Chapter 12: Motivating Employees

Question 1

Motivation

Answer 1

Psychological processes that arouse and direct goal-directed behavior

Question 2

Extrinsic rewards

Answer 2

The payoff, such as money, that a person receives from others for performing a particular task

Question 3

Intrinsic rewards

Answer 3

The satisfaction, such as a feeling of accomplishment, a person receives from performing a task

Question 4

Content perspectives

Answer 4

Also known as need-based perspectives; theories that emphasize the needs that motivate people

Question 5

Needs

Answer 5

Physiological or psychological deficiencies that arouse behavior

Question 6

Hierarchy of needs theory

Answer 6

Psychological structure proposed by Maslow whereby people are motivated by five levels of needs: (1) physiological, (2) safety, (3) love, (4) esteem, and (5) self-actualization

Question 7

Acquired needs theory

Answer 7

Theory that states that there are three needs—achievement, affiliation, and power—that are the major motives determining people’s behavior in the workplace

Question 8

Self-determination theory

Answer 8

Theory that assumes that people are driven to try to grow and attain fulfillment, with their behavior and well-being influenced by three innate needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness

Question 9

Two-factor theory

Answer 9

Theory that proposes that work satisfaction and dissatisfaction arise from two different work factors—work satisfaction from so-called motivating factors and work dissatisfaction from so-called hygiene factors

Question 10

Hygiene factors

Answer 10

Factors associated with job dissatisfaction—such as salary, working conditions, interpersonal relationships, and company policy—all of which affect the job context or environment in which people work

Question 11

Motivating factors

Answer 11

Factors associated with job satisfaction—such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, and advancement—all of which affect the job content or the rewards of work performance

Question 12

Process perspectives

Answer 12

Theories of employee motivation concerned with the thought processes by which people decide how to act: expectancy theory, equity theory, and goal-setting theory

Question 13

Equity theory

Answer 13

In the area of employee motivation, the focus on how employees perceive how fairly they think they are being treated compared with others

Question 14

Distributive justice

Answer 14

Reflects the perceived fairness of how resources and rewards are distributed or allocated

Question 15

Procedural justice

Answer 15

The perceived fairness of the process and procedures used to make allocation decisions

Question 16

Interactional justice

Answer 16

Relates to how organizational representatives treat employees in the process of implementing procedures and making decisions

Question 17

Voice

Answer 17

Employees’ expression of work-related concerns, ideas, and/or constructive suggestions to managers

Question 18

Justice climate

Answer 18

Relates to the shared sense of fairness felt by the entire workgroup

Question 19

Expectancy theory

Answer 19

Theory that suggests that people are motivated by two things: (1) how much they want something and (2) how likely they think they are to get it

Question 20

Expectancy

Answer 20

The belief that a particular level of effort will lead to a particular level of performance

Question 21

Instrumentality

Answer 21

The expectation that successful performance of the task will lead to the outcome desired

Question 22

Valence

Answer 22

The value or the importance a worker assigns to a possible outcome or reward

Question 23

Goal-setting theory

Answer 23

Employee-motivation approach that employees can be motivated by goals that are specific and challenging but achievable

Question 24

Stretch goals

Answer 24

Goals beyond what someone actually expects to achieve

Question 25

Learning goal oreintation

Answer 25

Sees goals as a way of developing competence through the acquisition of new skills

Question 26

Performance goal orientation

Answer 26

A way of demonstrating and validating a competence we already have by seeking the approval of others

Question 27

Job design

Answer 27

The division of an organization’s work among its employees and the application of motivational theories to jobs to increase satisfaction and performance

Question 28

Scientific management

Answer 28

Management approach that emphasizes the scientific study of work methods to improve the productivity of individual workers

Question 29

Job enlargement

Answer 29

Increasing the number of tasks in a job to increase variety and motivation

Question 30

Job enrichment

Answer 30

Building into a job such motivating factors as responsibility, achievement, recognition, stimulating work, and advancement

Question 31

Job characteristics model

Answer 31

The job design model that consists of five core job characteristics that affect three critical psychological states of an employee that in turn affect work outcomes—the employee’s motivation, performance, and satisfaction

Question 32

Law of effect

Answer 32

Behavior with favorable consequences tends to be repeated, while behavior with unfavorable consequences tends to disappear

Question 33

Reinforcement theory

Answer 33

The belief that behavior reinforced by positive consequences tends to be repeated, whereas behavior reinforced by negative consequences tends not to be repeated

Question 34

Positive reinforcement

Answer 34

The use of positive consequences to strengthen a particular behavior

Question 35

Negative reinforcement

Answer 35

Process of strengthening a behavior by withdrawing something negative

Question 36

Extinction

Answer 36

The weakening of behavior by ignoring it or making sure it is not reinforced

Question 37

Punishment

Answer 37

The process of weakening behavior by presenting something negative or withdrawing something positive

Question 38

Pay for performance

Answer 38

Situation in which an employee’s pay is based on the results he or she achieves

Question 39

Piece rate

Answer 39

Pay based on how much output an employee produces

Question 40

Sales commission

Answer 40

The percentage of a company’s earnings as the result of a salesperson’s sales that is paid to that salesperson

Question 41

Bonuses

Answer 41

Cash awards given to employees who achieve specific performance objectives

Question 42

Profit sharing

Answer 42

The distribution to employees of a percentage of the company’s profits

Question 43

Gainsharing

Answer 43

The distribution of savings or “gains” to groups of employees who reduce costs and increase measurable productivity

Question 44

Stock options

Answer 44

The right to buy a company’s stock at a future date for a discounted price

Question 45

Pay for knowledge

Answer 45

Situation in which employees’ pay is tied to the number of job-relevant skills they have or academic degrees they earn

Question 46

Work-life benefits

Answer 46

Consist of initiatives and programs that employers implement in an effort to help employees balance the often competing needs of their work and home lives

Question 47

Well-being

Answer 47

The combined impact of five elements—positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement (PERMA)

Question 48

Flourishing

Answer 48

Represents the extent to which our lives contain PERMA resulting in “goodness . . . growth, and resilience

Question 49

Meaningfulness

Answer 49

Is characterized by a sense of being part of something you believe is bigger than yourself

Question 50

Reinforcement

Answer 50

Anything that causes a given behavior to be repeated or inhibited; the four types are positive, negative, extinction, and punishment