Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Business Management Practice Test

Negative reinforcement in management primarily aims to:

1. Encourage desirable behavior

2. Discourage undesirable behavior

3. Motivate through rewards

4. Improve job satisfaction

The correct answer is: Encourage desirable behavior

Negative reinforcement in management focuses on encouraging desirable behavior by removing or avoiding negative consequences when the desired action is taken. Essentially, it operates on the principle that behavior can be strengthened or increased when an unpleasant condition is removed following a positive behavior. For example, if an employee starts arriving on time to work and, in response, the manager stops implementing a penalty for lateness, this removal of the negative consequence serves to reinforce the employee's punctuality. In this instance, the employee is motivated to continue arriving on time because the negative situation (the penalty) is no longer present. The other options represent different approaches to behavior management; they do not accurately capture the concept of negative reinforcement. The primary goal is not merely to discourage undesirable behavior, motivate through rewards, or improve job satisfaction, but rather to leverage the absence of negative outcomes to promote the desired behaviors in employees.