Multiple choice

A truly productive employee, according to the writer, is always

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question.

You may think the sign of a good manager is to have a department where everybody is busy at work on their assigned tasks. But if your people are merely doing their jobs, they’re only working at about half their potential. A truly productive department is one in which every employee is actively thinking of better, more efficient methods of working ways in which to produce a higher quality product, in less time, at lower cost.
To get this kind of innovation from your people, you have to be receptive to new ideas; what’s more, you have to encourage your people to produce new ideas. Incentives are one way to motivate employees to be more productive. You can offer a cash bonus, time off, or a gift. But a more potent form of motivation is simply the employee’s knowledge that management does listen to him or her, and does put employee suggestions and ideas to work.
When you listen to new ideas, be open-minded. Don’t shoot down a suggestion before you’ve heard it in full. Many of us are too quick, too eager, to show off our own experience and knowledge and say that something won’t work because ‘we’ve tried it before’ or ‘we don’t do it that way’. Well, may be you did try it before but that doesn’t mean it won’t work now. And having done things a certain way in the past doesn’t mean you’ve been doing them the best way. A good manager is open-minded and receptive to new ideas.

 

  1. busy at work on his assigned tasks

  2. actively thinking of better and more efficient methods of working

  3. has an eye on a cash bonus, time off, or a gift

  4. suggesting but never busy at work

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

According to the passage, a truly productive employee is 'actively thinking of better, more efficient methods of working.' This is stated as the key characteristic of productive departments and employees. Option A describes only doing assigned tasks (not innovative), Option C focuses on external rewards rather than the mindset, and Option D is incorrect as productive employees should be both innovative AND doing their work.