MANA3335 MindTap Learn It: Chapter 10: Managing Employee Motivation and Performance

Assuming personal responsibility

*Need for Achievement {An employee with a high need for achievement gets satisfaction from improving their performance. Behaviors such as assuming personal responsibility are typical of the individual with a high need for achievement}

To empower employees, organizations must meet certain conditions. Which of the following are conditions they must meet? Check all that apply.

*A sincere commitment to share power with employees at lower levels *Increased investment in training and development {To successfully empower its employees, an organization must have a sincere commitment to share power with employees and a willingness to invest in training—training lower-level employees on tasks they have not previously performed and training managers on how to delegate in a way they're not accustomed to. The organization must also commit to maintaining (and not withdrawing) empowerment, delegating autonomy to workers gradually (not all at once), and credibly communicating that managers have the same interests as lower-level employees}

Besides base salary, which of the following are common elements of an executive compensation package? Check all that apply.

*Annual incentive bonus *Stock option plan {Besides a base salary, executives typically receive some kind of incentive pay. Since senior leaders influence and are responsible for overall organizational performance, their incentive pay is typically based at least in part on that measure. It is often delivered in the form of an annual bonus and as stock options. The annual bonus reflects the organization's success over the last year. Stock options are valuable if the organization is successful, as measured by its stock price, in future years. Piece-rate and gainsharing plans are associated with lower-level employees}

Getting to work on time so as not to be reprimanded

*Avoidance {Employees are motivated to perform a behavior when doing so helps them avoid a negative consequence. In this case, the employee is avoiding a reprimand by arriving to work on time}

A corporation transfers shares of stock to employees over time, making them part owners of the company. Which reward system is the organization using?

*Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) {This company is using an ESOP to give employees an ownership stake. An ESOP is designed to increase their organization commitment as it rewards employees by giving them something of value}

If an employee volunteers for challenging assignments and seeks out opportunities to learn new skills, this employee is looking to meet needs at the _________ level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the __________ needs level of the ERG theory of motivation.

*self-actualization *growth {An employee who seeks challenging job tasks and learning opportunities is trying to meet needs at the self-actualization level (the top level) of Maslow's hierarchy and at the growth level (also the top level) of the ERG theory}

Being ignored by the boss after sending him several dozen emails

*Extinction {Extinction of a behavior occurs when the behavior is ignored; that is, it receives neither positive or negative reinforcement. This employee's manager is trying to extinguish the employee's inappropriate overcommunication by ignoring her emails}

Being paid every two weeks

*Fixed-interval schedule {A fixed-interval schedule provides reinforcement at fixed time intervals, regardless of the employee's level of performance. In this case, because the employees receive their pay automatically every two weeks, they are likely to expect the reward and not feel very motivated by it}

Receiving a coupon for the cafeteria after every 20 sales calls

*Fixed-ratio schedule {On a fixed-ratio schedule, reinforcement is given after a certain set number of behaviors. Here, the reinforcement is given after the employee makes 20 sales calls. Depending on the quality of the cafeteria food, the employee may be highly motivated to complete sales calls}

Employees may work whatever hours they wish, as long as their job performance is high. What kind of work arrangement is this?

*Flexible work schedules {An organization may offer employees flexible work schedules that allow employees a great deal of latitude in setting their hours. Some organizations modify this arrangement by stipulating that all employees must work certain hours, to facilitate communication among and across teams. Flextime can be an excellent option when employees are located in multiple time zones or if the organization wants to maximally accommodate employees' family commitments}

"This goal will be very challenging to meet." Which component of the goal-setting theory does this statement address?

*Goal difficulty {This is a statement about how difficult the goal is. Up to a point, the more challenging a goal is to achieve, the more motivating it is. Of course, if the goal seems impossible, employees may just give up instead of attempting it}

Which of the following statements accurately describes the ERG theory?

*Humans have three levels of needs, and people can be motivated by multiple levels of needs at once {The ERG theory suggests that people have three levels of needs—existence, relatedness, and growth—and that at any given time, they may be trying to meet needs on multiple levels. Furthermore, it proposes that people who cannot get higher-level needs met will give up and redirect their energies to meeting lower-level needs}

Which of the following are controversial aspects of executive compensation? Check all that apply.

*Lack of alignment with organizational performance *Large size of compensation packages {Controversies in recent years have focused on the amount that executives are paid and on the sometimes weak correlation between executive pay and organizational performance. In the United States, executives are often paid many times what the lowest-paid (or even the average) employee receives. Furthermore, there are many examples of companies with mediocre or poor results that have nonetheless approved large compensation packages for their executives. Executive pay does not commonly run afoul of FLSA, which is primarily concerned with protecting lower-level workers, and there is no shortage of managers who are eager to ascend into the executive ranks}

Interacting frequently with others

*Need for Affiliation {An employee with a high need for affiliation gets satisfaction from human companionship and acceptance. Behaviors such as interacting frequently with others are typical of the individual with a high need for affiliation}

Being successful as a manager

*Need for Power {Employees with a high need for power get satisfaction from being influential in groups and controlling their environment. Behaviors such as being successful as a manager are typical of the individual with a high need for power}

Which approach would an advocate of the traditional approach to motivation recommend?

*Offer employees extra pay if they increase production {The traditional approach to motivation assumes that workers are motivated only by monetary rewards. According to this perspective, managers should motivate workers by offering them incentive pay}

What are the key assumptions of needs hierarchy approaches to motivation?

*People have needs, which can be ranked by importance {The key assumptions of the needs hierarchy approaches to motivation are that people have needs and that these needs can be ranked in order by importance. The other three choices do not accurately describe any approach to motivation}

Being praised by the boss after filling in for a sick coworker

*Positive reinforcement {Positive reinforcement is a reward or other positive outcome, such as a feeling of accomplishment, that an individual experiences after performing a behavior. Receiving praise is one example of a reward a manager could give as positive reinforcement}

A company reserves a portion of its profits each year to pay out to all full-time employees. Which reward system is the organization using?

*Profit sharing plan {Because this company is paying out a portion of its profits to all full-time employees, it is using a group incentive called profit sharing. At least in theory, all employees have an incentive to try to perform well so as to increase the company's profits and thus their reward. In practice, many employees, especially at lower levels or at larger organizations, may not see a way in which they can have a meaningful impact on profits}

Being suspended without pay for committing a safety violation

*Punishment {Managers can administer negative consequences to motivate employees to stop an undesirable behavior. Here, the manager has delivered a negative consequence by suspending the employee, so the employee should be less likely to commit further safety violations. Another kind of "punishment" is internal: an employee may punish herself by feeling bad about a lack of accomplishment or not performing up to her own standards}

According to the two-factor theory of motivation, which of the following are hygiene factors that cause an employee to feel less dissatisfaction at work? Check all that apply.

*Stress-free interpersonal relations *Good supervision *Job security {Factors that prevent dissatisfaction among employees include supervisors who are liked and respected, coworkers who are pleasant, safe and comfortable working conditions, fair policies, adequate pay, job security, and benefits that provide for illness and retirement. Unless these factors are in place. employees will be unhappy even if motivating factors are present. Factors such as interesting tasks and learning opportunities may cause an employee to feel satisfied and motivated, but they do not alleviate dissatisfaction}

What is motivation?

*The set of forces that cause an individual to behave in certain ways {The forces that cause an individual to take action and to choose one action over another are collectively termed motivation. The set of psychological attributes that make a person unique are a person's personality. Organizational activities intended to make an effective workforce are human resource management. Giving employees knowledge or skills so they can perform well relates to training and development}

According to expectancy theory, if an employee has high performance-to-outcome expectancy, what does the employee believe?

*There is a high probability that an employee who achieves good results for the organization will receive a certain reward {Performance-to-outcome expectancy concerns an employee's belief that high performance will lead to a certain outcome, usually a reward. In the context of work, "high performance" is defined by the organization as generating results that are beneficial for it. This applies in an academic setting as well. Say that studying hard in computer science classes (effort) is thought to result in high grades (performance). If the school has a written policy is that students with high grades are admitted to a computer science honors program (outcome), then students will have a high performance-to-outcome expectancy about high grades and admission to the program. However, they will not necessarily believe in their ability to earn high grades by studying hard}

Receiving praise from the manager when she makes time to review productivity data

*Variable-interval schedule {A variable-interval schedule provides reinforcement at unpredictable time intervals, regardless of how many times the behavior has been performed. This tends to be the case when a manager observes employees somewhat randomly and gives feedback, as in this situation in which the manager praises the employee if the manager has had time to review the productivity data}

Receiving points toward an award after every packing every 10th, 20th, or 30th box, at random

*Variable-ratio schedule {When a variable-ratio schedule is used, the employee receives reinforcement after they perform a behavior a varying and unknown number of times. The classic example of variable-ratio reinforcement is in gambling on a slot machine or roulette wheel. This is the most powerful schedule of reinforcement. In this example, employees would feel strongly motivated to pack boxes, because they would never know how far away the next reward is}

A salesperson is paid a commission on every sale. This employee is being paid according to ___________ .

*an individual incentive plan {An individual incentive plan rewards an employee each time the employee performs a certain behavior or meets a certain performance standard. In this case, the employee is rewarded each time she makes a sale}

The idea that individuals will be motivated when they believe that (a) their effort will result in higher performance and (b) high performance will lead to a desired outcome, is ____________ .

*expectancy theory {Expectancy theory is the idea that individuals will be motivated when they see a series of linkages between their effort and higher performance, and between higher performance and an outcome they desire}

The idea that employees choose their behavior based on conscious goals and intentions, and that they are more motivated by challenging, specific goals, is _____________ .

*goal-setting theory {According to goal-setting theory, employees choose their behavior based on conscious goals and intentions. In general, the more difficult, clear and precise the goal, the more motivating it is}

An employee is being paid according to a ___________ if the organization pays for each unit the employee produces.

*piece-rate incentive plan {A piece-rate incentive plan pays employees by the unit produced. For example, a website might pay bloggers a set amount for every post they write. Piece-rate plans can encourage fast production, since the more a worker makes, the more they earn. However, these plans tend to ignore quantity. Also, since each worker will be working as fast as they can, it is difficult to coordinate more complex tasks among groups of workers}