Deck 2: Influences on Employee Behavior

Question 1

A major focus of most HRD interventions is to change employee behavior.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Groupthink means that a group is 'smarter' than the individuals in the group.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Employee behavior is a result of the interaction of external and internal forces and has a direct relationship to personal and organizational outcomes.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

KSA stands for knowledge,skills and attitudes.

Question 5

Leadership is the coercive influence used to direct and coordinate the activities of a group toward accomplishing a goal.

Question 6

Specific and difficult goals lead to higher performance than do vague and easy goals.

Question 7

In general need theories of motivation focus on a deficiency that energizes one's behavior.

Question 8

Cohesiveness means that group members are willing to remain a part of the group.

Question 9

The self-fulfilling prophecy is also called the Pygmalion effect.

Question 10

Studying motivational behavior usually focuses on what affects the group rather than the individual.

Question 11

Attitudes can easily be used to explain all behaviors.

Question 12

Downsizing is the voluntary reduction in the size of the workforce.

Question 13

According to the Wagner & Hollenbeck motivational model,five employee work outcomes should be considered when determining influences on performance and motivation.

Question 14

In equity theory employees compare themselves to their goals.

Question 15

The employee work outcomes in the Wagner-Hollenbeck model of motivation and performance are: employee desire to perform,effort employees put forth,performance,and employee motivation.

Question 16

Outcomes can be either personal to the employee or organizationally focused.

Question 17

The behavioral intentions model is based on a combination of attitudes and perceived social pressures to behave in a given way.

Question 18

According to social learning theory,self-efficacy is defined as a person's beliefs about their ability to perform a job.

Question 19

In expectancy theory,the importance that an individual places upon a particular outcome is called instrumentality.

Question 20

The motivational theories by Maslow and Alderfer are examples of cognitive theories of motivation.

Question 21

According to social learning theory,self-efficacy is defined as a person's beliefs:

A)about their ability to successfully perform a particular task or activity
B)about their overall worth or sense of value
C)that performing a particular task will lead to a given outcome
D)that the cause of their behavior is something external to themselves

Question 22

Internal forces that impact employee behavior include which of the following?

A)Organizational culture
B)Performance expectations
C)Job design
D)All of the above impact employee behavior

Question 23

Which of the following can occur if employees see rewards as a means of control behavior?

A)It may unintentionally reinforce undesirable behavior in employees
B)It reduces employee motivation and performance
C)It increases employee motivation and performance
D)It does not affect employee motivation and performance

Question 24

Which of the following is true of downsizing?

A)It is not very common among large companies
B)It was a trend of the 1950's but not seen often today
C)It usually causes a large jump in profits and stock price
D)It is a voluntary reduction in the overall size of the workforce

Question 25

Reinforcement theory deals mainly with which of the following?

A)trainability
B)rewards and punishment
C)intrinsic motivation
D)the need for social belonging

Question 26

The idea that a supervisor's (or trainer's)expectations for an employee (or trainee)can influence the employee's (or trainee's)behavior is referred to as the:

A)Pygmalion effect
B)Vertical-dyad-linkage theory
C)Path-goal theory
D)Groupthink theory

Question 27

All of the following factors within an organization influence employee behavior EXCEPT:

A)Supervisors
B)Co-workers
C)Global influences
D)The organizational reward structure

Question 28

The motivational theories by Maslow and Alderfer are examples of what type of motivational approach?

A)cognitive
B)meta-analytic
C)noncognitive
D)need-based

Question 29

Which of the following is not a factor in an organization that can influence employee's behavior?

A)reward structure
B)culture
C)job design
D)outcomes

Question 30

An organizational outcome of employee behavior would include which of the following?

A)Downsizing
B)Pay
C)Productivity
D)Recognition

Question 31

Which of the following is true of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB)?

A)They are also called task performance
B)They are not considered in job-related behavior
C)It is not a required behavior by most organizations
D)It contributes to organizational effectiveness

Question 32

Causes of employee behavior at work can be explained by which of the following?

A)external factors
B)internal factors
C)one or two dominant factors
D)a combination of many factors

Question 33

External forces impacting employee behavior include all of the following except?

A)KSAs
B)Technology developments
C)Government laws
D)Economic conditions

Question 34

In expectancy theory,the importance that an individual places upon a particular outcome is called a(n):

A)instrumentality
B)valence
C)expectancy
D)extrinsic motivation

Question 35

In terms of salesperson's knowledge,skills and abilities,which of the following task would be considered ability?

A)technical troubleshooting
B)"cold calling"
C)developing relationships
D)audiovisual expertise

Question 36

A person's general feeling of favorableness or unfavorable toward some object is the definition of a(n):

A)ability
B)outcome
C)motivation
D)attitude

Question 37

A personal outcome of employee behavior would include which of the following?

A)Downsizing
B)Pay and recognition
C)Teamwork
D)Productivity

Question 38

Which motivation theory suggests that people compare the outcomes they received to the outcomes received by others?

A)equity theory
B)attribution theory
C)goal-setting theory
D)expectancy theory

Question 39

Which of the following is a negative outcome of bad employee behavior?

A)job satisfaction
B)job transfer
C)team building training
D)performance recognition

Question 40

Behavior modification principles suggest four choices for controlling an employee's behavior.These include all of the following EXCEPT:

A)positive reinforcement
B)termination
C)extinction
D)negative reinforcement

Question 41

According to Social Learning Theory a person's self-efficacy expectations will determine:

A)whether or not they will do the task correctly
B)how much effort a person will spend on a task
C)the size of the reward they expect
D)whether or not they like doing the task

Question 42

Which is the correct sequence of events according to Behavior modeling theory?

A)Let them see a model,tell the trainee what to do,practice,feedback,and social reinforcement
B)Tell the trainee what to do,let them see a model,practice,feedback,and social reinforcement
C)Tell the trainee what to do,let them see a model,feedback,practice,and social reinforcement
D)Tell the trainee what to do,let them see a model,social reinforcement,practice,and feedback

Question 43

Which of the following is true of job design?

A)It is not important in affecting the way employees behave
B)It is a function of the tasks one performs and the scope of one's responsibilities
C)It is completed by HR Designers only once each year
D)It is the way the employee performs the job

Question 44

Which of the following is a true of KSAs?

A)It is an internal factor included in the model of employee behavior
B)They have a significant impact on employee performance
C)HRD programs focus on improving or renewing the KSAs of employees
D)All the above are true

Question 45

The self-fulfilling prophecy affects behavior by focusing on the expectations of which of the following?

A)the organization
B)the supervisor
C)work colleagues
D)peers

Question 46

According to path-goal theory of leadership motivation and job satisfaction will be high if:

A)The leader identifies the goals and clarifies the paths employees can take to reach these goals
B)The leader identifies the goals and lets the employees seek their own path to reach these goals
C)The leader lets the employee identify their own goals and then steps aside until goals are obtained
D)None of the above are true

Question 47

Maslow's need theory of motivation:

A)Contains internal and external factors
B)Contains five categories of needs: physiological,safety and security,love,status and esteem,and self-actualization
C)Focuses on existence,relatedness,and growth
D)None of the above are true

Question 48

Abilities:

A)are a combination of what you can do and what you have learned over time
B)reflect what you have been trained to do
C)are an understanding you have of a particular subject
D)are a general capacity to perform a task

Question 49

Organizational rewards:

A)includes only things like pay and benefits
B)has no impact on employee behavior
C)includes pay and intangible things like recognition
D)work most effectively when they are used as control mechanisms

Question 50

Groupthink allows people to:

A)be grouped together at work by common IQ levels
B)have unanimity
C)spend more time thinking than doing
D)assess realistic multiple alternatives to make better decisions

Question 51

Social loafing:

A)increases as group size increases
B)shows that the performance of individuals within groups can differ from how they behave alone
C)is a tendency of members to reduce performance
D)All of the above are true

Question 52

Which of the following is true of Alderfer's theory of motivation?

A)Frustration can cause needs that have already been satisfied to reemerge and actively drive behavior
B)It suggests that needs are arranged in a hierarchy
C)It focuses on existence,relatedness and growth
D)None of the above are true

Question 53

Motivation focuses on all of the following processes affecting behavior EXCEPT:

A)Energizing
B)Direction
C)Cohesiveness
D)Persistence

Question 54

A norm is best defined as:

A)A part of company policy
B)An informal rule for appropriate behavior with a group
C)A written policy for behavior
D)Something each employees makes up for themselves

Question 55

The concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy is also called:

A)Pygmalion effect
B)Self efficacy
C)Instrumentality
D)Valence

Question 56

A major goal of HRD efforts includes all EXCEPT:

A)Stay within budget
B)Help employees attain their goals
C)Improve organizational performance
D)Change employee behavior

Question 57

The behavioral intentions model:

A)explains why attitudes always predict actual behaviors
B)influences individuals through a combination of attitudes and subjective norms
C)is the best way to evaluate a training program
D)has no link to employee's intentions to use what they learn during a training program

Question 58

Organization culture is:

A)illegal to talk about in the workplace
B)not a factor in training and development
C)a set of values,beliefs and patterns of behaviors that are shared by members of the organization
D)a factor only for management level employees

Question 59

Herzberg's theory of motivation:

A)Contains two factors based on survival and personal growth needs called hygiene and motivator factors
B)Contains five categories of needs: physiological,safety and security,love,status and esteem,and self-actualization
C)Focuses on existence,relatedness,and growth
D)None of the above are true

Question 60

The organization impacts employee behaviors based on:

A)The type,distribution and criteria for rewarding people
B)How much money a person makes compared to others
C)Whether or not there is a bonus
D)The impact that pay has on employee behaviors