Exam 12: Section 1: Managing Individuals and a Diverse Work Force

What practical steps can a manager take to motivate employees to increase their effort?

The basic components of equity theory are outcomes, instrumentality, and valence.

A concert pianist had always wanted to play jazz and was elated when he got the opportunity to play piano with a group of talented New Orleans jazz musicians. He experienced a(n) ____________ reward.

__________is the extent to which goals are detailed, exact, and unambiguous.

___________is the perceived degree to which outcomes and rewards are fairly distributed or allocated.

In a(n)___________ reinforcement schedule, consequences follow a behavior after different times, some shorter and some longer, that vary around a specified average time.

According to a survey done on teaching evaluations, engineering students consider the improvement of teaching to be the most important outcome of the evaluation process. In terms of the expectancy theory, the likelihood that students feel their inputs on the evaluations will lead directly to improved instruction is called ___________.

A(n)___________ is the set of rules regarding reinforcement contingencies such as which behaviors will be reinforced, which consequences will follow those behaviors, and the schedule by which those consequences will be delivered.

Reinforcement theory says behavior is a function of___________ .

__________is the extent to which people consciously understand and agree to goals.

Driving in heavy traffic makes Hal very anxious and sometimes angry. He leaves home earlier than usual one morning and doesn't run into heavy traffic. He leaves home earlier again the next morning, and again he avoids heavy traffic. His behavior of leaving home earlier is strengthened by the consequence of the avoidance of heavy traffic. What kind of reinforcement has occurred in this example?

Currently the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) pays Olympic athletes $25,000 for each gold medal, $15,000 for a silver medal, and $10,000 for a bronze medal. Since 1960, the Paralympics for disabled athletes has been an integral part of the Olympic Games, yet the USOC pays disabled athletes only 10 percent of what the Olympic athletes are paid, and Paralympic athletes are not allowed to participate in opening ceremonies. For disabled athletes who believe their efforts will not be fairly rewarded, the motivation to win a Paralympics medal would have a(n)___________ .

What is the relationship between reinforcement and reinforcement theory? Describe how reinforcement contingencies and schedules of reinforcement affect behavior.

Traffic accidents, most of which are caused by excessive speed, cost Australia $15 billion per year. The Australian government is thinking of using cameras to catch speeders. Government officials plan to put cameras at various locations for four weeks and then the cameras will be moved. Plans are to put the cameras back to their original location every fourth month. What kind of reinforcement schedule will be used?

According to management expert Bill Roche, results from goal setting can virtually be guaranteed, but only if "you have first won the hearts and minds of your workers. When they are on board with the goal-they agree that it is important and can be done-you really will get dramatic improvement." Roche is describing__________ .

Because workplace injuries cost U.S. businesses $1 billion every week, increased safety compliance needs to become a practice, not just a theory. The goal of developing safety consciousness within the workforce requires continuous reinforcement at every organizational level. This means___________ .

When it comes to reinforcing behavior in organizational settings, a(n) ___________produce weaker results than the other types of reinforcement schedules.

The four kinds of reinforcement contingencies are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction.

In a(n) ___________reinforcement schedule, consequences are delivered following a specific number of behaviors.

According to a survey done on teaching evaluations, students' motivation to participate in teaching evaluations is impacted significantly by their expectation that they will be able to provide meaningful feedback. In other words, if they are going to expend the thought and effort to fill out evaluation forms, (1) Is the form designed to gather meaningful information? and (2) Do the students have enough information to form a meaningful opinion about the instruction? In terms of expectancy theory, students are concerned with ___________, or whether it is worth their efforts.