Cambridge IELTS 6 · Academic · Test 3 · Passage 2
Motivating Employees Under Adverse Conditions — IELTS Reading Answers
All 14 answers for Motivating Employees Under Adverse Conditions, Cambridge IELTS 6 Academic Reading Test 3 Passage 2, with the passage evidence and an explanation for each.
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Motivating Employees Under Adverse Conditions answer key at a glance
Questions 14–27. Tap an answer to see the evidence.
What this passage tests
This passage is tested with Matching Headings (Q14–18), Yes / No / Not Given (Q19–24), Matching Features (Q25–27). Each section below gives the strategy for that question type, the answers, and the sentence that proves them.
Questions 14–18: Matching Headings
Strategy: Read the paragraph first and summarise its main idea in five words. Choose the heading that matches the whole paragraph, not a repeated keyword.
Key Point Two
“The literature on goal-setting theory suggests that managers should ensure that all employees have specific goals and receive comments on how well they are doing in those goals”
Key Point Two requires managers to ensure 'all employees have specific goals and receive comments on how well they are doing' — heading vii.
Key Point Three
“Regardless of whether goals are achievable or well within management's perceptions of the employee's ability, if employees see them as unachievable they will reduce their effort. Managers must be sure, therefore, that employees feel confident that their efforts can lead to performance goals”
Key Point Three says employees who see goals as unachievable 'will reduce their effort', so managers must build confidence — heading iii.
Key Point Four
“Since employees have different needs, what acts as a reinforcement for one may not for another. Managers could use their knowledge of each employee to personalise the rewards over which they have control”
Key Point Four notes employees 'have different needs', so rewards must be personalised rather than uniform — heading ii.
Key Point Five
“Managers need to make rewards contingent on performance. To reward factors other than performance will only reinforce those other factors. Key rewards such as pay increases and promotions or advancements should be allocated for the attainment of the employee's specific goals”
Key Point Five insists rewards be 'contingent on performance', with pay rises and promotions tied to achieving specific goals — heading iv.
Key Point Six
“The way rewards are distributed should be transparent so that employees perceive that rewards or outcomes are equitable and equal to the inputs given”
Key Point Six requires reward distribution to be 'transparent' so employees perceive outcomes as 'equitable and equal to the inputs given' — heading i.
Questions 19–24: Yes / No / Not Given
Strategy: These test the writer's opinions, not facts. Look for evaluative language, and treat 'may' or 'could' as weaker than the question's claim.
A shrinking organisation tends to lose its less skilled employees rather than its more skilled employees.
“When an organisation is shrinking, the best and most mobile workers are prone to leave voluntarily. Unfortunately, they are the ones the organisation can least afford to lose – those with the highest skills and experience. The minor employees remain because their job options are limited”
The best and most mobile workers 'leave voluntarily', while 'the minor employees remain because their job options are limited' — the opposite pattern.
It is easier to manage a small business than a large business.
“For example, if the job is running a small business or an autonomous unit within a larger business, high achievers should be sought. However, if the job to be filled is a managerial post in a large bureaucratic organisation, a candidate who has a high need for power and a low need for affiliation should be selected”
The passage distinguishes small businesses from large bureaucracies when choosing candidates, but never says which is easier to manage.
High achievers are well suited to team work.
“High achievers will do best when the job provides moderately challenging goals and where there is independence and feedback”
High achievers 'will do best' where there is 'independence and feedback', so they are not described as well suited to teamwork.
Some employees can feel manipulated when asked to participate in goal-setting.
“If participation and the culture are incongruous, employees are likely to perceive the participation process as manipulative and be negatively affected by it”
If participation and culture are 'incongruous', employees 'perceive the participation process as manipulative', confirming that some feel manipulated.
The staff appraisal process should be designed by employees.
“For managers, this means that employees must have the capability of doing the job and must regard the appraisal process as valid”
Employees must 'regard the appraisal process as valid', but the passage never says staff should design that process.
Employees' earnings should be disclosed to everyone within the organisation.
“Eliminating the secrecy surrounding pay by openly communicating everyone's remuneration, publicising performance bonuses and allocating annual salary increases in a lump sum rather than spreading them out over an entire year are examples of actions that will make rewards more visible and potentially more motivating”
'Openly communicating everyone's remuneration' and 'eliminating the secrecy surrounding pay' mean earnings are disclosed to all.
Questions 25–27: Matching Features
Strategy: Match the statement to the named person or thing. Names can repeat, so check each option against what that person actually says.
Options for Questions 25–27
- AThey judge promotion to be important.
- BThey have less need of external goals.
- CThey think that the quality of their work is important.
- DThey resist goals which are imposed.
- EThey have limited job options.
high achievers
“For those with high achievement needs, typically a minority in any organisation, the existence of external goals is less important because high achievers are already internally motivated”
High achievers have 'less need' for external goals because they 'are already internally motivated' — option B.
clerical workers
“The clerical workers considered factors such as quality of work performed and job knowledge near the top of their list, but these were at the bottom of the production workers' list”
Clerical workers ranked 'quality of work performed and job knowledge near the top', matching option C's importance of work quality.
production workers
“For example, production workers rated advancement very highly, whereas clerical workers rated advancement in the lower third of their list”
'Production workers rated advancement very highly', matching option A's judgement that promotion is important.
Learn the question types in this passage
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Motivating Employees Under Adverse Conditions passage come from?
It is Passage 2 of Cambridge IELTS 6 Academic Reading Test 3, and it covers Questions 14–27.
What question types appear in Motivating Employees Under Adverse Conditions?
The passage is tested with Matching Headings, Yes / No / Not Given, Matching Features. Each type is explained on this page, alongside the answers.
Are these reading answers reliable?
Every answer is paired with the sentence that proves it, so you can check each one against the passage yourself. Use the page after a timed attempt, not instead of one.
Cambridge IELTS is published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Band9Prep is not affiliated with Cambridge. This page is an independent study aid: it gives the answer key, the passage evidence and an explanation so you can review an attempt you have already made.