B)Inspection
C)Operation
D)Rejection
E)Storage

Question 48

Increasing compensation is always a way to improve worker satisfaction.

Question 49

A pay system that rewards workers who undergo training that increases their skills is called a "knowledge-based pay system."

Question 50

Behavioral approaches to job design include:

A)Specialization
B)Ergonomics
C)Job Rotation
D)Flow Process Charts
E)SIMO Charts

Question 51

Work sampling provides both quick and accurate estimates of activity times.

Question 52

Measured day work refers to an output-based system.

Question 53

Management compensation should be based primarily on organizational output.

Question 54

Work sampling provides a detailed elemental breakdown of a task for purposes of establishing reliable time standards.

Question 55

A major advantage of job specialization in business is increased _________.

A)motivation
B)opportunity for advancement
C)opportunity for self-fulfillment
D)productivity
E)job enrichment

Question 56

"Knowledge-based pay systems" pay higher wages or salaries to workers who have completed college than to those who just finished high school.

Question 57

It would be acceptable to use a group incentive plan for an assembly line operation.

Question 58

"Output-based systems" compensate employees according to the amount of output they produce, thereby tying pay directly to performance.

Question 59

"Time-based systems" compensate employees according to the time the employee has worked and the amount of output they produce.

Question 60

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is a regulatory burden that has been proven to have little impact on the safety and welfare of workers.

Question 61

In methods analysis, a "therblig" is a:

A)charting method of analysis
B)job enrichment technique
C)dummy task
D)basic elemental motion
E)fraction (.0006) of a minute

Question 62

In a stopwatch time study, the number of cycles that must be timed is a function of:

A)the variability of observed times
B)the desired accuracy for the estimated job time
C)the desired confidence for the estimated job time
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 63

The methods analysis chart which describes the movements of both hands at the same time is a:

A)flow process chart
B)worker-machine chart
C)gang process chart
D)simultaneous-motion (SIMO) chart
E)time/efficiency chart

Question 64

The symbols for operation, storage, transportation, inspection, and delay would usually be found on which type of chart?

A)Flow process
B)Gantt
C)Simultaneous motion
D)Worker-machine
E)Delay analysis

Question 65

The chart used to review the overall sequence of an operation by focusing on either the movements of the operator or materials is called a _________.

A)SIMO-chart
B)Gantt chart
C)Worker-materials chart
D)Flow process chart
E)Multi-activity chart

Question 66

Determining the number of cycles to observe is an element of ________.

A)Stop watch time study
B)Standard elemental times
C)Predetermined time standards
D)Work sampling
E)MTM tables

Question 67

Which of the following concerns is not one that job designers focus on?

A)what will be done in a job
B)who will do the job
C)how the job will be done
D)when should the job be completed
E)where the job will be done

Question 68

A job had an observed cycle time of four minutes, a performance rating of 80 percent, and an allowance factor that was 20 percent of job time.Normal time for the job in minutes is:

A)3.20
B)3.84
C)4.00
D)4.80
E)5.00

Question 69

Which of the following most closely describes job enlargement?

A)horizontal loading
B)increasing the level of responsibility associated with a job
C)transferring workers through a series of jobs to increase their scope of experience
D)increasing the amount of workspace assigned to a worker
E)assigning two jobs to the same worker

Question 70

The methods analysis chart which describes the portions of a work cycle during which an operator and equipment are busy or idle is a:

A)flow process chart
B)worker-machine chart
C)gang process chart
D)simultaneous-motion (SIMO) chart
E)time/efficiency chart

Question 71

What is the effect of an increase in the desired confidence level on the number of observations necessary in a time study?

A)increases
B)decreases
C)unaffected
D)may increase or decrease, depending on the sample standard deviation
E)impossible to say without additional information

Question 72

One form of long term team that is increasingly being used, especially in lean production settings, is:

A)Quality circle
B)Product Design
C)Self-directed
D)Self-improvement
E)Mandatory

Question 73

When performing a time study, the analyst converts the observed time into the time an "average" worker would require working at an acceptable pace by using which of the following?

A)allowance factors
B)MTM
C)methods analysis
D)performance rating
E)analysis of therbligs

Question 74

Which is not a requirement for an effective team?

A)talent and skills to meet goals.
B)one or more members representing supervision.
C)a system of reinforcement and celebration.
D)clearly stated and commonly held vision and goals.
E)effective and skilled interpersonal relations.

Question 75

A SIMO chart includes:

A)Delay
B)Storage
C)Transportation
D)Left/Right hand movements
E)Inspection

Question 76

In a stopwatch time study, the average time it takes a given worker to perform a task a certain number of times is the:

A)observed time
B)normal time
C)standard time
D)allowance time
E)performance rating time

Question 77

A behavioral approach to job design which increases responsibility for planning and coordinating tasks is job:

A)enlargement
B)rotation
C)enrichment
D)involvement
E)enhancement

Question 78

The chart used to focus on busy and idle portions of a work cycle is a:

A)Worker-machine chart
B)Gantt chart
C)SIMO-chart
D)Idle chart
E)Flow process chart

Question 79

Which of the following is not a potential benefit of the use of self-directed teams?

A)higher quality
B)higher productivity
C)greater worker satisfaction
D)greater satisfaction for middle managers
E)lower turnover

Question 80

The methods analysis chart which describes the overall sequence of operations, transportation, storage, delays, and inspection is a:

A)flow process chart
B)worker-machine chart
C)gang process chart
D)simultaneous-motion (SIMO) chart
E)time/efficiency chart