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127. Based on Herzberg’s theory of motivators, job enrichment will motivate employees to
satisfy higher order needs.
128. Job enrichment is based on Herzberg’s higher motivators, such as responsibility,
achievement, and recognition.
129. Job enlargement is about breaking down a sizeable job into smaller parts so that the
employee is not overwhelmed by a large task.
130. Skill variety is one of the characteristics of work that lead to improved motivation and
performance.
131.
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Using job enrichment strategy, management can contribute to improved motivation and
worker performance by primarily increasing employee pay.
132. Feedback enhances worker motivation by giving employees a feeling of achievement
and recognition.
133. Task identity refers to the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives
or work of others in the company.
134. Job simplification attempts to increase task efficiency by breaking the job into simple
steps and assigning people to perform each of those steps.
135.
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Job simplification is an effective strategy for managers who want to achieve job
enrichment.
136. Job enlargement is the strategy of assigning employees to different jobs within the
organization on a regular basis.
137. Job enlargement attempts to enrich jobs by combining a series of tasks into one
challenging and interesting assignment, as opposed to simplifying the job.
138. Job rotation attempts to make a job more interesting and motivating by moving
employees from one job to another.
139.
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As part of their open communication strategy, management should reward upward
communication, even if it is negative.
140. Open communication is a verbal strategy. It does not involve listening.
141. Open communication strategies include the removal of physical barriers such as
separate offices.
142. As a motivational technique, open communication is enhanced when management
provides several opportunities for employees to congregate and share ideas.
143.
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Special parking areas, dining rooms and rest rooms set aside for executives are barriers to
open two-way communication within an organization.
144. By the time they graduate from high school, most people have received ample training
to develop good listening skills.
145. To implement self-managed teams, managers at most companies must reinvent work.
146. The first step in any motivational program is to establish open communication among
employees in order to encourage teamwork and cooperation.
147.
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Teamwork tends to occur naturally within business organizations regardless of the plans
or actions of managers.
148. In order to encourage teamwork between and among managers and employees, top
management must create an organizational culture that allows autonomy, decentralizes
authority, and rewards good work.
149. As a motivational technique, letting employees know they’ve done a good job is not as
powerful as providing them with a bonus.
150. Progressive managers are rewarding good work in all kinds of ways including family
trips, informal events at work, and just letting everyone know when someone does a good
job.
151.
Chapter 10 – Motivating Employees
When asked why they change jobs, over 80% of those surveyed said they usually leave
one job for another in order to gain more job responsibility and a more senior role.
152. Managers who believe job enrichment can effectively improve motivation would try to
give employees a significant degree of freedom and flexibility in scheduling their work
and in determining the procedures they use.
Feedback: Advocates of job enrichment identify five characteristics of work that are
important in affecting the motivation and performance of employees. One of these is
autonomy, which refers to the degree of freedom, independence, and discretion employees
have in scheduling work and determining procedures.
153. The key to achieving task identity is to design jobs that demand the use of many
different skills.
Feedback: Designing jobs that demand the use of different skills contributes to skill variety
(as opposed to task identity). Task identity (the term used in this question) refers to the degree
to which the job requires doing a task with a visible outcome from beginning to end. Having
employees use a variety of different skills does not guarantee that they will see a visible
outcome, so skill variety does not guarantee task identity.
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157. If managers want to retain their employees, a good strategy may involve mentoring
them for more senior roles in the organization and provide opportunities for job
advancement.
Feedback: In a recent survey, over 80% of respondents claimed that they usually would
consider leaving one job for another job in order to gain increased responsibility and a more
senior role. Providing opportunities for job advancement is a good strategy for retaining good
employees.
158. Fast Track Corporation moves employees from one job to another on a regular basis in
order to improve motivation. Fast Track’s strategy is job enlargement.
Feedback: Job enlargement refers to combining tasks into one assignment that is more
challenging and interesting. Fast Track’s movement of employees from one job to another is
known as job rotation.
159.
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Management at the local Hottie Potatee, a potato bar with all the fixings is trying to
improve task efficiency by breaking down jobs into simple steps and assigning each step
to a different worker. The key benefit of this approach is that it is one of the most effective
ways to achieve job enrichment.
Feedback: Hottie Potatee is using job simplification. This procedure may increase task
efficiency, but it also results in boring and repetitive jobs. This approach is inconsistent with
job enrichment theory. In fact, job enrichment calls for both skill variety and task
significance, which would be better accomplished if employees were given complex and
challenging tasks.
160. Ellen supervises several employees in the accounting department of a large
corporation. She makes it a priority to give her subordinates direct and clear information
about their job performance. Ellen’s efforts are likely to improve worker motivation.
Feedback: One of the elements of job enrichment is feedback, which is direct and clear
information provided to employees about their performance. Feedback contributes to high
worker motivation by giving employees a feeling of achievement and recognition.
161.
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David is the president and chief executive officer of Baxter National Bank. He wants to
encourage more open two-way communication among the bank’s employees and
managers. One of the most important things David can do to achieve this goal is to
become a good listener.
Feedback: The first step in encouraging open two-way communication within an organization
is for top management to create an organizational culture that rewards listening. Top
managers can help establish this culture by becoming good listeners themselves.
162. During the first year at the Millennium Company, management trainees spend two
months in each of six different departments where they have the opportunity to learn skills
in each functional area, but also make decisions about where they have the best match. Job
rotation is a motivational strategy used by contemporary organizations.
Feedback: Although it requires employees to train and retrain in a number of areas, job
rotation makes jobs interesting and motivates employees to find their niche and cross-train in
a number of functional areas.
163.
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At Blastoff.com, a web-based auction headquartered in upstate New York, when
employees are at the company’s main office, they do not expect to necessarily sit at the
same desk everyday. They may decide to situate in a projection room; in a temporary
soundproof room, or in one of several lounge areas in the building. They may locate next
to someone outside of their functional area. Blastoff management believes that breaking
down barriers fosters more communication and innovation, and makes jobs more
interesting.
Feedback: Removing physical barriers is a contemporary strategy for developing open
communication within a firm.
164. Brandon’s manager often tells his employees “there isn’t a lot of time for chit-chat on
the job. If you want to give us your opinion, as a believer in open communication, I’ll
gladly give you your chance to speak your mind, on your way out!” This manager is up to
date on the purpose of the exit interview, as an important source of feedback for
companies. Open communication always begins at this juncture.
Feedback: Not hardly! Managers should never wait until an employee decides to leave to
generate open communication. If you wait until the exit interview, it’s too late.
165. Regardless of cultural background, most employees respond the same way to
motivational approaches.
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166. High context cultures tend to jump right in and get work done with worrying about
developing close work relationships.
167. In a high context culture, relationship building is motivational.
168. In a low context culture, employees are less likely to place emphasis on relationship
building. They want to jump right in and get the job done.
169. Even if there are cultural differences across the globe, reward preferences do not vary
across cultures.
170.
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If rewards are an important part of an international firm’s motivational strategy,
consideration should be given to adjusting it for cultural preferences.
171. Most Gen X managers are likely to be flexible and good at collaboration.
172. Members of Generation X tend to be more independent and need less feedback than
members of older generations.
173. As a group, Gen Yers tend to be impatient, skeptical and image driven.
174. Members of Generation Y tend to be adaptable, tech savvy, and tolerant.
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179. If you want to understand what motivates Generation X workers, it might be a good
idea to study the personal experiences that this group shared – things such as stay at home
moms and dads that worked very steady nine to five jobs, with hardly any fear of lay-offs.
Feedback: Although it is very important to understand the personal development and
experiences that Gen Xers shared, many lived in two-career families and experienced the
tensions when one or more of their parents lost their jobs. They come to work with
perceptions that jobs are not that secure to begin with. Boomer managers will need to be
flexible when managing the Xers.
180. When studying the differences in generations, it is fair to say that many ideas that
each group shares resulted from common experiences during the first ten years of life.
Feedback: Groups that are designated as generations (the baby boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Y (or
millennials) are linked together by experiences they shared during their formative years (up to
around 10 years of age).
181.
Chapter 10 – Motivating Employees
As indicated in the Spotlight on Small Business box, “Small Incentives Can Be Big
Motivators”, it is difficult if not impossible for small businesses to take the time to
motivate their employees with open communication and/or by providing jobs with broad
responsibilities due to the fact that the labor force is usually small and there just isn’t time
for these kinds of associations.
Feedback: Small businesses are usually good to better at motivating with open
communication and broad-based job responsibilities. The small business culture is conducive
to an environment where employees perceive that their ideas count.
182. According to the Spotlight on Small Business box titled, “Small Incentives Can Be
Big Motivators”, small businesses can and do put thought into motivating employees to
perform at high levels. The box highlights companies who provide mentoring activities for
new employees and other companies who believe that stress release type activities re-
energizes employees.
Feedback: Small businesses may even have an easier time of it when it comes to motivating
employees. The small group feel is conducive to activities that relieve stress, and open
communication type activities that encourage learning, confidence, and job enrichment type
environment.
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183. A 25-year employee at a mid-sized company remarked, “I can remember when we
were small enough that we had time for water cooler talk! Sometimes I wish we could go
back a few years when everyone liked being here. Now, we seem to be more excited about
our next raise rather than our next product launch!” According to the Spotlight on Small
Business Box, “Small Incentives Can Be Big Motivators”, small businesses seem to be
better at motivating employees with open communication and more broad-based
responsibilities, where employees exchange ideas and become generalists at what they
do.
Feedback: Small businesses have a greater opportunity to motivate with open communication
and broad-based responsibilities. As mentioned in the Spotlight on Small Business box, the
employee has more opportunity to speak his/her mind, and feels less like another “drone in the
great corporate beehive.”
184. Lisa is a Gen Xer who has just been promoted to a management position. If she is like
many of her generation, one of Lisa’s biggest problems is likely to be her inflexibility and
difficulty at working collaboratively with other employees.
Feedback: Members of Gen X tend to flexible and usually have the ability to work
collaboratively.
185.
Chapter 10 – Motivating Employees
Anthony is putting together an employee group to help add new technology to his
company’s existing products. He is seeking employees who are comfortable with new
technologies, and who are flexible, adaptable, and have a strong sense of commitment to
their work. Many of his company’s newest and youngest employees probably would meet
these criteria.
Feedback: Employees in their early 20s are members of Generation Y. These employees tend
to be techno savvy, flexible, adaptable, and able to multitask. Perhaps the most surprising
characteristic of many Gen Yers is their sense of commitment.
186. Blake was asked by his team leader to explore and evaluate the best ways to
communicate with customers online. Although Blake is relatively new to the company,
and is not well versed on the entire product line, he is a millennial which makes him
overall well suited to knowing how people find things in common with others in an online
environment.
Feedback: Millennials (also known as Generation Y) have never experienced life without
computers and the Internet. This generation navigates web sites very well.
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187. The personal satisfaction people feel when they have done a job well is a(n)
__________ reward.
A. cognitive
B. extrinsic
C. physiological
D. intrinsic
188. Rewards that come from someone else in recognition of good work are _________
rewards.
A. conditional
B. self-actualized
C. extrinsic
D. secondary
189. _________________ was the father of scientific management.
A. Elton Mayo
B. Frank Gilbreth
C. Henry Gantt
D. Frederick Taylor