Exam 5: Foundations of Employee Motivation

Equity theory research has found that employees who feel over rewarded tend to alter their perceptions of inputs and outcomes rather than attempt to actually change them.

To increase goal performance,employees should participate in the goal-setting process:

Needs hierarchy theory explains how people develop perceptions of fairness in the distribution and exchange of resources.

Compare and contrast ERG theory with McClelland's theory of learned needs.

Only 23 percent of Canadian employees report being "engaged" in their jobs.

Goal setting tends to be more effective when the goals are specific rather than general.

Maslow's needs hierarchy theory incorporates only five basic categories.

Voice and the right to appeal are two important practices that influence:

Which motivation theory is based on the idea that work effort is directed toward behaviours that people believe will lead to desired outcomes?

Participation in goal formation tends to increase performance when employees lack commitment to assigned goals.

Maslow is credited for bringing a mechanistic perspective to the study of motivation.

Comment on the accuracy of the following statement: 'According to goal-setting theory,performance increases with the level of goal difficulty.'

You have been asked to design a training program that will help managers create a better sense of procedural justice in their day-to-day decisions.Describe what this training program would emphasize to improve perceptions of procedural justice.

According to expectancy theory,linking valued rewards to higher job performance mainly increases motivation by:

Through hard work,Gan lives comfortably without much financial debt.Now he wants to improve relations with colleagues and form stronger friendships.Which needs-based theory of motivation best explains Gan's recent focus on his social needs?

According to the four-drive theory,which of the following is insatiable (i.e.,can never be fulfilled,we always want more of it)?

One of the most significant discoveries in equity theory research is that people tend to keep the same comparison other throughout their working lives.

Maslow's needs hierarchy explicitly names the following needs EXCEPT:

Your organization wants to hire and develop a group of people for executive positions in a fast-growing high-technology firm.The company's selection tests are able to identify each applicant's current level of need for achievement,power (both types)and affiliation.Moreover,the company has special training programs to further develop these fast-track executives on these learned needs.Identify which learned needs the company should use to select these applicants and should further develop in the training programs.

One advantage of ERG theory over Maslow's needs hierarchy theory is that the ERG model seems to explain human motivation somewhat better.