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Q:
Post-decisional justification gives people an excessively optimistic evaluation of their decisions, until they receive very clear and undeniable information to the contrary.
Q:
Scenario planning is a systematic process of thinking about alternative futures and what the organization should do to anticipate and react to those environments.
Q:
Intuition operates independently of the programmed decision routines that speed up our response to pattern matches or mismatches.
Q:
Intuition is based on mental templates or models representing tacit knowledge about a situation.
Q:
Intuition allows us to draw on our tacit knowledge to guide our decision preferences.
Q:
When making important decisions, we "listen in" on our emotions to guide our preference among the decision alternatives.
Q:
When in a positive mood, people pay more attention to details and follow a nonprogrammed decision routine.
Q:
The emerging emotional view of decision making states that people form preferences toward alternatives as soon as they receive information about those alternatives.
Q:
Research suggests that decision makers do not evaluate several alternatives when they find an opportunity.
Q:
One of the reasons people use satisficing rather than maximization when making decisions is that they lack the capacity and motivation to process the huge volume of information required to identify the best choice.
Q:
The clustering illusion is the tendency to see patterns from a small sample of events when those events are, in fact, random.
Q:
The representativeness heuristic is a natural tendency to assign higher probabilities to objects or events that are easier to recall from memory.
Q:
Although the implicit favorite comparison process seems to be hardwired in human decision making, it often undermines effective decision making.
Q:
Decision makers typically look at alternatives sequentially and compare each alternative with an implicit favorite.
Q:
The rational choice paradigm assumes that decision makers have limited information-processing capabilities and engage in a limited search for alternatives.
Q:
According to bounded rationality theory, people make the best decisions when their perceptions are "bounded" or framed by past experience.
Q:
Preconceived mental models formed by our cognitive structure help us make better and accurate decisions.
Q:
Decision makers have a need to reduce uncertainty, so they tend to engage in solution-focused problem identification.
Q:
The decision-making process is more effective when problems are defined in terms of their solutions.
Q:
One reason why the problem identification stage is imperfect is that various stakeholders try to frame the decision maker's view of the situation.
Q:
The last step in the rational decision-making model is to evaluate the decision outcomes.
Q:
The rational choice decision paradigm recommends choosing the alternative with a moderate subjective expected utility.
Q:
The rational choice paradigm assumes that obtaining all possible information about all possible alternatives and their outcomes when selecting the choice with the highest SEU is a complex and time-consuming procedure.
Q:
Nonprogrammed decisions require all steps in the decision model because the problems they present are new, complex, or ill-defined.
Q:
The first step in the rational choice paradigm is to identify the problem or recognize an opportunity.
Q:
The rational choice paradigm selects the choice with the highest utility through the calculation of objective expected utility.
Q:
The rational choice paradigm has dominated decision making philosophy in Western societies for most of written history.
Q:
Subjective expected utility refers to how much the selected alternative benefits or satisfies the decision maker.
Q:
Decision making is a nonconscious process of moving toward a desirable state of affairs.
Q:
Companies are applying job specialization when employees are made directly responsible for specific customers and having them communicate directly with those customers.
Q:
Forming natural work units tends to increase task identity and task significance.
Q:
Two ways to enrich jobs are by clustering jobs into natural groups and by establishing client relationships.
Q:
Research suggests that increasing job enlargement increases employee motivation almost as much as job enrichment.
Q:
A video journalist is someone who performs all jobs previously done by a traditional news teamfrom operating the camera to reporting the story. Thus, a video journalist is an example of job enlargement and job enrichment.
Q:
Task variability refers to how much the job can be performed using known procedures and rules.
Q:
All employees feel more motivated to perform their jobs when the core job characteristics are increased.
Q:
Increasing the core job characteristics will not increase employee motivation for those who lack the required skills.
Q:
According to the job characteristics model, experienced meaningfulness increases with the level of job feedback.
Q:
Task significance is the degree to which the job affects the organization and/or larger society.
Q:
Employees assembling complete computer modems would have higher task identity than those assembling only one component and passing it along to others for further assembly.
Q:
Task identity is the degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the organization and/or larger society.
Q:
The job characteristics model identifies five core job characteristics and three psychological states.
Q:
Motivator-hygiene theory highlights the idea that job content is an important source of employee motivation.
Q:
According to Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory, only characteristics of the job (and not the work environment) motivate employees.
Q:
Job specialization increases work efficiency, but it tends to reduce employee motivation.
Q:
Scientific management is the process of systematically dividing work into its smallest possible elements and standardizing work activities to achieve maximum efficiency.
Q:
Job specialization increases training costs and makes it more difficult for companies to match employee aptitudes to jobs for which they are best suited.
Q:
Job specialization increases efficiency because it includes fewer mental and physical skills, shorter work cycles, less variety of tasks, and more precise job matching.
Q:
Longer work cycles give employees more frequent practice with the task, so jobs are mastered more quickly.
Q:
Cycle time is the time required to complete the task before starting over with another item or client.
Q:
Job design is the result of division of labor in which work is subdivided into separate jobs assigned to different people.
Q:
Money is the only thing that motivates people to join an organization and perform effectively.
Q:
Where subjective measures of performance are necessary, companies should rely on multiple sources of information.
Q:
Inconsistencies and bias in reward systems are often increased because of gainsharing.
Q:
Very large rewards (relative to an employee's regular income) can result in lower, rather than higher, performance.
Q:
Employee stock ownership plans give employees the right to purchase company stock at a predetermined price up to a fixed expiration date.
Q:
Employee stock ownership plans and stock options tend to create an "ownership culture" in which employees feel aligned with the organization's success.
Q:
Employee stock ownership plans and stock options are two types of organizational-level performance-based rewards.
Q:
Gainsharing plans appropriate only for production jobs, not for services such as medical operations.
Q:
Skill-based pay plans give an employee a higher pay rate for those days that he or she performs two or more jobs at the same time.
Q:
An advantage of competency-based rewards is that measuring employee competencies is mostly done through objective measurement methods.
Q:
Most job evaluation methods give higher value to jobs that require more skill and effort.
Q:
The largest portion of most paychecks is based on a person's membership and seniority in an organization.
Q:
People with a high power distance tend to have a high respect and priority for money.
Q:
Briefly describe some of the important strategies for improving reward effectiveness.
Some of the important strategies for improving reward effectiveness are:
Link rewards to performance: Inconsistencies and bias can be minimized through gainsharing, ESOPs, and other plans that use objective performance measures. Where subjective measures of performance are necessary, companies should rely on multiple sources of information. Companies also need to apply rewards soon after the performance occurs, and in a large-enough dose (such as a bonus rather than a pay increase), so that employees experience positive emotions when they receive the reward.
Ensure that rewards are relevant: Companies need to align rewards with performance within the employee's control. The more employees see a "line of sight" between their daily actions and the reward, the more they are motivated to improve performance. Reward systems also need to correct for situational factors. Salespeople in one region may have higher sales because the economy is stronger there than elsewhere, so sales bonuses need to be adjusted for such economic factors.
Use team rewards for interdependent jobs: Team rewards are better than individual rewards when employees work in highly interdependent jobs, because it is difficult to measure individual performance in these situations. Team rewards also encourage cooperation, which is more important when work is highly interdependent. They also tend to support employee preferences for team-based work.
Q:
ClamCo, a large energy company, was once a bureaucratic organization that valued long service and promotions through a steep hierarchy. After several years of difficult change, it is now a much flatter organization that places more responsibility with self-directed work teams. Explain what changes ClamCo probably would have made to align its reward system with this new corporate philosophy.
Q:
A cable TV company redesigned jobs so that one employee interacts directly with customers, connects and disconnects their cable service, installs their special services and collects overdue accounts in an assigned area. They also decided to do away with scripted customer interaction manuals and allow each employee to determine how best to interact with each customer. Previously, each task was performed by a different person and the customer interacted only with someone at the head office. This change most likely increased each employee's _______________.
A. skill variety
B. task identity
C. task significance
D. autonomy
E. all of these
Q:
A cable TV company redesigned jobs so that one employee interacts directly with customers, connects and disconnects their cable service, installs their special services and collects overdue accounts in an assigned area. They also decided to do away with scripted customer interaction manuals and allow each employee to determine how best to interact with each customer. Previously, each task was performed by a different person and the customer interacted only with someone at the head office. This change is an example of:
A. increasing job enrichment by establishing client relationships.
B. encouraging self-reinforcement.
C. introducing job rotation.
D. increasing job specialization.
E. introducing job feedback.
Q:
A large retail organization previously divided work among its four employee benefits staff into distinct specializations. One person answered all questions about superannuation (pension plans), another answered all questions about various forms of paid time off (e.g. vacations), and so on. These jobs were recently restructured so that each employee benefits person answers all questions for people in a particular geographic area. For example, one staff member is responsible for all employee benefits inquiries from anyone in a particular geographic region. This restructuring most likely increased each employee's _________________.
A. sense of ownership
B. absenteeism
C. tendency to overwork
D. self-talk
E. competence
Q:
A large retail organization previously divided work among its four employee benefits staff into distinct specializations. One person answered all questions about superannuation (pension plans), another answered all questions about various forms of paid time off (e.g. vacations), and so on. These jobs were recently restructured so that each employee benefits person answers all questions for people in a particular geographic area. For example, one staff member is responsible for all employee benefits inquiries from anyone in a particular geographic region. This job restructuring is an example of:
A. self-leadership.
B. job enrichment.
C. job rotation.
D. scientific management.
E. self-monitoring.
Q:
Steelweld, a car parts manufacturer, pays employees a higher hourly rate as they learn to master more parts of the work process. Employees earn $10 per hour when they are hired and they can earn up to $20 per hour if they master all 12 work units in the production process. Which of the following is most likely a benefit Steelweld is trying to achieve with this reward system?
A. The attraction of applicants.
B. The minimization of pay discrimination.
C. The motivation of task performance.
D. The creation of an ownership culture.
E. The improvement of workforce flexibility.
Q:
Steelweld, a car parts manufacturer, pays employees a higher hourly rate as they learn to master more parts of the work process. Employees earn $10 per hour when they are hired and they can earn up to $20 per hour if they master all 12 work units in the production process. Which of these reward systems is being applied by Steelweld?
A. Skill-based pay
B. Piece-rate pay
C. Job evaluation system
D. Seniority-based pay
E. Membership-based pay
Q:
Katie decided to do a more enjoyable task after completing a task that she disliked. This instance is an example of:
A. self-reinforcement.
B. job enrichment.
C. job specialization.
D. self-monitoring.
E. job feedback.
Q:
_____ is the process of keeping track at regular intervals of one's progress toward a goal by using naturally occurring feedback.
A. Job feedback
B. Self-monitoring
C. Natural grouping
D. Job specialization
E. Task significance
Q:
Which of the following elements does self-leadership include?
A. Job specialization
B. Task identity
C. Mental imagery
D. Job evaluation
E. Task significance
Q:
According to the self-leadership model, which of the following is true about positive self-talk?
A. It should never be practiced on the job.
B. It represents the most important way to monitor our own performance.
C. It occurs when employees are unable to control their own behavior on the job.
D. It improves self-efficacy and employee motivation.
E. It must occur only after the task has been accomplished.
Q:
Which of the following are included under constructive thought patterns in self-leadership?
A. Self-talk and mental imagery
B. Gainsharing and employee stock ownership plans
C. Personal goal setting and self-monitoring
D. Job rotation and job enrichment
E. Task identity and task significance
Q:
Before meeting a new client, a salesperson visualizes the experience of meeting the person and effectively answering some of the challenging questions the client might ask. This activity is an example of:
A. poor performance.
B. constructive thought patterns.
C. rewarding competencies.
D. job rotation.
E. empowerment.
Q:
Which of the following steps occurs in self-leadership immediately after identifying goals that are specific, relevant, and challenging?
A. Designing natural rewards
B. Self-monitoring
C. Self-reinforcement
D. Constructive thought patterns
E. Track keeping
Q:
Which of the following is the first step in self-leadership?
A. Establishing client relationships
B. Practicing gainsharing
C. Personal goal setting
D. Constructive thought patterns
E. Self-reinforcement