Organizational Behavior
What company promotes ethics by performing rigorous reference checks, conducting a dynamic all-day ethics training for new hires, and having employees sign a nine-page ethics statement every 3-5 years? a. Smucker b. Jif c. Jelly Belly d. Peter Pan
A
What has long urged shoppers to bring their own bags to promote recycling? a. Trader Joe's b. Kroger c. Winn Dixie d. Harris Teeter
A
What is the term for written predictions specifying expected relationships between certain variables? a. hypotheses b. prophecies c. theories d. correlations
A
What type of relationship is indicated by a correlation of .9? a. a strong, positive relationship b. a weak, negative relationship c. no relationship d. a strong, negative relationship
A
When was the Hawthorne Effect discovered? a. 1920s and 1930s b. 1820s and 1830s c. 1950s and 1960s d. 1850s and 1860s
A
Which managerial function involves setting goals, establishing a strategy to pursue those goals, and forecasting future threats and opportunities that might influence the company's needs and strategies? a. planning b. organizing c. leading d. controlling
A
The _______________ variable is predicted to affect something else. a. independent b. dependent c. interdependent d. co-dependent
A
Which errors can undermine ethics efforts? a. omission errors b. remission errors c. commission errors d. all of these
D
Which managerial function involves monitoring performance to ensure that it is consistent with quality and quantity standards? a. planning b. organizing c. leading d. Controlling
D
Which of the following is a hypothesis? a. I wonder if there is a relationship between goal-setting and productivity. b. A researcher found a .8 correlation between goal-setting and productivity. c. Personally, I am more productive when I set goals. d. Setting a goal will be positively related to the number of products assembled.
D
Which of the following is/are critical to managing ethical behavior? a. treating employees fairly b. aligning formal and informal organizational systems to promote ethical behavior c. having ethical leaders at all levels of the company d. all of these
D
Which of the following is/are part of business strategy? a.strategies of different functional areas in the firm b.how changing industry conditions will be addressed c.how the firm will address the range of choices it faces d.all of these
D
Which of these could be a source (or sources) of competitive advantage? a. distribution b. speed c. convenience d. all of these
D
A code of ethics specifies expected and prohibited actions in the workplace, and gives examples of appropriate behavior.
F
A correlation is always a positive number.
F
A correlation is an answer to a simple yes or no question.
F
Scientific management left no room for individual preferences or initiative, and was not always accepted by workers.
T
Serving stockholders and serving the community are mutually exclusive.
T
Sir Francis Bacon developed the scientific method.
T
Societies such as the U.S., Sweden, and Germany have small variation in the distribution of power across supervisors and employees while others such as Japan and Mexico have a large power difference.
T
Starbucks is pursuing a specialization strategy.
T
The effective management of people is key to the creation of a competitive advantage and business strategy execution.
T
The scientific method begins with theory.
T
____________ is a system of shared values, norms, and assumptions that guide members' attitudes and behaviors. a. Organizational culture b. Associated culture c. Societal culture d. Global culture
A
Successful business strategies are grounded in creating and maintaining a competitive advantage that is ______________. a. inflexible b. sustainable c. volatile d. all of these
B
The ____________ variable is predicted to be affected by something else. a. independent b. dependent c. interdependent d. co-dependent
B
The organizational behavior skills in your metaphorical "toolkit" should be applied _____________. a.rigidly b. flexibly c. randomly
B
Using your knowledge of OB can help you to move up __________ in any organization. a. more steadily b. faster c. both of these d. neither of these
B
What is the term for a set of individual attributes that enable you to influence individuals, groups, and organizations from diverse socio/cultural/institutional systems? a. globalization b. global mindset c. parochialism d. intolerance
B
What nickname is given to W. Edwards Deming? a. "leader of legalism" b. "guru of quality assurance"
B
In convincing subordinates to cooperate, Chester I. Barnard proposed that ___________ was preferable to _______________. a. threats, promises b. promises, threats c. persuasion, economic incentives d. economic incentives, persuasion
C
Companies may pursue more than one strategy at a particular time.
T
Corporate sustainability initiatives can be top-down (with someone in a position of authority dictating to managers and employees what to do) or grassroots (with employees identifying projects and taking the initiative to organize their own activities.)
T
Effective employees and managers understand that they need to be flexible in adapting to work challenges. True Or false
T
Employees who need stability and predictability would not fit well in companies focused on product innovation.
T
Even though much of the research on organizational behavior has been done in the United States, what is true for Americans working in the U.S. may not be true for anyone else, including non-Americans working in the U.S.
T
For companies pursuing a differentiation strategy, the frequent introduction of new products is often a key to staying competitive.
T
High employee retention also cuts the cost of operations.
T
In addition to better understanding yourself, organizational behavior can help you understand why people and groups behave the way they do in organizations. True Or false
T
In reality, we never see perfect +1.0 or -1.0 correlations when it comes to people's behavior.
T
Johnson & Johnson, Nike, and 3M are good examples of organizations whose competitive advantage is based on product innovation.
T
Mismatches between merged or acquired organizations can result in underperformance and the loss of talented employees.
T
OB is an important topic for anyone who works or who will eventually work in an organization, which means practically everyone. True Or false
T
Organizational behavior skills should be applied flexibly True Or false
T
Organizational behavior takes a systems approach to how individuals and groups act in organizations.
T
Production technology can increase work group autonomy, decision making, and responsibility.
T
The way employers treat their employees is part of corporate social responsibility.
T
To be lasting, social responsibility efforts must be integrated into the culture of the organization.
T
Until they are proven to be correct, theories are no guarantee of fact.
T
A _________ is a collection of verbal and symbolic assertions that specify how and why variables are related, and the conditions under which they should and should not relate. a. theory b. fact c. data set d. statistic
A
A __________ is a decision making guide that describes the highest values to which an organization aspires. a. code of ethics b. code of conduct c. book of discipline d. book of behavior
A
A _______________ reflects the size and strength of the statistical relationship between two variables. a. correlation b. mean c. standard deviation d. range
A
A researcher hypothesizes that the age of employees influences their awareness of diversity. In this example, age is the _____________ and diversity awareness is the ____________. a. independent variable, dependent variable b. dependent variable c. theory, correlation d. correlation, theory
A
After World War I, attention shifted to understanding the role of _____________ in organizations. a. human factors and psychology b. religion and spirituality c. gender and sexual harassment d. law and politics
A
Which managerial function involves designing the organization's or workgroup's structure, identifying what tasks need to be done, hiring the right people, delegating and assigning each task, establishing a chain of command, and creating rules for communication and decision making? a. planning b. organizing c. leading d. controlling
B
Which of the following is NOT a source of competitive advantage? a. providing the best customer service b. having the most expensive product c. having a well-known brand name d. being more convenient to buy from
B
Which of the following is NOT one of Deming's 14 principles of transformation for improving the practice of management? a. minimize total cost b. maintain barriers between departments c. eliminate quotas d. improve constantly and forever
B
Business strategies are ___________. a. planned b. reactive c. both d. neither
C
Relying solely on codes of conduct and ethics to manage ethical behavior in the workplace is insufficient.
T
"People skills" are often what make the difference between an average and an excellent performer in almost any job.
T
A better product that is worth a premium price or a good product at a lower price can both be a source of competitive advantage.
T
A correlation of -1 is as strong a negative relationship as we can get.
T
A dependent variable is a criterion.
T
An organization consists of people with ___________ assigned roles working together to achieve __________ goals. a. formally, common b. casually, individual c. formally, individual d. casually, common
A
An organization with a product innovation competitive advantage would likely seek a core workforce of research and development employees who have which quality? a. an entrepreneurial mindset b. shorter-term focus c. low tolerance for ambiguity d. conservative values
A
Businesses pursuing a ______________ strategy focus on a narrow market segment or niche. a. specialization b. specification c. supposition d. socialization
A
Deming believed that removing _______ from the workplace gives employees pride in their workmanship, which increases production. a. fear b. diversity c. competition d. hierarchy
A
Deming felt that when things go wrong, there is a 94 percent chance that the ________ rather than the __________ is the cause. a. system, worker b. worker, system c. manager, employee d. employee, manager
A
Developing a product or service that has unique characteristics valued by customers is characteristic of a __________. a. differentiation strategy b. cost leadership strategy c. specialization strategy d. evaluation strategy
A
During the human relations movement, what classic book described organizations as systems of cooperative human activity? a. Chester I. Barnard's Functions of the Executive b. Sigmund Freud's Psychopathology of Everyday Life c. B. F. Skinner's Walden Two d. Noam Chomsky's Syntactic Structures`
A
Firms pursuing a __________ strive to be the lowest cost producer in an industry for a particular level of product quality a. cost leadership strategy b. differentiation strategy c. specialization strategy d. evaluation strategy
A
If a company is good at engineering efficient manufacturing processes to keep production costs and customer prices low, it is likely to be pursuing which strategy? a. cost leadership b. differentiation c. specialization d. growth
A
The Grant Thorton 2007 Corporate Responsibility Survey reported the four greatest obstacles to successful execution of corporate responsibility programs. Which of the following was NOT one of them? a. a focus on long-term goals b. the cost of implementation c. difficulty measuring return on investment d. a non-supportive corporate culture
A
The _________ method relies on systematic studies that identify and replicate a result using a variety of methods, samples, and settings. a. scientific b. mathematic c. statistical d. philosophical
A
The globalization of the U.S. workforce has increased the importance of _________ on the part of managers and employees. a. diversity awareness b. ethics c. documentation d. legal responsibilities
A
The tendency for customers to favor companies that do the right thing is ____________. a. increasing b. decreasing c. staying the same d. unknown
A
Viewing the world solely through one's own eyes and perspective is called ___________. a. parochialism b. patriotism c. patriarchy d. personalization
A
___________ is based on the belief that productivity is maximized when organizations are rationalized with precise sets of instructions based on time-and-motion studies. a. Scientific management b. Sociological management c. Straightforward management d. Strategic management
A
A ________ is anything that gives a firm an edge over rivals in attracting customers and defending itself against competition. a. cultural privilege b. competitive advantage c. business bias d. personal talent
B
A ___________ specifies expected and prohibited actions in the workplace, and gives examples of appropriate behavior. a. code of ethics b. code of conduct c. book of discipline d. book of behavior
B
A researcher is studying the relationship between age and diversity awareness and finds a negative correlation. What does that mean? a. As age increases, diversity awareness increases. b. As age increases, diversity awareness decreases. c. Diversity awareness does not change with age. d. none of these
B
According to General Electric CEO Jack Welch what is the source of productivity? a. highly intelligent leaders b. challenged, empowered, excited, rewarded teams of people c. well-organized policy manuals d. law enforcement
B
Chester L. Barnard advocated for _______ communication. a. one-way b. two-way c. three-way d. four-way
B
Choose the correct order for the steps of the scientific method. a. hypothesis, theory, data, verification b. theory, hypothesis, data, verification
B
Deming's ______________ cycle of continuous improvement promoted the adoption of 14 principles to make any organization efficient and capable of solving almost any problem. a. plan-check-act-do b. plan-do-check-act c. act-do-check-plan d. act-plan-check-do
B
If a company creates and maintains a culture that encourages employees to bring new ideas into the company, it is most likely to be using what strategy? a. cost leadership b. differentiation c. growth d. specialization
B
Most service-quality experts say that ______ is the most critical element in building a customer-oriented company. a. hard work b. talent c. group cohesion d. extraversion
B
Organizations pursuing a specialization strategy often try to develop a competitive advantage based on ____________. a. customer integrity b. customer intimacy c. customer intimidation d. customer integration
B
Standards of behavior about how people ought to act in different situations are called _________. a. laws b. ethics c. principles d. mores
B
Which of the following is NOT one of the five managerial practices that promote ethical behavior? a. Close any gaps between knowledge about what to do and actual behaviors. b. Don't be too selective about who you hire. c. Socialize new hires to promote ethical values. d. Fairly allocate organizational resources.
B
Who is credited with having developed the scientific method? a. Sir Walter Raleigh b. Sir Francis Bacon
B
__________ is a statistical technique used to combine the results of many different research studies done in a variety of organizations and for a variety of jobs. a. Path analysis b. Meta-analysis c. Regression d. Analysis of variance
B
A specialization strategy can be successful if __________________. a. it results in lower costs than competitors serving the same niche b. it results in an ability to offer customers something other competitors do not c. either of these d. neither of these
C
According to Michael Porter, to have a competitive advantage a company must ultimately be able to give customers _______________. a. the best possible product b. the best customer service c. superior value for their money d. everything they want
C
Although Costco pays its employees substantially more than its closest competitor, Sam's Club, it has similar financial returns on its labor costs due to which of the following? a. lower turnover b. higher levels of employee productivity c. both of these d. neither of these
C
Corporate sustainability initiatives can be _________. a. top-down b. grassroots c. either of these d. neither of these
C
Decades of research have __________________. a. reinforced some of what many people intuitively believe about OB b. identified common misunderstandings about OB c. both of these d. neither of these
C
Effective managers do which of the following? a. reward ethical behavior b. respond to ethical breaches c. both of these d. neither of these
C
Employee participation in social responsibility initiatives can do which of the following? a. motivate employees b. generate good ideas c. both of these d. neither of these
C
Organizational members who are responsible for the attainment of organizational goals by planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the efforts of others in the organization are called __________. a. executives b. coordinators c. managers d. bosses
C
What is the range of correlations? a. 1 to 10 b. 0 to 1 c. -1 to 1 d. 1 to 100
C
When starting a company, what sequence of steps should a person take? a. organize, plan, control, lead b. organize, plan, lead, control c. plan, organize, lead, control d. plan, organize, control, lead
C
_________ refers to businesses living and working together for the common good and valuing human dignity. a. Collectivism b. Charitable giving c. Corporate social responsibility d. Harmony
C
A global mindset reflects your ability to influence __________________ from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. a. people b. groups c. organizations d. all of these
D
A recent survey of 1,121 managers and human resources experts from around the world investigated the top reasons why employees break the rules. Each participant was asked, "What are the top three factors that are most likely to cause people to compromise an organization's ethical standards?" Which factor was listed most often? a. desire to steal from or harm the organization b. lack of consequence if caught c. wanting to help the organization survive d. pressure to meet unrealistic business objectives/deadlines
D
The study of organizational behavior can help us to answer which of the following questions? a. Why are emotions important at work? b. Is there one best way to lead? c. Why are some teams more effective than others? d. all of these
D
According to Michael Porter, businesses can compete successfully by doing which of the following? a. being the cheapest producer b. making unique products valued by consumers c. applying their expertise in a narrow market segment to meet that segment's particular product or service needs d. any of these
D
According to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations, six basic elements are important to a complete ethics and compliance program. Which of the following is NOT one of those elements? a. written standards for ethical conduct b. ethics training c. providing a mechanism for reporting misconduct anonymously d. firing employees who violate standards
D
An understanding of OB can help organizations to prevent which of the following problems? a. unhappy employees b. weak leadership c. lack of direction d. all of these
D
By listening to employees, recognizing their work, building trust, and behaving ethically, managers have boosted such performance measures as _________. a. operating earnings b. return on investments c. stock price d. all of these
D
Corporate social responsibility has the biggest impact when it is ____________________. a. integrated with business priorities b. relevant to achieving business objectives c. inclusive of internal and external stakeholder needs d. all of these
D
Investing now in developing your OB skills will do which of the following? a.prepare you to be a more effective employee b.prepare you to be a more effective manager c.help you to move up faster in any organization d.all of these
D
It is important for leaders to do which of the following? a. understand what people think and feel b. know how to persuade and motivate others c. know how to resolve conflicts d. all of these
D
Maximizing the efficiency of the manufacturing or product development process to minimize costs is referred to as _________. a. managerial skill b. business superiority c. maintenance strategy d. operational excellence
D
Most operationally excellent firms require managers to hire and train employees with which of the following characteristics? a. flexible b. able to focus on shorter-term objectives c. concerned about minimizing production costs d. all of these
D
Organizations pursuing a differentiation strategy often try to develop a competitive advantage based on _____________. a. product invention b. product intervention c. product innovation d. product invitation
D
Researchers at Sysco found a positive relationship between associate satisfaction and commitment and the satisfaction of ______________. a. customers b. shareholders c. suppliers d. all of these
D
Socially responsible programs and policies being implemented by U.S. corporations include which of the following? a. reducing carbon emissions b. community volunteerism c. workplace diversity d. all of these
D
What characteristics give Costco a competitive advantage? a. a strong and loyal customer base b. access to a broad range of high quality products for low prices c. committed employees d. all of these
D
What do theories describe? a. what relationships are proposed to exist among certain variables b. when relationships exist among certain variables c. under what conditions relationships exist among certain variables d. all of these
D
What is explained by the field of organizational behavior? a. individual motivation b. team dynamics c. organizational structure d. all of these
D
What is the first step in using the scientific method? a. verification b. data c. hypothesis d. theory
D
What letter is used to refer to a correlation? a. f b. p c. n d. r
D
What nickname was given to Mary Parker Follett? a. proponent of management b. practitioner of management c. professor or management d. prophet of management
D
What strategy focuses on company expansion, either organically or through acquisitions? a. differentiation strategy b. specialization strategy c. cost leadership d. growth strategy
D
When pursuing a customer intimacy competitive advantage, a company should hire people who ____________________. a. are active learners b. have good customer relations skills c. are emotionally resilient d. all of these
D
Which of the following socially responsible programs and policies has/have been implemented by U.S. corporations? a. favorable working conditions b. non-exploitation of workers c. work-life balance initiatives d. all of these
D
All organizations are able to create a competitive advantage.
F
Americans probably have a less parochial perspective than people from other cultures.
F
An independent variable is a criterion.
F
An understanding of OB makes workers technically better in their area of specialty. True Or false
F
It is not necessary to test hypotheses and validate theories in your own organization before making decisions based on them.
F
Most ethical dilemmas in the workplace are very simple, with obvious "right" answers.
F
Older workers almost always embrace new technologies readily.
F
Successful businesses following a specialization strategy rarely enjoy a high degree of customer loyalty.
F
The U.S. workforce is expected to become less diverse in coming years.
F
The scientific method begins with a hypothesis.
F
Walmart is a good example of a firm pursuing a differentiation strategy.
F
When managers are surveyed ten to fifteen years out of school to identify the most important classes they ever took, they rarely mention organizational behavior. True Or false
F
Both individuals and organizations benefit from OB. True Or false
T
A correlation of 0 indicates no relationship between the two variables.
T
A mounting body of evidence shows that an emphasis on the softer side of business positively influences bottom line results. True Or false
T