Deck 2: Job Analysis and Design

Question 1

Health and safety training or equipment that is required would be included in a job description under human characteristics.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Standardized surveys to collect information about jobs, working conditions, and other performance-related information are called questionnaires.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Each method of collecting job- and performance-related information has its shortcomings. As a result, analysts often use a combination of two or more techniques concurrently.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

A job is a collection of tasks and responsibilities performed by an individual whereas a position consists of a group of related activities and duties.

Question 5

When using interviews to collect job data, both jobholders and supervisors are interviewed.

Question 6

An employee log is an approach to collecting job- and performance-related information by asking the job-holder to summarize tasks, activities, and challenges in a diary format.

Question 7

Within the job analysis process, organization change occurs during the preparation for job analysis phase.

Question 8

The observation method of job analysis data collection faces issues of misunderstood questions, incomplete responses, and low response rates.

Question 9

Information about the job environment, such as health and safety hazards, is included in working conditions on a job description.

Question 10

When a facilitator brings together 5 to 7 experts on a job to discuss the job duties and responsibilities, it is called a brainstorming group.

Question 11

According to the text, global competition, fast technological obsolescence, changing worker profiles, and rapid increases in knowledge requirements have made it difficult to create accurate and up-to-date job descriptions.

Question 12

In unionized organizations, job analysis steps have to meet the various provisions of the collective agreement between the management and the union.

Question 13

In today's fast-changing environments, job analysis will continue to be relevant for legal compliance and defensibility in the event of a court action.

Question 14

Performance standards describe to what level an employee needs to be doing the job to be a good performer versus an average or a poor performer.

Question 15

When using a job analysis questionnaire, it is important to use the same questionnaire on similar jobs.

Question 16

Job analysis questionnaires are checklists that seek to collect information about positions in a uniform manner.

Question 17

When analysts use interviews to collect job information, they have the job analysis questionnaire as a guide but can include additional questions if needed.

Question 18

The critical incident method involves identifying and describing specific events where an employee performed very well and when they performed poorly.

Question 19

When collecting job data, the analyst usually talks to a number of workers and then supervisors.

Question 20

In today's fast-changing environment, the traditional boundaries between firms, suppliers, and customers are no longer distinct.

Question 21

The first digit in the National Occupational Classification represents the skill type category.

Question 22

"Works in a well-ventilated office" would be included under effort factors on a job specification.

Question 23

Job performance standards are developed from job analysis information, and then actual employee performance is measured.

Question 24

"Display and stock merchandise on shelves" is an example of a responsibility on a job description.

Question 25

Job descriptions will most often be approved by an incumbent and their supervisor.

Question 26

A competency matrix lists different levels of skill for a combination of competencies.

Question 27

A job specification is a written statement that explains what a job demands of jobholders and human skills and factors required.

Question 28

When measured performance is misaligned with job performance standards, corrective action is taken to change either the standards themselves or feedback to improve job performance.

Question 29

According to a survey by Glassdoor, employee morale was the most commonly cited aspect of jobs that was different from what new hires expected.

Question 30

A job description is a collection of tasks and responsibilities performed by an individual.

Question 31

Job descriptions can be instrumental in ensuring that new hires' expectations about a job are met.

Question 32

Disadvantages of focus groups for collecting job data include: they are slow, costly, and may miss regularly occurring activities.

Question 33

According to the text, observation is the most common method of collecting data for job analysis.

Question 34

Industry standards may be used as benchmarks for performance in certain jobs, particularly those based on service functions.

Question 35

Job specifications should be generic so as not to limit employee job tasks. For example, it would be better to include "must lift heavy materials" than "lifts 10-pound boxes."

Question 36

The need for an engineer to have the technical expertise at skill level 6 would be included on a competency matrix.

Question 37

In the National Occupational Classification, the second digit is for education level.

Question 38

Once information about various jobs has been collected, it informs job descriptions, job specifications, job standards, and competency models.

Question 39

When competencies become too broad, with few specific duties or tasks supporting them, any decisions made based on these competencies may not be legally defensible.

Question 40

The two major attributes of jobs used for classification criteria in the NOC were skill level and skill type.

Question 41

A short cycle is created when workers are limited to a few repetitive tasks.

Question 42

Task identity is a set of attributes and codes which serve to identify tasks within a job description

Question 43

Short job cycles require large investments in worker training.

Question 44

In a national survey conducted by the Conference Board of Canada, what percentage of respondents reported the use of teams in their workplace?

A) 20%
B) 40%
C) 60%
D) 80%
E) Teams are archaic and are no longer used in workplaces

Question 45

Job design identifies job duties, characteristics, competencies, and sequences regardless of technology, workforce, organization character, and environment.

Question 46

In competency-based management, competencies are identified after carefully analyzing the work of the high performers.

Question 47

The definition of work flow is the sequence of and balance between jobs in an organization needed to produce the firm's goods or services.

Question 48

When police officers know that a community values their work, their job can be considered to have high levels of task significance.

Question 49

Job enlargement adds more responsibilities and autonomy to a job, giving the worker greater powers to plan, do, and evaluate job performance.

Question 50

Environmental considerations are the influence of the external environment on job design. It includes employee ability, availability, and social expectations.

Question 51

Task significance is the impact which one's activities and responsibilities have on the workflow.

Question 52

Ergonomics is the study of the relationship between the economy and the work environment.

Question 53

Job families are groups of different jobs that are closely related by similar duties, responsibilities, skills, or job elements.

Question 54

Autonomy, in a job context, is defined as having control over one's work. It is the freedom to control one's response to the environment resulting in an increased sense of recognition, self-esteem, job satisfaction, and performance.

Question 55

Fast food businesses in Alberta offering hiring bonuses to workers is an example of the effect of workforce availability.

Question 56

The definition of feedback is information that helps evaluate the success or failure of an action or system.

Question 57

Creating the wick on candles but not getting to view the completed candle would be an example of a job that lacks task identity.

Question 58

According to the Job Characteristics Model, 5 characteristics result in 3 psychological states: meaningfulness, responsibility, and knowledge of expectations.

Question 59

The definition of efficiency is achieving maximal output with task specialization.

Question 60

Worldwide competition and complex technology has resulted in job elimination due to automation, making human resources less important for organizations today.

Question 61

There are three main differences between competency-based job analyses and other forms of job analyses. Which of the following is one of these differences?

A) Competencies are job specific, contributing to success in only one job within the organization
B) Competencies are uniform across job roles
C) Competencies do not support the firm's vision, strategic direction, or values
D) Competencies contribute to both job performance and organizational success
E) Competencies need to be enacted the same way to ensure strong performance

Question 62

Job analysis consists of three phases: preparation, collection of job information, and use of job information for improving organizational effectiveness. Which of the following is NOT part of the "use of job analysis" phase?

A) Job specification
B) Determining sources of job data
C) Job performance standards
D) Designing HRIS
E) Organization change

Question 63

Job analysis information is usually sufficient for jobs with which of the following features?

A) Performance that requires substantial interpretation
B) Performance that is supported by multiple certificates and diplomas
C) Performance standards that are only fully understood by supervisors
D) Performance that is difficult to measure
E) Performance that is quantified

Question 64

Industrial engineers study work cycles to determine which job elements can be combined, modified, or eliminated to reduce the overall time needed to perform the task. Task specialization was suggested as a key strategy to improve efficiency. Which of the following industries is best-suited to task specialization?

A) Manufacturing
B) Teaching
C) Nursing
D) Parenting
E) Social work

Question 65

When conducting an interview to collect data, a structured checklist should be used. The checklist should collect information on a variety of matters including:

A) Physical demands, working conditions, and safety and health issues
B) Current performance standards and improvements needed
C) Education, skills, competencies, and experience levels needed
D) Major duties and percentage of time spent on each
E) All of the choices

Question 66

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using direct observation as a means of collecting job- and performance-related information?

A) Workers may perform differently when they know they are being watched
B) It cannot confirm data collected using other methods
C) It cannot be used when language barriers exist
D) When analysts question data from other techniques, it cannot remove doubts
E) It only captures irregularly occurring activities

Question 67

In the context of human resources, what does the acronym NOC stand for?

A) National Organization of Cosmetologists
B) National Optometrists Conference
C) Norwegian Organic Commission
D) National Organizational Classification
E) National Occupational Classification

Question 68

Which of the following elements is NOT a key consideration when designing jobs?

A) Employee considerations
B) Organizational considerations
C) Environmental considerations
D) Job specialization considerations
E) Social considerations

Question 69

Which of the following is a nonhuman source of job data?

A) Job incumbent
B) Subordinates
C) Job experts
D) Videos/films supplied by appliance/machine manufacturers
E) Supervisors

Question 70

When creating a job analysis questionnaire, which of the following may be considered under the category of working conditions?

A) Education and training
B) Outline of the equipment used
C) Necessary skills and attributes
D) A description of how performance is measured
E) Physical surroundings encountered on the job

Question 71

To improve the work experience in routine jobs, human resource departments often use a combination of job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, employee involvement, and work teams. What is the definition of job enrichment?

A) Adding more responsibilities and autonomy to a job
B) Increasing the number of tasks to a job to increase the job cycle
C) Moving employees from one job to another
D) Work that is organized around teams and processes
E) Providing more autonomy, feedback, and task significance to workers

Question 72

What is the definition of a competency?

A) The specific tasks and responsibilities to be performed by an individual
B) A set of characters which make an employee competitive
C) Knowledge, skill, ability, or behaviour associated with successful job performance
D) Communication skills making an employee a strong leader
E) A group of leaders within the organization

Question 73

Which of the following is a strong reason why employee logs are NOT a popular choice for collecting job- and performance-related information?

A) Employees are often untruthful about the information they include in the log
B) After the novelty wears off, employees typically only report infrequently performed tasks
C) Asking employees to log job- and performance-related information is an invasion of their privacy
D) Employees may be lacking in key-boarding skills or have poor penmanship
E) Maintaining employee logs is time-consuming and costly for jobholders and human resource specialists

Question 74

Likely targets of job analysis are jobs:

A) For which the work environment has not been recently altered
B) That are easy to learn or perform
C) For which the firm rarely hires
D) That have existed since the organization began
E) That are affected by new technology

Question 75

In the past, many Canadians were willing to work for long hours doing difficult jobs such as laying rail lines. However, today industrial workers are more highly educated and expect a higher quality of work life. This example highlights the importance of considering which of the following factors when designing jobs?

A) Work practices
B) Social expectations
C) Environmental considerations
D) Task significance
E) Job specifications

Question 76

Which of the following is a key consideration when designing jobs?

A) Financial considerations
B) Societal considerations
C) Organizational considerations
D) Economic considerations
E) All of the choices

Question 77

Which of the following may NOT occur as a result of job rotation?

A) A break in the monotony of highly specialized work
B) The worker becomes competent in several jobs
C) Employee's self-image and personal growth improves
D) Expansion of the number of related tasks in the job
E) Increases to training costs

Question 78

Which of the following are the 3 most popular methods of collecting job- and performance-related information?

A) Interviews, questionnaires, and observation
B) Interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires
C) Observation, focus groups, and employee logs
D) Employee logs, interviews, and focus groups
E) Questionnaires, employee logs, and observation

Question 79

Which of the following major Human Resource Management activities does NOT rely on job analysis information?

A) Elimination of unnecessary job requirements that can cause discrimination in employment
B) Matching of job applicants to job requirements
C) Fair and equitable compensation of employees
D) Planning of future human resource requirements
E) Determining employee career paths

Question 80

According to the Job Characteristics Model, which of the following outcomes occurs when employees do meaningful work, have high levels of responsibility, and are knowledgeable about the outcomes of their work?

A) Low motivation
B) High absenteeism
C) Low Satisfaction
D) High Turnover
E) High performance