Human Relations: Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills, 12e (DuBrin)
Chapter 11 Motivating Others
11.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Mandy is engaged in her work as a medical billing specialist, so she will most likely
A) be highly involved in her work.
B) regard her job as a means to an end.
C) expect her supervisor to motivate her with extensive praise.
D) dislike working beyond the standard work week.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2) A desired outcome of motivational techniques in the workplace is to get workers to be
A) thankful that they have a job.
B) more caring about external rewards than getting the job done.
C) engaged and committed.
D) satisfied with their working conditions.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3) The motivational principle of WIIFM means that people are motivated by
A) concern for the welfare of others.
B) self-interest.
C) a need to avoid pain.
D) a spirit of excitement and adventure.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
4) An important link between psychological needs and behaviors is that people will often
A) develop needs to satisfy their behavior.
B) engage in behaviors to satisfy a need.
C) behave in ways that contradict their needs.
D) avoid behavior related to needs.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
1
5) Jessica has a strong need to affiliate with other people. She is therefore likely to display the
personality trait of
A) extraversion.
B) introversion.
C) emotional instability.
D) conscientiousness.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
6) Oscar has a strong need for equity, so he is likely to be encouraged if he thinks
A) coworkers whom he likes are paid better than he is.
B) his rewards in general are lower than those of coworkers.
C) the future will be brighter for him.
D) the rewards he receives are comparable to those received by coworkers.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7) To use negative reinforcement to motivate José, an office temporary, his manager would
A) put José on probation if he performs poorly.
B) ignore most of José’s actions.
C) give José a “worst employee of the month” award.
D) promise to give José a permanent job if he performs well.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
8) An appropriate reward is one that
A) is much bigger than previous rewards the person has received.
B) does not create an addiction to rewards.
C) is effective for the individual involved.
D) puts a worker in a good mood.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9) When intermittent rewards are used in positive reinforcement, the
A) desired behavior fades quickly.
B) desired behavior is sustained longer.
C) undesired behavior fades quickly.
D) undesired behavior is sustained longer.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2
10) The purpose of a visible reward is to
A) irritate those whose work did not qualify for a reward.
B) keep coworkers from wanting the same reward.
C) let other workers observe to see what kind of behavior is rewarded.
D) make the workers who did not receive the reward jealous.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
11) Team leader Ray should be particularly aware of which of the following suggestions about
the use of positive reinforcement?
A) Reward the team or group also.
B) Keep the reward the same almost all the time.
C) External rewards usually backfire.
D) Let the group decide what behavior will lead to a reward.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
12) An important reason that employee recognition programs are often effective is that
A) most workers are greedy.
B) most workers feel they do not receive enough recognition.
C) collecting company souvenirs is a popular hobby.
D) the need for economic security and safety is strong.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
13) In a peer-to-peer recognition program, coworkers
A) use their own money to given recognition awards to each other.
B) write yearly reviews about the accomplishments of coworkers.
C) post compliments about each other on a social media site.
D) make public statements about which employees are social loafers.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
14) A most likely effective way for a company to use a Facebook-style Web site as a vehicle for
motivating employees would be to have employees
A) post deserved compliments about each other on a designated page.
B) invite other employees to play games posted on Facebook.
C) post negative comments about coworkers who fall behind in their work.
D) post compliments about the company on a designated page.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3
15) A fine point about using recognition to motivate others is that
A) technically-oriented people tend to prefer lavish, general praise.
B) technically-oriented people prefer to first be criticized, then praised.
C) interpersonally-oriented people tend to prefer quite specific praise.
D) technically-oriented people tend to prefer quite specific praise.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
16) Expectancy theory is based on the belief that people
A) want to maximize gain and minimize loss.
B) bet on the outcomes of a situation.
C) strive to receive bigger rewards than others.
D) are willing to endure pain to receive the right reward.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) Marilyn asks, “If I work hard, will I get the job done?” She is illustrating which aspect of
expectancy theory?
A) performance-to-outcome expectancy
B) valence
C) behavior modification
D) effort-to-performance expectancy
AACSB: Application of knowledge
18) Todd asks the question, “If I get the job done, will I really get my reward?” He is illustrating
which aspect of expectancy theory?
A) valence
B) effort-to-performance expectancy
C) performance-to-outcome expectancy
D) managerial effort
AACSB: Application of knowledge
19) Which one of the following valences would lead to the highest degree of motivated effort?
A) 0
B) +50
C) -50
D) -100
AACSB: Analytical thinking
4
20) The impact of a positive mood on expectancy theory is that
A) the person loses interest in rewards.
B) the person loses interest in punishments.
C) all three components are likely to be elevated in value.
D) all three components are likely to be lowered in value.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
21) Which one among the following questions would be part of using expectancy theory to
diagnose motivation?
A) How conscientious is this person?
B) How badly does this person want the reward in question?
C) How emotionally stable is this person?
D) To what extent is this person a good organization citizen?
AACSB: Application of knowledge
22) Which one of the following suggestions would not be an effective way of applying
expectancy theory to motivate a person?
A) Overlook individual differences in valences.
B) Explain how rewards are linked to performance.
C) Increase the performance expectations of the person being motivated.
D) Train and encourage people.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
23) Michelle is the worst performer in your group. To use the Pygmalion effect to motivate her,
you should
A) criticize her privately.
B) increase her performance-to-outcome expectancies.
C) lower your expectations of her performance.
D) raise your expectations of her performance.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
24) Jill rewards herself for doing something right. This is an example of
A) behavior modification.
B) goal setting.
C) raising your self-expectations.
D) getting feedback on your performance.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
5
25) Which one of the following would be the most effective for increasing self-motivation?
A) Improve your skills related to the goals you want to attain.
B) Lower your level of self-expectation.
C) Lower your work ethic to a level you can easily attain.
D) Find work that is motivated primarily by external rewards.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
Job Scenario, Multiple-Choice
Antonia is the supervisor of consumer-products recycling at a large electronics recycler. The
recycled products include PCs, laptop computers, smartphones, and cell phones. The profit
margins are quite thin in consumer-products recycling. As a result, the recycling technicians must
work rapidly to recycle enough material to cover expenses and make a profit. Many of the
recycling technicians are people who have been given a second chance, such as former prisoners
or drug addicts. Many of these workers have not yet developed a strong work ethic. Antonia has
been instructed by higher management that she must rise to the challenge of keeping the workers
strongly motivated.
26) Antonia decides to use rewards and punishment, to motivate the technicians reporting to her.
Which one of the following is likely to be an effective tactic for Antonia to use?
(Assume that Antonia has the approval of upper-management to use the tactics described next.)
A) Explain to the technicians that being a consumer-products recycler is privileged work and that
they should be grateful to their employer.
B) Inform the group not to be too concerned about external rewards because good work is its
own reward.
C) Give small financial incentives, such as $20 for a week of attaining the production goal.
D) Explain to the group that she is setting relatively low expectations for them because of their
records as former convicts and drug addicts.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
6
27) Antonia observes that one of her recycling technicians, Jack, has fallen short of his recycling
quota for three consecutive weeks. Antonia questions Jack about his poor performance, and he
responds, “I’m not as fast as some other guys. I guess I’m just a dumb ex-con.” Antonia thinks
that Jack is selling himself short, so she decides to apply expectancy theory to motivate Jack.
Following an idea related to expectancy theory, Antonia should explain to Jack that
A) the valences he has attached to the potential rewards are too high.
B) she thinks he is capable, and increases his production goals slightly.
C) his self-confidence might be too low for the task.
D) there is no guarantee that management will follow through with a reward if he does increase
his production.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
11.2 True/False Questions
1) Brad has strong work engagement in his position as an engineering technician, suggesting that
he has injected the self into the job.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2) Brenda feels uncommitted to her position as a restaurant manager, suggesting that her work
engagement is likely to be high.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3) The WIIFM principle refers to the fact that most people are motivated by self-interest.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
4) The act of helping other people may be generous, yet it will often satisfy an important
psychological need of the helper.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
5) One of the seven needs that alone or in combination appear to motivate the vast majority of
employees is the need for escaping responsibility.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7
6) Employees with a strong need for equity will often complain about why they are not paid as
much as members of high-level management.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7) One of the seven needs that alone or in combination appears to motivate the vast majority of
employees is the need for autonomy.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
8) An example of negative reinforcement would be to assign a worker a piece of old, broken
equipment because the person is late for work frequently.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9) An important characteristic of an appropriate reward is one that the person administering the
reward enjoys giving.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
10) An important principle of positive reinforcement is to make sure that all forms of
accomplishment receive the same reward.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
11) To keep a desired response going for a long time, it is best to reward the person every once in
a while (not every time) for making the response.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
12) The purpose of a visible reward is to make employees appreciative of what the company has
done for them.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
13) Department manager Tim rewards the group as a whole for a good job, and thereby tends to
violate basic rules for applying positive reinforcement.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
8
14) Employees tend to perceive recognition as an entitlement, whereas compensation is regarded
as a gift.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
15) Recognition is a pure motivator in the sense that it is not tied in with other motivators such as
financial incentives.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
16) A recommendation for giving recognition is to be broad and general, to avoid the employee
asking for a raise about being a strong contributor.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) According to expectancy theory, many workers will gamble the money from a year-end
bonus at a casino, even if they think they have a small chance of winning.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
18) If you have high self-efficacy for a particular task, you are likely to have a high effort-to-
performance expectancy.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
19) Performance-to-outcome expectancies are tied in closely with trusting your manager and the
company.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
20) Carol attaches a valence of 95 to staying in her present job location. Carol will therefore put
extra effort into working so hard that she will be recommended for a transfer.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
9
21) The components of expectancy theory tend to hold the same value whether or not the person
being motivated is in a good mood.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
22) An important step in applying expectancy theory is to minimize the size of rewards to avoid
confusing the person to be motivated.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
23) To apply the Pygmalion effect, take the worst performing member of the group and give him
or her a visible punishment.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
24) Alicia wants to enhance her motivation by engaging in intrinsically motivating work, so she
volunteers to work on a project that fits her desire to engage in creative problem solving.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
25) George applies the Galatea effect when he lowers his self-expectations in order to avoid the
frustration of failing to attain a goal.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
10