Deck 9: Improving Job Performance With Goals, Feedback, Rewards, and Positive Reinforcement

Question 1

Feedback serves a motivational role when it serves as a reward or promises a reward.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Feedback motivates when it serves as a reward or promises a reward.

Question 2

When skills are lacking, a developmental process is needed wherein performance outcome goals precede learning goals.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: For employees who lack the necessary skills, performance outcome goals are more frustrating than motivating. When skills are lacking, a developmental process is needed wherein learning goals precede performance outcome goals.

Question 3

The purpose of a learning goal is to accomplish a specific end-result.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: A learning goal strives to improve creativity and develop skills.

Question 4

Goals should be measurable to assess the extent to which they are accomplished.

Question 5

People with a high performance-avoid goal orientation focus on trying to avoid positive outcomes.

Question 6

"We truly appreciate your hard work!" is an example of objective feedback.

Question 7

Performance management is an organizationwide system whereby managers integrate the activities of goal setting, monitoring and evaluating, providing feedback and coaching, and rewarding employees on a continuous basis.

Question 8

Goal commitment may be increased by assigning goals to employees.

Question 9

Employees with a clear line of sight understand the organization's strategic goals and know what actions they need to take, both individually and as team members.

Question 10

People tend to perceive and recall negative feedback more accurately than they do positive feedback.

Question 11

People with a high learning goal orientation make efforts to achieve current tasks and to develop the ability to accomplish future tasks.

Question 12

Management by objectives is a management system that incorporates participation into decision making, goal setting, and objective feedback.

Question 13

Goals should be impossible, to increase employee motivation.

Question 14

The three steps of the goal-setting process are setting goals, promoting goal commitment, and providing support and feedback.

Question 15

Job knowledge and quality of supervision are desired outcomes of the performance improvement cycle.

Question 16

Feedback is objective information about individual or collective performance.

Question 17

Feedback serves two functions for those who receive it: instructional and motivational.

Question 18

Goals must be similar for employees performing the same job.

Question 19

Persistent effort and job satisfaction are situational factors of the performance improvement cycle.

Question 20

People with low self-esteem tend to seek feedback more so than those with high self-esteem.

Question 21

Managers who have proven untrustworthy and not credible have a hard time improving job performance through feedback.

Question 22

Managers can accomplish leading for choice by supporting and coaching their employees.

Question 23

When an organization uses nonperformance considerations reward distribution criterion, rewards are distributed based on tenure and equity.

Question 24

Feeling competent after completing a difficult task is an example of an intrinsic reward.

Question 25

The three general criteria for the distribution of rewards are: performance: results, performance: actions and behaviors, and nonperformance considerations.

Question 26

Feedback with a negative sign always has a negative impact on motivation.

Question 27

The acceptance of feedback should be treated as a given.

Question 28

Extrinsic rewards often fail to motivate because there is too long a delay between performance and rewards.

Question 29

When an organization uses the performance: results criterion, rewards are distributed based on customary or contractual considerations.

Question 30

Extrinsic rewards come from the environment.

Question 31

Thorndike's law of effect states that behavior with favorable consequences tends to disappear, while behavior with unfavorable consequences tends to be repeated.

Question 32

Managers should remember to give plenty of feedback when the final results are accomplished, but not for the incremental improvement steps along the way.

Question 33

Extrinsic rewards often fail to motivate because one-shot rewards have a short-lived motivational impact.

Question 34

Recipients of feedback perceive it to be more accurate when they passively receive feedback.

Question 35

Possible sources of 360-degree feedback include managers, subordinates, and peers.

Question 36

Pay for performance refers to linking at least some portion of the paycheck directly to results or accomplishments.

Question 37

Psychic rewards qualify as extrinsic rewards.

Question 38

Managers can accomplish leading for meaningfulness by helping employees identify their passions at work and creating an exciting organizational vision employees feel connected to.

Question 39

Managers can accomplish leading for progress by monitoring and rewarding their employees.

Question 40

Using 360-degree feedback to trigger pay and personnel decisions builds trust.

Question 41

_____ is an organization wide system whereby managers integrate the activities of goal setting, monitoring and evaluating, providing feedback and coaching, and rewarding employees on a continuous basis.

A)Performance management
B)Recruitment process
C)Staffing
D)Selection process
E)Annual performance appraisal

Question 42

Every instance of a target behavior is reinforced when an intermittent reinforcement schedule is in effect.

Question 43

According to operant theory, extinction is the weakening of a behavior by ignoring it or making sure it is not reinforced.

Question 44

Which of the following is a situational factor that influences the performance improvement cycle?

A)Learning
B)Persistent effort
C)Personal growth
D)Organizational culture
E)Job satisfaction

Question 45

A(n) _____ goal targets specific end result.

A)procedural
B)learning
C)justice
D)performance outcome
E)equity

Question 46

Which of the following is an individual situational factor?

A)Job knowledge
B)Job satisfaction
C)Job design
D)Quality of supervision
E)Organizational culture

Question 47

The sales department of a mutual fund firm set a few goals for the New Year. The firm set targets to sell a certain number of mutual funds within each month. The firm was only bothered about meeting the target and not about how to meet the target. This implies that the firm had made a(n) _____ goal.

A)procedural
B)learning
C)justice
D)equity
E)performance outcome

Question 48

A chief chef of a restaurant always encouraged his subordinates to be creative in the culinary art. He did not believe in using prescribed recipes while cooking. He allowed them to create unique recipes and use different ingredients to prepare dishes. This implies that the chief chef made _____ goals.

A)learning
B)procedural
C)justice
D)equity
E)performance outcome

Question 49

Employees with a clear _____ understand the organization's strategic goals and know what actions they need to take, both individually and as team members.

A)performance appraisal system
B)job satisfaction
C)line of sight
D)job description
E)regulation

Question 50

A person who takes aspirin when he has a head ache is negatively reinforcing the act of taking aspirin.

Question 51

Reinforcement in ratio schedules is contingent on the number of responses observed.

Question 52

Which of the following is a desired outcome of the performance improvement cycle?

A)Motivation
B)Persistent effort
C)Abilities
D)Job design
E)Job knowledge

Question 53

Shaping is defined as the process of reinforcing closer and closer approximations to a target behavior.

Question 54

To shape behavior, a manager should reinforce the desired behavior as quickly as possible.

Question 55

Superior performance does not deteriorate if left unrewarded.

Question 56

A student who works hard on a project because of praise and recognition from the instructor is responding to positive reinforcement.

Question 57

Positive reinforcement is the process of strengthening a behavior by contingently withdrawing something displeasing.

Question 58

Skinner used the term operant behavior to describe unlearned reflexes or stimulus-response connections.

Question 59

Punishment is the process of strengthening a behavior by contingently withdrawing something displeasing.

Question 60

A(n) _____ goal strives to improve creativity and develop skills.

A)procedural
B)learning
C)justice
D)performance outcome
E)equity

Question 61

_____ feedback involves letting individuals compare their own perceived performance with behaviorally specific performance information from their manager, subordinates, and peers.

A)Bottom-up
B)360-degree
C)Upward
D)Instructional
E)Top-down

Question 62

Social rewards are a type of _____ reward.

A)intrinsic
B)self-granted
C)extrinsic
D)psychic
E)integral

Question 63

Which of the following is an example of objective feedback?

A)"You saved the company $2,000 by altering that delivery schedule."
B)"You're doing a great job. Keep it up."
C)"You've really been an asset to the company this year."
D)"You're going to have to shape up and become more dependable."
E)"Your work has been poor lately."

Question 64

According to the concept of building blocks, leading for competence involves:

A)inspiring employees and modeling desired behaviors.
B)empowering employees and delegating meaningful assignments and tasks.
C)supporting and coaching employees.
D)carefully selecting employees with the right attitude.
E)monitoring and rewarding employees.

Question 65

The _____ criterion for reward distribution focuses on tangible outcomes such as individual, group, or organization performance, or quantity and quality of performance.

A)performance: results
B)performance: traits
C)performance: actions and behaviors
D)nonperformance considerations
E)customary considerations

Question 66

The final step in establishing a goal-setting program is to:

A)foster goal commitment.
B)set goals.
C)promote goal commitment.
D)assign goals.
E)provide employees with support and feedback.

Question 67

Which of the following statements about feedback is usually true?

A)Computer-based performance feedback is more effective when it is received via the immediate supervisor than when it comes directly from the computer system.
B)Passive participation in the feedback session leads to perceptions of greater feedback accuracy.
C)Destructive criticism increases motivation levels.
D)The same feedback needs should be applied to all employees.
E)The acceptance of feedback should not be treated as a given.

Question 68

Feedback serves two functions for those who receive it: to instruct and to ____.

A)assess
B)evaluate
C)motivate
D)clarify
E)punish

Question 69

The _____ criterion for reward distribution focuses on factors such as teamwork, risk-taking, and creativity.

A)performance: results
B)performance: traits
C)performance: actions and behaviors
D)nonperformance considerations
E)customary considerations

Question 70

Personal feelings of self-satisfaction and accomplishment are examples of _____ rewards.

A)extrinsic
B)social
C)intrinsic
D)material
E)financial

Question 71

Psychic rewards are a type of _____ reward.

A)intrinsic
B)social
C)extrinsic
D)financial
E)environmental

Question 72

Which step in the goal-setting program lets employees participate in setting their own goals, creating their own action plans, and building goal ladders?

A)Setting goals
B)Promoting goal commitment
C)Providing support
D)Assigning goals
E)Providing feedback

Question 73

Which step in the goal-setting program involves paying attention to employees' effort→performance expectations?

A)Setting goals
B)Promoting goal commitment
C)Providing support and feedback
D)Assigning goals
E)Setting SMART goals

Question 74

Jill is a sales representative for a large pharmaceutical corporation. According to the current compensation system, if Jill meets her target for the quarterly sales projections, she will receive a bonus equivalent to 7% of her annual salary. Jill is working hard to meet the sales goal so that she can use the bonus money as a down payment on a new car for herself. Which of the following is true regarding Jill's motivation?

A)It comes from a sense of competence.
B)It comes from a sense of progress.
C)It is a consequence of job redesign.
D)It is intrinsically motivated.
E)It is extrinsically motivated.

Question 75

_____ is a management system that incorporates participation into decision making, goal setting, and objective feedback, and focuses on getting individual employees to "own" a piece of a collective effort.

A)Management by objectives
B)Management buyout
C)Scientific management
D)360-degree feedback
E)Annual performance appraisal system

Question 76

Which of the following should managers keep in mind while giving feedback?

A)Give feedback only for final results.
B)Give general feedback in order to cover all situations.
C)Base feedback on accurate and credible information.
D)Provide feedback only at the annual performance review session.
E)Focus on personalities, not performance.

Question 77

Kelly is a successful attorney specializing in corporate law. While it has nothing to do with her field of employment, Kelly has always been interested in the history of religion. Using what little free time she has, she decided to take a course in comparative religion at the local university. She thinks that the course would be interesting and enjoyable. Kelly is not pursuing a degree in the subject, nor is she taking the class for a grade. What can you say about Kelly's motivation for taking the class?

A)She has a high need for power.
B)She is intrinsically motivated.
C)She has a high need for affiliation.
D)She is not serious about her career.
E)She sees the potential that a degree in religion studies can help her advance in her job.

Question 78

According to the concept of building blocks, leading for meaningfulness involves:

A)inspiring employees and modeling desired behaviors.
B)empowering employees and delegating meaningful assignments and tasks.
C)supporting and coaching employees.
D)carefully selecting employees with the right attitude.
E)monitoring and rewarding employees.

Question 79

According to the concept of building blocks, leading for choice involves:

A)inspiring employees and modeling desired behaviors.
B)empowering employees and delegating meaningful assignments and tasks.
C)supporting and coaching employees.
D)carefully selecting employees with the right attitude.
E)monitoring and rewarding employees.

Question 80

The _____ criterion for reward distribution focuses on tenure or level in the organizational hierarchy.

A)performance: results
B)performance: traits
C)performance: actions and behaviors
D)nonperformance considerations
E)customary considerations