Exam 9: Motivating, Satisfying, and Leading Employees

What is the Hawthorne effect?

Managers who believe in Theory Y are more likely to have satisfied and motivated employees.

Patricia and Gita were debating the meaning of the term "psychological contract." Patricia would be correct if her meaning encompassed the level of anxiety each employee displays when working. the contract signed when taking a stress leave. the set of expectations held by an employee concerning what he or she will contribute to an organization and what the organization will provide for the employee in return. the satisfaction of each employee with regard to their paycheque. the emotional role each employee plays in relation to other employees.

The Executive Committee at Oak Meteors made the following statement: "We want all of our business developers to be outstanding. For these reasons, we have started the "excellence club," whose membership is limited to those who place in the top ten percent in terms of the dollar value of the deals they complete. The annual goals of each business developer include membership in this club. We also believe in continuous improvement. To meet their annual goals, the business developers also must generate more dollars in sales than they did last year. In order to keep the business developers focused, they have no other annual goals." Suppose that Oak Meteors institutes a "Super Bonus" program that provides a large cash award for the business developer with the greatest year-to-year increase in revenue. A manager claims that this would encourage business developers to do poorly in one year in order to make it easier to do much better in the subsequent year. All of the following would help address this concern except restricting eligibility for the "Super Bonus" program to those who achieved their annual goals in the previous year. changing the "Super Bonus" so that it is awarded only to those who have increased their revenue by a substantial percentage. offering the "Super Bonus" for the current year's performance and then never offering it again. including a review panel empowered to disallow the "Super Bonus" for those who have abused the process. disqualifying all business developers who have earned a negative performance review within the last three years.

Which is the best illustration of a Theory X manager? Believes that people's social and esteem needs must be met by the organization Believes that people are naturally energetic, responsible, and interested in being productive Believes that people are naturally irresponsible, uncooperative, and must be threatened in order to be productive Has a high concern for production and an equally high concern for people Believes that people want to balance inputs and output

In exercising strategic leadership, what is a leader most likely to do? Focus on company efficiency Focus on company profitability Align the company with its environment Avoid environmental impact on the firm It is not possible to say with the information given.

What are some of the potential benefits of flextime?

The situational (contingency) approach to managing states that a manager should always have a backup plan (a contingent plan) just in case the first plan doesn't work.

Mary's boss withholds positive consequences when Mary exhibits undesirable behaviours. This is an example of the omission strategy of reinforcement.

What was the goal of the behavioural approach to leadership?

The fundamental assumption of equity theory is that workers prefer a workplace where all employees are paid equally.

Tim Raitt says: "We all agree that effective leadership is important, but that doesn't tell us how to make sure that the people we put in leadership positions are actually leaders. In my view, the most effective way to accomplish this goal is to identify the characteristics of effective leaders and make sure that the people in leadership positions have those qualities." Bonnie Haffior responds by saying: "You're on the right track, but effective leadership is less an issue of the characteristics that effective leaders have and more of an issue of what effective leaders do. If we can learn the most effective leadership behaviors, then we can identify future leaders and improve the performance of those currently in leadership positions." J. C. Kahn-Tinn chimes in: "Your theories would be wonderful if they worked, but in reality they don't. People who are effective leaders in one context can be ineffective in another. Leadership approaches are not simply right or wrong. The most effective approach is to consider the context of the situation and then identify the leadership approach that is most appropriate to that situation." Based on the descriptions above, Tim Raitt and J. C. Kahn-Tinn would most likely disagree about the answer to which of the following questions? Is effective leadership essential for strong business performance? Are there any characteristics that many effective leaders have in common? Could having a personality type be an advantage in one leadership context and a disadvantage in another? What is the most appropriate definition of "effective leadership"? What percentage of leaders are effective leaders?

Sam manages a team of employees and wants to motivate them. Which of the following, if true, would provide the BEST reason for thinking that Sam operates under Theory X of employee motivation? Sam decides to arrange private conferences individually with his employees to gauge their sources of dissatisfaction. Sam decides to give all of his employees a raise in order to boost their morale. Sam decides to initiate a system of stricter rules and work policies in order to increase his team's productivity. Sam assumes that something must be wrong with the conditions under which his employees work. Sam decides to survey his employees to determine what it would take to make them work more productively.

In a typical flextime schedule there are hours which the employee must be on the job and the remaining hours are up to the employee to select.

Recent corporate scandals have led to more attention being given to virtual leadership. ethical leadership. strategic leadership. charismatic leadership. participative management.

A company is convinced of the benefits of exercise for its workers. Healthy employees take fewer sick days and tend to be more focused on their job. In addition, exercise enhances the workers' positive moods. The company is so persuaded of the value of exercise that it has adopted a new policy: Moving forward, all workers will be allowed to exercise during the work day for up to three hours per week. The reasoning behind the company's exercise policy assumes which of the following? Exercise is the most effective way to improve the moods of the workers. The exercise that the workers would engage in will be more strenuous than the exercise they would do on their own. Most employees will not exercise more unless they are forced to do so. Adopting the policy will not require the company to purchase any special equipment or reallocate any office space. The employees who would exercise during the work day are not getting enough exercise.

What term did Douglas McGregor use to describe management assumptions that workers are naturally energetic, growth-oriented, self-motivated, and interested in being productive? __________

At Western Airlines, flight attendants now have been given more control over their own scheduling. This is an example of an emphasis on company loyalty. job redesign. participative decision making. management by objectives. job enrichment.

What are the key features of the psychological contract?

What are performance behaviours?