1. You have taken a job as production manager in the electronics plant your company has just bought in Hungary. Your subordinates will be local workers, and your primary goal is to increase their productivity through increasing their motivation. Which motivational theories would you use? Are there any you think would not apply? Why?
2. Is the use of positive reinforcement always the best approach to motivational problems? When might other types of "consequences" be more appropriate?
3. Examine some of your own goals. How did you set them? Were they effective in motivating your performance? If you analyze them in terms of goal-setting theory, how would you change the way you set them in the future?
4. Both equity and expectancy theory suggest that individuals make conscious, reasoned choices concerning their performance. When would a person be most likely to do this? Have you ever seriously analyzed a work situation in the ways suggested by these theories and then changed your behavior as a result?
5. Which motivational forces are stronger: Push or Pull? Or are they Equal? How might their relative strength change with different circumstances? Why?