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Organizational Behavior, Version 2.0
Bauer & Erdogan
Chapter 6
Designing a Motivating Work Environment
TRUE/FALSE
1. The Nucor Steel Company’s incentive system penalizes low performers, but sets
no upper limit on the amount high performers can earn annually.
(True)
2. Evidence of the success of Nucor Steel is the low turnover rate and nonunion
status of the firm.
(True)
3. Nucor Steel’s formula for success is to centralize decision making and rigidly
define employee and manager job duties.
(False)
4. Leaving employees free to choose job performance methods is an important

element of scientific management techniques.
(False)
5. Job specialization entails breaking down jobs into their simplest components.
(True)
6. Job enlargement involves moving employees from job to job at different intervals.
(False)
7. You are a Walt Disney Company management trainee. The first three months of
your job you will be working in the restaurant and hospitality area. The next three
months you will be in the merchandising area, followed by three months in
lodging and finally, three months in park operations. The Walt Disney
management trainee program is designed using the job rotation philosophy.
(True)
8. In a supermarket study, cashiers rotated through different departments had lower

stress levels and less pain in their necks and shoulders.
(True)
9. Research shows that the psychological state of meaningfulness is the most

important state for employee attitudes and behaviors.
(True)
10. The job characteristics model is an attempt to design jobs for increased
motivational potential.
(True)

11. Skill variety and task significance are the most important elements in deciding
motivational potential.
(False)
12. Access to information is a key factor in empowering employees.

(True)
13. Goal commitment is higher when employees have trust-based relationships with
managers.
(True)
14. Goal setting is one of the most influential theories of motivation.

(True)
15. The most effective goals are easy ones.

(False)
16. The performance appraisal meeting is the most important component of a

performance appraisal.
(True)
17. In the most effective performance appraisal meetings, criticism of the individual
personality traits is very important.
(False)
18. Quality expert Edward Deming has advocated for abolishing performance
appraisals in the workplace.
(True)
19. Adequate notice ensures that there is two-way communication during the
performance appraisal process.
(False)
20. If used on a short-term basis, relative ranking appraisals may help an

organization become more performance-oriented because they tend to weed out
employees with persistent performance problems.
(True)
21. To increase the effectiveness of performance meetings, increase employee

participation.
(True)
22. Attractive women are rated lower if they are employed in non-management jobs
and higher if they are in management jobs.
(False)
23. Leniency bias is a common problem in performance appraisals.

(True)

24. Merit pay is a permanent pay raise based on past performance.
(True)
25. In a pay system based upon commission, rewarding only sales volume could
encourage salesmen to heavily discount merchandise.
(True)
26. The notion of using incentives to increase performance is a very old idea,
actually going back to the time of Napoleon.
(True)
27. Gift cards as awards to employees are not appreciated because they are often
purchased for stores and restaurants that employees do not frequent.
(False)
28. The use of stock options remains a popular incentive technique in start-up
organizations.
(True)
29. Even though goal setting is a good motivational tool, there is strong evidence that
goal setting can also lead to unethical behavior.
(True)
30. One technique to reduce the likelihood of unethical behavior resulting from goal
setting is to create multiple levels of goals and distribute rewards according to the
goals achieved rather than rewarding only those who reach the highest goal.
(True)
31. Research suggests Indian employees are more satisfied when they are
empowered in the workplace than their counterparts in the United States or
Poland.
(False)
32. Some research shows that Chinese employees are more motivated than
American employees when the goals set for them are very difficult.
(True)
33. Countries high in power distance respond positively to appraisal systems where
lower level employees give feedback to their managers.
(False)
34. Research in Western countries suggests that empowerment is an effective tool to

motivate employees.
(True)
35. In China, goals high in specificity are more motivational in contrast to the low
specificity goals preferred by employees in Western cultures, including the United
States.
(False)

MULTIPLE CHOICE
Opening Section: Motivating Steel Workers Works: The Case of Nucor
36. Which of the following is a reason why Nucor Steel is so effective at motivating
its employees?
a. The incentive system penalizes lower performers and places strict limits
on how much can be made by those that perform well.
b. The firm has a centralized structure that retains decision making at upper
levels in the organization.
c. Employees have the opportunity to fix problems that they see occurring
during production.
d. Employees are only promoted from within the organization.
(c) Medium/Comprehension
Section I: Motivating Employees through Job Design
37. Which of the following factors has the most influence on worker motivation?
a. pay
b. growth opportunities
c. job design
d. recognition
(c) Easy/Knowledge
38. Scientific management’s primary focus is

a. goal setting.
b. efficiency.
c. flexibility.
d. motivation.
(b) Medium/Analysis
39. A key element of the scientific management philosophy is

a. using training and specific instructions to maximize task variety.
b. minimizing waste by identifying the most efficient method to perform the
job, while still retaining high levels of autonomy.
c. expanding the nature of tasks performed by employees to add more
variety to the job.
d. breaking down jobs into their simplest components to facilitate
specialization.
(d) Medium/Analysis

40. Job specialization
a. is breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them
to employees so that each person will perform a few tasks in a repetitive
manner.
b. refers to expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more
variety.
c. involves moving employees from job to job at regular intervals.
d. allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks.
(a) Easy/Knowledge
41. Which of the following is an advantage to job specialization?
a. Training costs are higher, but because of the specialized nature of tasks,
they are learned more fully.
b. The nature of the jobs leads to lower absenteeism.
c. Staffing costs are lower because the repetitive nature of tasks makes skill
requirements lower.
d. The nature of the jobs is especially effective in rapidly changing
environments.
(c) Difficult/Evaluation
42. Job rotation

to employees so that each person will perform a few tasks in a repetitive
manner.
variety.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
43. Job enlargement

to employees so that each person will perform few tasks in a repetitive
manner.
variety.
(b) Easy/Knowledge

44. Job enrichment
to employees so that each person will perform few tasks in a repetitive
manner.
variety.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
45. Frederick Taylor’s work led to a fundamental change in management philosophy.

The change
a. was understanding that managers could not influence the output levels of
employees.
b. was understanding that repetitive activities are the direct result of job
generalization.
c. paved the way for today’s automation and standardization.
d. was increasing the complexity of jobs in the workplace for greater
productivity.
(c) Difficult/Analysis
46. The local high school band needs to raise money to pay for a trip to New York
City. It decides to sell sandwiches. Early Saturday morning, 20 volunteers report
to the school cafeteria to make sandwiches. Stations are set up to make the 500
sandwiches ordered for that day. Station one has four individuals cutting
sandwich buns, station two has four individuals placing the meats on the rolls,
station three, etc. The individual who devised the sandwich-making production
plan is operating under a
a. job specialization approach.
b. job rotation approach.
c. job enlargement approach.
d. job enrichment approach.
(a) Difficult/Synthesis
47. Job specialization can

a. increase the number of employees needed to complete the job.
b. minimize training costs.
c. lead to greater motivation among employees.
d. be very effective in rapidly changing environments.
(b) Difficult/Evaluation
48. Which of the following statements is accurate regarding job rotation?

a. Rotation is the regular movement of employees through firm jobs.
b. Rotation leads to increased turnover.
c. Rotation is an opportunity for employees to use skills they already have.
d. Rotation leads to slightly elevated blood pressure measured in employees
using the process due to their movement between jobs.
(a) Easy/Comprehension

49. Which of the following is an advantage of job rotation?
a. employees become cross-trained due to their movement between jobs.
b. managers have greater scheduling flexibility in a job rotation system.
c. employees experience less boredom in a job rotation system.
d. all of the above.
(d) Medium/Comprehension
50. Stuart works on an auto assembly line. Last year he was responsible for welding
the upper panel of the wheel well onto the left rear wheel area. This year, he is
also responsible for welding all parts of the entire left rear wheel area. This auto
assembly line underwent a job re-design using the ________
________technique.
a. job specialization.
b. job enrichment.
c. job rotation.
d. job enlargement.
(d) Medium/Application
51. Which of the following statements is true about job design approaches?
a. Job rotation takes place only with lower level jobs in an organization.
b. Job enrichment may lead to employee frustration or dissatisfaction with
pay.
c. Job specialization is effective in rapidly changing work environments.
d. Job enlargement implementation leads employees to feel less capable of
performing job tasks.
(b) Difficult/Analysis
52. Which of the following statements about job enlargement is accurate?

a. Job enlargement has more positive effects when employees are given
more simple tasks.
b. When jobs are enlarged, employees view themselves as less capable.
c. Job enlargement is beneficial because it is positively related to higher
quality customer service.
d. The intent behind job enlargement is to decrease the variety of tasks to
be performed so that human resources are used effectively.
53. Which of the following statements about job enrichment are true?
a. Job enrichment may lead to dissatisfaction with one’s pay.
b. Job enrichment is a suitable technique to be used with any employee.
c. Job enrichment may be associated with reduced productivity and
increased absenteeism.
d. The technique allows employees to try out other job roles.
(a) Medium/Comprehension
54. Olaf works on an assembly line in an Oslo factory. Last month the assembly line
processes were overhauled. Olaf is still responsible for soldering electrical
contacts on an appliance component, but now he is also expected to review each
component for quality defects after he solders. If he notes any defects, he can
place the component in the scrap bin. If he scraps five such pieces in

succession, he is permitted to press an emergency button above his station,
which stops the assembly line completely. This job re-design is a reflection of the
_____ ______________ philosophy.
a. job rotation
b. job enlargement
c. job enrichment
d. job specialization
(c) Difficult/Synthesis
55. Maria works at a factory in Lima, Peru where she sews blue jeans for a major
American firm. On Mondays, she sews the side seams of the jeans, on Tuesdays
she sews on pockets, Wednesdays she presses finished jeans, Thursdays she
folds jeans, packages sets of twelve in shrink wrap and places them in boxes,
and on Friday she sews decorative stitching on the pockets and side seams.
Maria is working under the job design technique of
a. job specialization.
b. job enrichment.
c. job enlargement.
d. job rotation.
(d) Medium/Synthesis
56. Task identity refers to

a. the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high level
skills.
b. the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable
piece of work from start to finish.
c. whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s health, work or
well-being.
d. the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform
his tasks.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
57. Skill variety refers to

skills.
well-being.
his tasks.
(a) Easy/Knowledge

58. Feedback refers to
skills.
c. the degree to which people learn how effective they are being at work.
his tasks.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
59. Task significance refers to

skills.
well-being.
his tasks.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
60. Autonomy refers to

skills.
well-being.
his tasks.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
61. Which of the following is a core job characteristic in Hackman and Oldham’s job
characteristics model?
a. role variety
b. task importance
c. feedback
d. pay
(c) Easy/Knowledge
62. Which of the following is considered an outcome in Hackman and Oldham’s job
characteristics model?
a. task significance
b. feedback
c. satisfaction
d. task variety
(c) Easy/Knowledge

63. Which of the following is considered a psychological state in Hackman and
Oldham’s job characteristics model?
a. motivation
b. meaningfulness
c. creativity
d. engagement
(b) Medium/Knowledge
64. Which of the following best describes the elements of Hackman and Oldham’s
job characteristics model?
a. Three psychological states lead to five core job characteristics which lead
to five outcomes.
b. Five core job characteristics lead to five outcomes which produce three
psychological states.
c. Five core job characteristics lead to three psychological states which lead
to five outcomes.
d. Three psychological states lead to five outcomes which are analyzed for
five core job characteristics.
65. Which of the following psychological states has research identified as the most
important for employee attitudes and behaviors?
a. responsibility
b. knowledge of results
c. motivation
d. meaningfulness
(d) Medium/Knowledge
66. A fashion designer who creates pieces for a large fashion house for a New York
or Paris runway show has
a. high task identity.
b. low task identity.
c. low skill variety.
d. low autonomy.
(a) Medium/Synthesis
67. Employee autonomy

a. makes the employees more reactive in doing their jobs.
b. increases motivation at work.
c. decreases employee creativity.
d. decreases employee effectiveness.
(b) Medium/Comprehension
68. Which of the following statements regarding the relationship between feedback
and performance is true?
a. The mere presence of feedback is sufficient to motivate employees to
better performance.
b. Regardless of whether feedback is positive or negative in nature,
employees will feel motivated by it.
c. Feedback is detrimental to performance in about one-third of the cases.

d. The manner in which feedback is delivered has no bearing on its
motivation effects.
(c) Medium/Analysis
69. According to the formula for the motivating potential score of a job, the most
important elements in deciding motivation potential are
a. skill variety and autonomy.
b. task significance and task identity.
c. autonomy and feedback.
d. skill variety and feedback.
(c) Difficult/Analysis
70. Which of the following is true regarding the motivating potential of a job?
a. An employee whose expectation for his job is to pay the bills will have
high growth strength.
b. Even though a job is designed with the express purpose of motivating
individuals, some employees may not find the job motivational.
c. Career stage does not influence the importance of the five core
characteristics.
d. Employees with high growth need strength will respond less favorably to
jobs with high motivating potential.
71. In order to increase the feedback you receive, you could

a. avoid asking your superior for feedback. Managers will look less favorably
upon you if you continually bother them for feedback.
b. develop a positive relationship with your manager.
c. defend yourself by explaining your behavior when you receive negative
feedback.
d. seek positive feedback rather than negative feedback.
(b) Medium/Analysis
72. Structural empowerment

a. refers to making a person powerless.
b. is the degree to which a person has higher order needs such as esteem
and self-actualization.
c. refers to the aspects of the work environment that give employees
discretion, autonomy and the ability to do jobs effectively.
d. is the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform
his tasks.
(c) Medium/Knowledge

73. Which of the following factors determine empowerment?
a. structure
b. access to information
c. leadership style
d. all of the above
(d) Medium/Knowledge
74. ___________ is an example of felt empowerment.

a. Meaningful work
b. Leadership style
c. Organizational structure
d. Organizational climate
(a) Easy/Knowledge
75. One of the dimensions of structural empowerment is

a. meaningful work.
b. confidence that you can perform the job.
c. feeling that one has autonomy at work.
d. access to information.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
76. Which of the following statements is true about empowerment?

a. The notion of empowerment is appropriate for all employees.
b. Empowerment is a relatively easy concept to implement in the workplace.
c. Employees who are nervous about empowerment may also worry about
the increased responsibility.
d. Empowerment is not related to job performance.
(c) Medium/Analysis
77. To empower your employees,

a. retain information on the job until it is absolutely needed.
b. take away employee power so your manager accountability is not
compromised.
c. make sure managers continue to manage in such a manner that they are
stepping in with routine responses to issues.
d. change the company structure so employees have more power on the
job.
(d) Medium/Analysis
Section II: Motivating Employees through Goal-Setting
78. The “M” in “SMART” goals stands for

a. Measurable
b. Motivating
c. Minimal
d. Management
(a) Easy/Knowledge

79. Which of the following statements regarding SMART goals is correct?
a. Easy goals are the most effective goals.
b. When goals are specific, stress is higher.
c. Adding a time limit to a goal leads to short-term decision making and
ignoring the long term consequences.
d. Effective goals tend to be aggressive.
(d) Medium/Analysis
80. If you say to yourself, “As soon as I finish reading this chapter in my textbook, I
am going to play Guitar Hero for an hour,” this specific goal has motivated you
because
a. it has given you direction.
b. it has energized you to keep going until you have accomplished the goal.
c. it has provided you with self-esteem.
d. it has caused you to re-think how you are working.
(b) Medium/Application
81. Which of the following conditions contribute to the effectiveness of goal setting?
a. performance
b. goal commitment
c. time pressure
d. group, as opposed to individual goals.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
82. Under what conditions would SMART goals be most effective?

a. When managers have clearly established goals without employee input.
b. When employees feel the skill sets needed to perform a goal-oriented
task need to be upgraded.
c. When employees have a supportive and trusting relationship with their
managers.
d. When managers provide feedback to employees on a very irregular basis,
if at all.
(c) Medium/Synthesis

83. _______________ is (are) a downside to goal setting.
a. Learning decreases
b. Adaptability increases
c. Developing broadmindedness
d. Ethical problem decreases
(a) Easy/Knowledge
84. Though goal setting is usually viewed as a positive process, there can be
downsides if
a. employees can adapt their behaviors in response to unplanned for
threats.
b. employees lack skills necessary to reach the goals.
c. rewards are established for coming close to, as well as achieving a goal.
d. goals account not just for meeting, as an example, production quotas, but
also for meeting quality standards.
85. A management by objectives program includes

a. detaching individual goals from organizational strategy.
b. setting individual goals aligned with personal strategy.
c. developing action plans.
d. periodically reviewing your coworker’s goals.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
86. Which of the following is accurate for goal setting?

a. Management commitment is key to successful implementation of MBO
programs.
b. In general, there are no downsides to goal setting.
c. Goals should be easily achieved to be motivating.
d. Goals are more effective motivators if feedback on achievement is limited
so as not to divert attention from the goal to the feedback.
(a) Difficult/Synthesis
Section III: Motivating Employees through Performance Appraisals
87. Research on performance appraisal suggests

a. performance appraisal ratings are usually used only for feedback
purposes.
b. employees are always well aware of the basis for their evaluations.
c. as organizations become flatter, there is less need for multiple appraisal
perspectives like those of peers, customers and subordinates.
d. feedback is most effective if it immediately follows high or low
performance.
(d) Difficult/Evaluation
88. The most likely individual to rate an employee is

a. the employee’s supervisor.
b. a coworker of the employee.
c. a customer of the employee.

d. a subordinate of the employee.
89. 360-degree feedback is

a. designed to provide feedback for promotion or pay decisions.
b. designed to deal with all instances where competition between coworkers
is prevalent.
c. designed to provide feedback for developmental purposes.
d. the most frequently used form of performance appraisal in U.S. firms.
(c) Medium/Analysis
90. Fair hearing refers to

a. letting employees know what criteria are used in appraisal.
b. documenting performance problems and using factual evidence in rating
performance.
c. ensuring that there is two-way communication during the appraisal
process and the employee’s perspective is heard.
d. the process where feedback is confidentially gathered from peers,
customers and subordinates.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
91. Adequate notice refers to

performance.
(a) Easy/Knowledge

92. Judgment based on evidence refers to
performance.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
93. A relative ranking system is used when

a. students receive an A if they got 93% of the total points in a semester.
b. students receive weighted grades during a semester, like: 20 of 25 points
on a quiz worth 5% of the grade, and 10 of 15 on a quiz worth 3% of the
grade.
c. a college implements a system where 10% of the class will receive A,
20% will receive B, 70% will receive C, 20% will receive D and 10% will
receive F.
d. a student must take all quizzes to receive a C, a student must take all
quizzes and write a paper to receive a B, and a student must take all
quizzes, write a paper and do a presentation to receive an A.
(c) Difficult/Synthesis
94. Forced ranking systems, like that established by General Electric,

a. provide employees with concrete feedback on what their goals are for
next year.
b. are beneficial to a firm if they are used in a consistent manner and for a
long period of time.
c. can lead to employee stagnation and a performance-aversive culture.
d. can carry the danger of lawsuits because of equal employment
opportunity concerns with employees rated.
95. Performance appraisals are conducted in order to

a. document employee performance for pay and reward decisions.
b. provide employees with feedback for developmental purposes.
c. distribute bonuses, pay increases and promotions.
d. all of the above
(a) Medium/Comprehension
96. Conducting an effective performance appraisal meeting

a. is always easier if the rater begins the meeting with a criticism of the
employee and moves forward from there.
b. is always easier if the rater limits the number of opportunities the
employee has to speak.
c. is facilitated if the rater has empathy for the employee.
d. is easier if the rater completes the performance appraisal form as he talks
to the employee during the actual performance appraisal meeting.
(c) Medium/Synthesis

97. Raja and James are next-door neighbors and their sons are best friends. Raja
and James take the boys on many father-son outings. Raja is James’ boss at
ABC Corporation. James gets high ratings from Raja. There may be bias in those
ratings due to
a. leniency.
b. stereotypes.
c. contrast.
d. liking.
(d) Medium/Application
98. Renaldo is preparing to rate Marquez on his annual performance evaluation. As

he looks at the first item, Renaldo thinks about the meeting he had with Marquez
last week. Marquez shared with Renaldo that his wife was quite ill and that there
may be days when he would be called to the hospital unexpectedly. Renaldo
knows that a poor review will cost Marquez his bonus which Renaldo knows
would be very difficult for Marquez financially. Based on this, Renaldo may give
Marquez ratings that show ______________ bias.
a. liking
b. leniency
c. stereotype
d. recency
(b) Difficult/Synthesis
99. Which of the following statements about rating biases are true?
a. women in stereotypically male jobs are rated higher than women in
stereotypically female jobs.
b. attractive women are rated higher if they hold management jobs than if
they hold non-management positions.
c. liking someone may cause the rater to selectively remember positive
things about the person and thus rate him higher.
d. leniency bias can be addressed by having the rater use absolute
rankings.
Section IV: Motivating Employees Through Performance Incentives
100. Research on performance incentives suggests

a. employees report lower levels of pay satisfaction under pay-for-
performance systems.
b. firms with pay-for-performance systems have lower customer service.
c. eighty percent of all American companies use merit pay.
d. pay-for-performance systems are less effective at retaining higher
performing employees than praise or recognition systems.

101. A piece rate system refers to
a. a program providing one-time rewards to employees for specific
accomplishments.
b. a company-wide program where employees are rewarded for
performance gains compared to past performance.
c. a permanent pay raise based on past performance.
d. a program where employees are paid on the basis of individual output
produced.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
102. A mid-sized manufacturing company produced one thousand component

assemblies in July of this year, far exceeding the previous record of 843
assemblies. One week later, the firm had grills brought on site and employees
were treated to a steak luncheon. The steak grill-out is an example of
a. an award.
b. a bonus.
c. gainsharing.
d. merit pay.
(a) Easy/Evaluation
103. Which of the following statements regarding performance incentives is accurate?

a. Employees who are heavily rewarded by commissions may overwhelm
customers who provide them with a low probability of making a sale.
b. When awarded stock options, employees tend to hold on to them rather
than sell them.
c. Profit sharing is an effective way of tying employee pay to individual
effort.
d. Gainsharing programs can be successful if the payout formula is
generous and employees can participate in the management of the
company.
104. Which of the following statements regarding performance incentives is true?

a. Employees tend to hold onto stock options rather than sell them.
b. Merit pay is always a successful program because employees recognize
they will be rewarded only if performance increases.
c. Profit sharing is very effective in tying individual pay to employee effort.
d. Companies are increasingly choosing to implement team- or group-based
pay-for-performance programs over individual-based pay-for-performance
programs.

Section V: The Role of Ethics and National Culture
105. Which of the following statements regarding goal setting and ethics is true?
a. Research shows that teachers who are rewarded for their students’
success may give their students answers during tests to improve the test
scores.
b. The tendency to behave unethically occurs when employees know they
are going to achieve their goals.
c. Employees have two choices when goal accomplishment is rewarded:
work hard to reach the goals, or quit.
d. When a high percentage of a CEO’s pay package consists of stock
options, companies are less likely to misrepresent the financial situation
of the company.
(a) Difficult/Evaluation
106. Companies can reduce the temptation to behave unethically by

a. rewarding only those who reach high goals.
b. rewarding everyone including those who completely missed their goals.
c. withholding rewards from those who are demonstrating unethical
behaviors.
d. providing small recognitions for all behaviors even if the behavior has
unethical overtones so that no employee feels like he has been singled
out.
107. Which of the following statements is true regarding cultural aspects of motivation
in a work environment?
a. Mexican employees work very effectively in self-managed teams.
b. Indian employees are very satisfied when they are empowered.
c. Chinese employees are very motivated when goals are very difficult.
d. Peer appraisals are very effective in collectivism cultures.
108. Which of the following statements regarding culture and designing a motivating
work environment is true?
a. countries high in power distance respond positively to appraisal systems
where lower level employees give performance feedback to their
managers.
b. the paternalistic nature of Mexican companies makes methods of
increasing employee empowerment easy to implement.
c. workers in India tend to respond positively to empowerment.
d. in China, goals with low specificity are more motivational than those with
high specificity.
Closing Section: A Different Take to Engaging Employees: The Case of

Netflix

109. Netflix knows that in order to be successful under their current management
practices, they need employees with a very strong work ethic who can self-
manage. In order to ensure this they invest heavily in
a. recruitment and selection efforts.
b. onboarding programs for new employees.
c. training and development of current employees.
d. all of the above.
FILL IN THE BLANK
110. The philosophy of _____________ _____________focuses on the most efficient

method to perform a job.
(scientific management)
111. ____ _______________ breaks down jobs into their simplest components and
assigns them to employees so that they can perform tasks in a repetitive manner.
(Job specialization)
112. An auto assembly worker who works on the left rear wheel bolts on Monday, the
right front headlight screws on Tuesday, the front grille connectors on
Wednesday, the right rear wheel bolts on Thursday and the left front screws on
Friday is working under a ________ ____________ system.
(job rotation)
113. The job characteristics model features the psychological states of

_____________, _______________, and _____________________.
(meaningfulness, responsibility, and knowledge of results)
114. _____________ has been identified as the most important psychological state
affected by job characteristics.
(meaningfulness)
115. An organizational behavior instructor who develops a unique teamwork project

for use in her classroom will have high __________ _______ with the project.
(task identity)
116. __________ ________ ___________ describes the degree to which a person

has higher-order needs such as esteem and self-actualization.
(Growth need strength)
117. Employees who feel motivated and have discretion to make decisions about the
content and context of their job are __________________.
(empowered)
118. A Harley-Davidson employee’s authority to stop the assembly line if he sees a

blemish on the product indicates he has ___________________ empowerment.
(structural)
119. The acronym, SMART, stands for___________, ______________,__________,

realistic and time-bound when discussing goal setting.

(specific, measurable, aggressive)
120. The degree to which a person is dedicated to reaching the goal is called _______
_____________________.
(goal commitment)
121. ______________________is the process in which a rater or raters evaluate an

employee’s performance.
(Performance appraisal)
122. ___-_________ _______________ is the process where supervisors, peers,
subordinates, and sometimes even customers provide that will later be shared
with the employee for developmental purposes.
(360-degree feedback)
123. _______ ________ ensures that there is two-way communication during the
appraisal process and the employee’s story is heard.
(Fair hearing)
124. If you answer 90% of the questions right on an exam, you get an A, if you get
80% correct, you get a B, and so on. This approach to grading an exam uses
a(n) __________ _________ criteria.
(absolute rating)
125. If a manager does not want to have a confrontation with an employee or wants to
avoid hurting that employee’s chances of getting a bonus, he may give the
employee a rating higher than warranted. This bias in performance appraisal is
called ______________.
(leniency)
126. Beliefs about different groups that may be generalized to an employee who is
being evaluated, even though those beliefs may have little basis in reality, leads
to a _____________ bias in performance evaluation.
(stereotype)
127. History suggests that one of the first incentive plans in place was when Napoleon
promised 12,000 francs to anyone who could find a way to preserve food for the
army. This is an example of a ____________.
(bonus)
128. Fruit pickers are often paid based on the amount of fruit they pick in a day. This
is an example of a ______ _______ _______ system.
(piece rate incentive)
129. A one-time reward that follows a specific accomplishment is called a _________.

(bonus)
130. The purpose of ________ __________ is to align company and employee

interests by making employees owners.
(stock options)

131. _____________ is a company-wide program where employees are rewarded for
performance gains compared to past performance.
(Gainsharing)
132. Research suggests Chinese employees are much more motivated by

____________ goals than their American counterparts.
(difficult)
SHORT ANSWERS
133. Describe one key feature of Frederick Taylor’s scientific management

philosophy.
Based on his observations, Taylor saw a need for standardizing job tasks as a
way to minimize waste. Under this approach, each job would be carefully
planned in advance, and employees would be paid to perform the tasks in the
way specified by management.
Another key feature of Taylor’s approach was job specialization which refers to
breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to
employees so that each person would perform a select number of tasks in a
repetitive manner.
134. How do the job design techniques of job enlargement and job enrichment differ?
Job enlargement is the process of expanding the number and kind of tasks
performed by the employee to add more variety in his work.
Job enrichment is the process where workers have more control over how they
perform their tasks.
The key difference between the two is the nature of control, authority or
responsibility the worker has under job enrichment. For example, in job
enlargement, the employee may be responsible on an auto assembly line for the
entire left rear wheel component. There are, obviously, a number of specific
tasks that would be part of producing that component. The job would be
enriched, if in addition to completing tasks to produce the left rear wheel
component, the employee was also responsible for checking the quality of the
assembly arriving at his work station. If the incoming assembly had quality
defects, the enriched worker might be able to stop the entire assembly line.
135. Describe the process of job rotation as it applies to an employee in your college’s
photocopying center.
A variety of jobs are performed at most college photocopy centers. Clearly

exams and professor handouts are produced there, but there are also a number
of binding activities, packing large orders, delivery of orders, and so on that are
completed there. One example of a job rotation might be if on Monday, employee
A would be responsible for receipt and logging of all job orders either sent
through campus mail or delivered in person to the center. On Tuesday, employee

A might be stationed at the copy machine doing the actual copying of work. That
same employee might move to the spiral binding machine on Wednesday and
the flat binding machine on Thursday. Friday would find employee A delivering
completed jobs to individual offices throughout the campus. Each individual job is
broken down to its simple parts for easy training. As the repetition of the tasks
occurs, quality improves, as does efficiency. The rotation between the jobs
addresses any monotony that might arise from completing the same tasks on a
daily basis.
136. List and define the core job characteristics found in the Hackman and Oldham’s
model.
Skill variety is the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high
level skills.
Task identity is the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an

identifiable piece of work from start to finish.
Task significance is whether a person’s job substantially affects other people’s

work, health or well-being.
Autonomy is the degree to which a person had the freedom to decide how to
perform his tasks.
Feedback is the degree to which people learn how effective they are being at
work.
137. What is the formula to calculate the motivating potential score (MPS) of a job,
and what is the purpose of the score?
MPS = Skill variety + Task Identity + Task significance x Autonomy x Feedback

3
The formula suggests that autonomy and feedback are the most important
elements in deciding the motivating potential compared to skill variety, task
identity and task significance. The purpose of the formula is to assess the
motivating potential of a job.
138. What is the difference between felt empowerment and structural empowerment?
Structural empowerment refers to the aspects of the work environment that give
employees discretion, autonomy and the ability to do their jobs effectively.
Felt empowerment is the condition where employees find the work to be

meaningful, feeling confident that they can perform the job, feeling that they have
discretion and autonomy at work and having the ability to influence how the
company operates.

139. What does each of the letters in the acronym, SMART, mean?
S is Specific.
M is Measurable.
A is Aggressive.
R is Realistic.
T is Time-bound.
140. Write a SMART goal.
To eliminate 25% of the solid waste from US stores by the year 2015 (Wal-Mart)
141. Explain why goals can be motivating.
Goals give us direction. The goals tell you what to focus on; so they should be
set carefully. Employee goals should be aligned with company goals.
Goals energize employees. Even if you are tired of working toward a goal, having
a specific goal in mind energizes you.
Goals present challenges. When goals are set and people reach them, they feel
a sense of accomplishment.
SMART goals urge you to think outside the box and re-think how you are
working. Goals have to be challenging and somewhat difficult to motivate.
142. Describe two conditions under which goals are more effective.
Goals are more effective when there is feedback. The feedback helps indicate
the progression to goal accomplishment.
Employees should have the skills, knowledge and abilities to reach their goals.
Employees should be committed to the goals.
Goals should be challenging, not easy, and not extremely difficult.
143. Are there any downsides to goal setting? Explain.
Yes, setting goals for specific outcomes may hamper employee performance if
those employees lack skills and abilities needed to reach those goals. Therefore,
goals should be set for learning, not outcomes, so the learning decreases can be
addressed.
Goal setting may prevent employees from adapting and changing their behaviors
in response to unforeseen threats. In short, adaptability declines.

Goals tend to focus employee behavior on activities that are measured, and thus
people sacrifice other important elements of performance as a single-
mindedness develops.
Finally, an aggressive pursuit of goals can lead to unethical behaviors. If rewards

are given only for achievement of goals and not for coming close, some
employees may do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
144. List the steps of the management by objectives (MBO) approach.
1. Make sure individual goals support team goals and team goals support the
company strategy.
2. Specifically, company-wide goals should be derived from corporate strategy.
3.Team and department goals are then determined making sure they derive from
the company goals.
4. Individual goals are collaboratively set between the employee and the
supervisor that are aligned with the corporate strategy.
5. An action plan is developed.
6. The performance goals are periodically reviewed and revised.
145. How does 360-degree feedback differ from the more traditional feedback
systems?
360-degree feedback is a system where all sources share, in a confidential

manner, feedback on an employee for developmental purposes. These sources
include peers, coworkers, supervisors and customers. The traditional feedback
system usually involves only supervisors
146. What are the three characteristics of appraisals that increase the perception that
they are fair?
Adequate notice involves letting employees know what criteria will be used
during the appraisal.
Fair hearing means ensuring that two-way communication occurs during the
appraisal process and making certain that the employee’s story is heard.
Judgment based on evidence involves documenting performance problems and

using factual evidence as opposed to personal opinions when rating
performance.

147. Differentiate between absolute and relative ranking.
Absolute rating is the situation when your performance is rated based upon some
objective criteria.
Relative rating is when your rating depends on how your objective performance
compares with the rest of the group evaluated.
148. Name and define three common biases in performance appraisals.
Liking is when the rater and the ratee have an existing relationship. The feelings
of like or dislike can bias the ratings.
Leniency is when managers give employees ratings that are higher than what is
warranted.
Stereotypes are beliefs about different groups that are generalized to the person
in question even if that belief has little basis in reality.
149. Name two types of individual incentives and describe each.
Piece rate incentives are when employees are paid on the basis of individual
output produced.
Bonuses are onetime rewards that follow specific accomplishments of

employees.
Merit pay involves giving employees permanent pay raises based on past
performance.
Sales commissions reward sales employees with a percentage of sales volume

or profit generated.
Awards are methods that convey appreciation for worker performance and
include such items as plaques, mugs, and gift cards.
150. Name and describe two group- or team-based incentives.
Team bonuses are one-time rewards that follow specific accomplishments of

teams of employees.
Gainsharing is a company-wide program where employees are rewarded for

performance gains compared to past performance. An example of this is labor
cost savings.
Profit sharing involves sharing a percentage of company profits with all

employees.

Stock options give an employee the right, but not the obligation, to purchase
company stocks at a predetermined price.
ESSAY
151. Using the concepts of job design, goal setting and incentive systems, discuss
how Nucor Steel Company successfully motivates its employees.
Nucor employees act almost like owners on their jobs. They are encouraged to
fix things when they see they are wrong and have appropriate power to do so.
Nucor Steel is very well known for pushing authority and responsibility down to
the lowest levels in the hierarchy, which shows how effectively the firm has
designed jobs for enrichment.
Incentive systems at Nucor are so effective that Nucor employees are the highest
paid steel workers in the world. Much of the earnings comes from ties to
performance; in fact everyone, including the CEO, has pay tied to corporate
performance. The system is such that low performers are penalized while high
performance is rewarded and employees become increasingly committed to the
firm.
The formula for Nucor success is simple: Align company goals to employee goals
and give employees power to make things happen. The employee turnover rate
is one of the lowest in the industry and the firm one of the most successful.
152. Choose a job. Using Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics model, analyze
that job for its motivational properties. Comment on ways to enhance the job’s
motivational properties and potential.
Example job is college instructor.
Skill variety of the job would be high as instructors teach, develop materials,
tutor, counsel, etc.
Task identity is high since the instructor has her own course and teaches it as
she sees fit throughout the entire semester or term.
Task significance is also high as the instructor’s job affects students’ well-being
among others.
Autonomy is high as instructors have the freedom to choose their own textbooks,
make their own handouts, exams, etc.
Feedback is high as instructors are evaluated formally by their students, by their

deans and by other groups including informally on websites such as
ratemyprofessor.com.
These five factors lead to the instructors perceiving high meaningfulness in their

work where they are responsible for outcomes (student grades) and acquire
knowledge of results (how the students perform as well as how the instructor
performs).
This, in turn, leads to overall job satisfaction, internal motivation, higher

performance and lower absenteeism and turnover.
Enhancing the motivational potential could occur through increasing autonomy

and feedback to their highest levels possible.
153. Jerome had been working in an accounting department for nine months and has
not received much feedback from his supervisor. What steps could he undertake
to increase the feedback he is receiving?
Jerome can first seek the feedback, instead of trying to guess how he is doing.
Jerome’s manager will become aware that Jerome cares about his performance
and wants to be successful.
Jerome needs to be genuine in his desire to learn. He does not want to suggest
to the manager that he is only giving an impression of being motivated, but is
sincerely interested in improving his performance.
Jerome needs to develop a good relationship with his manager so that he can
ask questions about his performance.
Jerome should also find trustworthy peers who can share information regarding
his performance.
Finally, Jerome should be gracious in receiving his feedback.
154. Matilda is a new sales manager in a pharmaceutical organization. She decides

that she wants to implement an MBO (management by objectives) approach in
that department. Describe the steps she will complete to institute such a
program.
Matilda will begin the process by setting company-wide goals derived from the
pharmaceutical organization’s strategy. From that, team- and department-level
goals are set. Next individual level goals will be collaboratively set between
Matilda and her employee. Both Matilda and the employee must ensure that the
goals are aligned with corporate strategy. Once the goals are set, an action plan
is developed and implemented. Periodically, performance is reviewed and goals
revised as needed.
155. Brett has been a manager of the accounting department for eight months now.
He will be holding his first performance appraisal meetings in the next few days.
Describe some ways in which he could enhance the effectiveness of those
performance appraisal meetings.
Present feedback in a constructive manner, focusing not on criticizing the person,

but on discussing performance problems.

Increase employee participation throughout the meeting. When employees have
the opportunity to present their side of the story, they react more positively to the
overall appraisal process and feel the system to be fair.
Be knowledgeable about the employee’s performance and the job that is being
evaluated.
Prepare before the actual meeting. You might have the employee complete a
self-appraisal. The rater definitely should have his form completed before the
meeting with specific examples of each kind of behavior evaluated indicated on
that form. Also, handle all the logistics of that meeting, including having sufficient
time to actually conduct the meeting.
During the actual meeting, show empathy and support for the employee. One
way to do so is to avoid opening the meeting with a criticism of the employee.
Keep in mind that criticism of performance is acceptable but not of the person.
After the meeting, make a conscious attempt to maintain a steady feedback

schedule with the employee and to follow through on all goals set during the
appraisal meeting.
156. Harvard uses a forced choice ranking system in evaluating a number of classes
in its business curriculum. In this system, for example, 10% of the students might
receive As, 20% Bs, 60% Cs and 10% Ds. Discuss the potential issues
surrounding such a grading system.
Students admitted to Harvard are already outstanding students or high

performers. To then place them in a situation where they are forced into
recognition that some of them are not high performers, but essentially “failures” is
problematic. While some students clearly will not be able to make the transition
from high school to Harvard, a large number of them will. To assume that only
10% of them will perform well enough to receive As is a bit of a stretch. Those
students who have worked very hard and do not receive the grades they believe
they deserve due to these artificial standards could experience a real lack of
motivation. In general, this system may be counterproductive in the educational
setting.
157. Discuss an incentive system that an inner city school system might use to
motivate teachers. Describe why you chose this incentive system.
Merit pay is an incentive system being considered by a number of school

systems. The system involves giving employees a permanent increase in pay
based upon past performance. The notion of how to measure such performance
in the education setting is, of course, controversial. Some options being instituted
include rewarding teachers for increased standardized test scores and higher
graduation rates. A formula is established whereby for every point higher a class
scores on a standardized test compared to the previous year, a certain bonus is
paid.

158. Discuss some of the research findings on goal setting and ethical behavior.
In general, goal setting and rewarding employees for achievement of those goals
are successfully implemented by firms. However, in some settings, unintended
consequences arise where unethical behavior arises. If goal accomplishment
leads to rewards and the rewards are desirable, employees may feel they have
only two choices: work hard to achieve the goals, or cheat.
There is a multitude of examples of unethical behavior undertaken by employees

to achieve desirable rewards. Sanitation workers have taken trucks far over their
legal limit to landfills, car repair places have found phantom problems with cars
brought in for a check-up and CEOs have exercised stock options at
questionable times, to provide just a few examples.
To address some of these concerns, it has been proposed that reward

achievement not be an all-or-nothing proposition, but that various reward levels
be established to address those who fall just short of the established goal.
159. Discuss some of the research on goal setting and performance appraisal in other
cultures.
There are differences in the motivational impact of goal setting, depending on the
culture in question. American employees need challenging but not difficult goals
to be motivated. The Chinese, in contrast, are more motivated when the goals
are difficult.
Specific goals motivate salespeople from Western cultures. Again, in China, low-
specificity goals are more motivational.

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Organizational Behavior V2.

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 1

4. Leaving employees free to choose job performance methods is an important

8. In a supermarket study, cashiers rotated through different departments had lower

9. Research shows that the psychological state of meaningfulness is the most

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 2

12. Access to information is a key factor in empowering employees.

14. Goal setting is one of the most influential theories of motivation.

15. The most effective goals are easy ones.

16. The performance appraisal meeting is the most important component of a

20. If used on a short-term basis, relative ranking appraisals may help an

21. To increase the effectiveness of performance meetings, increase employee

23. Leniency bias is a common problem in performance appraisals.

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 3

34. Research in Western countries suggests that empowerment is an effective tool to

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 4

Opening Section: Motivating Steel Workers Works: The Case of Nucor

Section I: Motivating Employees through Job Design

38. Scientific management’s primary focus is

39. A key element of the scientific management philosophy is

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 5

41. Which of the following is an advantage to job specialization?

42. Job rotation

43. Job enlargement

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 6

45. Frederick Taylor’s work led to a fundamental change in management philosophy.

47. Job specialization can

48. Which of the following statements is accurate regarding job rotation?

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 7

52. Which of the following statements about job enlargement is accurate?

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 8

56. Task identity refers to

57. Skill variety refers to

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 9

59. Task significance refers to

60. Autonomy refers to

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 10

67. Employee autonomy

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 11

71. In order to increase the feedback you receive, you could

72. Structural empowerment

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 12

74. ___________ is an example of felt empowerment.

75. One of the dimensions of structural empowerment is

76. Which of the following statements is true about empowerment?

77. To empower your employees,

Section II: Motivating Employees through Goal-Setting

78. The “M” in “SMART” goals stands for

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 13

82. Under what conditions would SMART goals be most effective?

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 14

85. A management by objectives program includes

86. Which of the following is accurate for goal setting?

Section III: Motivating Employees through Performance Appraisals

87. Research on performance appraisal suggests

88. The most likely individual to rate an employee is

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 15

89. 360-degree feedback is

90. Fair hearing refers to

91. Adequate notice refers to

©2015 Flat World Knowledge, Inc. 16

93. A relative ranking system is used when

94. Forced ranking systems, like that established by General Electric,

95. Performance appraisals are conducted in order to

110. The philosophy of _ _focuses on the most efficient

116. _ describes the degree to which a person

119. The acronym, SMART, stands for_, ,__,

130. The purpose of __ is to align company and employee