Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, wanted to increase productivity at work. He studied (observed) the way that workers performed each job and timed their progress. From this observation he developed the most efficient method to do each task.

Frederick Taylor believed the best way to improve worker productivity was to:

Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, wanted to increase productivity at work. He studied (observed) the way that workers performed each job and timed their progress. From this observation he developed the most efficient method to do each task

At the ice cream shop where Kayla works, all shoppers are greeted with the same script: “Welcome to Chill-A-While. My name is ________. How may I help you?” All shoppers must be greeted in less than three minutes after they have entered the shop. Which management theorist would have approved of this method of operation?

Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, believed that there was one best way to perform tasks at work. He studied (observed) the way that workers performed each job and timed their progress. From this observation he developed the most efficient method to do each task.

Elton Mayo’s famous experiment at the Hawthorne Plant concluded ________.

The Hawthorne Studies concluded that workers who knew they were being studied, were given an opportunity to be part of the work decision making, and felt part of a group at work that could be more productive

The tendency for people to behave differently when they know they’re being studied is referred to as:

The Hawthorne Effect refers to people’s tendency to behave differently when they know they are being watched and studied.

According to Maslow’s theory, when a need is satisfied:

Maslow believed motivation arises from need. Needs that have already been satisfied no longer provide motivation and another higher-level need emerges.

Recently Tommy switched jobs from a large firm, to a medium-sized firm. As one of four project managers at the new firm, Tommy recognizes that employees have much more respect for his expertise than he perceived at the larger firm where there were a minimum of 25 project managers. According to Maslow, which need in his hierarchy is important to Tommy?

Maslow defines esteem needs as the need for recognition and acknowledgment from others, as well as self-respect and a sense of status or importance.

In accordance with Maslow’s way of thinking, if Elizabeth secured a good-paying job that paid her enough to live in a decent apartment and buy an economical car, and if she felt that her work location and her home location were relatively safe places, she would ________.

Maslow emphasizes that people will satisfy lower-order needs first. Once a level of need is satisfied, we turn our attention to the next level of needs. In this situation, the next level is social needs.

Herzberg’s hygiene factors include:

Herzberg’s hygiene factors include interpersonal relations, supervision, job security, working conditions, company policies, and salary.

According to Herzberg, which of the following would be considered “motivators”?

Herzberg listed several work-related factors that increased worker motivation. The list included “sense of achievement” and “opportunity for growth.” Both are considered motivators.

Herzberg’s research purposefully directed managerial thinking to ________.

Herzberg’s research was directed toward helping managers create jobs where employees would feel more fulfilled. He separated motivating factors from what he called hygiene factors. Motivating factors such as “more interesting work” were the type of characteristic that employees desired. Employees may recognize the absence of hygiene factors that could cause dissatisfaction, but workers did not consider such characteristics as motivational.

McGregor recognized that ________.

According to McGregor, the way the managers “manage” depends upon their attitudes and beliefs toward workers.

Betty is the assistant store manager at a trendy clothing store. The store hires lots of seasonal employees. Betty has little regard for the skill or ability of those she hires, and she is certain that few would come to work on time each day if it weren’t for the fact that the store is known to fire any employee who fails to be on time. As a student of motivational theory, you would describe the management style of Betty as ___________.

Theory X managers typically believe that employees dislike work and that most workers’ primary motivators are fear and money. Due to these employee attributes, workers must be directed, controlled, and closely monitored.

Which of the following approaches suggests that a manager believes that employees should be involved in both defining problems and in designing the solutions?

Rather than emphasize authority, direction, and close supervision, Theory Y emphasizes a relaxed managerial atmosphere in which workers are free to set objectives, be creative, be flexible, and go beyond the objectives set by management. A key technique in meeting these objectives is empowerment. Empowerment gives employees the authority to make decisions and the tools to implement the decisions they make. For empowerment to be a real motivator, management should follow these three steps: (1) find out what people think the problems in the organization are, (2) let them design the solutions, and (3) get out of the way and let them put those solutions into action.

William Ouchi’s Theory Z recognized ________.

Theory Z is a hybrid style of management that incorporates what Ouchi considered to be the best of Japanese style management and American style of management. This hybrid approach considers such progressive ideas as employee involvement, informal employee control (empowerment), shared responsibility, and a slower approach to evaluation and promotion

The central idea of MBO is that:

Management by objectives (MBO) is a system of goal setting and implementation that involves a cycle of discussion, review, and evaluation of objectives among top and middle-level managers, supervisors, and employees. The central idea is that employees need to motivate themselves.

Motivating employees by expanding the number of jobs or tasks that they are involved with is referred to as job ________.

One type of job enrichment strategy is job enlargement, which combines a series of tasks into one challenging and interesting assignment that hopefully makes the job more motivating.

An HR director was reviewing the job description for a new position in the Information Technology department of his company. He quickly jotted down a few comments that he would later share with the department manager. Among other things, his comments included suggestions for incorporating more skill variety into the job and a little more autonomy as to how the job might be accomplished from start to finish. As a student of business, you recognize that the HR director believes that a person holding this position would be motivated by ________.

Job enrichment involves motivating an employee through the job itself. Jobs are enriched by five characteristics: incorporating autonomy, task identity, skill variety, task significance, and feedback into the job.

Generation X managers:

Gen X managers are well equipped to motivate people. They focus more on results rather than hours in the office.

Lee Kwon is a Korean worker who has been transferred by his company to the United States for six months to negotiate a supplier contract. Lee is having some problems understanding how to do business in the U.S. He has tried to get to know his U.S. co-workers, but feels rebuffed when they prefer to just get down to business and get things done. The problem could be the fact that Lee is from a(n) ________, and believes building personal relationships and trust is more important than focusing on doing business as his U.S. co-workers are more comfortable doing.

In high-context cultures, workers build personal relationships and develop group trust before focusing on tasks.