MANA 3318-Chapter 14

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

a. biological approach.

39. A study on task complexity with respect to the social information processing perspective of job design revealed that:

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

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

a. social aspects of the work environment.

33. The Job Characteristics Model is a(n):

b. person-job fit approach to job design.

25. Job enrichment builds on:

d. Herzberg's two-factor motivation theory.

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

d. it is based on an oversimplified motivational theory.

6. The basic building blocks of task-authority relationships in an organization are:

d. jobs.

45. Lower job satisfaction, motivation, and higher absenteeism are the negative outcomes that are anticipated with to job design.

d. mechanistic approach

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

d. person-job fit model.

89. How have the Americans, Germans, and Japanese approached job design in recent years?

For many years (decades), Americans have focused on task specification and careful matching of the person to the job. More recently, Americans have begun to emphasize cross-training, mastery of multiple skills, and vertical job expansion, in part through empowerment. The Japanese have focused more strongly on the work group and cooperative working relationships. Multiple skills and job competencies and attention to the collective detail are emphasized. For decades, the Germans adopted a technology and engineering approach and focused strongly on precision and high quality. More recently, Germans have combined their technocentric job design approach with a stronger concern for human factors and the social context of work.

90. Identify and briefly describe several recently developed alternative work patterns.

Employers provide a four-day work week where employees can work four ten-hour days and enjoy three-day weekend. Flextime, one variation, allows employees to come to work and leave work as they choose as long as they work a standard week (40 hours) and they start their eight hours at any thirty-minute interval between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Two alternatives are four ten-hour days or three twelve-hour work days. Job sharing is another new arrangement where more than one persons may occupy one job. One individual works in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

86. Enumerate, with examples, the differences between job enrichment and job enlargement.

Job enlargement involves expanding the job horizontally or adding more tasks of a similar nature but possibly more difficult. Job enrichment involves vertical as well as horizontal expansion of the job. The vertical dimension is extended through adding decisional authority. A secretary can be given several additional tasks as job enlargement and then delegated decisional or signature authority for certain types of correspondence and documents.

87. Discuss the important, basic elements of scientific management as developed by Frederick Taylor.

Taylor's focus was on job tasks; he used concepts of industrial engineering to enhance efficiency of task performance. According to Taylor, a job should be divided into simpler tasks; the most efficient method for performing each simple task should be determined through time and motion analysis; and then each worker should be carefully trained to perform the task to achieve peak efficiency. He clearly delineated the roles of supervisor and worker, experimented with numerous pay incentive systems, and correctly matched workers to jobs.

88. Briefly identify core job dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model and describe aspects of the model.

The five core job dimensions of the Job Characteristics Model are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the job itself. If there is a high degree of skill variety, an opportunity to start and complete the whole task or entire job (task identity), and job tasks are important for organizational success. The job incumbent will more likely experience meaningfulness of the work. Job autonomy, or freedom to decide, can produce a feeling of personal accountability and responsibility for results in the job incumbent. Feedback, or knowledge of results, gives the job incumbent performance information and an understanding about whether the job is being properly performed. The three psychological states of meaningful work, ownership and responsibility, and sense of a job well done can lead to enhanced work motivation, high job satisfaction, and low levels of job absenteeism and employee turnover.

35. Which of the following are the three facets of autonomy according to recent studies conducted in Egypt aimed to disaggregate the work autonomy component of job design theory?

a. Work method, work schedule, and work criteria autonomy

10. is the process of linking jobs and departments into a cohesive whole.

a. Integration

4. In the context of meaning of work, which of the following is true of work that help in explaining the cultural differences?

a. Pattern F people view work as an activity constrained to specific time periods.

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

a. enriched.

48. The sociotechnical system:

a. gives equal attention to scientific and communal considerations in job design.

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

a. higher absenteeism.

21. The problem of overspecialization has been addressed by:

a. increasing the variety in jobs.

24. Designing or redesigning a job by incorporating motivational factors into it is known as:

a. job enrichment.

16. Scientific management includes all of the following elements except: a. utilization of human capacity for ingenuity and thought. b. efficient use of labor to the economic benefit of the corporation. c. standardization and the narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers. d. scientific selection and job placement of workers.

a. utilization of human capacity for ingenuity and thought.

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

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

18. Scientific management places emphasis primarily on:

a. work simplification.

1. An organizational position is identified as:

b. a job in relation to other parts of the organization.

20. Job enlargement is largely a response to:

b. a need to overcome the boredom associated with overspecialized work.

43. 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 job approach most appropriate for this problem would be:

b. biological.

8. 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 contradictory view reflects the understanding that jobs result from:

b. differentiation.

23. Job rotation and cross-training are variations of:

b. job enlargement.

19. Mass production jobs:

b. require minimal mental attention.

34. The Job Diagnostic Survey refers to:

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

50. In the design of jobs and work organizations, Germans:

b. value hierarchy and authority relationships.

12. The standardization and the narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers is defined as:

b. work simplification.

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

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

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

c. Interpersonal interaction

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

c. autonomy.

11. Job enlargement was developed to overcome the problem of:

c. boredom associated with overspecialized work.

7. The process of subdividing and departmentalizing an organization is .

c. differentiation

22. An office manager is trying to find ways to enlarge or expand several clerical jobs that he supervises. One approach is to:

c. increase clerical tasks or duties performed by each individual.

17. A shortcoming of scientific management is that:

c. it undervalues human capacity for thought and creativity.

41. The interdisciplinary approach to job design by Michael Campion and Paul Thayer emphasized only the social aspects of the work environment because:

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

5. In the context of meaning of work, similarities among countries appear to exist in:

c. work content and job context.

15. Which of the following is an argument used to support the standardized job approach of scientific management?

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

31. Which of the following core job characteristics is most closely associated with job enlargement?

d. Skill variety

3. A job is defined as:

d. a set of specified work and task activities.

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

d. autonomy.

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

d. calibrate and define each task carefully.

37. The expression of oneself as one performs in work or other roles is known as:

d. engagement.

14. According to Frederick Taylor, the role of a worker is to:

d. execute the task defined by the management.

49. The anthropocentric job design approach places emphasis on:

d. good social support systems.

44. In the context of interdisciplinary approach to job design, motivational approach is grounded in

d. industrial psychology.

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

d. integration.

29. The degree to which a job entails completion of a whole task is known as:

d. task identity

2. A mental or physical activity that has productive results is known as:

d. work.