Directions (Questions no. 1 to 6): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it :
There is absolutely no point in complaining that over the years, there has been pressure for increased productivity and higher earnings for workers in industry. There are several ways for increasing employees earnings. Employee earnings can be increased by raising the selling price of the firm's products and services, reducing profit or costs of raw materials, or augmenting labour productivity. However, increasing employee earnings by means other than increased labour productivity jeopardizes the firm's competitive strength in the market Higher prices usually mean fewer customers, reduced profit means less capital investment, and low-cost materials mean poor product quality. But, increasing labour productivity by enhancing skills and motivation creates an almost unlimited resource. The development of economic resources, human as well as non-human, is the product of human effort, and the quality of human effort in large part depends on human motivation.
Enthusing employees with workaholic spirit through traditional authority and financial incentives has become increasingly difficult an employees become economically secure and their dependency on any one particular organisation decreases. According to expectancy theorists, the motivation to work increases when an employee feels his performance is an instrument for obtaining desired rewards . Nevertheless, in many organizations today, employees are entitled to organisational rewards just by being employed Unions governmental regulations, and the nature of the job itself in some cases prevent management from relating financial rewards to performance. People may be attracted to join and remain in organisations to receive organizational rewards, but being motivated to join an organisation is not the same as being motivated to exert effort in an organisation. The challenge to management is to find and administer alternative forms of incentives which will induce employees to improve work performance. Such alternative forms of reinforcement will require increased understanding of motivational theories and programmes.
1. Which of the following statements is true in the context of the passage ?
(a) Development of economic resources is primarily the product of market conditions.
(b) Earnings can be increased by lowering the selling price of products.
(c) Employees can be best motivated by providing financial incentives.
(d) None of these
2. Organisations can derive maximum advantages by
(a) providing financial incentives to employees regardless of performance
(b) enhancing labour productivity by increasing skills and motivation.
(e) encouraging employees to expend greater physical energy
(d) inducing employees to improve work performance and control their demands
3. According to the passage, all of the following contribute to an increase in
employee earnings, except
(a) increasing the selling price of the company's products
(b) providing incentives and fringe benefits to employees
(c) enhancing labour productivity
(d) increased capital investment
4. Employees feel motivated to work when they
(al experience good working conditions in the organisation.
(b) decide to produce goods and services as a result of team-work.
(c) think of performance as a tool for obtaining rewards
(d) relate rewards to material prosperity
5. Choose the word which is most similar in meaning as the word 'induce as
used in the passage.
(a) Appreciate
(b) Stimulate
(c) Exhibit
(d) Inflate
6. Which of the following statement(s) is/are not true in the context of the
passage
1 Human effort is the cause of the development of economic
resources,
2 Management is free to relate financial rewards to performance.
3 Employees can be easily motivated with traditional authority today.
(a) Both 1 and 2
(b) Only 3
(c) Both 1 and 3
(d) Both 2 and 3