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Chapter 7: Human Resource Development and Management

TRUE OR FALSE

1. There is a growing belief among U.S. businesses that, in order to satisfy customers, employees
must be satisfied.

2. The Taylor philosophy improved the relationship between labor and management.

3. Under the Taylor philosophy, the foreman's role was to assure that the work force met
productivity standards.

4. The Taylor system is criticized for its failure to use piecework incentives.

5. Traditionally managed firms view human resource management as a support function.

6. Human resource management is actually a modern term for what has been traditionally
referred to as personnel administration.

7. Training becomes more important in organizations that adopt TQ.

8. Job enrichment allows an organization to invest in less training.

9. A leading practice in human resource management is emphasis on teamwork.

10. One area that has remained constant as human resource management practices have evolved
is low investment in training.

11. Total quality firms separate health, safety, and ergonomics issues from quality improvement
activities.
12. Deming was strongly opposed to traditional performance appraisal systems because the
performance factors are beyond the control of the individual being appraised.
13. The modern day role of human resource management is more strategic than in the past.

14. Theory Y workers require close management supervision.


15. Theory X workers are sincerely interested in the quality of their work.
16. McGregor's Theory X - Theory Y model is a content model of motivations.

17. Maintenance factors do not motivate workers to work harder.

18. Human resource management is a role that is best left to functional specialists.

19. Human resource practices needed to support a cost leadership strategy are similar to the
human resource practices needed to support an innovation strategy.

20. People who are comfortable with uncertainty and who embrace change have become
universally desirable traits in today’s workplace.

21. Employees who seek esteem and self-actualization will flourish in a Theory X environment.
22. Work design is a modern term for job design.

23. Employee involvement initiatives often clash with organized labor structures.
24. There are federal laws that threaten the organization of joint management-worker teams.

25. Worker participation rates in suggestion systems are much higher in Japan than in the United
States

26. Empowerment will be effective in a Theory Y environment.


27. The lowest level of Maslow's hierarchy is physiological needs.
28. Autonomy is a job characteristic that relates to the degree to which a task permits freedom
and personal control to be exercised during work.

29. Pay is most effective as a motivator to employees who have reached the highest level of
Maslow's hierarchy.

30. Reinforcement theory is a process model of motivation.

31. Job enrichment entails ‘vertical job loading’.

32. In total quality companies, the major objective behind employee involvement initiatives is to
make employees feel important.

33. An early initiator of employee involvement activities in the United States was Lincoln
Electric Company.

34. In the Hackman and Oldham model of job characteristics, autonomy and feedback are the
major determinants of ‘experienced meaningfulness’.

35. The Hackman and Oldham model explains the motivational properties of work design by
combining the technical and human components of the job.

36. Japanese culture values competition over cooperation.

37. Job enlargement is a practice by which individual workers learn several tasks by rotating
from one task to another.
38. Empowerment entails giving people decision-making authority.
39. Self-managed teams are a special type of work team.

40. Management teams are typically cross-functional.

41. The elimination or simplification of work rules is one area of management/union relations
that receives major emphasis under the TQ approach.

42. Empowerment resembles Juran’s notion of ‘self-control’.

43. In a TQ approach, gain-sharing is replaced by individualized compensation packages.


44. Empowerment increases the need to share information in a company.

45. Flexibility is a key aspect of union and management negotiations under TQ.
46. In total quality companies, most training resources are spent on a new employee’s initial
orientation and indoctrination.

47. Studies suggest that the effectiveness of a supervisor is positively correlated to both
cooperation and competitiveness.

48. Total quality firms have developed similar approaches for compensating employees.

49. Studies indicate that cash and non-cash recognition works better for clerical and hourly
workers than for managers and professional employees.

50. Total quality companies recognize and reward teams rather than individuals.

51. Quality circles consist of members who gather to solve a specific problem and then disband.

52. All teams require problem-solving skills.


53. Quality circle efforts in the United States have been successful since their introduction in the
late 1960s.

54. The criteria for hiring customer-contact employees is shifting from attributes such as
enthusiasm and resourcefulness towards criteria based on cognitive and technical skills.

55. A department’s critique of the boss’s performance is an example of 360 degree feedback.

56. The number of quality improvement suggestions made by employees is a an example of a


process measure of human resource management effectiveness.

57. One shortcoming of the Baldrige criteria is that the importance of employee well-being is
ignored.

58. Stock options are an example of an intrinsic reward.

59. Traditional performance appraisal processes are often at odds with the philosophy of total
quality.

60. In many situations, especially when organized labor is involved, the work force tends to
resist efforts to reduce rigidly defined, rule based tasks.
62. Employee involvement works well in a Theory X work environment.

63. A quality circle is a graphical representation of Deming's continuous improvement cycle.


64. Self-managed teams set their own goals and inspect their own work.
65. Membership in a quality circle is reserved only for employees and not supervisors.

66. Employee involvement is a natural extension of Frederick Taylor's theory of scientific


management.

67. Suggestion systems are more effective in the United States than in Japan.
68. A quality circle has cross-functional membership.

MULTIPLE CHOICE69. The Taylor system improved _____ at the expense of _____.
a. union relations, productivity
b. quality, productivity
c. planning, execution
d. output, scientific decision-making
e. productivity, worker creativity

70. Early experiments in industrial psychology were conducted at:

a. Motorola’s Schaumburg facility


b. Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company
c. Kaiser Aluminum Company
d. Federal Express’ Memphis operations

b
71. Which of the following is not regarding the Taylor system?
a. the process must be controlled externally
b. workers who run the process control it
c. people are a part of the process
d. managers have to carefully control people
e. none of the above

b72. The major focus of Taylor's philosophy of scientific management


was:
a. productivity
b. automation
c. quality
d. labor relations
e. empowerment

73. Which of the following is not regarded as a traditional activity of personnel managers?

a. interviewing job applicants


b. conducting training courses
c. planning the corporate culture
d. keeping time cards
e. negotiating union contracts

74. The Japanese often point to which individual as the major contributor to the adversarial
relationship between labor and management?
a. Deming
b. Juran
c. Feigenbaum
d. Taylor
e. Taguchi
d
75. Which of the following would not be considered a leading practice in human resource
management?

a. reward based on seniority


b. integrating human resource plans with business plans
c. focus on people belonging to the production department
d. a and c
e. none of the above

76. Which of the following constitute methods for measuring the effectiveness of human resource
practices?

a. employee satisfaction services


b. grievance levels
c. safety performance
d. a and b
e. a, b, and c

77. Studies suggest that of the top employee needs in the workplace, employees rank _____ as
their number one need, while managers believe that employees rank _____ as their number one
need.

a. interesting work, pay


b. pay, security
c. involvement, interesting work
d. recognition, interesting work
e. interesting work, involvement

a
78. In the context of TQ, managerial roles can be described as:
a. controllers
b. appraisers
c. directors
d. facilitators
e. none of the above

d
79. People who exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, and who are risk takers, would
best fit a company strategy based on:

a. cost leadership
b. innovation
c. a and b
d. none of the above
b

80. Studies indicate the worker participation rates in suggestion systems _____ in Japan
compared to ______ in the United States

a. are about 30 percent, less than 20 percent


b. exceed 60 percent, about 50 percent
c. are about 20 percent, above 50 percent
d. exceed 60 percent, less than 10 percent
e. are below 30 percent, above 50 percent

81. A worker can explain how his/her work fits into the overall sequence of events in an
operation. This is an example of the job characteristic of:

a. feedback from the job


b. autonomy
c. skill variety
d. task identity
e. none of the above

d
82. Under Herzberg's theory of motivation, job security would represent a _____ factor and
advancement would represent a _____ factor

a. referent, release
b. maintenance, motivational
c. attribute, innovative
d. supervision, innovative
e. attribute, release

83. An early initiator of employee involvement activities in the United States was:

a. Lincoln Electric Company


b. Zeiss Company
c. Cisco Systems
d. all of the above
e. none of the above

84. Employee involvement begins with a commitment to quality at the:

a. top management level


b. organizational level
c. process level
d. personal level
e. union level
d

85. _____ is commonly one of the highest initial costs of a quality initiative.

a. New equipment
b. Training
c. Turnover
d. Salaries
e. Appraisal

b
86. Herzberg's two-factor theory suggests that two type of factors affect job performance. These
factors are:

a. referent and release factors


b. creative and innovative factors
c. motivation and supervision factors
d. maintenance and motivational factors
e. attribute and innovation factors

87. The stage of Maslow's needs hierarchy that corresponds closely to Herzberg's motivational
category is:

a. physiological needs
b. safety and security
c. social acceptance
d. self-realization
e. autonomy

88. The ‘hierarchy of needs theory’ was developed by:

a. McGregor
b. Herzberg
c. McClelland
d. Taylor
e. Maslow

89. Job characteristics that have been found to have an impact on Hackman and Oldham’s critical
psychological states include:

a. skill variety
b. task variety
c. autonomy
d. a and b
e. a and c
e

90. Teams of workers and supervisors that meet regularly to address workplace problems
involving quality and productivity are known as:

a. work teams
b. problem-solving teams
c. quality circles
d. virtual teams

91. A job characteristic related to the degree to which a job gives the participant a feeling that the
work has a substantial impact on the organization or the world is known as:

a. task identity
b. autonomy
c. task significance
d. feedback from the job
e. task variety

92. A group of employees fully responsible for all aspects of processing claims at an insurance
company is an example of a:

a. quality circle
b. project team
c. virtual team
d. self-managed team
e. problem solving team

93. For an established, traditionally managed company that wants to begin developing successful
teams, an important early step is:

a. implementing quality circles across the organization


b. establishing a steering committee of managers
c. developing a recognition ceremony to honor teams
d. begin with self-managed teams
e. none of the above

b
94. The "Theory X - Theory Y" model was developed by:
a. McGregor
b. Herzberg
c. McClelland
d. Taylor
e. Maslow
a
95. Which of the following represent reasons that employees withhold ideas for improvement?

a. unorganized suggestion systems


b. lack of time
c. fear of losing jobs
d. a and c
e. a, b, and c

e
96. The "preference-expectancy theory" was developed by:
a. Vroom
b. Maslow
c. Herzberg
d. Schuler
e. Jackson

97. Under the Hackman and Oldham model, _____ is the psychological need of workers to feel
that their work is making a significant contribution to the organization and society.

a. experienced meaningfulness
b. experienced autonomy
c. experienced identity
d. experienced responsibility
e. experienced validation

98. The ‘contingency model’ of motivation was developed by:

a. Herzberg
b. Skinner
c. Porter and Lawler
d. Schuler and Jackson
e. Maslow

99. The _____ was enacted in 1937 to prohibit unfair labor practices.

a. National Labor Relations Act


b. Quality of Work Life Resolution
c. Wagner Act
d. Clayton Act
e. a and c

e
100. The concept of _____ involves increasing a worker's level of responsibility so as to provide
the worker the opportunity to use a wider range of skills.
a. job security
b. job enlargement
c. job rotation
d. job enrichment
e. job realignment

101. The three major theoretical approaches to studying motivation are:

a. concentric, repetitive and relational


b. process, content, and environmentally based
c. Theory X, Theory Y and motivation
d. internal, external and referent
e. line, staff and matrix

102. Motivation models that describe how and why people are motivated to work are called:

a. content models
b. environment models
c. concentric models
d. process models
e. trait models

103. The quality circle concept is attributed to:

a. Deming
b. Ishikawa
c. Juran
d. Kano
e. Crosby

b
104. Which of the following is not a content theory of motivation?
a. two-factor theory
b. hierarchy of needs theory
c. acquired needs theory
d. preference-expectancy theory
e. Theory X - Theory Y model

d105. Which of the following is not a process theory of motivation?

a. preference-expectancy theory
b. contingency model
c. acquired needs theory
d. goal-setting model
e. path-goal leadership model
c
106. All of the following are major segments of the Hackman and Oldham model except:

a. outcomes
b. critical psychological states
c. valences
d. moderating variables
e. core job characteristics

107. Which of the following is a basic tool of operant conditioning?

a. pay systems
b. positive reinforcement
c. productivity
d. group enlargement
e. valences

108. Which of the following is a core job characteristic according to the Hackman and Oldham
model?

a. task identity
b. work effectiveness
c. relaxation
d. work motivation
e. feedback

109. Historically, union leaders and labor relations managers have emphasized which of the
following aspects of labor relations?

a. collective bargaining
b. work rules
c. grievance procedures
d. management and worker domains
e. all of the above

110. New approaches to ensuring that job candidates have the required level of customer-focused
skills include:

a. verbal and math skill testing


b. psychological testing
c. situational role playing
d. a and b
e. b and c

e
111. Organizations have commonly used performance appraisals to:

a. provide feedback to employees on strengths and weaknesses


b. identify people for promotion
c. provide a paper trail in case of legal action
d. a and b
e. a, b, and c

112. Deming argued that the performance appraisal process was detrimental because it usually
fails to account for _____ factors that effect individual performance.

a. system
b. personal
c. machine
d. technology
e. value

113. The foundations of employee involvement are:

a. participation and teamwork


b. statistical methods and reengineering
c. scientific management principles and QFD
d. Theory X motivational models and teamwork
e. all of the above

114. Research has shown that the effectiveness of supervisors and subordinates is positively
correlated to _____ and negatively correlated to _____.

a. behavior, individualism
b. cooperation, competitiveness
c. favoritism, self-centeredness
d. competitiveness, cooperation
e. status, age

115. Which is of a quality circle?

a. it includes members from several work areas


b. circles usually meet once per month
c. all members are from the same work center
d. supervisors are not allowed in the circle
e. none of the above

c
116. The major difference between quality circles and self- managed teams is:

a. self-managed teams are not voluntary


b. self-managed teams work on pre-chosen problems
c. self-managed teams do not meet regularly
d. self-managed teams have more autonomy and authority
e. none of the above

117. The person who is given responsibility for plant-wide control and operation of quality
circles by the steering committee is often called the:

a. circle foreman
b. facilitator
c. QC circle pro
d. executor
e. provider

118. Which is a common result of using an employee involvement approach?

a. pride in workmanship
b. self respect
c. self reliance
d. heightened sense of responsibility
e. all of the above

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS119. Define the term human resource management. Identify
at 4 groups of activities that are performed as part of human resource management.

Human resource management consists of those activities designed to


provide for and coordinate the people of an organization. These activities include determining
the organization’s human resource needs; assisting in the design of work systems; recruiting;
hiring and selecting employees; training and developing employees; counseling and motivating
employees; recognizing and rewarding employees; and acting as a liaison with unions and
government organizations.

120. Contrast the role and function of human resource management under the traditional and TQ
approaches.

In their traditional role, personnel managers interviewed job applicants,


negotiated labor contracts, kept time cards on hourly workers, and occasionally taught a training
course. Today, human resource managers assume a strategic leadership role rather than being
corporate watchdogs. They must assume a long term view, such as how the corporation’s culture
will development, as well as overseeing more traditional support activities.
121. Describe the strategic focus of human resource management. What is the role of HRM in a
‘quality-enhancement strategy’?

The strategic focus of human resource management involves developing


human capital into sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Human resource management
policies and practices must align with the company’s competitive strategy. An important role of
strategic human resources is to consider and plan for the development of the organization’s
culture. In a quality enhancement strategy, human resource units develop policies and
procedures to ensure that employees can perform multiple roles, improvise when necessary, and
direct themselves towards continuous improvement of both product quality and customer service.

122. Consider the following model:

y = f(S,I)

where: y = sales
S = system factors, and
I = individual performance factors.

Suppose that a salesperson is compensated based on a sales quota. Use the above model to
explain Deming's position on an appraisal and reward system that depends on sales.

Response should argue that sales quotas are subject to factors (i.e.,
systems factors) beyond the control of the individual. Such factors include geographic location,
unforeseen competitive responses, state of the economy, etc. Deming would argue that such a
performance goal is unfair to the worker and can result in loss of morale and pride of
workmanship.

123. Compare and contrast Maslow and Herzberg's motivational theories.

Maslow’s theory suggests that individual motivation is driven by unmet


needs within the hierarchy of physiological, safety and security, social, esteem and status, and
self-actualization needs. Herzberg’s theory suggests that two types of factors, maintenance and
motivational, affect job performance. Although the theories differ, both share a notion that
motivation is dependent on a previous level and type of met or unmet needs.

124. Discuss the differences between process, content, and environmentally based theories of
motivation.

Content models describe how and why people are motivated to work in a
static context. Process theories explain the dynamics of how people make choices in an effort to
obtain desired rewards. Environmentally based theories explain the actions and motivations of
individuals in the context of external factors not immediately under the individual’s control.

125. Explain the Hackman and Oldham model of work design for organizational effectiveness.

Response should identify the four major segments of the model: critical
psychological states, core job characteristics, moderating variables, and outcomes. Three critical
psychological states drive the model: experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility,
and knowledge of results. Response should elaborate on these states. Response should also
identify and elaborate the 5 core job characteristics that impact the critical psychological states:
task significance, task identity, skill variety, autonomy, and feedback from the job. An advanced
response would note that quality is related to all 5 of these characteristics.126. Discuss the
current status of labor relations in the TQ environment. What roles should labor relations
managers and union leaders play?

Response should focus on the more cooperative position of labor


relations in the TQ environment. Advanced responses might elaborate on current legislative
activities that address joint management-labor teamwork.

127. Identify the Baldrige category that relates to human resource management. Identify and
describe the examination items and key management processes that comprise the category.

As of 1998, Baldrige category 5.0 was entitled Human Resource Focus.


Examination items addressed the design of high-performance work systems; education, training,
and development; and employee well-being and satisfaction. Responses should agree with the
current version of the Criteria—this particular category is subject to frequent revision.

128. There is growing belief that people represent a company’s only real source of sustainable
competitive advantage. Argue to support this assertion.

Response should focus on the characteristics of human resources that


would allow a competitive advantage to be sustainable over time. Sustainable advantage requires
that a firm’s value-creating activities cannot be easily imitated. Of all factors of production
available to the firm, it is perhaps only factors related to people that can be converted into
specific, idiosyncratic assets that a firm can employ over long periods of time without
competitive erosion.

129. Compare and contrast the human resource practices appropriate for firms pursuing a) a cost
leadership strategy, b) an innovation strategy. Focus on practices related to staffing, appraising,
compensating, and training/development.

Responses should reflect two significantly different sets of human


resource activities. A cost leadership strategy invites human resource practices that promote
routines, structure, repetition, risk aversion, and stability. In contrast, an innovation strategy
invites practices that promote creativity, flexibility, change-making, and risk-taking.

130. Identify at least 3 approaches leading companies take when training employees.

Leading training practices include top-down training, formal training


departments, outside consultants, and self-paced methods (such as interactive video).

131. Identify five types of teams available to an organization and the context in which they are
best applied.

Quality circles are teams of workers and supervisors that meet regularly
to address workplace problems involving quality and productivity. Problem-solving teams
gather to solve a specific problem and then disband. Management teams consist mainly of
managers from various functions like sales and production that coordinate work among teams.
Work teams are organized to perform entire jobs, rather than specialized, assembly line-type
work. Project teams have a specific mission to develop something new or to accomplish a
complex task. Virtual teams communicate by computer, take turns as leaders, and jump in and
out as necessary.
132. Are quality circles most appropriately applied towards the organization’s ‘vital few’ or
‘useful many’ problems. Defend your choice.

Quality circles are most appropriate for the useful many problems.
Department workers and their supervisors are best able to identify, analyze, and solve problems
in their immediate area. In most organizations, there are many of these problems, but each
problem has relatively low payback potential. In most organizations, the most costly problems
are the one that span multiple departments or functions. These problems are likely chronic—in
part because the existing organizational structure does not specify any single entity with problem
solving responsibility. Such problems are smaller in number, but large in payback (the ‘vital
few’). Such problems are best handled by cross-functional teams of managers that have the
responsibility and the access to resources to successfully solve the problem.

133. Discuss the reasons why quality circles have not been totally successful in many U.S.
organizations.

Responses can cite a range of reasons that primarily relate to


management. Many quality circle attempts have been viewed by employees as ‘flavor of the
month’ fads. Frequently, management has assigned quality circles with problems or missions
beyond the capability of team members. Sometimes managers have expected results too quickly.
Finally, management sometimes does not anticipate the natural resistance to change that occurs
with new initiatives—particularly those that challenge existing defined work structures similar to
those established in many traditionally managed organizations.

134. Describe each of the following types of teams:

a. Problem-solving
b. Management teams
c. Work teams
d. Virtual teams

Problem solving teams gather to solve a specified problem and then


disband. Management teams have few, if any, labor representatives. Management teams are
usually of the problem-solving variety, and are cross-functional. Work teams are groups of
workers from a common department or area that work on problems or concerns in their area.
Virtual teams, an emerging team type, may meet infrequently face-to-face. Virtual teams interact
via computers in order to accomplish a project-like task.

135. Discuss the similarities and differences between self-managed teams and quality circles.

Both types of teams are composed of workers and supervisors from a


common area or department. However, the charter of quality circles is limited to identifying and
solving problems. Self-managed teams have a larger scope. In addition to solving problems,
self-managed teams have total responsibility for accomplishing their assigned operation—
including authority for planning work and resources.

136. Identify at least four characteristics that should be exhibited by customer-focused


employees.

Customer-focused employees should exhibit: the ability to remain calm


under pressure, optimism and people-orientation, the ability to listen well, orientation towards
analysis and prevention, and the ability to solve problems.

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