Deck 11: Human Resources, job Design, and Work Measurement

Question 1

A manufacturing plant allows its engineers to come in at 7 A.M.plus or minus an hour but still requires them to work 8-hour days.Which of the following scheduling techniques is the firm employing?

A)flextime
B)constant employment
C)part-time status
D)flexible workweek
E)compressed workweek

Answer 1

flextime

Question 2

Technology,location,and layout decisions are all possible constraints on human resource strategy.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Flextime is a system that allows employees,within limits,to determine their own work schedules.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

What is quality of work life? What is its relation to a firm's human resource strategy?

Question 5

The two extremes of employment stability policy are "follow demand exactly" and "keep demand constant."

Question 6

The objective of a human resource strategy is to manage labor and design jobs so people are effectively and efficiently utilized.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes mutual commitment in an organization?

A)an instance in which management is committed to the employees and the employees are committed to management
B)both management and the employees are committed to the same objective
C)both management and the employees are committed,but to different objectives
D)management obtains the commitment of the employees to a stated objective
E)both management and the employees can rely on each other

Question 8

________ is a means of determining staffing policies dealing with employment stability,work schedules,and work rules.

Question 9

A NASCAR pit crew consists of how many members?

A)7
B)5
C)9
D)10
E)4

Question 10

What is mutual trust? What is its link to a firm's human resource strategy?

Question 11

The objective of a human resource strategy is to:

A)produce the demand forecast at the lowest possible labor cost.
B)match employment levels with demand.
C)achieve a reasonable quality of work life at low cost.
D)manage labor and design jobs so people are effectively and efficiently utilized.
E)hire the most diversified workforce possible.

Question 12

The two most basic policies associated with employment stability are:

A)job enrichment and job enlargement.
B)employment for life and guaranteed minimum wage.
C)follow demand exactly and hold employment constant.
D)incentive plans and piece-rate plans.
E)full-time and part-time.

Question 13

Most pit crew members have background experience in what area?

A)mechanical engineering
B)athletics
C)car mechanics
D)automobile race driving
E)No specific area-crew members come from all sorts of backgrounds.

Question 14

Labor planning determines employment stability.

Question 15

Maintaining a stable workforce generally results in the firm paying higher wages than a firm that varies workforce level with demand.

Question 16

Mutual trust is:

A)when employees have gained the trust of management.
B)reflected in reasonable,documented employment policies that are honestly and equitably implemented to the satisfaction of both management and employee.
C)when management has gained the trust of the employees.
D)when management recognizes that the employees are competent,motivated people both able and willing to perform at the level required to produce a quality product.
E)when management and the employees both agree on common objectives.

Question 17

Equitable pay alone cannot achieve a reasonflexible manufacturing system
able quality of work life in an organization.

Question 18

Working four shifts of ten hours each instead of five shifts of eight hours each is known as which of the following?

A)flextime
B)constant employment
C)part-time status
D)flexible workweek
E)flexwork

Question 19

Mutual trust means that both management and employee strive to meet common objectives.

Question 20

________ means a job that is not only reasonably safe and for which the pay is equitable but that also achieves an appropriate level of both physical and psychological requirements.

Question 21

Psychological factors have little relevance in the design of assembly line jobs because those jobs involve physical products and production technology.

Question 22

What is the behavioral approach to job design that involves giving the worker more tasks requiring similar skills?

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

Question 23

Profit-sharing is a motivation and incentive system where executives receive stock options.

Question 24

Which of the following terms implies an increase in responsibility and control in the vertical direction?

A)job rotation
B)job enrichment
C)job re-design
D)job enlargement
E)job satisfaction

Question 25

Fredrick W.Taylor is credited with introducing psychology into the workplace.

Question 26

Which of the following is not a limitation of job expansion?

A)higher capital cost
B)higher wage rates
C)smaller labor pool
D)higher training costs
E)All of the above are limitations of job expansion.

Question 27

The Hawthorne studies,which showed that there is a dynamic social system in the workplace,took place in the 1960s.

Question 28

Which of the following statements describes job rotation?

A)The job contains a larger number of similar tasks.
B)The job includes some planning and control necessary for job accomplishment.
C)The operator works on different shifts on a regular basis.
D)The operator's schedule is flexible.
E)The operator is allowed to move,for example,from one type of CNC machine to another.

Question 29

What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the employment-stability policy of "hold employment constant?"

Question 30

________ refers to a work schedule that deviates from the normal or standard five 8-hour days.

Question 31

Job expansion can lead to increased labor cost because of the extra workers hired in the expansion.

Question 32

Which of the following statements regarding incentive systems is FALSE?

A)Bonuses are often used at the executive levels.
B)About half of all American manufacturing firms use productivity incentives.
C)Profit-sharing systems provide some part of the profit for distribution to employees.
D)The Scanlon plan is based on team productivity.
E)Increasing use of cross-training has led to increasing use of knowledge-based pay systems.

Question 33

When a worker obtains clear and timely information about his/her performance,his/her job includes which of the following characteristics?

A)feedback
B)skill variety
C)job identity
D)job significance
E)autonomy

Question 34

Hackman and Oldham's five desirable characteristics of job design include job significance and autonomy.

Question 35

An enlarged job has more responsibility than the same job enriched.

Question 36

The difference between job enrichment and job enlargement is that:

A)enlarged jobs involve vertical expansion,while enriched jobs involve horizontal expansion.
B)enriched jobs enable an employee to do a number of boring jobs instead of just one.
C)job enlargement is more psychologically satisfying than job enrichment.
D)job enrichment is suitable for all employees,whereas job enlargement is not.
E)enriched jobs involve vertical expansion,while enlarged jobs involve horizontal expansion.

Question 37

Which of Hackman and Oldham's five job characteristics refers to providing a worker a say in the work methods that he/she wishes to utilize?

A)skill variety
B)job identity
C)job significance
D)feedback
E)autonomy

Question 38

Management and labor share the labor cost reductions in which of these compensation schemes?

A)bonus system
B)quota system
C)Scantron plan
D)Scanlon plan
E)measured day work plan

Question 39

Four of the components of job design are:

A)employment stability,work schedules,work sampling,and motivation & incentive systems.
B)job specialization,job expansion,psychological components,and self-directed teams.
C)labor specialization and enrichment,motivation and incentive systems,employment stability,and work sampling.
D)ergonomics and work methods,method time measurement,work schedules,and incentive systems.
E)labor specialization,time studies,work sampling,and pre-determined time standards.

Question 40

Job rotation is a version of job enlargement.

Question 41

It is said that job expansion has both a vertical component and a horizontal component.Explain,with reference to such terms as job enrichment,job rotation,and job enlargement.

Question 42

Identify five limitations of job expansion.

Question 43

________ systems provide some portion of any profit for distribution to employees.

Question 44

A(n)________ is a group of empowered individuals working together to reach a common goal.

Question 45

Often called human factors,the study of work is known as ________.

Question 46

Identify Hackman and Oldham's five desirable characteristics of job design.

Question 47

________ is a method of giving an employee more responsibility that includes some of the planning and control necessary for job accomplishment.

Question 48

An operations chart,or right-hand/left-hand chart,points out wasted motion and idle time.

Question 49

Identify the five components of job design.

Question 50

Provide at least three examples of non-monetary incentives.

Question 51

What impact did the Hawthorne studies have on human resource strategy?

Question 52

How does labor specialization assist in reducing labor costs? (List three ways.)

Question 53

________ is an approach that specifies the tasks that constitute a job for an individual or a group.

Question 54

Describe some impacts of noise in the workplace.

Question 55

The ________ studies showed that there is a dynamic social system in the workplace.

Question 56

________ is the grouping of a variety of tasks using the same approximate skill level.

Question 57

________ involves enlarging employee jobs so that the added responsibility and authority is moved to the lowest level possible in the organization.

Question 58

One of the elements of ergonomics is

A)allocating work time based on economic studies.
B)the cost justification of technology.
C)designing tools and machines that facilitate human work.
D)assembly line balancing.
E)the establishment of time standards.

Question 59

The physical environment in which employees work may affect the quality of work life,but it does not affect their performance and safety.

Question 60

Ergonomics is a branch of economics that deals with costs of scheduling workers.

Question 61

The visual workplace:

A)uses low-cost visual devices to share information.
B)is an effective means of rapid communication in a dynamic workplace.
C)replaces difficult-to-understand paperwork.
D)eliminates non-value-added activities by making problems and standards visual.
E)All of the above describe the visual workplace.

Question 62

Activity charts help analyze:

A)movement of people or material.
B)utilization of an operator and machine.
C)body movements.
D)activities that can cause injuries.
E)unnecessary micro-motions.

Question 63

Methods analysis focuses on:

A)the design of the machines used to perform a task.
B)establishing time standards.
C)reducing the number of skills needed for the completion of a task.
D)issues such as the movement of individuals or material.
E)evaluating training programs to see if they are efficient.

Question 64

The preferred method of choice for setting labor standards is to base them on historical experience.

Question 65

Which of the following is not analyzed using methods techniques?

A)movement of capital
B)body movement
C)movement of individuals
D)movement of material
E)crew activity

Question 66

What are operations charts used for?

Question 67

"Visual workplace" is a term coined by Hawthorne,and it refers to the need for proper lighting at employee workstations.

Question 68

The phrase,"designed to show economy of motion by pointing out wasted motion and idle time (delay)," describes which of the following?

A)a flow diagram
B)an activity chart
C)an operations chart
D)a process chart
E)a work sample

Question 69

Flow diagrams are used to analyze:

A)movement of people or material.
B)utilization of an operator and machine.
C)body movements.
D)time taken by various activities.
E)unnecessary micro-motions.

Question 70

One use of labor standards is to determine what constitutes a fair day's work.

Question 71

Labor standards based on historical experience are relatively inexpensive to obtain.

Question 72

What is methods analysis?

Question 73

Which of the following is a visual signal at a machine that notifies support personnel about the machine's status?

A)Andon
B)Endon
C)Indon
D)Ondon
E)Undon

Question 74

Which of the following is used by methods analysis in analyzing body movement at the workstation level?

A)MTM chart
B)flow diagram
C)operations chart
D)process chart
E)improvement chart

Question 75

________ are drawings used to analyze movement of people or material.

Question 76

The purpose of labor standards is to accurately define the skills required to complete a job.

Question 77

Methods analysis employs which of the following charts in its analysis of the movement of workers and materials?

A)micro-motion chart
B)flow diagram
C)activity chart
D)man-machine chart
E)movement chart

Question 78

Describe how the visual workplace can increase information flow,improve efficiency,and eliminate non-value-adding activities.Support your argument with a few examples.

Question 79

Kanbans and andons are both elements of the visual workplace,because they are visual signals that replace printouts and paperwork.

Question 80

Two uses of labor standards are to determine the labor content of items produced and to determine staffing needs.