Deck 9: Work Motivation

Question 1

What are the two factors associated with Herzberg's two-factor theory?

A) motivator; hygiene
B) existence, relatedness, growth
C) valence, instrumentality, expectancy
D) affiliation, power, achievement

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What are the needs associated with Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

A) Existence, Relatedness, Growth
B) Competence, Relatedness, Autonomy
C) Achievement, Affiliation, Power
D) Physiological, Security, Social, Esteem, Self-Actualization

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Acquired needs theory incorporates which of the following three needs?

A) Existence, Relatedness, Growth
B) Competence, Relatedness, Autonomy
C) Achievement, Affiliation, Power
D) Social, Esteem, Self-Actualization

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Evidence surrounding goal setting theory indicates that, in general, employees' motivation is highest when they are given _________ and __________ goals.

A) specific; difficult
B) abstract; easy
C) abstract; difficult
D) specific; easy

Question 5

Gareth works as an HR professional in the manufacturing branch of a large automobile company. In the past, the company implemented monetary incentives but found that worker productivity improved only temporarily before returning to baseline levels. To increase task significance, Gareth decides to

A) Provide recognition in the form of a plaque to the employee with the highest productivity at the end of each month
B) Introduce workers to customers whose lives were saved by the quality of the company's cars
C) Allow workers to work in teams so that they can assemble a complete car from start-to-finish
D) Assemble workers into manufacturing teams and allow them to decide how to best distribute the workload among team members

Question 6

Of the following core job characteristics, which refers to the discretion and freedom employees may exercise when organizing and completing their work?

A) task identity
B) skill variety
C) task significance
D) autonomy

Question 7

According to the Job Characteristics Model, the five core job characteristics influence the following key psychological states:

A) Skill variety, autonomy, task significance
B) Autonomy, social support, relatedness
C) Meaningfulness, knowledge of results, responsibility
D) Intensity, understanding, identity

Question 8

Which theory of motivation hypothesizes that each person is motivated by a constellation of three needs, such that the dominant need is the strongest drive of motivation?

A) Self-regulation theory
B) Intrinsic theory
C) Job satisfaction theory
D) Acquired Needs Theory

Question 9

When an organization provides a recognition award (e.g., gift certificate, plaque) to an employee who performs admirably, what is this an example of?

A) Organizational motivation
B) Positive reinforcement
C) Growth need satisfaction
D) Negative reinforcement

Question 10

Which job characteristic refers to the extent to which employees have control over their job and freedom to dictate their own approach to accomplish tasks?

A) Skill variety
B) Need satisfaction
C) Autonomy
D) Formalization

Question 11

Which factor in goal setting theory refers to the determination of an individual to meet their goal?

A) Goal commitment
B) Goal growth
C) Organizational commitment
D) Extrinsic motivation

Question 12

Which term refers to the value a person places on a reward, according to expectancy theory?

A) Instrumentality
B) Justice
C) Valence
D) Extrinsic motivation

Question 13

Valence and instrumentality are factors in which theory?

A) Justice theory
B) Expectancy theory
C) Control theory
D) Needs theory

Question 14

Which theory of motivation postulates that individuals compare their inputs and outputs to those of others?

A) Equity theory
B) Self-determination theory
C) Transactional theory
D) ERG theory

Question 15

What type of needs, according to Herzberg, theoretically lower motivation if they are not met but may not motivate when present?

A) Growth
B) Motivator
C) Hygiene
D) Relatedness

Question 16

Motivation that comes from within a person and is derived from tasks that are personally rewarding to them is _________ motivation.

A) intrinsic
B) extrinsic
C) authentic
D) faked

Question 17

Self-determination theory proposes that motivation ranges from fully ______ to fully _______.

A) intrinsic, satisfactory
B) direct, indirect
C) extrinsic, intrinsic
D) extrinsic, charismatic

Question 18

Which term is used by equity theory to refer to how much an individual prefers to receive an outcome relative to their inputs?

A) Control satisfaction
B) Equity sensitivity
C) Determination
D) Acquired sensitivity

Question 19

Studies on goal setting theory suggest that performance can be enhanced through high levels of what factors?

A) Goal difficulty and commitment
B) Commitment and organization
C) Intelligence and commitment
D) Goal difficulty and leader authenticity

Question 20

This core job characteristic refers to employees' perception that their job substantially influences the work, health, or well-being of other people.

A) feedback
B) autonomy
C) task significance
D) task identity

Question 21

Sarah works at a tech firm. She recently met with her supervisor and was told she would be given increased autonomy and control over how she did her job. What phenomenon is Sarah experiencing in this situation?

A) Job rotation
B) Compensation increase
C) Job enrichment
D) Distributive justice

Question 22

When an organization redesigns jobs and attempts to increase how much control employees have over completing tasks and the variety of tasks they complete, which theory of motivation are they applying to their work, in essence?

A) Job characteristics theory
B) Maslow's hierarchy of needs
C) Equity theory
D) Growth theory

Question 23

An employee who does not believe that increasing their effort will result in improved performance may need their __________ link strengthened, according to expectancy theory.

A) Valence
B) Instrumentality
C) Expectancy
D) Self-determination

Question 24

Sandra works for a consulting company and is paid $100,000 per year. She recently found out that a new hire was offered twice her salary, and as a result Sandra has reduced her productivity. Which theory might explain her behavior?

A) Equity theory
B) Self-determination theory
C) Intrinsic motivation theory
D) Engagement theory

Question 25

Paul works at a job with good benefits, decent pay, and regular hours. However, the work is boring and exhausting. Paul is still with the company probably due to what type of motivation?

A) Direct
B) Intrinsic
C) Occupation-based
D) Extrinsic

Question 26

A job applicant takes a battery of selection tests they believe to be fair but they do not get the job. What type of injustice are they likely experiencing?

A) Distributive
B) Occupational
C) Applicational
D) Interpersonal

Question 27

What type of motivation is present when an employee is working harder in order to receive a raise at work?

A) Intrinsic
B) Autonomous
C) Extrinsic
D) Negative reinforcement

Question 28

A company is trying to increase motivation by providing pay raises, but an employee doesn't place a strong value on receiving a raise. In this case, the company is not properly addressing the employee's

A) Goal commitment
B) Valence
C) Expectancy
D) Acquisition

Question 29

Which phenomenon is defined by a set of forces that determine the form, direction, intensity, and duration of behavior at work?

A) Leadership
B) Job satisfaction
C) Work engagement
D) Work motivation

Question 30

A supervisor has been waiting for a report from an employee. The supervisor has been texting and emailing the employee to get the report done - something that the employee finds unpleasant. The supervisor stops sending the texts and emails once the employee has finally done the report. This is an example of

A) positive reinforcement
B) punishment
C) negative reinforcement
D) Extinction

Question 31

A supervisor has told an employee that they will lose $10 of their pay if they are late for work again. The next time the employee is late, the supervisor cuts the employee's pay by $10. This is an example of

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

Question 32

A current approach used by some organizations to try to motivate and engage employees is:

A) compensation
B) fulfillment progression
C) gamification
D) artificial intelligence

Question 33

Existence, relatedness, and growth are the three components of ERG theory.

Question 34

According to Maslow, when a person moves up the motivational hierarchy, that is referred to as fulfillment progression.

Question 35

Intrinsic motivation includes factors such as pay and benefits.

Question 36

According to Herzberg's theory, the presence of hygiene factors leads to increased motivation.

Question 37

According to VIE (expectancy) theory, expectancy is the degree to which a person wants a desired outcome.

Question 38

According to equity theory, a person often compares themselves to a comparison other person to determine the degree of fairness.

Question 39

Goal setting theory says that setting a specific, difficult goal for someone will motivate a person more than just telling them to do their best.

Question 40

According to the job characteristics theory, the key core job characteristics are task significance, growth, and responsibility.

Question 41

Research on job characteristics theory has shown that the core job characteristics affect job attitudes but not performance.

Question 42

Job enlargement is when an organization increases the motivational potential of a job.

Question 43

A supervisor provides a negative stimulus whenever an employee performs an undesirable behavior. This is an example negative reinforcement.

Question 44

Extinction is when a behavior stops because it is not being reinforced.

Question 45

Work motivation, a set of energetic forces that influence the form, direction, intensity, and duration of work-related behavior, can only originate from within an individual.

Question 46

The formula for calculating performance is Motivation + Ability + Environment.

Question 47

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the most basic need that must be fulfilled before moving onto other higher needs is self-actualization.

Question 48

Self-determination theory explains how motivation exists on a continuum of extrinsic to intrinsic regulation.

Question 49

Someone who is an "equity sensitive" would tend to expect a high level of compensation regardless of the effort they put into their job.

Question 50

Procedural justice refers to fairness perceptions resulting from the way a person is treated by other people in an organization.

Question 51

Valence refers to the value that a person places on a workplace reward for a job well done.

Question 52

The acronym "SMART" refers to goals that are specific, measurable, adequate, relevant, and time bound.

Question 53

Self-regulation refers to an individual's belief in their own ability to succeed.

Question 54

In spite of numerous acts of legislation deeming gender-based pay discrimination illegal, women, on average, are still paid 20% less than their male counterparts.

Question 55

The highest need level according to Maslow is ___.

Question 56

The need theory that is based on Maslow's but has only 3 levels of needs is ___.

Question 57

According to Herzberg, work factors that can cause dissatisfaction when they are missing, but don't cause satisfaction when they are present, are called ____ factors.

Question 58

____ motivation includes doing the work because you are motivated by the work itself, rather than by pay.

Question 59

____ is the theory in which we compare ourselves to others determine if our inputs and outcomes are fair.

Question 60

According to expectancy theory, the degree to which a person believes that their performance will lead to a desired outcome is ____.

Question 61

Providing specific, difficult goals for workers to increase their motivation is a key tenet of ____ theory.

Question 62

____ theory states that to increase motivation one should enrich an employee's skill variety, task identity, task significance, feedback, and autonomy.

Question 63

According to the job characteristics theory, enrichment of the core job characteristics leads to enhanced _____ which leads to desired outcomes like motivation and performance.

Question 64

According to reinforcement theory, introducing something positive after a desired behavior is referred to as ____.

Question 65

Mark strives to be the best at his job because he finds his work incredibly interesting and rewarding. This is an example of __________ motivation.

Question 66

Jennifer, a high performer at work, is driven primarily by the generous profit-sharing plan and commission structure at her firm. This is an example of __________ motivation.

Question 67

Building on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Alderfer's __________ theory of motivation introduced three categories of needs and proposed that these needs can exist at the same time.

Question 68

According to Herzberg's two-factor theory, __________ factors, such as working conditions, lower motivation when they are not present while __________ factors, such as advancement opportunities, increase motivation when they are present.

Question 69

People with a high need for __________ tend to set challenging goals, desire high levels of feedback, and prefer reward systems based on merit.

Question 70

__________ is the degree to which a person thinks their effort will result in their desired performance and __________ is the extent to which a person believes their performance will result in a desired outcome or reward.

Question 71

An individual's level of determination to reach a goal, known as goal __________, is a key component in goal setting theory.

Question 72

Task __________ refers to the connection employees make between their assigned tasks and the ultimate outcome of the job, whereas task __________ describes how strongly employees believe that their efforts on the job will impact the lives of others.

Question 73

Increasing the motivating potential of a job by expanding the level of control an employee has over their work is known as __________.

Question 74

The removal of a positive consequence following an undesired behavior, which eventually results in decreases in the behavior, is known as __________.

Question 75

Provide a summary of how expectancy theory works.