Chapter 8
The degree to which a job requires the completion of a whole or identifiable piece of work is known as __________. A. skill identity B. skill variety C. autonomy D. task variety E. task identity
task identity
What percentage of organizations globally offer a variable-pay plan in some form? A. 80% B. 90% C. 22% D. 68% E. 73%
80%
If we assume that intrinsic motivation can increase employee motivation, while extrinsic rewards such as pay or vacation can only increase or decrease satisfaction, which motivational theory does this align with? A. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs B. Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory C. McClelland's Needs Theory D. Goal Setting Theory E. Reinforcement theory
Herzberg's two factor theory
Although employee involvement and participation (EIP) programs are valuable, researchers caution that organizations should modify their involvement program practices dependent on _________. A. product B. industry C. size D. local laws E. culture
culture
Which of the following focuses on how employees can make a difference in the lives of others? A. Expanding jobs vertically B. Relational job design C. Job rotation D. Combining tasks E. Rational job design
relational job design
A job that might lend itself to telecommuting would be a ________________. A. lawyer B. team-based product designer C. bartender D. dentist E. clerk
lawyer
Which of the following benefits plans includes essential benefits and a menu-like selection of others from which employees can select? A. Flexible benefits B. Flexible spending plans C. HMO plan D. PPO plan E. Core-plus plans
core-plus plans
________________increases take-home pay because employees are not taxed on dollars spent from these accounts. A. Flexible spending plans B. Menu selection plans C. Modular plans D. Contributory plans E. Portable spending plans
flexible spending plans
Which of the following best describes the difference between internal equity and external equity? A. Internal equity is the worth of the job to the organization; external equity is the worth of the job to the employee. B. Internal equity is the employee's sense of financial worth; external equity is the employee's sense of self worth. C. Internal equity is the employee's sense of self-worth; external equity is the employee's sense of financial worth. D. Internal equity is the worth of feedback to the organization; external equity is the worth of the vacation time to the employee. E. Internal equity is the worth of the job to the employee; external equity is the worth of the job to the organization.
internal equity is the worth of the job to the organization, external equity is the worth of the job to the employee
The way in which elements of a job are organized is known as ________________. A. job enrichment B. job engagement C. job characteristics D. job design E. job structure
job design
Which of the following offers a reduction in boredom and increased motivation and helps employees better understand how their work contributes to the organization? A. Forming natural work units B. Mutual assistance programs C. Work simplification D. Job rotation E. Job enrichment
job rotation
Decisions which are made jointly between the employee and the direct supervisor is commonly known as ______. A. cooperative management B. employee empowerment C. team based management D. objective management E. participative management
participative management
One of the cited drawbacks of telecommuting may be that _______________________. A. people are not productive when they work from home B. people need structure C. people are more collaborative when they are together D. people are not as accountable when they work from home E. people are not motivated
people are more collaborative when they are together
Which of the following is an organization-wide program that distributes compensation based on a formula dependent on the company's profitability? A. Gain sharing B. Job sharing C. Cost sharing D. Merit sharing E. Profit sharing
profit sharing
Which of the following would be an intrinsic reward? A. Health insurance B. Recognition C. Bonus plan D. Pay increase E. Additional vacation time
recognition
Approximately, which of the following percentages of employees now fit the traditional "one benefits plan fits all" program? A. 10% B. 45% C. 25% D. 0% E. 20%
10%
Sunshine Automotive Company recently implemented a benefit plan in which employees acquire stock in Sunshine Automotive at a reduced price as part of their benefits. This is commonly known as a(n) ____________________. A. 401K plan B. employee stock purchase plan C. skill based benefit plan D. bonus plan E. merit plan
employee stock purchase plan
Flexible benefit plans are most closely aligned with which motivational theory? A. Path goal theory B. Goal Setting Theory C. Self-efficacy theory D. Expectancy theory E. Maslow's Hierarchy
expectancy theory
Melissa: We must become more flexible if we are to meet our personnel needs and maximize efficiency. In the past, we simply hired as many full-time employees as we thought we needed. But, this focus has caused us to lose many valuable employees. We should offer flextime and job sharing options to help us keep and attract talented employees. Jennifer: Alternatives to traditional job design approaches can lead to significant cost savings. We are expected to have 500 more employees than our current facility allows next year, but my analysis reveals 600 of our employees could telecommute. Therefore, we can avoid costly actions such as moving our offices or building extensions if these workers became telecommuters. Job sharing can also reduce facility costs as well as payroll costs. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Melissa's argument? A. Flextime arrangements are more common in service industries than in other industries. B. The number of employees interested in flextime is higher than the number of employees interested in job sharing. C. Employees tend to believe that employees in nontraditional job arrangements are the most vulnerable to layoffs. D. Most of the jobs at the organization do not require the employee to be physically present. E. A large number of people with desirable job skills cannot commit to taking full-time positions.
A large number of people with desirable job skills cannot commit to taking full-tine positions
Pam works at an organization that has a number of international offices where she and her fellow team members service select accounts. Because of this, Pam and the rest of her team have differing hours which are available to them. Although Pam and the rest of the team have core hours from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. that they must be in the office, Pam was able to choose the rest of her 4 hours each day that worked best for her. This is an example of ________________. A. telecommuting B. flextime C. virtual organizing D. core office time E. job sharing
flextime
Laura Schendell makes only $8.50 per hour working at her fast-food job in Pensacola, Florida, and the job isn't very challenging or interesting. Yet Laura talks enthusiastically about the job, her boss, and the company that employs her. "What I like is the fact that Guy [her supervisor] appreciates the effort I make. He compliments me regularly in front of the other people on my shift, and I've been chosen Employee of the Month twice in the past six months. Did you see my picture on that plaque on the wall?" Laura is experiencing which type of reward? A. Intrinsic rewards B. Preferential benefit package C. Extrinsic reward D. Flextime E. Incentive
intrinsic rewards
Luis really loved his new job at the automobile plant. As part of the engine department, Luis spends 90 days in a variety of positions before moving on to another position within the department. In this way, Luis could become familiar with each facet of the organization and would eliminate any possibility of the job becoming too routine. Luis' job is an example of _________________. A. job rotation B. job connection C. relational job design D. job enrichment E. job engagement
job rotation
According to the job characteristics model (JCM), which dimensions combine to create meaningful work the employee will view as important, valuable, and worthwhile? A. Financial reward, recognition, and simplicity of tasks B. Task identity, autonomy, and task significance C. Feedback, financial reward, and opportunity for advancement D. Skill variety, task identity, and task significance E. Skill variety, task identity, and financial reward
skill variety, task identity, and task significance
Although redesigning jobs on the basis of job characteristics theory is likely to make work more intrinsically motivating to people, more contemporary research is focusing on how to make jobs more pro-socially motivating to people. In today's business arena focusing on customer relationship management and building repeat business when management strives to make jobs more pro-socially motivating, it is striving to improve the organization's relationship with ________. A. stakeholder groups of customers, clients, patients, and users of products or services B. stockholders C. employees D. the management of the organization E. vendors
stakeholder groups of customers, clients, patients, and users of products or services
The Windsong Automobile Manufacturing Company produces luxury automobiles made to order. The ownership of the firm recognizes the importance of happy employees. In addition to an excellent salary and benefits package, they have also decided to give each employee autonomy over their job and allow each specialist to complete an identifiable piece of work. Using teams of four employee specialists, each team completes a car from start to finish. Using the job characteristics model, which of the five core job dimensions describes these work teams? A. Feedback B. Task identity C. Autonomy D. Task significance E. Skill variety
task identity