Organizational Behavior (BUS 451)
Study Guide for Exam 2 on Motivating
Covers Chapters 7, 13, 17
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Chapter 7
Concept Quiz
Complete the following true-false quiz by writing T or F in the blanks (not all of these true-false
questions will appear on the exam). Answers are provided below. After marking your answers,
remember to go back and check your understanding of any answers you missed.
_____ 1. Specific goals reduce ambiguity about what an employee is expected to do.
_____ 2. Goals should be set beyond what a person can realistically achieve to maximize motivation.
_____ 3. To avoid confusing employees, managers should never deviate from original plans.
_____ 4. Participation reduces employee commitment to goals.
_____ 5. Feedback on goal progress is best if self-generated.
_____ 6. Everything an employee does on his or her job can and should be quantified and have a
goal set for it.
_____ 7. Because of their immediacy, short-term goals should take priority over long-term goals.
_____ 8. Achieving an easy goal should be evaluated more positively than coming up short on a
difficult goal.
_____ 9. Competitive strategy that provides a distinct advantage should be used to achieve goals.
_____ 10. People accept goals more readily when the goals are tied to rewards they desire.
(1) True (2) False (3) False (4) False (5) True (6) False (7) False (8) False (9) True (10) False
Application Questions
Prepare responses to all of the following application questions (even though only one from each
chapter will be included on the exam). Be sure to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and
terms presented in this chapter and in class within your responses.
1. What is goal-setting? What four main purposes does goal setting serve? Describe the five
attributes of effective goals (“SMART” characteristics).
2. Does goal setting emphasize short-term results at the expense of long-term effectiveness?
3. How does goal setting deal with employees who have multiple goals, some of which are
conflicting?
4. What barriers in an organization can you identify that may limit the effectiveness of a goalsetting program? How can these barriers be overcome?
5. Explain what an instructor can do to use goal setting with students in a classroom.
6. How can an organization develop and sustain a competitive advantage? How can you do the
same for your career?
Chapter 13
Concept Quiz
See directions above.
_____ 1. Coaching and counseling are the same thing.
_____ 2. Counselors have to be judgmental so employees understand they need to improve.
_____ 3. Coaches should always be looking for ways to improve employee performance.
_____ 4. Coaches should focus on mistakes as learning opportunities.
_____ 5. The test of helping effectiveness is whether an employee’s performance improves.
_____ 6. Threats are a good development tool for coaches to use to emphasize consequences.
_____ 7. Sometimes it is more beneficial to employee development if coaches just do the task themselves.
_____ 8. The coaching job is finished when employees have mastered a task satisfactorily.
_____ 9. Coaches need to model the behaviors they want from employees.
_____ 10. It is preferable to let employees come up with their own ways to improve performance than it is
for coaches to provide solutions.
(1) False (2) False (3) True (4) True (5) True (6) False (7) False (8) False (9) True (10) True
Application Questions
See directions above.
1. Understand the five ways that managers can develop employees.
2. Think of a particularly effective mentor or coach you had in high school, college, or any other
situation (e.g., sport, debate, music). Describe why he or she was so effective. How do this
helper’s qualities match up with those in the Behavioral Checklist?
3. How have your parents served as helpers for your development? What did they do that was
particularly helpful? What could they have done better?
4. How is coaching similar to counseling? How are the two different?
5. Which of the earlier skills in this book contribute to developing others? How do they relate?
6. How can a manager tell if he or she is being effective in developing others? When and how does a
manager know when the developing job is completed?
7. What are three things you should never do when developing others and why?
8. What are three things you should always do when developing others and why?
Chapter 17
Concept Quiz
See directions above.
_____ 1. Motivation consists of a conscious decision to direct effort in an activity to achieve a
goal that will satisfy a predominate need.
_____ 2. All workers want the same outcomes, so managers can effectively motivate people by
providing rewards that managers think workers prefer.
_____ 3. People will always do their best on a job it they have the necessary training, skills, and
abilities.
_____ 4. Because most employees have their basic physiological and safety needs satisfied, the
higher, learned needs are the ones that hold the most potential for motivation.
_____ 5. It is not good to promote people with high institutional power needs to management
positions because they become self-serving, exploitative, and dominating bosses.
_____ 6. Subordinates are more likely to “buy into” goals if they have a part in determining what
they will be and how they will be accomplished.
_____ 7. The most important question in expectance theory is: does how hard I try really affect
my performance?
_____ 8. Most people prefer intrinsic rather than extrinsic rewards.
_____ 9. Motivation is moderated by the perceived fairness or discrepancy between personal
contributions and rewards relative to others.
_____ 10. Even highly valued rewards lose their motivating potential unless they are given at the
correct times.
(1) True (2) False (3) False (4) True (5) False (6) True (7) False (8) False (9) True (10) True
Application Questions
See directions above.
1. Understand the difference between content versus process theories of motivation. How is each
type useful to managers?
2. Think of a coach, teacher, or supervisor who really motivated you to enhance your performance
in a specific task. What did this person do that motivated you so?
3. What are the predominate needs that you want to satisfy in task situations? Are you more
concerned about compensation, status, achieving something worthwhile, being in charge of
others, socializing with members of a team, learning something new, or what?
4. Have you ever had a mentor at work or school? What was it about this person that was valuable
to you? If you have not had a mentor, what characteristics would you like to have in one?
5. What motivates you to stay on a job or in a degree program versus look for another, better
alternative?
6. As long as you are receiving the job benefits you agreed to when you started a job, does it matter
to you that others are receiving better or worse deals? Why or why not?