Exam 14: Motivating Employees

Current motivational theories place strong emphasis on individualism and quantity-of-life characteristics that do not translate well to different cultures.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, once a need is substantially satisfied, an individual is no longer motivated to satisfy that need.

The goal of open-book management is to help employees understand the strategic goals of the organization.

describe and discuss the five levels of needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Give examples of their application in the workplace.

An electronics factory worker who assembles a computer and then routes it to a quality control inspector who tests it for proper operation and makes needed adjustments would have which job characteristic?

__________ assumes that employees have little ambition, dislike work, and want to avoid responsibility.

According to the job characteristics model (JCM), experienced meaningfulness of work will be determined by three core job dimensions: skill variety, task identity, and autonomy.

explain the concept of open-book management. How effective is it in motivating appropriate employee behavior?

According to Herzberg, which of the following is a hygiene factor?

According to Herzberg, salary and status are both motivators.

According to the three-needs theory, the best managers tend to be _______.

High achievers are more motivated by the organization's assessment of his or her performance than with internal motives.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (Scenario) Joe supervises several employees, and they exhibit a wide range of behaviours. He has just returned from a conference on worker motivation where he was introduced to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Joe hopes to use this theory to gain a better understanding of his subordinates' behaviour. First there is Julie, who was hired only a week ago. She is currently preoccupied with finding a place to live and locating the nearest grocery stores and emergency services. Joe is hoping she will get these things sorted out soon so she can focus more clearly on her work. Then there is Jamie. When Joe asked her to work late next month, she agreed to as long as there was a security guard to escort her across the company grounds to the underground parking lot. Joe gladly made the arrangements with the security department. Also, there is Jason, who recently complained that his work was not challenging enough. He said he was not growing or using his full potential in his current job. Next there is Jessica-the "social butterfly"-who was constantly flitting from one work station to another, chatting with other employees. Not only did she have difficulty getting her own work done, but she also slowed down the work pace of everyone else! Finally, there is Larry, who seems to continually need attention and recognition. When Larry accomplished a goal, he wanted everyone in the department to know about his success. Quite an interesting mix of employees, thought Joe. -Larry is at which level on the hierarchy of needs?

According to McGregor's Theory Y perspective, employees __________.

High levels of effort are unlikely to lead to favourable job performance unless __________.

Instrumentality is related directly to the skills, tools, and equipment available to the individual to perform the task.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Changing Jobs (Scenario) Marty sat in his favourite chair at home and pondered his work situation. The funding in his division had been cut by 25 percent, but the production goals were 10 percent higher! Something had to change, and he knew it was his job to figure out how to make the goals achievable. He decided to try to improve the way that tasks are combined into each job. First, he needed to know how many tasks there were to each job and how frequently each task was repeated. He also knew that because of the funding cut, people were going to be asked to expand their jobs horizontally. But he also felt that to balance this he should expand the jobs vertically by adding planning and evaluating responsibilities. 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. Neither managers nor employees looked forward to this coming year, but it was "do or die" situation! -Expanding the jobs vertically by adding planning and evaluating responsibilities is an approach called job __________.

According to Maslow's theory, when does a need stop motivating?

According to the goal-setting theory, a generalized goal of "do your best" will produce a higher output than specific, challenging goals.

Which of the following motivating factors or concepts is important to all workers, regardless of their national culture?