Question 1

Skill-based pay compensates employees for the specific jobs they are performing.

Accepted Answer

Skill-based pay compensates employees for the range of skills or depth of knowledge they bring to their roles, rather than the specific job they are performing at any given time.

Question 2

Which of the following motivational aspects of goal setting states that goals motivate individuals to act?

Accepted Answer

A

Question 3

One of the problems associated with flexible benefits programs is that it does not allow organizations to control their costs.

Accepted Answer

Flexible benefits programs allow organizations to set a budget for each employee and control costs by offering a range of benefit options with various cost structures. Organizations can also limit the number of benefit options available to employees to stay within their budget.

Question 4

For a goal to be effective, it should be written in general terms and very easy for an employee to achieve.

Accepted Answer

A goal should be specific and challenging yet achievable. Writing a goal in general terms may lead to ambiguity and lack of direction for the employee. Additionally, if a goal is too easy to achieve, it may not provide a significant impact on the organization or the employee's professional growth.

Question 5

If employees perceive that goals can be reached by luck or with little effort, they tend to dismiss the goals as irrelevant and not follow through with the actions needed to reach them.

Accepted Answer

When employees believe that goals can be achieved without significant effort or skills, they may not consider them important or meaningful, leading to a lack of motivation and follow-through in working towards them.

Question 6

According to "Change Competency: Nucor's Profit-Sharing Program," Nucor's profit sharing plan is based in part on the company's ability to build new plants worldwide.

Accepted Answer

The article does not mention that Nucor's profit sharing plan is based on the company's ability to build new plants worldwide. The plan is based on the company's overall financial performance and is designed to incentivize employees to work together to achieve common goals.

Question 7

Employees who set extremely high, difficult goals may experience less job satisfaction than employees who set lower, more easily achievable goals.

Accepted Answer

This is because employees who set extremely high goals often experience a greater sense of pressure and may feel discouraged or demotivated if they are not able to achieve them. On the other hand, employees who set more achievable goals may feel a greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when they are able to meet or exceed them.

Question 8

In "Learning from Experience: Enterprise Rent-A-Car," Enterprise's initial business strategy focused only on airport car rentals.

Accepted Answer

Enterprise Rent-A-Car initially focused on the local rental market, providing replacement vehicles to people whose cars were being repaired, rather than focusing solely on airport car rentals.

Question 9

In the model of goal setting, a goal serves as a(n) ______ because it allows people to compare their present performance to what is required to achieve the goal.

Accepted Answer

Goals serve as motivators because they give individuals a specific target to aim for, encouraging them to improve their performance to meet or exceed that target.

Question 10

The timing of a reward is not important; a reward will be motivating regardless of when it is given.

Accepted Answer

The timing of a reward can have a significant impact on its motivational value. Research suggests that immediate or more frequent rewards tend to be more effective in motivating behavior than delayed or infrequent rewards.

Question 11

Flexible benefit programs and cafeteria-style benefit programs are one-in-the-same.

Accepted Answer

Flexible benefit programs and cafeteria-style benefit programs refer to the same type of employee benefits plan that allows employees to choose from a variety of pre-tax benefit options to create a package that best suits their needs.

Question 12

In "Learning From Experience: Enterprise Rent-A-Car," the reason cited for low employee turnover at Enterprise is

Accepted Answer

According to the article, the low employee turnover at Enterprise is attributed to the practice of having employees work in small, tight-knit teams of fewer than 10 people. This creates a strong sense of camaraderie and promotes a collaborative work environment, which is found to be highly satisfying for employees.

Question 13

Danae and her team want to reduce the amount of time it takes to unload, sort, and assemble merchandise that arrives at the warehouse. They have developed a couple of approaches to help them achieve this goal. What motivational aspect of goal setting does this MOST represent?

Accepted Answer

Danae and her team's development of approaches to reduce the time it takes to unload, sort, and assemble merchandise is an example of fostering strategies and action programs, which is a motivational aspect of goal setting. This involves creating plans or methods to achieve a specific goal.

Question 14

Drew was given a goal of revamping the company's website; however, he does not know how to use the coding software on which the website was built. Given this limitation, this is still an effective goal because it forces Drew to learn new job skills.

Accepted Answer

An effective goal should be realistic and achievable given the individual's current skills, resources, and time frame. Expecting Drew to revamp the website without prior knowledge of the coding software sets him up for potential failure and frustration.

Question 15

In "Across Cultures Competency: Hewlett-Packard," Bonnie Nixon-Gardiner started a training program to teach Chinese suppliers how to prevent labor and environmental abuses.

Accepted Answer

The statement accurately describes the main point of the article.

Question 16

Jess and her manager set forth a sales goal for her to meet for the upcoming quarter. Jess is committed to reaching the goal, but feels it is too challenging. Because of this, Jess will most likely expend little effort in reaching this goal.

Accepted Answer

When individuals are committed to a goal, even if they perceive it as challenging, they are more likely to exert a high level of effort to achieve it, rather than expending little effort.

Question 17

The process of specifying desired outcomes toward which individuals, teams, departments, and organizations will strive and is intended to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness is referred to as

Accepted Answer

The process described is goal setting, which involves specifying desired outcomes for individuals, teams, departments, and organizations. This process is aimed at increasing organizational efficiency and effectiveness by giving individuals and groups a clear direction to focus their efforts on. Learning, task management, and motivation may be related to goal setting, but are not the direct process of specifying desired outcomes.

Question 18

In "Ethics Competency: Fake Accounts at Wells Fargo," Wells Fargo was accused of creating an overly aggressive sales culture by assigning unrealistic sales goals and not sufficiently overseeing employees.

Accepted Answer

The article discusses the accusations against Wells Fargo for creating an overly aggressive sales culture by assigning unrealistic sales goals and not sufficiently overseeing employees.

Question 19

"Diversity Competency: Lockheed Martin MS2 Team," outlines the "Embrace Diversity" campaign. This campaign revolved around the use of postcards that explored themes of diversity.

Accepted Answer

The statement accurately describes the "Embrace Diversity" campaign and the use of postcards to explore themes of diversity.

Question 20

The process of setting goals is an important motivational tool that directly affects the performance of employees in an organization.

Accepted Answer

Setting clear and specific goals can help employees understand what is expected of them and provide a sense of direction and purpose, which can increase their motivation and productivity.

Quiz 6: Motivation: Goal Setting and Reward Programs