Deck 6: Motivation in Practice

Question 1

Which motivational technique is most closely associated with goal setting?

A)Job enrichment
B)Wage incentives
C)MBO
D)Flextime
E)Job sharing

Answer 1

C

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

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 5

The Scanlon Plan is a type of ________ system.

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

Question 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

Restriction of productivity is a phenomenon associated with

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

Question 10

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 11

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 12

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 13

Which system is specifically based on cost reduction?

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

Question 14

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 15

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 16

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 17

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 18

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

Question 19

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 20

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 21

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 22

The book cites several examples of companies that have engaged in work sharing.Their workers accepted a reduction in their weekly hours in order to avoid

A)excessive retraining costs.
B)wage increases.
C)compliance with government workforce diversity policy.
D)layoffs.
E)Both C and D

Question 23

One problem that may cause MBO to fail is that

A)top management gets too involved in the MBO program.
B)MBO may lead to problems in achieving adequate supervisory coverage.
C)performance reviews may become an exercise in punishing employees.
D)workers may become fatigued because of longer working days.
E)the objectives are too specific.

Question 24

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 25

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

Question 26

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 27

Which motivational strategy is most clearly associated with written agreements and paperwork?

A)Job enrichment
B)Management by Objectives
C)Flextime
D)Compressed workweek
E)Job sharing

Question 28

In a flex-time system,core time is

A)the total amount of time per week that each employee must work.
B)the time of the day when all employees must be present at work.
C)the time period within which employees are free to exercise flextime privileges.
D)the amount of time an employee must work to acquire flextime privileges.
E)the time in excess of a normal work shift.

Question 29

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 30

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 31

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 32

In a flex-time system,the period when all employees must be present at work is called

A)full force.
B)flexband.
C)core time.
D)nonflex.
E)compressed time.

Question 33

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

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

Question 34

When an organization faces a slow-down in business activity,there may be a reduction in the number of hours employees work in order to avoid layoffs.This is called

A)reduction contingency.
B)job contingency.
C)work sharing.
D)work sustainability.
E)layoff avoidance.

Question 35

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 36

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 37

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 38

"Core time" is

A)a term associated with the compressed workweek.
B)the time under which pay is calculated at a base rate rather than an overtime rate.
C)the time when employees working under flex-time are all in the office.
D)the time frame over which goals are set in a Management by Objectives program.
E)the overlap in shifts between two workers who are job sharing.

Question 39

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 40

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 41

What is job sharing?

A)Two people do one job.
B)Two people do the work of three people.
C)Two people help each other do their separate jobs.
D)Two jobs are given to one individual.
E)Two jobs are combined into one and shared by two people.

Question 42

If your job has been redesigned so that you are given more boring,fragmented,routine tasks to do,what has happened?

A)Job enrichment
B)Job derichment
C)Job engorgement
D)Job shrinkage
E)Job enlargement

Question 43

Where do the moderator variables in the Job Characteristics Model intervene?

A)Between job characteristics and the critical psychological states
B)Between the critical psychological states and outcomes
C)Between job characteristics and the critical psychological states,and between the critical psychological states and outcomes
D)Between job characteristics and outcomes
E)Between job characteristics and growth need strength

Question 44

If your boss has decided to redesign your job using job enlargement,what does this mean?

A)You will have more job scope.
B)You will have more job breadth and less job depth.
C)You will have more job breadth.
D)You will have less job breadth and more job depth.
E)You will have more job depth.

Question 45

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 46

If you work for a company that has a distributed work program,what does this mean?

A)You can either work at home and telecommute,or work at the company's offices.
B)You must work at home and telecommute.
C)You can arrive and leave work when you want within certain time periods.
D)You can work at home,at a satellite office,or at the company's offices.
E)You can work at a satellite office near your home.

Question 47

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 48

What does prosocial motivation refer to?

A)The desire to expend effort to benefit one's co-workers
B)The desire to expend effort to benefit other people
C)The desire to expend effort to benefit the organization
D)The desire to expend effort to improve one's performance
E)The desire to expend effort to improve group effectiveness

Question 49

In order to increase the scope of employees' jobs and help them build greater skills and expertise by performing different jobs,many organizations have implemented ________ programs.

A)career scouting
B)career ramping
C)job splicing
D)job rotation
E)job scouting

Question 50

If your boss has given you a stretch assignment,what does this mean?

A)You have many more tasks to perform as part of your job.
B)You will have to get more accomplished in a shorter period of time.
C)You will have to share your job with another employee.
D)You will be working on a variety of tasks with new responsibilities.
E)You will be working on a new task for an extended period of time.

Question 51

What is task identity?

A)It is the opportunity to do a variety of job activities using various skills and talents.
B)It is the impact that a job has on other people.
C)It is the extent to which an individual identifies psychologically with his/her job.
D)It is the extent to which a job involves doing a complete piece of work,from beginning to end.
E)It is the extent to which an individual can identify the core tasks of a job.

Question 52

Which of the following consequences is least likely to occur as a result of flex-time?

A)Increased job satisfaction
B)Decreased turnover
C)Decreased absenteeism
D)Increased satisfaction with work schedule
E)Increased productivity

Question 53

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 54

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 55

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 56

In its most simple form,people who work under a compressed workweek work

A)fewer days per week than normal.
B)less weeks per year than normal.
C)less hours per day than normal.
D)fewer hours per week than normal.
E)fewer hours per month than normal.

Question 57

Where does the Job Characteristics Model falter in its predictions?

A)Growth need strength and knowledge and skill
B)Growth need strength and context satisfaction
C)Knowledge and skills and context satisfaction
D)Task identity and the critical psychological states
E)Feedback and knowledge of results

Question 58

If your organization has just offered you the opportunity to work at a telework centre,what does this mean?

A)You can work out of an office located near your home.
B)You can work at home and telecommute.
C)You will no longer be able to have your own office.
D)You can spend part of the week working anywhere you want.
E)You can work anywhere you want all the time.

Question 59

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 60

Recent research into the Job Characteristics Model has confirmed that in addition to the original outcomes provided by the use of the model (e.g.,job satisfaction and internal work motivation),all of the following were discovered to be beneficial outcomes except

A)supervisor satisfaction.
B)co-worker satisfaction.
C)compensation satisfaction.
D)promotion satisfaction.
E)career satisfaction.

Question 61

After graduating from university,Gwen decided to find a job that was consistent with the relational architecture of jobs.Which of the following would be a good job for her?

A)A job that involves doing a whole piece of work and the results can easily be identified
B)A job that provides opportunities for advice and assistance from others
C)A job that provides opportunities to connect and interact with other people
D)A job in which others in the organization provide information about one's performance
E)A job that provides direct and clear information about the effectiveness of task performance

Question 62

After graduating from university,Sara told her friends that she wants to find a job where she can make a difference in other people's lives.What is this an example of?

A)Job involvement
B)Prosocial motivation
C)Task identity
D)Social support
E)Growth need strength

Question 63

What does task variety refer to?

A)The extent to which a job requires an individual to perform a wide range of tasks on the job
B)The extent to which a job requires an individual to use a variety of different skills to perform a job
C)The extent to which a job involves performing specialized tasks or possessing specialized knowledge and skill
D)The extent to which the tasks on a job are complex and difficult to perform
E)The extent to which a job requires an individual to learn to perform a variety of tasks

Question 64

Which of the following is not associated with the social characteristics of work design?

A)Interaction inside the organization
B)Social support
C)Interdependence
D)Interaction outside of the organization
E)Feedback from others

Question 65

The motivational characteristics associated with work design include

A)task characteristics and knowledge characteristics.
B)task characteristics and social characteristics.
C)task characteristics and work context characteristics.
D)social characteristics and work context characteristics.
E)job characteristics and task characteristics.

Question 66

If your company allows employees to work at their business office,a satellite office,and/or a home office,what kind of program do they have?

A)Telecommuting program
B)Telework centre program
C)Flexible work program
D)Distributed work program
E)Alternative work office program

Question 67

Morgeson and Humphrey developed a scale to measure work design characteristics.What is it called?

A)Job Diagnostic Survey
B)Work Design Survey
C)Job Diagnostic Questionnaire
D)Work Design Questionnaire
E)Work Design Scale

Question 68

Who,in the following list,is not associated with job design?

A)Adam Grant
B)Frederick Morgeson and Stephen Humphrey
C)J.Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham
D)Frederick Winslow Taylor
E)Peter Drucker

Question 69

Which of the following is an example of the relational architecture of jobs?

A)A student has just found out that she will receive a scholarship.
B)A call centre employee has been told about a scholarship recipient.
C)A call centre employee has been given the opportunity to interact with other employees.
D)A call centre employee has been given a university scholarship.
E)A call centre employee has been given more job autonomy.

Question 70

What does skill variety refer to?

A)The extent to which a job requires an individual to perform a wide range of tasks on the job
B)The extent to which a job requires an individual to use a variety of different skills to perform a job
C)The extent to which a job involves performing specialized tasks or possessing specialized knowledge and skill
D)The extent to which the tasks on a job are complex and difficult to perform
E)The extent to which a job requires an individual to learn to perform a variety of tasks

Question 71

A review of research on the compressed workweek concluded that

A)there is a positive effect on absenteeism.
B)there is a positive effect on productivity.
C)there is a positive effect on job satisfaction.
D)there is a positive effect on satisfaction with one's boss.
E)there is a positive effect on life satisfaction.

Question 72

The idea that work can be designed to provide opportunities to connect and interact with other people is known as

A)work design.
B)job design.
C)social architecture of jobs.
D)relational architecture of jobs.
E)prosocial motivation.

Question 73

Which of the following is not an example of knowledge characteristics of work design?

A)Job complexity
B)Information processing
C)Problem solving
D)Specialization
E)Task variety

Question 74

What is the most common compressed workweek system?

A)the 5-40 system
B)the 4-40 system
C)the 4-50 system
D)the 3-40 system
E)the 5-50 system

Question 75

The model of relational job design was developed by

A)Adam Grant.
B)Frederick Morgeson and Stephen Humphrey.
C)J.Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham.
D)Frederick Winslow Taylor.
E)Peter Drucker.

Question 76

If Kayla is concerned about the degree to which her new job allows correct or appropriate posture and movement,what should she ask about?

A)Physical demands of the job
B)Ergonomics
C)Equipment use
D)Work conditions
E)Interdependence

Question 77

Which of the following best represents the categories associated with work design characteristics?

A)Motivational characteristics,task characteristics,social characteristics
B)Motivational characteristics,task characteristics,work context characteristics
C)Task characteristics,social characteristics,work context characteristics
D)Motivational characteristics,social characteristics,work context characteristics
E)Motivational characteristics,social characteristics,job characteristics

Question 78

Luke wants a job where he will be able to use many of his skills.What work design characteristic should he be asking about during his job interview?

A)Autonomy
B)Task variety
C)Skill variety
D)Job complexity
E)Specialization

Question 79

At Bell Canada,employees are eligible to participate in the company's ________ program.

A)telework centre
B)job sharing
C)distant staffing
D)distributed work
E)compressed workweek

Question 80

Compared to motivational characteristics,social characteristics have been found to be more strongly related to

A)job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
B)job satisfaction and turnover intentions.
C)organizational commitment and turnover intentions.
D)job satisfaction and turnover.
E)turnover intentions and turnover.