Watch what happens when two similar true or false questions are arranged close together. I’ll explain it in more detail in the accompanying notes when I give the answers. I’ve also selected a multiple choice question on the job characteristics model that can be tricky to answer for many students. See how you do with it.

Scientific management is the process of systematically dividing work into its smallest possible elements and standardizing work activities to achieve maximum efficiency. Is this statement true or false?

The statement in question one is true. Everything in the statement highlights features of scientific management, including the part about breaking work into its smallest possible elements. That’s essentially job specialization. OK, so you’re thinking about scientific management, job specialization, and how it contributes to maximum efficiency. Those are all good things, and at this point you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy about scientific management and maybe the fact that you got the answer right too.

According to scientific management, the level of work quality tends to increase with the level of job specialization. Is this statement true or false?

Now you head into question two. You think to yourself, “I know this.” and decide this statement is also true. Well, it isn’t true. On a good day you would have answered this question correctly. Maybe, like a lot of students you were on a certain train of thought (that scientific management is all good). Scientific management has a lot of problems associated with it. Um, seems they forgot people aren’t machines. Designing repetitive, boring, and some would say dehumanizing jobs, leads to boredom, and even resentment for some employees. Those are not conditions that are conducive to quality work being done.

All of the following are core job characteristics in the Job Characteristics Model EXCEPT:

What about the third question? There are a lot of elements associated with the job characteristics model. It’s easy to confuse the core job characteristics with critical psychological states, and the three job design practices. If you chose any answer other than “D” you need to go back to the drawing board as they say. If you answered correctly, congratulations you know your stuff. Oh, oh, is that kind of praise positive reinforcement?