Strategic Staffing, 2e (Phillips/Gully) Chapter Strategic Job Analysis and Competency Modeling 1) Formal job descriptions are best for young organizations that need flexible employees Answer: FALSE 2) Jobs performed in a consistent, predictable manner are easiest to analyze Answer: TRUE 3) The same job analysis techniques can be used effectively for staffing, compensation, and training purposes Answer: FALSE 4) Analyzing the requirements of a job as it exists today is a future-oriented job analysis Answer: FALSE 5) Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, if a disabled applicant can perform the essential functions of a job with reasonable accommodation, but cannot perform some of the job's desirable criteria, they must be considered for the position Answer: FALSE 6) Desirable criteria are those that may enhance the new hire's job performance, but are not essential to adequate job performance Answer: TRUE 7) The critical incidents technique of job analysis is a method that identifies extremely effective and ineffective behaviors by documenting critical incidents that have occurred on the job Answer: TRUE 8) Reliability and applicability are the two most important feature of any job analysis method Answer: FALSE 9) In a deductive job analysis, the job duties and sometimes even the work tasks have already been determined Answer: TRUE 10) In an inductive job analysis, the main job duties and work tasks have been determined beforehand Answer: FALSE 11) A job family description provides a quick overview of the job family that contains dissimilar jobs Answer: TRUE 12) A job duty is an observable unit of work with a beginning and an end Answer: FALSE Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 13) Competency modeling is a job analysis method that identifies the necessary worker competencies for high performance Answer: TRUE 14) Pay is an example of an extrinsic reward Answer: TRUE 15) A reward's differential refers to the uniqueness of the reward Answer: FALSE 16) A formal group or cluster of tasks is a A) job analysis B) job family C) person specification D) job Answer: D 17) A systematic process of identifying and describing the important aspects of a job and the characteristic a worker needs to perform the job well is a A) legal audit B) job analysis C) bona fide occupational qualification D) job specification Answer: B 18) A job analysis A) establishes hiring quotas for different protected groups B) ensures that equal numbers of all protected groups are in a firm's workforce C) determines a job's entry requirements D) is generated by an affirmative action plan Answer: C 19) A job analysis that produces a valid selection system identifies characteristics in candidates that A) can be easily replaced B) are not easily learned on the job C) are easily manipulated D) can ensure efficiency and low cost at the same time Answer: B 20) If the job of a loader exists to load packages on delivery trucks, the ability to safely lift and load packages onto a truck is a(n) A) job description B) desirable criteria C) job grade D) essential function Answer: D Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 21) One of the components of job-worker match is matching A) current and future job tasks and responsibilities with market pay levels B) current and future job tasks and responsibilities with worker needs, motivations, and values C) current and future job tasks and responsibilities with worker competencies D) current and future job tasks and responsibilities with worker availability in the job market Answer: C 22) A summary of the characteristics of someone able to perform the job well is a A) job requisition B) job analysis C) job description D) person specification Answer: D 23) Job candidate characteristics that are critical to the adequate performance of a new hire are called A) tangential elements B) essential criteria C) desirable criteria D) trainable criteria Answer: B 24) The job analysis technique that identifies behaviors that lead to extremely effective or extremely ineffective job performance is A) task inventory method B) job elements method C) critical incidents method D) structured interview method Answer: C 25) A job analysis tool used to identify the behaviors that differentiate extremely effective from ineffective job performance is A) the PAQ B) O*NET C) critical incidents D) job rewards analysis Answer: C 26) The job analysis method that uses expert brainstorming sessions to identify the characteristics of successful workers is the A) task inventory method B) job elements method C) critical incidents method D) structured interview method Answer: B Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 27) Alex and Jane are the best economists that FlexMoney Inc., a consulting firm, has However, FlexMoney is in urgent need to hire more economists and Alex and Jane are told to come up with all the criteria that they think will influence the ability to succeed in this field This should give the higher management a good idea of the nature of the job and the kind of people they should be looking to hire Which job analysis method is being used by FlexMoney? A) task inventory method B) job elements method C) critical incidents method D) position Analysis Questionnaire method Answer: B 28) Which of the following are advantages of using structured questionnaires for job analysis? A) speed and low reading level B) standardization and low reading level C) standardization and the ability to capture unique aspects of the job D) speed and low cost Answer: D 29) Which of the following is a disadvantage of using the task inventory job analysis method? A) inability to distinguish superior from average workers B) lack of objectivity C) lack the ability to fit unique needs of the organization D) relatively small amount of data is collected Answer: A Diff: Page Ref: 92 Skill: Concept Objective: 30) Which of the following arguments about job analysis is most effective in order to gain the support of top managers? A) Multiple approaches to job analysis can be combined to address the limitations of any single approach B) The process will help identify employee characteristics that will augment the firm's business strategy and increase the company's return on its staffing investment C) It is not uncommon for the job experts doing the analysis to try to color the job analyst's interpretation of the job to suit their personal goals and needs D) By adequately planning and preparing for the job analysis, the results are likely to be more accurate and useful, and the job analysis should take less time and effort Answer: B 31) When the main job duties are established, a(n) job analysis would be required A) inductive B) deductive C) reactive D) idiosyncratic Answer: B Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 32) Phoebe Johnson is a senior HR executive at CarMakers Corp She has been informed that the company needs to five hire line workers for their Kingston plant Phoebe decides to go down to the plant to get a better idea of the work She speaks to the line workers there and gets firsthand information about the important aspects of the job involved Phoebe is using the method to collect information A) job family description B) entry examination C) job profiling D) desk audit Answer: D 33) The first step in conducting a job analysis is to A) get the support of top management B) communicate the purpose of the job analysis to the job experts C) collect critical incidents D) write the job description and person specification Answer: A 34) A job task is a(n) A) observable unit of work with a beginning and an end B) set of related tasks that are repeated on the job C) set of KSAOs D) employee characteristic related to job performance Answer: A 35) In staffing, O*NET is used for A) background job analysis information B) legal research C) job rewards analyses D) identifying a firm's best business strategy Answer: A 36) Which of the following is contained in a task statement? A) the type of people required for the job B) how to recruit for the given job specifications C) the physical working conditions of the job D) identifying the changes anticipated for the position Answer: C Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 37) In analyzing a job of a stenographer that is to be advertized as a vacancy, an employer found that the for the job was rapid typing skills A) bona fide occupational qualification B) employee value proposition C) desirable criteria D) job grade Answer: A 38) When Mary's Macaroons conducted a on its customer service positions, it found that 35% of the customer service employee's time was being spent on administrative duties, not focusing on customer service A) job analysis B) value chain analysis C) job rewards analysis D) competency analysis Answer: A 39) are more broadly defined components of a successful worker's repertoire of behavior needed to the job well A) Talents B) Competencies C) Skills D) Abilities Answer: B 40) The balance between the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards an employee receives by working for a particular employer in return for their job performance is the A) employee value proposition B) job's total rewards C) job's total compensation package D) work-life balance Answer: A 41) The degree to which the composition of a reward package matches the needs and preferences of applicants or employees is the package's A) amount B) differential C) stability D) mix Answer: D Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 42) Dana works as a financial consultant at a start-up company called MoneyCare While some of her friends earn more than she does working for similar positions in other companies, Dana finds her work far more interesting and challenging than what her friends As MoneyCare is a small organization, Dana has a lot of responsibilities and believes that she is actually learning far more on the job than she thought she would Which of the following statements is true about Dana? A) She thinks total rewards from her job are low B) She finds the intrinsic rewards from this job very satisfying C) She thinks the extrinsic rewards from this job are very high D) The extrinsic rewards account for the bulk of the total rewards she gets from this job Answer: B 43) General Stores Inc., a chain of retail stores short-listed four candidates for the two vacant positions of store manager They were particularly keen on Mark Evans, who had an excellent background and impressive interpersonal skills To lure Mark in, they offered him an extremely lucrative package that he was unlikely to get anywhere else They also hired Doug Pyers for the other vacancy, although Mark got a better deal than Doug In spite of this, General Stores was unable to retain Mark for more than a few months Which of the following, if true, could explain this apparent discrepancy? A) Mark is more concerned with the extrinsic aspects of a job than anything else B) The company did not accurately gauge Mark's need for intrinsic rewards C) Average salaries in the industry matched the remuneration Doug received D) Doug was unhappy about the inequity in pay that existed between him and his colleague, Mark Answer: B 44) Cybernetic Incorporated is well known for the of the rewards it presents to its employees For example: employees are allowed to dress casually on all days of the workweek, have the option of flexible work schedules, and can bring their dogs to work with them A) magnitude B) mix C) differential D) distinctiveness Answer: D 45) Which of the following types of workers would most value the reward of having different tasks to every day? A) workers who desire career advancement B) workers who value being rewarded for individual contribution C) workers who value making individual contributions D) workers who are seeking skill development Answer: D Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 46) helps a company tailor its recruiting message to appeal to the needs, values, and motivations of targeted potential applicants A) A task inventory B) Competency analysis C) Job rewards analysis D) Job elements analysis Answer: C 47) Define "job description" and "person specification" and describe how they are used Answer: A job description is a written description of the duties and responsibilities of a job A person specification summarizes the characteristics of someone able to perform the job well Based on the job description, the person specification profiles the personal skills, qualifications, abilities, and experiences the organization needs to evaluate in job candidates during the recruitment and selection process Diff: Page Ref: 89 Skill: Concept Objective: 48) Compare and contrast three different job analysis methods on the basis of their advantages and disadvantages Answer: The critical incidents job analysis method uses subject matter experts to provide examples of good and poor performance incidents on the target job This process helps to identify particularly effective or ineffective behaviors, but misses the day-to-day job requirements, requires a lot of time and resources, and can be difficult to use The job elements job analytic technique asks a panel of job experts to identify and rate the worker characteristics that influence success in the job Although the process can be difficult to explain, it is efficient, relatively fast, and results in organized documentation of the job and the worker The structured interview job analytic technique requires interviewing job experts about the job and required worker characteristics Although the interviews can be fast, analyzing the information generated can require a professional to minimize bias Diff: Page Ref: 91-92 Skill: Synthesis Objective: AACSB: Analytic skills 49) Construct a scenario where a firm links core competencies, values, and experiences to job descriptions and staffing practices Answer: Student answers may vary However, a good example of linking core competencies, values, and experiences to job descriptions and staffing practices is Dell Computer Corporation Dell believes that although it can teach its new executives the nuances of the computer industry, it cannot teach them how to be effective in Dell's dynamic environment After reviewing the performance ratings and compensation levels of Dell vice presidents and directors hired over a three-year period, Dell learned who had been successful, and why Interviewing the superiors of those executives who had left the company or who had not advanced also provided insights into Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall 50) What is a job rewards job analysis and how is it used in staffing? Answer: A job rewards analysis is a job analysis technique that analyzes the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of a job Intrinsic rewards can include the satisfaction of meeting personal goals, continuous learning, and doing meaningful work Extrinsic rewards include base pay, bonuses, and benefits Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards together comprise the total rewards offered by a firm The rewards that are identified can be used in recruitment and candidate assessment to match worker motivations to the rewards offered by the job, and also to improve the recruitment process Understanding the rewards a job offers can be a strategic recruiting tool If a recruiter learns what motivates a job candidate, she or he can identify job rewards that make the job even more appealing to the candidate For example, a job candidate motivated by money can be told extensively about the company's pay-for-performance system and a job candidate motivated by developing his or her skills can be told more about the company's training, development, and continuing education programs Diff: Page Ref: 107 Skill: Concept Objective: 51) Define the three criteria for employee value propositions: magnitude, mix, and distinctiveness Answer: Magnitude refers to a reward package that is neither too small nor too large in economic terms Investing too little in a reward package risks offending applicants, discouraging them from applying or accepting job offers, and being noncompetitive Spending too much on rewards can negatively impact the firm's financial stability, and hurt investor's return on their investment in the firm Mix refers to the composition of the reward package matching the needs and preferences of applicants or employees Offering stock options that vest in five years to a young, mobile workforce that tends to turn over every 3-4 years, or free daycare to an older workforce may not be consistent with workers' needs and preferences Distinctiveness refers to the uniqueness of a reward package Rewards with no special appeal and that not set the organization apart as distinctive not present a compelling value proposition Some Internet start-up firms in the 1990s created distinctive intrinsic rewards by allowing employees to bring their dogs to work and to dress casually Diff: Page Ref: 107-108 Skill: Concept Objective: Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc Publishing as Prentice Hall ... its staffing investment C) It is not uncommon for the job experts doing the analysis to try to color the job analyst's interpretation of the job to suit their personal goals and needs D) By adequately... job descriptions and staffing practices Answer: Student answers may vary However, a good example of linking core competencies, values, and experiences to job descriptions and staffing practices... the total rewards offered by a firm The rewards that are identified can be used in recruitment and candidate assessment to match worker motivations to the rewards offered by the job, and also to