Deck 6: Job Design and Performance

Question 1

Job depth reflects the amount of control that an individual has to alter or influence the job and the surrounding environment.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The relationship between performance and task variety is likely to be linear.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: The relationship between performance and task variety (even for individuals with high growth needs) is likely to be curvilinear.

Question 3

Jobs can provide intrinsic or extrinsic outcomes,but not both.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: Most jobs provide opportunities for both intrinsic and extrinsic outcomes.

Question 4

Job depth reflects the number of operations that a job occupant performs to complete a task.

Question 5

Product,territory,and customer departments are comprised of jobs that are quite similar (homogenous).

Question 6

Performing a job can sometimes result in health problems for the worker.

Question 7

It's generally held that extrinsic rewards reinforce intrinsic rewards in a positive direction when the individual can attribute the source of the extrinsic reward to her own efforts.

Question 8

The term "job redesign" specifically refers to any instance in which management specifies the duties and responsibilities of a job.

Question 9

Managers cannot understand the causes of job performance without considering the social setting in which the job is performed.

Question 10

Employees with relatively weak higher-order needs are more concerned with performing a variety of tasks than are employees with relatively strong growth needs.

Question 11

The trade-offs between the gains in human terms from improved quality of work life and the gains in economic terms from revitalization aren't fully known.

Question 12

As used in the text,the term job design refers to a one-time,static process.

Question 13

Job satisfaction depends on the levels of intrinsic and extrinsic outcomes and how the job-holder views those outcomes.

Question 14

According to the "General Model of Job Design" perceived job content leads to job performance.

Question 15

Managers expecting higher performance to result from increased task variety will be disappointed if the jobholders do not have strong growth needs.

Question 16

An employee with the same job title,who is at the same organizational level as another employee,may possess more,less,or the same job depth.

Question 17

If an individual perceives a job as boring,job performance will suffer.

Question 18

Without the opportunity to communicate,people will be unable to establish cohesive work groups.

Question 19

Performance will turn down as individuals reach the limits imposed by their abilities and time.

Question 20

Job designs describe the objective characteristics of jobs.

Question 21

Job enrichment and job enlargement are competing strategies.

Question 22

Job design attempts to ______________.

A) identify the most important needs of employers and organization
B) remove employees in the workplace that frustrate the needs of the organization and employees
C) match applicants to positions
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 23

All of the following are considered extrinsic outcomes of a job except:

A) Pay
B) Co-workers
C) Feeling challenged
D) Working conditions

Question 24

According to the "General Model of Job Design" job performance is influenced by:

A) perceived job content
B) personalized job content
C) extra-organizational job content
D) All of the above.

Question 25

Contemporary job design theory defines intrinsic motivation in terms of the employee's _______________ to achieve outcomes from the application of individual ability and talent.

A) potential
B) empowerment
C) incentives
D) directives

Question 26

Self-managed teams (SMT)represent a job enrichment approach at the group level.

Question 27

Perceived job content is influenced by:

A) Job design
B) Individual differences
C) Social setting differences
D) All of the above.

Question 28

Job enlargement is a necessary precondition for job enrichment.

Question 29

Job enlargement strategies focus on dividing work into more specialized tasks.

Question 30

An employee with the same job title who's at the same organizational level as another employee may possess __________ job depth because of personal influence.

A) more
B) less
C) the same amount of
D) All of the above

Question 31

Which of the following jobs would have the highest job depth?

A) Assembly-line worker
B) Bookkeeper
C) Chief of surgery
D) Anesthesiologist

Question 32

Higher-level needs regain importance when the economy moves through periods of recession and high inflation.

Question 33

The impetus for designing job depth was provided by _____________ theory of motivation.

A) Vroom's
B) Locke's
C) Maslow's hierarchy
D) Herzberg's two-factor

Question 34

All of the following are typically thought of as "objective" measures except:

A) Output
B) Tardiness
C) Turnover
D) Job satisfaction

Question 35

Job designs specify all of the following job characteristics except:

A) Range
B) Depth
C) Relationships
D) Specific duties

Question 36

Job __________ has been defined as the feelings beliefs and attitudes that employees have regarding their jobs.

A) satisfaction
B) depth
C) joy
D) EQ

Question 37

People differ in the extent that _______________.

A) they view work is a central life interest
B) they perceive work as central to self-esteem
C) they perceive work as consistent with self-concept
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 38

An individual who executes eight tasks to perform a job has a wider job _______ than a person executing four.

A) specification
B) range
C) diversity
D) richness

Question 39

Mike's position requires the use of more discretion than Jack's.Mike's position could be characterized as having greater job _______.

A) depth
B) range
C) diversity
D) "Q"

Question 40

The concept of quality of work life (QWL)is widely used to refer to a philosophy of management that does all of the following except:

A) Streamlines and standardizes the job
B) Enhances the dignity of all workers
C) Introduces changes in an organization's culture
D) Improves the physical and emotional well-being of employees

Question 41

The pioneering effort to measure perceived job content through employee responses to a questionnaire resulted in the identification of __________ characteristics.

A) two
B) three
C) five
D) six

Question 42

RTAI is an acronym for _____________.

A) Requisite Task Attribute Index
B) Revised Task Attribute Index
C) Revised Task and Authority Index
D) Relationship Task and Authority Index

Question 43

A pioneering Walker and Guest study found that many workers were dissatisfied with their highly specialized jobs.In particular,they disliked:

A) Mechanical pacing
B) Repetitiveness of operations
C) A lack of a sense of accomplishment
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 44

A management initiative is increasing the amount of discretion individuals have to decide job activities and outcomes.Management is increasing _________.

A) job range
B) job depth
C) task diversity
D) task range

Question 45

In _______________ departments,people will be doing much the same specialty.

A) customer
B) functional
C) product
D) territory

Question 46

Variety,task identity,and feedback are perceptions of job _______________.

A) range
B) depth
C) relationships
D) autonomy

Question 47

It is easier for people with _______________ backgrounds,skills,and training to establish social relationships that are satisfying with less stress.

A) university
B) heterogeneous
C) homogeneous
D) dissimilar

Question 48

A disadvantage of job enlargement is that it __________.

A) may increase employee training requirements
B) typically leads to neutral to negative change in productivity
C) diminishes the work satisfaction of managers
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 49

A position with a wider ______________ means it has more direct reports.

A) job depth
B) job span
C) span of control
D) control depth

Question 50

Taylor proposed that the way to improve work is to determine _________.

A) a variety of comparable methods to do a task
B) determine the standard time for the completion of tasks
C) incorporate social factors into work design
D) All of the responses are correct.

Question 51

Managers of General Electric,Ford,and Deloitte Services LP all utilized different forms of the _______________ strategy.

A) job enlargement
B) job rotation
C) job redesign
D) job enhancement

Question 52

Highly specialized jobs are those having all of the following except:

A) Few tasks to accomplish
B) Job-specific rules
C) Job-specific procedures
D) Discretion over means and ends

Question 53

Employees sharing similar _______________ should report similar job characteristics.

A) perceptions
B) job designs
C) social settings
D) All of the above.

Question 54

Organization behavior researchers have attempted to measure perceived job content in a variety of work settings,primarily through _______________.

A) face-to-face interviews
B) observation
C) questionnaires
D) time and motion studies

Question 55

A management initiative is increasing the number of tasks jobholders perform.Management is increasing _________.

A) job range
B) job depth
C) task diversity
D) task range

Question 56

There are ____________ precise equations that managers can use to decide job range and depth.

A) multiple
B) specific
C) no
D) three

Question 57

Individuals who work in __________ departments experience feelings of dissatisfaction and stress more intensely than those in ________,functional departments.

A) heterogeneous, homogeneous
B) homogeneous, heterogeneous
C) heterogeneous, heterogenic
D) heterogenic, hologynic

Question 58

Research studies have pointed out,how one perceives a job is _______ affected by what other people say about it.

A) generally not
B) weakly
C) inversely
D) greatly

Question 59

Increasing task variety should,according to recent studies,do all of the following except:

A) Increase employee satisfaction
B) Increase mental overload
C) Decrease the number of errors due to fatigue
D) Reduce the number of on-the-job injuries

Question 60

Job design describes the _________ characteristics of jobs.

A) perceived
B) objective
C) true
D) All of the above

Question 61

Name three work place indicators of quality of work life.

Question 62

Describe the concept of QWL.

Question 63

Job specialization is generally associated with _______________.

A) a low range and significant depth
B) a moderate amount of range and depth
C) a low depth and generally low range
D) None of the above, as there is no specific relationship between the constructs.

Question 64

In a __________ arrangement,employees can determine,within some limits,when they work.

A) flex-time
B) telecommuting
C) compressed work week
D) job sharing

Question 65

Employees with a strong need for _______________ will respond more positively to job redesign efforts than those with relatively weak growth needs.

A) accomplishment
B) learning
C) challenge
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 66

Contrast job redesign and job design.

Question 67

________________ is a process in which best practices are monitored and adopted.

A) Six sigma
B) Benchmarking
C) TQA
D) Cloning

Question 68

One of the earliest forms of alternative work arrangements was _______________.

A) flex-time
B) telecommuting
C) the compressed work week
D) job sharing

Question 69

In the context of job design SMT is an acronym for _________.

A) social media teams
B) situational mediated teams
C) self-managed teams
D) solo-man team

Question 70

Total quality management (TQM)refers to a(n)_______________ that is dedicated to continuous improvement and the production of high-quality products and services,ultimately resulting in higher levels of customer satisfaction.

A) organizational culture
B) job design
C) job philosophy
D) organized ethos

Question 71

Six sigma is a quality standard that specifies a goal of no more than _____ defects per million opportunities.

A) 1
B) 3.4
C) 7.3
D) 10

Question 72

_____________ theory emphasizes that too great an emphasis on the technical system in the manner of scientific management or too great an emphasis on the social system in the manner of human relations will lead to poor job design.

A) Human relations
B) Social impact
C) Sociotechnical
D) Technical minimization

Question 73

If employees are able to carry out enriched jobs and managers are willing to delegate authority,performance gains can be expected.This positive outcome is the result of all of the following except:

A) Employees' increased expectations that efforts lead to performance
B) Employees' increased expectations that jobs will be further enriched
C) Employees' increased expectations that performance lead in rewards
D) Employees' expectations that the achieved rewards will lead to satisfied needs

Question 74

A _______________ team relies on interactive technology to work together when separated by physical distance.

A) self-directed
B) virtual
C) job sharing
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 75

When switching from a traditional hierarchy structure to work teams,two notable barriers are resistance and _______________.

A) misunderstanding
B) distrust
C) increased personnel needs
D) insufficient communication

Question 76

Management attempts to do two things when designing a job.What are they?

Question 77

Name three positive things that a job can provide for an individual.

Question 78

Best practice for virtual teams suggests that face to face time and team-building exercises should be used _______________ to facilitate the development of trust.

A) during the initial periods of team formation
B) every meeting
C) after teams have solidified
D) as conflicts arise

Question 79

If employees are amenable to job enlargement and have the requisite ability,then job enlargement should _______________.

A) increase product quality
B) decrease absenteeism
C) decrease turnover
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 80

The text presented all of the following as tips for creating a flextime schedule except:

A) Survey employees to determine their scheduling needs
B) Assign manageable workloads
C) Evaluate flexible arrangements on a regular basis
D) Assess job performance based on hours worked