Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 10e (Robbins/Judge)

Chapter 8 Motivation: From Concepts to Applications

1) Which of the following is not one of the core job dimensions in the JCM model?
A) task significance
B) feedback
C) autonomy
D) status
E) skill variety
2) According to the JCM, the owner-operator of a garage show performs electrical repairs,
rebuilds engines, does body work, and interacts with customers would score ________.
A) high on task identity
B) high on skill variety
C) low on autonomy
D) low on task significance
E) low on skills variety
3) In the JCM model, what three core job dimensions combine to create meaningful work?
A) autonomy, task identity, and feedback
B) skill variety, autonomy, and task significance
C) skill variety, autonomy, and feedback
D) feedback, task identity, and task significance
E) skill variety, task identity, and task significance
4) According to JCM theory, which of the following results in the maximum internal rewards for
an individual?
A) when they are given tangible rewards
B) when they learn that they personally have performed well on a task that they care about
C) when they initiate a program that enables them to work with a variety of like-minded
colleagues
D) when their training is realized and their expectations are met
E) when they are singled out for praise for successfully completing an arduous task
5) According to the Job Characteristics Model, a telemarketing employee who is provided a list
of calls to make and a standardized script to follow would score
A) high on feedback
B) low on task identity
C) high on autonomy
D) low on autonomy
6) According to the Job Characteristics Model, the presence of the three psychological states
(knowledge of results, experienced responsibility, and experienced meaningfulness) will
A) increase motivation
B) increase performance
C) decrease absenteeism

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D) all of the above

7) According to the JCM, the links between the job dimensions and the outcomes are moderated
by ________.
A) a high MPS
B) the strength of the individual's growth need
C) a low score on self-esteem
D) experienced meaningfulness of the job
E) autonomy
8) According to the JCM, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A) The evidence supports the general framework of the theory.
B) Managers can bypass the complex MPS formula and better derive motivating potential by
simply adding the characteristics.
C) The employee's perception of his or her workload compared to others may moderate the link
between the core job dimension and outcomes.
D) If jobs score high on motivating potential, the likelihood of turnover will be reduced.
E) Jobs that are high on motivating potential must be high on both autonomy and task variety.
9) What is another term for cross-training?
A) work enrichment
B) job sharing
C) work enlargement
D) job enhancement
E) job rotation
10) What is a main strength of job rotation?
A) It eliminates turnover.
B) It increases motivation.
C) It increases productivity.
D) It decreases training costs
E) It decreases supervisor workload.
11) A trucking company routinely makes all of its office staff work for a week in the warehouse
area; loading trucks, cleaning trucks, and doing other warehouse work which they are capable of.
This program is an example of which of the following?
A) job rotation
B) job enlargement
C) job enrichment
D) job sharing
E) flextime
12) Which is not cited as a drawback to job rotation?
A) Training costs are increased.
B) Productivity is reduced.
C) Disruption is created.

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D) Jobs are eliminated.

E) Supervisors spend more time answering questions.
13) When the ticket agent at Singapore Airlines takes on the duties of a baggage handler, he is
engaged in ________.
A) job enlargement
B) job rotation
C) vertical loading
D) participative management
E) involvement
14) A company redesigns the jobs of the workers in accounts receivables, so that instead of
simply billing customers, they will also be responsible for following up on non-payment, liaising
between customers and the departments billing them, and other related tasks. What term would
best be used to describe these changes?
A) job rotation
B) job enlargement
C) job enrichment
D) job sharing
E) flextime
15) Which approach to putting the JCM into practice is usually met with less than enthusiastic
results by employees?
A) job enlargement
B) job rotation
C) vertical loading
D) participative management
E) involvement
16) How do most employees react to job enlargement efforts?
A) unqualified approval
B) somewhat enthusiastically
C) with a lack of enthusiasm
D) with mixed emotions
E) with very little reaction.
17) Job enrichment increases the degree to which the worker controls the ________.
A) planning, execution and evaluation of his or her work
B) planning, execution and evaluation of company plans
C) horizontal integration of his or her tasks
D) feedback that a worker receives from his or her supervisor and peers
E) evaluation of his or her peers
18) Which one of the following is not one of the guidelines for enriching jobs?
A) ensure employees perform one small part of a task
B) establish client relationships

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C) open feedback channels

D) combine tasks
E) expand jobs vertically
19) The vertical expansion of jobs is seen in ________.
A) job rotation
B) job enlargement
C) job enrichment
D) job sharing
E) flextime
20) A firm introduces job enrichment in order to motivate its employees. Evidence would suggest
that which of the following is the most likely result of this change?
A) reduced absenteeism and turnover costs
B) lower fixed costs
C) a drop in quality
D) a decrease in productivity
E) an increase in productivity
21) Beyond redesigning the nature of the work itself, and involving employees in decisions,
another approach to making the work environment more motivating is to alter work
arrangements. Which of the following is designed to give an employee greater control of their
work schedule?
A) flextime
B) job sharing
C) job rotation
D) telecommuting
E) job enrichment
22) Which of the following has not been shown to be a benefit of flextime?
A) reduced absenteeism
B) improved productivity
C) increased meaningfulness
D) increased satisfaction
E) improved promptness
23) Allied General Hospital employs many individuals and has decided to try to increase
motivation through job redesign and flexible scheduling. You have been hired as a consultant to
help them design and implement the programs You are looking at flextime and realize that it will
probably work least well for which of the following jobs?
A) insurance billing clerks
B) custodial workers
C) floor nurses
D) equipment maintenance staff
E) IT personnel

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24) Allied General Hospital employs many individuals and has decided to try to increase
motivation through job redesign and flexible scheduling. You have been hired as a consultant to
help them design and implement the programs. Members of the nighttime janitorial staff are
generally low skilled and would probably be motivated by ________.
A) job enrichment
B) flexible work schedules
C) job enlargement
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
25) What is flextime's major drawback?
A) Not all employees have computers.
B) Not everyone wants to work part-time.
C) It is not applicable to every job.
D) Tardiness increases.
E) It is hard to find compatible employees.
26) The work arrangement that allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a
week job is ________.
A) flextime
B) core hours
C) telecommuting
D) job sharing
E) employee involvement
27) The work arrangement that doesn't seem to be widely adopted by employees is ________.
A) flextime
B) core hours
C) telecommuting
D) job sharing
E) employee involvement
29) The Japanese are increasingly considering job sharing to ________.
A) increase flexibility
B) avoid layoffs
C) add more part-time positions
D) accommodate working mothers
E) stimulate the economy
34) The underlying logic of employee involvement is that by involving workers and increasing
their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become all of the following
except more ________.
A) motivated
B) competent
C) productive
D) satisfied

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E) committed to the organization

35) What term is used for a participative process that uses the entire capacity of employees and is
designed to encourage increased commitment to the organization's success?
A) MBO
B) employee involvement
C) reengineering
D) OB Mod
E) job sharing
36) Participative management and representative participation are forms of ________.
A) job rotation
B) job enrichment
C) employee involvement
D) employee recognition
E) employee incentives
37) What is the distinct characteristic common to all participative management programs?
A) joint decision making
B) autonomy
C) empowerment
D) productivity enhancement
E) quality awareness
38) What is participative management?
A) a method of management where subordinates make corporate decisions and management
helps carry out those decisions
B) a method of management where upper management participates in the organization's strategic
planning
C) a method of management where subordinates share a degree of decision-making power with
their immediate superiors
D) a method of management where low-level workers meet occasionally with the CEO to discuss
problems within their department
E) a method of management where low-level workers are responsible for making corporate
policy decisions
39) A manager introduces participative management in an effort to boost morale and
productivity. If he wants to make sure that it has as great a chance of success as possible he
should ensure all of the following except which of the following?
A) The issues decided upon must be relevant to the employees.
B) The employees must be informed and competent enough to make decisions.
C) The employees must be trusted by the manager.
D) The manager must be trusted by the employees.
E) There must be representative participation through work councils and board representatives.
40) Your supervisor has heard that employee involvement is important and you have been

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instructed to research various methods of employee involvement. You are supposed to help assist
in the analysis of the probable effects of each of the programs being considered. You have
decided to let employees select a small group to represent them and work with management. This
is termed ________.
A) representative participation
B) an ESOP
C) quality circles
D) participative management
E) an AESOP
41) What is the name for employees who sit on a company's board of directors and represent the
interests of the firm's employees?
A) board representatives
B) works councils
C) quality circles
D) union representatives
E) board leaders
42) Research studies conducted on the participation-performance relationship show that the use
of participation ________.
A) enhances job satisfaction
B) increases motivation
C) has only a modest influence on employee productivity
D) greatly influences employee attitudes
E) lowers costs considerably
51) Which of the following are all forms of variable-pay programs?
A) piece-rate, merit-based pay, gainsharing
B) profit sharing, lump-sum bonuses, extended vacations
C) wage incentive plans, flextime, piece-rate
D) retirement benefits, extended vacations, wage incentive plans
E) wage rate increases, bonuses, flextime
52) Which of the following is one advantage of variable pay plans to management?
A) They turn fixed labor costs into variable labor costs.
B) They turn low producers into high producers.
C) They turn slow employees into fast employees.
D) They turn high fixed costs into low fixed costs.
E) They turn lower performance into fewer employees.
53) Which of the following is an example of a piece-rate plan?
A) time and a half for overtime
B) $2 for each unit produced
C) productivity bonus
D) commission
E) $10 per hour worked

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57) Amalgamated Industries manufactures parts for furniture. Management has decided to
change the method of payment to a skill-based plan. You are interested in increasing your current
compensation and see this as an opportunity. You should expect to earn more if you ________.
A) volunteer for overtime
B) increase your production
C) cross train in other jobs
D) become a specialist
E) master common skills
59) Amalgamated Industries manufactures parts for furniture. Management has decided to
change the method of payment to a skill-based plan. You are interested in increasing your current
compensation and see this as an opportunity. As a manager, you like the plan because it allows
________.
A) protection of territory
B) increased flexibility of the workforce
C) elimination of workers
D) decreased payroll costs
E) increased control
64) Much of the compensation of traders at Synalco, a metals trading company, is in the form of
stock options. The amount of options distributed is based on the company's net profits. What sort
of compensation plan is this?
A) profit sharing
B) gainsharing
C) merit based
D) ESOP
E) employee ownership
68) What sort of plan is a company-established benefit plan where employees acquire stock as
part of their benefits?
A) MBO program
B) job redesign
C) ESOP
D) quality circle
E) piece-rate
69) Research on employee stock ownership programs indicates that they are clearly successful in
doing which of the following?.
A) increasing employee satisfaction
B) reducing salaries
C) reducing stress
D) increasing productivity
E) increasing employee expectations
70) What is the term used for the situation where employees are allowed to pick and choose from

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among a menu of benefit options.

A) flexible pay
B) benefit menu options
C) flexible benefits
D) benefit participation
E) flextime
71) Your workforce is diverse in terms of their needs for benefits. Jim is married with two
children and his wife is at home full time. Janet is single and supports her widowed mother. Bob
is married and his wife has a high-paying job You decide that you want to devise a benefits
program that is tailored to their individual needs. What sort of benefit program would probably
be the best choice?
A) a traditional benefit program
B) a flexible benefit program
C) letting them purchase their own benefits
D) an ESOP
E) an AESOP
72) Your workforce is diverse in terms of their needs for benefits. Jim is married with two
children and his wife is at home full time. Janet is single and supports her widowed mother. Bob
is married and his wife has a high-paying job You decide that you want to devise a benefits
program that is tailored to their individual needs. You should expect that a flexible benefits
program will be all of the following EXCEPT ________.
A) less expensive
B) consistent with expectancy theory
C) more responsive to individual needs
D) motivational
E) accommodate employee differences
73) Why are flexible benefit plans consistent with expectancy theory's thesis?
A) They allow organizations to minimize costs associated with benefits.
B) They provide a suite of tangible rewards that can be offered as motivation.
C) Flexible benefits individualize rewards.
D) They make employment at firms providing such programs more attractive.
E) The motivation to gain extra benefits promotes productivity.
74) Your workforce is diverse in terms of their needs for benefits. Jim is married with two
children and his wife is at home full time. Janet is single and supports her widowed mother. Bob
is married and his wife has a high-paying job You decide that you want to devise a benefits
program that is tailored to their individual needs. What sort of plan would provide pre-designed
packages of benefits, put together to meet the needs of a specific group of employees?
A) flexible spending
B) core-plus
C) cafeteria
D) modular
E) customized

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75) What are modular benefit plans?

A) essential benefits and a menu-like selection of other benefits
B) pre-designed packages of benefits to meet the needs of a specific group of employees
C) they require employees to set aside funds up to the dollar amount offered in the plan to pay
for services
D) a scheme designed for single employees with no dependents
E) a scheme designed for employees with families
76) In which benefit plan are employees given benefit credits to purchase additional benefits to
add to the core?
A) modular plans
B) core plus plans
C) flexible spending plans
D) ESOPs
E) employee recognition plans
77) Which benefit plan can increase employee take-home pay?
A) modular plans
B) core-plus plans
C) flexible spending plans
D) ESOPs
E) employee recognition plans
82) Why may job enrichment strategies be less effective in more collectivist cultures?
A) The JCM is relatively individualistic.
B) The core job characteristics are not equally applicable across cultures.
C) Collectivist cultures do not focus on intrinsic job characteristics.
D) The JCM has not been translated into other languages.
86) The JCM consists of five core job characteristics: task significance, feedback, experienced
meaningfulness, task variety, and autonomy.
Answer: FALSE
87) The dimensions of the JCM that create meaningfulness include task identity, skill variety,
and task significance.
Answer: TRUE
88) Jobs that are high on motivating potential must be high on at least one of the three factors
that lead to experienced meaningfulness, and they must be high on both autonomy and feedback.
Answer: TRUE
89) Jobs that have the intrinsic elements of variety, identity, significance, autonomy, and
feedback are more satisfying and generate higher performance from people than jobs that lack
these characteristics.
Answer: TRUE

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90) In job rotation, jobs are not redesigned; in job enlargement, they are.
Answer: TRUE
91) The strengths of job rotation are that it eliminates boredom, increases motivation, and
increases productivity.
Answer: FALSE
92) In job rotation, the nature of the work performed is changed.
Answer: FALSE
93) Job enrichment, job enlargement, and job rotation are all job redesign options.
Answer: FALSE
94) Most employees do not view efforts at job enlargement enthusiastically.
Answer: TRUE
95) Job enrichment increases the degree to which the worker controls the execution of company
plans.
Answer: FALSE
96) The overall evidence on job enrichment generally shows that it increases satisfaction,
reduces absenteeism, and reduces turnover costs.
Answer: TRUE
97) Evidence on job enrichment indicates conclusively that it increases productivity.
Answer: FALSE
98) Flextime is shown to increase the meaningfulness that employees find in their work.
Answer: FALSE
99) The scheduling options of flextime, job sharing, and telecommuting are all approaches to
make the workplace environment more motivating.
Answer: TRUE
100) Although over 30 percent of large organizations offer employees job sharing, it doesn't
seem to be widely adopted by employees.
Answer: TRUE
101) For employees with a high social need, telecommuting is a good option.
Answer: FALSE
102) Employee involvement is a participative process that is designed to encourage increased
commitment to the organization's success.
Answer: TRUE
103) Employee involvement programs should take into account cultural factors such as

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differences in power-distance culture.

Answer: TRUE
104) The laws of the United States require companies to have elected representatives from their
employee groups as members of their board of directors.
Answer: FALSE
105) Participative management implies joint decision-making and equal decision-making roles.
Answer: FALSE
106) Employee involvement programs could provide employees with intrinsic motivation by
increasing opportunities for growth and responsibility.
Answer: TRUE
107) Participation typically has only a modest influence on variables such as employee
productivity, motivations, and job satisfaction.
Answer: TRUE
108) If one is interested in changing employee attitudes or in improving organizational
performance, representative participation would be a good choice.
Answer: FALSE
109) The two most common forms that representative participation takes are works councils and
board representatives.
Answer: TRUE
110) Participative management has had a profound influence on employee productivity and
motivation.
Answer: FALSE
111) Board representatives are employees who sit on a company's board of directors and
represent the interests of the firm's employees.
Answer: TRUE
112) The greatest value of representative participation is symbolic.
Answer: TRUE
113) Internal equity is usually established through pay surveys.
Answer: FALSE
114) Job evaluation establishes internal equity.
Answer: TRUE
115) Variable-pay compensation pays people for the time they spend on the job and seniority.
Answer: FALSE

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116) Variable-pay programs turn part of an organization's fixed labor costs into a variable cost.
Answer: TRUE
117) Employee compensation will decline if performance declines in variable-pay programs.
Answer: TRUE
118) Piece-rate plans, wage incentives, profit sharing, bonuses, and gainsharing are all forms of
flexible benefits.
Answer: FALSE
119) Both piece-rate and gainsharing plans are examples of variable-pay compensation.
Answer: TRUE
120) Piece-rate wages are a traditional form of variable pay compensation whereby workers' pay
is based upon the number of units they produce.
Answer: TRUE
121) People who sell peanuts at ball parks, keeping $.75 for every bag of peanuts they sell, are
being paid piece-rate wages.
Answer: TRUE
122) Piece-rate plans are based on group productivity.
Answer: FALSE
123) Individuals in merit-based pay plans perceive a strong relationship between their
performance and the rewards they receive.
Answer: TRUE
124) Profit sharing may be paid by direct cash outlay or as stock options.
Answer: TRUE
125) Bonus plans are still reserved for the executive ranks with very few lower ranking
employees included.
Answer: FALSE
126) Skill-based pay is not utilized much in white-collar jobs.
Answer: FALSE
127) From management's perspective, the greatest appeal of skill-based pay plans is decreased
payroll costs.
Answer: FALSE

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128) Skill-based pay encourages employees to concentrate on one or two highly desirable skills.
Answer: FALSE
129) Skill-based pay plans encourage people to specialize.
Answer: FALSE
130) Gainsharing and profit sharing are the same thing.
Answer: FALSE
131) An employee in a gainsharing plan can receive incentive awards even if the organization
isn't profitable.
Answer: TRUE
132) Studies generally show that organizations with profit sharing plans have higher levels of
profitability than those without.
Answer: TRUE
133) Studies show that gainsharing programs have a positive impact on employee attitudes.
Answer: TRUE
134) Gainsharing's popularity seems to be narrowly focused among large, manufacturing
companies.
Answer: TRUE
135) ESOPs are company-established benefit plans in which employees acquire stock as part of
their benefits.
Answer: TRUE
136) Research on ESOPs indicates they increase employee satisfaction.
Answer: TRUE
137) Flexible spending plans allow employees to set aside up to the dollar amount offered in the
plan to pay for particular services.
Answer: TRUE
138) Studies show that employees consider wages and benefits to be the most powerful
workplace motivators.
Answer: FALSE
139) One of the most expensive motivation programs is that which recognizes an employee's
superior performance.
Answer: FALSE
140) While flexible benefits have become the norm in the US, this is not the case in other
countries.
Answer: FALSE

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