Question 1

A major finding of the Hawthorne studies is physical working conditions have a much greater impact on worker performance and productivity than people's feelings, attitudes, and relationships with their co-workers.

Accepted Answer

The major finding of the Hawthorne studies is actually the opposite: people's feelings, attitudes, and relationships with their co-workers have a significant impact on worker performance and productivity, often referred to as the "Hawthorne effect." However, the studies did reveal that physical working conditions also played a role in worker performance.

Question 2

Physiological needs and safety needs are higher-order needs in Maslow's hierarchy of human needs.

Accepted Answer

Physiological and safety needs are lower-order needs in Maslow's hierarchy, while esteem, love/belonging, and self-actualization needs are higher-order needs.

Question 3

Mary Parker Follett's belief that businesses were services and that private profits should always be considered in relation to the public good foreshadowed today's concerns with managerial ethics and corporate social responsibility.

Accepted Answer

Mary Parker Follett's belief in businesses serving the public good and considering private profits in relation to it is a precursor to modern-day concerns for corporate social responsibility and managerial ethics.

Question 4

According to Maslow, the more the need to be self-actualized is satisfied, the weaker it becomes.

Accepted Answer

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, self-actualization is at the top of the hierarchy and is unique because the more it is satisfied, the more it grows, unlike the lower-level needs which become less pressing once they are fulfilled.

Question 5

The Hawthorne effect is the tendency of persons singled out for special attention to perform as expected.

Accepted Answer

The Hawthorne effect is a real phenomenon where individuals modify their behavior in response to the attention they receive as part of a study or experiment.

Question 6

Neither group atmosphere nor participative supervision was found to be an important explanatory factor for improved productivity in the relay assembly test-room studies at Western Electric's Hawthorne Works.

Accepted Answer

Both group atmosphere and participative supervision were found to be important explanatory factors for improved productivity in the Hawthorne studies.

Question 7

Mary Parker Follett believed that making employee ownership and profit sharing in the business would create feelings of collective responsibility.

Accepted Answer

Mary Parker Follett believed that involving employees in the ownership and profits of the business would create a sense of collective responsibility and encourage them to work together towards common goals.

Question 8

Managers holding Theory Y assumptions approach their jobs believing that those who work for them generally dislike work, lack ambition, act irresponsibly, and prefer to be led rather than to lead.

Accepted Answer

Managers holding Theory Y assumptions approach their jobs believing that those who work for them generally enjoy work, have ambition, act responsibly, and are motivated to lead themselves.

Question 9

A key lesson from the Hawthorne studies is that people's feelings, attitudes, and relationships with co-workers have very little influence on their performance as compared with compensation and incentives.

Accepted Answer

The key lesson from the Hawthorne studies is actually the opposite - that people's feelings, attitudes, and relationships with co-workers have a significant influence on their performance, often referred to as the "Hawthorne effect". While compensation and incentives can also be motivators, they are not the only or even the most important factors in determining performance.

Question 10

Both the Hawthorne studies and McGregor's Theory predict that people tend to act in ways that are consistent with what managers expect of them.

Accepted Answer

Both the Hawthorne studies and McGregor's Theory support the idea that people's behavior is influenced by managers' expectations and perception of their abilities.

Question 11

After a series of scientific tests, Elton Mayo and his team of researchers concluded that new a "social setting" created for workers in a test room decreased the productivity of those employees.

Accepted Answer

Elton Mayo and his team of researchers actually concluded that the new social setting created in the test room increased the productivity of those employees. This finding came to be known as the Hawthorne effect.

Question 12

Based on McGregor's Theory, we would assume that Theory X managers are more effective in motivating people because they believe that their subordinates like work and are self-motivated and are willing to accept responsibility.

Accepted Answer

According to McGregor's Theory, Theory Y managers are more effective in motivating people because they believe that employees are self-motivated, enjoy their work, and are willing to accept responsibility. Theory X managers, on the other hand, believe that employees dislike work, need to be closely supervised, and are only motivated by external rewards and punishments.

Question 13

Physiological needs refer to the needs for physical closeness and relationships with others.

Accepted Answer

Physiological needs refer to basic physical needs such as food, water, shelter, and sleep. The need for physical closeness and relationships with others falls under the category of social needs.

Question 14

Self-actualization is a term used by Maslow to explain why managers who understand and help people satisfy higher-order needs at work will achieve greater levels of productivity and fulfillment.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Self-actualization is a term used by Maslow...

Question 15

According to the deficit principle, a satisfied need is a motivator of behaviour.

Accepted Answer

According to the deficit principle, an unsatisfied need is a motivator of behavior. Once a need is satisfied, it no longer acts as a motivator.

Question 16

Maslow's ideas point managers toward finding ways to link volunteer work with opportunities to satisfy higher-order needs like esteem and self-actualization.

Accepted Answer

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory suggests that individuals have various needs to be fulfilled, and once the lower-order needs (like physiological and safety needs) are met, they move toward fulfilling higher-order needs (like esteem and self-actualization). Thus, if managers can link volunteer work with opportunities to fulfill these higher-order needs, they can motivate their employees to perform better and feel more satisfied with their work.

Question 17

The Hawthorne studies shifted the attention of managers and scholars away from the technical and structural concerns emphasized by the classical management approach toward the study of social and human concerns as keys to productivity.

Accepted Answer

The Hawthorne studies are often credited with shifting management and scholarly attention toward social and human concerns as important factors in productivity, rather than solely focusing on technical and structural aspects of management as emphasized by the classical management approach.

Question 18

The Hawthorne studies found consistent results to support their hypothesis that both economic incentives and the physical working conditions of the workplace affect productivity.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Hawthorne studies found consistent results to...

Question 19

According to the progression principle, a satisfied need does not motivate behaviour.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the progression principle, a satisfied...

Question 20

According to Elton Mayo, people would restrict their output in order to avoid the displeasure of their group, even if it meant sacrificing pay that could otherwise be earned by increasing output.

Accepted Answer

Elton Mayo's theory of human relations emphasized the importance of social factors in the workplace and how they impact employee productivity. He suggested that workers may restrict their output based on social norms and group dynamics, even if it means sacrificing personal gain such as increased pay. This concept formed the basis of the Hawthorne Studies, a famous series of experiments that examined the relationship between workplace conditions and employee behavior.

Quiz 2: Management Learning Past to Present