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Exam 10: Motivating Employees

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Question 101

True/False

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Frederick Taylor encouraged managers to make use of psychological techniques to improve worker motivation.

A) True
B) False

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Question 102

Multiple Choice

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Even across generations, motivation is likely to

A) remain a mystery because researchers cannot quite pinpoint where it comes from.
B) come from the job itself.
C) develop within employees over time.
D) diminish among employees who achieve at high levels.

E) A) and C)
F) C) and D)

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Question 103

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Equity theory states that employees will perform well if they

Peter Drucker made an important distinction when he stated that managers do not motivate employees, but employees motivate themselves.

Since hygiene factors do not motivate workers toward high achievement at work, managers can safely ignore these factors when trying to develop an effective work environment.

SmartTech's CEO, Gary, often honors employees who have demonstrated the company's core values. SmartTech holds a conference each year, where one employee is honored in several values categories that include (1) challenge; (2) move fast; (3) be open and straightforward; (4) teamwork for results; and (5) take responsibility. Rather than posting core values someplace everyone passes by each day, Gary finds that providing ________ rewards once each year provides the message to all employees that these are important values.

Damon is assigned a different job at Simons' Securities every month. Damon enjoys the task variety and finds that switching jobs on a regular basis keeps the work from becoming boring. Simons' is using a technique known as job

Lately, Seth is frustrated at work because he feels he isn't recognized for his on-the-job accomplishments. He earns a decent salary and is on friendly terms with the other employees in his department. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, Seth will have a desire to satisfy his self-esteem needs before his self-actualization needs.

In Maslow's hierarchy, self-actualization needs are associated with basic survival, such as the need for food and shelter.

Motivation is largely the result of external rewards and punishments.

Managers who make Theory X assumptions about employees tend to watch their subordinates very closely and provide detailed instructions to employees about how they should do their jobs.

In Silicon Valley, California, it is not unusual for highly skilled employees to stay at one company for about three years. These specialized employees have a mind-set for rapid promotion. They believe that they have only themselves to blame if these high goals are not met. William Ouchi would categorize the management style that these employees operate under as

McKinley, an employee at Green Goddess Lawncare, is pleased that his old supervisor Russell retired. Russell seemed like a pretty nice guy, but rarely told McKinley if his work was acceptable until something went wrong. The new supervisor starts each day with reviewing yesterday's successes and challenges, and gives everyone opportunity to voice their concerns. One of the best assets of ________ managers is their ability to provide timely feedback and to understand that employees want regular performance reviews.

Job rotation attempts to make a job more interesting and motivating by moving employees from one job to another.

Job simplification attempts to increase task efficiency by breaking the job into simple steps and assigning people to perform each of those steps.

You get a lower grade in a course than your friend did even though you studied more during the semester and attended class more often. As a result, equity theory predicts that you might convince yourself that "Grades aren't all that important. After all, lots of people who succeed in the real world didn't make good grades in school."

Green Goddess Lawncare shows all of its employees its own specific methods for fertilizing and seeding lawns. The methods are designed to ensure adequate lawn coverage with a minimum of time and effort. All employees are expected to follow these methods precisely. Green Goddess's approach to lawn care is consistent with the ideas of scientific management.

One way for a firm to improve motivation of employees is to establish special rest rooms, dining areas, and parking areas for top executives.

Having just finished a book on worker motivation, Kyle, a small business owner, looks to find a way to increase the productivity of his employees. He found the book's discussion of the Hawthorne studies particularly relevant. Based on his reading, Kyle is likely to view pay increases as the best way to improve employee motivation.

Mini-Case The first meeting between the new CEO of Game Guys, Inc., John Noble, and Howie Spradlin, the production manager, did not go smoothly. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the problem of declining productivity and to develop a strategy to turn the situation around. Howie started the conversation by handing Mr. Noble the most recent production report. "I've always thought that most of our employees were lazy, and now I've got proof," Howie stated. "We pay these guys the highest wages in the industry, provide them with a safe place to work, and make the job as simple as possible. We aren't asking these guys to do brain surgery, but productivity still lags and our production costs increase. I've told all the supervisors to watch these lazy bums every second to make sure they put in a full day's work. If those guys think I'm going to let them get away with goofing off, they're in for a rude awakening." CEO Noble responded in a way that surprised Howie. "Maybe these employees aren't lazy, Howie, maybe they are just bored and resent the way we've treated them," he said. "The employees are experienced and well trained. They might work harder and smarter if the work were more interesting and rewarding. Their attitudes might even improve if we treated them with more respect. Maybe one of the best ways for you and me to understand where they're coming from is to spend some time alongside them." For the next hour, the two discussed ways to improve worker motivation and performance. Howie left the meeting with an unsettled feeling. Many of Mr. Noble's suggestions seemed naïve to Howie. "Mr. Noble is the boss, but I think he is too optimistic regarding human nature," Howie mused. Reluctantly, Howie had to admit that his own approach had not succeeded in improving the plant's performance. He decided to take a hard look at some of Mr. Noble's ideas. -Before ending the meeting, John Noble informed Howie that he would be sending out an e-mail to all employees asking for suggestions as to how the jobs could be restructured to improve productivity. As Howie walked back to the production site, he shook his head, "Is Noble from a different planet? Does he really think our workers have a clue?" Unlike Noble, Howie does not realize that