MGMT 5320 Chapter 6 (edited)

54. _____ is the degree to which employees can tell how well they are doing on the basis of direct sensory information from the job itself. A. Job feedback B. Job evaluation C. Task identity D. Task significance E. Job rotation

A. Job feedback

46. Which of the following is a criticism of Taylor's theory of scientific management? A. Job-related social and psychological factors were ignored by emphasizing only money as a worker incentive. B. Organizations and departments that need rapid decision making and flexibility may suffer with this approach. C. Too much authority may be vested in too few people. D. The theory was too simplistic to be applicable to the real world. E. Taylor treated the principles as universal truths for management.

A. Job-related social and psychological factors were ignored by emphasizing only money as a worker incentive.

62. _____ is the use of different talents to complete a variety of work activities. A. Skill variety B. Task identity C. Task significance D. Autonomy E. Job feedback

A. Skill variety

57. Task ______ is the characteristic of a job that refers to how much the job can be performed using known procedures and roles. A. analyzability B. interdependence C. responsibility D. variability E. autonomy

A. analyzability

39. Team rewards A. are better for employees who work in interdependent jobs. B. are highly discouraged. C. use competition instead of cooperation. D. are preferred by low-collectivism cultures. E. ignore employee preferences.

A. are better for employees who work in interdependent jobs.

27. A mid-sized city introduced a reward system whereby employees would find ways to reduce costs and increase work efficiency. Every employee would receive a portion of the surplus budget resulting from these cost savings. Which of the following reward systems is this city using? A. gainsharing plan B. commission system C. piece-rate plan D. share option plan E. commission plan

A. gainsharing plan

44. Which of these contemporary organizational behavior practices was popularized by Fredrick Taylor in his work on scientific management? A. goal setting B. job enrichment C. membership-based reward system D. seniority-based reward system E. competency-based reward system

A. goal setting

Scenario E Staff Up! is determined to begin to grow their own leaders because they see it as being key to success. They know they will have to work with each employee to build their skills. Answer the following questions. 91.In Scenario E, Jillian has a determination but she is struggling to complete her professional development plan for the upcoming year. She needs guidance with A. goal setting. B. thought strategies. C. designing natural rewards. D. self-monitoring. E. self-reinforcement.

A. goal setting. Feedback: Self-leadership refers to leading oneself toward objectives, so the process necessarily begins by setting goals. These goals are self-determined, rather than assigned by or jointly decided with a supervisor. Research suggests that employees are more motivated and perform better when they set their own goals, particularly in combination with other self-leadership practices.

Scenario C A cable TV company redesigned jobs so that one employee interacts directly with customers, connects and disconnects their cable service, installs their special services, and collects overdue accounts in an assigned area. They also decided to do away with scripted customer interaction manuals and allow each employee to determine how best to interact with each customer. Previously, each task was performed by a different person, and the customer interacted only with someone at the head office. 86. This change is an example of A. increasing job enrichment by establishing client relationships. B. encouraging self-reinforcement. C. introducing job rotation. D. increasing job specialization. E. introducing job feedback.

A. increasing job enrichment by establishing client relationships. Feedback: A job enrichment strategy, called establishing client relationships, involves putting employees in direct contact with their clients rather than using the supervisor as a go-between. By being directly responsible for specific clients, employees have more information and can make decisions affecting those clients.

59. Which of these job design actions is a form of job enlargement? A. increasing the number of tasks within the job B. establishing client relationships C. empowering employees D. forming natural work units E. establishing client relationships and forming natural work units

A. increasing the number of tasks within the job

Scenario D Michael is a new manager for a high-powered company. He has inherited a unit that has low morale, poor performance, and high turnover. He needs to find a way to empower his employees. Based on the information below, identify which dimension he has chosen to employ. 89. While Michael was breaking the e-mail habit, he started sharing sales reports and customer satisfaction surveys with the group. He was hoping to give the employees a sense of _____ about their importance. A. meaning B. self-determination C. competence D. impact E. freedom

A. meaning Feedback: When employees feel their job has meaning, they care about their work and believe that what they do is important.

18. Which one of the following rewards represents the largest part of most paychecks? A. membership-based rewards B. job status-based rewards C. individual job performance-based rewards D. competency-based rewards E. team performance-based rewards

A. membership-based rewards

Scenario B A large retail organization previously divided work among its four employee-benefits staff into distinct specializations. One person answered all questions about superannuation (pension plans), another answered all questions about various forms of paid time-off (e.g., vacations), and so on. These jobs were recently restructured so that each employee-benefits person answers all questions for people in a particular geographic area. One staff member is responsible for all employee-benefits inquiries from anyone in a particular geographic region. 85. This restructuring most likely increased each employee's A. sense of ownership. B. absenteeism. C. tendency to overwork. D. self-talk. E. competence.

A. sense of ownership. Feedback: With job enrichment, product and service quality tend to improve because job enrichment increases the jobholder's felt responsibility and sense of ownership over the product or service.

Scenario A Steelweld, a car parts manufacturer, pays employees a higher hourly rate as they learn to master more parts of the work process. Employees earn $10 per hour when they are hired, and they can earn up to $20 per hour if they master all 12 work units in the production process. 82. Which of these reward systems is being applied by Steelweld? A. skill-based pay B. piece-rate pay C. job evaluation system D. seniority-based pay E. membership-based pay

A. skill-based pay Feedback: Skill-based pay plans are a specific variation of competency-based rewards in which people receive higher pay based on their mastery of measurable skills. At Steelweld, as employees learn to master more parts of the work process, they are paid a higher hourly rate.

52. A unique feature of Herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory is that it A. states that improving motivators increases job satisfaction but does not decrease job dissatisfaction. B. states that employees can be satisfied with their jobs but not motivated to perform their jobs. C. identifies job specialization as the main source of higher need fulfillment. D. views job satisfaction and dissatisfaction as opposites. E. recognizes money as the primary motivator in organizational settings.

A. states that improving motivators increases job satisfaction but does not decrease job dissatisfaction.

25. According to the survey conducted by Kelly Services, Global Variations in Performance-Based Pay, what percentage of Americans say their pay is "variable, such that a portion is dependent upon your individual performance/productivity" targets? A. 25 percent B. 32 percent C. 43 percent D. 51 percent E. 67 percent

B. 32 percent

40. _____ occurs when the source of motivation is controlled by the individual and experienced from the activity itself. A. Reward B. Intrinsic motivation C. Performance increase D. Extrinsic motivation E. Unexpected effect

B. Intrinsic motivation

16. Which of the following is a disadvantage of financial rewards based on membership or seniority? A. It encourages hierarchy. B. It doesn't directly motivate performance. C. It reinforces status differences. D. It relies on subjective measurement of competencies. E. It may weaken job content motivation.

B. It doesn't directly motivate performance.

43. Which of the following is an advantage of job specialization? A. The quality of work increases. B. Jobs can be mastered quickly. C. Employees are more involved with their jobs. D. The work is less repetitive. E. Task specialization has no clear advantages to the organization.

B. Jobs can be mastered quickly.

80. _____ is the process of keeping track at regular intervals of one's progress toward a goal by using naturally occurring feedback. A. Job feedback B. Self-monitoring C. Natural grouping D. Job specialization E. Task significance

B. Self-monitoring

74. Which of these statements about self-leadership is true? A. Employees with a low degree of conscientiousness have a more natural tendency to apply self-leadership. B. Some elements of self-leadership come from sports psychology. C. Self-leadership is practiced by people with particular personality characteristics and cannot be learned. D. External locus of control helps in applying self-help strategies. E. Self-leadership behaviors are more frequently found in people with lower levels of extroversion.

B. Some elements of self-leadership come from sports psychology.

53. _____ is the degree to which the job affects the organization and/or larger society. A. Skill variety B. Task significance C. Job feedback D. Job rotation E. Task identity

B. Task significance

29. Which of the following is true about stock option plans? A. They refer to bonuses from the work unit's cost savings and productivity improvement. B. They give employees the right to purchase company stock at a predetermined price up to a fixed expiration date. C. They directly award bonuses to employees based on cost savings and increased labor productivity. D. They tend to weaken employee commitment to the organization. E. They encourage employees to buy company stock, usually at a discounted price or through a no-interest loan.

B. They give employees the right to purchase company stock at a predetermined price up to a fixed expiration date.

81. In order to have high self-leadership ability, you must also be A. a loner. B. an extrovert. C. a planner. D. critical of yourself. E. efficient.

B. an extrovert.

77. Before meeting a new client, a salesperson visualizes the experience of meeting the person and effectively answering some of the challenging questions the client might ask. This activity is an example of A. poor performance. B. constructive thought patterns. C. rewarding competencies. D. job rotation. E. empowerment.

B. constructive thought patterns.

48. According to Taylor, the most effective companies have A. supervisors who oversee multiple areas. B. detailed procedures and work practices developed by engineers. C. employees who oversee the work of supervisors. D. a lack of time for goal setting. E. minimal work incentives as they are distracting.

B. detailed procedures and work practices developed by engineers.

50. Which of the following jobs might have difficulty working within Taylor's scientific management principles? A. CEO B. factory line worker C. marketing executive D. school principal E. professional development coach

B. factory line worker

33. The motivational effect of money is _____ was previously believed, and this effect is due more to its symbolic value than to what it can buy. A. less than B. greater than C. fewer than D. similar to what E. inconsequential to

B. greater than

Scenario B A large retail organization previously divided work among its four employee-benefits staff into distinct specializations. One person answered all questions about superannuation (pension plans), another answered all questions about various forms of paid time-off (e.g., vacations), and so on. These jobs were recently restructured so that each employee-benefits person answers all questions for people in a particular geographic area. One staff member is responsible for all employee-benefits inquiries from anyone in a particular geographic region. 84. This job restructuring is an example of A. self-leadership. B. job enrichment. C. job rotation. D. scientific management. E. self-monitoring.

B. job enrichment. Feedback: One way to increase job enrichment is by combining highly interdependent tasks into one job. This is known as a natural grouping approach. By forming natural work units, jobholders have stronger feelings of responsibility for an identifiable body of work. They feel a sense of ownership and therefore tend to increase job quality. In this case, a staff member is responsible for all employee-benefits inquiries from anyone in a particular geographic region.

51. According to Herzberg, which of the following is a hygiene factor? A. autonomy B. job security C. responsibility D. personal growth E. esteem need

B. job security

22. Which of the following type of reward systems uses job evaluations? A. competency-based reward systems B. job status-based reward systems C. individual performance reward systems D. seniority-based reward systems E. task performance-based reward systems

B. job status-based reward systems

72. With the right individuals, job characteristics, and organizational environment, empowerment can substantially improve motivation and performance. However, organizational and cultural conditions can limit the extent to which the conditions for empowerment produce feelings of empowerment because of A. decreased autonomy. B. lack of trust in leadership. C. improved motivation. D. increased performance. E. unlimited communication.

B. lack of trust in leadership.

26. Which of the following is an individual incentive? A. gainsharing plan B. piece-rate plan C. share option D. share ownership E. employee stock-ownership plan

B. piece-rate plan

Scenario D Michael is a new manager for a high-powered company. He has inherited a unit that has low morale, poor performance, and high turnover. He needs to find a way to empower his employees. Based on the information below, identify which dimension he has chosen to employ. 88. The first thing Michael did was stop the micromanagement of the employees' daily time, where they were e-mailing the entire team "here," "at lunch," "on break," etc. This is an example of A. meaning. B. self-determination. C. competence. D. impact. E. job rotation.

B. self-determination. Feedback: Empowered employees feel that they have freedom, independence, and discretion over their work activities when they have self-determination.

Scenario E Staff Up! is determined to begin to grow their own leaders because they see it as being key to success. They know they will have to work with each employee to build their skills. Answer the following questions. 92. Manuel is often seen sitting at his desk mumbling. When asked if all is alright, he often comments that he cannot perform like the others on his team. He is engaging in A. goal setting. B. self-talk. C. mental imagery. D. self-monitoring. E. self-reinforcement.

B. self-talk. Feedback: Self-talk refers to any situation in which we talk to ourselves about our own thoughts or actions. The problem is that most self-talk is negative; we criticize much more than encourage or congratulate ourselves. Negative self-talk undermines our confidence and potential to perform a particular task. In contrast, positive self-talk creates a "can-do" belief and thereby increases motivation by raising our self-efficacy and reducing anxiety about challenging tasks.

65. Tasha is new to the team. She comes with quite the résumé of experience, yet it is from another company. She will need to interact with others to get the job done by sharing materials, information, and expertise. She will be engaging in A. task analyzability. B. task interdependence. C. task responsibility. D. task variability. E. task autonomy.

B. task interdependence.

55. ______ can directly contribute to a feeling of experienced meaningfulness. A. Job feedback B. Work motivation C. Autonomy D. Task identity E. Knowledge of results

C. Autonomy

17. Which of the following is an advantage of using competency-based financial rewards? A. It minimizes the stress of insecurity. B. It motivates employees to compete for promotions. C. It improves workforce flexibility. D. It motivates task performance. E. It minimizes pay discrimination.

C. It improves workforce flexibility.

32. _______ fullfills a variety of needs, influences emotions, and shapes or represents a person's self-concept. A. Status B. Promotions C. Money D. Values E. Desires

C. Money

73. _______ is influencing oneself to establish the self-direction and self-motivation needed to perform a task. A. Self-reinforcement B. Self-talk C. Self-leadership D. Self-influence

C. Self-leadership

34. Which one of the following types of rewards motivates employees to learn new skills? A. gainsharing B. job status C. competency-based D. membership/seniority E. task performance

C. competency-based

28. Gainsharing plans tend to A. increase efficiency without paying employees any financial reward. B. distribute a portion of company profits to employees in the form of company stock. C. create a reasonably strong effort-to-performance expectancy. D. reward individuals for their own personal performance rather than team or organizational performance. E. increase efficiency without paying employees any financial reward, creating a reasonably strong effort-to-performance expectancy.

C. create a reasonably strong effort-to-performance expectancy.

20. The problem with membership- and seniority-based rewards is that they A. discourage people from remaining with the organization. B. are difficult to use in organizational settings. C. do not directly motivate job performance. D. increase turnover. E. discourage people from remaining with the organization and they do not directly motivate job performance.

C. do not directly motivate job performance.

35. When you work for Starbucks, you are more than an employee—you are considered a partner. This benefit is shared with employees through A. piece-rate plans. B. gainsharing plans. C. employee stock ownership plans. D. team-based bonuses. E. skills-based pay.

C. employee stock ownership plans.

67. Which of the following is a concept that is represented by four dimensions: self-determination, meaning, competence, and impact of the individual's role in the organization? A. specialization B. job enlargement C. empowerment D. task significance E. job rotation

C. empowerment

70. A high degree of autonomy, task identity, and task significance are important conditions for A. job specialization. B. competency-based pay. C. empowerment. D. scientific management. E. a piece-rate system.

C. empowerment.

64. Jalen takes his work very seriously. He feels his work has direct impact on the job outcomes. He has a sense of A. experienced meaningfulness. B. job feedback. C. experienced responsibility. D. task identity. E. knowledge of results.

C. experienced responsibility.

58. Which of the following minimizes health risks from repetitive strain and heavy lifting because employees use different muscles and physical positions in the various jobs? A. job feedback B. job enlargement C. job rotation D. job enrichment E. task identity

C. job rotation

42. Which of the following refers to the result of the division of labor in which work is subdivided into separate jobs assigned to different people? A. piece-rate system B. job rotation C. job specialization D. profit-sharing bonus E. gainsharing plan

C. job specialization

79. Which of the following elements does self-leadership include? A. job specialization B. task identity C. mental imagery D. job evaluation E. task significance

C. mental imagery

Scenario E Staff Up! is determined to begin to grow their own leaders because they see it as being key to success. They know they will have to work with each employee to build their skills. Answer the following questions. 93. As the unit supervisor, Dionne has begun to allow flexible scheduling for those who want to try it. She is hoping by allowing the flexibility, production will increase. Which self-leadership strategy is she employing? A. goal setting B. thought strategy C. natural reward D. self-monitoring E. self-reinforcement

C. natural reward Feedback: Self-leadership recognizes that employees actively craft their jobs. To varying degrees, they can alter tasks and work relationships to make the work more motivating.

75. Which of the following is the first step in self-leadership? A. establishing client relationships B. practicing gainsharing C. personal goal setting D. constructive thought patterns E. self-reinforcement

C. personal goal setting

31. When applied to non-management employees, which of the following has a weak connection between the reward and individual effort? A. piece-rate pay B. commission C. profit-sharing bonus D. gainsharing plan E. job evaluation

C. profit-sharing bonus

71. Empowerment is higher in organizations that A. require employees to trust leadership. B. limit the amount of risk-taking. C. provide formal training programs. D. make resources available to a few. E. reward those who follow the rules.

C. provide formal training programs.

45. In repetitive jobs, the positive effect of higher proficiency is easily offset by the negative effect of lower attentiveness and motivation caused by A. poor management. B. inefficient reward systems. C. tedious work patterns. D. disassociated job incumbents. E. competition between co-workers for status.

C. tedious work patterns.

66. Johnson Inc. has introduced job rotation to the line workers. Management is hoping that they will see less injuries and improved A. attention to detail. B. attendance. C. workforce flexibility. D. communication. E. attrition rates.

C. workforce flexibility.

36. Why don't organizational rewards improve motivation or performance very much? A. Employees see a decrease in firm performance when there are rewards. B. Employees see a lack of alignment with the organization's success. C. Employees think their compensation is tied to the firm's prosperity. D. Employees perceive a weak connection between their effort and the reward. E. Employees receive increased pay reductions during prosperous times.

D. Employees perceive a weak connection between their effort and the reward.

47. One of the strongest advocates of job specialization was A. Abraham Maslow. B. Max Weber. C. Adam Smith. D. Frederick Taylor. E. Douglas McGregor.

D. Frederick Taylor.

78. According to the self-leadership model, which of the following is true about positive self-talk? A. It should never be practiced on the job. B. It represents the most important way to monitor our own performance. C. It occurs when employees are unable to control their own behavior on the job. D. It improves self-efficacy and employee motivation. E. It must occur only after the task has been accomplished.

D. It improves self-efficacy and employee motivation.

24. Which of the following is true about skill-based pay plans? A. They discourage employees from learning new jobs. B. They create a psychological distance between employees and managers. C. They discourage poor performers from leaving the organization. D. They can be expensive because they motivate employees to spend more time learning new jobs. E. They motivate employees to compete for promotions.

D. They can be expensive because they motivate employees to spend more time learning new jobs.

41. Rewards work best when they are valued. Which reward below would an employee value? A. a nice thank you card B. a $10 gift card to a local grocery store C. a wall plaque D. a product of their choice from a list E. an engraved paperweight

D. a product of their choice from a list

63. Which one of the following characteristic is considered the core motivational element of job design? A. skill variety B. task identity C. task significance D. autonomy E. job feedback

D. autonomy

49. The scientific management toolkit consists of all of the following except: A. employee selection. B. training. C. goal setting. D. clarity on the big picture. E. work incentives.

D. clarity on the big picture.

76. Which of the following steps occurs in self-leadership immediately after identifying goals that are specific, relevant, and challenging? A. designing natural rewards B. self-monitoring C. self-reinforcement D. constructive thought patterns E. track keeping

D. constructive thought patterns

Scenario C A cable TV company redesigned jobs so that one employee interacts directly with customers, connects and disconnects their cable service, installs their special services, and collects overdue accounts in an assigned area. They also decided to do away with scripted customer interaction manuals and allow each employee to determine how best to interact with each customer. Previously, each task was performed by a different person, and the customer interacted only with someone at the head office. 87. This change most likely increased all of the following for each employee except: A. skill variety. B. task identity. C. task significance. D. dependence. E. autonomy.

D. dependence. Feedback: Skill variety refers to the use of different skills and talents to complete a variety of work activities. Task identity is the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole or identifiable piece of work. Task significance is the degree to which the job affects the organization and/or larger society. Autonomy is the degree to which a job gives employees the freedom, independence, and discretion to schedule their work and determine the procedures used in completing it.

68. Employees are said to be empowered when they A. practice job specialization. B. experience self-reinforcement. C. engage in positive self-talk. D. experience freedom and discretion. E. engage in mental imagery.

D. experience freedom and discretion.

Scenario D Michael is a new manager for a high-powered company. He has inherited a unit that has low morale, poor performance, and high turnover. He needs to find a way to empower his employees. Based on the information below, identify which dimension he has chosen to employ. 90. At the next unit meeting, Michael asked for feedback on what was working and what needed improvements. He wanted the employees to feel free to share their opinions because their work was key to the success of the company. He wanted them to see their A. meaning. B. self-determination. C. independence. D. impact. E. capacity.

D. impact. Feedback: Empowered employees view themselves as active participants in the organization; that is, their decisions and actions have an impact on the company's success.

23. Which of the following rewards motivate employees to compete for promotions? A. performance-based rewards B. competency-based rewards C. team-based rewards D. job status-based rewards E. membership- or seniority-based rewards

D. job status-based rewards

69. Which of the following is a component of empowerment? A. overconfidence B. fate C. mental imagery D. meaning E. dependence

D. meaning

38. How can companies improve the pay-performance linkage? A. rely on few sources of information B. apply rewards once a year C. use rewards in small doses D. through gainsharing and ESOPs E. demonstrate the success of competitive strategies

D. through gainsharing and ESOPs

56. Task _____ is the characteristic of a job that refers to how predictable job duties are from one day to the next. A. analyzability B. interdependence C. responsibility D. variability E. autonomy

D. variability

37. Which of the following is a reason that performance-based rewards have come under attack? A. Performance-based rewards discourage creativity. B. Performance-based rewards distance management from employees. C. Performance-based rewards distract employees from the meaningfulness of the work itself. D. Performance-based rewards act as a quick fix, ignoring the true causes of poor performance. E. Performance-based rewards are the true cause of increased performance.

E. Performance-based rewards are the true cause of increased performance.

61. A video journalist's job consists of operating the camera, reporting the story, and often editing the work, whereas these three tasks were traditionally performed by three people. Video journalism is an example of A. self-leadership and job enlargement. B. job enrichment and self-leadership. C. job enlargement and job specialization. D. job specialization and self-leadership. E. job enrichment and job enlargement.

E. job enrichment and job enlargement.

19. Which reward system tends to discourage poor performers from voluntarily leaving the organization? A. performance-based pay B. skill-based pay C. piece-rate rewards D. competency-based pay E. membership- and seniority-based pay

E. membership- and seniority-based pay

21. Which of the following are "golden handcuffs" that potentially increase continuance commitment? A. performance-based rewards B. job status-based rewards C. team-based rewards D. competency-based rewards E. membership/seniority-based rewards

E. membership/seniority-based rewards

60. Which of the following is the primary aspect of job enlargement? A. autonomy B. affiliation C. job feedback D. growth-need strength E. skill variety

E. skill variety

30. Which of the following tend to create an ownership culture and align employee behaviors more closely to organizational objectives? A. job evaluations B. commissions C. piece-rate plans D. employee share-ownership plans E. stock option plans and employee share-ownership plans

E. stock option plans and employee share-ownership plans

Scenario A Steelweld, a car parts manufacturer, pays employees a higher hourly rate as they learn to master more parts of the work process. Employees earn $10 per hour when they are hired, and they can earn up to $20 per hour if they master all 12 work units in the production process. 83. Which of the following is most likely a benefit Steelweld is trying to achieve with this reward system? A. the attraction of applicants B. the minimization of pay discrimination C. the motivation of task performance D. the creation of an ownership culture E. the improvement of workforce flexibility

E. the improvement of workforce flexibility