Deck 4: Motivation: Concepts and Applications

Question 1

Allied General Hospital employs many individuals and has decided to try to increase motivation through job redesign and flexible scheduling. You have been hired as a consultant to help them design and implement the programs.

-Members of the nighttime cleaning staff are generally low skilled and would probably be motivated by___________ .

A) job enrichment
B) job enlargement
C) flexible work hours
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Answer 1

all of the above

Question 2

You are a new employee with Acme, Inc. Your supervisor has explained your job to you and has indicated that you will have a great deal of control over your job once you become proficient at it. He compliments your history of accepting responsibility and suggests that you are to feel free to offer constructive criticism about the way that your job is structured.

-Your supervisor seems to possess ___________assumptions.

A) Theory Y
B) Theory T
C) Theory W
D) Theory X
E) Theory V

Answer 2

Theory Y

Question 3

Which one of the following is not one of the guidelines for enriching jobs?

A) establish client relationships
B) form job redesign units
C) open feedback channels
D) expand jobs vertically
E) combine tasks

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In equity theory, individuals assess the___________ .

A) quantity-quality trade-off
B) cost-benefit ratio
C) outcome-input ratio
D) pareto efficient outcome
E) efficiency-effectiveness trade-off

Question 5

Researchers report that which of the following was considered by employees to be the most powerful workplace motivator?

A) opportunity for advancement
B) money
C) autonomy
D) vacation time
E) recognition

Question 6

Allied General Hospital employs many individuals and has decided to try to increase motivation through job redesign and flexible scheduling. You have been hired as a consultant to help them design and implement the programs.
You are looking at flextime and realize that it will probably work least well for which of the following jobs?

A) administrative workers
B) equipment maintenance staff
C) floor nurses
D) insurance billers
E) IT personnel

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of an MBO objective?

A) Train employees to use new invoicing software.
B) Improve customer service.
C) Modernize outdated equipment.
D) Increase employee satisfaction.
E) Decrease payroll costs by 6%.

Question 8

How would a Theory X manager view employees?

A) viewing work as a normal daily activity
B) not motivated by rewards
C) needing to be coerced to achieve goals
D) seeking responsibility
E) exercising self control

Question 9

A company redesigns the jobs of the workers in accounts receivables, so that instead of simply billing customers, they will also be responsible for following up on non-payment, liaising between customers and the departments billing them, and other related tasks. What term would best be used to describe these changes?

A) job sharing
B) job rotation
C) job enlargement
D) job enrichment
E) flextime

Question 10

What is the term used for the situation where employees are allowed to pick and choose from among a menu of benefit options?

A) flextime
B) flexible pay
C) flexible benefits
D) benefit menu options
E) benefit participation

Question 11

You graduated from college two years ago and began working at Gulf Electronics. You have received good performance evaluations and a raise. You just found out that a recent college graduate with no experience has been hired at a higher salary than you are now making.

-Your referent comparison for equity theory is termed ___________.

A) other-inside
B) other-outside
C) inside-outside
D) self-outside
E) self-inside

Question 12

In the job characteristics model (JCM), what three core job dimensions combine to create meaningful work?

A) feedback, task identity, and task significance
B) skill variety, autonomy, and feedback
C) skill variety, autonomy, and task significance
D) skill variety, task identity, and task significance
E) autonomy, task identity, and feedback

Question 13

The degree to which an individual believes that performing at a particular level will generate a desired outcome is defined by expectancy theory as what kind of relationship?

A) agent-actor
B) performance-reward
C) effort-performance
D) effort-satisfaction
E) reward-personal goal

Question 14

According to the goal-setting theory of motivation, highest performance is reached when goals are set to which level?

A) impossible but inspirational
B) easily attained
C) slightly beyond a person's actual potential
D) difficult but attainable
E) only marginally challenging

Question 15

Which of the following is not one of the core job dimensions in the job characteristics model (JCM)?

A) skill variety
B) task significance
C) autonomy
D) status
E) feedback

Question 16

McClelland's theory of needs concentrates on which three needs?

A) achievement, realization, and acceptance
B) affiliation, control, and realization
C) power, acceptance, and confirmation
D) achievement, power, and affiliation
E) control, status, and relationships

Question 17

The issue of whether or not intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are independent is considered in which theory?

A) reinforcement
B) equity
C) two-factor
D) cognitive evaluation
E) expectancy

Question 18

Which of the following were considered higher-order needs by Maslow?

A) safety, social, esteem
B) esteem, self-actualization
C) recognition, pay, admiration
D) social, esteem, self-actualization
E) physiological, safety, social

Question 19

Your supervisor has heard that employee involvement is important and you have been instructed to research various methods of employee involvement. You are supposed to help assist in the analysis of the probable effects of each of the programs being considered.

-A group of employees will meet regularly to discuss problems and recommend action. This group is a(n) ___________.

A) works council
B) ESOP
C) matrix team
D) quality circle
E) MBO cluster

Question 20

What is the major problem with Maslow's hierarchy of needs in organizational behavior?

A) It is almost impossible to assess how well an individual has a particular need filled.
B) It is vague as to how a workplace can satisfy higher-order needs.
C) It is difficult to apply to the workplace.
D) There is little evidence that needs are structured or operate in the way it describes.
E) Its terminology tends to alienate those to whom it is applied.

Question 21

A certain corporation ties its compensation for front-line operations managers to developing their skills in leadership, workforce development, and functional excellence. What is this sort of compensation scheme called?

A) development-based pay
B) individual merit-based pay
C) job-based pay
D) skill-based pay
E) training-based pay

Question 22

What would be the predicted result of overpaying a piece-rate worker, according to equity theory?

A) The employee will seek a higher wage.
B) Quality will increase.
C) There will be no effect.
D) Quantity will increase.
E) Quality will decrease.

Question 23

What is an advantage of bonuses over merit pay?

A) Pay levels are based on employees' skills.
B) Bonuses are paid based on a formula.
C) Employees are rewarded for recent performance.
D) Bonuses are based on an objective output.
E) Employees don't view bonuses as pay.

Question 24

What are the three key elements of motivation?

A) stimulation, progress, and achievement
B) intensity, direction, and persistence
C) reactance, congruence, and circumstance
D) awareness, effort, and outcome
E) interest, activity, and reward

Question 25

What is another term for cross-training?

A) job sharing
B) job enhancement
C) work enrichment
D) work enlargement
E) job rotation

Question 26

Jasmine is trying to gain control of her department. Although she will be greatly compensated if she achieves this aim and will gain control over many subordinates, the main reason she is pursuing this position is that she thinks she can do the job better than her predecessors and wants people to know that this is so. What need would McClelland say primarily drives Jasmine in this case?

A) the need for control
B) the need for power
C) the need for attainment
D) the need for achievement
E) the need for influence

Question 27

Cognitive evaluation theory suggests that which of the following would not serve to increase an employee's motivation?

A) support employee development
B) praise good performance
C) make pay not contingent on performance
D) make the work interesting
E) base pay on performance

Question 28

Hannah is an office worker who processes health insurance forms. She has worked at her present job for three years. Initially she was criticized by her supervisor for sloppy work, but in the months after that improved considerably. Now she consistently processes her forms without errors and above quota. However she has found her supervisor has not responded to the extra effort she puts in, giving her no praise and no financial reward. Hannah will most likely perceive that there is a problem in which of the following relationships?

A) rewards-personal goals
B) performance-achievement
C) performance-reward
D) rewards-effort
E) effort-performance

Question 29

Why are flexible benefit plans consistent with expectancy theory's thesis?

A) Organizational rewards should be linked to each individual employee's goals.
B) They make employment at firms providing such programs more attractive.
C) They provide a suite of tangible rewards that can be offered as motivation.
D) They allow organizations to minimize costs associated with benefits.
E) The motivation to gain extra benefits promotes productivity.

Question 30

Which of the following theories was proposed by Douglas McGregor?

A) ERG theory
B) hierarchy of needs theory
C) expectancy theory
D) Theories X and Y
E) two-factor theory

Question 31

Motivation is best defined as a process that___________ .

A) results in a level of effort
B) intensifies an individual's efforts
C) stabilizes over time
D) meets an individual's needs
E) accounts for an individual's efforts toward attaining a goal

Question 32

What term is used for work groups of employees and supervisors who meet regularly to discuss their quality problems and recommend solutions?

A) mixed-motive decision teams
B) quality circles
C) cooperative groups
D) evaluation teams
E) department teams

Question 33

Which of the following is not one of the most widely used variable-pay programs?

A) flat pay
B) profit sharing plans
C) merit-based pay
D) employee stock ownership
E) piece-rate wages

Question 34

Who proposed a two-factor theory?

A) McClelland
B) Alderfer
C) Surber
D) Herzberg
E) Maslow

Question 35

Your supervisor has heard that employee involvement is important and you have been instructed to research various methods of employee involvement. You are supposed to help assist in the analysis of the probable effects of each of the programs being considered.

-You have decided to let employees select a small group to represent them and work with management. This is termed ___________.

A) quality circles
B) an AESOP
C) participative management
D) an ESOP
E) representative participation

Question 36

Who developed expectancy theory?

A) Maslow
B) Vroom
C) McClelland
D) Sondak
E) House

Question 37

Who developed ERG theory?

A) Dieckmann
B) Alderfer
C) McClelland
D) Maslow
E) Ouchi

Question 38

Which of the following are all forms of variable-pay programs?

A) wage incentive plans, flextime, piece-rate
B) wage rate increases, bonuses, flextime
C) retirement benefits, extended vacations, wage incentive plans
D) piece-rate, wage incentive plans, gainsharing
E) profit-sharing, lump-sum bonuses, extended vacations

Question 39

What is the name for an incentive plan where improvements in group productivity determine the total amount of money that is allocated?

A) employee ownership
B) ESOP
C) piece rates
D) gainsharing
E) profit-sharing

Question 40

Which level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs deals with satisfying one's hunger, thirst, and need for shelter?

A) esteem
B) safety
C) psychological
D) physiological
E) social

Question 41

You are a new employee with Acme, Inc. Your supervisor has explained your job to you and has indicated that you will have a great deal of control over your job once you become proficient at it. He compliments your history of accepting responsibility and suggests that you are to feel free to offer constructive criticism about the way that your job is structured.
Which of the following is something you would not expect your supervisor to believe?

A) Workers are generally reliable.
B) The ability to make innovative decisions is not necessarily the sole province of managers.
C) Employees view work as natural.
D) The average person will seek responsibility.
E) Workers place security above most other factors.

Question 42

Your fellow employees have a terrible work situation. They work in an old, run-down building with a very old air conditioning system. The work itself is tedious and the supervisor is rarely available and only shows up to tell people off for production shortfalls. Nobody has received a promotion in two years. The work is boring, repetitious, and unrewarding. You have decided to try to apply Herzberg's two-factor theory.
Which of the following statements would likely be true?

A) Fixing the conditions that make the employees dissatisfied will not make them satisfied.
B) The major reason for dissatisfaction is probably the nature of the work itself.
C) When the working conditions are improved, employees will be satisfied.
D) Employees are dissatisfied due to lack of recognition.
E) The relationship with the supervisor is a motivation factor.

Question 43

How is the motivational potential score (MPS) calculated?

A) 3(skill variety + task identity + task significance) + autonomy + feedback
B) skill variety x task identity x task significance + autonomy + feedback
C) (skill variety + task identity + task significance)/3 x autonomy x feedback
D) (skill variety + task identity + task significance + autonomy + feedback)/5
E) skill variety x task identity x task significance x autonomy x feedback

Question 44

Maslow's hierarchy of needs arranges those needs in which of the following orders?

A) safety, physiological, social, esteem, and self-actualization
B) physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization
C) physiological, social, safety, esteem, and self-actualization
D) safety, physiological, esteem, social, and self-actualization
E) physiological, esteem, safety, social, and self-actualization

Question 45

The underlying logic of employee involvement is that by involving workers and increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become all of the following except more___________ .

A) competent
B) committed
C) productive
D) satisfied
E) motivated

Question 46

You are a new employee with Acme, Inc. Your supervisor has explained your job to you and has indicated that you will have a great deal of control over your job once you become proficient at it. He compliments your history of accepting responsibility and suggests that you are to feel free to offer constructive criticism about the way that your job is structured.
Which of the following is something you would not expect your supervisor to do?

A) assume that you will be internally motivated
B) allow you freedom to do your job as you believe it should be done
C) assume that you want to do your job
D) empower you to take responsibility
E) monitor your work closely for an opportunity to praise you for work well done

Question 47

What is the main strength of job rotation?

A) It eliminates boredom on the job.
B) It increases motivation.
C) It decreases supervisor workload.
D) It decreases training costs
E) It increases productivity.

Question 48

When people perceive an imbalance in their outcome-input ratio relative to others,___________ .

A) expectancy theory is violated
B) reinforcement theory is imbalanced
C) distributive justice is questioned
D) equity tension is created
E) they seek to move to another position of authority

Question 49

A Theory Y manager would assume that employees would___________ .

A) need to be controlled
B) dislike work
C) attempt to avoid work
D) avoid responsibility
E) exercise self direction

Question 50

Job enrichment increases the degree to which the worker controls the ___________.

A) evaluation of his or her peers
B) horizontal integration of his or her tasks
C) planning, execution, and evaluation of his or her work
D) feedback that a worker receives from his or her supervisor and peers
E) planning, execution, and evaluation of company plans

Question 51

What is the goal of representative participation?

A) to help workers' self-esteem
B) to provide greater motivation and productivity
C) to redistribute power within the organization
D) for workers to own the firms where they work
E) to empower high level managers

Question 52

Which of the following is one advantage of variable-pay plans to management?

A) They turn low producers into high producers.
B) They turn lower performance into fewer employees.
C) They turn slow employees into fast employees.
D) They turn high fixed costs into low fixed costs.
E) They turn fixed labor costs into variable labor costs.

Question 53

According to the job characteristics model, which of the following results in the maximum internal rewards for an individual?

A) when they initiate a program that enables them to work with a variety of like-minded colleagues
B) when they are singled out for praise for successfully completing an arduous task
C) when they learn that they personally have performed well on a task that they care about
D) when their training is realized and their expectations are met
E) when they are given tangible rewards

Question 54

What are modular benefit plans?

A) a scheme designed for single employees with no dependents
B) essential benefits and a menu-like selection of other benefits
C) they employees to set aside funds up to the dollar amount offered in the plan to pay for services
D) pre-designed packages of benefits
E) a scheme designed for employees with families

Question 55

What sort of goals does Management by Objectives (MBO) emphasize?

A) inspirational, teachable, and creative
B) achievable, controllable, and profitable
C) tangible, verifiable, and measurable
D) hierarchical, attainable, and effective
E) challenging, emotional, and constructive

Question 56

Which one of the following is not a characteristic of ERG theory?

A) It proposes three levels of needs: existence, relatedness, and growth.
B) More than one level of needs may serve as motivators at the same time.
C) It involves a frustration-regression process.
D) It is an extension and improvement of Maslow's theory.
E) The existence needs must be satisfied before the relatedness needs become important.

Question 57

Research on employee stock ownership programs indicates that they are clearly successful in doing which of the following?

A) reducing salaries
B) reducing stress
C) increasing productivity
D) increasing employee satisfaction
E) increasing employee expectations

Question 58

A manager introduces participative management in an effort to boost morale and productivity. If he wants to make sure that it has as great a chance of success as possible he should ensure all of the following except .

A) there is representative participation through work councils and board representatives
B) the employees must be trusted by the manager
C) the issues decided upon must be relevant to the employees
D) the manager must be trusted by the employees
E) the employees must be informed and competent enough to make decisions

Question 59

Which of the following is not a comparison an employee can use in equity theory?

A) self-goal
B) self-inside
C) other-inside
D) other-outside
E) self-outside

Question 60

Lara only makes minimum wage, but she loves her job. Her supervisor regularly compliments her and she has been chosen employee of the month twice this year. Which of the following is Lara's attitude most likely a function of?

A) reactance
B) goal setting
C) recognition
D) motivation
E) involvement

Question 61

How do proponents of reinforcement theory view behavior?

A) as a function of one's power need
B) as a product of heredity
C) as a reflection of the inner state of the individual
D) as environmentally caused
E) as the result of a cognitive process

Question 62

What action would probably most motivate the employees?

A) having the supervisor "hang around" more
B) relying more on punishment for poor performance
C) fixing the air conditioning system
D) improving in working conditions
E) receiving recognition for a job well done

Question 63

Who sets MBO objectives?

A) they are set jointly by superior and subordinate
B) each working division in cooperation with management
C) the boss
D) the boss and immediate subordinates
E) the employees performing the task in question

Question 64

Which of the following is not true about the two-factor theory?

A) Intrinsic factors are motivators.
B) A job becomes satisfying when the dissatisfying characteristics are removed.
C) Working conditions are characterized as hygiene factors.
D) Hygiene factors are demotivators.
E) Responsibility is a satisfier.

Question 65

Which of the following is not true?

A) Theory X aligns with the autocratic management style.
B) Implementing decisions can help satisfy an employee's needs for achievement.
C) Employee involvement programs provide intrinsic motivation.
D) Employee involvement is incompatible with ERG theory.
E) Theory Y aligns with the participative management style.

Question 66

Your fellow employees have a terrible work situation. They work in an old, run-down building with a very old air conditioning system. The work itself is tedious and the supervisor is rarely available and only shows up to tell people off for production shortfalls. Nobody has received a promotion in two years. The work is boring, repetitious, and unrewarding. You have decided to try to apply Herzberg's two-factor theory.
You decide that your first job should be to remedy the hygiene factors. Which are they?

A) working conditions
B) intrinsic rewards
C) advancement
D) recognition
E) reprimands

Question 67

What is the distinct characteristic common to all participative management programs?

A) empowerment
B) productivity enhancement
C) quality awareness
D) joint decision making
E) autonomy

Question 68

What is the major failure of reinforcement theory in explaining changes in behavior?

A) It cannot adequately describe the original behavior.
B) It ignores the effect of rewards and punishments upon behavior.
C) Most behavior is in fact environmentally caused.
D) It originated in the studies of the responses of animals.
E) It does not recognize the effect of feelings, attitudes, and other cognitive variables.

Question 69

Which of the following is an example of a piece-rate plan?

A) commission
B) time and a half for overtime
C) productivity bonus
D) US$2 for each unit produced
E) none of the above

Question 70

Which of the following is a job that does not lend itself to telecommuting?

A) an attorney who spends most of her time researching on the computer
B) a writer of copy for an advertising firm
C) a product support specialist who fields calls from irate customers
D) a telemarketer who uses the phone to contact clients
E) a car salesman who demonstrates the features of a new model of car

Question 71

Management by Objectives (MBO) emphasizes translating overall organizational objectives into___________ .

A) capital gains
B) specific objectives for organizational units and individual members
C) operational units
D) personal gain
E) terms that the individual worker can understand and accept

Question 72

Contemporary research on equity theory focuses on ___________justice.

A) organizational
B) interpersonal
C) distributive
D) interactional
E) procedural

Question 73

Your supervisor has heard that employee involvement is important and you have been instructed to research various methods of employee involvement. You are supposed to help assist in the analysis of the probable effects of each of the programs being considered.
Your supervisor proposes that participative management will solve your productivity, motivation, and job performance problems. Which of the following is not a warning you should give him about this approach?

A) Employees must have competence and knowledge if they are to make a useful contribution.
B) Research shows it has only a modest influence on all these variables.
C) Employees will only be motivated by decisions on issues in relevant to their interests.
D) It is not a sure means for improving employee performance.
E) It will provide intrinsic rewards for employees.

Question 74

How does McClelland define the need for affiliation?

A) desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships
B) drive to excel, to strive to succeed.
C) same as Maslow's social need
D) need to make others behave in a novel way
E) all of the above

Question 75

Beyond redesigning the nature of the work itself and involving employees in decisions, another approach to making the work environment more motivating is to alter work arrangements. Which of the following is designed to give an employee greater control of their schedule?

A) job sharing
B) telecommuting
C) job enrichment
D) flextime
E) job rotation

Question 76

Two-factor theory suggests that dissatisfaction is caused by extrinsic factors. Which of the following is an example of such a factor?

A) advancement
B) recognition
C) achievement
D) nature of the work itself
E) working conditions

Question 77

People who perceive that they are victims of interactional injustice tend to blame their immediate supervisor rather than the organization at large. Why is this?

A) Interactional injustice can only occur during face-to-face encounters.
B) Interactional injustice is most often the result of impersonal policies of the organization.
C) When people are not treated with respect they tend to retaliate against those closest to hand.
D) Interactional justice or injustice is intimately tied to the conveyer of the information.
E) Interactional injustice is in the eyes of those who perceive they are disrespected.

Question 78

Which of the following is one of the relationships proposed in expectancy theory?

A) performance-achievement relationship
B) rewards-personal goals relationship
C) satisfaction-performance relationship
D) reward-satisfaction relationship
E) effort-satisfaction relationship

Question 79

Which of the following is a form of recognition?

A) personal congratulations
B) job sharing
C) job enlargement
D) profit sharing
E) flexible benefit packages

Question 80

Which of the following is not an important issue relating to goal-setting theory?

A) defining the goal
B) feedback
C) goal difficulty
D) goal specificity
E) equity among co-workers