Chapter 05 - Motivation: Background and Theories, Organizations

Chapter 05

Motivation: Background and Theories, Organizations


True / False Questions

1.(p.128)Baby Boomers are characterized by their lack of willingness to "go the extra mile" to get the job done.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: Baby Boomers are characterized by their optimism, teamwork and willingness to "go the extra mile" to get the job done.

2.(p.128)The on-the-job characteristics of Baby Boomers make them a perfect match for Gen Xers.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: More cynical than any other generation, the "it's only a job" attitude of Gen Xers places them in direct conflict with Baby Boomers.

3.(p.129)Figuring out why some employees perform better than others is a continual problem facing managers.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

4.(p.129)Motivation is difficult to define and to analyze.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

5.(p.129)Almost all aspects of human motivation have been explained.
FALSE


Difficulty: Easy
Rationale: Many aspects of human motivation are still unexplained.

6.(p.130)Regardless of their nationality or cultural background, people are driven to fulfill needs and to achieve goals.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

7.(p.130)Japanese employees are likely to be highly motivated by monetary incentives.
FALSE


Difficulty: Easy
Rationale: Japanese tend to prefer to be awarded with plaques, applause and attention; Japanese employees are likely to be insulted by material incentives.

8.(p.132)Needs are energizers or triggers of behavioral responses.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

9.(p.133)To predict behavior with any accuracy, a manager must know something about an employee's goals and the actions that he/she must take to achieve them.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

10.(p.134)A person's need deficiencies often repeat themselves in a regular pattern.
FALSE


Difficulty: Easy
Rationale: People change because of experiences, life events, aging, cultural and environmental changes and other factors. Therefore, it is unlikely that a person's need deficiencies will repeat themselves in a regular pattern.

11.(p.134)According to Maslow, a satisfied need continues to motivate, but at a lower level.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: According to Maslow, a satisfied need ceases to motivate.

12.(p.134)Needs, work style and work ethics may differ across cultures.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

13.(p.134)Americans are more job oriented than there are company oriented.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

14.(p.134)In China, a monetary bonus for outstanding performance could cause an employee humiliation.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

15.(p.135)American managers working overseas are less satisfied with autonomy opportunities than are their counterparts working in the United States.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: American managers working overseas are more satisfied with autonomy opportunities than are their counterparts working in the United States.

16.(p.135)Maslow proposed that needs on the next higher level aren't activated until the currently important needs are adequately satisfied.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

17.(p.136)If a subordinate's higher-order needs are being blocked, then it's in the manager's best interest to redirect the subordinate's efforts toward relatedness or existence needs.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

18.(p.136)Need explanations are popular because they're so easy to remember.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: Need explanations are popular because they're simple, easily expressed views of human behavior.

19.(p.137)Intrinsic conditions include pay, status and working conditions.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: Pay, status and working conditions are extrinsic conditions.

20.(p.137)Extrinsic conditions are called the dissatisfiers or hygiene factors.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

21.(p.139)David McClelland proposed that most needs are acquired from the educational system.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: David McClelland proposed that many needs are acquired from the culture of a society.

22.(p.139)When taking a Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), people tend to write stories that reflect their dominant needs.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

23.(p.140)High nAch persons prefer easy performance goals and immediate feedback.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: High nAch persons avoid easy and difficult performance goals; they prefer moderate goals that they think they can achieve.

24.(p.140)Need for achievement correlates highly with the need to attain status or wealth.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

25.(p.141)There are no gender differences regarding competitiveness and money beliefs.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: Studies have found that gender differences exist regarding competitiveness and money beliefs; men are inclined to be more competitive and tend to focus their ambitions toward making money.

26.(p.142)According to McClelland, a manager should arrange job tasks so that employees with a high nAch receive periodic feedback on performance.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

27.(p.142)Individuals have both innate and learned needs, so job factors result in varying degrees of satisfaction.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

28.(p.142)High n Ach individuals who focus on attaining success differ from high n Ach individuals who focus on avoiding failure.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

29.(p.142-143)A woman's natural tendencies make her better suited to motivated employees than are most men.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

30.(p.144)Process explanations of motivation suggest that motivation varies from situation to situation.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

31.(p.144)Herzerg's two-factor theory assumes that every worker has different needs and preferences.
FALSE


Difficulty: Hard
Rationale: Herzerg's two-factor theory assumes that every worker has similar needs and preferences.

32.(p.145)Second-level outcomes that result from behavior are associated with doing the job itself.
FALSE


Difficulty: Easy
Rationale: First-level outcomes that result from behavior are associated with doing the job itself.

33.(p.146)The valence concept applies only to first-level outcomes.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: The valence concept applies to both first- and second-level outcomes.

34.(p.146)The intent of expectancy theory is to assess the magnitude and direction of all the forces acting on the individual.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

35.(p.146)The term ability refers to a person's physical and mental ability to do a job, as well as what the person will actually do.
FALSE


Difficulty: Easy
Rationale: Ability refers to a person's ability to do a job, not what the person will actually do.

36.(p.147)If expectancy is low, there will be little motivation.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

37.(p.148)Managers who know what subordinates prefer can offer more highly valued outcomes.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

38.(p.148)Motivation programs should be designed with rigidity in order to provide consistency, regardless of individual preferences.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: Motivation programs should be designed with enough flexibility to address differences in individual preferences.

39.(p.149)Expectancy theory assumes that employees allocate their behavior according to anticipated consequences of actions.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

40.(p.149)The expectancy approach contains an implicit assumption that all motivation is subconscious.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: The expectancy approach contains an implicit assumption that all motivation is conscious.

41.(p.150)According to Equity theory, individual characteristics such as skills, experience and age are considered inputs.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

42.(p.150)Equity exists when employees perceive that the ratios of their inputs (efforts) to their outcomes (rewards) are equivalent to the ratios of similar employees.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

43.(p.151)Expectancy theory views behavior as the product of what employees know has happened in the past.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: Expectancy theory views behavior as the product of what employees believe will happen in the future.

44.(p.152)Distributive justice is the perception of fairness of the processes and procedures used to distribute rewards and resources.
FALSE


Difficulty: Hard
Rationale: This is procedural justice; distributive justice is the perception of fairness of the rewards and resources in an organization.

45.(p.152)The reaction to an inequity will be proportional to the magnitude of the inequity experienced.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy

46.(p.152)Employees are often told by the organization that they are overpaid, if they fact they are.
FALSE


Difficulty: Medium
Rationale: Employees are seldom told that they are overpaid.

47.(p.152)Perceived overpayment inequity is more likely to occur when friends are involved.
TRUE


Difficulty: Medium

48.(p.152)An individual often receives signals from the organization that he/she is being treated unfairly.
FALSE


Difficulty: Easy
Rationale: An individual is unlikely to receive signals from the organization that he/she is being treated unfairly.

49.(p.153)Any management attempt to improve individuals' job performance must utilize motivation theories.
TRUE


Difficulty: Easy


Multiple Choice Questions

50.(p.129)Motivating employees was an important topic as far back as the ______.
A.1700s
B.1800s
C.1900s
D.Motivation has only surfaced as an important topic within the past 10 years


Difficulty: Medium

51.(p.130)In Japanese firms, bonuses are generally based on all of the following except:
A.Seniority
B.Marital status
C.Gender
D.Individual accomplishments


Difficulty: Medium

52.(p.130)Motivation has to do with all of the following except:
A.The consistency of the behavior
B.The direction of behavior
C.The strength of the response, once a course of action is chosen
D.The persistence of the behavior


Difficulty: Medium

53.(p.131)Managers prefer highly motivated employees for all the following reasons except:
A.They want to come to work and be part of a team
B.They're interested in helping coworkers
C.They're willing to accept lower wages in order to get the job
D.They strive to find the best way to perform their jobs


Difficulty: Medium

54.(p.132)Need deficiencies trigger a search for ways to reduce the ______they cause.
A.Conflict
B.Tension
C.Fear
D.Confusion


Difficulty: Medium

55.(p.133)McClelland was the founder of the ______.
A.Learned needs theory
B.Two-factor theory (hygiene-motivators)
C.Five-level need hierarchy
D.Three-level hierarchy (ERG)


Difficulty: Medium

56.(p.133)______was the founder of the reinforcement theory concerned with the learning that occurs as a consequence of behavior.
A.Vroom
B.Adams
C.Skinner
D.Locke


Difficulty: Medium

57.(p.133)Process theories describe and analyze how behavior is energized, directed, sustained and stopped by factors primarily ______to the individual.
A.Internal
B.External
C.Unrelated
D.Oblivious


Difficulty: Medium

58.(p.133)Content theories focus on individual needs in explaining all of the following except:
A.Job satisfaction
B.Worker behavior
C.Reward systems
D.Quality-quantity relationships


Difficulty: Medium

59.(p.134)Maslow hypothesized five classes of needs. In order of level (lowest to highest), they are:
A.Social, esteem, physiological, safety and self-actualization
B.Physiological, safety, social, self-actualization and esteem
C.Physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization
D.Self-actualization, safety, social, physiological, esteem


Difficulty: Medium

60.(p.135)Managers at upper levels in large companies are ______their counterparts in small companies.
A.More satisfied than
B.Less satisfied than
C.Just as satisfied as


Difficulty: Medium

61.(p.135)If a person is continually frustrated in attempts to satisfy growth needs, ______needs reemerge as a major motivating force.
A.Development
B.Existence
C.Relatedness
D.All of the choices are correct


Difficulty: Hard

62.(p.135)New employees are often very interested in salary, scheduled work hours and working conditions. According to Maslow, these employees are motivated to satisfy the ______needs category.
A.Physiological
B.Safety
C.Social
D.Self-actualization


Difficulty: Medium

63.(p.135-136)Which of the following statements about Maslow's theory is correct?
A.Needs can be satisfied in any order
B.People's needs depend on what they already have
C.Satisfied lower order needs still motivate
D.Upper order needs are the most motivating


Difficulty: Medium

64.(p.137)______developed the two-factor content theory of motivation.
A.Adams
B.Herzberg
C.Maslow
D.Vroom


Difficulty: Medium

65.(p.137)According to Herzberg's motivation model, which of the following factors is a "motivator"?
A.Working conditions
B.Salary
C.Recognition
D.Working conditions


Difficulty: Hard

66.(p.138)The validity of Herzberg's theory is criticized because it was based on a sample of American workers that included only ______.
A.Bankers and lawyers
B.Business owners
C.Accountants and engineers
D.Blue-collar workers


Difficulty: Medium

67.(p.139)McClelland proposed all of the following needs except:
A.The need for security
B.The need for achievement
C.The need for power
D.The need for affiliation


Difficulty: Easy

68.(p.140)McClelland proposes that the economic growth of a society is based on the level of ______inherent in its population.
A.Need for power
B.Need for affiliation
C.Need for achievement
D.Both A and C


Difficulty: Medium

69.(p.141)In comparison to women, men place more value on all of the following except:
A.Salary
B.Interesting work
C.Motivation
D.Directing others


Difficulty: Medium

70.(p.142)In comparison to men, women place more value on all of the following except:
A.Good interpersonal relationships
B.Feelings of accomplishment
C.Professional growth
D.Motivation


Difficulty: Medium

71.(p.142)A major difference between the four content theories is McClelland's emphasis on ______.
A.Distributive justice
B.Motivation
C.Socially acquired needs
D.All of the choices are correct


Difficulty: Hard

72.(p.142)______stresses that only certain job features and characteristics can result in motivation.
A.Maslow's need hierarchy
B.Alderfer's ERG theory
C.Herzberg's two-factor theory
D.McClelland's learned needs theory


Difficulty: Hard

73.(p.143)Which of the following items on Maslow's need hierarchy is considered a basic need?
A.Self-actualization
B.Safety
C.Belongingness
D.Esteem


Difficulty: Easy

74.(p.143)Which of factors identified by Herzberg is considered a motivator?
A.Quality of interpersonal relations among coworkers
B.Job security
C.Working conditions
D.Recognition


Difficulty: Medium

75.(p.144)______stresses that a person's needs are learned from society.
A.Maslow's need hierarchy
B.Alderfer's ERG theory
C.Herzberg's two-factor theory
D.McClelland's learned needs theory


Difficulty: Medium

76.(p.145)Vroom defines ______as a process governing choices among alternative forms of voluntary activity.
A.Ethics
B.Morality
C.Motivation
D.Expectancy


Difficulty: Medium

77.(p.145)Which of the following would be considered a first-level outcome?
A.Absenteeism
B.Merit pay raise
C.Group acceptance or rejection
D.Promotion


Difficulty: Medium

78.(p.150)Expectancy theory explanations have some validity in countries where employees believe they have some control over the work context and their own behavior expectancy. In which of the following countries would expectancy theory not be valid?
A.New Zealand
B.Canada
C.United States
D.Iraq


Difficulty: Medium

79.(p.150)The essence of ______is that employees compare their efforts and rewards with those of others in similar work situations.
A.Expectancy theory
B.Equity theory
C.Learned needs
D.Needs hierarchy


Difficulty: Easy

80.(p.150)According to equity theory, a ______is any individual(s) or group used by Person as a referent regarding the ratio of inputs and outcomes.
A.Person
B.Comparison other
C.Ratio comparison
D.Perceptive other


Difficulty: Easy

81.(p.151)Jeff senses an inequity and has decided to put less effort into his job. He will be ______.
A.Changing the reference person
B.Changing the situation
C.Changing outcomes
D.Changing inputs


Difficulty: Medium

82.(p.151)Jeff senses an inequity and has decided to ask his boss for more time off. He is trying to ______.
A.Change the reference person
B.Change the situation
C.Change the outcome
D.Change inputs


Difficulty: Medium

83.(p.152)Most of the research on equity theory has focused on ______as the basic outcome.
A.Pay
B.Self-esteem
C.Achieving organizational goals
D.Feedback


Difficulty: Medium

84.(p.152)______is the degree to which individuals feel fairly treated within the organizations for which they work.
A.Procedural justice
B.Organizational justice
C.Distributive justice


Difficulty: Medium

85.(p.152)______is the perceived fairness of how resources and rewards are distributed throughout an organization.
A.Procedural justice
B.Organizational justice
C.Distributive justice


Difficulty: Medium


Fill in the Blank Questions

86.(p.130-131)______is the concept we use to describe the forces acting on or within an individual to initiate and direct behavior.
Motivation


Difficulty: Hard

87.(p.131-132)Deficiencies may be physiological, psychological or ______.
sociological