Deck 10: Workjob Design

Question 1

Job enrichment involves an increase in the level of employee responsibility for planning,execution,and control of a job.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Job enrichment involves giving a worker a greater share of the total task,which is sometimes referred to as horizontal loading.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The name Frederick Winslow Taylor is associated with the scientific management approach to work/job design.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

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

Question 5

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

Question 6

Flow process charts can be useful for analyzing and improving methods.

Question 7

The primary objective of work/job design is to improve efficiency.

Question 8

The focus of the efficiency approach to work/job design is to improve quality of work life and employee empowerment.

Question 9

Working conditions,such as noise and safety,are important aspects of work system design.

Question 10

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth's primary contribution to the design of work systems involved the development of motion study techniques.

Question 11

Potential benefits of "self-directed teams" include higher productivity and greater worker satisfaction.

Question 12

The role of labour unions typically does not involve issues of work/job design,focusing instead on compensation issues.

Question 13

Methods analysis cannot be done for jobs that do not yet exist.

Question 14

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

Question 15

Job enlargement represents vertical loading of a job,increasing the level of skills and responsibilities associated with the original job.

Question 16

A worker-machine process chart is helpful to visualize portions of a work cycle during which an operator and equipment are busy or idle.

Question 17

Methods analysis focuses on how a job can be made more efficient.

Question 18

Methods analysis techniques do not directly consider behavioural aspects of jobs.

Question 19

"Self-directed teams" are formed to give them broad authority to make decisions concerning all issues in the organization that have an impact on their work unit.

Question 20

Specialization is a primary point of disagreement between the efficiency and behavioural approaches to job design.

Question 21

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

Question 22

Slow motion studies are useful for training workers as well as athletes.

Question 23

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

Question 24

The standard time for a job is determined based on the observed time,a performance rating,and an allowance factor.

Question 25

A performance rating of greater than 1.00 means that the observed worker was judged to be working faster than the normal rate.

Question 26

Standard times are determined by taking the average time one worker takes to complete the same task many times.

Question 27

More strenuous work typically leads to a wider comfort band for temperature.

Question 28

The establishment of a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)gives workers the right to refuse dangerous work.

Question 29

The Canadian Labour Code focuses on laws concerning wages and the right to form unions,not the safety and welfare of workers.

Question 30

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

Question 31

One factor in determining how many cycles to time in a stopwatch time study is the variability of observed times.

Question 32

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

Question 33

Predetermined time standards involve the use of published data.

Question 34

A performance rating of less than 1.00 means that the observed worker was judged to be working faster than the normal rate.

Question 35

Efficiency generally declines after a work break.

Question 36

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

Question 37

Predetermined time standards are based on historical data from individual company's files.

Question 38

Work measurement concentrates on how long it takes to complete a job.

Question 39

Tables of predetermined time standards make work measurement studies straightforward.

Question 40

Task specialization is one of the three categories of motion economy principles.

Question 41

Many organizations have begun to realize that the productivity of their employees does not necessarily depend on their general health and well-being.

Question 42

Time-based pay compensates employees according to the combination of the time the employee has worked and the amount of output they produce.

Question 43

Work/job design involves all EXCEPT which of the following?

A)Work measurement
B)Job design
C)Compensation
D)Process analysis
E)Work method

Question 44

Minimum wage legislation makes piece-rate compensation plans somewhat challenging to implement.

Question 45

Output-based pay compensates employees according to the amount of output they produce during a pay period,thereby tying pay directly to performance.

Question 46

"Gain sharing" and "profit sharing" are equivalent types of bonus/incentive plans that focus exclusively on individual output.

Question 47

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

Question 48

Which of the following is not a potential disadvantage of job specialization in business?

A)More difficult to motivate employees
B)Limited opportunities for advancement
C)Limited opportunities for self-fulfillment
D)Little control over work
E)Simplified training

Question 49

A work sampling study does not involve measuring the amount of time to complete different categories of work activities.

Question 50

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

Question 51

Although quality may be considered in compensation,quantity is always more important.

Question 52

The behavioural approach to job design which involves giving the worker a larger portion of the total task is:

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

Question 53

Piece rate pays are a common type of time-based compensation approach.

Question 54

Output-based compensation approaches are more widely used by factories than are time-based approaches.

Question 55

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

Question 56

Which of the following is not an objective of job design?

A)Productivity
B)Safety
C)Quality of work life
D)Line balancing
E)Long term goals of the organization are achieved

Question 57

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

A)High productivity
B)Lower wage costs
C)Ease of training employees
D)Low equipment costs
E)Minimal responsibilities

Question 58

Information and communication technologies (ICTs)have had a significant effect on all aspects of work/job design and how work is accomplished.

Question 59

A pay system that rewards workers who undergo training to increase their skills is called a "skill/knowledge based plan".

Question 60

Methods-time measurement (MTM)requires analysts to collect multiple observations of the times to complete every basic motion in a job task.

Question 61

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

A)process chart.
B)worker-machine chart.
C)gang process chart.
D)simultaneous motion (simo)chart.
E)efficiency/time-of-day chart.

Question 62

The methods analysis chart which describes the interactions between operator and equipment is a(n):

A)process chart.
B)worker-machine chart.
C)gang process chart.
D)simultaneous motion (simo)chart.
E)efficiency/time-of-day chart.

Question 63

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 64

Experienced methods analysts generate improvement ideas for the job by asking all of the following questions EXCEPT:

A)can travel distances be shortened?
B)can the job be outsourced?
C)can similar activities be grouped?
D)can additional equipment be helpful?
E)can the sequence of operations be changed?

Question 65

Which of the following is not true about illumination?

A)The more detailed the work,the higher the level required.
B)The amount of glare and contrast are important considerations.
C)High levels are preferable for all types of work.
D)Natural daylight has both economic and psychological benefits.
E)The optimal amount of lighting depends on the type of work being performed.

Question 66

Which of the following is not related to working conditions considered in work/job design?

A)Ventilation
B)Seniority and experience levels
C)Noise and vibrations
D)Illumination
E)Work hours and breaks

Question 67

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

A)Improved responsiveness to problems
B)Higher productivity
C)Greater worker satisfaction
D)Emphasis of manager's role shifts to command and control

Question 68

Which of the following is not one of the techniques used in motion study analysis?

A)Motion economy principles
B)Job enrichment technique
C)Micro-motion (slow-motion video)study
D)Analysis of elementary motions
E)Simultaneous hands motion chart

Question 69

Ergonomics tries to remove all of the following EXCEPT:

A)awkward reaching and bending.
B)forceful gripping of tools.
C)heavy lifting.
D)endless repetition of motions.
E)fitting the job to individual workers

Question 70

All of the following are a part of the basic procedure for methods analysis EXCEPT:

A)identify the job to be studied.
B)gather pertinent facts about the worker,tasks and administrative factors.
C)negotiate wage for completing the work.
D)question present method and propose a new method.

Question 71

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

A)simo chart.
B)worker-machine chart.
C)worker-materials chart.
D)flow process chart.
E)multi-activity chart.

Question 72

Amendments to the Canadian Labour Code in 1978 added all the following rights EXCEPT:

A)to refuse dangerous work.
B)to participate in improving safety and health problems.
C)annual increases in wages linked to the cost of living
D)to know about hazards in the workplace.

Question 73

An increase in the desired confidence level has what effect 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 74

In a stopwatch time study,which of the following is not a determinant of the number of cycles that must be timed?

A)the variability of observed times.
B)the desired accuracy for the estimated job time.
C)the desired level of confidence for the estimated job time.
D)Worker speed and skill level.

Question 75

Focusing on how a job is done and attempting to make it more efficient describes:

A)work measurement.
B)Gantt charts.
C)methods analysis.
D)job evaluation.
E)job enlargement.

Question 76

The behavioural approach to job design which involves an increase in responsibility for planning,execution and control of tasks is:

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

Question 77

Methods analysis focuses on which aspect of job design?

A)Behavioural aspects
B)Efficiency aspects
C)Pay levels
D)Technological
E)Unions and compensation

Question 78

The methods analysis chart which describes the overall sequence of operations,including storages,delays,and inspections is a(n):

A)flow process chart.
B)worker-machine chart.
C)MTM table.
D)simultaneous motion (simo)chart.
E)efficiency/time-of-day chart.

Question 79

In order to make jobs more interesting,job designers use all of the following EXCEPT:

A)job enlargement.
B)job rotation.
C)job enrichment.
D)increase in wages.
E)self-directed teams.

Question 80

Which of the following most closely describes job enlargement?

A)Horizontal loading
B)Increasing the level of responsibility associated with a job
C)Rotating 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 different jobs to the same worker