Organizational Behavior, Version 1.1
Bauer & Erdogan
FWK Test Item File
Chapter 6
TRUE/FALSE
1. The Nucor Steel Company’s incentive system penalizes low performers, but sets no upper limit on the amount high performers can earn annually.
(True)
2. Evidence of the success of Nucor Steel is the low turnover rate and nonunion status of the firm.
(True)
3. Nucor Steel’s formula for success is to centralize decision making and rigidly define employee and manager job duties.
(False)
4. Leaving employees free to choose job performance methods is an important element of scientific management techniques.
(False)
5. Job specialization entails breaking down jobs into their simplest components.
(True)
6. Job enlargement involves moving employees from job to job at different intervals.
(False)
7. You are a Walt Disney Company management trainee. The first three months of your job you will be working in the restaurant and hospitality area. The next three months you will be in the merchandising area, followed by three months in lodging and finally, three months in park operations. The Walt Disney management trainee program is designed using the job rotation philosophy.
(True)
8. In a supermarket study, cashiers rotated through different departments have lower stress levels and less pain in necks and shoulders.
(True)
9. Research shows that the psychological state of meaningfulness is the most important such state for employee attitudes and behaviors.
(True)
10. The job characteristics model is an attempt to design jobs for increased motivational potential.
(True)
11. Skill variety and task significance are the most important elements in deciding motivational potential.
(False)
12. Access to information is a key factor in empowering employees.
(True)
13. Goal commitment is higher when employees have trust-based relationships with managers.
(True)
14. Goal setting is one of the most influential and practical theories of motivation.
(True)
15. The most effective goals are easy ones.
(False)
16. The performance appraisal meeting is the most important component of a performance appraisal.
(True)
17. In the most effective performance appraisal meetings, criticism of the individual personality traits is very important.
(False)
18. Quality expert Edward Deming advocates abolishing performance appraisals in the workplace.
(True)
19. Adequate notice ensures that there is two-way communication during the performance appraisal process.
(False)
20. Relative ranking appraisals may help an organization become more performance-oriented if they are used for a few years because they tend to weed out employees with persistent performance problems.
(True)
21. To increase the effectiveness of performance meetings, increase employee participation.
(True)
22. Attractive women are rated lower if they are employed in nonmanagement jobs and higher if they are in management jobs.
(False)
23. Leniency bias makes it harder for employees to change their behaviors.
(True)
24. Merit pay is a permanent pay raise based on past performance.
(True)
25. In a pay system based upon commission, rewarding only sales volume can lead salesmen to heavily discount merchandise.
(True)
26. The notion of using incentives to increase performance is a very old idea, actually going back to the time of Napoleon.
(True)
27. Gift cards as awards to employees are not appreciated because they are often purchased for stores and restaurants that employees do not frequent.
(False)
28. The use of stock options remains a popular incentive technique in start-up organizations.
(True)
29. Even though goal setting is a good motivational tool, there is strong evidence that goal setting can also lead to unethical behavior.
(True)
30. One technique to reduce the likelihood of unethical behavior resulting from goal setting is to create multiple levels of goals and distribute rewards according to the goals achieved rather than rewarding only those who reach the highest goal and not giving anything to anyone else, including those who were very close to that high goal.
(True)
31. Indian employees are more satisfied when they are empowered in the workplace than their counterparts in the United States or Poland.
(False)
32. Chinese employees are more motivated than American employees when the goals set for them are very difficult.
(True)
33. Countries high in power distance respond positively to appraisal systems where lower level employees give feedback to their managers.
(False)
34. Research in Western countries suggests that empowerment is an effective tool to motivate employees.
(True)
35. In China, goals high in specificity are more motivational in contrast to the low specificity goals preferred by employees in Western cultures, including the United States.
(False)
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Opening Section: Motivating Steel Workers Works: The Case of Nucor
|
36. All of the following are reasons why Nucor Steel is so effective at motivating its employees EXCEPT
a. the incentive system penalizes lower performers but offers no limits on how much can be made by those that perform well.
b. the firm has a centralized structure that retains decision making at upper levels in the organization.
c. employees have the opportunity to fix problems that they see occurring during production.
d. there is a great deal of task flexibility as some duties of managers have been pushed down to lower level line employees.
(b) Medium/Comprehension
| Section I: Motivating Employees through Job Design |
37. Which of the following factors has the most influence on worker motivation?
a. pay
b. growth opportunities
c. job design
d. recognition
(c) Easy/Knowledge
38. Scientific management’s primary focus is
a. goal setting.
b. efficiency.
c. flexibility.
d. motivation.
(b) Medium/Analysis
39. Key elements of the scientific management philosophy include all of the following EXCEPT
a. using training and specific instructions to minimize the number of workers needed on jobs.
b. minimizing waste by identifying the most efficient method to perform the job.
c. expanding the nature of tasks performed by employees to add more variety to the job.
d. breaking down jobs into their simplest components to facilitate specialization.
(c) Medium/Analysis
40. Job specialization
a. is breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to employees so that each person will perform a few tasks in a repetitive manner.
b. refers to expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more variety.
c. involves moving employees from job to job at regular intervals.
d. allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks.
(a) Easy/Knowledge
41. Which of the following is an advantage to job specialization?
a. Training costs are higher, but because of the specialized nature of tasks, they are learned more fully.
b. The nature of the jobs leads to lower absenteeism.
c. Staffing costs are lower because the repetitive nature of tasks makes skill requirements lower.
d. The nature of the jobs is especially effective in rapidly changing environments.
(c) Difficult/Evaluation
42. Job rotation
a. is breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to employees so that each person will perform a few tasks in a repetitive manner.
b. refers to expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more variety.
c. involves moving employees from job to job at regular intervals.
d. allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
43. Job enlargement
a. is breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to employees so that each person will perform few tasks in a repetitive manner.
b. refers to expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more variety.
c. involves moving employees from job to job at regular intervals.
d. allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
44. Job enrichment
a. is breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to employees so that each person will perform few tasks in a repetitive manner.
b. refers to expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more variety.
c. involves moving employees from job to job at regular intervals.
d. allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
45. Frederick Taylor’s work led to a fundamental change in management philosophy. The change
a. was understanding that managers could not influence the output levels of employees.
b. was understanding that repetitive activities are the direct result of job generalization.
c. paved the way for today’s automation and standardization.
d. was increasing the complexity of jobs in the workplace for greater productivity.
(c) Difficult/Analysis
46. The local high school band needs to raise money to pay for a trip to New York City. It decides to sell sandwiches. Early Saturday morning, 20 volunteers report to the school cafeteria to make sandwiches. Stations are set up to make the 500 sandwiches ordered for that day. Station one has four individuals cutting sandwich buns, station two has four individuals placing the meats on the rolls, station three, etc. The individual who devised the sandwich-making production plan is operating under a
a. job specialization approach.
b. job rotation approach.
c. job enlargement approach.
d. job enrichment approach.
(a) Difficult/Synthesis
47. Job specialization can
a. increase the number of employees needed to complete the job.
b. minimize training costs.
c. lead to greater motivation among employees.
d. be very effective in rapidly changing environments.
(b) Difficult/Evaluation
48. Which of the following statements is INACCURATE about job rotation?
a. Rotation is the regular movement of employees through firm jobs.
b. Rotation leads to increased likelihood that turnover will be reduced in the firm.
c. Rotation is an opportunity for employees to acquire new skills.
d. Rotation leads to slightly elevated blood pressure measured in employees using the process due to their movement between jobs.
(d) Medium/Comprehension
49. All of the following are advantages of job rotation EXCEPT
a. employees become cross-trained due to their movement between jobs.
b. employees become less marketable after rotating because their skill sets become very company-specific.
c. managers have greater scheduling flexibility in a job rotation system.
d. employees experience less boredom in a job rotation system.
(b) Medium/Comprehension
50. Stuart works on an auto assembly line. Last year he was responsible for welding the upper panel of the wheel well onto the left rear wheel area. This year, he is responsible for welding all parts of the entire left rear wheel area. This auto assembly line underwent a job re-design using the ________ ________technique.
a. job specialization.
b. job enrichment.
c. job rotation.
d. job enlargement.
(d) Medium/Application
51. Which of the following statements is true about job design approaches?
a. Job rotation takes place only with lower level jobs in an organization.
b. Job enrichment may lead to employee frustration or dissatisfaction with pay.
c. Job specialization is effective in rapidly changing work environments.
d. Job enlargement implementation leads employees to feel capable of performing job tasks.
(b) Difficult/Analysis
52. Which of the following statements about job enlargement is NOT true?
a. Job enlargement involving giving employees more tasks requiring them to be knowledgeable in different areas has fewer positive effects than job enlargement adding tasks that are very simple in nature.
b. When jobs are enlarged, employees view themselves as more capable.
c. Job enlargement is beneficial because it is positively related to higher quality customer service.
d. The intent behind job enlargement is to increase the variety of tasks to be performed so that boredom is reduced and human resources are used effectively.
(a) Medium/Comprehension
53. All of the following statements about job enrichment are true EXCEPT
a. job enrichment may lead to dissatisfaction with one’s pay.
b. job enrichment is a suitable technique to be used with any employee.
c. job enrichment may be associated with increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.
d. the technique allows employees to take on more responsibility.
(b) Medium/Comprehension
54. Olaf works on an assembly line in an Oslo factory. Last month the assembly line processes were overhauled. Olaf is still responsible for soldering electrical contacts on an appliance component, but now he is also expected to review each component for quality defects after he solders. If he notes any defects, he can place the component in the scrap bin. If he scraps five such pieces in succession, he is permitted to press an emergency button above his station, which stops the assembly line completely. This job re-design is a reflection of the _____ ______________ philosophy.
a. job rotation
b. job enlargement
c. job enrichment
d. job specialization
(c) Difficult/Synthesis
55. Maria works at a factory in Lima, Peru where she sews blue jeans for a major American firm. On Mondays, she sews the side seams of the jeans, on Tuesdays she sews on pockets, Wednesdays she presses finished jeans, Thursdays she folds jeans, packages sets of twelve in shrink wrap and places them in boxes, and on Friday she sews decorative stitching on the pockets and side seams. Maria is working under the job design technique of
a. job specialization.
b. job enrichment.
c. job enlargement.
d. job rotation.
(d) Medium/Synthesis
56. Task identity is
a. the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high level skills.
b. the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish.
c. whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s health, work or well-being.
d. the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his tasks.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
57. Skill variety is
a. the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high level skills.
b. the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish.
c. whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s health, work or well-being.
d. the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his tasks.
(a) Easy/Knowledge
58. Feedback is
a. the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high level skills.
b. the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish.
c. the degree to which people learn how effective they are being at work.
d. the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his tasks.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
59. Task significance is
a. the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high level skills.
b. the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish.
c. whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s health, work or well-being.
d. the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his tasks.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
60. Autonomy is
a. the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high level skills.
b. the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish.
c. whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s health, work or well-being.
d. the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his tasks.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
61. Which of the following is NOT a core job characteristic in the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model?
a. skill variety
b. task significance
c. feedback
d. pay
(d) Easy/Knowledge
62. Which of the following is NOT an outcome in the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model?
a. organizational citizenship
b. performance
c. satisfaction
d. turnover
(a) Easy/Knowledge
63. Which of the following is a psychological state in the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model?
a. motivation
b. meaningfulness
c. creativity
d. engagement
(b) Medium/Knowledge
64. Which of the following describes the elements of the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model?
a. Three psychological states lead to five core job characteristics which lead to five outcomes.
b. Five core job characteristics lead to five outcomes which produce three psychological states.
c. Five core job characteristics lead to three psychological states which lead to five outcomes.
d. Three psychological states lead to five outcomes which are analyzed for five core job characteristics.
(c) Medium/Comprehension
65. Which of the following psychological states is the most important for employee attitudes and behaviors?
a. responsibility
b. knowledge of results
c. motivation
d. meaningfulness
(d) Medium/Knowledge
66. A fashion designer who creates pieces for a large fashion house for a New York or Paris runway show has
a. high task identity.
b. low task identity.
c. low skill variety.
d. low autonomy.
(a) Medium/Synthesis
67. Employee autonomy has all of the following positive benefits but
a. it makes the employees more reactive in doing their jobs.
b. it increases motivation at work.
c. it increases employee creativity.
d. it increases employee effectiveness.
(a) Medium/Comprehension
68. Which of the following statements regarding the relationship between feedback and performance is true?
a. The mere presence of feedback is sufficient to motivate employees to better performance.
b. Regardless of whether feedback is positive or negative in nature, employees will feel motivated by it.
c. Feedback is detrimental to performance in about one-third of the cases.
d. The manner in which feedback is delivered has no bearing on its motivation effects.
(c) Medium/Analysis
69. According to the formula for the motivating potential score of a job, the most important elements in deciding motivation potential are
a. skill variety and autonomy.
b. task significance and task identity.
c. autonomy and feedback.
d. skill variety and feedback.
(c) Difficult/Analysis
70. Which of the following is true regarding the motivating potential of a job?
a. An employee whose expectation for his job is to pay the bills will have high growth strength.
b. Even though a job is designed with the express purpose of motivating individuals, some employees may not find the job motivational.
c. Career stage does not influence the importance of the five core characteristics.
d. Employees with high growth need strength will respond less favorably to jobs with high motivating potential.
(b) Difficult/Evaluation
71. In order to increase the feedback you receive, do the following:
a. avoid asking your superior for feedback. Managers will look less favorably upon you if you continually bother them for feedback.
b. develop a positive relationship with your manager.
c. when you receive negative feedback, defend yourself by explaining your behavior.
d. seek positive feedback rather than negative feedback.
(b) Medium/Analysis
72. Structural empowerment
a. refers to making a person powerless.
b. is the degree to which a person has higher order needs such as esteem and self-actualization.
c. refers to the aspects of the work environment that give employees discretion, autonomy and the ability to do jobs effectively.
d. is the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his tasks.
(c) Medium/Knowledge
73. Which of the following factors do not determine empowerment?
a. structure
b. access to information
c. leadership style
d. pay
(d) Medium/Knowledge
74. ___________ is an example of felt empowerment.
a. Meaningful work
b. Leadership style
c. Organizational structure
d. Organizational climate
(a) Easy/Knowledge
75. One of the dimensions of structural empowerment is
a. meaningful work.
b. confidence that you can perform the job.
c. feeling that one has autonomy at work.
d. access to information.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
76. Which of the following statements is true about empowerment?
a. The notion of empowerment is appropriate for all employees.
b. Empowerment is a relatively easy concept to implement in the workplace.
c. Employees who are nervous about empowerment may also worry about the increased responsibility.
d. Empowerment is not related to job performance.
(c) Medium/Analysis
77. To empower your employees,
a. retain information on the job until it is absolutely needed.
b. take away employee power so your manager accountability is not compromised.
c. make sure managers continue to manage in such a manner that they are stepping in with routine responses to issues.
d. change the company structure so employees have more power on the job.
(d) Medium/Analysis
| Section II: Motivating Employees through Goal-Setting |
78. The “M” in “SMART” goals stands for
a. Measurable
b. Motivating
c. Minimal
d. Management
(a) Easy/Knowledge
79. Which of the following statements regarding SMART goals is correct?
a. Easy goals are the most effective goals.
b. When goals are specific, stress is higher
c. Adding a time limit into a goal leads to short term decision making and leads to ignoring the long term consequences.
d. Effective goals tend to be aggressive.
(d) Medium/Analysis
80. If you say to yourself, “As soon as I finish reading this chapter in my textbook, I am going to play Guitar Hero for an hour,” this specific goal has motivated you because
a. it has given you direction.
b. it has energized you not to stop until you have accomplished the goal.
c. it has provided you with self esteem.
d. it has caused you to re-think how you are working.
(b) Medium/Application
81. All of the following conditions contribute to the effectiveness of goal setting EXCEPT
a. ability.
b. goal commitment.
c. feedback.
d. group, as opposed to individual goals.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
82. Which of the following would be conditions under which SMART goals would be effective relative to other times?
a. when managers have clearly established goals without employee input
b. when employees feel the skill sets needed to perform a goal-oriented task need to be upgraded
c. when employees have a supportive and trusting relationship with their managers
d. when managers provide feedback to employees on a very irregular basis, if at all
(c) Medium/Synthesis
83. _______________ is (are) a downside to goal setting.
a. Learning decreases
b. Adaptability increases
c. Developing broadmindedness
d. Ethical problem decreases
(a) Easy/Knowledge
84. Though goal setting is usually viewed as a positive process, there can be downsides if
a. employees can adapt their behaviors in response to unplanned for threats.
b. employees lack skills necessary to reach the goals.
c. rewards are established for coming close to, as well as achieving a goal.
d. goals account not just for meeting, as an example, production quotas, but also for meeting quality standards.
(b) Difficult/Evaluation
85. A management by objectives program includes all of the following EXCEPT
a. detaching individual goals from organizational strategy.
b. setting individual goals aligned with corporate strategy.
c. developing action plans.
d. periodically reviewing performance goals.
(a) Easy/Knowledge
86. Which of the following is accurate for goal setting?
a. Management commitment is key to successful implementation of MBO programs.
b. In general, there are no downsides to goal setting.
c. Goals should be easily achieved to be motivating.
d. Goals are more effective motivators if feedback on achievement is limited so as not to divert attention from the goal to the feedback.
(a) Difficult/Synthesis
| Section III: Motivating Employees through Performance Appraisals |
87. Research on performance appraisal suggests
a. performance appraisal ratings are usually used only for feedback purposes.
b. employees are always well aware of the basis for their evaluations.
c. as organizations become flatter, there is less need for multiple appraisal perspectives like those of peers, customers and subordinates.
d. feedback is most effective if it immediately follows high or low performance.
(d) Difficult/Evaluation
88. The most likely individual to rate an employee is
a. the employee’s supervisor.
b. a coworker of the employee.
c. a customer of the employee.
d. a subordinate of the employee.
(a) Easy/Comprehension
89. 360-degree feedback
a. is designed to provide feedback for promotion or pay decisions.
b. is designed to deal with all instances where competition between coworkers is prevalent.
c. is designed to provide feedback for developmental purposes.
d. is the most frequently used form of performance appraisal in U.S. firms.
(c) Medium/Analysis
90. Fair hearing
a. involves letting employees know what criteria are used in appraisal.
b. involves documenting performance problems and using factual evidence in rating performance.
c. means ensuring that there is two-way communication during the appraisal process and the employee’s perspective is heard.
d. is the process where feedback is confidentially gathered from peers, customers and subordinates.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
91. Adequate notice
a. involves letting employees know what criteria are used in appraisal.
b. Involves documenting performance problems and using factual evidence in rating performance.
c. means ensuring that there is two-way communication during the appraisal process and the employee’s perspective is heard.
d. is the process where feedback is confidentially gathered from peers, customers and subordinates.
(a) Easy/Knowledge
92. Judgment based on evidence
a. involves letting employees know what criteria are used in appraisal.
b. involves documenting performance problems and using factual evidence in rating performance.
c. means ensuring that there is two-way communication during the appraisal process and the employee’s perspective is heard.
d. is the process where feedback is confidentially gathered from peers, customers and subordinates.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
93. A relative ranking system is used when
a. students receive an A if they got 93% of the total points in a semester.
b. students receive weighted grades during a semester, like: 20 of 25 points on a quiz worth 5% of the grade, and 10 of 15 on a quiz worth 3% of the grade.
c. a college implements a system where 10% of the class will receive A, 20% will receive B, 70% will receive C, 20% will receive D and 10% will receive F.
d. a student must take all quizzes to receive a C, a student must take all quizzes and write a paper to receive a B, and a student must take all quizzes, write a paper and do a presentation to receive an A.
(c) Difficult/Synthesis
94. Forced ranking systems, like that established by General Electric,
a. provide employees with concrete feedback on what their goals are for next year.
b. are beneficial to a firm if they are used in a consistent manner and for a long period of time.
c. can lead to employee stagnation and a performance-aversive culture.
d. can carry the danger of lawsuits because of equal employment opportunity concerns with employees rated.
(d) Difficult/Evaluation
95. All of the following are purposes of a performance appraisal EXCEPT
a. achieving work/life balance.
b. documenting employee performance for pay and reward decisions.
c. providing employees with feedback for developmental purposes.
d. distributing bonuses, pay increases and promotions.
(a) Medium/Comprehension
96. Conducting an effective performance appraisal meeting
a. is always easier if the rater begins the meeting with a criticism of the employee and moves forward from there.
b. is always easier if the rater limits the number of opportunities the employee has to speak.
c. is facilitated if the rater has empathy for the employee.
d. is easier if the rater completes the performance appraisal form as he talks to the employee during the actual performance appraisal meeting.
(c) Medium/Synthesis
97. Matthew and Jim are next-door neighbors and their sons are best friends. Matthew and Jim take the boys on many father-son outings. Matthew is Jim’s boss at ABC Corporation. Jim gets high ratings from Matthew. There may be bias in those ratings due to
a. leniency.
b. stereotypes.
c. contrast.
d. liking.
(d) Medium/Application
98. Renaldo is preparing to rate Marquez on his annual performance evaluation. As he looks at the first item, Renaldo thinks about the meeting he had with Marquez last week. Marquez shared with Renaldo that his wife was quite ill and that there may be days when he would be called to the hospital unexpectedly. As Renaldo looks back at the form, he thinks about how costly this will be for Marquez. Renaldo may give Marquez ratings that show ______________ bias.
a. liking
b. leniency
c. stereotype
d. recency
(d) Difficult/Synthesis
99. All of the following statements about rating biases are true EXCEPT
a. women in stereotypically male jobs are rated higher than women in stereotypically female jobs.
b. attractive women are rated higher if they hold non-management jobs than if they hold management positions.
c. liking someone may cause the rater to selectively remember positive things about the person and thus rate him higher.
d. leniency bias can be addressed by having the rater use relative rankings.
(a) Difficult/Evaluation
| Section IV: Motivating Employees Through Performance Incentives |
100. Research on performance incentives suggest all of the following EXCEPT
a. employees report lower levels of pay satisfaction under pay-for-performance systems.
b. firms with pay-for-performance systems have higher customer service.
c. eighty percent of all American companies use merit pay.
d. pay-for-performance systems are more effective at retaining higher performing employees than praise or recognition systems.
(a) Difficult/Evaluation
101. A piece rate system
a. is a program providing one-time rewards to employees for specific accomplishments.
b. is a company-wide program where employees are rewarded for performance gains compared to past performance.
c. is a permanent pay raise based on past performance.
d. is a program where employees are paid on the basis of individual output produced.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
102. A mid-sized manufacturing company produced one thousand component assemblies in July of this year, far exceeding the previous record of 843 assemblies. One week later, the firm had grills brought on site and employees were treated to a steak luncheon. The steak grill-out is an example of
a. an award.
b. a bonus.
c. gainsharing.
d. merit pay.
(a) Easy/Evaluation
103. Which of the following statements regarding performance incentives is NOT true?
a. Employees who are heavily rewarded by commissions may neglect customers who provide them with a low probability of making a sale.
b. When awarded stock options, employees tend to hold on to them rather than sell them.
c. Profit sharing is not very effective at tying employee pay to individual effort.
d. Gainsharing programs can be successful if the payout formula is generous and employees can participate in the management of the company.
(b) Difficult/Evaluation
104. Which of the following statements regarding performance incentives is true?
a. Employees tend to hold onto stock options rather than sell them.
b. Merit pay is a successful program because employees recognize they will be rewarded only if performance increases.
c. Profit sharing is very effective in tying individual pay to employee effort.
d. Companies are increasingly choosing to implement team- or group-based pay-for-performance programs over individual-based pay-for-performance programs.
(d) Difficult/Evaluation
| Section V: The Role of Ethics and National Culture |
105. Which of the following statements regarding goal setting and ethics is NOT true?
a. Research shows that teachers who are rewarded for their students’ success may give their students answers during tests to improve the test scores.
b. The tendency to behave unethically occurs when employees know they are going to achieve their goals.
c. Employees have two choices when goal accomplishment is rewarded: work hard to reach the goals, or cheat.
d. When a high percentage of a CEO’s pay package consists of stock options, companies are more likely to misrepresent the financial situation of the company.
(b) Difficult/Evaluation
106. Companies can reduce the temptation to behave unethically by
a. rewarding only those who reach high goals.
b. rewarding everyone including those who completely missed their goals.
c. withholding rewards from those who are demonstrating unethical behaviors.
d. providing small recognitions for all behaviors even if the behavior has unethical overtones so that no employee feels like he has been singled out.
(c) Difficult/Evaluation
107. Which of the following statements is true regarding cultural aspects of motivation in a work environment?
a. Mexican employees work very effectively in self-managed teams.
b. Indian employees are very satisfied when they are empowered.
c. Chinese employees are very motivated when goals are very difficult.
d. Peer appraisals are very effective in collectivism cultures.
(c) Difficult/Evaluation
108. Which of the following statements regarding culture and designing a motivating work environment is true?
a. countries high in power distance respond positively to appraisal systems where lower level employees give performance feedback to their managers.
b. the paternalistic nature of Mexican companies makes methods of increasing employee empowerment easy to implement.
c. workers in India tend to respond positively to empowerment.
d. in China, goals with low specificity are more motivational than those with high specificity.
(d) Difficult/Evaluation
Closing Section: Motivation is Key for Success: The Case of Xerox
|
109. All of the following are reasons why Xerox is so effective at motivating its employees EXCEPT:
a. the company’s success.
b. the firm has a centralized structure that retains decision making at upper levels in the organization.
c. the belief that employees should feel interested in the work they do.
d. the family atmosphere in the large company.
(b) Medium/Comprehension
FILL IN THE BLANK
110. The philosophy of _____________ _____________focuses on the most efficient method to perform a job.
(scientific management)
111. ____ _______________ breaks down jobs into their simplest components and assigns them to employees so that they can perform tasks in a repetitive manner.
(Job specialization)
112. An auto assembly worker who works on the left rear wheel bolts on Monday, the right front headlight screws on Tuesday, the front grille connectors on Wednesday, the right rear wheel bolts on Thursday and the left front screws on Friday is working under a ________ ____________ system.
(job rotation)
113. The job characteristics model features the psychological states of _____________, _______________, and _____________________.
(meaningfulness, responsibility, and knowledge of results)
114. An organizational behavior instructor who develops a unique teamwork project for use in her classroom will have high ______________ with the project.
(task identity)
115. __________ ________ ___________ describes the degree to which a person has higher-order needs such as esteem and self-actualization.
(Growth need strength)
116. Employees who feel motivated and have discretion to make decisions about the content and context of their job are __________________.
(empowered)
117. A Harley-Davidson employee’s authority to stop the assembly line if he sees a blemish on the product has ___________________ empowerment.
(structural)
118. The acronym, SMART, stands for___________, ______________,__________, realistic and time-bound when discussing goal setting.
(specific, measurable, aggressive)
119. The degree to which a person is dedicated to reaching the goal is called _______ _____________________.
(goal commitment)
120. ______________________is the process in which a rater or raters evaluate an employee’s performance.
(Performance appraisal)
121. ___-_________ _______________ is the process where supervisors, peers, subordinates, and sometimes even customers provide feedback in a confidential manner to later share with the employee for developmental purposes.
(360-degree feedback)
122. _______ ________ ensures that there is two-way communication during the appraisal process and the employee’s story is heard.
(Fair hearing)
123. If you answer 90% of the questions right on an exam, you get an A, if you get 80% correct, you get a B, and so on. This approach to grading an exam uses an __________ _________ criteria.
(absolute rating)
124. If a manager does not want to have a confrontation with an employee or wants to avoid hurting that employee’s chances of getting a bonus, he may give the employee a rating higher than warranted. This bias in performance appraisal is called ______________.
(leniency)
125. Beliefs about different groups that may be generalized to an employee who is being evaluated, even though those beliefs may have little basis in reality, leads to a _____________ bias in performance evaluation.
(stereotype)
126. History suggests that one of the first incentive plans in place was when Napoleon promised 12,000 francs to anyone who could find a way to preserve food for the army. This is an example of a ____________.
(bonus)
127. Fruit pickers are paid based on the amount of fruit they pick in a day. This is an example of a ______ _______ _______ system.
(piece rate incentive)
128. A one-time reward that follows a specific accomplishment is called a _________.
(bonus)
129. The purpose of ________ __________ is to align company and employee interests by making employees owners.
(stock options)
130. _____________ is a company-wide program where employees are rewarded for performance gains compared to past performance.
(Gainsharing)
131. Chinese employees are much more motivated by ____________ goals than their American counterparts.
(difficult)
SHORT ANSWERS
132. Describe some of Frederick Taylor’s observations that led to his development of the scientific management philosophy.
Taylor saw work being done haphazardly. In addition, workers, not managers, generally were in charge of the work being done. Also, he noticed many inefficiencies in the production methods being used, and little planning was carried out prior to production. Finally, worker equipment was not standardized and little training or instruction was provided.
Based on these observations, Taylor offered a way to minimize waste by identifying the most efficient method to perform the job.
133. How do the job design techniques of job enlargement and job enrichment differ?
Job enlargement is the process of expanding the number and kind of tasks performed by the employee to add more variety in his work.
Job enrichment is the process where workers have more control over how they perform their tasks.
The key difference between the two is the nature of control, authority or responsibility the worker has under job enrichment. For example, in job enlargement, the employee may be responsible on an auto assembly line for the entire left rear wheel component. There are, obviously, a number of specific tasks that would be part of producing that component. The job would be enriched, if in addition to completing tasks to produce the left rear wheel component, the employee was also responsible for checking the quality of the assembly arriving at his work station. If the incoming assembly had quality defects, the enriched worker might be able to stop the entire assembly line.
134. Describe the process of job rotation as it applies to an employee in your college’s photocopying center.
A variety of jobs are performed at most college photocopy centers. Clearly exams and professor handouts are produced there, but there are also a number of binding activities, packing large orders, delivery of orders, and so on that are completed there. One example of a job rotation might be if on Monday, employee A would be responsible for receipt and logging of all job orders either sent through campus mail or delivered in person to the center. On Tuesday, employee A might be stationed at the copy machine doing the actual copying of work. That same employee might move to the spiral binding machine on Wednesday and the flat binding machine on Thursday. Friday would find employee A delivering completed jobs to individual offices throughout the campus. Each individual job is broken down to its simple parts for easy training. As the repetition of the tasks occurs, quality improves, as does efficiency. The rotation between the jobs addresses any monotony that might arise from completing the same tasks on a daily basis.
135. List and define the core job characteristics found in the Hackman and Oldham model.
Skill variety is the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high level skills.
Task identity is the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish.
Task significance is whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s work, health or well-being.
Autonomy is the degree to which a person had the freedom to decide how to perform his tasks.
Feedback is the degree to which people learn how effective they are being at work.
136. What is the formula to calculate the motivating potential score (MPS) of a job, and what is the purpose of the score?
MPS = Skill variety + Task Identity + Task significance x Autonomy x Feedback
3
The formula suggests that autonomy and feedback are the most important elements in deciding the motivating potential compared to skill variety, task identity and task significance. The purpose of the formula is to assess the motivating potential of a job.
137. What is the difference between felt empowerment and structural empowerment?
Structural empowerment refers to the aspects of the work environment that give employees discretion, autonomy and the ability to do their jobs effectively.
Felt empowerment is the condition where employees find the work to be meaningful, feeling confident that they can perform the job, feeling that they have discretion and autonomy at work and having the ability to influence how the company operates.
138. What does each of the letters in the acronym, SMART, mean?
S is Specific.
M is Measurable.
A is Aggressive.
R is Realistic.
T is Time-bound.
139. Write a SMART goal.
To eliminate 25% of the solid waste from US stores by the year 2015 (Wal-Mart)
140. Why do goals motivate?
Goals give us direction. The goals tell you what to focus on; so they should be set carefully. Employee goals should be aligned with company goals.
Goals energize employees. Even if you are tired of working toward a goal, having a specific goal in mind energizes you.
Goals present challenges. When goals are set and people reach them, they feel a sense of accomplishment.
SMART goals urge you to think outside the box and re-think how you are working. Goals have to be challenging and somewhat difficult to motivate.
141. Explain when goals are more effective.
Goals are more effective when there is feedback. The feedback helps indicate the progression to goal accomplishment.
Employees should have the skills, knowledge and abilities to reach their goals.
Employees should be committed to the goals.
Goals should be challenging, not easy, and not extremely difficult.
142. Are there any downsides to goal setting?
Yes, setting goals for specific outcomes may hamper employee performance if those employees lack skills and abilities needed to reach those goals. Therefore, goals should be set for learning, not outcomes, so the learning decreases can be addressed.
Goal setting may prevent employees from adapting and changing their behaviors in response to unforeseen threats. In short, adaptability declines.
Goals tend to focus employee behavior on activities that are measured, and thus people sacrifice other important elements of performance as a single-mindedness develops.
Finally, an aggressive pursuit of goals can lead to unethical behaviors. If rewards are given only for achievement of goals and not for coming close, some employees may do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
143. List the steps of the management by objectives (MBO) approach.
1. Make sure individual goals support team goals and team goals support the company strategy.
2. Specifically, company-wide goals should be derived from corporate strategy.
3.Team and department goals are then determined making sure they derive from the company goals.
4. Individual goals are collaboratively set between the employee and the supervisor that are aligned with the corporate strategy.
5. An action plan is developed.
6. The performance goals are periodically reviewed and revised.
144. How does 360-degree feedback differ from the more traditional form?
360-degree feedback is a system where all sources share, in a confidential manner, feedback on an employee for developmental purposes. These sources include peers, coworkers, supervisors and customers. The traditional feedback system usually involves only supervisors
145. What are the three characteristics of appraisals that increase the perception that they are fair?
Adequate notice involves letting employees know what criteria will be used during the appraisal.
Fair hearing means ensuring that two-way communication occurs during the appraisal process and making certain that the employee’s story is heard.
Judgment based on evidence involves documenting performance problems and using factual evidence as opposed to personal opinions when rating performance.
146. Differentiate between absolute and relative ranking.
Absolute rating is the situation when your performance is rated based upon some objective criteria.
Relative rating is when your rating depends on how your objective performance compares with the rest of the group evaluated.
147. Name three common biases in performance appraisals.
Liking is when the rater and the ratee have an existing relationship. The feelings of like or dislike can bias the ratings.
Leniency is when managers give employees ratings that are higher than what is warranted.
Stereotypes are beliefs about different groups that are generalized to the person in question even if that belief has little basis in reality.
148. Name two types of individual incentives and describe each.
Piece rate incentives are when employees are paid on the basis of individual output produced.
Bonuses are onetime rewards that follow specific accomplishments of employees.
Merit pay involves giving employees permanent pay raises based on past performance.
Sales commissions reward sales employees with a percentage of sales volume or profit generated.
Awards are methods that convey appreciation for worker performance and include such items as plaques, mugs, and gift cards.
149. Name and describe two group- or team-based incentives.
Team bonuses are one-time rewards that follow specific accomplishments of teams of employees.
Gainsharing is a company-wide program where employees are rewarded for performance gains compared to past performance. An example of this is labor cost savings.
Profit sharing involves sharing a percentage of company profits with all employees.
Stock options give an employee the right, but not the obligation, to purchase company stocks at a predetermined price.
ESSAY
150. Using the concepts of job design, goal setting and incentive systems, discuss how Nucor Steel Company successfully motivates its employees.
Nucor employees act almost like owners on their jobs. They are encouraged to fix things when they see they are wrong and have appropriate power to do so. Nucor Steel is very well known for pushing authority and responsibility down to the lowest levels in the hierarchy, which shows how effectively the firm has designed jobs for enrichment.
Incentive systems at Nucor are so effective that Nucor employees are the highest paid steel workers in the world. Much of the earnings comes from ties to performance; in fact everyone, including the CEO, has pay tied to corporate performance. The system is such that low performers are penalized while high performance is rewarded and employees become increasingly committed to the firm.
The formula for Nucor success is simple: Align company goals to employee goals and give employees power to make things happen. The employee turnover rate is one of the lowest in the industry and the firm one of the most successful.
151. Choose a job. Using the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model, analyze that job for its motivational properties. Comment on ways to enhance the job’s motivational properties and potential.
Example job is college instructor.
Skill variety of the job would be high as instructors teach, develop materials, tutor, counsel, etc.
Task identity is high since the instructor has her own course and teaches it as she sees fit throughout the entire semester or term.
Task significance is also high as the instructor’s job affects students’ well-being among others.
Autonomy is high as instructors have the freedom to choose their own textbooks, make their own handouts, exams, etc.
Feedback is high as instructors are evaluated formally by their students, by their deans and by other groups including informally on websites such as ratemyprofessor.com.
These five factors lead to the instructors perceiving high meaningfulness in their
work where they are responsible for outcomes (student grades) and acquire knowledge of results (how the students perform as well as how the instructor performs).
This, in turn, leads to overall job satisfaction, internal motivation, higher performance and lower absenteeism and turnover.
Enhancing the motivational potential could occur through increasing autonomy and feedback to their highest levels possible.
152. Jerome had been working in an accounting department for nine months and has not received much feedback from his supervisor. What steps could he undertake to increase the feedback he is receiving?
Jerome can first seek the feedback, instead of trying to guess how he is doing. Jerome’s manager will become aware that Jerome cares about his performance and wants to be successful.
Jerome needs to be genuine in his desire to learn. He does not want to suggest to the manager that he is only giving an impression of being motivated, but is sincerely interested in improving his performance.
Jerome needs to develop a good relationship with his manager so that he can ask questions about his performance.
Jerome should also find trustworthy peers who can share information regarding his performance.
Finally, Jerome should be gracious in receiving his feedback.
153. Matilda is a new sales manager in a pharmaceutical organization. She decides that she wants to implement an MBO (management by objectives) approach in that department. Describe the steps she will complete to institute such a program.
Matilda will begin the process by setting company-wide goals derived from the pharmaceutical organization’s strategy. From that, team- and department-level goals are set. Next individual level goals will be collaboratively set between Matilda and her employee. Both Matilda and the employee must ensure that the goals are aligned with corporate strategy. Once the goals are set, an action plan is developed and implemented. Periodically, performance is reviewed and goals revised as needed.
154. Brett has been a manager of the accounting department for eight months now. He will be holding his first performance appraisal meetings in the next few days. Describe some ways in which he could enhance the effectiveness of those performance appraisal meetings.
Present feedback in a constructive manner, focusing not on criticizing the person, but on discussing performance problems.
Increase employee participation throughout the meeting. When employees have the opportunity to present their side of the story, they react more positively to the overall appraisal process and feel the system to be fair.
Be knowledgeable about the employee’s performance and the job that is being evaluated.
Prepare before the actual meeting. You might have the employee complete a self-appraisal. The rater definitely should have his form completed before the meeting with specific examples of each kind of behavior evaluated indicated on that form. Also, handle all the logistics of that meeting, including having sufficient time to actually conduct the meeting.
During the actual meeting, show empathy and support for the employee. One way to do so is to avoid opening the meeting with a criticism of the employee. Keep in mind that criticism of performance is acceptable but not of the person.
After the meeting, make a conscious attempt to maintain a steady feedback schedule with the employee and to follow through on all goals set during the appraisal meeting.
155. Harvard uses a forced choice ranking system in evaluating a number of classes in its business curriculum. In this system, for example, 10% of the students might receive As, 20% Bs, 60% Cs and 10% Ds. Discuss the issues surrounding such a grading system.
Students admitted to Harvard are already outstanding students or high performers. To then place them in a situation where they are forced into recognition that some of them are not high performers, but essentially “failures” is problematic. While some students clearly will not be able to make the transition from high school to Harvard, a large number of them will. To assume that only 10% of them will perform well enough to receive As is a bit of a stretch. Those students who have worked very hard and do not receive the grades they believe they deserve due to these artificial standards could experience a real lack of motivation. In general, this system may be counterproductive in the educational setting.
156. Discuss an incentive system that an inner city school system might use to motivate teachers.
Merit pay is an incentive system being considered by a number of school systems. The system involves giving employees a permanent increase in pay based upon past performance. The notion of how to measure such performance in the education setting is, of course, controversial. Some options being instituted include rewarding teachers for increased standardized test scores and higher graduation rates. A formula is established whereby for every point higher a class scores on a standardized test compared to the previous year, a certain bonus is paid.
157. Discuss some of the research findings on goal setting and ethical behavior.
In general, goal setting and rewarding employees for achievement of those goals are successfully implemented by firms. However, in some settings, unintended consequences arise where unethical behavior arises. If goal accomplishment leads to rewards and the rewards are desirable, employees may feel they have only two choices: work hard to achieve the goals, or cheat.
There is a multitude of examples of unethical behavior undertaken by employees to achieve desirable rewards. Sanitation workers have taken trucks far over their legal limit to landfills, car repair places have found phantom problems with cars brought in for a check-up and CEOs have exercised stock options at questionable times, to provide just a few examples.
To address some of these concerns, it has been proposed that reward achievement not be an all-or-nothing proposition, but that various reward levels be established to address those who fall just short of the established goal.
158. Discuss some of the research on goal setting and performance appraisal in other cultures.
There are differences in the motivational impact of goal setting, depending on the culture in question. American employees need challenging but not difficult goals to be motivated. The Chinese, in contrast, are more motivated when the goals are difficult.
Specific goals motivate salespeople from Western cultures. Again, in China, low-specificity goals are more motivational.
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