Deck 13: Work Team Development

Question 1

Most companies that have successful self-managed work teams set up the teams throughout the organization and not just at specific sites.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Based on the job enrichment theory,an employee or work group should be given a natural and complete unit of work.This is opposite to the practice of specialization of labor that has dominated the structure of most organizations in the last 100 years.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Total quality management attempts to change the context of a job as the work environment is typically not a function of total quality management.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Total quality management is a strategy that is usually reserved for the production systems of an organization.

Question 5

Self-managed work teams may be composed of either permanent or temporary work teams.

Question 6

Skill variety,job feedback,and autonomy jointly determine a job's meaningfulness according to job characteristics theory.

Question 7

The individual and the work group are becoming the mechanism in which work is organized.

Question 8

Total quality management relies primarily upon the individual and not the team as the basis for improving quality.

Question 9

Total quality management strives for a partnership with both customers and suppliers.

Question 10

TQM and OD are compatible,though TQM needs not to be present in an OD program

Question 11

Job characteristics model attempts to develop objective measures of job characteristics that can directly affect employee attitudes and work behaviors.

Question 12

Cross-functional team is another term sometimes used instead of self-managed work team.

Question 13

Job enrichment theory holds to the principle that accountability and controls over an employee should be removed.

Question 14

Quality includes aesthetics,reliability,and serviceability.

Question 15

The trend in organizations is for more of the decision-making authority to be pushed down to the lowest levels in the organizations where people are most aware of the problems.

Question 16

Total quality management was once widely used by Japanese and U.S.corporations but has since been replaced by individual leadership programs.

Question 17

A high score in the job feedback dimension of the job characteristics theory is an indication that the employee is feeling personally responsible and accountable for the results of the work he or she does.

Question 18

Taking fractionalized tasks and putting them back together to form a new and larger module of work is an example of producing positive impact on the core job dimensions of the job characteristic theory.

Question 19

An approach to enriching jobs is to form natural work units by giving an employee a task that is an identifiable and meaningful whole.

Question 20

Frederick Herzberg says in his job enrichment theory that job satisfaction occurs when employees experience work situations that lead to rewards such as high pay.

Question 21

Functional departments such as accounting,personnel,engineering,and production increase in number as self-managed work teams are established in organizations.

Question 22

Task significance occurs in self-managed work teams when team members use many different skills and talents.

Question 23

A strategy of altering the nature of a job to include planning and controlling where normally these activities are not present is _____.

A)job description
B)job enlargement
C)job analysis
D)job planning
E)job design

Question 24

Which of the following are specific high-involvement productivity interventions that are related to improving work processes?

A)stress management
B)self-managed work teams
C)learning laboratories
D)intergroup development
E)all of the above

Question 25

Though self-managed work teams are more common in production facilities than the service sector,they have been successfully applied in service-oriented organizations.

Question 26

There are normally three elements in self-managed work teams.They are upper management,coordinator,and team leader.

Question 27

The term chimney buster or barrier buster is sometimes used to describe the coordinator's responsibilities in self-managed work teams.This person runs interference for the team by breaking up the rigid and narrow bureaucratic obstacles.

Question 28

A lack of training,especially for team members in group process and team building,is believed by some OD practitioners to be a major reason for failure of self-managed work teams.

Question 29

Which of the following does NOT go with job design?

A)redesign jobs that will improve workers satisfaction and productivity
B)add additional activities and skills to the job
C)improve the degree of independence associated with a job
D)provide additional independence
E)all of the above are part of job design

Question 30

Unions are not part of the process involved in establishing and operating self-managed work teams,as the union is typically involved in fringe benefits and wages.

Question 31

The organization structure that results from self-managed work teams is one that is flat with few levels of managers and little support staff.

Question 32

Most work sites that have self-managed work teams have well-defined job descriptions for each of the jobs.

Question 33

The trend in many profit and not-for-profit organizations is toward _____.

A)decentralization
B)more levels of management
C)increases in staff positions
D)narrower spans of control
E)centralization

Question 34

Work design productivity interventions are more closely related to _____.

A)behavioral changes
B)technical changes
C)structural changes
D)distributed changes
E)transaction analysis

Question 35

Upper management in self-managed work teams is sometimes called the support team.

Question 36

Current changes in work design include _____.

A)bringing top management down to the lowest level within the work place by doing away with the formal organization structure
B)creating clear and distinct lines of authority and responsibility
C)designing the work of employees so as to improve productivity and employees' job satisfaction
D)redesigning jobs so that each person has explicit job descriptions
E)answers b and d

Question 37

A current trend regarding job design in OD programs is to _____.

A)design jobs that will improve the worker's satisfaction and productivity
B)increase productivity based upon technological innovations
C)design jobs that will increase the customer's satisfaction
D)scientifically design a job by breaking it down into its smallest and simplest task so that the job may be appropriately automated
E)answers a and d

Question 38

Self-managed work teams operate best when the work team has a physical site with boundaries with which members can identify.

Question 39

Self-managed work teams usually have members with similar organization backgrounds and experiences so that they can work harmoniously with one another.

Question 40

The reward system used in self-managed work teams is normally a profit-sharing system where a team member's reward is based on the entire organization's performance.

Question 41

The degree to which a job provides for substantial freedom,independence,and discretion to the individual for scheduling work and determining procedures is _____.

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

Question 42

The size of a self-managed work team is usually _____.

A)from 10 to 20 members
B)from 5 to 15 members
C)from 8 to 12 members
D)from 12 to 18 members
E)not important

Question 43

The results of job design programs suggest that they can be successful if _____.

A)the model of job design is consistent and followed without alterations
B)the implementation occurs over a short period of time so employees can see the results
C)managers depend heavily on outside practitioners
D)they have employee involvement
E)all of the above

Question 44

_____ determines a job's meaningfulness.

A)Skill variety
B)Task significance
C)Task identity
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 45

_____ is NOT one of the five core job dimensions of the job characteristics theory.

A)Skill variety
B)Task identity
C)Autonomy
D)Motivating potential
E)Feedback

Question 46

Customer complaints being sent directly to the production floor is an example of _____ in job characteristics theory.

A)work commitment
B)job feedback
C)task creativity
D)work ownership
E)skill improvement

Question 47

Which of the following is a characteristic of total quality management?

A)partnership with customers and suppliers
B)small work teams meeting together where they make suggestions for quality improvement to upper management.
C)upper management identifying and implementing new ways to improve customer satisfaction
D)middle managers developing new and improved production techniques
E)all of the above

Question 48

Characteristics of TQM include _____.

A)assurances of not being laid off
B)support by top management
C)do it right the first time
D)insured promotions for individuals who qualify
E)answers b and c

Question 49

A key component of total quality management is _____.

A)everyone in an organization has a customer
B)the organization values everyone
C)doing the job faster
D)all of the above
E)answers a and b

Question 50

TQM is a(n)______ program that considers many needs and requirements of customers and suppliers.

A)technical based
B)individual employee
C)outdated but still often used
D)comprehensive and organization wide
E)rarely used but excellent

Question 51

Quality as defined in total quality management programs is _____.

A)the customer's perception of quality
B)measured by a product's life
C)the comfort of a customer using it
D)the ease and speed of repair
E)all of the above

Question 52

Job satisfaction occurs when employees experience work situations that entail increases in _____.

A)money
B)health insurance
C)achievement
D)union membership
E)answers a and b only

Question 53

The degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work is _____.

A)skill variety
B)task identity
C)scientific management
D)task significance
E)job context

Question 54

Self-managed work teams are more commonly used in _____.

A)production facilities
B)government agencies
C)colleges and universities
D)service-oriented organizations
E)none of the above

Question 55

Job enrichment encompasses _____.

A)the addition of additional tasks that are similar in nature
B)increased responsibility and authority
C)new challenges
D)all of the above
E)answers b and c

Question 56

According to the job characteristics model,work motivation and satisfaction are affected by _____.

A)skill diversity,task identity and significance,independence,and feedback
B)management working in collaboration with a union to bring needed changes to the work place
C)achievement,recognition,the work itself,money,status,and benefits
D)social relevance of work life,constitutionalism in the work organization,and fair compensation
E)wellness programs

Question 57

Job enrichment theory holds that the _____ should be increased.

A)challenge of the work
B)monetary rewards for doing a job
C)fringe benefits
D)all of the above
E)answers b and c

Question 58

Another term used instead of self-managed work team is _____.

A)detailed work team observation
B)interteam cross training
C)autonomous work groups
D)reverse team development intervention
E)all of the above

Question 59

Which of the following is the typical work of self-managed work teams?

A)setting their goals and production schedules
B)setting rewards for team members
C)having a voice in who is hired and fired in the work team
D)ordering their materials and equipment
E)all of the above

Question 60

Total quality management is normally applied _____

A)in board meetings
B)throughout the organization
C)in lower-level management
D)in both lower- and middle-level management
E)production line

Question 61

The structure that results from self-managed work teams is one that _____.

A)is flat with few levels of managers
B)has no functional responsibilities (such as accounting and engineering)
C)has little support staff
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 62

Self-managed work teams normally reward members _____.

A)in a way similar to reward systems in traditional organizations
B)based on an hourly rate
C)based on skills,gain sharing,and employee ownership
D)based on evaluations of supervisors
E)answers a and d

Question 63

Using the job enrichment theory,what are some suggestions for improving motivational factors as part of a job design effort?

Question 64

Available research into the effectiveness of self-managed teams _____.

A)indicates employees experience greater satisfaction with their work
B)points to their effectiveness for the organization
C)indicates employees perform better when supervisors encourage self-direction
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 65

Explain the job characteristics model and how it can be used to enrich jobs.

Question 66

Within a work site that has implemented self-managed work teams,there are usually three distinct levels of management.They are _____.

A)president,department manager,and supervisor
B)upper management,coordinator,and internal team leader
C)president,team leader,and supervisor
D)upper management,lower level management,and team member
E)none of the above as self-managed teams do not have managers or anyone performing the function of a manager

Question 67

The success of a self-managed work team depends on members being skilled and knowledgeable in a variety of areas including _____.

A)technical skills
B)finance and accounting
C)competition in the marketplace
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 68

A caution to consider with self-managed work teams is _____.

A)that as the number of organization layers are increased,there is movement out of the teams into newly created management positions
B)over eagerness of the organization to implement the change
C)lack of rewards
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 69

What are the major characteristics of self-managed work teams?