Question 1

Jackie thinks that she is paid a lot less than other employees in her division and feels extremely resentful. She starts taking long breaks and generally wastes time. Her actions resulted from a perceived lack of ________ justice.

Accepted Answer

Distributive justice refers to the perceived fairness of the outcomes or results of a decision-making process. In this case, Jackie feels that she is being paid less than other employees, which is a distribution issue. Her resulting behavior suggests that she feels aggrieved by the perceived unfairness. Interactional justice refers to the quality of the interpersonal treatment that people receive during the implementation of the decision, and procedural justice is concerned with the fairness of the procedures that lead to the decision. Associative justice and interpersonal justice are not recognized terms in organizational justice theory.

Question 2

Megan graduated from college three years ago and has been working at Sterba Inc. ever since. A conscientious employee, she has consistently received good performance evaluations. She recently found out that a younger colleague, who was just recruited to her team, is drawing a higher salary than she is for doing the same type of work.
-Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument that Megan is trying to gain a sense of equity by changing her inputs?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Megan graduated from college three years ago...

Question 3

Why do people who perceive themselves as victims of interactional injustice often blame their immediate supervisor rather than the organization at large?

Accepted Answer

Interactional justice refers to the fairness and quality of communication interactions between employees and supervisors or peers within an organization. The perception of interactional injustice is intimately tied to the person who conveyed the information, such as a supervisor. Therefore, people tend to blame their immediate supervisor when they perceive themselves as victims of interactional injustice. It is because their supervisor is the closest person that they have contact with during the communication interaction.

Question 4

Oscar is looking for a new job. He used to be the company's top sales representative and was eagerly expecting to be promoted. However, one of the regional manager's friends was promoted to district manager instead. According to the expectancy theory, Oscar's dissatisfaction with his current job stems from a breakdown in the ________ relationship.

Accepted Answer

The expectancy theory posits that motivation is a function of three relationships - effort-performance, performance-reward, and rewards-personal goals. In this scenario, Oscar's failure to receive the expected promotion suggests a breakdown in the performance-reward relationship.

Question 5

If a manager incorrectly assumes that all employees want the same thing, then according to the expectancy theory, it is most likely to result in a weak ________ relationship.

Accepted Answer

Expectancy theory suggests that motivation is influenced by the alignment of rewards with personal goals. If a manager assumes all employees want the same rewards, it may weaken the rewards-personal goals relationship, as not all employees will value the same rewards.

Question 6

Megan graduated from college three years ago and has been working at Sterba Inc. ever since. A conscientious employee, she has consistently received good performance evaluations. She recently found out that a younger colleague, who was just recruited to her team, is drawing a higher salary than she is for doing the same type of work.
-Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument that Megan is trying to gain a sense of equity by distorting her perception of herself?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Megan graduated from college three years ago...

Question 7

Megan graduated from college three years ago and has been working at Sterba Inc. ever since. A conscientious employee, she has consistently received good performance evaluations. She recently found out that a younger colleague, who was just recruited to her team, is drawing a higher salary than she is for doing the same type of work.
-Following this discovery, Megan starts coming to work late and her productivity begins to suffer. Which of the following is most similar to the scenario mentioned above?

Accepted Answer

The scenario of Megan feeling demotivated and becoming less productive after learning that a colleague is earning more for the same work is similar to Lisa working longer hours after finding out that her co-workers earn less for the same work. Both situations involve a feeling of inequity and a desire to compensate for it. The other options are not as similar as they involve different motivations or reactions.

Question 8

Which of the following theories discusses three relationships: effort-performance relationship, performance-reward relationship, and rewards-personal goals relationship?

Accepted Answer

The expectancy theory discusses the three relationships mentioned: effort-performance relationship (belief that effort will lead to performance), performance-reward relationship (belief that performance will lead to rewards), and rewards-personal goals relationship (belief that rewards are valuable and align with personal goals).

Question 9

Logan is an employee who processes health insurance forms. Initially he was criticized by his supervisor for sloppy work, but thereafter he improved considerably. Now he consistently processes his forms without errors and even does more than his fair share of work. However, Logan's supervisor has not responded to the extra effort he has put in, giving him no praise or monetary benefits. This leads Logan to believe that his supervisor is biased against him. According to the expectancy theory, in this situation, there is a problem in the ________ relationship.

Accepted Answer

The expectancy theory states that motivation is based on the belief that if an individual puts in effort, it will lead to high performance and, in turn, lead to desired outcomes. In this scenario, Logan has put in extra effort to consistently process forms without errors but has not received any praise or rewards from his supervisor. This suggests a problem in the performance-reward relationship, as Logan expects his performance to be rewarded with praise or monetary benefits but this has not happened.

Question 10

According to Maslow, lower-order needs are satisfied internally while higher-order needs are satisfied externally.

Accepted Answer

According to Maslow, lower-order needs (physiological and safety) are satisfied externally, while higher-order needs (social, esteem, and self-actualization) are satisfied internally.

Question 11

Mark is an excellent technical writer. He has never missed a deadline and all his projects are of superior quality. He now wants to telecommute two days a week, so that he can spend more time with his family. He feels that he has proven his reliability. However, his boss is unable to comply with his request and gives him a substantial raise instead. According to the expectancy theory, Mark's disappointment demonstrates a breakdown in the ________ relationship.

Accepted Answer

Mark's disappointment indicates that the reward (a raise) did not align with his personal goal (telecommuting), showing a breakdown in the rewards-personal goals relationship.

Question 12

According to the expectancy theory, the performance-reward relationship is the degree to which ________.

Accepted Answer

According to the expectancy theory, the performance-reward relationship is based on the individual's belief that performing at a particular level will lead to desired outcomes. This belief is influenced by three factors: expectancy (the belief that effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (the belief that performance will lead to rewards), and valence (the value an individual places on the rewards). Therefore, option A is the best choice as it describes the most relevant factor in this relationship.

Question 13

Under Theory Y, managers believe that employees inherently dislike work and must therefore be directed or even coerced into performing it.

Accepted Answer

Theory Y assumes that employees desire to work and find satisfaction in achieving their goals, so managers should provide them with opportunities for autonomy and self-fulfillment.

Question 14

With reference to the expectancy theory, which of the following examples indicates a weak rewards-personal goals relationship?

Accepted Answer

This example indicates a weak rewards-personal goals relationship as the employee's personal goal was to be relocated to the Paris office but the reward was being transferred to a different location, indicating a disconnect between the reward and the employee's goal.

Question 15

Motivation is defined as the processes that account for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.

Accepted Answer

This is the exact definition of motivation according to organizational behavior theory.

Question 16

According to the two-factor theory, adequate hygiene factors provide job satisfaction.

Accepted Answer

According to the two-factor theory by Herzberg, hygiene factors do not provide job satisfaction; they can only prevent dissatisfaction. Satisfaction comes from motivators, not hygiene factors.

Question 17

Edith believes that the methods for determining salary hikes and bonuses in her company are extremely unfair. In this case, Edith perceives a lack of ________ justice.

Accepted Answer

Procedural justice is concerned with the fairness of the procedures used to make decisions, such as the methods for determining salary hikes and bonuses. Therefore, Edith's perception of unfairness in these procedures suggests a lack of procedural justice.

Question 18

According to Herzberg, the opposite of "satisfaction" is "dissatisfaction."

Accepted Answer

According to Herzberg, the opposite of "satisfaction" is "no satisfaction," and the opposite of "dissatisfaction" is "no dissatisfaction."

Question 19

According to Maslow, a need that is substantially satisfied no longer motivates.

Accepted Answer

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory proposes that once a lower level need is fulfilled, it ceases to motivate and the individual moves up the hierarchy to pursue higher level needs. Therefore, once a need is substantially satisfied, it is no longer a motivator.

Question 20

Which of the following types of justice relates most strongly to job satisfaction, employee trust, withdrawal from the organization, job performance, and citizenship behaviors?

Accepted Answer

Procedural justice is the fairness of the process used to make decisions. It is the most strongly related to job satisfaction, employee trust, withdrawal from the organization, job performance, and citizenship behaviors because it is the most important factor in determining whether employees feel that they are being treated fairly.

Quiz 7: Motivation Concepts