Test Bank
119
CHAPTER 2—INFLUENCES ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR
TRUE/FALSE
1. Downsizing is the voluntary reduction in the size of the workforce
2. The motivational theories by Maslow and Alderfer are examples of cognitive theories of motivation.
3. In expectancy theory, the importance that an individual places upon a particular outcome is called instrumentality.
4. According to social learning theory, self-efficacy is defined as a person’s beliefs about their ability to perform a job.
5. The self-fulfilling prophecy is also called the Pygmalion effect
6. Groupthink means that a group is ‘smarter’ than the individuals in the group.
7. According to the self-fulfilling prophecy a supervisors expectations of behavior can impact the employee’s behavior
8. Leadership is the coercive influence used to direct and coordinate the activities of a group toward accomplishing a goal.
9. The behavioral intentions model is based on a combination of attitudes and perceived social pressures to behave in a given way.
10. According to Wagner & Hollenbeck 5 employee outcomes are of particular interest.
11. Cohesiveness means that group members are willing to remain a part of the group?
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12. In general need theories of motivation focus on a deficiency that energizes one’s behavior.
13. Specific and difficult goals lead to higher performance than do vague and easy goals.
14. Attitudes can easily be used to explain all behaviors.
15. KSA stands for knowledge, skills and attitudes.
16. Goals do not need to be agreed to by employees to be effective.
17. A major focus of most HRD interventions is to change employee behavior.
18. Outcomes can be either personal to the employee or organizationally focused.
19. In equity theory employees compare themselves to their goals.
20. The employee work outcomes in the Wagner-Hollenbeck model of motivation and performance are: Desire to perform, effort,
performance and motivation.
Test Bank
121
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. External forces impacting employee behavior include all of the following except?
a.
KSA’s
b.
Technology developments
c.
Government laws
d.
Economic conditions
2. Internal forces impacting employee behavior include all of the following except?
a.
Supervisors
b.
Co-workers
c.
Global influences
d.
The organizational reward structure
3. Downsizing.
a.
Is not very common among large companies
b.
Was a trend of the 1950’s but not seen often today
c.
Usually causes a large jump in profits and stock price
d.
Is a voluntary reduction in the overall size of the workforce
4. A personal outcome of employee behavior would include:
a.
Downsizing
b.
Pay and recognition
c.
Teamwork
d.
Productivity
5. An organizational outcome of employee behavior would include:
a.
Downsizing
b.
Pay
c.
Productivity
d.
Recognition
6. In expectancy theory, the importance that an individual places upon a particular outcome is called a(n):
a.
instrumentality
b.
valence
c.
expectancy
d.
extrinsic motivation
7. According to social learning theory, self-efficacy is defined as a person’s beliefs:
a.
about their ability to successfully perform a particular task or activity
b.
about their overall worth or sense of value
c.
that performing a particular task will lead to a given outcome
d.
that the cause of their behavior is something external to themselves
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8. Which motivation theory suggests that people compare the outcomes they received to the outcomes received by others?
a.
equity theory
b.
attribution theory
c.
goal-setting theory
d.
expectancy theory
9. Reinforcement theory deals mainly with:
a.
trainability
b.
rewards and punishment
c.
intrinsic motivation
d.
the need for social belonging
10. A person’s general feeling of favorableness or unfavorable toward some object is the definition of a(n):
a.
ability
b.
outcome
c.
motivation
d.
attitude
11. The motivational theories by Maslow and Alderfer are examples of what type of motivational approach?
a.
cognitive
b.
meta-analytic
c.
noncognitive
d.
need-based
12. The idea that a supervisor’s (or trainer’s) expectations for an employee (or trainee) can influence the employee’s (or trainee’s)
behavior is referred to as the:
a.
Pygmalion effect
b.
vertical-dyad-linkage theory
c.
path-goal theory
d.
Groupthink theory
13. The following are factors in the work environment that affect an employee’s behavior EXCEPT:
a.
supervision
b.
coworkers
c.
organizational design
d.
outcomes
14. Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB) is:
a.
Also called task performance
b.
Never a job-related behavior
c.
Required behavior by most organizations
d.
Contribute to organizational effectiveness
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15. According to the text an organization can influence employee behavior in the following ways EXCEPT:
a.
bonus pay
b.
culture
c.
laws and regulations
d.
job design
16. Behavior modification principles suggest four choices for controlling an employee’s behavior. These include all of the following
EXCEPT:
a.
positive reinforcement
b.
termination
c.
extinction
d.
negative reinforcement
17. In terms of salesperson’s knowledge, skills and abilities, which of the following task would be considered ability?
a.
technical troubleshooting
b.
“cold calling”
c.
developing relationships
d.
audiovisual expertise
18. Internal forces that impact employee behavior:
a.
Organizational culture
b.
Performance expectations
c.
Job design
d.
All of the above impact employee behavior
19. Downsizing is:
a.
When one company buys another
b.
When two companies merge their operations
c.
When an employees work load is reduced by hiring more employees
d.
When a company reduced the size of the work force
20. Employee behavior at work is not influenced by:
a.
Coworkers
b.
Political issues outside work
c.
The organization reward structure
d.
The supervisor one works for
21. The concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy is also called:
a.
Pygmalion effect
b.
Self efficacy
c.
Instrumentality
d.
Valence
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22. The self-fulfilling prophecy means that:
a.
What you see is what you get
b.
A picture is worth 1000 words
c.
If you value the reward you will work hard
d.
The supervisors expectations can impact employee behavior
23. The organization impacts employee behaviors based on:
a.
The type, distribution and criteria for rewarding people
b.
How much money a person makes compared to others
c.
Whether or not there is a bonus
d.
Pay has not impact on employee behaviors
24. According to path-goal theory of leadership motivation and job satisfaction will be high if:
a.
The leader identifies the goals and clarifies the paths employees can take to reach these goals.
b.
The leader identifies the goals and lets the employees seek their own path to reach these goals.
c.
The leader lets the employee identify their own goals and then ignores their efforts
d.
None of the above are true
25. Organization culture is:
a.
Illegal to talk about
b.
Of no interest to training and development
c.
A set of values, beliefs and patterns of behaviors that are shared by members of the organization
d.
A factor only for management level employees
26. Job design is:
a.
Not important in the way employees behave
b.
A function of the tasks one performs and the scope of responsibilities
c.
Done by HR Designers only once each year
d.
The way the employee performs the job
27. Groupthink means that:
a.
People are grouped at work by their IQ
b.
People in groups usually seek unanimity
c.
Groups spend more time thinking than doing
d.
It actually does not exist as a concept
28. Organizational rewards:
a.
Includes only things like pay and benefits
b.
Has no impact on employee behavior
c.
Includes pay and intangible things like recognition.
d.
Work most effectively when they are used as control mechanisms
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29. A norm is best defined as:
a.
A part of company policy
b.
An informal rule for appropriate behavior with a group
c.
A written policy for behavior
d.
Something each employees makes up for themselves
30. Social loafing:
a.
Increases as group size increases
b.
Goes down as the group gets smaller
c.
Is a tendency of members to reduce performance
d.
All of the above are true
31. Maslow’s need theory of motivation:
a.
Contains 2 factors
b.
Contains 5 categories of needs
c.
Focuses on existence, relatedness and growth
d.
None of the above are true
32. Herzberg’s theory of motivation:
a.
Contains 2 factors – hygiene and motivator factors
b.
Contains 5 categories of needs
c.
Focuses on existence, relatedness and growth
d.
None of the above are true
33. Alderfer’s theory of motivation:
a.
Contains 2 factors – hygiene and motivator factors
b.
Contains 5 categories of needs
c.
Focuses on existence, relatedness and growth
d.
None of the above are true
34. Motivation focuses on all of the following processes affecting behavior except:
a.
Energizing
b.
Direction
c.
Cohesiveness
d.
Persistence
35. Goals setting theory:
a.
Is well supported by research
b.
Works only for some employees
c.
Has no role in training
d.
Works only if the goals are easy to achieve
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36. According to Social Learning Theory a person’s self-efficacy expectations will determine:
a.
Whether or not they will do the task correctly
b.
How much effort a person will spend on a task
c.
The size of the reward they expect
d.
Whether or not they like doing the task
37. Which is the correct sequence of events according to Behavior modeling theory?
a.
Let them see a model, tell the trainee what to do practice, feedback and social reinforcement
b.
Tell the trainee what to do, let them see a model, practice, feedback and social reinforcement
c.
Tell the trainee what to do, let them see a model, feedback, practice and social reinforcement
d.
Tell the trainee what to do, let them see a model, social reinforcement, practice and feedback
38. The behavioral intentions model:
a.
Explains why attitudes always predict actual behaviors
b.
Impact behavior only to the extent that they influence one’s intentions
c.
Is the best way to evaluate a training program
d.
Has no link to employee’s intentions to use what they learn during a training program.
39. Abilities
a.
Are a combination of what you can do and what you have learned over time
b.
Reflects what you have been trained to do
c.
Are an understanding you have of a particular subject
d.
Are a general capacity to perform a task
40. A major goal of HRD efforts includes all except:
a.
Stay within budget
c.
Improve organizational performance
b.
Help employees attain their goals
d.
Change employee behavior