122. Refer to Wegmans. Wegmans’ scholarship bonuses for part-time workers indicate the company is
using:
a.
over-rewarding
b.
positive reinforcement
c.
positive extinction
d.
under-rewarding
e.
an expectancy contingency
123. Refer to Wegmans. The goal at Wegmans is to create “telepathic customer service.” Employees are
allowed, even encouraged, to do anything they need to do to satisfy customers In fact, chefs at
Wegmans have gone to customers’ homes to fix incorrect food orders. In terms of goal-setting theory,
these chefs had exceptional:
a.
goal recognition
b.
goal congruity
c.
goal specificity
d.
goal difficulty
e.
goal acceptance
BP and Texas City
The death toll from the 2005 blast at the British-based BP oil refinery in Texas City, Texas, was 15.
The explosion at the nation’s third largest refinery injured about 180 people and sent flames and black
smoke towering into the sky. The explosion occurred at the refinery’s isomerization unit, which is used
to increase the octane content of some fuel products. Alarms and gauges that were supposed to warn of
the overfilled equipment didn’t work properly. After several attempts to notify upper management of
the safety issues at the plant, its employees gave up and just hoped nothing would go wrong. The U.S.
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), one of several agencies that examined the
causes of the blast, said internal BP documents show that when BP acquired the refinery, it had
ordered an immediate 25 percent, across-the-budget cut in fixed costs at its refineries. The CSB report
ended by saying, “The combination of cost-cutting, production pressures, and failure to invest caused a
progressive deterioration of safety at the refinery.”
124. Refer to BP and Texas City. _____ in the form of wanting to keep the refinery open was the force
that encouraged Texas City managers to make the 25 percent budget cuts demanded by the new owner
of the facility.
a.
Attitude
b.
Self-management
c.
Persistence
d.
Motivation
e.
Compliance
125. Refer to BP and Texas City. In terms of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the _____ needs of the
employees were not being met at the refinery.
a.
existence
b.
safety
c.
hygiene
d.
self-actualization
e.
achievement
126. Refer to BP and Texas City. _____ rewards were given the employees at the Texas City refinery
when its management met the 25 percent budgetary reduction goals. (The employees were allowed to
keep their jobs.)
a.
Extrinsic
b.
Psychological
c.
Intangible
d.
Assigned
e.
Intrinsic
127. Refer to BP and Texas City. In terms of the equity theory of motivation, the employees at the Texas
City refinery just prior to the accident more than likely:
a.
had their negative behavior strengthen by being ignored
b.
had a low level of goal acceptance
c.
felt they were not being treated fairly
d.
had a low valence
e.
perceived a high instrumentality
128. Refer to BP and Texas City. In terms of the equity theory, employees of other refineries near and in
Texas City were _____ for the employees at the BP facility.
a.
valence bearers
b.
instrumental participants
c.
referents
d.
mentors
e.
reinforcers
129. Refer to BP and Texas City. According to the expectancy theory of motivation, the employees at the
Texas City refinery just prior to the accident more than likely:
a.
did not expect management to fix the safety problems
b.
believed they were being treated unfairly
c.
did not believe the refinery had reached an effective level of goal attainment
d.
saw the fact that management was ignoring their input as a punishment
e.
did not perceive their lower-needs to be satisfied
130. Refer to BP and Texas City. According to the reinforcement theory of motivation, management
hoped that ______ was occurring when it ignored the employees’ request for a safer work
environment.
a.
negative reinforcement
b.
punishment
c.
extinction
d.
under-reward
e.
positive reinforcement
131. Refer to BP and Texas City. Which motivation theory was BP probably using when it instructed the
newly-acquired Texas City refinery to reduce costs across-the-board by 25 percent?
a.
the theory of need satisfaction
b.
the goal-setting theory of motivation
c.
the expectancy theory of motivation
d.
the equity theory of motivation
e.
the theory of under-rewarding
Nucor
Nucor Corporation’s mission is to “Take Care of Our Customers” by being the safest, highest quality,
lowest cost, most productive, and most profitable steel company in the world. In 2006, Nucor
employed 12,000 employees and earned a record $1.76 billion. Its organizational structure is very
simple with only five levels of management, allowing general managers at each Nucor division to
operate their facilities as independent businesses with day-to-day decisions made on site at the
operating facilities.
Nucor makes a priority of taking care of its employees as well. Since its entry into the steel
business, Nucor has not laid off a single employee due to lack of work. Though Nucor employees’
base pay is lower than industry standards, Nucor offers productivity bonuses to motivate its
employees. Bonuses can average 80-170 percent of the base pay with no limit. As a result Nucor
employees are among the highest paid and most productive industrial workers in the United States.
Another factor in Nucor’s success has been the unprecedented demand for steel, domestically
and internationally, particularly in China. In the last year, however, China has become not only
self-sufficient but a major exporter of steel. With worldwide supply catching up with demand,
production will slow down, which means Nucor employees’ wages will sink below industry standards.
Though effective up till now, Nucor’s reward’s system has two potential problems. First, the
system relies exclusively on wage bonuses. Second, these bonuses depend on productivity, which
necessarily will have to be cut back if product demand decreases. Nucor needs to find alternative
non-monetary rewards to minimize the negative impact that wage decreases will have on employee
motivation. This could be done by offering more challenging work, greater responsibility, and freedom
to pursue personally interesting tasks. Nucor might also offer non-monetary recognition, such as
praise, achievement awards, and training opportunities.
Predicting how far demand will drop is not easy. If it continues to go down, Nucor ought to
remember that layoffs should be the absolutely last resort. The first option would be reducing the
number of work hours. How the decrease in hours should be distributed among employees ought to be
done in a way that will be perceived as fair and must be communicated by top managers and
supervisors in a way that employees will understand.
Furthermore, the sooner these measures are implemented, the better. Nucor should engage in
contingency planning in case certain scenarios such as these do occur. Nucor should also create a team
to explore other possible uses for steel, which might open up new demand.
132. Refer to Nucor. How does job performance at Nucor relate to the motivation of its employees?
a.
Motivation = Job Performance – All Tangible Inputs
b.
Job Performance = Motivation Ability Situational Constraints
c.
Job Performance = Perceived Rewards and Punishments + Environmental Constraints
d.
Motivation + Inputs = Job Performance
e.
Motivation = Job Performance + Employee Ability + Job Constraints
133. Refer to Nucor. What rules should Nucor’s management follow if they wish to rely heavily on equity
theory?
a.
Don’t reinforce the wrong behavior.
b.
Reward good behavior immediately; punish bad behavior selectively.
c.
Create more instrumentality.
d.
Reduce employees’ inputs.
e.
Increase goal attainment probability.
134. Refer to Nucor. The high expectancy of Nucor’s employees means they would perceive:
a.
a strong relationship between effort and performance
b.
a strong relationship between performance and rewards
c.
a weak relationship between input and outcome
d.
a weak relationship between performance and rewards
e.
a strong relationship between goal attainment and goal acceptance
135. Refer to Nucor. The employees’ perception that money has a positive valence means they:
a.
are motivated only by financial means
b.
do not view themselves as having any responsibility for outcomes
c.
view goal acceptance as important to their success
d.
see a weak relationship between effort and performance
e.
see a strong relationship between performance and rewards
136. Refer to Nucor. What rules should Nucor’s management follow if they wish to rely heavily on
reinforcement theory?
a.
Let some time pass before administering any punishment.
b.
Don’t reinforce the wrong behavior.
c.
Use intrinsic rewards to maintain behavior, and extrinsic rewards to change behavior.
d.
Use reinforcement to create an environment for goal satisfaction.
e.
All of these are rules Nucor’s management should follow it they wish to rely heavily on
reinforcement theory.
SHORT ANSWER
1. Briefly explain the following equation: Job Performance = Motivation Ability Situational
Constraints.
2. Briefly explain the relationship between need satisfaction and motivation.
3. Give an example of one well-known needs theory. Be sure to identify the needs described by that
theory.
ANS:
4. Distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Which are most important to workers in general?
5. Define equity theory. List its basic components and give one example of each of these components.
6. Briefly identify the two types of inequity. What are the accompanying psychological reactions of the
person perceiving each type of inequity?
ANS:
7. Differentiate between distributive and procedural justice. Briefly explain how each relates to
motivating with equity theory.
8. Define expectancy theory. Identify the theory’s three key concepts.
9. Compare and contrast the industrial psychology model of performance with the expectancy model of
motivation.
ANS:
10. Briefly identify the ways in which managers can use expectancy theory to motivate employees.
11. What are reinforcement contingencies? How are reinforcement contingencies related to behavior?
12. How can managers use reinforcement theory to motivate their employees?
ANS:
13. Describe the goal-setting theory. Briefly identify the theory’s basic components.
ESSAY
1. Identify the four things that the basic model of work motivation suggests managers can use to motivate
employees, and explain how each of these strategies might be used to motivate a 55-year-old tenured
professor, whose teaching performance has become very weak over the past three years. Briefly
explain the relevance of the industrial psychology formulation of the relationship between
performance and motivation to the analysis that you provide. Be sure to clarify any assumptions that
you are making.
2. Define equity theory. Identify the five ways in which people try to restore equity when they perceive
that they have been treated unfairly. Describe a circumstance in which you or someone you know
experienced inequity in a work situation, and explain the actions you (or that person) took to restore
equity.
ANS:
3. Explain expectancy theory. Use the concepts and principles from this theory to illustrate how you
personally chose to work harder (or less hard) in a particular course because of your perceptions
regarding the probable results (i.e., degree of payoff) of your level of effort in that course at that point
in your life.
4. What is the relationship between reinforcement and reinforcement theory? Describe how
reinforcement contingencies and schedules of reinforcement affect behavior.
5. Imagine that you have just been elected chair of a campus committee that is trying to raise $100,000 in
scholarship funding for disabled youth. Your committee is composed of 15 college instructors,
students, and staff with an additional 25 community volunteers who have agreed to provide ideas and
labor in the fundraising effort. Explain how you, in your role as chair, would use the principles of
goal-setting theory to achieve your committee’s goal.
6. Explain the relationship posited by industrial psychologists between motivation and job performance.
Use examples from your readings or experiences to indicate how one or more of the specific
motivational models described in this chapter might integrate with the industrial psychology model to
provide a fuller understanding of work performance. Cite three implications for managers based upon
your analysis.
