Exam 12: Motivating Employees: Achieving Superior Performance in the Workplace

General Electric paid employees who were smokers up to $750 to quit and stay off cigarettes. This program was three times as successful as a different GE "quit smoking" program in which employees received no paid incentives. The $750 in the first program is an example of an intrinsic reward.

Peyton's management professor just told her class that the final exam is optional for students like Peyton who currently have an A. Peyton decides to take the exam anyway because she likes the subject and wants to master the material. Peyton is motivated to take the exam by a(n)

This question contains two parts; be sure to answer both. Describe how managers can use the expectancy theory model to help motivate employees. Second, imagine that you are managing a local real-estate office. Sales of houses, condominiums, and co-ops have been very slow in the last few months, and your staff is feeling demoralized and unmotivated. Analyze the situation in terms of expectancy theory and explain how you might go about improving motivation among the real-estate agents.

Even when he started his first job, Dewayne was not content to be just one of the employees. His boss noticed that he often coached his coworkers about ways to improve their work, even when it wasn't his job. Dewayne probably has a

At his review last year, Lucas was promised a 20 percent raise if he met his production goals. Raises were included in today's paychecks, and although Lucas has met all of his goals, he received only a cost-of-living raise. In the future, Lucas's ________ will probably be ________.

Joyce would like to start working on a flexible schedule. Which is an option would Joyce NOT discuss with her employer?

An accounting firm reimburses employees for tuition and fees if they complete job-related coursework with a B or better. The accounting firm's tuition-reimbursement policy helps its employees meet their ________ needs.

This question contains multiple parts; be sure to answer each. First, what is motivation, and why is it important for managers to understand how motivation works? Second, suppose that you are the manager of a Salvation Army store. People make donations to the store as charitable contributions, and then the store sells the items to raise money for its charitable projects (mostly designing programs to offer immediate relief, short-term care and long-term growth in the areas that will best benefit the community). Name at least one extrinsic and one intrinsic reward you might use to motivate employees at the store.

Using self-determination theory to motivate employees at Cloud Space, a data storage company, the vice chair makes 10-20 phone calls a day to thank special employees "caught doing something right." The vice chair is fulfilling her employees' ________ needs.

How do employees find out how well they are doing?

According to the acquired needs theory, the desire to influence others is part of the need for

Intrinsic motivation is not as long lasting as extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation has a less positive impact on task performance.

According to Maslow, the need for status, reputation, and recognition is part of a person's ________ needs.

To motivate employees, employers need to primarily focus on fulfilling the top level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, self-actualization.

Imagine that you manage a small appliance store where salespeople are paid an hourly wage with no bonus or additional compensation. Recently, a big-box store has been luring away your best people by offering them not only a higher hourly wage, but also pay for performance (based on their sales). List and explain at least three nonmonetary ways to improve your employee retention.

The essence of self-management is understanding who you are, what you want in life, what you want to accomplish during your life-long journey, and then making it all happen. This pursuit of your dreams or goals is what drives the self-motivation employers are looking for. How will you apply the principles of self-management on a daily basis?

________ theory attempts to explain behavior change by suggesting that behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated while behavior with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.

After three shuttle accidents in three months, one of which resulted in a critical injury to a driver, Get Around Shuttle drivers received additional training, and the company retrofitted all shuttles with new braking systems. Which of Maslow's needs are addressed by Get Around Shuttle's actions?

Which of the following is the best statement of a goal?

According to Herzberg's two-factor theory, in the zone between the motivating factors and the hygiene factors, employees are