1. Assume you are the manager of a fast-food restaurant. What are the outputs of your work unit? What are the activities required to produce those outputs? What are the inputs?

2. Based on Question 1, consider the cashier's job. What are the outputs, activities, and inputs for that job?

3. Consider the "job" of college student. Perform a job analysis on this job. What are the tasks required in the job? What are the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform those tasks? What environmental trends or shocks (like computers) might change the job and how would that change the skill requirements?

4. Discuss how the following trends are changing the skill requirements for managerial jobs in the United States:

(a) increasing use of computers and (b) increasing international competition.

5. Why is it important for a manager to be able to conduct a job analysis? What are the negative outcomes that would result from not understanding the jobs of those reporting to the manager?

6. What are the trade-offs between the different approaches to job design? Which approach do you think should be weighted most heavily when designing jobs?

7. For the cashier job in Question 2, which approach to job design was most influential in designing that job? In the context of the total work-flow process of the restaurant. how would you redesign the job to more heavily emphasize each of the other approaches?

Include an opening introductory paragraph, questions and answers (or answer the question in such a way that the question is understood), and closing paragraph that includes your opinion, recommendation, etc. of the assignment or topic area.