OB chapter 8 test

102) Jack Holmes is a middle-aged, lower-level employee at an automobile service center. Though he is not paid very well, he loves his job. His supervisor speaks to him with respect, and he is the favored candidate for mentoring new employees because of the vast experience he holds in the job. Based on this information, which of the following is most likely to be the reason Jack likes his job? A) recognition B) prospects of growth C) salary D) flextime job sharing

A

24) Managers at Flavors, a restaurant chain, train their employees such that in the absence of employees, someone trained in the same skills can step in and do the job equally well. Thus, many modules in training are extensive as they provide employees with details of the skill sets required for different jobs. In practice, this lengthy training program does help the company as a well-trained and flexible workforce is at their disposal at all times. The managers at Flavors use ________. A) job rotation B) vertical enhancement C) telecommuting D) job sharing E) flextime

A

29) ________ has a focus on prosocial motivation and is especially salient for organizations with corporate social responsibility. A) Relational job design B) Job rotation C) Flextime D) The job characteristics model Telecommuting

A

3) With reference to the job characteristics model, which of the following defines task identity? A) the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work B) the degree to which work activities generate direct and clear information about performance C) the degree to which a job provides the worker freedom in scheduling and procedure D) the degree to which a job has an impact on the lives or work of other people E) the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities

A

36) Beyond redesigning the nature of the work itself and involving employees in decisions, another approach to making the work environment more motivating is to alter work arrangements to meet employee needs. Which of the following is designed to give employees greater control of their schedule? A) flextime B) employee recognition programs C) job rotation D) job enlargement job enrichment

A

59) Which of the following is the distinct characteristic of participative management programs? A) joint decision making B) representative participation C) performance norms D) establishment of work councils E) autocratic decision making

A

66) In participative representation, what are board representatives? A) Board representatives are employees who participate on a company's board of directors. B) Board representatives are management that participate in decision making for the company. C) Board representatives is another name for a company's board of directors. D) Board representatives are the management team that sits on the board of directors. Board representatives are employees that hire other employees for the company.

A

77) Which of the following represents a pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance rather than historical performance? A) bonus B) flexible benefits C) modular plans D) cafeteria plans base salary

A

83) Which of the following statements is true regarding an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)? A) Under this plan, employees acquire company shares, often at below-market prices. B) There exists a strong correlation between ESOPs and employee performance. C) The financial stake in the company is adequate to use ESOPs as an effective means to motivate employees. D) ESOPs are effective because, like bonuses, they reward recent performance. E) ESOPs are also called competency-based pay plans.

A

1) Job design is defined as the ________. A) degree to which the job rewards competence B) way the elements in a job are organized C) degree to which the job contributes to profit margins D) degree of decision-making power with the immediate superiors E) way the job is evaluated in terms of its relative worth to other jobs

B

103) Which of the following statements is true regarding employee recognition? A) Employee recognition is an extrinsic reward. B) Critics argue that employee recognition programs are highly susceptible to political manipulation by management. C) Employee recognition programs are expensive. D) Centralized programs across multiple offices in different countries can hinder the process of employee recognition programs. E) Employee stock option is a more powerful workplace motivator than recognition.

B

11) Which of the following statements is true regarding the job characteristics model? A) The operation of the model is universal and unaffected by cultural factors. B) The operation of the model is relatively individualistic in nature. C) The operation of the model requires employees to have similar skill sets. D) The operation of the model cannot be quantitatively measured. E) The operation of the model fulfills only extrinsic motivational needs.

B

26) Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument in favor of adopting job rotation? A) The company is currently facing numerous budget constraints. B) The company can enhance productivity of existing employees in various areas for different projects. C) Two front-level managers have resigned in the last quarter as they were not promoted. D) The company has launched a new brand which is cannibalizing one of its existing products. E) The company has recently given employees new responsibilities by combining their routine tasks into natural work units.

B

27) One way to possibly make jobs more ________ would be to connect employees with the beneficiaries of their work or service that they provide. A) task significant B) prosocially motivating C) job relational D) task oriented E) enriching

B

35) ________ is not a benefit of flextime. A) Reduced absenteeism B) Decreased work/life balance C) Increased productivity D) Reduced tardiness Increased autonomy

B

38) An arrangement that allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job is called ________. A) flextime B) job sharing C) gainsharing D) telecommuting job rotation

B

51) ________ is a participative process that uses employees' input to increase their commitment to the organization's success. A) Job enrichment B) Employee involvement C) Vertical integration D) Groupshifting Job sharing

B

58) To be effective, an employee involvement program must ________. A) rightsize the company by eliminating obsolete positions B) incorporate the unique demands of different cultures C) mandatorily establish work councils in the company D) eliminate the influence of employees in managerial decision making E) implement autocratic ways of handling its employees

B

63) The two most common forms of representative participation are ________ and board representatives. A) quality circles B) work councils C) employee unions D) task teams E) cross-functional teams

B

65) Woodworth & Baines is a retail chain that has taken up numerous measures to improve employee attitude, motivation, and organizational performance. New training programs, employee engagement initiatives, and an employee welfare council were the three main strategies implemented as part of the employee empowerment program. Norman Kilner was one of twenty employees nominated to the employee welfare council where they were required to interact with the management to promote the interests of the employees. Additionally, the job roles of these twenty employees were vertically enhanced to give them more autonomy in the organization. However, six months into the employee empowerment program, a survey by HR revealed no actual change in employee attitudes. Similarly, a survey conducted by the production manager revealed that work productivity had not increased by any substantial measure either. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome? A) Management strengthened the regulations relating to employee absenteeism in this period. B) Management retained the degree of control they had in the organizational affairs. C) The company moved from a merit-based to a piece-rate pay system in the last quarter. D) The employees performed poorly because of the lack of training and development programs. Management implemented a 360-degree feedback system for performance appraisals.

B

72) ________ bases a portion of an employee's pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance. A) Guaranteed pay program B) Variable-pay program C) Flexible benefits program D) Modular plans program Base pay program

B

74) Which of the following is an example of a piece-rate plan? A) $20 for each hour of work B) $2 for each unit produced C) stock options at cheaper prices D) straight commission plan E) spot bonuses

B

75) A(n) ________ pay plan pays for individual performance based on performance appraisal ratings. A) piece-rate B) merit-based C) employee stock ownership D) profit-sharing gainsharing

B

81) Which of the following is not supported by studies in regard to profit-sharing plans? A) Organizations with profit-sharing plans have higher levels of profitability than those without them. B) Profit-sharing plans create advanced levels of employee decision making. C) Profit-sharing plans are linked to higher levels of employee commitment. D) Profit-sharing plans appear to have positive impacts on employee attitudes. E) Profit-sharing plans appear to general a greater feeling of ownership.

B

84) For employee stock ownership plans to be effective in improving performance, they must ________. A) be based solely on productivity like gainsharing plans B) be implemented such that employees psychologically experience ownership C) be determined on the basis of performance appraisals and recent performance D) be planned such that they are unaffected by company profitability be based on the market compensation philosophy

B

21) Which of the following statements is true regarding job rotation? A) It decreases the flexibility with which an organization can adapt to a change. B) It decreases employee motivation. C) It decreases productivity in the short run. D) It decreases supervisory workload. It decreases the flexibility in scheduling work.

C

22) The periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level is defined as ________. A) job enlargement B) job analysis C) job rotation D) job sharing E) job enrichment

C

23) A prerequisite condition for job rotation is the ________. A) presence of high level of autonomy among workers B) presence of high need for affiliation among workers C) presence of employees with similar skill sets and requirements D) presence of alternative work arrangements for employees to avail E) presence of employee involvement programs

C

40) Which of the following statements is true regarding job sharing? A) It expands jobs by increasing the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution, and evaluation of the work. B) It is also called cross-training. C) It allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job. D) It involves periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level. E) Job sharing is a method of job enrichment.

C

42) Which of the following is the major drawback of job sharing from management's perspective? A) increase in supervisory workload B) increased costs for providing supporting infrastructure (such as desk and computer) to two employees instead of one C) difficulty in finding compatible partners D) difficulty in designing the reward structure difficulty in coordinating schedules

C

43) After the training and development manager at Add Worth, Nicole Hayes, resigned, the CEO has made it a priority that the position be filled soon by someone of equal expertise and experience as Nicole. To locate the right candidate, Jennifer Ray, the HR manager, has been contacting recruitment firms, checking job sites, and pushing for referrals from the employees. However, she has only found candidates with little or no experience in the field who were willing to work full time for the position. At the next meeting with the CEO, Jennifer proposes an alternative strategy; she suggests hiring two experienced candidates who are open to the idea of handling the training needs on a part-time basis as a team. The CEO listens to her proposal but is not too convinced by it. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Jennifer's proposal to use job sharing for the vacant position? A) Trainers are exempted from the requirement of being at the office throughout the common core period of the workday. B) The employees of the company on the work council have planned to demand the flextime option. C) A good proportion of the company's prized workforce comprises employees from the baby boomer generation who are set to retire in the impending future. D) The headhunting firms that Jennifer contacted are usually helpful in generating a good pool of potential candidates. A rival firm recently adopted telecommuting to reduce administrative costs cutting into

C

45) Amanda McPherson is a working mother with one child and an ailing parent to look after in addition to her duties as a wife and job responsibilities as a legal consultant. Since Amanda always feels pressed for time, the news that the consultancy she works for would allow her to work from home two days a week came as a great relief to her. She now feels more motivated to work for the company, as the company has taken into account her personal and professional needs. The company has allowed Amanda to use the option of ________. A) gainsharing B) offshoring C) telecommuting D) homeshoring job sharing

C

46) An MNC in a developing country is operating amidst severe space constraints, and the infrastructural conditions in the city are bad, causing a lot of lost man-hours. Anticipating rapid growth in the months to come, the company has created a recruitment plan based on its revenue expectations. However, it wants to manage this expansion without undertaking an expensive physical expansion. Which of the following could be a solution for the company? A) profit sharing B) groupshifting C) telecommuting D) gainsharing codetermining

C

48) Telecommuting is an option that suits professionals like ________. A) trainers B) nurses C) analysts D) receptionists E) sales representatives

C

50) Which of the following is true about telecommuting in regard to different cultures? A) Telecommuting tends to be viewed similarly in cultures throughout the world. B) Telecommuting is only available in the U.S., not in other cultures. C) Telecommuting is viewed differently in different cultures. D) Collectivist cultures offer telecommuting at high rates since autonomy is valued and expected. Collectivist cultures do not offer telecommuting

C

60) Employee involvement and participation (EIP) management is a method of management where ________. A) representatives of workers form work councils and these councils must be consulted when management makes decisions about employees B) few representatives of workers sit on a company's board of directors C) subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors D) low-level workers meet occasionally with the CEO to discuss problems within their department E) low-level workers are responsible for making corporate policy decisions

C

61) The two major forms of employee involvement are participative management and ________. A) organizational restructuring B) job sharing C) representative participation D) job rotation E) job enlargement

C

64) ________ are groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management makes decisions about employees. A) Team representatives B) Board representatives C) Works councils D) Representative participants Telecommuters

C

7) According to the job characteristics model, autonomy is defined as the degree to which ________. A) a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work B) a job generates direct and clear information about performance C) a job provides the worker freedom, independence, and discretion D) a job has an impact on the lives or work of other people E) a job requires a variety of different activities

C

70) Internal equity refers to the ________. A) list of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in a particular job B) arrangement of the elements of different jobs in the organization C) worth of the job to the organization D) organization's pay relative to pay elsewhere in its industry E) framework of tasks, duties, and responsibilities that the job involves

C

73) The ________ pay plan has long been popular as a means of compensating production workers by paying a fixed sum for each unit of production completed. A) competency-based B) gainsharing C) piece-rate D) profit-sharing merit-based

C

79) Which of the following statements is true regarding a merit-based pay plan? A) It bases pay levels on how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do. B) It is also called competency-based pay plan. C) Unions typically resist merit-based pay plan. D) It distributes compensation based on an established formula designed around a company's profitability. A typical merit-based pay plan provides no base salary and pays the employee only for what

C

8) According to the job characteristics model, ________ indicates the degree to which carrying out work activities generates direct and clear information about your own performance. A) task significance B) autonomy C) feedback D) task identity E) skill variety

C

10) The core dimensions of the job characteristics model can be combined into a single predictive index called ________. A) extrinsic motivation score B) personal outcome score C) job diagnostic score D) motivating potential score E) potential development score

D

37) Employees who use the flextime option have to ________. A) work from the office for three days of the week B) work from home on a relatively permanent basis C) work from the office based on a schedule fixed with the compatible partner they function with D) work from the office during the common core period and put in the extra hours per their convenience E) work from home only two days a week

D

39) Janice and Shane are both senior software analysts. They have worked together on projects for six years and get along very well. Janice is anticipating the arrival of her first child and will not be able to work on a full-time basis in the future. Shane is contemplating opening his own business as a home media installation consultant and does not want to continue to work full time. They both need some income. Which of the following alternative job structures would be best for Janice and Shane? A) job enlargement B) telecommuting C) job rotation D) job sharing job enrichment

D

4) Adam Sears is an assembly line employee with Swenson Motors. Though Adam is popular among his supervisors and colleagues, Adam experiences low morale and lack of motivation. He feels frustrated that his job is restricted to fixing nuts and bolts on the car parts. He fears that he has no chances of advancing in his career as he cannot completely assemble a car. Which of the following is true with regard to Adam? A) Adam's job has high task complexity. B) Adam's job has a high span of control. C) Adam's job has low role definition. D) Adam's job has low task identity. E) Adam's job has high task significance.

D

44) The option of working at home at least two days a week on a computer linked to the employer's office is termed as ________. A) job sharing B) social loafing C) offshoring D) telecommuting E) alternative worksharing

D

49) Which of the following tends to be a major downside of employees telecommuting for managers in an organization? A) Feelings of isolation B) Reduced job satisfaction C) Dull, repetitive work D) Less direct supervision E) Demotivation

D

5) According to the job characteristics model, task significance is the degree to which ________. A) a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work B) a job generates direct and clear information about performance C) a job provides the worker freedom in scheduling work and determining its procedure D) a job bears an impact on the lives or work of other people E) a job requires a variety of different activities

D

6) Samantha Barnes is an emergency medical technician. Recently, during an emergency call, she was able to resuscitate a man who had a cardiac arrest. Subsequently, she spent some time calming the 12-year-old daughter of the patient and looked after her until the rest of the patient's family arrived at the hospital. Based on this description, it can be concluded that Samantha's job is high in ________. A) task identity B) feedback C) extrinsic rewards D) task significance E) job rotation

D

71) The external competitiveness of an organization's pay relative to elsewhere in the industry is measured by its ________. A) external benefit B) external rotation C) external costs D) external equity external liability

D

76) Daichi Inc. is a Japanese software development firm known for its high quality products. Recently, the company held its annual conference and awarded all those employees who were in the top five percent with substantial monetary rewards. Their performance was evaluated on the basis of target achievement, client feedback, and quality ratings. Employees whose performance had not changed drastically were given a minor raise and those who fared badly received no incentives. Many employees blamed the company for creating differences among employees because they felt that it would harm the company in the long run, but Daichi Inc. truly believes that to retain and motivate its best performers, a large incentive is a good step. Daichi Inc. is using a(n) ________ here. A) piece-rate plan B) employee stock ownership plan C) modular plan D) merit-based plan E) flexible benefits plan

D

80) A ________ plan distributes compensation based on some established formula designed around revenue of the company. A) piece-rate B) merit-based C) skill-based D) profit-sharing E) competency-based

D

82) At Esco Retail, all employees are constantly driven to work hard. The company places maximum emphasis on stocking high quality goods and providing high quality service to retain the edge they have in the retail industry. To promote organizational commitment further, the company incentivizes employees by enabling them to purchase company shares at below-market prices as a part of their benefits. This mode of providing incentives represents the use of ________. A) flexible benefits plans B) merit-based plans C) modular plans D) employee stock ownership plans core-plus plans

D

96) Which of the following statements is true regarding flexible benefits? A) Flexible benefits are awarded through uniform packages to cover the requirements of a married couple with two children. B) Flexible benefits are in accordance with the belief that employees have identical needs that must be rewarded identically. C) Profit-sharing plans are a major type of flexible benefit. D) Flexible benefits can be altered to meet employee needs based on age, marital status, and number and age of dependents. E) Flexible benefits are given based on an employee's skills, competence, and productivity.

D

97) Which of the following is an example of an intrinsic reward? A) bonus B) profit-sharing plan C) employee stock option D) employee recognition gainsharing

D

2) With reference to the job characteristics model, which of the following defines skill variety? A) the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work B) the degree to which work activities generate direct and clear information about performance C) the degree to which a job provides the worker freedom in scheduling and procedure D) the degree to which a job has an impact on the lives or work of other people E)the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities tapping different abilities

E

25) Which of the following, if true, would weaken the argument of adopting job rotation? A) The employees of the company have similar skill sets which are suited to transfer of learning. B) The company has been conducting professional training programs to keep all employees upto-date with the developments in the field. C) AmWeb, one of the major rival firms, witnessed a substantial rise in profits following its cross-training program for employees. D) The research evidence favoring job rotation has rarely used samples from the service industry. E) The company is now entering its busiest business season with multiple project deadlines.

E

28) Relational job design relates to ________. A) periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level B) expansion of jobs by increasing the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution, and evaluation of the work C) redistribution of power within the organization through work councils and board representations distribution of a significant degree of power between subordinates and supervisors E) design of jobs and work so employees are motivated to promote the well-being of an organization's beneficiaries

E

41) Which of the following alternative work arrangements enables the organization to draw on the talents of more than one individual in a given job? A) telecommuting B) flextime C) gainsharing D) profit sharing E) job sharing

E

47) For management, the major downside of telecommuting is ________. A) decreased productivity B) increased turnover C) reduced morale D) difficulty in scheduling work E) less direct supervision of employees

E

62) Representative participation is characterized by ________. A) joint decision making by employees and management B) autocratic leadership behaviors C) one-way management decision making D) only nonunion employees making the primary decisions in an organization E) redistribution of power within an organization

E

78) What is an advantage of bonuses over merit-based pay plan? A) Employees don't view bonuses as a part of their salary. B) Bonuses improve flexibility of the workforce. C) Bonuses are paid based on a formula. D) Bonuses improve performance of the group as a whole. Employees are rewarded for recent performance.

E

9) Which of the following series of dimensions of the job characteristics model (JCM) combine to create meaningful work? A) autonomy, task identity, and feedback B) skill variety, autonomy, and task significance C) skill variety, autonomy, and feedback D) feedback, task identity, and task significance skill variety, task identity, and task significance

E

95) Individualized rewards that allow each employee to choose the compensation package that best satisfies his or her current needs and situation are called ________. A) variable pay programs B) standardized benefits packages C) employee recognition programs D) employee involvement programs flexible benefits plans

E