Question 1

Motivation to Study (Scenario)
Leila has considered her own motivation and discussed it with some of her peers who live in her dormitory. She discovers some distinct differences in attitude with these students and their motivation to study.
-As she talked to other students, Leila saw some students who needed more direction in their classroom studies because they had little or no ambition if they were left to their own motivation. This view is similar to ________ needs.

Accepted Answer

Self-actualization needs involve the desire for personal growth and fulfillment, which aligns with the need for intrinsic motivation and ambition in studies.

Question 2

Marj Corporation (Scenario)
Marj Corporation's management feels that employees could be more motivated by their jobs. The jobs were enlarged earlier and some improvements were seen in motivation.
-To further enhance the jobs at Marj, managers divided the tasks into jobs that allowed employees to use a collection of skills and talents. These changes could be described as a core dimension of the job characteristics model known as ________.

Accepted Answer

The changes described involve allowing employees to use a collection of skills and talents, which aligns with the core dimension of "skill variety" in the job characteristics model.

Question 3

Compensation plans that pay employees on the basis of their contribution to the effectiveness of the organization are referred to as ________.

Accepted Answer

Pay-for-performance programs are compensation plans that reward employees based on their contributions to the organization's success, aligning their pay with their performance.

Question 4

The vertical expansion of employees' jobs, or job ________, was also suggested by Massoud.

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment refers to the vertical expansion of jobs, which involves adding more meaningful tasks and responsibilities to make the work more rewarding and satisfying.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a suggestion for motivating employees?

Accepted Answer

Making goals very difficult to achieve can demotivate employees as it may seem unattainable and discourage effort.

Question 6

Marj Corporation (Scenario)
Marj Corporation's management feels that employees could be more motivated by their jobs. The jobs were enlarged earlier and some improvements were seen in motivation.
-Marj Corporation accomplished the process of enlarging the jobs by ________.

Accepted Answer

Job enlargement involves increasing the number of tasks or duties in a job, which is a horizontal expansion of the job.

Question 7

Changing Jobs (Scenario)
Massoud sat in his favorite chair at home and pondered his work situation. The funding in his division had been cut by 25 percent, but the numerical goals did not budge. Something had to change, and he knew it was his job to figure out how to make the goals reachable. He had decided to try to make it work by changing the way tasks are combined in each job. First, he needed to know how many tasks there were to each job and how frequently each task is repeated. He also knew that because of the funding cut, people were going to be asked to increase their job tasks horizontally. But, he also felt that to balance this he should add planning and evaluating responsibilities. No one looked forward to this coming year managers or staff but it was do or die.
-Massoud was going to ask people to horizontally increase their jobs, also known as job ________.

Accepted Answer

Job enlargement involves increasing the number of tasks or duties in a job to reduce monotony and increase variety, which aligns with Massoud's plan to ask people to increase their job tasks horizontally.

Question 8

Marj Corporation (Scenario)
Marj Corporation's management feels that employees could be more motivated by their jobs. The jobs were enlarged earlier and some improvements were seen in motivation.
-To increase the motivation, management decides to increase the meaningfulness of the work. This can be done by ________.

Accepted Answer

Increasing skill variety can enhance the meaningfulness of work by allowing employees to use a range of skills and talents, making their work more engaging and fulfilling.

Question 9

Following the ideas of ________, managers should check the system to see that employees perceive the rewards as being equal to the inputs.

Accepted Answer

Equity theory focuses on the balance or fairness of the rewards employees receive in relation to their inputs, ensuring that employees perceive the rewards as fair compared to others.

Question 10

The literature on ________ suggests that managers should ensure that employees have hard, specific goals and feedback on how well they are doing in achieving those goals.

Accepted Answer

Goal-setting theory emphasizes the importance of setting specific and challenging goals, along with providing feedback, to enhance employee performance.

Question 11

Changing Jobs (Scenario)
Massoud sat in his favorite chair at home and pondered his work situation. The funding in his division had been cut by 25 percent, but the numerical goals did not budge. Something had to change, and he knew it was his job to figure out how to make the goals reachable. He had decided to try to make it work by changing the way tasks are combined in each job. First, he needed to know how many tasks there were to each job and how frequently each task is repeated. He also knew that because of the funding cut, people were going to be asked to increase their job tasks horizontally. But, he also felt that to balance this he should add planning and evaluating responsibilities. No one looked forward to this coming year managers or staff but it was do or die.
-Massoud is looking at job ________, or "the way tasks are combined in each job."

Accepted Answer

Massoud's focus is on how tasks are combined in each job, which is the job design. Enlargement (A) refers to adding tasks to a job, depth (B) refers to adding more responsibility and decision-making power, and scope (C) refers to the range of tasks and responsibilities within a job or department. All of these concepts are related to job design, but job design is the most specific and appropriate term for Massoud's situation.

Question 12

Piece-rate pay plans, wage incentive plans, profit sharing, and lump-sum bonuses are examples of ________ programs.

Accepted Answer

These are all examples of pay-for-performance programs, where compensation is directly tied to an individual's performance or productivity.

Question 13

Motivation to Study (Scenario)
Leila has considered her own motivation and discussed it with some of her peers who live in her dormitory. She discovers some distinct differences in attitude with these students and their motivation to study.
-In one of her own classes, Leila can see the material is related to growth and achievement in her career. She is given responsibility to help other students. In Leila's motivational processes, as described by Herzberg, this class serves as a(n) ________.

Accepted Answer

According to Herzberg's theory, motivator factors are related to job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, such as achievement, recognition, and responsibility. In this scenario, Leila's class is related to growth and achievement in her career and she is given responsibility to help other students. Therefore, the class serves as a motivator for Leila's motivational processes.

Question 14

In addition to these changes, the managers at Marj explained how the jobs were now designed to allow the job to affect the lives and work of other people. This serves as ________, a core dimension in the job characteristics model.

Accepted Answer

Task significance refers to the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people, which aligns with the explanation provided.

Question 15

Most jobs at Marj were redesigned to allow the employees to complete a whole and identifiable piece of work. This fits ________, a core dimension of the job characteristics model.

Accepted Answer

Task identity refers to the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work, making it the correct choice in this context.

Question 16

In a stagnant economy where cost-cutting is widespread, ________ is a low-cost means to reward employees.

Accepted Answer

Recognition is a low-cost way to reward employees as it often involves non-monetary appreciation, which can boost morale without significant financial expenditure.

Question 17

Managers must be sure that employees feel confident that increased efforts ________.

Accepted Answer

Option B suggests that increased efforts can lead to achieving performance goals, which is a realistic and motivating goal for employees. Option A is too absolute, and option C assumes that all employees want a promotion, which may not be the case. Option D only mentions pay, which may not be the only factor that motivates employees.

Question 18

________ are financial instruments that give employees the right to purchase shares of stock at a set price.

Accepted Answer

Stock options are financial instruments that give employees the right to purchase shares of stock at a set price.

Question 19

Together, even though the employees were clearly being asked to contribute more, he felt they would have a greater degree of control over their work. ________ describes the degree of control the employees will have over their work.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Together, even though the employees were clearly...

Question 20

Motivation to Study (Scenario)
Leila has considered her own motivation and discussed it with some of her peers who live in her dormitory. She discovers some distinct differences in attitude with these students and their motivation to study.
-In one class, Leila questions how fairly she is being treated compared to other students. This part of her motivational processes would best fit into ________.

Accepted Answer

Leila's concern about fairness in treatment compared to other students aligns with equity theory, which focuses on perceived fairness and balance in social exchanges.

Quiz 15: Motivating Employees