Question 1

___________ attempts to increase task efficiency by breaking down jobs into simple steps and assigning people to each of those steps.

Accepted Answer

Job simplification is a technique that involves breaking down complex tasks into simpler components. This makes it easier for workers to understand and complete tasks more quickly and with fewer errors. By assigning people to specific steps, managers can ensure that each part of the task is completed efficiently, helping to increase overall productivity.

Question 2

The first step toward establishing open communication within an organization is to:

Accepted Answer

Creating an organizational culture that rewards listening is the best choice as it sets the tone for open communication and encourages employees to share their thoughts and ideas without fear of retribution. This will help to establish transparency and trust within the organization, which is essential for effective communication. Suggestion boxes and computer networks may be helpful tools, but they alone won't create a culture of open communication. A clear chain of command may create hierarchy and structure, but it doesn't necessarily promote open communication.

Question 3

The major benefit of open communication in a company setting is:

Accepted Answer

Open communication in a company setting creates a sense of transparency and trust between employees and the organization, which in turn results in motivated employees who feel valued and empowered to contribute to the company's success. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and productivity, ultimately benefiting the company as a whole. The other options listed are not related to the benefits of open communication in a company setting.

Question 4

Jerry Stead,is the chairman of Ingram Micro a technology provider with 13,000 employees.He answers his own phone line to take calls from employees and declares that if the company is doing something right he loves to hear about it.He also wants to know if there's something they should be doing differently.Jerry Stead is building teamwork by:

Accepted Answer

Jerry Stead is building teamwork by creating an organizational culture that rewards listening. He takes calls from employees himself and encourages feedback, indicating that he values their opinions and ideas. This creates a culture where listening and communication are important, which can lead to increased teamwork and collaboration within the company.

Question 5

After several years of higher education,Tom and Zoe Dash were awarded their Ph.D.degrees and found jobs at an eastern university,where they plan to work in research labs.Tom's lab is very large with at least 15 research faculty like himself and 25 graduate students whose benches are all together on one side of the laboratory.Zoe's lab is similar in size,but graduate student benches are interspersed with faculty.From the very beginning,Tom was referred to as Dr.Dash by the graduate students.Zoe and the graduate students in her lab are on first-name basis.As a student of management,which of the following statements would you consider good advice to the managers (also known as the principle investigators)of these labs?

Accepted Answer

Open communication is important for any team to work effectively. In a research lab, where ideas and information sharing are critical, it is even more important to create an open communication environment. Eliminating barriers such as titles and ranks can encourage open communication and collaboration between the faculty and graduate students. Also, having the graduate students' benches interspersed with faculty can promote communication and mentoring opportunities. Therefore, option D is the best choice. Options A and B do not promote collaboration and open communication, while option C does not take into account the importance of collaboration in research labs.

Question 6

Which of the following practices would be most consistent with the views of scientific management?

Accepted Answer

Scientific management emphasizes job simplification, breaking down tasks into smaller, simpler components to increase efficiency and productivity. Job enlargement, enrichment, and rotation are all approaches to increase employee satisfaction, which is not the main focus of scientific management.

Question 7

Ramona works for a large Denver,Colorado ski equipment warehouse.In the past,her only chance to learn how she was doing on the job came during fairly superficial performance reviews with her boss twice a year.The company recently implemented a policy designed to give Ramona and other employees detailed information about their job performance on a monthly basis.This suggests that the ski equipment retailer now provides Ramona and her co-workers with more:

Accepted Answer

The new policy of providing detailed information about job performance on a monthly basis suggests that the ski equipment retailer now provides Ramona and her co-workers with more feedback.

Question 8

At one of the new campuses of Wild Oak Community College,administrative staff members are trained on a number of jobs including general student registration procedures,advising,counseling,computer support,and faculty assistance.Although Christy usually registers students and Sam usually advises students,they can easily switch roles and help each other out during busy times.They can also be called into a classroom to assist an instructor troubleshoot a computer issue.Unlike other College's where lines are long and students must come back several times in order to be served,at Wild Oak,you never hear someone say,"It's not my job!" This campus has successfully implemented ____________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of At one of the new campuses of...

Question 9

Job ___________ combines a series of tasks into one assignment that is more challenging,interesting,and motivating.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Job ___________ combines a series of tasks...

Question 10

According to the Spotlight on Small Business box,"Big Motivators for Small Businesses",

Accepted Answer

The Spotlight on Small Business box states that employees in small businesses have broader responsibilities and more opportunity for open communication, indicating that relationship building and communication are important in small businesses. Option A is incorrect as it presents relationship building as a hindrance to profitability. Option B is incorrect as the box doesn't mention the ability of small businesses to devote funds to employee motivation strategies. Option D is incorrect as the box doesn't suggest that positive and negative reinforcement techniques work better than other motivational theories in small business environments.

Question 11

According to the Thinking Green box titled,"Green Team Go!",CEO Steve Sarowitz of Paylocity utilized _____________,a form of open communication to motivate his employees to seriously consider a company-wide environmental initiative.

Accepted Answer

CEO Steve Sarowitz utilized open-ended questioning techniques to encourage his employees to brainstorm ideas and solutions for a company-wide environmental initiative. This approach allowed for open communication and collaboration among team members.

Question 12

Every month Sam Tabor is assigned a different job at Russo & Daughters Financial Consulting.Sam enjoys the task variety and finds that switching jobs on a regular basis keeps the work from becoming boring.Russo & Daughters is using a technique known as job:

Accepted Answer

The technique being used by Russo & Daughters is job rotation, which involves periodically rotating employees between different jobs within the organization. This helps to provide variety and stimulation for employees, and can also help to develop their skills and knowledge across different areas of the business.

Question 13

As a contemporary manager,your employees will be motivated to provide you with important feedback if:

Accepted Answer

Soliciting open-ended responses from employees is the best way to encourage feedback because it allows them to provide their thoughts and ideas in their own words, rather than just selecting from a list of predetermined options. This gives employees a sense of ownership and value, and can help increase engagement and motivation. Closed-end surveys can be too limiting, and passive voicemail messages or politeness plans may not directly encourage feedback.

Question 14

Until recently,TrueTime International produced personal computers on an assembly line with each worker performing only one simple task.Three months ago,the company began allowing individual employees to assemble entire computers,test all of the components,and even install the software that TrueTime includes with each of its computers.TrueTime's new production method is an example of:

Accepted Answer

TrueTime's new production method is an example of job enlargement, which involves providing employees with a wider variety of tasks and responsibilities within their job. By allowing individual employees to assemble entire computers, test components, and install software, TrueTime is giving them a greater level of autonomy and decision-making power, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and motivation.

Question 15

As companies restructure to create greater efficiencies in their operations,there is a greater opportunity for _____________ where management combines specialized tasks in one job,and asking employees to broaden their scope of responsibilities.

Accepted Answer

Job enlargement involves combining specialized tasks into one job and asking employees to take on more responsibilities. This is often done in restructuring efforts to increase efficiency. Job simplification involves reducing the number of tasks in a job, while job specialization involves training employees to become experts in a specific task. Job confrontation is not a recognized term in the field of human resources or management.

Question 16

Which of the following statements best describes the theme behind the Thinking Green box,titled,"Green Team Go"?

Accepted Answer

The theme behind the Thinking Green box titled "Green Team Go" is how to motivate employees through job enrichment. The article discusses how creating a Green Team at Paylocity helped to motivate employees by allowing them to take on new responsibilities and the opportunity to participate in a project that contributes to a positive environmental impact. The article does not mention options A, B, or D.

Question 17

Ramon works at Chicago Medical Instruments.His job was recently redefined so that he now has more flexibility in the hours he works and more say in the procedures used on the job.This suggests that Chicago Medical Instruments is trying to change Ramon's job so that it has more:

Accepted Answer

Autonomy refers to the degree of control an employee has over their job, including the flexibility to set their own schedule and make decisions about procedures. By giving Ramon more flexibility and decision-making power, Chicago Medical Instruments is increasing his autonomy. Feedback refers to the information employees receive about their job performance, task identity refers to the degree to which a job involves a complete piece of work, and task significance refers to the impact a job has on others. While these may also be important factors in job design, they are not the primary focus of the changes being made to Ramon's job.

Question 18

At Boss Motorcar Company,employees are grouped into teams.Each team is responsible for assembling an entire automobile.Boss gives each team freedom and flexibility to decide how to divide-up the work.The company keeps the employees informed about how their cars are selling,and even shows them the comments customers make about quality and performance on customer satisfaction questionnaires.Boss Motorcar Company is using a strategy of:

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment involves giving employees more responsibility and control over their work. The fact that Boss Motorcar Company's teams are given the freedom and flexibility to decide how to divide up the work indicates that they have a degree of autonomy and decision-making authority. Moreover, keeping employees informed about customers' comments on quality and performance suggests that the company values employees' contributions and seeks to empower them to make improvements. Overall, this approach aligns with the principles of job enrichment.

Question 19

Which of the following practices would fail to result in more open communication?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following practices would fail...

Question 20

As a contemporary manager,your employees will perceive that their opinions are more valued if:

Accepted Answer

Providing settings where employees have the opportunity to converse with all levels of management allows for open communication and shows that their opinions are valued. Closed-end question type surveys may leave employees feeling that their opinions are not fully heard or considered. Televise CEO communication and job simplification may not necessarily affect how valued an employee's opinion is perceived.

Quiz 10: Motivating Employees