Management Midterm

Which of these is a work hindrance stressor?

role overload

For about five years, Lucy and Betty have been working for Bright Fires at the same level of management and doing similar kinds of work. Lucy has been focusing on setting specific and difficult goals for herself and believes that exerting a high level of effort will result in the successful performance in her job. On the other hand, Betty compares herself to different managers, such as Meg, who works for the competitor in a similar work position. Betty feels disheartened when she finds out that she is significantly underrewarded at Bright Fires. Lucy's focus on concepts such as difficulty and specificity is a key aspect of

goal setting

The term "focus of commitment" can refer to each of the following, except

industry regulations.

Gateway Corporation developed a new form of technology for which they hold a patent. This technology allowed them to significantly reduce the cost of production on their major product line. This resource is

inimitable.

When Faisal and Tad ask Sofia her thoughts on the matter, she notes that Margo had no bonds to CI. She was relatively new and had not invested any time there. Sofia says, "Crossroads gave me an opportunity and invested so much in mentoring me, preparing me for the position, and showing me the ropes. There is no way that I could desert them by leaving for another company." Sofia is exhibiting ________ commitment.

normative

Charene is a product development manager for Unique Automotive Accessories. When she was first hired, she proved herself to be one of the most productive new employees. Lately, Charene's supervisor, Ivan, has noticed that her productivity is slipping from its previous high point. Whenever Ivan stays late at the office, he sees that Charene is always at her desk, eating take-out, and she is always the first to arrive in the morning. He also observes that her e-mail replies are often time-stamped on the weekend. Ivan decides to hire Charene an assistant to ease her workload and improve her work-life balance. Ivan's approach to alleviating Charene's stressors is an example of

instrumental support

Which of the following is a specific value related to the work itself?

intellectual stimulation

For about five years, Lucy and Betty have been working for Bright Fires at the same level of management and doing similar kinds of work. Lucy has been focusing on setting specific and difficult goals for herself and believes that exerting a high level of effort will result in the successful performance in her job. On the other hand, Betty compares herself to different managers, such as Meg, who works for the competitor in a similar work position. Betty feels disheartened when she finds out that she is significantly underrewarded at Bright Fires. From Betty's view in this situation, Lucy is a(n)

internal comparison

Wallace just got a new batch of articles to edit. He is enthused about starting something new. He decides to put all other distractions aside and focus on this task. He gets a great deal done, but after three hours, he is ready for something else. Deciding to quit after a few hours demonstrates the effect of Wallace's motivation on his ________ of effort.

persistence

Lupe is the assistant editor at the Voice of Today, an online publication. With recent increased readership, the editorial committee had decided to move up the deadline for article submissions to eight hours. This move was not welcomed by the junior writers and editors. Lupe, though unhappy with the decision, faces the problem head on and choses to cope by working faster and harder. This is an example of ________ coping.

problem-focused behavior

Vincenza is an accountant whose client list includes an array of Fortune 500 companies. She has developed algorithms that have saved her clients millions of dollars, and as many satisfied customers have said, her solutions are often unexpected, but always legal and always effective. Yet Vincenza says that the real star in her family is her younger sister Siena, whose poetry has been published in a number of journals. Siena's poetry does not pay the bills, but it did get her noticed by a major publisher, who employed her to work in their mail room—a job that has given Siena the opportunity to meet a number of famous authors. In terms of organizational behavior, the best way to describe the difference between Vincenza's and Siena's jobs is to say that Vincenza's job ________ than Siena's.

is much more involved in creative task performance

In their evaluation of his performance as a trainer in the sales department of Ogilvy Pharmaceuticals, Jeremy's supervisors look at such factors as the amount of time he spends with each of his trainees, his coverage of all key points in training, his success rate in turning out trained salespeople within the amount of time allotted, and so forth. In other words, Jeremy's supervisors are evaluating his

job performance

The level of creativity demonstrated by Yosef's co-workers is rare. Therefore, according to the ________, these employees are valuable to the firm.

resource-based view of organizations

Effective job performance is most often a function of

motivation and ability

Which of the following is true about goal setting?

Specific, difficult goals are best.

Chloe loves her job, admires her boss, and believes in the goals and vision of the companyshe works for. She cannot imagine looking for or finding a better job. Chloe most likely isdemonstrating

a high level of organizational commitment.

Which of the following is an example of a strain?

Amrita develops insomnia while trying meet the deadline to sequencing a new gene

Which of the following statements about the resource-based view of organizations is accurate?

It describes what makes resources capable of creating long-term profits for the firm

Which of the following is an example of what equity theory refers to as an external comparison?

Bailey is angry because she finds out that dental hygienists in other offices earn more than she does.

________ commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization becauseof an awareness of the costs associated with leaving it.

Continuance

Which scenario depicts an employee who experiences a high level of meaningfulness?

Floyd walks around his pet rescue, patting his employees on the back and reminding them they are improving the lives of animals and people.

Over the course of a week, various coworkers confide in you about their states of feeling. Which of the following scenarios are you most likely to characterize as a mood?

For some unknown reason, Vasil felt vaguely irritable at work for days.

Ji-hu believes in making decisions based on the method of experience. Considering this, which of the following actions would he most likely take?

He would buy the Jones espresso machine because he liked his previous machine, which was made by Jones.

Which of the following situations demonstrates the connection between hindrance stressors and organizational commitment?

Hilary's manager constantly makes unreasonable demands that force her to work long hours, and as a result she is looking for another job.

Denise works in a chemical factory where her job involves inspecting containers of kerosene as they pass down the assembly line. She goes through a five-step process compliant with safety regulations laid down in the company manual, and she seldom has to think about her work. One day, however, a fire broke out on the line, and Denise, who saw it before anyone else, grabbed an extinguisher just in time. Had she not acted quickly, the fire would have quickly spread, potentially resulting in widespread injuries and even death. In terms of organizational behavior, what is the best way to describe this situation?

Normally, Denise's job involves routine task performance, but this situation required adaptability.

First, the network went down, then the guy in the next cubicle would not stop clearing his throat, and now Delia cannot find a sticky note when she needs one. Delia's head hurts, her shoulders are tense, and her back aches. Which of the following statements is true?

The network going down represents a stressor, while Delia's backache is a strain

Which of the following scenarios involving Tisha, a nurse at a major metropolitan hospital, depicts a situation where her ratio of outcomes to inputs is lower than her comparison other?

Valerie, a nurse with less experience than Tisha, gets first choice of vacation days, which is supposed to be done by seniority.

Which of the following is true regarding value-percept theory?

Value-percept theory suggests that people evaluate job satisfaction according to specific "facets" of the job.

The Container Store, a retailer based out of Texas, wants to increase the motivation of its employees. Which of the following examples would most likely achieve this?

a performance-based incentive system for its employees in which workers' pay will be based on their productivity

Employees who feel a sense of ________ commitment tend to engage in more interpersonal and organizational citizenship behaviors, such as helping, sportsmanship, and boosterism.

affective

Sofia, Faisal, and Tad are coworkers at Crossroads, Inc. All three have worked at Crossroads for five years now. One day while eating lunch together, Sofia remarks that she heard their colleague Margo recently quit and went to work for a competitor. Each of the three has a different opinion about Margo's leaving, and they all have their own reasons for continuing to stay at Crossroads. Faisal remarks that it is not worthwhile for him to leave like Margo because he has put in the time and hard work for a promotion. If he left for another company, he would not likely get this opportunity again soon. Faisal is exhibiting ________ commitment.

continuance

Makayla was taking the trash out to the dumpster behind the bakery where she worked when she heard a loud noise. Just around the corner she saw her co-worker Narayan kicking at the brick wall and cursing under his breath. She asked him what was wrong, and he told her that his boss had denied his request for vacation even though it had been approved two months before. Narayan was told that due to the recent layoffs, they would be understaffed for the Thanksgiving holiday, and all previously approved vacation requests had been put on hold. Narayan was upset because this meant he would be unable to attend his cousin's wedding, where he was looking forward to seeing his extended family. Narayan's outburst is an example of ________ coping.

emotion-focused behavioral

Bobbi invests a great deal of energy in her job. She focuses closely, finds her tasks so interesting that she loses track of time, and takes a lot of initiative. Bobbi demonstrates a high level of

engagement

Nobuko is a customer service representative at Call Center Central. She thought a job answering phones all day would be easy, and at first it seemed to be. But over time, the large daily call volume and number of angry or aggressive callers made her edgy, and she found herself being short with customers for no reason. She started having muscle spasms and began to get headaches while at work. Nobuko's physical symptoms are examples of

strains

Felicia is an experienced lab technician, but at the moment she is not working in the lab. She is reviewing a list of activities associated with her job and rating them in terms of their importance. Most likely, Felicia is a

subject matter expert involved in a job analysis

Damita finds an advertisement for a bookkeeper position at a small business. The ad mentions handling accounts payable and accounts receivable, payroll, worker's compensation and unemployment insurance, and other financial matters related to the operation of the company. These items in the job description are all examples of

task performance

Meilla is the vice president of marketing at a medical supply company. In a typical work week, she is required to attend three departmental meetings, prepare progress reports, sit in on job interviews for other departments, have one-on-one meetings with each of her five managers, and travel to a satellite location where mock-ups of new products are photographed for catalogs. Most weeks, Meilla puts in more than 70 hours at the office, and she often responds to e-mails while watching movies at home on the weekends. Despite this, she finds herself falling behind. Meilla's experience is an example of

the number of role demands placed on her being too high

Goals are defined as

the objective or aim of an action, typically refer to attaining a specific standard of proficiency, often within a specified time limit.

Which of these is a work challenge stressor?

time pressure

Manuela, a writer of advertising copy, has been an overachiever throughout her career. She enjoys the intellectual stimulation she has at work. She feels her work allows her to use her creativity and artistic skills to their full potential. Which of the following work value categories is important to Manuela?

work itself