OB chapter 14

While there are differences in the meaning of work among countries, similarities appear to exist in:

two common work dimensions: work content and job context

The following are guidelines which can help make electronic workplace monitoring of performance less distressful except:

using state-of-the-art monitoring equipment

In the design of jobs and work organizations, Germans:

value hierarchy and authority relationships

All of the following are important components or approaches to the interdisciplinary approach to job design except:

social aspects of the work environment

A job is defined as:

specific work and task activities

The degree to which a job entails completion of a whole task or complete sequence of tasks is:

task identity

The modification of an incorrectly specified role or job is known as:

task revision

A problem with job enrichment as a strategy for work design is:

that it is based on an oversimplified motivational theory

Scientific management includes all of the following elements except:

the integration of management and work such that workers had to exercise self-management

A major difference between the job characteristic theory and earlier approaches to job design is:

the job characteristic theory emphasizes the interaction between the individual and attributes of the job

The JDS refers to:

the survey instrument used to measure the elements in the Job Characteristics Model

Job sharing will take on a "new" form and meaning when employees use Fast Company's innovative approach to share roles. Fast Company's innovation to job sharing includes:

A telepresence robot

Ergonomics is used in the _____ approach to job designs.

All of the above

The mechanistic and motivational approaches to job design are most similar to:

scientific management's work simplification and the Job Characteristics Model, respectively

Job sharing is a much sought after family-friendly benefit by employees who are juggling work and family life. Julie Levine and Julie Rocco are top design engineers for Ford. Both women had pregnancies and also were interested in advancing their careers and yet each wanted time for their new roles as mothers. In order for job sharing to be successful, which of the following characteristics were necessary?

All of the above.

Designing jobs that will result in better employee health and productivity is a concern of both international scholars and organizations. All of the following would reduce worker uncertainty in a job Except:

Designing machines and tasks with optimal response times and/or ranges

Which of the following statements best reflects an international view of job design?

Each country's perspective is forged within its unique cultural and economic system and is distinct from others.

Job enrichment is based on:

Herzberg's two-factor motivation theory

The job design method aimed at increasing the motivational factors in a job is called:

Job enrichment

Which of the following is NOT a basic premise of the social information processing model and the interpersonal aspects of work design?

Other people's reactions to our job-related behaviors provide us with important cognitive cues as to determine whether we fit the overall culture.

Which of the following is an argument used to support the standardized job approach of scientific management in the early days of the American Industrial Revolution?

Simplifying work allowed workers of diverse ethnic backgrounds to work together in a systematic way.

Which of the following statements regarding telecommuting is most accurate?

Telecommuting is neither a cure-all nor a universally feasible alternative

Enlarging a job is most closely associated with which of the following core job characteristics?

skill variety

An organizational position is defined as:

a job in relation to other parts of the organization

Job enlargement is largely a response to:

a need to overcome the limitations of overspecialized work.

A mobile platform of computer, telecommunication, and information technology and services is called:

a virtual office

The Job Characteristics Model may have only short-term success unless:

all five factors of the model are considered

When engaged in their work, people employ and express themselves:

all of these

Selecting the textbook, formulating course objectives, specifying course requirements, determining instructional methods, preparing exams, and evaluating student performance provide the college professor with:

autonomy

An analysis of medical claims at Chaparral Steel Co. identified lower back problems as the most common problem experienced by steelworkers and managers alike. The interdisciplinary approach most appropriate for this problem would be:

biological

The interdisciplinary approach to job design emphasizing the person's interaction with physical aspects of the work environment and concern with physical exertion is the:

biological approach

Job enlargement was developed to overcome the problem of:

boredom associated with scientific management's approach to jobs

According to Frederick Taylor, the role of management and the industrial engineer is to:

calibrate and define each task carefully

When a job incumbent acts contrary to the expectations of the role, the behavior would be considered:

counter-role behavior

When a nursing supervisor failed to check the administration of all medications for the nurses she was supervising, the result was a near fatality because a patient was not given the required medication by a charge nurse. The nursing supervisor exhibited what kind of role behavior in believing she could simply trust the nurses and did not have to double-check their actions?

counter-role behavior

Contrary to the famous statement made by Harold Geneen, former Chairman of ITT, "If I had enough arms and legs and time, I'd do it all myself," all organizations must divide work. This quote reflects the understanding that jobs result from:

differentiation

The process of subdividing and departmentalizing an organization is _____; whereas, _____ is the process of linking jobs and departments into a cohesive whole

differentiation; integration

Employees may experience technostress when:

electronic performance monitoring is used

The harnessing of organizational members to their work roles is known as:

engagement

When a secretarial employee is given the responsibility and signature authority to handle certain types of correspondence, the job has been:

enriched

A significant difference between job enlargement and job enrichment is that:

enrichment vertically loads a job whereas enlargement horizontally loads a job

The sociotechnical system gives:

equal attention to technical and social considerations in job design

According to Frederick Taylor, the role of the worker is to:

execute the task

The core job dimension in the Job Characteristics Model that is linked to the psychological state of experiencing responsibility for work outcomes is:

feedback

An alternative work arrangement in which employees must be present to perform job duties during a required core time but starting and ending work times can vary is:

flextime

A key moderating influence in the Job Characteristics Model is:

growth need strength

A negative outcome of the mechanistic approach to job design is:

higher absenteeism

The anthropocentric job design approach places:

human considerations at the center of job design decision

As an office manager, you are trying to find ways to enlarge or expand several clerical jobs that you supervise. One approach is to:

increase the number of clerical tasks or duties performed by each individual

The problem of overspecialization has been addressed by:

increasing the variety in jobs

Within the interdisciplinary approach to job design, the motivational approach is grounded in:

industrial psychology

The process of connecting jobs and departments into a coordinated, cohesive whole is known as:

integration

The Job Characteristics Model is considered to be a(n):

interactive and additive

Which of the following is NOT one of the core job characteristics of the Hackman model?

interpersonal interaction

Given the nature or structure of our economy with respect to the degree of service jobs, what type of job skills may be most important?

interpersonal skills

A shortcoming of scientific management is that:

it undervalues the human capacity for thought and creativity

Job rotation and cross training are variations of:

job enlargement

Both job enrichment and job enlargement were intended to increase:

job satisfaction for employees

The basic building blocks of an organization are

jobs

Lower job satisfaction, motivation, and higher absenteeism will be negative outcomes that should be anticipated with which one of the following interdisciplinary approaches to job design?

mechanistic approach

People whose jobs are high on the five core dimensions are generally:

more motivated, more satisfied, and more productive than others

The interdisciplinary approach to job design by Michael Campion and Paul Thayer does not emphasize social aspects of the work environment because:

no one approach can solve all performance problems caused by poorly designed jobs

The study reported in your text on task complexity with respect to the social information processing perspective of job design revealed that:

objective task complexity must be distinguished from the subjective task complexity experienced by the employee

According to research on the meaning of work:

pattern F people view work least favorably

The Job Characteristics Model is a/an:

person-job fit approach to job design and employee job placement

If you were to redesign jobs to increase the health and well-being of your workforce, which of the following set of job characteristics would be the most beneficial?

reduce worker uncertainty, increase worker control, and manage conflict

Mass production jobs

require minimal or surface mental attention

All of the following are approaches to job design that have been developed over the past century except:

robotics

Research on the social information processing view of job design supports the view that:

while objective task complexity may be a motivator, social interaction may be an important additional source of motivation

The study using the JRF (Job Rating Form) with a partial sample from China concluded:

while the model was generally supported, task significance was not a reliable dimension suggesting cultural, measurement, or value differences

Effortful, productive activity that results in a product or a service defines:

work

According to a recent study conducted in Egypt aimed at the disaggregation of the work autonomy component of job design theory, results indicated which of the following were three facets of work autonomy?

work method, schedule, and criteria autonomy

Scientific management focuses primarily on:

work simplification

The standardization and the narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers defines:

work simplification