Verbal Reasoning Quiz
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READING COMPREHENSION
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Read the passage and answer the question.
In discussions of employee performance, managers often treat "motivation" as a stable trait that some workers possess and others lack. This view encourages interventions aimed at selecting inherently driven individuals rather than improving working conditions. Yet research on goal pursuit suggests that motivation is highly sensitive to context: people exert more effort when tasks are clearly defined, when feedback is timely, and when they can see how their work contributes to a larger outcome. Importantly, these contextual supports do not merely increase effort; they can also change what employees interpret as success. For example, when feedback emphasizes learning and iteration, workers may persist through early failure because progress is framed as skill development rather than as evidence of inadequacy.
However, the passage does not claim that context eliminates individual differences. Some workers may still respond more strongly than others to the same conditions, and long-term interests can shape which tasks feel meaningful. The central point is that organizations err when they treat motivation as a fixed internal resource. A more effective approach is to view motivation as an interaction between individuals and environments, making it possible to design workplaces that reliably elicit sustained engagement.
The primary purpose of the passage is to:
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