Deck 10: Motivation and Coaching Skills

Question 1

The question, "If I get the job done, will I really get my reward?" illustrates the _____ aspect of expectancy theory.

A) valence
B) effort-to-performance expectancy
C) instrumentality
D) open-book management

Answer 1

C
The question stem , in this case, depicts instrumentality. An individual's assessment of the probability that performance will lead to certain outcomes is referred to as instrumentality. See "Expectancy Theory and Motivational Skills."

Question 2

To avoid getting too emotionally involved with group members, the effective coach minimizes building personal relationships with them.

Answer 2

False
To coach is to care enough about people to invest time in building personal relationships with them. Effective coaches build personal relationships with team members and work to improve their interpersonal skills. See "Coaching Skills and Techniques."

Question 3

To appeal to the recognition need of others, it is important to identify a meritorious behavior, and then recognize that behavior with an oral, written, or material reward.

Answer 3

True
To appeal to the recognition need of others it is important to identify a meritorious behavior, and then recognize that behavior with an oral, written, or material reward. See "Using Recognition and Pride to Motivate Others."

Question 4

A major advantage of using goals to motivate executive leaders is the guarantee that unethical means will not be used to achieve goals.

Question 5

Feedback of a general nature is most effective in bringing about improvements in performance.

Question 6

Rewarding people for reaching goals is a widely accepted principle of management.

Question 7

Motivation increases when a person has high self-efficacy with respect to the task being performed.

Question 8

The term engagement refers to :

A) employees limiting themselves to those tasks that are specific to their roles.
B) high levels of personal investments in the tasks performed on a job.
C) serving a one-month notice period in the organization.
D) avoiding offering a reward for a good performance.

Question 9

Listening is an essential ingredient in any coaching session.

Question 10

To act as a strong motivator, big comprehensive goals should be broken down into smaller steps.

Question 11

It has been generally found that a person needs to be an expert in a field to be an effective coach.

Question 12

The question, "If I work hard, will I get the job done?" illustrates the _____ aspect of expectancy theory.

A) instrumentality
B) valence
C) goal
D) expectancy

Question 13

To coach workers effectively, it is often necessary to help them develop more effective underlying habits.

Question 14

In the context of the implications of the expectancy theory, a task must generally be perceived as attainable to be motivational.

Question 15

The most effective goals, according to goal theory, are those that encourage a worker to "do his or her best."

Question 16

Expectancy theory is particularly useful to leaders because it emphasizes the emotional and passionate side of people.

Question 17

Giving recognition for a job well done is useful in satisfying a worker's desire to feel proud.

Question 18

A potential ethical problem noted with executive coaching is that an executive might become too dependent upon the coach for making decisions.

Question 19

The motivational value of a recognition award is likely to be higher if it helps a worker attain personal goals.

Question 20

An implication of the expectancy theory is that leaders should reassure their group members that performances can lead to specific rewards.

Question 21

Recognition is a strong motivator because:

A) it brings in an element of uniformity among employees.
B) it conceals bad performances.
C) it is an unattainable need.
D) it is a normal human need.

Question 22

An advantage of a goal related to a noble cause is that it:

A) gives workers step-by-step guidance.
B) is likely to inspire workers.
C) is geared toward a short range.
D) has a relatively low valence.

Question 23

An important implication of expectancy theory for leadership is that:

A) a manager must assign valences to group members.
B) workers must develop their own links between rewards and performance.
C) out-groups and in-groups should be avoided.
D) workers must clearly understand individual differences in valences.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is true of coaching skills and techniques?

A) Give positive feedbacks alone, and stick to appreciatory comments.
B) Give overrated comments and scores to members of a team.
C) Build personal relationships with team members.
D) Make the communication strategy more generic and less specific.

Question 25

A major concern about using goals to boost performance is that some workers, including leaders, will:

A) use dysfunctional methods to attain goals.
B) quit rather than pursue goals.
C) set too many difficult goals.
D) pursue goals rather than do their own work.

Question 26

The feeling of being proud is essentially a(n):

A) external motivator.
B) internal motivator.
C) weak motivator for professional staff.
D) weak motivator for leaders.

Question 27

Which of the following is regarded as a fallacy about coaching?

A) Coaching applies to groups as well as individuals.
B) Coaching that deals with personal issues should be regarded as psychotherapy.
C) Coaching is mostly about providing age old knowledge and practiced skills.
D) Coaching is carried out even if a leader has minimal knowledge of the field to be coached.

Question 28

Feedback in coaching should be:

A) on specific areas which need improvement.
B) overrated and exagerrated.
C) confined to the first coaching session.
D) avoided unless requested.

Question 29

An essential part of coaching is to:

A) use an autocratic leadership style.
B) build formal relationships with the person being coached.
C) manipulate the person being coached.
D) help remove obstacles for the person being coached.

Question 30

An effective coaching technique to achieve enthusiasm and high performance is for a leader/manager to:

A) suspend team members who do not display enthusiasm or high performance.
B) give gentle advice and guidance to team members.
C) use a detached, permissive style.
D) keep elevating goals as workers perform well.

Question 31

Mindi has a learning goal orientation. While she is competing in a national sales contest, she is strongly motivated to:

A) develop new skills during the process of competing.
B) make the other competitors look good.
C) examine if her efforts would result in the desired outcome.
D) impress other people with her skills.

Question 32

Recognition is an effective motivator is because:

A) it is closely linked to company strategy.
B) most employees feel they do not receive enough recognition.
C) most workers have become bored with financial incentives.
D) it is extremely expensive to implement.

Question 33

An important implication of expectancy theory for leaders is that:

A) the link between rewards and performance should be made explicit.
B) workers should encourage and train themselves.
C) people in the same work unit will usually have the same valences.
D) an average worker should not be able to attain the majority of work goals.

Question 34

A barrier buster is a manager who:

A) sets unrealistically high goals for group members.
B) uses rewards and punishments frequently.
C) removes obstacles that hinder work accomplishment.
D) lobbies for business contracts from external agencies.

Question 35

The sets of goal characteristics that will probably lead to higher levels of performance are:

A) easy and specific.
B) easy and general.
C) difficult and specific.
D) difficult and general.

Question 36

An active listener attempts to:

A) speak continuously in a coaching session.
B) react to each statement made by the other person.
C) grasp both facts and feelings.
D) tries to remind word by word, every word that is being coached.

Question 37

An example of a second-level outcome in expectancy theory would be a:

A) promotion stemming from a good performance appraisal.
B) praise from two levels of management.
C) punishment for having violated company policy.
D) salary increase twice the average size.

Question 38

Which one of the following is considered an important coaching technique?

A) Restrict oneself from asking questions to the coach.
B) Resist change in all possible ways.
C) Model desired performance and behavior.
D) Create more obstacles for the person being coached.

Question 39

A study showed that workers who perceive themselves to have a technical orientation tend to prefer being praised in a manner that:

A) focuses on how their work made a contribution.
B) makes a general statement such as "Awesome."
C) could be interpreted negatively.
D) focuses on their personal characteristics.

Question 40

Jodie has high self-efficacy, meaning that she:

A) gets discouraged when faced with obstacles.
B) is highly confident that she can perform a particular task.
C) has a generalized sense of self-confidence.
D) perceives herself to be more effective than most people.

Question 41

Ryan's team has performed beyond the performance standard set for the team in the previous financial year. This makes the team eligible for additional incentives. The improved performance will make the team members eligible for a promotion in a few months. In the context of the expectancy theory, which of the following statements is true in this case?

A) The team being considered eligible for promotion is the second-level outcome.
B) The team receiving an outstandding performance review is the second-level outcome.
C) The performance of each team member denotes the instrumentality.
D) The performance of each team member is known as the expectancy.

Question 42

Which of the following is an example of using recognition to motivate others?

A) Tina is selected from her team to be coached and mentored by a panel of industry experts.
B) Richard who has taken maximum number of days becomes the best performer in his team, much to the teammates' awe.
C) Alan receives a congratulatory mail from his team manager for settling a deal with a vendor.
D) George, who is the team manager of the sales department, takes his team out for an offsite training program.

Question 43

Helen receives a watch from the company as a compliment for her value-adding service to the organization for a period of 10 years. This can be considered as an act that:

A) excites Helen and make her work on the off days too.
B) ingratiates Helen so that she is continued to be paid less.
C) appeals to her pride and thereby motivates her further.
D) lobbies Helen toward committing an illegal act for the management.

Question 44

Who among the following is likely to give the best performance in the context of the goal-setting theory?

A) An employee who is given instructions so that the net sales revenue becomes $30 million and his individual contribution is worth $1 million
B) A member of the sales team, who is asked to give his best, so that the overall performance of the team increases
C) A member of the sales team who performs below the standards set being subjected to a performance improvement program
D) An employee who is encouraged and shown a clear path towards achieving his everyday target, with just a vague idea on the overall target to be achieved.

Question 45

Rohan, the production manager of a firm, is asked to provide a one-to-one developmental program to Milan who is an assistant production manager. The program covers aspects like total sales revenue to be achieved for the month, and the individual numbers which Milan will have to contribute.The program is an example of a(n) _____.

A) performance improvement program
B) induction program
C) executive training program
D) offsite training program

Question 46

The employees of a team are offered a direct incentive hike of 5 percent of their existing incentive amount set, if they improve their performance by two-folds. In the context of the expectancy theory, the additional amount the team members receive as incentives is known as _____.

A) performance
B) valence
C) effort
D) instrumentality

Question 47

Ronnie is all set to work on a Sunday, so that the project that she is involved in does not get delayed. She plans to cancel her weekend plans , so that she can invest more time in her project. This behavior of Ronnie reflects _____.

A) engagement
B) resistance
C) debasement
D) congruence

Question 48

Roshan, an operations manager in a firm, is asked to apply the best practices of both the expectancy theory and the goal theory to improve the performance of his team. What would be the options which Roshan have in this regard?

Question 49

Donna wants to lead as an effective coach. So, with respect to people she coaches, Donna should minimize:

A) active listening.
B) bringing forth restrictions to the workers.
C) giving emotional support.
D) giving a lot of gentle advice and guidance.

Question 50

Jonathan is asked to coach a batch of new employees. Before this, his superior conducts a one-to-one meeting with Jonathan, so that all the fallacies that he have about coaching are discarded before he begin the process. What information would the superior provide to Jonathan in this regard?

Question 51

A major role of an executive coach is to:

A) help the person being coached find new employment.
B) help uncover strengths of the person being coached.
C) give top management a report about the capabilities of the person being coached.
D) help the person being coached become a better coach.

Question 52

A refinement of the individual approach to executive coaching is for a coach to:

A) work with a group of leaders with the same developmental needs.
B) conduct videoconferences with several leaders from different locations at the same time.
C) collaborate with the leader's group members.
D) get the group members to report on the leader's mistakes.

Question 53

An effective way of using modeling in coaching is for a manager to:

A) set high standards of performance.
B) challenge a group member's ethical models.
C) sketch a mathematical model of business strategy.
D) demonstrate how a task should be done correctly.

Question 54

Martin, the marketing manager of a company, requests his immediate subordinate, Ayan, to take up the role of coaching rest of the team members. However, the coaching is not for an individual team member, but for the whole team. This makes Ayan doubtful about the outcome. In the context of coaching, which of the following statements is true in this case?

A) Ayan probably has a false notion that coaching applies only in one-to-one work.
B) Ayan is doubtful if he can provide new knowledge and skill base to the team.
C) Ayan is cautious that he might get into the process of psychotherapy.
D) Ayan fears if he can do face-to-face coaching, as he is not an expert.

Question 55

A recommended way of giving advice to an employee is to:

A) wait until the employee has a good day.
B) put your advice in the form of a question.
C) first make the employee feel guilty.
D) offer only general suggestions for improvement.

Question 56

Craig decides to increase the performance bonus of his team from $5,000 to $10,000. In the context of the expectancy theory, this would have resulted in:

A) increased productivity as the team members would put in greater efforts in view of the reward they get.
B) decreased productivity as the team members would be too distracted to work toward the set goal.
C) the same productivity as studies have found that rewards do not affect the employee efforts in any manner.
D) an initial decrease in productivity, followed by an increase in productivity of the employees.

Question 57

Which of the following is true of the motivational use of recognition and praise?

A) Motivation has to be linked to corporate values to minimize its impact.
B) It is important that the meritorious behavior is kept confidential within the team.
C) It is important to praise so that the emploees are set against each other.
D) An individual's preference for the type of praise should be taken into account.

Question 58

George is advised by the top management to apply the expectancy theory among his teammates. What would be the basic data that he will require to put the theory into practice?

Question 59

Which of the following dialogues by the members of a team depicts self-efficacy at its peak?Answer the question in the context of the expectancy theory.

A) " I may or may not achieve the target; its impossible to predict the results now."
B) " I will be able to achieve the target with a little bit of support from my superior."
C) "I am 100 percent sure that I will be able to achieve the target before the due date."
D) " I suppose the target is quite attainable, but I can't give an assurance."

Question 60

A worker receiving a floor clock for having saved the company thousands of dollars in shipping costs is an example of:

A) workers experiencing pride in relation to recognition symbols.
B) workers being underrated on account of their productivity.
C) employers unnecessarily ingratiating the workers.
D) employers trying to lobby their employees.