55. __________________ is the process of linking consequences with voluntary
behaviors.
56. Which of the following is the most difficult operant conditioning strategy to
transfer from the laboratory to the work environment?
57. A hospital administrator tells a nurse who talks on the phone too much
that he will quit paging her every 15 minutes if she quits the phone calls. This
action is an example of:
58. Roger’s sales suggestion box usually contains at least three requests to
move staff meetings from Monday morning to any other time. Monday afternoon
is the usual preference. Roger told his sales staff, “If we exceed quota this month
by 10 percent, we will move staff meetings from Monday morning to Monday
afternoons.” What behavior modification strategy did Roger use?
59. A hospital administrator assigns the worst shift to a nurse who talks too
much on the phone during the day. This action is an example of:
60. Susanne, a secretary, has come in late to work every day for the past
month. Ed, her boss, has covered the phones, made his own coffee, and been
trapped with unexpected early morning visitors. Susanne gets more late every
week. He said nothing until last week’s sarcastic comment, “Alarm clock broken
again?” Susanne had laughed and patted him on the cheek as she sauntered in.
Ed went to HR and learned the “red hot stove” discipline technique. Next time
Susanne walks in late, he plans to fire her. Do you approve of Ed’s plan?
Essay Questions
61. Describe a few of the common motivational myths.
62. Joe’s new manager Martha has heard about Joe’s star performer status.
However, she has seen only average performance from him. In a face-to-face
63. Outline the various skills needed to improve motivation using the
expectancy theory.
64. You are the manager of a call service center. You have identified a few
members of your team who have the education and required skills to perform
well, but are woefully short of accomplishing their goals. How will you go about
diagnosing their motivational problems?
© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution
in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-01 Explain the expectancy theory of motivation and its components.
Topic: Framing Motivation Challenges and Ideas: The Expectancy Theory
65. Pete has been working with the same investment bank for the last five
years. During a casual chat with his friend in HR, he finds out that Tom, a new
hire in the same group, has been offered a salary almost double that of Pete’s.
Tom has similar education qualifications as Pete but has lesser experience.
Discuss Pete’s options for restoring a sense of equity.
66. Discuss McClelland’s learned needs theory.
67. Discuss the five core job dimensions that the Job Characteristics Model
(JCM) identifies. Give an example of at least one profession which scores high
for each job dimension.
68. Identify the five JCM interventions. How can they help design more
fulfilling work (according to the JCM)?
69. Describe a serious workplace violation (time falsification, theft, etc.) that
you have witnessed. If you were the manager, how would you administer
punishment effectively? First, justify punishment as your choice of behavior
modification strategy.
70. Which of the four reinforcement strategies is the most difficult to transfer
from the lab to the work environment? Why?
71. Two of your group members have been underperforming for quite a while
now. As their manager, you have tried a variety of techniques to boost their
performance, including extra training, goal setting, performance-linked
appropriate rewards, etc. However, none of the techniques have had any
significant effect. As a last resort, you seek advice from a performance
consultant. She teaches you the “red hot stove” technique. How will you use this
technique?