Deck 7: Work Design and Measurement

Question 1

Specialization is one of the sources of disagreement between the efficiency and behavioral approaches to job design.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

One of the potential benefits of self-directed teams is higher quality.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A flow process chart is helpful for visualizing the portions of a work cycle during which the operator and equipment are busy or idle.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Job enrichment involves giving a workers a greater share of the total task, which is why they feel enriched.

Question 5

One important factor that influences productivity is trust between workers and managers.

Question 6

One of the potential benefits of self-directed teams is higher productivity and greater worker satisfaction.

Question 7

Trust is a factor influencing productivity.

Question 8

Self-directed teams help other work groups make changes to their processes.

Question 9

Ergonomics is an important part of job design to consider when we automate the system.

Question 10

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

Question 11

Motivation influences quality and productivity, but not the work environment.

Question 12

One potential disadvantage of self-directed teams is higher training costs.

Question 13

Methods analysis cannot be done for new jobs (ones that do not yet exist) since it requires observation of the process.

Question 14

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

Question 15

One disadvantage of specialization is worker dissatisfaction.

Question 16

The quickest, most effective way to improve an employee's job satisfaction is to increase his or her compensation.

Question 17

One therblig is the equivalent of one hour of sustained work by one average person.

Question 18

Ergonomics is the use of computers and robots in the workplace.

Question 19

Many lower-level jobs are monotonous and boring.

Question 20

Job design relates to people, therefore technology has little impact.

Question 21

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

Question 22

Work measurement concentrates on how long the tasks take to accomplish.

Question 23

Studies on worker efficiency and time of day suggest that the greatest efficiency is at the end of the day when workers are "warmed up."

Question 24

Predetermined time standards are usually based on observing one very efficient worker performing the task.

Question 25

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

Question 26

The most widely used method of work measurement is work sampling.

Question 27

Therbligs are basic elemental motions.

Question 28

No stopwatch is required in a work sampling study.

Question 29

Predetermined time standards use historical data from a company's own files.

Question 30

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

Question 31

Predetermined time standards involve the use of published data regarding how long various activities are expected to take.

Question 32

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

Question 33

The design of work systems, because objective standards are used, avoids most ethical issues.

Question 34

One factor in determining how many cycles to time in a time study is the degree of variation that is present in the observed times.

Question 35

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

Question 36

A performance rating of less than 1.0 means that the observed worker was judged to be working at a faster than normal rate-doing the job more quickly than normal.

Question 37

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

Question 38

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

Question 39

Work sampling can be used to estimate the proportion of time a machine is idle.

Question 40

We incorporate the average seriousness of accidents by measuring the number of lost-time accidents per million labor hours worked.

Question 41

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

Question 42

Methods analysis is particularly valuable when it is used on jobs that:
(I) are high in labor content.
(II) are done frequently.
(III) involve a high degree of automation and mechanization.
(IV) are unsafe, tiring, unpleasant, and/or noisy.

A) I, II, III, and IV
B) I, II, and IV only
C) II and III only
D) II and IV only
E) I and III only

Question 43

If there is a good chance that one or a few employees could wind up in monotonous jobs, job __________ can be a good idea.

A) alteration
B) expansion
C) enrichment
D) enlargement
E) rotation

Question 44

Measured day work refers to an output-based system.

Question 45

A major advantage of job specialization in business is increased:

A) motivation.
B) opportunity for advancement.
C) opportunity for self-fulfillment.
D) productivity.
E) job enrichment.

Question 46

Asking a group of employees at a particular level to take on more responsibility is a form of ___________ loading, also known as job __________.

A) horizontal; enlargement
B) horizontal; rotation
C) vertical; rotation
D) vertical; enrichment
E) horizontal; enrichment

Question 47

From the worker's perspective, an output-based pay system has the advantage of:

A) linking pay more directly to effort.
B) keeping earnings stable.
C) keeping pay totally in the worker's control.
D) minimizing the temptation to work harder for more money.
E) keeping effort from influencing pay.

Question 48

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

Question 49

Time-based systems compensate employees according to the time they have worked and the amount of output they produce.

Question 50

Behavioral approaches to job design include:

A) specialization.
B) ergonomics.
C) job rotation.
D) flow process charts.
E) simo charts.

Question 51

Giving a worker a larger portion of the total task is known as job:

A) expansion.
B) enrichment.
C) enlargement.
D) rotation.
E) elimination.

Question 52

A worker-machine chart can help identify nonproductive parts of a process.

Question 53

Process chart symbols do not include:

A) delay.
B) inspection.
C) operation.
D) rejection.
E) storage.

Question 54

Output-based systems compensate employees according to the amount of output they produce, thereby tying pay directly to performance.

Question 55

It would be acceptable to use a group incentive plan for an assembly line operation.

Question 56

Methods analysis and motion study techniques do not directly consider behavioral aspects of jobs.

Question 57

Work sampling provides both quick and accurate estimates of activity times.

Question 58

Which of the following is not an advantage of time-based pay systems?

A) labor cost stability
B) incentives to increase output
C) ease of administration
D) stability of output
E) ease of pay computations

Question 59

Increasing compensation is always a way to improve worker satisfaction.

Question 60

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

A) high productivity
B) low wage costs
C) ease of training employees
D) low equipment costs
E) All are advantages

Question 61

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 62

Which of the following concerns is not one that job designers focus on?

A) what will be done in a job
B) who will do the job
C) how the job will be done
D) when should the job be completed
E) where the job will be done

Question 63

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

A) flow process chart.
B) worker-machine chart.
C) gang process chart.
D) simultaneous-motion chart.
E) time/efficiency chart.

Question 64

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

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

Question 65

In methods analysis, a therblig is a:

A) charting method of analysis.
B) job enrichment technique.
C) dummy task.
D) basic elemental motion.
E) fraction (.0006) of a minute.

Question 66

What is the effect of an increase in the desired confidence level 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 67

Determining the number of cycles to observe is an element of:

A) stopwatch time study.
B) standard elemental times.
C) predetermined time standards.
D) work sampling.
E) MTM tables.

Question 68

The methods analysis chart which describes the overall sequence of operations, transportation, storage, delays, and inspection is a:

A) flow process chart.
B) worker-machine chart.
C) gang process chart.
D) simultaneous-motion chart.
E) time/efficiency chart.

Question 69

A behavioral approach to job design which increases responsibility for planning and coordinating tasks is job:

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

Question 70

When performing a time study, the analyst converts the observed time into the time an "average" worker would require working at an acceptable pace by using which of the following?

A) allowance factors
B) MTM
C) methods analysis
D) performance rating
E) analysis of therbligs

Question 71

A simo chart includes:

A) delay.
B) storage.
C) transportation.
D) left/right hand movements.
E) inspection.

Question 72

The methods analysis chart which describes the portions of a work cycle during which an operator and equipment are busy or idle is a:

A) flow process chart.
B) worker-machine chart.
C) gang process chart.
D) simultaneous-motion chart.
E) time/efficiency chart.

Question 73

The symbols for operation, storage, transportation, inspection, and delay would usually be found on which type of chart?

A) flow process
B) Gantt
C) simultaneous motion
D) worker-machine
E) delay analysis

Question 74

The chart used to focus on busy and idle portions of a work cycle is a:

A) worker-machine chart.
B) Gantt chart.
C) simo chart.
D) idle chart.
E) flow process chart.

Question 75

In a stopwatch time study, the number of cycles that must be timed is a function of:
(I) the variability of observed times.
(II) the desired accuracy for the estimated job time.
(III) the desired confidence for the estimated job time.

A) I only
B) I and II only
C) II and III only
D) I, II, and III
E) I and III only

Question 76

Which is not a requirement for an effective self-directed team?

A) talent and skills to meet goals
B) one or more members representing supervision
C) a system of reinforcement and celebration
D) clearly stated and commonly held vision and goals
E) effective and skilled interpersonal relations

Question 77

A job had an observed cycle time of four minutes, a performance rating of 80 percent, and an allowance factor that was 20 percent of job time. Normal time for the job in minutes is:

A) 3.20.
B) 3.84.
C) 4.00.
D) 4.80.
E) 5.00.

Question 78

Which of the following most closely describes job enlargement?

A) horizontal loading
B) increasing the level of responsibility associated with a job
C) transferring 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 jobs to the same worker

Question 79

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

A) higher quality
B) higher productivity
C) greater worker satisfaction
D) greater satisfaction for middle managers
E) lower turnover

Question 80

One form of long-term team that is increasingly being used, especially in lean production settings, is:

A) quality circle.
B) product design.
C) self-directed.
D) self-improvement.
E) mandatory.