TOPIC 5: FOUNDATIONS OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
Section A: MCQ
Choose the most appropriate answer.
1. / The popularity of employee engagement is partly due to preliminary evidence that it improves:A. / Organisational effectiveness
B. / Organisational branches
C. / Organisational engagement
D. / Organisational sales
2. / The challenge facing organisational leaders is that most employees aren't very ______.
A. / Defined
B. / Honest
C. / Engaged
D. / Active
3. / People with a strong need for achievement wish to accomplish:
A. / Challenging goals
B. / Organisational feedback
C. / Unambiguous feedback
D. / All of options listed here are correct
4. / Emotions play a significant role in:
A. / Employers have difficulty understanding the different needs and
expectations that younger generation employees bring to the workplace
B. / There are more layers of management today, which makes it more
difficult to motivate everyone in management positions
C. / Corporate downsizing and reduced job security have damaged the levels
of trust employees need to work beyond minimum levels
D. / Engaging the workforce involves a range of strategies which take into
account its diversity.
5. / Maslow's needs hierarchy explicitly names the following needs EXCEPT:
A. / Everyone has the same needs hierarchy
B. / No one ever experiences self-actualisation
C. / Motivation is caused by the environment, not by internal thoughts or
emotions
D. / Motivation theories should consider need gratification, not just
need deprivation
6 / Which of these theories states that we are motivated by several needs, but the strongest source is the lowest unsatisfied need?
A. / Four-drive theory
B. / Needs hierarchy theory
C. / Equity theory
D. / Distributive justice theory
7. / Needs hierarchy theory fails to explain the dynamics of employee motivation mainly because:
A. / No one ever experiences growth or self-actualisation
B. / People do not have a needs hierarchy
C. / People try to fulfil their physiological or existence needs before
they fulfil their relatedness or belongingness needs
D. / People have drives, not needs
8. / Which of the following basic needs is explicitly stated in needs hierarchy theory and theory of learned needs?
A. / Physiological needs
B. / Power needs
C. / Financial needs
D. / None of the options listed here is correct
9. / Jane holds a well-paying job with good job security. She also gets along well with colleagues, but has been frustrated in her attempts to receive more challenging assignments. Due to this frustration, Jane now spends more time enjoying social relations with colleagues. Which drive is she now focusing on?
A. / Drive to acquire
B. / Drive to defend
C. / Drive to comprehend
D. / Drive to bond
10. / Which of these motivation theories arranges employee needs in a hierarchy of importance?
A. / Maslow's needs theory
B. / Four-drive theory
C. / Expectancy theory
D. / McClelland's learned needs theory
11. / Which of these occurs when a consequence decreases the frequency or future probability of a behaviour?
A. / Negative reinforcement
B. / Positive reinforcement
C. / Punishment
D. / Extinction
12. / In four-drive theory, the drive ______is most closely associated with social identity theory.
A. / To bond
B. / For fairness
C. / To defend
D. / To acquire
13. / According to four-drive theory, the drive ______is a fundamental ingredient in the success of organisations and development of societies.
A. / To defend
B. / For fairness
C. / To bond
D. / To acquire
14. / Which drive in four-drive theory is reactive rather than proactive?
A. / Drive to acquire
B. / Drive to learn
C. / Drive to defend
D. / Drive to bond
15. / Which of the following employee motivation theories does NOT arrange needs in a hierarchy of importance?
A. / Maslow's theory
B. / Needs hierarchy theory
C. / McClelland's learned needs theory
D. / All of the options listed here are correct
16. / The desire to seek approval from others, conform to their wishes and expectations, and avoid conflict and confrontations is called:
A. / Need for affiliation
B. / Need for power
C. / Need for achievement
D. / Need for safety
17. / Research has found that entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed if they have:
A. / A low need for socialised power
B. / A high need for personalised power
C. / A high need for affiliation
D. / A high need for achievement
18. / People with a high need for affiliation:
A. / Want to form positive relationships with others and try to project a favourable image
of themselves
B. / Try to smooth out conflicts that occur in meetings and other social settings
C. / Tend to work well in coordinating roles
D. / All of the options listed here are correct
19. / Expectancy theory mainly helps us to predict an individual's:
A. / Effort
B. / Need for achievement
C. / Distributive justice
D. / Job satisfaction
20. / Which of these is found in the expectancy theory model?
A. / P-to-O expectancy
B. / E-to-F expectancy
C. / V-to-E expectancy
D. / P-to-E expectancy
21. / In expectancy theory, valence refers to the:
A. / Amount of effort a person puts towards a known goal
B. / Individual's perceived probability of performing the task at a
particular level
C. / Anticipated satisfaction or dissatisfaction that an individual feels towards an outcome
D. / Individual's perceived probability that his or her performance will
lead to specific outcomes
22. / Employee motivation tends to increase when people are assigned to jobs for which they are qualified and they receive coaching to improve their self-confidence. Both of these practices improve employee motivation by:
A. / Increasing outcome valences
B. / Satisfying existence needs
C. / Increasing P-to-O expectancies
D. / Increasing E-to-P expectancies
23. / One way to increase employee motivation by improving the P-to-O expectancies is to:
A. / Measure employee performance accurately
B. / Convince employees that they are able to accomplish the task
C. / Select employees with the required skills and knowledge
D. / Provide sufficient time and resources to perform the task
24. / Feedback affects behaviour and job performance by improving which of the following?
A. / Motivation
B. / Role perceptions
C. / Learned ability
D. / All of the options listed here are correct
25. / 360-degree feedback tends to:
A. / Be perceived as less accurate than feedback only from the supervisor
B. / Be more effective when the results are used to determine pay increases and
promotions, not just employee development
C. / Be more ambiguous and conflicting than when feedback comes only
from the supervisor
D. / All of the answers are correct
Section B: Essays
Question 1
Describe McClelland's three needs for achievement.
Question 2
You want production employees at your company to be more motivated to complete their assignments more efficiently. They are confident that they can perform their jobs more efficiently and the rewards you give employees (pay cheques, paid time off, etc.) are valued by these people. Identify the one element of expectancy theory that requires improvement and identify three possible actions that would increase employee motivation through this element.
Question 3
How do drives and needs differ and how do they translate into felt needs and behaviour?
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