Chapter 5

Motivating Employees Across Cultures

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is not considered a popular process theory that specifies steps by which motivation can be increased?
   1. The reward process (reinforcement theory)
   2. The punishment process (classical condition theory)
   3. The fairness of organizational rewards and outcomes (equity theory)
   4. Interpretations about rewards and goals (expectancy theory)
2. Maslow’s hierarchy is comprised of five distinct types of needs. Which of the following examples is not accurately matched with his first four levels?
   1. Physiological needs: food and shelter
   2. Safety needs: life insurance and retirement benefits
   3. Social needs: friends and sense of “belonging”
   4. Esteem needs: self-actualization
3. The way in which employees view motivation features, such as competition or social needs, are shaped by a complex set of factors including all but which of the following?
   1. The employee’s cultural background
   2. The employee’s marital status
   3. The employee’s position in society
   4. The employee’s position in his or her firm
4. Job enrichment efforts might be easier to implement in France than Britain because compared to their British counterparts, French managers were more interested in which of the following?
   1. Responsibility and autonomy
   2. Job security and fringe benefits
   3. Good working conditions
   4. None of the above
5. Herzberg’s motivators face some cultural impediments in developing countries such as Indonesia, India, and Pakistan for which of the following reasons?
   1. These countries tend to be collectivist, low in uncertainty avoidance and power distance, and high in masculinity
   2. Employees who tend to avoid uncertainty and believe in high power distance may be reluctant to make decisions involving risk, ambiguity, or independent initiative
   3. Workers who are more collective in their views may also react positively to efforts aimed at enriching jobs on an individual basis
   4. When masculine values hold sway, job enrichment efforts that focus narrowly on the job itself, without concern for personal relationships, may backfire
6. Which of the following is not one of the explanations given for the success of American companies in Russia, such as Mary Kay Cosmetics and Avon?
   1. The sales force of Russian women makes more than the average monthly wage by a considerable margin
   2. The sales force of Russian women receives cosmetics for personal use at a reduced cost
   3. These companies offer financial independence to Russian women
   4. Working for these companies is a socially acceptable job for Russian women
7. Which of the following countries are accurately matched with a motivational practice that is appropriate for the country?
   1. Japan: improve working conditions and provide opportunities for individual achievement
   2. United States: provide autonomy and opportunities for individual achievement
   3. Sweden: provide autonomy and improve relations with workers
   4. United States: provide opportunities for group achievement
8. Which of the following statements accurately reflects how culture may affect employees’ interpretation of feedback that they receive about their performance?
   1. Employees in feminine-value cultures react more favorably to positive feedback than to negative feedback
   2. Employees in individualistic cultures tend to respond more to group performance feedback
   3. Employees in collectivistic cultures are more responsive to group-based feedback
   4. Both a and c
9. India is an example of a country in which cultural values may limit reinforcement strategies of performance-based pay. Which of the following is an example of how India differs from countries in which reinforcement strategies are successful?
   1. Compensation may reflect employee seniority as opposed to being awarded contingent on behavior
   2. Performance appraisal is thorough and important to “merit” pay
   3. Loyalty to the boss, company, or co-workers is less important that a short-term indicator of performance
   4. Workers may have a sense of optimism and recognize the importance of good performance
10. What must employees believe about a given situation if the expectancy approach is to be successful?
    1. Working hard results in good performance, rewards are not tied to performance, and available rewards are not important
    2. Working hard results in good performance, rewards are tied to good performance, and available rewards are valued
    3. Working hard results in good performance, rewards are tied to good performance even if available rewards are not valued
    4. Employees must feel that it is almost impossible to reach the goals that have been set
11. Expectancy theory makes which of the following now-familiar Western cultural assumptions?
    1. Individualistic and feminine values should be emphasized
    2. Individual workers are rational and control their own lives
    3. The focus should be on reinforcement and punishment
    4. The focus should be on relationships rather than tasks
12. Which of the following are examples of cultural assumptions regarding external forces not commonly considered in the expectancy theory model?
    1. Many Chinese believe that fate helps determine events
    2. Many Americans assume that workers control their lives by altering their level of effort
    3. Many Mexicans feel that being from the appropriate family is a real key to success
    4. Many Saudis believe that what happens at work is a reflection of God’s will
13. Japanese firms, such as the restaurant chain Global Dining, may provide a look into the future because it has embraced innovations that shock many Japanese people. Which of the following is not one of these innovations?
    1. There is plenty of conflict
    2. Do-or-die competition between employees is encouraged
    3. Multiple chances to succeed are given to mangers who foul up
    4. Brutally honest individual performance feedback is provided
14. In recent years, Japanese workers have been seeking out foreign companies for employment in ever-increasing numbers. Which of the following is not given as a reason for this?
    1. Foreign firms demand fewer hours from the employee
    2. Foreign firms are more willing to pay for group performance
    3. Foreign firms promote based on group achievement
    4. Foreign firms have higher status
15. Which of the following statements most accurately explains the complex and evolving link between culture and equity-based rewards?
    1. In-group versus out-group differences are important, but rarely complicate matters in collective cultures (e.g., China)
    2. Employees in collectivistic cultures may be more likely to use equity norms when rewarding efforts to promote group cohesiveness (a more collective outcome/value)
    3. Employees in collectivistic cultures are more likely to apply equity concepts when distributing rewards than employees in individualistic cultures
    4. Low power distance employees prefer equity whereas high power distance employees prefer equality as the fairest way to distribute rewards
16. Which of the following correctly matches what drives workers’ attraction to a firm for the country listed?
    1. Brazil: Competitive base pay, career advancement opportunity, easy work
    2. South Korea: Competitive benefits, competitive base pay, competitive health care benefits
    3. United States: Competitive base pay, competitive health care benefits, vacation/paid time off
    4. All of the above
17. Which of the following correctly matches elements that engage employees once they are hired by a firm for the country listed?
    1. India: Input into decision making, senior management actions are consistent with values, and the firm’s reputation for social responsibility
    2. China: Excellent career advancement opportunities, firm encouraged innovative thinking, firm’s reputation for financial stability
    3. United States: Competitive base pay, competitive health care benefits and vacation/paid time off
    4. Both a and b
18. What do complex research findings on an equity approach to motivation mean for what international managers should do?
    1. Mangers should think through how their own cultural values might affect their use of equity rules in doling out rewards
    2. Managers should implement motivational methods with which they are most familiar
    3. Managers should take the time needed to understand how their subordinates’ cultural values might affect their assessment of equity rules when they are used
    4. Both a and c
19. Which of the following has the five basic steps suggested to implement culturally synergistic motivation alternatives in the correct order?
    1. Describe the motivation situation, identify cultural assumptions about motivation, determine where cultural overlaps exist, generate culturally synergistic alternatives, select, implement, and finally refine a synergistic strategy
    2. Identify cultural assumptions about motivation, describe the motivation situation, determine where cultural overlaps exist, generate culturally synergistic alternatives, select, implement, and finally refine a synergistic strategy
    3. Describe the motivation situation, identify cultural assumptions about motivation, generate culturally synergistic alternatives, determine where cultural overlaps exist, and finally select, implement, and refine a synergistic strategy
    4. Identify cultural assumptions about motivation, describe the motivation situation, generate culturally synergistic alternatives, determine where cultural overlaps exist, and finally select, implement, and refine a synergistic strategy
20. Which of the management methods for motivation is most important when working across cultures?
    1. Conversations with foreign employees and involvement of those employees in the development and implementation of specific motivation strategies
    2. Identifying underlying values and cultural frames of reference for home country
    3. Focusing on developing cultural self-awareness (i.e., awareness of own values)
    4. Implementing strategy in a way that reflects the best of the home country culture

True or False Questions

1. Western approaches to motivation typically reflect person-focused and goal-driven beliefs, features that created and shaped those cultures in the first place.
2. Western approaches to motivation may be effectively applied even in places or with employees who embrace different values.
3. Numerous cross-cultural “universals” exist when it comes to motivation, making it easier to apply popular Western approaches.
4. Content-based theories such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two-factor theory focus on the substance of employees’ thinking as the key driver of motivation.
5. Three of the most popular process theories are reinforcement theory, expectancy theory, and the punishment theory.
6. Maslow claimed that we are all motivated by five distinct needs organized in a pyramid-like structure in our heads, which can be pursued in any order.
7. The desire for cooperative co-workers and other social needs may rank above Maslow’s self-actualization for some Chinese employees or those from other collective societies.
8. Motivation methods used by organizations change as the society itself changes, but patterns of motivation sometimes prove very slow to change, even in the face of large-scale social upheavals.
9. Maslow’s hierarchy with its emphasis on higher-order growth needs is popular in the United States because key values in American culture include individualism, personal achievement, and risk-taking.
10. Herzberg’s two-factor model includes hygiene factors, such as good pay and working conditions, and motivators, such as challenge, responsibility, and autonomy.
11. Managers need to know what employees value in order to use positive reinforcement effectively and, fortunately, culture and societal context makes this less challenging.
12. The “outrage threshold” for executive compensation is generally lower in Europe than in the United States because the issue of excesses in executive pay packages is much more salient in the minds of most Europeans where European executives in major firms earn only about 40% of what their American counterparts take home.
13. Americans still tend to see pay increases, promotions, and personal recognition as more desirable than do many of their foreign counterparts, including the Japanese.
14. The first step in developing cultural synergy in motivational efforts is to identify cultural assumptions about motivation.
15. To increase the chances of success in developing cultural synergy, managers and employees must possess both cultural self-awareness and cross-cultural awareness.

Short-Answer Questions

1. List three of the most popular process theories that specify steps by which motivation can be increased.
2. What are the key cultural assumptions of expectancy theory?
3. What is meant by “outrage threshold” for executive compensation and how does it differ in Europe and the United States?
4. What are two examples of content perspectives that focus on explaining what needs and thoughts actually energize employee behavior?
5. What distinct needs are found at the bottom of Maslow’s pyramid and at the top?
6. Explain the difference between “social needs” and “safety needs” according to Maslow’s theory.
7. Explain what is meant by the statement that some research shows that needs are not always triggered in the order specified by Maslow.
8. How is Germany an example of the fact that patterns of motivation sometimes prove very slow to change, even in the face of large-scale social upheavals?
9. List three examples of extrinsic hygiene factors that, according to Herzberg’s theory, are important to motivating employees.
10. Why might Herzberg’s motivators face some cultural impediments in developing countries such as Indonesia, India, and Pakistan? Provide at least three reasons.

Essay Questions

1. How do Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two-factor theory compare as motivational theories? Explain the basic concepts of each.
2. What action steps should be considered by a manager attempting to construct a culturally synergistic approach to motivation?
3. Select any three of the motivational approaches discussed in this chapter and discuss the problems a manager might expect to encounter when implementing them.
4. What difficulties might a manager expect to encounter when implementing a culturally synergistic approach to motivation?