Question 1

Alex wants to apply the job characteristics model to her employees' work.She plans to sit down with each employee and describe how the employee's job impacts the organization and brings in customers.Alex is trying to change the ________ of the jobs.

Accepted Answer

Alex is focusing on explaining how the employees' job impacts the organization and brings in customers, which falls under the category of task significance in the job characteristics model. Skill variety, autonomy, and feedback are the other dimensions of the model that could also be targeted for change, but they are not the focus in this scenario. Skill level is not specifically part of the job characteristics model.

Question 2

Monica wants to apply the job characteristics model to her employees' work.She plans to start giving performance appraisals every three months instead of every 12 months.Michelle is trying to change the ________ of the jobs.

Accepted Answer

The job characteristic model identifies five core job characteristics that lead to critical psychological states, which in turn lead to desirable outcomes: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. By changing the frequency of performance appraisals, Michelle is directly addressing the feedback component of the model. The other options are not directly related to frequency of performance appraisals.

Question 3

Julian was not feeling challenged in his job.He had been doing the same job for five years and knew how to perform all the tasks well.To continue to motivate him, his boss gave him some new challenging tasks.This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment involves giving employees more challenging and complex tasks that require a higher level of skill and responsibility. This can help to increase motivation and job satisfaction, as well as improve overall job performance. The scenario described in the question, where Julian's boss gave him new challenging tasks to continue to motivate him, is an example of job enrichment.

Question 4

What would be a common example of a compressed work week?

Accepted Answer

A compressed work week typically involves working longer hours for fewer days. Option B fits this definition as it is a four-day work week with 10-hour workdays. Options C, D, and E all have fewer total hours worked compared to a traditional five-day, 40-hour work week.

Question 5

Michelle wants to apply the job characteristics model to her employees' work.She plans to increase the number of diverse tasks and skills used to perform each job.Michelle is trying to change the ________ of the jobs.

Accepted Answer

Skill variety refers to the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities that involve different skills and talents. By increasing the number of diverse tasks and skills used to perform each job, Michelle is trying to increase the skill variety, one of the five core dimensions of the job characteristics model. Task identity refers to the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work, while task significance refers to the impact of the job on other people. Autonomy refers to the degree to which a job provides freedom, independence, and discretion to the employee in scheduling tasks and deciding how to perform them. Skill level is not a part of the job characteristics model.

Question 6

Melissa wants to apply the job characteristics model to her employees' work.She plans to redesign jobs so that each employee will be creating widgets from start to finish.Melissa is trying to change the ________ of the jobs.

Accepted Answer

Task identity refers to the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of job rotation?

Accepted Answer

Job rotation is the practice of moving employees between different tasks or jobs within an organization. Option B describes a worker who rotates between different tasks on a regular basis, which is an example of job rotation. Options A, C, D, and E do not describe job rotation.

Question 8

Katie and Emily both work at Acme Global.Next month, Katie will work in Emily's job in the accounting department while Emily works in Katie's job in the marketing department.After the month is over, they will return to their regular jobs, hopefully having learned new skills and gained new perspectives.This is an example of _________.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of job rotation, where employees swap roles temporarily to gain new skills and perspectives.

Question 9

Acme Global used to require budget officers to get three signatures on each budget form.When Michael took over the accounting department, he changed the form so that only one signature was needed.This is an example of _______.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of job simplification, which involves reducing the number of tasks or steps in a job to make it more efficient. By reducing the number of required signatures, the process is simplified.

Question 10

Which job tool involves eliminating tasks, combining tasks, and changing task sequences?

Accepted Answer

Job simplification involves eliminating tasks, combining tasks, and changing task sequences in order to streamline and simplify the job. The other options listed involve different approaches to organizing job tasks, but do not specifically involve simplification.

Question 11

Wynn's Marketing Designs requires all employees to be at work from 10:00 a.m.to noon and from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., but allows people to come and go as desired during the rest of their eight-hour workday.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The schedule described is an example of flextime, which allows employees to have some control over their work schedule outside of core hours. This can help with work-life balance and potentially increase employee satisfaction and productivity.

Question 12

A form of autonomy that allows employees to work somewhere other than an office is called:

Accepted Answer

Telecommuting, also known as remote work or telework, is a form of autonomy that allows employees to work from home or another location outside of the traditional office environment. This approach is becoming increasingly popular due to technological advancements and the desire for work-life balance.

Question 13

The simple way to ______ jobs is for the manager to delegate more authority to employees to make a job satisfying.

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment is the process of giving employees more responsibilities and autonomy in their work, which can lead to a greater sense of satisfaction and motivation. Delegating more authority to employees is a way to enrich their jobs and make them more fulfilling. Choices B, C, D, and E refer to different methods of job design and do not necessarily address the issue of job satisfaction.

Question 14

In _________ sharing, two or more people share one whole job, including the workload and any benefits that are associated with that job.

Accepted Answer

The definition given fits the concept of job sharing, which involves two or more people sharing one whole job, including its workload and associated benefits. The other options do not fit this definition as well.

Question 15

According to the job characteristics model, which one of the following interventions should generally NOT be used as part of motivational job design?

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the job characteristics model, which...

Question 16

Willie found he did not have enough work to keep him busy throughout the workday.He did not want to work harder, but he also did not want to be idle.His boss found some more tasks for him so that he had plenty to do.This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

Job enlargement is the process of adding new tasks and responsibilities to an existing job in order to increase the level of challenge. In this scenario, Willie's boss found additional tasks for him to do, which is an example of job enlargement. Job enrichment involves giving employees more autonomy or decision-making power in their work, which is not present in this scenario. Job rotation involves moving employees through different positions, which also does not apply here. Work teams and skill enrichment are not relevant to the situation described.

Question 17

Nicole wants to apply the job characteristics model to her employees' work.She plans to give her employees more discretion to make decisions in planning, organizing, and controlling their tasks.Nicole is trying to change the ________ of the jobs.

Accepted Answer

Autonomy refers to the degree to which employees have the freedom and discretion to plan, organize, and control their work. By allowing her employees more autonomy, Nicole is attempting to increase the meaningfulness of their jobs and give them a greater sense of responsibility and ownership over their work. This aligns with the job characteristics model, which identifies autonomy as a key factor in promoting employee motivation, satisfaction, and engagement.

Question 18

_______________ can be achieved through rotation, enlargement, and enrichment.

Accepted Answer

Job expansion can be achieved through rotation, enlargement, and enrichment, which are techniques used to increase the variety and complexity of tasks in a job.

Question 19

Job enlargement is a tool designed to:

Accepted Answer

Job enlargement is a process of adding more tasks or responsibilities to a job to make it less repetitive and boring. This can help to increase employee motivation and job satisfaction. Option B is incorrect because job enlargement may not necessarily increase efficiency. Option C is incorrect because job enlargement aims to add more tasks to a job, rather than decreasing the difficulty. Option D is incorrect because job enlargement does not necessarily increase managerial freedom. Option E is incorrect because job enlargement aims to increase employee autonomy by giving them a wider range of responsibilities.

Question 20

Flextime, job sharing, telecommuting, and compressed workweeks are all examples of _________________.

Accepted Answer

Flextime, job sharing, telecommuting, and compressed workweeks are examples of job design for flexibility, which involves redesigning jobs to make them more adaptable to employees' preferences and personal circumstances, thereby increasing job satisfaction and work-life balance. Job expansion, biological job design, motivational job design, and skill enrichment are different approaches to job design that involve different goals and methods.

Quiz 4: Matching Employees and Jobs