Exam 14: Motivating Employees

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. -Julie is currently trying to satisfy her __________ needs.

According to Herzberg, working conditions and security are both hygiene factors.

Offering employees opportunities for training and development is a good way to motivate in economic downturns.

Motivation is the result of the interaction between a person and a situation.

Studies tell us that men place more importance on having ________ in their jobs, while women seek ________.

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. -When Jamie agreed to work late next month, she was concerned about her __________ needs.

A Theory X manager would believe that people dislike work.

Making job responsibilities narrower and more specialized is the most effective way of motivating employees.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. What Do You Expect? (Scenario) The employees at Acme Toilets Inc. are not working as hard as Jill, their supervisor, would like. The sales representatives aren't meeting their sales quotas, and Jill can't seem to motivate them to try harder. Jill has been studying Vroom's expectancy theory and has decided to try to apply it to her workplace. -Jill has improved the reward program so that the bonus for meeting sales quotas is much higher than ever before. Jill has altered which variable or relationship in Vroom's expectancy theory?

Expanding a job vertically will most likely improve which core job dimension?

Gary is a sales representative for YWG Corporation's Winnipeg office. If the sales reps meet their sales goals for the month, they will be given an all-expense-paid trip to Toronto to see a Blue Jays baseball game. Unfortunately, baseball is not one of Gary's favourite sports, and the Toronto Blue Jays are definitely not his favourite team. According to expectancy theory, Gary's sales performance might be influenced by low __________.

Most employee recognition programs are not financially based the hence have no impact on employee motivation.

Job __________ is the horizontal expansion of a job by increasing the number of different tasks required in a job.

A Theory Y manager would believe that people seek out responsibility.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, when an employer provides his employees health insurance, he is taking care of their ________ needs.

Research shows that the opportunity to learn is more motivational to women than men.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, ________ needs are predominantly satisfied externally while ________ needs are satisfied internally.

In expectancy theory, instrumentality is the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to a certain level of performance.

When considering how to motivate employees, it must be kept in mind that professionals tend to be focused on their work as their central life interest, whereas nonprofessionals typically have other interests outside of work that can compensate for needs not met on the job.

Intrinsic motivation comes from such things as pay, bonuses and other tangible rewards.