CHAPTER 7—JOB DESIGN AND WORK SCHEDULES
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Marvin’s job involves selling used trucks. To boost his job satisfaction, Marvin’s boss authorizes him
to tell the dealer when a truck needs a paint job in order to sell. Which task characteristic has been
added to Marvin’s job?
a.
feedback from the job
b.
decision-making authority
c.
work methods autonomy
d.
task significance
2. A job contains high task significance when the
a.
work output touches the lives of many people.
b.
work output earns a profit for the firm.
c.
job holder has varied working hours.
d.
job holder receives frequent feedback from the boss.
3. Airplane mechanic Clyde tells his boss, “This job is killing my back. Crawling into small places every
day is more than I can tolerate.” Which job sub-dimension is Clyde complaining about?
a.
ergonomics
b.
interdependence
c.
skill variety
d.
work methods autonomy
4. A job description is a written statement of the
a.
key features of a job.
b.
qualifications necessary to fill a job.
c.
design features of a job.
d.
degree of specialization within a job.
5. A major benefit of job specialization is that it allows for
a.
a flexible work force.
b.
enrichment of virtually all jobs.
c.
excellent coordination of contributors to a total job.
d.
the development of expertise at all occupational levels.
6. An enriched job typically includes the element of
a.
control over resources.
b.
indirect communication authority.
c.
routine experiences.
d.
limited personal accountability.
7. Control over method in job enrichment means that the worker
a.
communicates directly with the client or customer.
b.
must present to management an analysis of the best method.
c.
chooses the method to accomplish the assigned task.
d.
must try a new method for accomplishing the task.
8. In the job characteristics model, the task dimension of autonomy leads to
a.
skill variety.
b.
a feeling of meaningfulness.
c.
a feeling of responsibility for work outcomes.
d.
job satisfaction.
9. Before implementing a program of job enrichment it is recommended that the manager
a.
grant immediate pay increases.
b.
find out if employees want an enriched job.
c.
rewrite job descriptions for all employees involved.
d.
empower employees to enrich their own jobs.
10. Workers with high job involvement will
a.
identify psychologically with their work.
b.
involve others in getting their work done.
c.
separate their self-image from their work.
d.
search for horizontal job loading.
11. Zeke is in charge of stocking shelves in the soft-drink aisle in a supermarket. To apply job
enlargement, the store manager might
a.
allow Zeke to do market research about soft-drink consumption.
b.
schedule Zeke to switch back and forth between stocking the soft-drink and pet-food
aisles.
c.
give Zeke the additional permanent assignment of also stocking the dry-cereal section.
d.
assign Zeke flexible working hours.
12. Priscilla, a customer service representative at a call center, adds to her job by asking customers how
much they liked their previous purchase. Priscilla is engaged in job
a.
simplification.
b.
rotation.
c.
crafting.
d.
specialization.
13. Job embeddedness refers to
a.
the array of forces attaching people to their jobs.
b.
the physical and mental changes individuals make in the task or relationship aspects of
their job.
c.
a temporary switching of job assignments.
d.
increasing the number and variety of tasks within a job.
14. Which one of the following is not a common type of job crafting? Making changes in
a.
the pay structure of a job.
b.
the number and types of job tasks.
c.
the interactions with others on the job.
d.
one’s view of a job.
15. Which of the following is the least effective method for preventing cumulative trauma disorder?
a.
use the computer mouse whenever possible
b.
rotate jobs to reduce repetitive hand and body movements
c.
install equipment that minimizes awkward hand and body movements
d.
use voice recognition systems as a substitute for keyboarding
16. An experiment about noise levels with female clerical workers demonstrated that the workers exposed
to noise
a.
increased their productivity levels.
b.
capitalized more on ergonomic features of their work furniture.
c.
experienced inner-ear damage.
d.
developed high levels of stress hormones in the blood.
17. A modified work schedule
a.
is any formal departure from the traditional hours of work.
b.
excludes shift work and staggered work hours.
c.
both a & b
d.
leads to ergonomic problems.
18. A study showed that a major reason why employees are hesitant to use the flextime option is that they
a.
are concerned about appearing uncommitted to work.
b.
dislike starting work so early.
c.
dislike staying so late at work.
d.
cannot afford the reduction in pay.
19. A potential disadvantage of telecommuting is that workers at home are likely to
a.
work on weekends.
b.
face distractions at home.
c.
feel isolation from coworkers.
d.
feel exploited.
20. Job sharing is a work arrangement in which
a.
two people who work part-time share one job.
b.
salary and benefits are prorated for the half-time workers.
c.
both a & b
d.
employees work from home.
21. High-performance work system is a way of organizing work so that
a.
jobs are enlarged
b.
front-line workers participate in decisions that have an impact on their jobs and the wider
organization.
c.
jobs are rotated.
d.
telecommuting can take place.
22. According to the policy of job sharing,
a.
high-paid workers share pay with low-paid workers.
b.
workers without an office share get to use the offices of those belonging to managers.
c.
two part-time workers share one job.
d.
workers delegate work to those lower in rank.
23. Contingent workers
a.
share jobs with other employees.
b.
are only hired when they are needed.
c.
always work less than 40 hours per week.
d.
work for more than one employer at a time.
24. A major characteristic of a high-performance work system in a manufacturing environment is that
a.
workers are allowed limited rest breaks.
b.
time and motion studies dictate work methods.
c.
supervisors make all the important decisions.
d.
workers participate in making decisions that have an impact.
25. According to the method of creating high-performance jobs by adjusting resources, bookkeeper Pam
will perform at her best when she
a.
gets paid more than most bookkeepers.
b.
creates her own resources.
c.
gets all the resources she needs to do her job.
d.
consults regularly with a human resources specialist.
TRUE/FALSE
1. Sam’s supervisor says to him, “Sam, you are an outstanding performer.” Sam is therefore the feedback
dimension leads to knowledge of results.
2. A manager whose job required frequent consultation with his or her BlackBerry would have a job that
scores high on the sub-dimension of information processing.
3. An example of the contextual characteristics of a job would be the type and amount of equipment use
the job requires.
4. A study of job dimension differences between professionals and nonprofessionals showed that
professional jobs had fewer physical demands.
5. Sylvia is the store manager at a large supermarket, thereby qualifying as a generalist in her job.
6. Automation enhances job satisfaction when annoying or dangerous tasks are removed.
7. Control over method in job enrichment refers to a worker being permitted to determine when he or she
will perform a particular task.
8. In the job characteristics model, a significant task is one requiring an above-average degree of mental
ability.
9. Workers with high job involvement often consider their job to be part of their self-mage.
10. A positive feature of job enlargement is that it avoids the problem of having to deal with multiple
priorities.
11. Job rotation is a good example of vertical job loading.
12. According to the contemporary view of jobs, the competent worker strictly follows his or her job
description.
13. An emerging trend is to for companies to hire people to work at various activities rather than fill a
specific job slot.
14. The purpose of job crafting is to emphasize aspects of the job that will lead to higher hourly pay or
bonus pay.
15. A study with teachers and aides in 62 childcare centers found that crafting by the group resulted in
better job satisfaction and performance.
16. A major contributor to musculoskeletal disorders on the job is not using a part of the body, such as the
hands and wrist, frequently enough.
17. Working the back of a deep display case to stock merchandise can be uncomfortable, so OSHA
recommends is the use of display cases that are stocked from the back.
18. A major contributor to carpal tunnel syndrome is the pinching of a nerve that gives feeling to the hand.
19. Many cases of back pain stem from ergonomics problems, including long periods of time hunched
over a computer monitor.
20. An experiment with clerical workers demonstrated that low-intensity noise raised stress levels just
enough to give the workers a high and elevate productivity.
21. A giant organization like AT&T that uses telecommuting is likely to achieve increased productivity.
22. Telecommuting offers access to a wider range of employee talent.
23. Night-shift workers have a lower incidence of alcohol and drug abuse than do workers on the day and
evening shifts.
24. You know that you are part of a high-performance work system when production workers are asked to
participate in important decisions.
25. To be part of a high-performance work system, workers throughout the organization should ask, “What
measures will be used to evaluate my performance?”
ESSAY
1. Under the new system at LouisVuitton, it take less time to assemble bags, in part because they no
longer sit around on carts waiting to be moved by workers from one workstation to another. That
enables the company to ship fresh collections to its boutiques every six weeks—more than twice as
frequently as in the past.
1. What does this story illustrate about job design?
2. Do you think workers prefer the new system? Why?
2. Explain how you might enrich any job familiar to you, using the job characteristics model.
3. Describe telecommuting, along with some of its advantages and disadvantages.
4. From the standpoint of job design, what can company managers do to develop a high-performance
work system?