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Exam 10: Motivating Employees

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Question 111

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If rewards are an important part of an international firm's motivational strategy, consideration should be given to adjusting rewards for cultural preferences.

A) True
B) False

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Question 112

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Management at the local Hottie Potatee, a potato bar with all the fixings, is trying to improve task efficiency by breaking down jobs into simple steps and assigning each step to a different worker. The key benefit of this approach is that it is one of the most effective ways to achieve job enrichment.

A) True
B) False

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Question 113

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Janis works for a local bakery. At one time, she loved the idea of becoming a head pastry chef, but now she is not sure that this is how she would like to spend her working career. Her current supervisor does not believe in breaks. And, lately, he stands next to her and instructs her as to how to roll out the bread dough and ice the cupcakes, as though she never learned these basic skills in culinary school. Just this morning, he commented loudly from the other side of the room, "You should be able to ice five cupcakes in a minute! Time yourself!" Frederick Taylor would have approved of Janis's supervisor.

Mini-Case The first meeting between the new CEO of Idle Time Gaming, 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:

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

The sense of satisfaction you get when you achieve an important goal is an intrinsic reward.

_________________ was the father of scientific management.

Melody has worked as a secretary at Consolidated Freight Handling for 10 years. Although she earns a good salary and has made friends at work, she has been passed over for promotion twice and feels that no one appreciates her abilities and skills. Melody is concerned with satisfying her:

Herzberg's findings suggest that the best way for firms to increase worker motivation is to focus on improving pay and making working conditions more pleasant.

Dr. Mo T. Vadar, a professor of psychology at a respected university, is planning a study of the factors that affect the motivation of employees. Dr. Vadar is concerned that the results of his experiments may be misleading because employees in an experimental group tend to behave differently when they know they are being studied. This concern shows that Dr. Vadar is aware of the:

As a group, Gen Yers tend to be impatient, skeptical and image driven.

Although Elton Mayo originally intended to collect data for a traditional scientific management study, his breakthrough research led to further research on the kinds of things that drive employees to successfully meet and exceed productivity goals at work.

As a human resources manager for your company, you are looking for ways to motivate employees to favor your company over competitors. The company cannot afford to offer a wide array of benefits, but you are confident that if you survey employees and provide them the opportunity to vote on the benefits that are most important to them, they will see this as a fair and equitable way to operate.

According to Maslow, a higher-order need:

Maslow was mainly concerned with explaining how:

According to Herzberg, which of the following groups of motivational factors would give employees the most satisfaction?

Herzberg's research examined how conditions related to the job itself affected the motivation of employees.

Fast Track Corporation moves employees from one job to another on a regular basis in order to improve motivation. Fast Track's strategy is job enlargement.

Safety needs are placed at the lowest level in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Task identity refers to the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of others in the company.