Question 1

Interpersonal justice refers to an individual's perception of the degree to which he or she is treated with dignity, concern, and respect.

Accepted Answer

Interpersonal justice refers to an individual's perception of the degree to which he or she is treated with dignity, concern, and respect.

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.
-Based on the equity theory, 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?
A) She thinks that her colleague is paid more because she is an Ivy League graduate.
B) She believes that she is less capable than her colleague.
C) She assumes that her colleague received a higher package due to changes in industry standards.
D) She believes that her salary is not commensurate with her skills and experience.
E) She believes that she is doing a lot better career-wise compared to the people with whom she graduated.

Accepted Answer

Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity can distort their perceptions of themselves-"I used to think I worked at a moderate pace, but now I realize I work a lot harder than everyone else." If Megan believes that she is less capable than her colleague, then this would imply that she has distorted her perception of herself. If she thinks that her colleague is paid more because she is an Ivy League graduate, then she is distorting her perception of her colleague. This would also be true if she assumes that her colleague received a higher package due to changes in industry standards. If Megan believes that her salary is not commensurate with her skills and experience, then this neither strengthens nor weakens the argument-it only implies that she is experiencing a sense of inequity. If she believes that she is doing a lot better career-wise compared to the people with whom she graduated, then this would mean she is choosing a different referent.

Question 3

The investment of an employee's physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance is called ________.
A) vicarious modeling
B) self-determination
C) job engagement
D) management by objectives
E) job analysis

Accepted Answer

Job engagement refers to the investment of an employee's physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance.

Question 4

Jim is a salaried employee whose job is to develop content for online Web sites. He discovers that he is paid substantially more than his colleagues even though their jobs and levels of performance are very similar. According to the equity theory, what impact is this discovery most likely to have on his behavior and performance?
A) He will reduce the amount of work that he does on a daily basis.
B) He will compare his earnings to those of another group of employees.
C) He will increase his productivity and/or the overall quality of his work.
D) He will seek a position within the company commensurate with his pay.
E) He will begin to look for a position outside of the company.

Accepted Answer

When people see themselves as overrewarded, it creates guilt. According to equity theory, in order to reinstate a sense of equity, Jim will change his inputs (exert more if overpaid). He will increase his productivity and/or the overall quality of his work.

Question 5

Which of the following types of justice relates most strongly to job satisfaction, employee trust, withdrawal from the organization, job performance, and citizenship behaviors?
A) associative justice
B) interactional justice
C) distributive justice
D) procedural justice
E) integrative justice

Accepted Answer

Procedural justice relates most strongly to job satisfaction, employee trust, withdrawal from the organization, job performance, and citizenship behaviors.

Question 6

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.
A) interpersonal
B) distributive
C) associative
D) procedural
E) interactional

Accepted Answer

Procedural justice refers to the perceived fairness of the process used to determine the distribution of rewards.

Question 7

The equity theory's hypothesis has served as an important precursor to the study of ________.
A) Maslow's hierarchy of needs
B) distributive justice
C) organizational justice
D) social learning theory
E) procedural justice

Accepted Answer

Equity theory's propositions have not all held up; however, the hypothesis served as an important precursor to the study of organizational justice, or more simply fairness, in the workplace.

Question 8

Discuss distributive justice, procedural justice, and interpersonal justice.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss distributive justice, procedural justice, and interpersonal...

Question 9

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.
-Based on the equity theory, which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument that Megan is trying to gain a sense of equity by changing her inputs?
A) She asks her boss for a raise, citing her years of experience with the company.
B) She claims that extrinsic rewards make work seem like a chore and less enjoyable.
C) She accepts additional responsibilities but fails to carry them out effectively.
D) She takes long breaks from work and shirks her responsibilities.
E) She constantly interrupts her colleague, refusing to let her get any work done.

Accepted Answer

Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity can change their inputs, i.e., exert less effort if they are underpaid, or exert more effort if they are overpaid. If Megan takes long breaks from work and shirks her responsibilities, then this would mean that she is trying to gain a sense of equity by reducing her inputs. If she asks her boss for a raise by citing her years of experience with the company, then this would mean that she is trying to gain a sense of equity by changing her outcomes. If she constantly interrupts her colleague and refuses to let her get any work done, then this would mean that she is trying to reduce her colleague's inputs. If she claims that extrinsic rewards make work seem like a chore and less enjoyable, then this would imply that she is distorting her perception of herself. The argument is neither strengthened nor weakened by the fact that she accepts additional responsibilities but fails to carry them out effectively.

Question 10

According to the equity theory, what are the choices made by employees who perceive inequity?

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the equity theory, what are...

Question 11

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 based on the equity theory?
A) Dawn starts coming to work early and stays late once she learns that the mid-term review is around the corner.
B) Greg believes he works harder than any of the other members in his department as they often leave the office before him.
C) Lisa starts working longer hours after learning that her co-workers earn less than she does for the same work.
D) Myrtle produces a higher number of units to compensate for the lower quality of her output.
E) Beth submits her resignation after she was passed over for promotion for the second time.

Accepted Answer

Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity can change their inputs, i.e., exert less effort if they are underpaid, or exert more effort if they are overpaid. In the scenario, Megan is underpaid compared to her younger colleague and hence changes her inputs by slacking off at work. This situation is best mirrored by Lisa, who works longer hours (changes inputs) after realizing that she is overpaid compared to her colleagues. Dawn's behavior does not relate to the concept of equity. Greg's behavior represents a distorted perception of self. In Myrtle's situation, she is attempting to change outcomes and not her inputs. Beth chooses to deal with the perceived inequity by leaving the field.

Question 12

Why do people who perceive themselves as victims of interactional injustice often blame their immediate supervisor rather than the organization at large?
A) Interpersonal justice or injustice is intimately tied to the conveyer of the information.
B) Interactional injustice usually occurs during face-to-face encounters.
C) When people are not treated with respect, they tend to retaliate against those closest at hand.
D) Interactional injustice is in the eyes of those who perceive they are disrespected.
E) Interactional injustice is most often the result of the impersonal policies of the organization.

Accepted Answer

Interpersonal justice describes an individual's perception of the degree to which she is treated with dignity, concern, and respect. When people are treated in an unjust manner (at least in their own eyes), they retaliate (for example, badmouthing a supervisor). Because people intimately connect interactional justice or injustice to the conveyer of the information, we would expect perceptions of injustice to be more closely related to the supervisor.

Question 13

Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will make any of the following choices except ________.
A) be content with the referent
B) change the inputs
C) change the outputs
D) distort the perceptions of one's self
E) leave the field

Accepted Answer

Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will change inputs, change outcomes, distort perceptions of self, distort perceptions of others, choose a different referent, or leave the field.

Question 14

Workers around the world prefer rewards based on seniority over rewards based on performance and skills.

Accepted Answer

Workers around the world prefer rewards based on performance and skills over rewards based on seniority.

Question 15

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.
A) interactional
B) interpersonal
C) procedural
D) distributive
E) associative

Accepted Answer

Equity theory focuses on distributive justice, the employee's perceived fairness of the amount and allocation of rewards among individuals.

Question 16

An overly high level of engagement can lead to a loss of perspective and, ultimately, burnout.

Accepted Answer

Individuals might grow so engaged in their work roles that family responsibilities become an unwelcome intrusion. An overly high level of engagement can lead to a loss of perspective and, ultimately, burnout. Further research exploring how engagement relates to these negative outcomes may help clarify whether some highly engaged employees might be getting "too much of a good thing."

Question 17

Which of the following is an example of changing inputs in regard to equity theory?
A) exerting more effort if underpaid
B) working more hours if underpaid
C) working at a higher rate if working on a piece-rate basis
D) exerting less effort if underpaid
E) working more hours to move up the hierarchy

Accepted Answer

Exerting less effort if underpaid is an example of changing the inputs.

Question 18

Expectancy theory suggests that employees will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when they believe that it will lead to a good performance appraisal, that a good appraisal will lead to organizational rewards, and that the rewards will satisfy their personal goals.

Accepted Answer

Expectancy theory suggests that employees will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when they believe that it will lead to a good performance appraisal, that a good appraisal will lead to organizational rewards, and that the rewards will satisfy their personal goals.

Question 19

Discuss culture and justice.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss culture and justice....

Question 20

Karen graduated from college four years ago and has been working at Betaphy Inc. ever since. She has consistently received good performance evaluations for the quality of her work. She recently found out that her company hired a fresh college graduate with no experience at a salary higher than hers. Which of the following theories will Karen most likely use to evaluate this situation?
A) reinforcement
B) goal setting
C) equity
D) expectancy
E) operant conditioning

Accepted Answer

Equity theory states that individuals make comparisons to referent others (compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate any inequities.) In this situation, because Karen is comparing income, it is likely that she will use equity theory.

Quiz 7: Motivation Concepts

Interpersonal justice refers to an individual's perception of the degree to which he or she is treated with dignity, concern, and respect.

The investment of an employee's physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance is called ________.

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

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.

The equity theory's hypothesis has served as an important precursor to the study of ________.

Discuss distributive justice, procedural justice, and interpersonal justice.

According to the equity theory, what are the choices made by employees who perceive inequity?

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

Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will make any of the following choices except ________.

Workers around the world prefer rewards based on seniority over rewards based on performance and skills.

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.

An overly high level of engagement can lead to a loss of perspective and, ultimately, burnout.

Which of the following is an example of changing inputs in regard to equity theory?

Expectancy theory suggests that employees will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when they believe that it will lead to a good performance appraisal, that a good appraisal will lead to organizational rewards, and that the rewards will satisfy their personal goals.

Discuss culture and justice.