Quiz: Motivation

________ is the motivation theory that behavior is a function of its immediate consequences.

Reinforcement theory

As a manager, how can you influence your employee's expectancy perceptions positively?

Talk with employees and discover what they value, and use those as rewards for good performance.

Nina manages an IT department. She notices that all of her highly skilled workers seem to be getting bored. She decides one day it is time to motivate her team, so she sets a goal without consulting them. The goal is to improve the company's network speed. She decides to reward the team with a bowling night when they achieve the goal. According to the goal-setting theory, what problems may Nina run into with this approach?

Without a stated timeline or deadline, the team won't feel the urgency, and momentum will stall.

Intrinsic motivation exists within a person. Sources of this type of motivation might include

beliefs, sense of accomplishment, or personal pride

Job rotation has a number of advantages when managers implement it in organizations. It is an effective way for:

employees to gain new skills because of cross-training in new tasks.

All of the needs- and process-based theories of motivation can be addressed within most organizations. To satisfy basic needs, best practices recommend paying people

enough that employees are not distracted by pending mortgage payments or taking a second job to make ends meet.

ERG theory has a ________ hypothesis, which suggests that individuals who have difficulty satisfying one need may regress to another one

frustration-regression

Glassdoor, the job search site, releases an annual list of the "Best Places to Work," which is based on employee reviews on the website. The stocks of companies that appear on the list have ________ the S&P500 in the year following the announcement. Companies that look after employees also do well for stockholders.

outperformed

According to the equity theory of motivation, we:

perceive fairness if we believe that the input-to-output ratio we are bringing into the situation is similar to the input/output ratio of a comparison person, or a referent.

McClelland's research showed that success in management could be predicted, to some extent, based on an employee's needs. Candidates who "need" _____________ were more likely to become managers

power

Greg created an instructional game for employees to demonstrate how financial markets work. The game was a multiple stage lottery. Half the players "lost" at each round and dropped out. After each round, winners could bargain, selling their tickets or combining tickets into pools. Although luck was a factor, skill or a willingness to take risk soon dominated. The losers thought it was unfair. The winners argued it was fair under

procedural justice. The rules were the same for everyone.

Which is an example of meeting the needs of the esteem tier in Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

Liam working well with his coworkers and feeling that they appreciate his contribution.

Ultimately, managers have the greatest influence on an employee's motivation. Even though an individual manager cannot change the company's reward systems, the manager can link performance to

recognition, bonuses, and good work assignments.