Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) Practice Exam

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Study for the HRCI Exam. Enhance HR knowledge with multiple choice questions and explanations. Prepare effectively for your certification!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.


Which job characteristics contribute most to a sense of employee ownership over outcomes?

  1. Task significance and autonomy

  2. Autonomy and feedback

  3. Skill variety and task identity

  4. Task significance and feedback

The correct answer is: Autonomy and feedback

The choice of autonomy and feedback is strongly linked to fostering a sense of employee ownership over outcomes. Autonomy provides employees with the freedom and discretion to make decisions about their work, which enhances their investment in the tasks they perform. When employees have control over how they do their jobs, they are more likely to feel responsible for the results, leading to a deeper sense of ownership. Feedback, on the other hand, is crucial for employees to understand the impact of their work. It helps them see the outcomes of their efforts, making them aware of their contributions to the organization. When employees receive regular and constructive feedback, they can gauge their performance and work towards improving it, reinforcing their commitment and sense of ownership. In contrast, while task significance and task identity are important for employee motivation and job satisfaction, they do not directly influence the sense of ownership as strongly as autonomy and feedback do. Skill variety is beneficial for keeping employees engaged, but without the ability to make choices (autonomy) and understanding how their work impacts the organization (feedback), employees are less likely to feel ownership of their results.