Exam 10: Motivating Employees

According to McGregor, Theory X managers motivate employees by giving them a great deal of freedom and responsibility.

Mini-Case The first meeting between the new CEO of Game Guys, Inc., John Noble, and Howie Spradlin, the production manager, did not go smoothly. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the problem of declining productivity and to develop a strategy to turn the situation around. Howie started the conversation by handing Mr. Noble the most recent production report. "I've always thought that most of our employees were lazy, and now I've got proof," Howie stated. "We pay these guys the highest wages in the industry, provide them with a safe place to work, and make the job as simple as possible. We aren't asking these guys to do brain surgery, but productivity still lags and our production costs increase. I've told all the supervisors to watch these lazy bums every second to make sure they put in a full day's work. If those guys think I'm going to let them get away with goofing off, they're in for a rude awakening." CEO Noble responded in a way that surprised Howie. "Maybe these employees aren't lazy, Howie, maybe they are just bored and resent the way we've treated them," he said. "The employees are experienced and well trained. They might work harder and smarter if the work were more interesting and rewarding. Their attitudes might even improve if we treated them with more respect. Maybe one of the best ways for you and me to understand where they're coming from is to spend some time alongside them." For the next hour, the two discussed ways to improve worker motivation and performance. Howie left the meeting with an unsettled feeling. Many of Mr. Noble's suggestions seemed naïve to Howie. "Mr. Noble is the boss, but I think he is too optimistic regarding human nature," Howie mused. Reluctantly, Howie had to admit that his own approach had not succeeded in improving the plant's performance. He decided to take a hard look at some of Mr. Noble's ideas. -John Noble speculated that Howie really didn't know much about his employees, including the types of rewards that they found meaningful and whether they personally felt that if they worked hard, they could achieve a reward. Noble's thoughts referred to

As companies restructure to create greater efficiencies in their operations, there is a greater opportunity for ________ where management combines specialized tasks in one job, asking employees to broaden their scope of responsibilities.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth developed the principle of motion economy, which said that every job could be broken down into a series of elementary motions.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth thought that every job could be broken down into a series of elementary motions that they called

Louis, a supervisor at a web design company, has seen that most of his employees are more productive if he lets them have some freedom and flexibility in how they go about their work. Louis's experience is consistent with the teachings of scientific management.

The major benefit of open communication in a company setting is

According to expectancy theory, one of the things employees want to know before they commit to making a maximum effort on a task is whether the reward for accomplishing the task is worth the effort.

In a low-context culture

Herzberg's research indicated that employees are motivated by job content. Modern managers focus on ________ by increasing the significance of the job, and even providing the employee with important feedback.

Vroom's expectancy theory contends that prior to committing maximum effort to a task, employees want to know if they can accomplish the task and if it will equally reward everyone at work, even if others were not involved in the accomplishment of the task.

Herzberg's findings suggest that the best way for firms to increase worker motivation is to focus on improving pay and making working conditions more pleasant.

Abraham Maslow thought that once needs at one level of his hierarchy were met:

Rafael thinks he makes life easy on his employees. He tells them exactly what to do, how to do it, and when. He believes that most of his employees are lazy, and will go straight to their phones if he doesn't keep an eye on them. Therefore, he spends much of his time monitoring their work. When he finds an employee who is not performing up to his or her expectations, Rafael uses threats and punishment to increase the worker's motivation. Rafael is a Theory X manager.

Frederick Taylor believed that employees would be more productive if they were allowed to decide for themselves which methods at work to use.

The original goal of the Hawthorne studies was to determine

Job ________ combines a series of tasks into one assignment that is more challenging, interesting, and motivating.

Compare the assumptions Theory X makes about employees with those of Theory Y. How do these different assumptions influence management styles?

During their first years at the Epic Industries, management trainees spend a mandatory two months in each of six different departments. In this time, they have the opportunity to learn skills in each functional area, and also to decide where they have the best match. Job rotation is a motivational strategy used by contemporary organizations.

________ is a system of goal setting and implementation that involves a cycle of discussion, review, and evaluation of objectives among top and middle managers, supervisors, and employees.