Deck 6: Motivation in Practice

Question 1

Restriction of productivity is a phenomenon associated with

A)piece rate pay.
B)hourly pay.
C)MBO.
D)job enrichment.
E)merit pay.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Managers have a tendency to ________ the pay of their boss and ________ the pay of their employees.

A)underestimate; underestimate
B)underestimate; overestimate
C)overestimate; overestimate
D)overestimate; underestimate
E)correctly estimate; underestimate

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What is restriction of productivity and why does it occur?

Answer 3

It is the artificial limitation of work output that can occur under wage incentive plans.Workers come to an informal agreement about what constitutes a fair day's work and limit their output accordingly.It can occur for a number of reasons: Sometimes workers feel that increased productivity due to the incentive will lead to reductions in the workforce or they fear that if they produce at an especially high level,the organization will reduce the rate of payment to cut labour costs (rate-cutting).

Question 4

Tanya's work group restricts its productivity.According to the text,this is a pretty good sign that the group members are paid an hourly wage.

Question 5

Wage incentive plans have become one of the most common forms of motivation in Canadian organizations.

Question 6

________ pay plans can stimulate productivity,but they can also lead to restriction of productivity.

Question 7

When workers are paid according to the performance of their work group,the relationship between individual pay and productivity decreases as the group gets bigger.

Question 8

Employees and managers seriously underestimate the importance of ________ as a motivator.

Question 9

Financial incentives and pay-for-performance plans have been found to increase performance and lower ________.

Question 10

Research on financial incentives and pay-for-performance plans have found that they

A)increase performance but have no effect on turnover.
B)increase performance and lower turnover.
C)lower performance and lower turnover.
D)lower performance and increase turnover.
E)have no effect on performance or turnover.

Question 11

Joe,Margaret,and Denise are co-workers.Joe produces five widgets and is paid $5.Margaret produces twenty widgets and is paid $20.Denise produces fifty widgets and is paid $50.These workers are being paid according to a(n)________ pay plan.

A)merit
B)hourly
C)Scanlon
D)piece rate
E)lump sum

Question 12

Discuss some of the potential problems of wage incentive plans.

Question 13

Financial incentives and pay-for-performance have no effect on turnover.

Question 14

As the size of the team ________,the relationship between any individual's productivity and his or her pay ________.

A)increases; increases
B)decreases; decreases;
C)increases; decreases
D)decreases; will approach zero
E)increases; becomes stable

Question 15

________ may well be the most important and effective motivator of performance.

Question 16

Restriction of productivity has been a problem with wage incentive plans.

Question 17

Pay is one of the most important and effective motivators of performance.

Question 18

Which of the following is most accurate about the importance of pay as a motivator?

A)Employees overestimate the importance of pay as a motivator.
B)Employees and managers overestimate the importance of pay as a motivator.
C)Employees and managers underestimate the importance of pay as a motivator.
D)Employees overestimate and managers underestimate the importance of pay as a motivator.
E)Employees underestimate and managers overestimate the importance of pay as a motivator.

Question 19

Piece rate pay systems

A)usually increase cooperation among workers on peripheral, nonproduction tasks (for example, keeping the shop clean).
B)have generally been supported by unions.
C)are especially useful when few objective performance criteria exist.
D)generally lead to increased productivity unless restriction occurs.
E)are most effective when applied to white-collar jobs.

Question 20

As discussed in the book,the rationale for removing the secrecy surrounding salaries is that

A)we should be honest with employees, and this is a good place to start.
B)they know salaries anyway, via the grapevine, but secrecy reduces confidence in the company.
C)positive motivational consequences may occur if the pay system is well designed.
D)consumers should understand that labour costs contribute greatly to retail prices.
E)a more open pay policy will expose the inadequacy of the merit system.

Question 21

Employees,but not managers,underestimate the importance of pay as a motivator.

Question 22

Alice,a middle manager in an oil company,makes $35,000 a year.Her boss makes $41,000,her peers average $33,000,and her employees average $29,000.Alice doesn't know the pay of these co-workers,but we ask her to guess.Research suggests that she will say

A)the employees average $28,000.
B)the boss makes $43,000.
C)the peers average $34,000.
D)the boss makes $45,000.
E)the peers average $30,000.

Question 23

The systematic mis-estimates that managers make of the pay of others in their firm suggests that they will often

A)underestimate the pay of employees.
B)experience equity with regard to peers.
C)underestimate the value of a promotion.
D)overestimate the value of a promotion.
E)experience equity with regard to employees.

Question 24

Merit pay plans attempt to link pay to performance on blue-collar jobs.

Question 25

Managers are more supportive than blue-collar employees of the idea that pay should be closely tied to performance.

Question 26

Your boss has just given you merit pay in the form of a one-time payment that will not be built into your base pay.This is known as a ________.

Question 27

Wage incentive plans are employed with much greater frequency than merit pay plans.

Question 28

When asked to estimate the pay of their peers and employees,managers tend to ________ the correct figure.

Question 29

One reason why merit pay plans are employed with a much greater frequency than wage incentive plans is that

A)white-collar workers particularly believe that performance should be an important determinant of pay.
B)blue-collar jobs more often offer objective performance criteria with which pay can be linked.
C)blue-collar workers tend to perceive a strong link between rewards and performance.
D)merit pay plans that are actually in use are very effective.
E)substantial evidence indicates that merit plans are very effective for improving performance.

Question 30

When asked to make estimates of the pay of various organizational members,managers tend to ________ the pay of their superiors.

Question 31

Whole Foods is noted in the text for its approach to

A)job design.
B)profit sharing.
C)pay secrecy.
D)management by objectives.
E)flexible work arrangements.

Question 32

Merit pay plans have become one of the most common forms of motivation in Canadian organizations.

Question 33

A lump sum bonus is

A)a payment that employees receive as part of the Scanlon plan.
B)a wage incentive that is awarded in a single payment and built into base pay.
C)a wage incentive that is awarded in a single payment and not built into base pay.
D)merit pay that is awarded in a single payment and not built into base pay.
E)merit pay that is awarded in a single payment and built into base pay.

Question 34

Generally,managers underestimate the pay of their employees and peers and overestimate the pay of their superiors.

Question 35

Whole Foods has an ________ book policy when it comes to pay secrecy.

Question 36

Whole Foods is an example of a company that has a strict policy that enforces pay secrecy.

Question 37

________ are used to tie pay to performance on white-collar jobs.

Question 38

What organization has an open book policy that allows employees to see the compensation of their co-workers?

A)Lincoln Electric Company
B)Whole Foods
C)Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
D)WestJet Airlines
E)Telus

Question 39

Whole Foods is noted for its policy when it comes to pay ________.

Question 40

Managers habitually underestimate the pay that their bosses receive.

Question 41

Sydney works under a gain-sharing plan.In other words,he is paid according to individual piece rate.

Question 42

________ is a group incentive pay system that is based on cost reductions.

Question 43

The Scanlon Plan is a type of ________ system.

A)job enrichment
B)MBO
C)gain-sharing
D)piece rate pay
E)skill-based

Question 44

The Scanlon Plan is a group-oriented rather than an individual-oriented pay plan.

Question 45

Which pay system is intentionally designed to motivate groups of employees rather than individual employees?

A)Gain-sharing
B)Goal setting
C)Piece rate pay
D)Merit pay
E)Skill-based pay

Question 46

The owner of Acme Manufacturing Company is thinking about introducing the Scanlon Plan.This plan will most likely have the greatest impact on his employees'

A)job design.
B)autonomy.
C)working hours.
D)pay.
E)skill level.

Question 47

Profit sharing works best in ________ that regularly turn a profit.

Question 48

In a study in a unionized auto parts manufacturing plant,a Scanlon gain-sharing program had a positive effect on the

A)scrap and waste reduction.
B)labour required.
C)number of suggestions provided by employees.
D)number of errors made by employees.
E)quality and quantity of parts.

Question 49

Discuss some of the potential problems of merit pay plans.

Question 50

Which system is specifically based on cost reduction?

A)Gain-sharing
B)MBO
C)Merit pay
D)Goal setting
E)Skill-based pay

Question 51

An organization wishes to base pay on objective,measurable performance data,but the performance of individual workers cannot be isolated and measured.Which system should it adopt?

A)Piece rate
B)Gain sharing
C)Merit pay
D)Hourly pay
E)Skill-based pay

Question 52

The most common gain-sharing plan is the ________.

Question 53

Your organization is considering implementing a merit pay plan.However,you are concerned about this because many such systems are in fact ineffective.You have arranged to meet with management to discuss this and you need to provide them with some evidence of why merit pay plans are often ineffective and what can be done to make them more effective.What will you tell them?

Question 54

________ costs can be high with a skill-based pay system.

Question 55

The system of pay which pays on the basis of the number of job skills acquired is called ________.

Question 56

Your organization is considering offering an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP),but they are hesitating because ESOPs lose their motivational potential in a ________ when a company's share price goes down.

Question 57

Under a skill-based pay plan,people are paid according to

A)their personal productivity.
B)the number of tasks they know how to perform.
C)their contribution to product or service quality.
D)how skillfully they can perform their main job function.
E)the goals which have been established through MBO.

Question 58

Your organization is considering implementing a merit pay plan in the hopes of increasing employee's and manager's motivation and satisfaction.However,you are concerned about this because they want to maintain pay secrecy.You have arranged to meet with management to discuss this with them.What will you tell them about pay secrecy and how it might impact the effectiveness of the merit pay plan?

Question 59

Skill-based pay is a motivation system whereby people are paid on the basis of how many skills they have mastered.

Question 60

Profit sharing seems to work best in larger firms that regularly turn a handsome profit.

Question 61

Al's job is very broad,but it has almost no depth.Al has a(n)________ job.

A)high-scope
B)high MPS
C)low-scope
D)enriched
E)high autonomy

Question 62

According to the Job Characteristics Model,what should be done to increase experienced responsibility for work outcomes?

A)Increase skill variety
B)Increase task significance
C)Reduce feedback
D)Increase autonomy
E)Reduce task identity

Question 63

The extent to which an individual identifies psychologically with his/her work and the importance of work to one's total self-image is known as

A)job enrichment.
B)job involvement.
C)experienced meaningfulness.
D)task significance.
E)experienced responsibility for outcomes of the work.

Question 64

Ross's job is very low in feedback.According to Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model,which psychological state will be most affected by this low feedback?

A)Knowledge of results of the work
B)Experienced meaningfulness of the work
C)Experienced responsibility for work outcomes
D)Experienced identity of the work
E)Experienced autonomy

Question 65

The degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives of other people,whether those people are in the immediate organization or in the world at large is called

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

Question 66

Veronica doesn't feel responsible for the outcomes of her work.According to Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model,which core job characteristic is low?

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

Question 67

In general,we would not expect a high scope job to ________ than a low scope job.

A)have higher "motivating potential"
B)pay more
C)conform more closely to the principles of Scientific Management
D)involve more task variety
E)have more job depth

Question 68

Which of the following is both a core job characteristic and a necessary condition for goals to motivate performance?

A)Pay
B)Identity
C)Growth need strength
D)Feedback
E)Context satisfaction

Question 69

Very strict union rules about who does what work are most likely to pose a problem for installing which system?

A)Merit pay
B)Flextime
C)Job enrichment
D)Scanlon plan
E)Gain-sharing

Question 70

In terms of job design,satisfaction with ________ would not be an example of context satisfaction.

A)supervision
B)autonomy
C)pay
D)company policy
E)workplace safety

Question 71

In Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics Model,which of the following is NOT a critical psychological state?

A)Meaningfulness of work
B)Significance of task
C)Responsibility for outcomes
D)Knowledge of results
E)None of the above

Question 72

Describe three types of incentive plans which use pay to motivate teamwork.Which one do you think is probably the most effective,overall? Explain your reasons.

Question 73

A company is thinking about enriching a certain job.Which of the following factors would suggest that this strategy is incorrect?

A)The current job has a very high Motivating Potential Score (MPS).
B)The workers have very high growth need strength.
C)Context satisfaction among the workers is very high.
D)The job knowledge and skills of the workers are very high.
E)Task significance is low.

Question 74

Debbie's job is very broad,but it has almost no depth.She is most likely a(n)

A)manager.
B)physician.
C)assembly line utility worker.
D)quality control inspector.
E)professor.

Question 75

What is the motivating potential score (MPS)for this job profile? Variety = 1; identity = 2; significance = 3; autonomy = 3; feedback = 5.

A)14
B)28
C)30
D)45
E)90

Question 76

Which job enrichment technique would prove most threatening to workers with poor social skills?

A)Reducing supervision
B)Combining tasks
C)Making feedback more direct
D)Establishing client relationships
E)Reducing reliance on others

Question 77

According to Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristic Model,employees should respond most favourably to jobs high in motivating potential when growth need strength is ________ and satisfaction with job context factors is ________.

A)high; high
B)high; low
C)low; high
D)low; low
E)moderate; low

Question 78

The practices of Scientific Management seem LEAST compatible with

A)job enrichment.
B)piece rate pay.
C)high specialization.
D)goal setting.
E)close supervision.

Question 79

Establishing client relationships is an example of which motivational strategy?

A)Goal setting
B)Flextime
C)Gain-sharing
D)Job enrichment
E)Job sharing

Question 80

What is the motivating potential score (MPS)for a job in which all five core characteristics are scored "4" on the Job Diagnostic Survey?

A)20
B)48
C)64
D)80
E)96