CLEP Management

Answer: B - The assumption that lack of motivation is the cause for poor employee performance is termed the fundamental attribution error.

Key Takeaway: The fundamental attribution error is when a manager believes that his or her employee’s lack of performance is due to internal reasons such as lack of motivation. The manager often excludes external reasons as potential cause for poor performance. While it might sometimes be true that poor performance stems from a lack of motivation at the employee level, managers need to take care when evaluating poor performance to also investigate other, external, causes as well.