Question 1

Which arrangement would qualify as job rotation?

Accepted Answer

Job rotation involves employees being trained in different positions and departments, and rotating through those positions for a period of time. Option B involves support staff being trained in front-office functions through alternating work arrangements, which qualifies as job rotation. The other options do not involve the same level of cross-training or rotation through different positions.

Question 2

What is the objective of job enlargement?

Accepted Answer

The objective of job enlargement is to expand the scope of the job by adding more tasks of a similar level of difficulty and responsibility. This helps to make the job less repetitive and more interesting, providing employees with a greater variety of work to perform. This can help to increase employee motivation and job satisfaction. Efficiency, decreasing decision-making responsibilities, assessing relative dollar value, and decreasing impact on lives of others are not the primary objectives of job enlargement.

Question 3

Name the model that was developed by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham to describe ways to make jobs more motivating.

Accepted Answer

The Job Characteristics Model developed by Hackman and Oldham describes five core job characteristics that can be used to make jobs more motivating: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. This model focuses on aligning the individual's needs with job characteristics to increase motivation and job satisfaction.

Question 4

According to Herzberg's two-factor theory, which factor would motivate individuals the most?

Accepted Answer

According to Herzberg's two-factor theory, the most motivating factor is the meaningfulness of a job, which is a intrinsic motivator. A job that provides a sense of purpose and allows individuals to feel like they are making a meaningful contribution to the world is more likely to motivate them than the extrinsic motivators such as fringe benefits, shares of company stock, salary and allowances, or periodic bonuses.

Question 5

Identify the step that can be taken by an organization to enrich manufacturing jobs for its employees.

Accepted Answer

Giving employees more authority to manage the production process can help to enrich manufacturing jobs by giving employees a greater sense of responsibility and ownership over their work. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and motivation, as well as improved quality and productivity.

Question 6

The industrial engineering approach is most likely to emphasize

Accepted Answer

The industrial engineering approach focuses on optimizing efficiency and productivity through the streamlining of processes and jobs. This includes breaking down tasks into their smallest components and simplifying them to decrease the amount of time and effort required to complete them. This approach also involves analyzing work processes to eliminate waste and inefficiencies.

Question 7

What would be a benefit to the company if it plans on applying industrial engineering to existing jobs?

Accepted Answer

Industrial engineering focuses on optimizing complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving, and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, and materials. This approach aims to provide measurable and practical benefits such as increased efficiency, reduced waste, and improved quality and productivity, which are directly beneficial to companies.

Question 8

In terms of the Job Characteristics Model, feedback refers to the extent to which

Accepted Answer

Feedback in the Job Characteristics Model refers to the degree to which a person receives clear information about performance effectiveness from the work itself. This means that the job provides a direct and clear indication of whether the employee is performing well or not, allowing them to adjust their actions or behavior accordingly. Feedback is one of the five core job characteristics that lead to meaningful work experiences and increased job satisfaction. A, B, C, and D are not related to feedback.

Question 9

Which statement is true of self-managing work teams?

Accepted Answer

Self-managing work teams have a shared responsibility for the team's success and typically share work assignments. Job duties are not narrowly defined, and team members have the authority to make decisions, solve problems, and schedule work together. Individual tasks are still important, but the focus is on collaboration and teamwork.

Question 10

According to the Job Characteristics Model, ________ refers to the job characteristic that reflects the degree to which a job allows an individual to make decisions about the way the work is carried out.

Accepted Answer

Autonomy refers to the degree of freedom, independence, and discretion an employee has in deciding how and when to do their work. It is one of the five core dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model, along with skill variety, task identity, task significance, and feedback.

Question 11

Charlotte, the manager of an electronics store in Ohio, gives her staff the authority to resolve customer complaints. She lets the staff decide whether to issue refunds or replace merchandise in case of consumer grievances. Which job design technique is Charlotte implementing in her store?

Accepted Answer

Charlotte is implementing job enrichment by empowering her staff to make decisions regarding customer complaints. Job enrichment involves giving employees more control over their work and allowing them to make decisions that were previously reserved for managers.

Question 12

According to the Job Characteristics Model, what best describes task identity?

Accepted Answer

Task identity refers to the degree to which a job requires completing a "whole" piece of work from beginning to end. It is the extent to which a job allows an individual to see the outcomes of their work and the impact it has on others. Jobs with high task identity provide a sense of meaning and purpose as the individual can see the tangible results of their efforts.

Question 13

Green Gusts is a two-year-old company that makes wind turbines. The business owner, Mike, is struggling to compete. Finding enough employees who know how to do the work has been difficult, and Mike believes that his labor costs are too high because he cannot afford to match the prices of his nearest competitors. To help with these problems, Mike hires a new HR manager, Jake. Jake recommends they start by bringing in an industrial engineer. How is this approach to job design most likely to help Green Gusts?

Accepted Answer

An industrial engineer can help analyze and redesign the production process to increase efficiency, simplify work, and increase output per worker. This can help reduce labor costs and make Green Gusts more competitive. While the other options may also be important, job design is most likely to directly impact labor costs and productivity.

Question 14

Printer Press Prestige, a publishing company, conducted an internal survey on employee satisfaction. The results indicated that a majority of its support staff considered their jobs to be monotonous. In order to change this, management decided to combine the job duties of assistants, typists, and file clerks into a single job that requires all three kinds of work. Which technique of job design did this move constitute?

Accepted Answer

This move constitutes job extension, which involves combining tasks from different jobs to create a new job that involves a wider variety of tasks and responsibilities.

Question 15

Jamie, a manager at a construction company, contends that applying industrial engineering is the simplest way to structure work and maximize efficiency. Which statement supports Jamie's argument?

Accepted Answer

Jamie's argument is that applying industrial engineering simplifies work and maximizes efficiency. Statement A supports this argument by stating that applying industrial engineering reduces the complexity of work.

Question 16

Brenda, a researcher, is of the opinion that organizations should empower employees, and suggests this should be done by designing work to be done by self-managing teams. Which statement would validate Brenda's argument?

Accepted Answer

Brenda's argument is that organizations should empower employees by designing work to be done by self-managing teams. The statement that self-managing teams are highly involved in decision making supports Brenda's argument because it shows that self-managing teams have a sense of autonomy and control over their work, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and motivation. The other options either do not directly relate to Brenda's argument or provide reasons why self-managing teams may not be effective, which would weaken her argument.

Question 17

Ryan, a regional manager for a leading automobile company in the United States, decides to design a manufacturing job based on the principles of industrial engineering. Following its successful implementation, which outcome should he expect?

Accepted Answer

Industrial engineering principles are based on improving the efficiency and productivity of a manufacturing process. Therefore, the likely outcome of implementing such principles is an increased efficiency in the manufacturing job.

Question 18

Job enrichment differs from job rotation in that job enrichment

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment involves adding more decision-making authority, autonomy, and control to a job, whereas job rotation involves transferring employees among different jobs at the same hierarchical level to expose them to diverse tasks and responsibilities. Therefore, choice A is the best answer as it accurately distinguishes job enrichment from job rotation.

Question 19

Which job design technique involving the addition of decision-making authorities to a job is credited to Frederick Herzberg?

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment involves the addition of decision-making authorities and other tasks that increase the employee's control and responsibility over their work. This technique is credited to Frederick Herzberg, who believed that having a meaningful and challenging job was crucial for employee motivation and satisfaction. Job extension refers to expanding the scope of the job by adding similar duties or responsibilities. Job rotation involves moving employees through a variety of different jobs or tasks. Job enlargement refers to expanding the scope of the job by adding more diverse duties or responsibilities. Job sharing involves two or more employees sharing the responsibilities of one full-time position.

Question 20

Which scenario reflects a job lacking the characteristic of task significance?

Accepted Answer

Task significance refers to the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people. Option C reflects a job that has minimal impact on the lives of other people, indicating a lack of task significance. The other options (A, B, D, and E) have elements that suggest task significance to varying degrees.

Quiz 4: Analyzing Work and Designing Jobs