Chapter 3

Student: ___________________________________________________________________________

1. A job is a set of related duties. A position is the set of

duties performed by a particular person. 
 
True    False
 
2. Work flow design is the process of analyzing the
tasks necessary for the production of a product or
service. 
 
True    False
 
3. The final step in work flow analysis is to identify the
inputs used in the development of the work unit's
product. 
 
True    False
 
4. Although it is important to conduct a work flow
analysis, it is not important to see how the works fits
within the context of the organization's structure. 
 
True    False
 
5. Jobs that involve teamwork or broad responsibility
tend to require a structure based on functions. 
 
True    False
 
6. Job analysis is required in order to understand and
match job requirements and people. 
 
True    False
 
7. Job analysis is the process of getting detailed
information about job applicants. 
 
True    False
 
8. Once a job description has been developed there is
seldom a need to review or update it. 
 
True    False
 
9. A job specification is a list of the competencies an
individual must have to perform a particular job. 
 
True    False
 
 10. While the job description focuses on the activities
involved in carrying out a job, a job specification
looks at the qualities or requirements that person
performing the job must possess. 
 
True    False
 
11. Competencies are observable only when individuals
are carrying out the tasks, duties, and responsibilities
of the job—and afterward, if they show the product
of their labour. 
 
True    False
 
12. The tool created by the federal government to
provide a standardized source of information about
jobs in Canada's labour market is the National
Occupational Classification (NOC). 
 
True    False
 
13. An advantage of the Position Analysis Questionnaire
is that it can be filled out by almost anyone. 
 
True    False
 
14. The Fleishman Job Analysis System provides an
accurate picture of the ability requirements of a job,
but not the specific duties and tasks associated with
the job. 
 
True    False
 
15. Many organizations have developed a competency
framework that identifies the competencies a specific
individual needs to be successful. 
 
True    False
 
16. The study of jobs to find the simplest way to
structure work in order to maximize efficiency is
known as job design. 
 
True    False
 
17. Classic industrial engineering looks for the simplest
way to structure work to maximize efficiency. 
 
True    False
 
 18. A pure focus on efficiency is usually enough to make
jobs motivating to employees. 
 
True    False
 
19. Flextime is a scheduling policy that allows full-time
workers to complete their weekly hours in fewer than
five days. 
 
True    False
 
20. If employees perform some of their work from a
corporate office, some from home, and some from
the road or from a community office they are
engaging in "distributed work." 
 
True    False
 
21. Facing temperature extremes on the job is considered
an ergonomic job hazard. 
 
True    False
 
22. As more and more work activities become
information processing activities, the need to
consider cognitive ergonomics is likely to be an
emerging trend. 
 
True    False
 
23. Through the process of ____________, managers
analyze the tasks needed to produce a product or
service. 
 

A.  business strategy

B.  work flow design
C.  HR strategy
D.  operational analysis
E.  organizational structure
design
 
24. The set of duties (job) performed by a particular
person is called: 
 

A.  job task duties.

B.  job analysis.
C.  job activity.
D.  a position.
E.  a job.
 
 25. The final stage in work flow analysis is to identify
the: 
 

A.  outputs of a particular

work unit.
B.  work relationships
within the work unit.
C.  work processes used to
generate the outputs of
the work unit.
D.  inputs used in the
development of the
work unit's product.
E.  job requirements.
 
26. Which of the following is a category of inputs to
work flow analysis? 
 

A.  Raw inputs e.g.

materials, data, and
information
B.  Equipment e.g. special
equipment, facilities,
and systems
C.  Human resources e.g.
competencies needed by
those performing the
tasks
D.  All of the above
E.  Only "a" and "b"
 
27. If the organization's structure is strongly based on
function: 
 

A.  workers tend to have

low authority.
B.  workers tend to work
alone at highly
specialized jobs.
C.  workers tend to have
broad responsibility.
D.  workers tend to serve a
particular group of
customers or produce a
particular product.
E.  "a" and "b" only.
 
 28. To achieve high quality performance, organizations
have to understand and match _______ and
_________. 
 

A.  job requirements;

people
B.  job design; work flow
C.  job analysis; work flow
D.  work flow; people
E.  job descriptions; job
specifications
 
29. The process of getting detailed information about
jobs is known as: 
 

A.  industrial engineering.

B.  work flow analysis.
C.  job analysis.
D.  job evaluation.
E.  job specification
identification.
 
30. Which of the following refers to a list of the tasks,
duties, and responsibilities that a particular job
entails? 
 

A.  Job specification

B.  Job description
C.  Job analysis
D.  Job design
E.  Competency framework
 
31. Job descriptions generally contain all but one of the
following components. Name the exception. 
 

A.  Title of the job

B.  Job's level in the
organization
C.  List of the essential
duties
D.  Statement of the job's
purpose
E.  Monthly salary
 
 32. Which of the following contains a list of the
competencies that an individual must have to perform
the job? 
 

A.  Job specification

B.  Job description
C.  Job analysis
D.  Job design
E.  Competency framework
 
33. A person's level of proficiency at performing a
particular task is called: 
 

A.  knowledge.
B.  ability.
C.  skill.
D.  responsibility.
E.  competency.
 
34. Which one of the following sources of job analysis
information generally provides the most accurate
information regarding the time spent performing
various job tasks? 
 

A.  Supervisors
B.  Incumbents
C.  Customers
D.  Subordinates
E.  Human resource
specialists
 
35. Which of the following sources of job analysis
information generally provides the most accurate
information regarding the importance of various job
duties? 
 

A.  Supervisors
B.  Incumbents
C.  Customers
D.  Subordinates
E.  Human resource
specialists
 
 36. Why was the National Occupational Classification
(NOC) created? 
 

A.  To design jobs that

motivate.
B.  To replace job
descriptions in Canadian
organizations.
C.  To provide standardized
sources of information
about jobs in Canada's
labour market.
D.  To support the
development of flexible
staffing options.
E.  Both "a" and "b."
 
37. The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) contains
194 items that represent all of the following,
EXCEPT: 
 

A.  categories of abilities.

B.  work behaviours.
C.  work conditions.
D.  job characteristics.
E.  all of the choices are
items that are included
in the PAQ.
 
38. _______________ may discourage organizations
from writing flexible job descriptions. 
 

A.  Competency
requirements
B.  Job design requirements
C.  Work flow analysis
requirements
D.  Legal requirements
E.  Job analysis
requirements
 
 39. Competency requirements of a job may be more
stable and long-lasting than the ________________
associated with the job. 
 

A.  design
B.  competitive pressures
C.  tasks, duties, and
responsibilities
D.  personal preferences
E.  efficiency requirements
 
40. A competency framework identifies the competencies
the entire _______ requires to be successful. 
 

A.  organization
B.  HR department
C.  business community
D.  industry
E.  competitor
 
41. A focus on efficiency alone can create jobs that are so
simple and repetitive that workers ___________. 
 

A.  have additional time for

development.
B.  stay motivated.
C.  see practical benefits.
D.  see their work as
meaningful.
E.  get bored.
 
42. Which one of the following approaches to job design
involves seeking the "one best way" to perform a
job? 
 

A.  Design for motivation

B.  Design for safety and
health
C.  Design for mental
capacity
D.  Design for efficiency
E.  None of the above
 
 43. ______________ focuses on job design for
efficiency, while _____________ focuses on job
design for safety and health. 
 

A.  Industrial engineering;

ergonomics
B.  Ergonomics; industrial
engineering
C.  Job enlargement;
ergonomics
D.  Memory aids; teamwork
E.  Design for mental
capacity; ergonomics
 
44. As a manager, you decide to design a job based on
the principles of industrial engineering. Which of the
following outcomes would NOT likely be achieved? 
 

A.  Increased efficiency

B.  Reduced complexity
C.  Increased
meaningfulness
D.  Almost anyone can be
trained quickly and
easily
E.  Boring and repetitive
jobs
 
45. Which one of the following interventions would NOT
be consistent with the motivational approach to job
design? 
 

A.  Self-managing work

teams
B.  Task specialization
C.  Job enrichment
D.  Flexible work schedules
E.  Job enlargement
 
 46. The objective of job enlargement is to: 
 

A.  make the job less

repetitive and more
interesting.
B.  give employees more
say in how their work is
structured.
C.  decrease the complexity
of the job.
D.  increase the
meaningfulness of the
job.
E.  engage workers by
adding more decision
making authority to
their jobs.
 
47. If, as a manager, you decided to combine the jobs of
receptionist, data entry clerk, and file clerk into jobs
containing all three kinds of work, you would be
using which one of the following job design
techniques? 
 

A.  Job rotation

B.  Dejobbing
C.  Job enrichment
D.  Job extension
E.  Self-managing work
teams
 
48. Frederick Herzberg is most associated with which job
design technique? 
 

A.  Job extension

B.  Job rotation
C.  Job enrichment
D.  Job enlargement
E.  Designing efficient jobs
 
 49. If, as a manager, you were to give the sales staff in
your store the authority to resolve customer
problems, including the authority to decide whether
to issue refunds or replace the merchandise, you
would be using the technique of: 
 

A.  job enlargement.

B.  job extension.
C.  job involvement.
D.  job enrichment.
E.  flexible work schedules.
 
50. Moving employees among several different jobs is
________. 
 

A.  job enlargement

B.  job extension
C.  job rotation
D.  job enrichment
E.  flexible work
scheduling
 
51. If company XYZ requires its employees to be at work
between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., but allows
employees to decide whether they will work their
additional hours before or after this time period, it is
using which one of the following? 
 

A.  Job sharing

B.  Flextime
C.  Compressed workweek
D.  Telework
E.  Dejobbing
 
52. Job sharing involves two part time employees
carrying out tasks associated with
_______________. 
 

A.  improving efficiency

B.  decreasing costs
C.  a single job
D.  several jobs
E.  distributed work
 
 53. A schedule in which full-time workers complete their
weekly hours in fewer than five days is termed a: 
 

A.  right-to-work
workweek.
B.  compressed workweek.
C.  substandard workweek.
D.  flexible workweek.
E.  reduced hours
workweek.
 
54. Distributed work refers to work performed from: 
 

A.  the corporate office.

B.  home.
C.  a remote location e.g.
cottage or coffee shop.
D.  All of the above
answers are correct.
E.  Only "b" and "c" are
correct.
 
55. As manager of a local grocery store, you decide to
allow customers to place items on a short conveyer
belt rather than requiring the cashier to reach into the
cart to retrieve the items before scanning them. This
change would be in keeping with which job design
approach? 
 

A.  Design for motivation

B.  Design for mental
capacity
C.  Design for safety and
health (ergonomics)
D.  Design for teamwork
E.  None of the above
 
 56. Which of the following is NOT a way to simplify a
job's mental demands? 
 

A.  Limit the amount of

information and
memorization the job
requires.
B.  Provide easy-to-
understand gauges and
displays.
C.  Encourage the use of
checklists.
D.  Provide clear
instructions.
E.  Encourage employees to
juggle information from
several sources at once.
 
57. Concerns about employees' ability to be "always
reachable" relates to which job design approach? 
 

A.  Design for motivation

B.  Design for safety and
health
C.  Design for efficiency
D.  Design for mental
capacity
E.  Design for job
satisfaction
 
58. Identify and briefly discuss the three major elements
of work flow analysis. 
 

 
 59. Define the following: job analysis, job description,
and job specification. 
 

 
60. Job analysis is so important that it has been called the
"building block" of everything that HR does.
Describe how job analysis information is used in four
specific HR processes. 
 

 
61. What is a competency framework? Discuss how
organizations may benefit from developing a
competency framework. 
 

 
62. What are the four major approaches to job design? 
 

 
 63. Why do organizations need to be concerned about
making jobs more motivating? Identify and briefly
describe three ways to make jobs more motivating. 
 

 
64. Discuss three types of flexible work schedules
organizations may typically offer.