Test 2 - Analysis & Design of Work

Question 1

Organizational structure and job design affect

Answer 1

quantity and quality of a product, organization, creativity, and worker attraction, motivation, and retention

Question 2

What is vital for competitiveness?

Answer 2

Fit between organizational environment, competitive strategy, philosophy, and job/organizational design

Question 3

Work-flow design

Answer 3

the process of analyzing the tasks needed to make a product or provide a service

Question 4

Organization structure

Answer 4

a structured system between different job roles that help the organization function smoothly

Question 5

Why is workflow design needed?

Answer 5

It is needed to understand how tasks can be bundled into jobs

Question 6

Why is Organization Structure needed?

Answer 6

to understand how jobs relate and how they can be redesigned/improved

Question 7

Goal of Work-flow analysis

Answer 7

Understand all tasks required for the production of outputs (at specified quality and quantity) and the inputs necessary to perform those tasks

Question 8

Work-flow process

Answer 8

INPUTS (raw inputs, equipment) –> PROCESSES (production tasks) –> OUTPUTS (products, services, info)

Question 9

Goal of Organization Structure

Answer 9

Understand the static relationships between individuals and units that create the outputs

Question 10

Dimensions of Structure

Answer 10

Centralization and Departmentalization

Question 11

Centralization

Answer 11

the degree to which decision-making authority resides at the top of the organizational chart
- Centralized vs decentralized

Question 12

Departmentalization

Answer 12

the degree to which work units are grouped based on functional similarity of workflow
- Functional similarity vs. work-flow similarity

Question 13

Common structural configuration

Answer 13

Functional structure and divisional structure (product, geographical, client)

Question 13

Functional Structures

Answer 13

• Jobs need to be narrow and highly specialized
• Workers tend to have little decision-making authority or responsibility for coordination

Question 13

Divisional Structures

Answer 13

• Managers have wide autonomy
• Managers need to have relatively high degrees of experience and high cognitive ability

Question 14

Job Analysis

Answer 14

The process of getting detailed information about jobs

Question 15

Importance of job analysis

Answer 15

• The building block of everything HRM does
• Protection against lawsuits
• Importance to line managers

Question 16

Job description

Answer 16

• List of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities (TDRs) that a job entails
• Essential vs. nonessential job functions

Question 17

Essential vs. nonessential job functions

Answer 17

• Percentage of time spent on task
• Frequency of task
• Importance of task

Question 18

Job Specification

Answer 18

List of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) that an individual must have to perform the job

Question 19

Sources of Information

Answer 19

• Job incumbents
• Supervisors
• Subject-matter experts
• (Informal) social networks
• Customers and other sources

Question 20

Job Analysis Methods

Answer 20

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) and Occupational Information Network (O*NET)

Question 21

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Answer 21

• Covers inputs, outputs, processes, and work context (including relationships with others)
• 194 items assessing work behaviors, work conditions, job characteristics
• Rating of tasks based on the extent of use, amount of time, the importance of the job, the possibility of occurrence, applicability, special code

Question 22

Occupational Information Network (O*NET)

Answer 22

• Uses a common language that generalizes across jobs to describe the abilities, work styles, work activities, and work context required for about 1,000 more broadly defined occupations

Question 23

Job Design

Answer 23

The process of defining the way work will be performed and the tasks that will be required in a given job

Question 24

Job Redesign

Answer 24

Changing the tasks or the way work is performed in an existing job

Question 25

4 Approaches of Job Design

Answer 25

Mechanistic, Motivational, Biological, Perceptual-motor

Question 26

Mechanistic Approach

Answer 26

• Identify the simplest way to structure work that maximizes efficiency
• Job design around task specialization, skill simplification, repetition
• Ex: Assembly line work

Question 27

Motivational Approach

Answer 27

• Focus on the psychological and motivational potential of a job
• Importance of attitudinal variables
• Job design around job enlargement, job enrichment, and construction of jobs around socio-technical systems

Question 28

Biological Approach (ergonomics)

Answer 28

• Examine the interface between individuals’ psychological characteristics and the physical work environment
• Structure the physical work environment around the way the human body works
• Reduce physical demands of the job

Question 29

Perceptual-motor Approach

Answer 29

• Focus on human mental capabilities and limitations
• Job design to reduce information-processing requirements to ensure jobs do not exceed individuals’ mental capabilities and limitations

Question 30

Job Crafting

Answer 30

Job incumbents redesign their own work and social environment at work by making small changes to the job

Question 31

Goal of Job Crafting

Answer 31

to make the job fit their own skills, interests, or constraints better

Question 32

Importance of Job Crafting

Answer 32

Job crafting can improve how meaningful the employee views their work and/or how the employee defines themselves at work
- Ex: their work identity

Question 33

Challenges in Job Design

Answer 33

• Increased use of technology can reduce job demands and errors, but also increase opportunities for error
• Information-processing errors in “hand-off” situations
• Job redesign, including changes in job description and job specifications, can have consequences for job incumbents, and lead to litigation