Deck 9: Work Design and Measurement

Question 1

Job enrichment involves an increase in the level of responsibility for planning and coordinating tasks.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Specialization is one of the sources of disagreement between the efficiency and behavioral approaches to job design.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Ergonomics is the use of computers and robots in the workplace.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

One disadvantage of specialization is worker dissatisfaction.

Question 5

One therblig is the equivalent of one hour of sustained work by one average person.

Question 6

One important factor that influences productivity is trust between workers and managers.

Question 7

A flow process chart is helpful for visualizing the portions of a work cycle during which the equipment is busy or idle.

Question 8

Ergonomics is an important part of job design to consider for factory work but not for office work.

Question 9

Methods analysis cannot be done for new jobs (ones that do not yet exist) since it requires observation of the process.

Question 10

Motivation influences quality and productivity, but not the work environment.

Question 11

Many lower-level jobs are monotonous and boring.

Question 12

Job enrichment involves giving a workers a greater share of the total task, which is why they feel enriched.

Question 13

Self-directed teams are allowed to make changes in the work processes under their control.

Question 14

One of the potential benefits of self-directed teams is higher quality.

Question 15

Self-directed teams often are great sources of information regarding improvements to work processes.

Question 16

Potential benefits of self-directed teams include higher productivity and greater worker satisfaction.

Question 17

Job design relates to people, therefore technology has little impact.

Question 18

The quickest, most effective way to improve an employee's job satisfaction is to increase his or her compensation.

Question 19

Trust is a factor influencing productivity.

Question 20

One potential disadvantage of self-directed teams is higher turnover and absenteeism.

Question 21

Predetermined time standards use historical data from a company's own files.

Question 22

One factor in determining how many cycles to time in a time study is the degree of variation that is present in the observed times.

Question 23

Work sampling involves the use of some method of randomizing the observations.

Question 24

An advantage of work sampling, compared to a stopwatch time study, is that observations are spread out over a period of time in work sampling.

Question 25

The normal time for a job is multiplied by the performance rating to obtain the standard time for the job.

Question 26

Ergonomics is important for preventing common workplace injuries such as back injuries and repetitive-motion injuries.

Question 27

Work measurement concentrates on how long the tasks take to accomplish.

Question 28

Predetermined time standards are usually based on observing one very efficient worker performing the task.

Question 29

The normal time in time study is obtained by multiplying the observed time by the performance rating.

Question 30

The two basic causes of accidents are worker carelessness and management demands for increased productivity.

Question 31

Therbligs are basic elemental motions.

Question 32

No stopwatch is required in a work sampling study.

Question 33

Work sampling can be used to estimate the proportion of time a machine is idle.

Question 34

Work sampling is most frequently used to set time standards.

Question 35

A performance rating of less than 1.0 means that the observed worker was judged to be working at a faster than normal rate-doing the job more quickly than normal.

Question 36

A standard time is the amount of time it should take a fully trained and qualified worker to complete a specific task, working at an efficient, yet sustainable pace, using their choice of methods, tools, equipment, and workplace arrangement.

Question 37

The standard time for a job can be obtained by multiplying the normal time by an appropriate allowance factor.

Question 38

For purposes of obtaining good time standards using a stopwatch time study, the analyst should try to avoid having the worker discover he or she is being observed.

Question 39

The design of work systems is based on objective standards and thereby avoids most ethical issues.

Question 40

Predetermined time standards involve the use of published data regarding how long various activities are expected to take.

Question 41

Giving a worker a larger portion of the total task is known as job:

A) expansion.
B) enrichment.
C) enlargement.
D) rotation.
E) elimination.

Question 42

Work sampling provides a detailed elemental breakdown of a task for purposes of establishing reliable time standards.

Question 43

A worker-machine chart can help identify nonproductive parts of a process.

Question 44

Asking a group of employees at a particular level to take on more responsibility is a form of ___________ loading, also known as job __________.

A) horizontal; enlargement
B) horizontal; rotation
C) vertical; rotation
D) vertical; enrichment
E) horizontal; enrichment

Question 45

A worker-machine chart can be used to determine how many machines an operator can manage.

Question 46

Work sampling provides both quick and accurate estimates of activity times.

Question 47

Methods analysis is particularly valuable when it is used on jobs that:

A) I, II, III, and IV
B) I, II, and IV only
C) II and III only
D) II and IV only
E) I and III only

Question 48

A major advantage of job specialization in business is increased:

A) motivation.
B) opportunity for advancement.
C) opportunity for self-fulfillment.
D) productivity.
E) job enrichment.

Question 49

Which of the following is not generally considered an advantage of specialization?

A) high productivity
B) low wage costs
C) ease of training employees
D) monotonous work
E) All are advantages

Question 50

Increasing compensation is always the best way to improve worker satisfaction.

Question 51

A behavioral approach to job design in which workers periodically exchange jobs is known as:

A) specialization.
B) ergonomics.
C) job rotation.
D) job enlargement.
E) job enrichment.

Question 52

Output-based systems compensate employees according to the amount of output they produce, thereby tying pay directly to performance.

Question 53

Process chart symbols do not include:

A) delay.
B) inspection.
C) operation.
D) rejection.
E) storage.

Question 54

If there is a good chance that one or a few employees could wind up in monotonous jobs, job __________ can be a good idea.

A) alteration
B) expansion
C) enrichment
D) enlargement
E) rotation

Question 55

Which of the following is not an advantage of time-based pay systems?

A) labor cost stability
B) incentives to increase output
C) ease of administration
D) stability of output
E) ease of pay computations

Question 56

Time-based systems compensate employees according to the time they have worked and the amount of output they produce.

Question 57

Methods analysis is more likely to lead to a relatively easy and successful implementation of an improved method if workers have been consulted throughout the process than if the analyst assumed sole responsibility for the development of the improved method.

Question 58

Measured daywork systems are output-based compensation systems.

Question 59

From the worker's perspective, an output-based pay system has the advantage of:

A) linking pay more directly to effort.
B) keeping earnings stable.
C) keeping pay totally in the worker's control.
D) minimizing the temptation to work harder for more money.
E) keeping effort from influencing pay.

Question 60

It would be acceptable to use a group incentive plan for an assembly line operation.

Question 61

The motion study chart which describes the movements of both hands at the same time is a:

A) flow process chart.
B) worker-machine chart.
C) gang process chart.
D) simo chart.
E) time/efficiency chart.

Question 62

One form of long-term team that is increasingly being used, especially in lean production settings, is:

A) quality circle.
B) product design.
C) self-directeD.
D) self-improvement.
E) mandatory.

Question 63

Which of the following is not a potential benefit of the use of self-directed teams?

A) higher quality
B) higher productivity
C) greater worker satisfaction
D) greater satisfaction for middle managers
E) lower turnover

Question 64

The methods analysis chart which describes the overall sequence of operations, transportation, storage, delays, and inspection is a:

A) flow process chart.
B) worker-machine chart.
C) gang process chart.
D) simultaneous-motion chart.
E) time/efficiency chart.

Question 65

When performing a time study, the analyst converts the observed time into the time a worker would require working at an acceptable "average" pace by using which of the following?

A) allowance factors
B) MTM
C) methods analysis
D) performance rating
E) analysis of therbligs

Question 66

Determining the number of cycles to observe is an element of:

A) stopwatch time study.
B) standard elemental times.
C) predetermined time standards.
D) work sampling.
E) MTM tables.

Question 67

Which of the following concerns is not one that job designers focus on?

A) what will be done in a job
B) who will do the job
C) how the job will be done
D) when should the job be completed
E) where the job will be done

Question 68

What is the effect of an increase in the desired confidence level on the number of observations necessary in a time study?

A) increases
B) decreases
C) unaffected
D) may increase or decrease, depending on the sample standard deviation
E) impossible to say without additional information

Question 69

Which is not a requirement for an effective self-directed team?

A) talent and skills to meet goals
B) one or more members representing supervision
C) a system of reinforcement and celebration
D) clearly stated and commonly held vision and goals
E) effective and skilled interpersonal relations

Question 70

In a stopwatch time study, the number of cycles that must be timed is a function of:

A) I only
B) I and II only
C) II and III only
D) I, II, and III
E) I and III only

Question 71

In a stopwatch time study, the average of the times recorded for a given worker to perform a given task is the:

A) observed timE.
B) normal time.
C) standard time.
D) allowance time.
E) performance rating time.

Question 72

The methods analysis chart which describes the portions of a work cycle during which an operator and equipment are busy or idle is a:

A) flow process chart.
B) worker-machine chart.
C) gang process chart.
D) simultaneous-motion chart.
E) time/efficiency chart.

Question 73

The symbols for operation, storage, transportation, inspection, and delay would usually be found on which type of chart?

A) flow process
B) Gantt
C) simultaneous motion
D) worker-machine
E) delay analysis

Question 74

In motion studies, a therblig is a:

A) charting method of analysis.
B) job enrichment technique.
C) dummy task.
D) basic elemental motion.
E) fraction (.0006) of a minute.

Question 75

A simo chart includes:

A) delay.
B) storage.
C) transportation.
D) left/right hand movements.
E) inspection.

Question 76

The chart used to review the overall sequence of an operation by focusing on the movements of either the operator or materials is called a:

A) simo chart.
B) Gantt chart.
C) worker-materials chart.
D) flow process chart.
E) multi-activity chart.

Question 77

A behavioral approach to job design which increases responsibility for planning and coordinating tasks is job:

A) enlargement.
B) rotation.
C) enrichment.
D) involvement.
E) enhancement.

Question 78

Which of the following most closely describes job enlargement?

A) horizontal loading
B) increasing the level of responsibility associated with a job
C) transferring workers through a series of jobs to increase their scope of experience
D) increasing the amount of workspace assigned to a worker
E) assigning two jobs to the same worker

Question 79

The chart used to focus on busy and idle portions of a work cycle is a:

A) worker-machine chart.
B) Gantt chart.
C) simo chart.
D) idle chart.
E) flow process chart.

Question 80

A job has an observed cycle time of four minutes, a performance rating of 80 percent, and an allowance that is 20 percent of job time. Normal time for the job in minutes is:

A) 3.20.
B) 3.84.
C) 4.00.
D) 4.80.
E) 5.00.