Question 1

Companies can improve employee performance through situational factors by

Accepted Answer

By identifying and removing obstacles to job performance, companies can improve situational factors and create a more supportive work environment. This can lead to increased employee motivation and productivity. Testing employee skills and knowledge before hiring (A) and providing training (C) are important for ensuring that employees are qualified for their roles, but they do not address situational factors that could hinder performance. Asking employees about their motivations (B) and redesigning the job to match their capabilities (E) can also be helpful, but these strategies may not address external factors that are beyond the employee's control.

Question 2

Ability includes which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Ability refers to a combination of natural aptitudes and learned skills, which is exactly what choice D states. None of the other choices fully capture the meaning of ability.

Question 3

IdaCorp. gives simple accounts to newly hired employees, then adds more challenging accounts as employees master the simple tasks. This practice mainly:

Accepted Answer

This practice increases person-job matching by gradually aligning employees' skills and abilities with the complexity of the tasks they are assigned, ensuring they are well-suited for their roles.

Question 4

All technical employees at a paper mill take a course on how to operate a new paper-rolling machine. This course will improve job performance mainly by altering employee:

Accepted Answer

The course on how to operate the new paper-rolling machine will improve job performance mainly by altering employee's learned capabilities. By taking the course, technical employees will learn the skills and knowledge necessary to operate the new machine effectively, which will improve their job performance.

Question 5

Which of the following ensures that job incumbents have appropriate aptitudes to perform the job?

Accepted Answer

Hiring applicants with appropriate aptitudes is the best way to ensure that job incumbents have appropriate aptitudes to perform the job. While motivation, training, and resources can all contribute to employee performance, they cannot necessarily ensure that an individual has the innate abilities or talents necessary to perform the job well. Providing inexpensive human capital is not a relevant factor in ensuring appropriate aptitudes.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a work-related behaviour?

Accepted Answer

Competencies refer to the skills and abilities an individual possesses, rather than a behavior directly related to work activities or attitudes. Work-related behaviors typically involve actions or attitudes directly connected to job performance and participation, such as absenteeism, punctuality, and task completion.

Question 7

Customer orientation, social skills, and need for achievement are examples of

Accepted Answer

Customer orientation, social skills, and need for achievement are all competencies that are typically desirable in employees. Situational factors refer to external factors that may affect behavior (such as the physical environment or the actions of others), role perceptions refer to how individuals view their job duties, aptitudes refer to natural abilities, and internal dilemmas refer to conflicting motivations or values within an individual.

Question 8

To reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste that employees throw out each day, a major telephone company removed containers for non-recyclable rubbish from each office and workstation. This altered employee behaviour mainly by:

Accepted Answer

By removing the containers for non-recyclable rubbish, the situational factors have been altered, making it more difficult for employees to practice wasteful behavior. This could potentially lead to a reduction in the amount of non-recyclable waste generated. However, it may not necessarily increase employee motivation or aptitudes for being less wasteful, nor may it directly help them learn how to do so. It could lead to an increase in organizational citizenship, but this is not the main mechanism at play here.

Question 9

Which of these refers to a person's beliefs about what behaviours are appropriate or necessary, in a particular situation?

Accepted Answer

Role perceptions refer to a person's beliefs about what behaviours are appropriate or necessary in a particular situation. Competencies refer to a person's skills or abilities, situational factors refer to external factors that influence behaviour, natural aptitudes refer to inherent talents, and locus of control refers to a person's perception of control over their life.

Question 10

Which of the following would be considered a work-related behaviour?

Accepted Answer

All of the options listed are examples of work-related behaviors. Accepting an organization's offer of employment is the first step towards performing job duties. Completing required job duties above the minimum performance standard, showing up for work at scheduled times, and helping coworkers are all essential components of being a productive and effective employee.

Question 11

You have just hired several new employees who are motivated, able to perform their jobs, and have adequate resources. However, they aren't sure what tasks are included in their job. According to the MARS model, these new employees will likely:

Accepted Answer

According to the MARS model, job performance is influenced by motivation, ability, role perceptions, and situational factors. If new employees are unsure of what tasks are included in their job, they are likely to have poor role perceptions, which can negatively affect their job performance.

Question 12

Competencies relate most closely to which element in the MARS model of behaviour and performance?

Accepted Answer

Competencies refer to an individual's skills, knowledge, and abilities, which closely relate to the element of ability in the MARS model. The MARS model includes motivation, ability, role perceptions, and situational factors as the key elements that influence behavior and performance in organizations.

Question 13

The MARS model explicitly identifies which of the following factors?

Accepted Answer

The MARS model identifies four factors that influence individual behavior and performance: Motivation, Ability, Role perceptions, and Situational factors.

Question 14

Which of the following refers to goal-directed activities under the individual's control that support organizational objectives?

Accepted Answer

Task performance refers to job-related behaviors that individuals engage in to support organizational objectives. Motivation refers to the drive or desire to engage in a certain behavior, direction refers to the path or course of action to achieve a specific goal, competencies refer to the skills and abilities needed to perform a job, and aptitudes refer to natural abilities or talents. While all of these concepts are important in understanding individual performance, task performance specifically relates to goal-directed activities that support the organization.

Question 15

Is the amount of effort allocated to the goal

Accepted Answer

The amount of effort allocated to the goal is best represented by intensity, as it reflects the level of energy and enthusiasm invested towards achieving the goal. Aptitude refers to natural ability, direction refers to the path towards the goal, competency refers to the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve the goal, and persistence refers to the duration of effort towards the goal.

Question 16

According to the MARS model of individual behaviour, which of the following is NOT a role perception problem?

Accepted Answer

The MARS model identifies four possible reasons for job behaviour problems: motivation, ability, role perceptions, and situational factors. Role perception problems occur when employees don't understand what is expected of them, the goals of the organization, or the nature of the reward system. Choices A, C, D, and E are all examples of role perception problems. Choice B, however, is an ability problem, not a role perception problem. When employees lack the proper tools or training to do their jobs, they may not be able to perform as well as they otherwise would.

Question 17

Aptitudes, skills, and competencies all fall under which of the following concepts?

Accepted Answer

Aptitudes, skills, and competencies are all related to a person's ability, which refers to the capacity to perform a particular task or activity. Motivation, ethics, personality, and values are all different concepts that are not directly related to a person's ability.

Question 18

Which of the following ensures that job incumbents have appropriate aptitudes to perform the job?

Accepted Answer

Hiring applicants with appropriate aptitudes from the beginning is the most effective way to ensure that job incumbents have the necessary skills and abilities to perform the job. This reduces the need for extensive training, increases job performance and reduces the risk of turnover. Motivating, training, educating and providing resources may improve overall job performance, but it does not necessarily guarantee that incumbents have the appropriate aptitudes to perform the job.

Question 19

Which of the following refers to the fact that motivation is goal-directed, not random?

Accepted Answer

Direction refers to the fact that motivation is goal-directed, meaning that individuals are motivated by specific objectives or goals rather than acting randomly without purpose.

Question 20

Competencies include

Accepted Answer

Competencies refer to a combination of a person's learned abilities, aptitudes, and skills. Therefore, all of the answers are correct.

Quiz 2: Individual Behaviour

Companies can improve employee performance through situational factors by

Ability includes which of the following?

IdaCorp. gives simple accounts to newly hired employees, then adds more challenging accounts as employees master the simple tasks. This practice mainly:

All technical employees at a paper mill take a course on how to operate a new paper-rolling machine. This course will improve job performance mainly by altering employee:

Which of the following ensures that job incumbents have appropriate aptitudes to perform the job?

Which of the following is NOT a work-related behaviour?

Customer orientation, social skills, and need for achievement are examples of

To reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste that employees throw out each day, a major telephone company removed containers for non-recyclable rubbish from each office and workstation. This altered employee behaviour mainly by:

Which of these refers to a person's beliefs about what behaviours are appropriate or necessary, in a particular situation?

Which of the following would be considered a work-related behaviour?

You have just hired several new employees who are motivated, able to perform their jobs, and have adequate resources. However, they aren't sure what tasks are included in their job. According to the MARS model, these new employees will likely:

Competencies relate most closely to which element in the MARS model of behaviour and performance?

The MARS model explicitly identifies which of the following factors?

Which of the following refers to goal-directed activities under the individual's control that support organizational objectives?

Is the amount of effort allocated to the goal

According to the MARS model of individual behaviour, which of the following is NOT a role perception problem?

Aptitudes, skills, and competencies all fall under which of the following concepts?

Which of the following ensures that job incumbents have appropriate aptitudes to perform the job?

Which of the following refers to the fact that motivation is goal-directed, not random?

Competencies include