Suppose that a manager decides to experiment with making changes in his employees' working environment to see if morale increases. Which of the following is most likely to result?
A) The employees will be annoyed at any of the changes made.
B) One of the possible environmental changes will work much better than others.
C) The changes will have no effect because the source of the employees' morale problems likely come from elsewhere.
D) No environmental changes will be possible in his team's work environment due to the nature of their work.
E) His employees will increase their productivity regardless of which changes are made.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

E) Employees will likely be more motivated simply because they know that attention is being paid to them. (This is known as the "Hawthorne effect.") Choices A and B are possible outcomes, but not more likely than any other. Choice C is incorrect because even if the employees' morale problems come from elsewhere, the manager's experimentation is likely to have an effect. Choice D is incorrect because there are always changes in the work environment that can be made.

Suppose That a Manager Decides to Experiment with Making Changes