Employee Behavior and Motivation (33-62 Questions with Answers)

33) Those employees who like to experiment with new ideas or gamble on the development of new products are considered to have a higher degree of A) self-esteem. B) intrinsic reward need. C) authoritarianism. D) propensity for risk. E) cognition. Answer: D Explanation: D) A manager with a high propensity for risk, for example, might experiment with new ideas and gamble on new products. Such a manager might also lead the organization in new and different directions. This manager might be a catalyst for innovation or if the risky decisions prove to be bad ones, they might jeopardize the continued well-being of the organization. 34) If an employee feels they have the skills and ability needed to perform a task well, they are better able to focus their attention on performance because of their high degree of A) self-esteem. B) locus of control. C) risk propensity. D) self-efficacy. E) cognitive dissonance. Answer: D Explanation: D) Self-efficacy is a related but subtly different personality characteristic. A person's self-efficacy is that person's belief about his or her capabilities to perform a task. People with high self-efficacy believe that they can perform well on a specific task, whereas people with low self-efficacy tend to doubt their ability to perform a specific task. 35) Research suggests that the major personality dimension that exists in a variety of countries, and is therefore reasonably important across cultures is A) attitude. B) cognition. C) intention. D) commitment. E) self-esteem. Answer: E Explanation: E) Among the major personality dimensions, self-esteem is the one that has been most widely studied in other countries. Although more research is clearly needed, the published evidence suggests that self-esteem as a personality trait does indeed exist in a variety of countries and that its role in organizations is reasonably important across different cultures. 36) Balancing anxiety, fear, and anger so they do not overly interfere with getting things accomplished is a part of emotional intelligence. Answer: TRUE Explanation: Managing emotions, which is one dimension of emotional intelligence, refers to a person's capacities to balance anxiety, fear, and anger so they do not overly interfere with getting things accomplished. 37) According to research, emotional intelligence cannot be developed or learned. Answer: FALSE Explanation: Research shows that emotional intelligence can be developed. 38) Personality includes personal attributes that vary from one person to another. Answer: TRUE Explanation: Individual differences are personal attributes that vary from one person to another. Personality is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes that distinguish one person from another. 39) Affect is one of the three components of attitude. Answer: TRUE Explanation: Attitudes contain three components: (1) cognition, (2) affect, and (3) intention. A person's affect is his or her feelings toward something. 40) A person's self-efficacy is a belief about their extent of power and status within the organization. Answer: FALSE Explanation: A person's self-efficacy is their belief about their ability to perform a task. Authoritarianism is the extent to which a person believes that power and status differences are acceptable within an organization. 41) Identify and explain each of the "Big Five" personality traits. Answer: The "Big Five" personality traits are agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotionality, extraversion, and openness. Agreeableness is a person's ability to get along with others. Conscientiousness refers to the individual's persistence, dependableness, and orderliness. Emotionality refers to the degree to which people tend to be positive or negative in their outlook and behaviors toward others. Extraversion refers to a person's comfort level with relationships. Extraverts are sociable, talkative, assertive, and open to new relationships and tend to be higher performers. Finally, openness is how open or rigid a person is in terms of his or her beliefs. People with a high level of openness are curious and willing to listen to new ideas and, therefore, are often higher performers. 42) Discuss how an employee's level of self-esteem affects their actions and needs at the workplace. Answer: Self-esteem is the extent to which a person believes that he or she is a worthwhile and deserving individual. A person with high self-esteem is more likely to seek higher-status jobs, be more confident in his or her ability to achieve higher levels of performance, and derive greater intrinsic satisfaction from his or her accomplishments. In contrast, a person with less self-esteem may be more content to remain in a lower-level job, be less confident of his or her ability, and focus more on extrinsic rewards (extrinsic rewards are tangible and observable rewards such as a paycheck, job promotion, and so forth). 43) Which of the following identifies what the organization will provide the employee and what the employee will contribute to the organization in turn? A) Person-job fit B) Psychological contract C) Inducements D) Contributions E) Motivation contract Answer: B Explanation: B) A psychological contract is the overall set of expectations held by employees and the organization regarding what employees will contribute to the organization and what the organization will provide in return. 44) How can an organization fulfill their organization's contract obligations to employees? A) Contributions B) Psychological contracts C) Inducements D) Intention E) Cognition Answer: C Explanation: C) In return for contributions, the organization provides inducements to the individual. These inducements satisfy the organization's contract obligation. 45) Which of the following aspects of the psychological contract is provided by the organization? A) Competency B) Effort C) Time D) Status E) Talent Answer: D Explanation: D) Status within the organization is one of the contractual aspects that the organization provides to employees, along with pay, benefits, job security, and job and career opportunities. 46) Which of the following aspects of the psychological contract is provided by the employee? A) Benefits B) Pay C) Skills D) Security E) Status Answer: C Explanation: C) The employee brings his or her skills to the position as part of the psychological contract, along with effort, loyalty, ability, time, and competency. 47) Because job permanence is less likely in today's economy, which of the following are some companies offering in order to keep the psychological contract in balance? A) Additional promotions B) Increased loyalty inducements C) Fewer training opportunities D) Flexible scheduling E) More negotiated benefits Answer: D Explanation: D) Offering a new option to employees when one factor of the psychological contract is uncertain helps keep the relationship solid. 48) What is the term for the extent to which a person's contributions and the organization's inducements match? A) Employee equity B) Person-job fit C) Psychological contract D) Time-motion study E) Team culture Answer: B Explanation: B) If there is a poor match between a person's contributions, such as skills, and the inducements, such as pay, the result will be a dissatisfied and unhappy employee. 49) If an employee needs to feel that she is a part of a team and yet her position involves working alone, which of the following may NOT be right? A) The pay scale B) The person-job fit C) The employee's attitude D) The organization's plan E) The team structure Answer: B Explanation: B) Aspects of a person's personality should be taken into consideration when assigning tasks. 50) In terms of a psychological contract, inducements represent what employees will contribute to an organization. Answer: FALSE Explanation: Inducements represent what will motivate employees to do well. 51) What causes people to behave in a certain way on the job? A) Person-job fit B) Inducements C) Pay D) Psychological contracts E) Motivation Answer: E Explanation: E) Broadly defined, motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. 52) What is the Hawthorne effect? A) The belief that employees are motivated by money alone B) The conclusion that workers are more productive if management pays attention to them C) The determination that the level of lighting in a workplace has no effect on productivity D) The theory that workers are more productive if their jobs are analyzed closely E) The unspoken agreement between the employee and the employer Answer: B Explanation: B) Almost any management action that workers viewed as special attention caused an increase in productivity in this study at the Hawthorne Works. 53) What is MOST useful about Theory X and Theory Y? A) They shed light on managers' attitudes toward employees. B) They provide a useful blueprint for taking action. C) They help managers better understand employees. D) They accurately depict the attitude of employees at work. E) They support management decisions and plans. Answer: A Explanation: A) By understanding his or her own attitudes toward employees, a manager can better understand how he or she relates to employees. 54) According to Maslow's model, a set of needs will be a motivator until which of the following occurs? A) The needs are satisfied. B) New needs are identified. C) The person becomes self-motivated. D) A supervisor changes the work. E) The needs are replaced by hygiene factors. Answer: A Explanation: A) Once a set of needs has been satisfied, it is no longer a motivator. 55) Which of the following lists Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs in order, starting with the most basic? A) Physiological, security, social, esteem, self-actualization B) Social, security, physiological, esteem, self-actualization C) Physiological, self-actualization, security, esteem, social D) Physiological, esteem, security, social, self-actualization E) Esteem, self-actualization, social, physiological, security Answer: A Explanation: A) The most basic needs relate to survival (physiological), and then proceed to become more complex until they deal with personal satisfaction. 56) If a manager believes that his employees are self-motivated and growth-oriented, what type of manager is he? A) Theory Y B) Theory X C) Classical D) Hierarchical Answer: A Explanation: A) According to Theory X, people are lazy and lack ambition. According to Theory Y, people are energetic and eager for responsibility. 57) Which of the following theories focuses on people evaluating their treatment by the organization relative to the treatment of others? A) Equity theory B) Hierarchy of needs C) Expectancy theory D) Goal-setting theory E) X and Y theory Answer: A Explanation: A) Equity theory is one of the contemporary, more complex theories of motivation. 58) Scientific management is best described as a theory of motivation which states A) job satisfaction depends on two factors, hygiene and motivation. B) people are motivated to work toward rewards that they want and that they have a reasonable chance of obtaining. C) people evaluate their treatment by the organization relative to the treatment of others. D) managers should analyze jobs to find the most efficient methods and use money as a primary motivator. E) people will work more productively as long as they receive some kind of attention from management. Answer: D Explanation: D) Scientific management led to the application of industrial techniques to each facet of a job to determine how to perform it most efficiently. 59) Which of the following helps explain why some people do not work as hard as they can when their salaries are based purely on seniority? A) Two-factor theory B) Maslow's hierarchy of human needs C) Scientific management D) Expectancy theory E) Theory X and Theory Y Answer: D Explanation: D) Paying employees the same whether they work very hard or just hard enough to get by removes the financial incentive for them to work harder. 60) The most productive employee in the department doesn't apply for a job opening they are well suited for, in spite of an excellent record and the pay and prestige associated with the new job. The employee believes that the job will go to someone who has more seniority. Based on expectancy theory, which would explain why the employee doesn't apply for the job? A) The effort-performance issue B) The rewards-personal goals issue C) The performance-reward issue D) Personal goals E) Family demands Answer: C Explanation: C) Expectancy theory suggests that employees work harder toward reaching a goal if they know they have a good chance of reaching it; Tina doesn't feel that her chance of getting the position will be based on her excellent performance. 61) An employee is encouraged to apply for a promotion, but does not because he has children and wants to be home in the evening. Based on expectancy theory, which of the following explains why the employee doesn't apply for the job? A) The effort-performance issue B) The rewards-personal goals issue C) The performance-rewards issue D) The rewards-ethics issue E) The ethics-performance issue Answer: B Explanation: B) Sue does not feel that the rewards obtained from the new position will outweigh the value she places on being with her family in the evening. 62) A manager wants to motivate the maintenance staff to be more productive. She starts by providing training and assures employees that high productivity will be rewarded. Employees are asked to identify the rewards that would mean the most to them. The manager likely subscribes to which theory of motivation? A) Equity B) Expectancy C) Two-factor D) Hierarchy of needs E) Productivity Answer: B Explanation: B) Kent is attempting to convince the maintenance staff that the company's rewards for their work will be worth the increased productivity; expectancy theory suggests that people are motivated when they feel they have a good chance of obtaining the desired rewards.