Management, 14e (Robbins/Coulter)
Chapter 16 Motivating Employees
1) The ________ element in the definition of motivation is a measure of intensity, drive, and
vigor.
A) persistence
B) effort
C) energy
D) direction
2) Some people are motivated and some are not.
3) The definition of motivation has three key elements: effort, direction, and persistence.
4) In the study of motivation, quality is irrelevant to the energy element.
5) Define motivation and discuss the three elements of motivation.
6) In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, ________ needs form the lowest or foundational step
in the hierarchy.
A) psychomotor
B) physiological
C) psychological
D) psychographic
7) Matthew is worried that he will not be able to pay his mortgage and feed his family since he
was laid off from his production job. Which one of Maslow’s levels of need is a concern to
Matthew?
A) self-actualization
B) esteem
C) psychological
D) physiological
8) According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, when an employer provides his employees
health insurance, he is taking care of their ________ needs.
A) safety
B) social
C) self-actualization
D) esteem
9) In the context of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, when a company has a space where
employees can meet during breaks and catch up with each other, the company is taking care of
the employees’ ________ needs.
A) safety
B) self-actualization
C) social
D) psychological
10) In the context of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, when a company names an “Employee
of the Month” and “Employee of the Quarter,” the company is addressing employees’ ________
needs.
A) safety
B) self-actualization
C) esteem
D) psychological
11) According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, a person’s needs for self-respect,
autonomy, achievement, status, recognition, and attention constitute his ________ needs.
A) safety
B) self-actualization
C) social
D) esteem
12) Marlin, a physicist in a large corporation, has been asked by his professional association to
present a scientific paper at the national convention. This type of recognition will help Marlin
fulfill his ________ needs.
A) psychological
B) esteem
C) self-actualization
D) social
13) According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, a person’s needs for growth, achieving
one’s potential, and self-fulfillment constitute his or her ________ needs.
A) psychological
B) esteem
C) social
D) self-actualization
14) With its motto “Be All that You Can Be,” the United States Army encouraged recruits to
fulfill their ________ needs.
A) physiological
B) psychological
C) esteem
D) self-actualization
15) Which one of the following needs is the highest in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory?
A) safety needs
B) self-actualization needs
C) esteem needs
D) social needs
16) Which one of the following needs is a lower-order need in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
theory?
A) social
B) esteem
C) safety
D) self-actualization
17) Which one of the following needs is a higher-order need in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
theory?
A) physiological
B) esteem
C) power
D) safety
18) According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, ________ needs are predominantly
satisfied externally while ________ needs are satisfied internally.
A) physiological; safety
B) safety; self-actualization
C) self-actualization; physiological
D) social; safety
19) Joe watches his youngest employees like a mother hen to make sure they stay on task and off
their cell phones. Joe is behaving like a ________ manager.
A) Theory X
B) Theory Y
C) Theory Z
D) Two-factor
20) McGregor’s Theory X assumes that employees ________.
A) need to be closely controlled to work effectively
B) enjoy work
C) seek out and accept responsibility
D) prefer autocratic supervisors
21) McGregor’s Theory Y assumes that employees ________.
A) have little ambition
B) want to avoid responsibility
C) enjoy work
D) need to be closely controlled to work effectively
22) Irene, CEO of a small company, strongly believes in Douglas McGregor’s assumptions about
human nature. Which one of the following management practices is Irene most likely to favor to
maximize employee motivation?
A) a top-down decision-making structure
B) a stringent system of monitoring and controlling employees
C) making jobs narrower in scope and shallow in depth
D) participatory management
23) John knows his more experienced workers don’t need him to “babysit” them; he trusts them
to know what to do, how to do it, and to get it done on time. In this respect, John is a ________
manager.
A) Theory X
B) Theory Y
C) Theory Z
D) Two-factor
24) Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory proposes that ________.
A) intrinsic factors cause job dissatisfaction
B) extrinsic factors have the maximum effect on job satisfaction
C) extrinsic factors are associated with job dissatisfaction
D) intrinsic factors have little effect on job satisfaction
25) According to Herzberg’s two-factor theory, which one of the following is a hygiene factor?
A) recognition
B) advancement
C) working conditions
D) responsibility
26) According to Herzberg’s two-factor theory, which one of the following is a motivator?
A) working conditions
B) salary
C) responsibility
D) security
27) Herzberg called the factors that create job dissatisfaction ________ factors; when these
factors are adequate, people won’t be dissatisfied, but they won’t be satisfied either.
A) intrinsic
B) hygiene
C) motivating
D) dissatisfiers
28) Which one of the following is true about Herzberg’s two-factor theory?
A) Herzberg believed that the factors that lead to job satisfaction were the same as those that lead
to job dissatisfaction.
B) To motivate people, Herzberg suggested emphasizing the hygiene factors of a job.
C) Satisfaction is not the opposite of dissatisfaction.
D) According to Herzberg, removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job will invariably
make that job more satisfying and motivating.
29) The employees at KLM Company are complaining that the supervisors tend to pick favorites
within their departments. Company policies are not equally enforced and the favorites are not
disciplined for safety violations. These employees are complaining about ________.
A) Theory X management
B) hygiene factors
C) intrinsic factors
D) equity theory
30) The three-needs theory of motivation states that there are three ________ needs that are
major motivators in work.
A) psychological
B) acquired
C) safety
D) innate
31) Which one of the following are the three needs identified in the three-needs theory of
motivation?
A) need for achievement, need for admiration, need for power
B) need for achievement, need for power, need for affiliation
C) need for power, need for achievement, need for affection
D) need for power, need for affirmation, need for affiliation
32) According to the three-needs theory, the need for ________ is the drive to succeed and excel
in relation to a set of standards.
A) control
B) affiliation
C) power
D) achievement
33) The need for ________ is similar to Maslow’s need for ________.
A) affiliation; safety
B) power; esteem
C) achievement; self-actualization
D) affirmation; esteem
34) According to the three-needs theory, the need for ________ is the need to make others
behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise.
A) control
B) leadership
C) power
D) achievement
35) Tiffany is usually the person who takes charge of the situation and gets people moving
toward the group’s objective. Tiffany probably has a high need for ________.
A) control
B) power
C) achievement
D) admiration
36) According to the three-needs theory, the need for ________ is the desire for friendly and
close interpersonal relationships.
A) belonging
B) affiliation
C) affection
D) achievement
37) Bob is a social butterfly. He often leaves his workstation to chat with coworkers. He
volunteers for every problem-solving team and enjoys planning the annual summer employee
picnic. Bob has a ________.
A) low need for safety
B) high need for esteem
C) low need for power
D) high need for affiliation
38) People with a high need for achievement ________.
A) emphasize helping others accomplish their goals
B) make good managers, especially in large organizations
C) prefer moderately challenging goals
D) emphasize the rewards of success
39) You are acting as manager and mentor to Melanie, an employee who has been identified as a
high achiever. According to McClelland’s three-needs theory, which one of the following
measures would most help you motivate Melanie to do her best?
A) promising her a promotion and a raise if she reaches her targets
B) giving her a job that holds her personally responsible for finding solutions to problems
C) setting goals that are just out of her reach
D) giving her a managerial position that requires her to help others accomplish their goals
40) According to the three-needs theory, the best managers tend to be ________.
A) low in the need for affiliation
B) low in the need for power
C) high in the need for affection
D) high in the need for achievement
41) According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, lower-order needs are predominantly
satisfied internally while higher-order needs are satisfied externally.
42) According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, once a need is substantially satisfied, that
need no longer motivates the individual.
43) Joseph, a line manager at a production facility, believes that his workers have little drive and
will not work unless he pushes them. Therefore, he closely monitors and controls their work and
disciplines those who do not meet his standards. Joseph is a Theory Y manager.
44) Research clearly indicates that the Theory Y manager is more effective in motivating
employees than the Theory X manager.
45) Frederick Herzberg found that when employees were dissatisfied, they tended to cite
extrinsic factors arising from the job context such as company policy and administration,
supervision, interpersonal relationships, and working conditions.
46) Despite the quantity of empirical evidence in its support, managers have largely ignored
Herzberg’s two factor theory when designing jobs.
47) People with a high need for achievement strive for the trappings and rewards of success
rather than for personal accomplishment.
48) Write a short essay on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by first describing the needs and then
discussing how these needs are interrelated according to the theory. How can managers use this
theory to motivate employees?
49) As manager of a large team of engineers, you notice that your team is falling short of its
goals primarily because several team members are either not motivated to put in their best or are
downright dissatisfied with their jobs. You have decided to follow Herzberg’s two-factor theory
to motivate your employees. What steps can you take to maximize motivation?
50) Michelle supervises six very diverse workers. They are male, female, older, younger,
different ethnic groups and nationalities, and in different life stages. How might Michelle use the
various theories of motivation to keep her workers inspired?
51) Goal-setting theory says that ________.
A) goals should be loosely defined and moderately challenging to maximize motivation
B) a generalized goal of “do your best” is likely to be most effective in ensuring high
performance
C) difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher performance than do easy goals
D) to be effective, goals set should be easily achievable for the top performers
52) The goal-setting theory states that ________.
A) employee participation in goal-setting is not always necessary for ensuring performance
B) self-generated feedback is largely ineffective as a motivator
C) in order to maximize performance, goals must not be made public
D) motivation is maximized by setting moderately challenging goals
53) Goal-setting theory assumes that an individual is committed to the goal. Commitment is most
likely when ________.
A) goals are assigned and not self-set
B) goals are not made public
C) the individual has an internal locus of control
D) the individual has low self-efficacy
54) The goal-setting theory has the most value when ________.
A) the individual is a high achiever
B) the goals are assigned to the individual
C) the individual has low self-efficacy
D) commitment to goals is made public
55) The goal-setting theory has most value in countries where ________.
A) there is high uncertainty avoidance
B) there is high power distance
C) individuals are low in assertiveness
D) subordinates are reasonably independent
56) At his last performance evaluation, Elliott agreed to earn 20 continuing education credits
before his next annual review. Ten months later, he still has not earned any. From this lack of
action, we can infer that ________.
A) Elliott works in a low uncertainty avoidance culture
B) Elliott is low in self-efficacy
C) Elliott’s manager is a Theory Y manager
D) Elliott was not committed to the goal
57) In a familiar children’s book, a little locomotive was asked to pull a heavy train up a steep
mountain. The “little engine,” as he was called, kept telling himself “I think I can. I think I can.”
The little engine was ________.
A) high in need for affiliation
B) low in commitment
C) high in self-efficacy
D) low in risk avoidance
58) ________ theory says that behavior is a function of its consequences.
A) Reinforcement
B) Expectancy
C) Equity
D) Two-factor
59) In the context of the reinforcement theory, reinforcers are ________.
A) those consequences that immediately follow a behavior and increase the probability that the
behavior will be repeated
B) punishments or rewards that are given out for negative or positive employee behavior,
respectively
C) the specific, unambiguous goals that have been set for employees as a standard for measuring
their performance
D) the supervisors or managers who have the responsibility of monitoring and reinforcing
desired employee behavior
60) To help her new supervisors remember the concept of reinforcement theory, Carol told them
to remember this: ________.
A) What gets measured gets monitored
B) What gets rewarded gets repeated
C) Whatever can go wrong, will
D) No good deed goes unpunished
61) Which one of the following actions accurately reflects the reinforcement theory of
motivation?
A) A company’s policy of cutting a day’s pay if an employee reports to work later than 10.30
A.M.
B) A company’s policy of giving its sales staff cash coupons for exceeding their daily targets.
C) A company initiating a process of job redesign to engage its employees better.
D) A company setting specific and difficult goals and ensuring that employees accept them.
62) The way tasks are combined to form complete jobs is referred to as ________.
A) job evaluation
B) job rotation
C) job design
D) job specification
63) ________ refers to the number of different tasks required in a job and the frequency with
which those tasks are repeated.
A) Job scope
B) Job depth
C) job enlargement
D) job enrichment
64) ________ refers to the horizontal expansion of a job by increasing the number of different
tasks required in a job and the frequency with which those tasks are repeated.
A) Job enrichment
B) Job scope
C) Job enlargement
D) Job depth
65) ________ refers to the vertical expansion of a job by adding planning and evaluating
responsibilities.
A) Job enrichment
B) Job enlargement
C) Job scope
D) Job depth