Motivational management

Based on the research discussed in the article, what is the most likely outcome if a finance manager offers a blanket pay rise of 3 percent above inflation to improve team motivation?

A short-term boost to morale but minimal long-term change in job satisfaction

An immediate increase in productivity that likely falls off after a number of months

A significant reduction in employee turnover for several years

A small and sustained increased in job satisfaction across the team

Jenna, a finance director, regularly asks her team, 'Rather than have me set all of the priorities for the team, what do you think we should be working to improve over the coming month?' Which leadership behaviour is this demonstrating?

Intellectual stimulation

Individualised attention

A request for prompt feedback

Human-centred listening

What is the most likely risk of relying heavily on bonuses for a leader's effectiveness and reputation?

None of the other answers is entirely correct

Increasingly large bonuses will be required to motivate further increases in performance

Employees' performance is likely much more related to having a high base salary rather than receiving bonuses that may vary greatly

Employees may come to expect regular payouts, eroding their professional growth and development

Piotr, an audit manager, wants to boost employee engagement by scheduling more frequent one-to-one meetings. Which of the following approaches is most likely to be beneficial?

He should prepare a structured list of questions so that he can ask all employees the same questions about the personal and professional issues they are facing

He should prepare a short list of open-ended questions that encourage employees to speak about the issues that matter to them

He should aim to ask a small number of open-ended questions but also be prepared to provide corrective feedback to employees on their performance

He should prepare a number of questions to enquire about employees' professional goals and steer clear of personal issues in order not to fall foul of human resources legislation

The chief executive and owner of a small business occasionally loses his temper and shouts at employees when they fail to hit the targets set for them. He apologises frequently and tells them his anger is only a sign of his passion and desire for both the business and his employees to succeed. What is the most likely effect of his overall behaviour?

Employees can tell the difference between unhelpful anger and angry passion and are likely to find his overall behaviour motivating or even inspiring

Employees may find it more difficult to be truly innovative

Two of the other answers are correct

Employees may be motivated to perform better but will also likely seek higher pay to continue working in such a demanding work environment

Team members report feeling 'heard' and 'valued' by their leader but receive pay that is only average for the market. What is the likely effect on their job satisfaction?

Moderate satisfaction, as average pay typically links to average job satisfaction

Low satisfaction, due to lack of high pay

Moderate satisfaction, as the interpersonal relationship between employees and a leader typically matters more than pay

Likely to be difficult to predict without understanding what other bonuses and perks are offered to members of the team

What are the likely risks of using a command-and-control style of leadership in the long run?

The team's performance is largely determined by the quality of the leader's thinking, so the team does not develop any sustainable ability to learn and adapt

All the other answers are likely correct

Job satisfaction may be reduced because employees do not feel their views matter

Employees become dependent on the leader making decisions, so they do not develop their critical thinking skills

A leader often asks questions such as 'How's everybody feeling?' and 'On a scale from 1 to 10, how stressed are you feeling this week?' What is this leadership approach likely to lead to?

Improved employee outcomes, but only if the leader follows through on the issues that employees report as a result of such questions

Improved employee performance and innovation

It will be of little benefit to finance professionals, as they are more rational and less affected by their emotions than most other employees

Employees will take advantage of the leader's kindness

When is intellectual stimulation least likely to be beneficial?

In public sector or charity organisations, as private sector employees have more of an incentive to respond to intellectual stimulation

When employees perceive the leader is asking questions only because it is expected of leaders, and is not actually interested in the answers

When employees are highly qualified and skilled and therefore already able to think critically for themselves

When employees have low levels of education and are doing mainly administrative work

A chief executive thinks the finance team seem demotivated and decides to hire a new finance director. Which of the following candidates is likely to have the most positive effect on the team?

Mei, who has a reputation for encouraging employees to think critically about their work and says she has no problem with scolding employees who do not perform to her high standards

Babatunde, who has excellent technical skills and says he asks a lot of open-ended questions of all his employees

Alison, who says she intends to set challenging targets and offer generous bonuses for achieving them

Finneas, who has a reputation for building trust with employees and encouraging employees to share ideas