Chapter 16—Managing Employee Motivation and Performance
Key
1. When actors are playing a part, they try to determine what causes a character to behave in a certain way. The
actor is searching for the character’s motivation.
2. The goal for the manager is to maximize the likelihood an employee will choose to work as hard as possible
at a job.
3. Individual performance is generally determined by three things: skills, pay, and friends.
4. The historical perspectives on motivation are the traditional, human relations, and contingency approaches.
5. The human relations view assumes that the contributions themselves are valuable to both individuals and
organizations.
6. John feels excluded, like he is always the last to know things at work. He is not meeting his esteem needs.
7. Abraham Maslow was a traditionalist.
8. The hierarchy of needs theory suggests that more than one level of need can cause motivation at the same
time.
9. Achievement and recognition are hygiene factors in Herzberg’s two-factor theory.
10. People with a high need for power have a desire to assume personal responsibility, a tendency to set
moderately difficult goals, a desire for specific and immediate feedback, and a preoccupation with their task.
11. The desire to influence others is the need for power.
12. Process perspectives are concerned with how motivation occurs.
13. Performance based rewards violates the equity theory.
14. The goal-setting theory of motivation assumes that behavior is a result of conscious goals and intentions.
15. Goal commitment is the extent to which a goal is challenging and requires effort.
16. Goal-setting theory can be used to implement both expectancy and equity theory concepts.
17. Reinforcement perspectives explain the role of those rewards as they cause behavior to change or remain the
same over time.
18. The two methods of increasing the frequency of a behavior are positive reinforcement and extinction.
19. The two methods of reducing the frequency of behavior are punishment and avoidance.
20. Reinforcement schedules based on behaviors are called ratio reinforcement schedules.
21. Empowerment is more comprehensive than participation.
22. The method for applying the basic elements of reinforcement theory in an organizational setting is called
behavior modification.
23. Emergency medical technicians work 48 hour shifts every seven days. They use a compressed work
schedule.
24. An advantage of merit pay over incentive pay is that merit pay is typically a one-shot reward that does not
accumulate by adding to base salary.
25. A Scanlon plan is gainsharing shared more with employees.
26. According to the text, performance is basically determined by
27. Al just graduated from college with a 3.86 GPA in finance. Last summer he had an internship at a federal
reserve bank and received glowing performance reports. He has just gone to work for a Wall Street investment
banking firm noted for providing its people with all the tools they need to succeed and then letting them sink or
swim. Moore is determined to rise rapidly in the organization. From this information, Al’s ____ should be high.
28. Gerald is about to cook dinner and discovers he is missing an ingredient. He can switch to a new recipe,
substitute an ingredient, or create something completely new. He is currently in which step of the motivation
process?
29. Which historical approach to motivation is based on scientific management and takes an economic incentive
approach to motivation?
30. According to the ____ approach to motivation, the illusion of employee involvement and importance is
sufficient to satisfy workers’ basic social needs and result in higher motivation to perform.
31. According to the ____ approach to motivation, employees want to contribute and are able to make genuine
contributions to the organization. This philosophy guides most contemporary thinking about employee
motivation.
32. Which of the following perspectives on motivation concerns what motivates people as opposed to how they
are motivated?
33. Which of the following factors would NOT satisfy Maslow’s physiological needs?
34. When the number of H1N1 flu cases in an elementary school reached 10%, classes were postponed. The
school could not meet the ____ needs of students and faculty until the flu was gone.
35. The need to have a safe physical and emotional environment is a(n) ____ need.
36. Gary retired. He misses his friends from work. Retirement is not fulfilling which level of need in Maslow’s
hierarchy?
37. Wal-Mart rewards high performers with the chance to model or choose a family member to model, for their
sales flyers. Wal-Mart is attempting to meet associate’s ____ needs.
38. GM and the UAW announced an agreement to increase pay of entry-level employees. This will affect the
____ needs of these employees.
39. Wegmans sends deli employees to France to learn about cheese. Wegmans is attempting to meet ____
needs.
40. Book clubs around the country include readers who not only enjoy reading, but also are fulfilling their needs
for
41. Jill enjoys a challenge. She never stagnates. If work is not providing enough growth, then she will train for a
marathon. She is working on her ____ needs.
42. It can be argued that ____ needs must be met entirely from within the individual.
43. Unions nearly always bargain for retirement packages and comprehensive medical plans. Recently, they
have begun negotiating for advanced notice of plant closings. What need level from Maslow’s hierarchy do
these demands represent?
44. The title Major General is a way to help satisfy someone’s need for
45. Ron Cole enjoys many good friendships with the people he works with, but feels a real need to achieve great
things in his job. He tries everything he can think of to get his boss to give him a meaningful project to work on
and to gain some recognition for what he does, but to no avail. Finally, he concludes that he is wasting his time
and reverts to nourishing his friendships with coworkers. What concept from the ERG theory of motivation
would explain this renewed interest in friendships?
46. What need is evidenced by the fact that people buy life and health insurance and deposit money in savings
accounts?
47. According to the ERG theory of motivation
48. Way is teaching himself to play the trombone. He is improving his
49. Practicing one’s faith is part of meeting ____ and ____ needs.
50. The ____ theory of motivation specifically addresses the issues on which job enrichment focuses.
51. According to Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation, which of the following is a motivator?
52. You hear one of your subordinates say, “I really like my boss, the people we work with are great, and the
pay is as good as you can expect, but I just can’t get excited about coming to work in the morning.” Which of
the following theorists would say, “I told you so”?
53. Which of the following is an example of a content theory of motivation?
54. Ellen claims her job is so easy she goes to work to relax after a busy weekend. She says she’ll never retire.
Using Herzberg’s theory of motivation
55. A construction worker injured on the job is on convalescent time-off for five weeks. She can’t wait to get
back to work and accomplish something. This is a(n) ____ need.
56. Which of the following statements does NOT describe a common characteristic of people with a high need
for achievement?
57. Chelsea thinks about her job while at home, and she continually volunteers to do most of the work for the
entire project group in her department. These characteristics indicate a strong need for
58. Which of the following statements about the need for power is FALSE?
59. José wants to be given a job to do and then be left alone to do it. He tends to set moderately difficult goals
for himself and to really get involved in his work. He also has a strong need for knowing how he is doing. José
has a high need for
60. Generally speaking, politicians have a desire for approval. This shows a need for ____.
61. Research has shown that people with a strong need for ____ are likely to be superior performers, have good
attendance records, and occupy supervisory positions.
62. The ____ theory says motivation is a function of how much we want something and how likely we think we
are to get it.
63. Which of the following is NOT one of the basic assumptions of expectancy theory?
64. According to the expectancy theory, motivation determines
65. According to the expectancy model, performance is a result of
66. Amelia believes that if she runs longer in practice, she will race faster at meets. Which of the following is
true for Amelia?
67. Edwin is delighted that his boss has promised a hefty bonus to whomever gets the most customers to sign up
for lawn-mowing service. According to expectancy theory, Edwin’s delight is due to
68. As it is used in expectancy theory, the term valence refers to
69. Cliff works for the New York Department of Transportation. He perceives that his union’s contract is so
strong he can’t be fired and the only way he will get promoted is if the person above him dies or retires. He has
70. Which of the following factors would MOST likely cause an employee to have a low effort-to-performance
expectancy?
71. Adam felt neutral toward his Management class after the first week. However, after he made an A on this
first exam, he said the class was great. This is an example of which of the following?
72. A manager has been told that she will get a $50,000 bonus if her team meets their quota. She has also been
informed that she will be fired if she does not get her team above last year’s total. Which motivation theory is
her boss most likely using?
73. Raphael went to law school, passed his state bar exam, and decided to become a pastry chef. According to
expectancy theory, practicing law had
74. Brittany compares her salary to Neal’s and finds that her salary is higher than his. According to equity
theory, Brittany should
75. Which of the following is NOT a process theory of motivation?
76. The ____ theory of motivation is based on the idea that employees compare their inputs and outcomes to
some other person’s to determine if they are being fairly treated.
77. Which of the following describes how managers should use the expectancy model?
78. To make successful use of the equity theory, managers must remember that
79. According to equity theory, equity in a given situation depends on
80. Which motivational theory suggests that people will rationalize away differences between rewards they and
others receive?
81. Nate perceives that no matter how much he studies he won’t do as well as Carol on the test. What makes it
worse is Carol doesn’t even study. According to equity theory, Nate will
82. Ana is a police detective in a metropolitan police force. She believes that she is just as good a detective as
her male counterparts. Because she is female, many of her counterparts assume that she will type up their
reports as well as her own. She has been doing this typing for a while and is increasingly feeling under
rewarded for her efforts. In terms of ____, she will more than likely decrease her inputs by refusing to do typing
for other detectives.
83. Goal-directed effort is a function of four goal attributes. Which of the following is NOT one of those
attributes?
84. The President of XYZ Corp. does not like to give bad news. However, his staff is not performing well and
some changes need to be made. His chief of staff has the goal of improving staff coordination and performance.
The goal has
85. Tyler told Emily to improve public opinion. The goal that Emily was given lacks goal
86. Raj sells office-management software to people in the medical profession. His sales manager has advised
Raj that one of his goals this year should be to increase the time he spends on after-the-sale service. Once Raj
has sold the software, the customer buys upgrades from the manufacturer and will never again buy from Raj.
Raj sees after-the-sale service as a poor use of time that could be used to sell. In terms of the goal-setting
theory, the likelihood that Raj will achieve his sales manager’s goal is low due to a lack of goal
87. According to the ____ theory, people will repeat those behaviors that bring desirable consequences and
avoid those that fail to bring desirable consequences or that bring aversive consequences.
88. Which kind of reinforcement involves providing a desired outcome in the presence of desirable behavior?
89. Desired behavior is likely to be repeated as a result of
90. Many schools think selecting a student for the gifted and talented program is