Deck 6: Applied Performance Practices

Question 1

The reward practice of ________ calculates bonuses based on a work unit's cost savings and productivity improvements.

A) stock options
B) golden handcuffs
C) profit sharing
D) gainsharing
E) commissions

Answer 1

gainsharing

Question 2

Which of the following statements regarding the meaning of money is correct?

A) The meaning of money is the same across different cultures.
B) The meaning of money is the same to men and women.
C) Money can generate a variety of emotions, some of which are negative.
D) Everyone agrees on the meaning of money.
E) Money has no symbolic value.

Answer 2

Money can generate a variety of emotions, some of which are negative.

Question 3

________ fulfills a variety of needs, influences emotions, and shapes or represents a person's self-concept.

A) Status
B) Promotions
C) Money
D) Values
E) Desires

Answer 3

Money

Question 4

The motivational effect of money is ________ was previously believed, and this effect is due more to its symbolic value than to what it can buy.

A) less than
B) greater than
C) fewer than
D) similar to what
E) inconsequential to

Question 5

Which one of the following types of rewards motivates employees to learn new skills?

A) gainsharing
B) job status
C) competency-based
D) membership/seniority
E) task performance

Question 6

Publix Super Markets distributes a portion of its annual profits to employees in the form of company stock. This reward is a type of

A) piece-rate plan.
B) gainsharing plan.
C) ESOP.
D) team-based bonus.
E) employee commission.

Question 7

Why don't organizational rewards improve motivation or performance very much?

A) Employees see a decrease in firm performance when there are rewards.
B) Employees see a lack of alignment with the organization's success.
C) Employees think their compensation is tied to the firm's prosperity.
D) Employees perceive a weak connection between their effort and the reward.
E) Employees receive increased pay reductions during prosperous times.

Question 8

Performance-based rewards have come under attack for resulting in all of the following except

A) discouraging creativity.
B) distancing management from employees.
C) distracting employees from the meaningfulness of the work itself.
D) being a quick fix while ignoring the true causes of employee behaviour or performance problems.
E) motivating performance-oriented people to join the company.

Question 9

How can companies improve the pay-performance linkage?

A) rely on few sources of information
B) apply rewards once a year
C) use rewards in small doses
D) through gainsharing and ESOPs
E) demonstrate the success of competitive strategies

Question 10

Team rewards

A) are better for employees who work in interdependent jobs.
B) are highly discouraged.
C) use competition instead of cooperation.
D) are preferred by low-collectivism cultures.
E) ignore employee preferences.

Question 11

________ occurs when the source of motivation is controlled by the individual and experienced from the activity itself.

A) Reward
B) Intrinsic motivation
C) Performance increase
D) Extrinsic motivation
E) Unexpected effect

Question 12

Rewards work best when they are valued. Which reward below would an employee most likely value?

A) a nice thank you card
B) a $10 gift card to a local grocery store
C) a wall plaque
D) a product of their choice from a list
E) an engraved paperweight

Question 13

Which of the following reward practices results in employees experiencing worse physical and emotional health?

A) commissions
B) fixed pay
C) piece-rate
D) skill-based pay
E) paid time off

Question 14

Employees need to see a line-of-sight between their performance and rewards. In other words, rewards must be

A) valued.
B) valuable.
C) relevant.
D) unintended.
E) team based.

Question 15

A significant weakness with Frederick Winslow Taylor's theory of scientific management is that it

A) fails to address the problem that highly specialized jobs can reduce employee motivation.
B) gives too much decision-making power to employees rather than management.
C) relies too much on team-work rather than individual behaviour and performance.
D) it is too abstract to be applicable to the real world.
E) has too much focus on organizational effectiveness.

Question 16

Frederick Winslow Taylor was one of the strongest advocates of

A) low levels of job specialization.
B) self-leadership.
C) job enrichment.
D) high levels of job specialization.
E) employee empowerment.

Question 17

According to Taylor, the most effective companies have

A) supervisors who oversee multiple areas.
B) detailed procedures and work practices developed by engineers.
C) employees who oversee the work of supervisors.
D) a lack of time for goal setting.
E) minimal work incentives as they are distracting.

Question 18

________ is the process of assigning tasks to a job.

A) Job design
B) Job rotation
C) Scientific management
D) The job characteristics model
E) Psychological empowerment

Question 19

The scientific management toolkit consists of all of the following except

A) employee selection.
B) training.
C) goal setting.
D) clarity on the big picture.
E) work incentives.

Question 20

Which of the following tends to occur when job specialization results in each factory employee completing a tiny part of the overall product?

A) It becomes much more difficult to reward employees for their individual or team performance.
B) Employees have more difficulty noticing quality problems with the overall output.
C) It becomes more difficult for employees to become efficient in their job.
D) Employees tend to experience higher motivation and job satisfaction.
E) Employees tend to feel much more motivated to complete their work.

Question 21

One basic tenet of job specialization is that employees perform

A) a variety of challenging tasks.
B) below their capabilities.
C) inefficiently.
D) standardized tasks.
E) unproductively.

Question 22

________ can directly contribute to a feeling of experienced responsibility.

A) Job feedback
B) Task significance
C) Autonomy
D) Task identity
E) Knowledge of results

Question 23

Job enlargement mainly increases which of the following?

A) autonomy
B) affiliation
C) job feedback
D) growth-need strength
E) skill variety

Question 24

A video journalist's job consists of operating the camera, reporting the story, and often editing the work, whereas these three tasks were traditionally performed by three people. Video journalism is an example of

A) self-leadership and job enlargement.
B) job enrichment and self-leadership.
C) job enlargement and job specialization.
D) job specialization and self-leadership.
E) job enrichment and job enlargement.

Question 25

________ is the use of different talents to complete a variety of work activities.

A) Skill variety
B) Task identity
C) Task significance
D) Autonomy
E) Job feedback

Question 26

Fred takes his work very seriously. He feels his work has direct impact on the job outcomes. He has a sense of

A) experienced meaningfulness.
B) job feedback.
C) experienced responsibility.
D) task identity.
E) knowledge of results.

Question 27

Tess is new to the team. She comes with quite the résumé of experience, yet it is from another company. She will need to interact with others to get the job done by sharing materials, information, and expertise. She will be engaging in task

A) analyzability.
B) interdependence.
C) responsibility.
D) variability.
E) autonomy.

Question 28

Johnson Inc. has introduced job rotation to the line workers. Management is hoping that they will see less injuries and improved

A) attention to detail.
B) attendance.
C) workforce flexibility.
D) communication.
E) attrition rates.

Question 29

Which of the following is a potential reason for lower task proficiency when using job rotation?

A) Lower training costs.
B) Employees are always assigned tasks that match their aptitude.
C) Employees have more time to perfect their performance for the various tasks.
D) The impact of attention residue.
E) It is easier to measure individual accountability.

Question 30

One way to increase job enrichment is through ________, which combines highly interdependent tasks into one job,

A) growth-need strength
B) client relationships
C) natural groupings
D) job rotation
E) task identity

Question 31

A job is ________ when employees are given more responsibility for scheduling, coordinating, and planning their own work.

A) enlarged
B) enriched
C) specialized
D) rotated
E) naturally grouped

Question 32

Psychological empowerment is higher in organizations that

A) require employees to trust leadership.
B) limit the amount of risk-taking.
C) provide formal training programs.
D) make resources available to a few.
E) reward those who follow the rules.

Question 33

With the right individuals, job characteristics, and organizational environment, psychological empowerment can substantially improve motivation and performance. However, organizational and cultural conditions can limit the extent to which the conditions for empowerment produce feelings of empowerment because of

A) decreased autonomy.
B) lack of trust in leadership.
C) improved motivation.
D) increased performance.
E) unlimited communication.

Question 34

Studies have indicated that increased autonomy and discretion does not result in higher feelings of empowerment in cultures that value

A) low power distance.
B) high power distance.
C) money.
D) trust.
E) citizenship.

Question 35

A wide variety of workplace conditions, referred to as ________, potentially enhance or support psychological empowerment.

A) employee empowerment practices
B) natural groupings
C) structural empowerment practices
D) bureaucratic control
E) motivating tools

Question 36

Studies indicate that most of our self-talk is

A) positive.
B) negative.
C) neutral.
D) unconscious.
E) directed at others.

Question 37

Self-leadership behaviors are more frequently found in people who

A) are younger rather than older.
B) have higher levels of conscientiousness personality.
C) have an external locus of control.
D) lack self-efficacy.
E) lack self-esteem.

Question 38

A large retail organization previously divided work among its four employee-benefits staff into distinct specializations. One person answered all questions about superannuation (pension plans), another answered all questions about various forms of paid time-off (e.g., vacations), and so on. These jobs were recently restructured so that each employee-benefits person answers all questions for people in a particular geographic area. One staff member is responsible for all employee-benefits inquiries from anyone in a particular geographic region.

-This job restructuring is an example of

A) self-leadership.
B) job enrichment.
C) job rotation.
D) scientific management.
E) self-monitoring.

Question 39

A large retail organization previously divided work among its four employee-benefits staff into distinct specializations. One person answered all questions about superannuation (pension plans), another answered all questions about various forms of paid time-off (e.g., vacations), and so on. These jobs were recently restructured so that each employee-benefits person answers all questions for people in a particular geographic area. One staff member is responsible for all employee-benefits inquiries from anyone in a particular geographic region.

-This restructuring most likely increased each employee's

A) sense of ownership.
B) absenteeism.
C) tendency to overwork.
D) self-talk.
E) competence.

Question 40

A cable TV company redesigned jobs so that one employee interacts directly with customers, connects and disconnects their cable service, installs their special services, and collects overdue accounts in an assigned area. They also decided to do away with scripted customer interaction manuals and allow each employee to determine how best to interact with each customer. Previously, each task was performed by a different person, and the customer interacted only with someone at the head office.This change most likely increased all of the following for each employee except

A) skill variety.
B) task identity.
C) task significance.
D) dependence.
E) autonomy.

Question 41

Mack is a new head of information technology (IT) operations at a regional retail firm. He has inherited a unit that has low morale, poor performance, and high turnover. He needs to find a way to empower his employees. Based on the information below, identify which dimension he has chosen to employ.

-The previous IT manager was known for micromanaging employees, such as controlling the priority of each employee's daily tasks. Mack adopted a different style by giving employees more control over setting daily priorities in their own jobs. This is an example of

A) meaning.
B) self-determination.
C) competence.
D) impact.
E) job rotation.

Question 42

Mack is a new head of information technology (IT) operations at a regional retail firm. He has inherited a unit that has low morale, poor performance, and high turnover. He needs to find a way to empower his employees. Based on the information below, identify which dimension he has chosen to employ.

-The previous manager received, but did not share with staff, personal messages sent from employees throughout the company who had been affected (favorably and adversely) by the work performed by the IT unit. Employees felt left out and unimportant. Mack started sharing these messages with IT staff. These messages potentially increase employees' a sense of ________ in their work.

A) meaning
B) self-determination
C) competence
D) job enrichment
E) freedom

Question 43

Mack is a new head of information technology (IT) operations at a regional retail firm. He has inherited a unit that has low morale, poor performance, and high turnover. He needs to find a way to empower his employees. Based on the information below, identify which dimension he has chosen to employ.

-The previous IT manager rarely held meetings, except to lecture to employees and give them news. Mack takes a different approach. He holds more frequent meetings where employees are asked for their ideas to make the IT system more effective for internal clients. He also asks employees for their candid views on the company's strategies, then summarizes and conveys to more senior executives in the company. These meetings will likely give employees are greater sense of ________

A) meaning.
B) self-determination.
C) independence.
D) impact.
E) capacity.

Question 44

Mack is a new head of information technology (IT) operations at a regional retail firm. He has inherited a unit that has low morale, poor performance, and high turnover. He needs to find a way to empower his employees. Based on the information below, identify which dimension he has chosen to employ.

-The district manager encourages employees to manage their own tasks and priorities so, for example, They can expand tasks that they enjoy doing. Which self-leadership strategy is the district manager encouraging by giving employees flexibility in the scheduling of their tasks?

A) goal setting
B) thought strategy
C) natural reward
D) self-monitoring
E) self-reinforcement

Question 45

Money has no impact on our needs and self-concept.

Question 46

Commissions, profit sharing, and stock options are all rewards based on competency.

Question 47

Performance-based reward practices can have unintended and undesirable results on employee behavior.

Question 48

Job specialization occurs when work is subdivided into separate jobs assigned to different people.

Question 49

One problem with job specialization is that many jobs are so specialized they become tedious which leads to increased motivation.

Question 50

Job enlargement is the practice of moving employees from one job to another.

Question 51

Employees are more likely to feel meaningfulness in jobs with a high degree of task variety, task identity, and task significance.

Question 52

Workplace conditions can potentially support psychological empowerment.

Question 53

Positive self-talk motivates employees by increasing their self-efficacy.

Question 54

The emerging body of research does not support the theory of self-leadership.