Organizational Behavior Midterm 2 Multiple Choice
Which of the following statements is true?
A clear understanding of the actions that constitute sexual harassment does not exist.
Which of the following is true with regard to groups?
A group influences our emotional reactions.
Which of the following is true with regard to the five-stage group development model?
A positive social focus may aid a group in reaching the performing stage more rapidly
Which of the following is an example of externally caused behavior?
An employee is late to work because of a punctured tire.
Which of the following is an example of internally caused behavior?
An employee was fired from work because he violated a company policy.
Which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of size of the group has on the performance of the group?
As compared to smaller groups, larger groups are better in problem solving
________ explains the ways in which we judge people differently, depending on the meaning we assign to a given behavior.
Attribution theory
________ bias refers to the tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is easily accessible.
Availability
Which of the following statements is true regarding brainstorming?
Brainstorming can overcome the pressures for conformity
Johanna Murray, a climate campaigner at The National Footprint Foundation, is known in her organization to be a campaigner of caliber and high performance. She recently worked on a campaign against global warming during which she worked extremely hard to achieve project milestones. However, the campaign failed as it could not achieve the desired objective. Due to this, her manager, Brenda Owens gave her a poor performance appraisal. In the appraisal, Brenda said that Johanna was not motivated and failed to reach out to 25,000 people through Internet media to spread awareness about climate change. Which of the following, if true, weakens Brenda's statement?
Brenda was unable to make time for Johanna to brief her on the tasks involved in carrying out the campaign's media strategy.
Alicia Akers works as a marketing executive. She always talks in a high pitch and often draws a lot of attention wherever she is. Which of the following statements best explains the reason behind people noticing Akers?
Characteristics of the target affect people's perception.
________ refers to the degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group
Cohesiveness
________ refers to the adjustment of one's behavior to align with the norms of the group.
Conformity
________ refers to the evaluation of a person's characteristics that is affected by comparisons with other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics.
Contrast effect
________ is defined as the extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from, one another.
Diversity
Which of the following statements is true regarding the norming stage of group development?
During this stage, the group develops a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavior.
Which of the following is true regarding the ethics of behaving politically?
Employees and organizations must weight the costs and benefits of a political action.
________ refers to staying with a decision even when there is clear evidence it's wrong
Escalation of commitment
________ power is influence wielded as a result of proficiency, special skill, or knowledge.
Expert
Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding the performing stage?
For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in development.
Which of the following differentiates between formal and informal groups?
Formal groups involve clearly defined tasks and roles, while informal groups are neither formally structured nor organizationally determined....
Jeanne Edwards works as a campaign manager at Rainforest Alliance Trust, a forest protection organization in Indonesia. She is currently working on the Palm Oil Campaign which aims at establishing stringent laws against companies which aggravate deforestation to extract palm oil for commercial use. Her role is to establish allies with other forest protection organizations and companies which use eco-friendly products that set good examples for other companies to follow. Jeanne allied with Griffin and Powell, a large multinational company, which, unknown to Jeanne, also has strong ties with local logging groups in Jakarta. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument that Jeanne had an availability bias while establishing an ally with the company?
Griffin and Powell ensures that all their CSR initiatives on forests are regularly and substantially publicized.
________ is defined as a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.
Groupthink
________ refers to the tendency of people to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic.
Halo effect
Which of the following differentiates between high self-monitors and low self-monitors?
High self-monitors tend to mold their appearances and behavior to fit each situation, while low self-monitors tend to present images of themselves that are consistent with their personalities.
Which of the following statements is true regarding power?
If A has the capacity to influence the behavior of B, then A is said to have power over B.
________ is defined as the tendency to see members of the group of which we are a part of as better than other people.
In-group favoritism
________ is a highly complex and highly developed form of reasoning that is based on years of experience and learning.
Intuition
Which of the following statements is true regarding the rational decision-making model?
It assumes that an individual is able to identify all relevant options in an unbiased manner
Which of the following statements is true with regard to the punctuated-equilibrium model of group development?
It characterizes groups as exhibiting long periods of inertia interspersed with brief revolutionary changes...
Which of the following is true with regard to leadership?
It focuses on downward influence on followers.
Which of the following statements is true regarding a contrast effect?
It involves evaluation of a person's features based on comparison with another person.
Which of the following is true of intuitive decision making?
It involves making decisions based on distilled experience.
Which of the following is true with regard to the social identity theory?
It proposes that people have emotional reactions to the failure or success of their group because their self-esteem is tied into the group's performance
Janice is late for work each day by about ten minutes. How would attribution theory describe this behavior?
It shows consistency.
Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome and even profitably use this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the occurrence of groupshift in Joe's opinions during the meeting?
Joe determined that the best strategy would be to slash prices and minimize all fringes that are used for customer service.
Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome and even profitably use this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument that Joe experienced groupshift during the meeting?
Joe suggested adding a fuel surcharge to all tickets for commercial flights with immediate effect.
Johanna Murray, a climate campaigner at The National Footprint Foundation, is known in her organization to be a campaigner of caliber and high performance. She has strong networks with the ministry of environment and allies with several environmental organizations in the country. Over the years, she has gained substantial knowledge on the issue of climate change. However, recently when she was asked by her manager to prepare a consolidated report on a conference she attended on climate change, it reflected major loopholes and limited information from the conference. Which of the following, if true, substantiates that Johanna had an anchoring bias?
Johanna was moved by the arguments put forth by the first speaker.
Amanda Winter used to work as a public engagement coordinator at Safe Food Alliance, until three months ago when her manager, Laura Morris, promoted her to the position of a sustainable food campaigner. However, soon after this, Laura noticed that Amanda was facing major difficulties in achieving campaign milestones and the project was falling behind schedule due to her lack of performance. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument that Laura was influenced by the halo effect in her decision to promote Amanda?
Laura sat in on only one of Amanda's presentations prior to giving her the promotion.
Naomi Fisher, a sales manager at Pure, a water purifier company, had a new member, Leah Marshall join her team. Though during Leah's interview, Naomi felt she would be a productive sales executive, her performance has often been below the mark. Consistently in the past three months, Leah has been unable to reach her targets and is falling substantially behind on her annual targets. Naomi assumes that Leah is not determined and motivated enough to do what it takes. Which of the following, if true, weakens Naomi's assumption?
Leah has been assigned a sales territory where consumers are from low income groups.
Which of the following statements is true regarding legitimate power?
Legitimate power is broader than the power to coerce and reward.
Employees exhibiting which of the following features are more likely to engage in political behavior?
Machiavellian personality
Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome, and even profitably use, this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the occurrence of groupshift in Mark's opinions during the meeting?
Mark proposed that the prices be hiked and additional customer service measures be included so costumers have the best experience flying with EuAir.
Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome and even profitably use this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument that Mark experienced groupshift in the meeting?
Mark stated that the company should increase operations but at lower fares so they can regain control over the market share.
Carl believes that he is lucky to be working under a manager like Mr. Parker — conscientious, flexible and easy to work with. It was Mr. Parker who helped Carl learn the demands of the job, gave him opportunities to learn from the mistakes he made, and always provided sound advice. Mr. Parker, who is in the field for over eighteen years, never made Carl feel like a novice and this only increased Carl's personal confidence in his work and his loyalty toward his manager. Carl, who is now doing very well on the job, aims to be a manager like Mr. Parker. From the scenario, which of the following conclusions can be drawn?
Mr. Parker has a high degree of referent power
Laura Simpson, a campaign manager at a child rights organization in Jakarta, planned a marathon for celebrities to raise money for underprivileged children. Though all arrangements for the event had been made, a few days before the event she realized that on the same day there was a political rally happening in the city which will block access to the route on which the marathon was supposed to be undertaken. In such a situation, what is Simpson, who suffers from a self-serving bias, most likely to say?
My colleagues did not inform me about the rally.
Which of the following statements is true regarding perception?
Our perception of reality can be different from the objective reality.
Which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of status on conformity pressure?
People in high-status jobs have especially negative reactions to social pressure exerted by people in low-status jobs.
________ is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.
Perception
________ occurs when people within organizations use whatever influence they can to taint the facts to support their goals and interests.
Politicking
________ is the only tactic effective across organizational levels.
Rational persuasion
________ power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits.
Referent
________ power represents the compliance that is achieved based on the ability to distribute positive benefits that others view as valuable
Reward
________ bias indicates the tendency of an individual to attribute his own successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors.
Self-serving
Which of the following is true with regard to social loafing?
Social loafing is witnessed less in collectivist cultures where people take pride in group performance.
Which of the following is true with regard to sexual harassment at the workplace?
The best approach to preventing sexual harassment is to refrain from any behavior that may be taken as harassing.
Which of the following statements is true with regard to the effectiveness of tactics?
The combination of a soft tactic with reasonable persuasion is more effective than a combination of two hard tactics.
Tina Simmons worked as a welder at a shipyard company where she was forced to encounter nude and partially nude pictures posted by her male co-workers in common areas. The men also referred to her using obscene nicknames and made offensive remarks concerning her body. When Tina complained, her supervisor took no corrective action despite having an active sexual harassment policy approved by the EEOC. Tina wished to file a discrimination suit but instead she chose to endure the harassment as she could not risk losing her job. Which of the following, if true, would have strengthen her resolve to file a discrimination suit?
The company policy prescribed that Tina would face no backlash if she approached the EEOC.
Which of the following is true with regard to bases of power?
The personal sources of power are most effective for increasing employee performance and satisfaction.
Joanna Mills has recently been promoted to the position of a project manager at Palmer Inc., a software development firm. As a project manager, she now has the authority to delegate work, provide supervision and feedback, and monitor employee performance. Ever since her promotion, she has been preparing herself to guide her subordinates in different project activities. However, she feels that the employees do not proactively approach her for help. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this situation?
The sole criterion for Joanna's promotion was her effectiveness in meeting individual targets.
Which of the following is true regarding formal groups?
They are marked by stipulated behaviors in pursuit of organizational goals.
Timothy Jenkins was working for six years at Hartford Mills, a company that takes a strong stand against unionization. Though Timothy's designation was that of a production supervisor, as the company grew, he also took on additional duties like keeping a check on employee safety, ensuring that legal measures are followed, and implementing programs for labor welfare that the company planned. Many believed that Timothy was doing a great job for the company and so it came as a surprise when Timothy was rumored to face severe disciplinary action as he was encouraging the workers to join a union. However, he was let off with a mere warning. Which of the following, if true, would explain this paradox?
Timothy claimed that he was only looking to ensure greater employee welfare which was one of the duties the company had assigned to him.
ICE is a non-profit organization that runs awareness campaigns and research programs that provide data to initiate the process of legislative changes on various aspects of the environment like forest cover, nuclear fuel, endangered species and others. The ICE operates through networks of grass-root level researchers who are grouped into flexible project teams whose roles and duties change with each new project. The ICE believes its employees to be like family and an informal environment pervades its functioning without any compromises being made in the efficiency. Recently, the project manager of the rainwater harvesting pilot project in the suburbs has been informed of two delays in the project. When the third extension request came to him, he looked into the matter by speaking individually with the five team members. Which of the following complaints by the team members, if true, would indicate the presence of social loafing in the team?
Two of the most experienced employees on the team reported having to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the current workload and asked for an internal transfer.
Victor Ortiz was a successful and popular manager at the marketing division of a consumer goods company. Many attributed the company's immense success in the last two years to Victor's highly creative marketing plans which cost the company very little but increased the visibility of its products. He also effectively tied up with new retail chains so the demand for their products grow as the new retail chains grow. Recently, a subordinate alleged that Victor had sexually harassed her and stories of similar allegations being made against him in the past resurfaced. The situation was laid to rest when Victor made an appearance with the victim by his side claiming that the allegations were baseless as he was romantically involved with her. Though this announcement did not convince people, the allegations against Victor were withdrawn. From the information provided in the scenario, this outcome can be explained by the fact that ________.
Victor has enough power to get away with his misdeeds
Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are most likely to be noticed in a group. Which of the following statements best describes the reason behind it?
We don't look at targets in isolation
Which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of group cohesiveness and performance norms on group productivity?
When both cohesiveness and performance norms are high, productivity will be high
Which of the following is true with regard to deviant workplace behavior?
Widespread deviant workplace behavior depends on the accepted norms of the group.
Will Paten was the manager of a team of twelve people in the marketing division of Palmer Inc. Will, who was working in the company for eleven years, was held in high regard and liked by all his colleagues and subordinates. However, Aaron and Abby, two of his subordinates, were noted for flouting his rules and directives frequently. They continued behaving in this manner even after Will had categorically requested them to refrain from upsetting the momentum of the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain Aaron and Abby's continued noncompliance with Will's requests?
Will was uncomfortable exercising coercive measures to control employees.
According to the attribution theory, which of the following behaviors is most likely to be attributed to an external cause?
a behavior that scores high on consensus
According to status characteristics theory, which of the following factors does not determine status?
ability to conform to group norms
For a person to be recognized as having a high degree of political skill, he/she must have the ________.
ability to influence others to enhance their own objectives
When ________ is of importance in decision making, group decisions are preferred to individual decisions
acceptance of solution
Which of the following organizational factors encourages political behavior?
allowing significant time to pass between the time of an action and its appraisal
The ________ bias is a tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information.
anchoring
Which of the following types of biases is most likely to play a significant role during a negotiation?
anchoring bias
Which of the following impression management techniques involves an individual admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the action?
apologies
When individuals observe another person's behavior, they attempt to determine whether it is internally or externally caused. Which of the following attempts to explain this phenomenon?
attribution theory
A manager doing performance appraisals gives more weight to recent employee behaviors than to behaviors of 6 or 9 months earlier. This shows that the manager's perception is affected by a(n) ________ bias.
availability
A process of making decisions by constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity is known as ________.
bounded rationality
Like many other marketing strategy specialists, Mark Fritz relies heavily on creativity and originality. Members of his team are selected on the basis of their ability to think divergently, and Mark often conducts activities to ensure that this ability is developed. For instance, before any new project, Mark invites his team to sit together and churn out possible ideas about the new product, its theme, and ways in which it can be projected best in the market. These sessions usually provide him with a bank of potential ideas from which the team selects some strong concepts and develops them into a campaign. To encourage freedom in these sessions, Mark has a no-evaluation policy. This is an example of ________.
brainstorming
Which of the following defensive behaviors involves rigorously documenting activity to project an image of competence and thoroughness?
buffing
When the contract with one of their major suppliers was about to expire, the management of Pierre and Collins began seeking tenders from potential vendors. One of the top management executives, Todd Hughes, wanted the contract to go to a vendor he personally knew. In order to do so, he held separate discussions with two key members of the organization wherein he downplayed the potentials of the competing tenders and convinced them to support this offer. At the meeting to finalize a supplier, Todd and his supporters strongly supported the tender of the supplier they had chosen amongst themselves and convinced their CEO to hire this supplier despite the higher price quoted by him. Which of the following power tactics is being used here?
coalition
Which of the following power tactics can be used most effectively for exerting lateral influence?
coalition
Which of the following power tactics would be considered a hard tactic?
coalition
In the last one week, May and Phyllis have been putting in extra hours at work so that the project assigned to them by their manager is completed well within time. Though the manager was due to assign two more people for this project, he had not done so. As a result, May and Phyllis, who were having to do double their routine workload, went and complained to the division manager. May was promptly suspended from work for complaining about her immediate supervisor. This represents the operation of ________ power.
coercive
The ________ power is based on the fear of the negative results from failing to comply.
coercive
Which of the following types of power is most likely to be negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment?
coercive power
When ________, the result is role conflict.
compliance with one role requirement may make it difficult to comply with another
The tendency to seek out information that reaffirms past choices and to discount information that contradicts past judgments is known as a(n) ________ bias.
confirmation
Recently, Curtis Gibson had an interview for the position of a senior manager at a transit service. At the interview, the interviewer made a passing remark about how policies can make or break the best economy in the world. Immediately, Curtis launched into a discussion of how true the interviewer was, substantiating his claim with stories from real economies around the world. Similarly, when the interviewer suggested that Curtis work the earlier shift because, if selected, he would have to commute a significant bit to reach work, Curtis vehemently agreed saying "you couldn't be more right." Which of the following impression management techniques is Curtis using?
conformity
Which of the following impression management techniques uses ingratiation?
conformity
According to the attribution theory, if everyone who faces a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the behavior shows ________.
consensus
Attribution theory suggests that when we observe an individual's behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused. That determination, however, depends largely on three factors. Which of the following is one of these three factors?
consistency
If a person responds to a particular situation in the same way over a long time period, then the attribution theory states that the behavior demonstrates ________.
consistency
Which of the following power tactics involves increasing the target's support by involving him or her in decision making?
consultation
Which of the following power tactics is more effective when the audience is highly interested in the outcomes of a decision process?
consultation
During team meetings Amber Downing always notices that Rhona Law tends to ask innumerable questions and suggests ideas at each discussion. However, Law stands out in the meetings only because she is the only one making suggestions. If both of them were part of team meetings where almost all members made suggestions and asked questions, Law would not have drawn as much attention from Downing. Which of the following factors has most likely influenced Downing's perception of Law?
context
Jessica recently joined a new company and was first introduced to Michelle, her cubicle neighbor. Michelle came across as amiable and cheerful. During lunch she met another colleague, Carrie, who did not come across as friendly as Michelle. In this situation, Jessica's interpretation of Carrie's personality is most likely to be affected by a ________.
contrast effect
Which of the following represents the major determinants of group development and functioning as depicted by the punctuated-equilibrium model?
deadlines and time constraints
Which of the following terms refers to choices made from among two or more alternatives?
decision
In the last month, Stacey, an intelligent and astute employee, has finished only half the work she was scheduled to complete. In addition, she has been taking frequent leaves citing her ill health being the reason but her manager suspects she has been playing truant. When the manager confronted her about her pending work, Stacey began to give excuses; she said that the work was time-consuming, she was unwell, and that it was not a high-priority project in the first place. In this scenario, Stacey is using a(n) ________ impression management technique.
defensive
Reactive and protective behaviors designed to avoid action, blame, or change are termed ________.
defensive behaviors
What is the first step in the rational decision-making model?
defining the problem
Levin and Co. is a group of oil refineries that has been in the news recently. The company had to stop production for over two weeks because their key supplier refused to sell them crude oil at the old prices. Even after rounds of negotiations, the supplier refused to give in to the demands of Levin and Co. and finally, the company had to acquire the raw material from the same supplier because alternative suppliers, though abundant, could not provide the quantities the company demanded at such short notice. This shows the role of ________ in increasing the power one enjoys
dependence
Power is a function of ________.
dependence
Anne Warner, a climate campaigner at an environmental organization, is in charge of implementing a campaign activity where she needs to increase the use of renewable energy in the villages of Vietnam. For her project, she uses the rational decision-making model to implement activities. She has just completed identifying an appropriate criteria for decision making and has allocated weights to the criteria. Which of the following is Warner most likely to undertake next according to the model?
develop options of wind, solar, and hydro energy
Which of the following terms best represents voluntary actions that violate significant organizational norms and, in doing so, threaten the well-being of the organization or its members?
deviant workplace behavior
Which of the following is a contributing factor with regard to social loafing?
dispersion of responsibility
According to the attribution theory, ________ is one the three main factors which attempts to determine an individual's behavior.
distinctiveness
With reference to the attribution theory, which of the following terms indicates the extent to which an individual displays different behaviors in different situations?
distinctiveness
Which of the following is referred to as a halo effect?
drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic
ABL is one of the largest consumer goods companies in the country and it recently held its annual conference where members of all regional divisions were invited. Since the company is vast and rarely finds all its employees together in such a manner, it used this opportunity to present to them certain new ideas they had regarding various aspects of their functioning. Large meetings with each regional team were held to provide them with information about the proposed changes and to obtain their anonymous votes through computers. This helped the company speed up the decision-making process and consolidate the results immediately. Which of the following group decision techniques did ABL use here
electronic meeting approach
Which of the following is a self-focused impression management technique?
enhancement
Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?
ensuring that individual contributions to the group's outcome are identified
Mike Ford is a senior accountant at Coleman and Co., which is a financial management company. Mike has wanted to be on the board of representatives of his company for a long time but the company stipulates a minimum number of years an employee must work at the organization before he makes it to the board. Mike is unwilling to work two more years to reach that stipulated experience and so he found a way to transgress this rule. He met up with one of the existing board members who was having problems accounting for allocated funds that went missing and offered to settle that for him in his department provided he nominate Mike to the board. Which of the following power tactics is being used here?
exchange
Winston Mayer is a sales manager for a large company producing beverages and ready-to-eat meals. Winston is often seen working late and on weekends when the company stipulates a five-day work week. Winston justifies his working extra by claiming that "in sales, one cannot afford to waste a minute" and he is often condescending when subordinates take their allotted time off. He frequently speaks to his manager about the the new deals he finalizes when he is working beyond the normal working hours to prove his point. From the information provided, we can say that Winston is using ________ as an impression management technique here.
exemplification
Monica Walden feels that people who use plastic bags are insensitive toward the environment. She believes that people have a certain obligation toward their environment and should take it upon themselves to protect and preserve it. Which of the following factors has most likely influenced Walden's perception of people?
expectation
Role ________ is defined as the way others believe you should act in a given context.
expectation
At the PR firm where Gerald works, everyone considers him to be very good with his work and depends heavily on his knowledge to help the organization to solve its problems. Gerald is often seen teaching interns a simpler way to present an article, helping project managers with scheduling, and even the CEO often asks him for his opinion on important matter because of his experience and skill. Gerald's specialized knowledge depicts his ________.
expert power
Which of the following is a component of the three-component model of creativity?
expertise
The determination of the behavioral patterns and assumptions through which the group approaches the project is a function of the ________ phase in the punctuated-equilibrium model.
first meeting
Which of the following is an assertive impression management technique?
flattery
Power may be categorized as ________.
formal and personal
Which of the following stages of the five-stage group development model is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure, and leadership?
forming
An informal group is characterized by the ________.
fulfillment of the need for social contact
Johanna Springer, who works as a sales executive at Pascal's Bank, is upset at the way her manager, Emma Womack, always calls her in for one-on-one meetings to discuss her underperformance. Though Springer makes a higher number of sales calls and works longer hours than last year, her sales figures are still low. She knows that the main reason behind her underperformance is the recent economic meltdown in the country. However, her manager feels that Springer's underperformance is the result of her laid back attitude and has nothing to do with external factors. In this situation, Womack's behavior is characterized by a(n) ________.
fundamental attribution error
Which of the following terms best describes the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgments about the behavior of others?
fundamental attribution error
Which of the following is a differentiating factor between power and leadership?
goal compatibility
Groupshift is seen when ________.
group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions they hold when discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution
In discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions they hold. This phenomenon is called ________.
groupshift
The HR department at Bailey Services is considering offering telecommuting as an option to some experienced employees. At a meeting to formalize the move, the heads of the different departments met with Laura Watson, the HR manager. Laura, who thought this meeting would be a short one, was proven wrong when all the members, who had previously agreed that telecommuting would work in their company, began coming up with divergent views. By the end, two divisions claimed having major concerns about allowing employees to telecommute, and those in favor of it were equally vocal. This scenario depicts the operation of ________.
groupshift
Sonia Soans is corporate trainer. One of her favorite ways to start a training program is to present a case study and encourage members to think of the case in depth and discuss it amongst each other. Using the results of the activity she understands the baseline measures of the group's functioning. During one of her recent sessions, she observed that the group came to a consensus very quickly. However, when asked to present their views, the team members were not too confident and appeared to be under an illusion of unanimity. From the scenario, we can say that this group experienced ________.
groupthink
William Davies, a guest relations executive at a five star deluxe hotel, regularly interacts with bureaucrats, politicians, celebrities, and other prosperous individuals. He feels that all rich people are kind, hardworking, and friendly. Which of the following is Davies most likely to be characterized by?
halo effect
If an individual ________, then he is less likely to engage in illegitimate political behavior.
has invested a lot in the organization in terms of time and efforts
Janice Yoder works in an environmental campaigning organization and often needs to interact with a large team for project implementation activities. However, she always finds it difficult to work as a part of a team. She always seems to have major disagreements with team members which lead to antagonistic relations between them. Though she has moved from one team to another, her relations with colleagues always seem to be hostile and cold. How would the attribution theory describe this behavior?
high on consistency
The tendency to believe falsely, after an outcome of an event is actually known, that one would have accurately predicted that outcome is known as a(n) ________ bias.
hindsight
David Myers is of the opinion that people who drive SUVs are rash drivers. He feels that people driving SUVs do not respect road rules and always violate traffic regulations. What personal factor is most likely to be affecting Myers' perception of SUV drivers?
his expectations
Aaron Dias was working on the last shift for the day at All Needs, a retail store owned by an Asian man, when he opened the cash register and stole some money thinking that nobody would witness him stealing. However, one of the customer attendants watched him steal the money and reported it to the manager the next day, following which Aaron was terminated. Subsequently, the manager became extremely strict with all his Caucasian employees and was often heard abusing them saying "you guys are all the same." This scenario depicts ________.
in-group favoritism
At Milton farms, where a large part of the management comes from the same sociocultural background, many employees of diverse ethical or cultural origins are hired only to ensure legal compliance with laws relating to diversity at the workplace. The company's day-to-day functioning leaves much to be desired in terms of promoting diversity. Recently, the owner's cousin was promoted to the post of a branch manager while three suitable candidates hailing from a different cultures were blatantly overlooked. This is an example of ________.
in-group favoritism
Which of the following is an advantage of group decision making when compared to individual decision making?
increased diversity of views
The power tactic of using flattery and creating goodwill before making a request is known as ________.
ingratiation
Hubert Gray needs an instruction manual developed for his new product. This is the last step of the project and he has severe budget constraints. He needs a small team of technical writers to work together closely to write the manual on fairly short notice. He needs them to communicate ideas quickly, creatively, and affordably. Which of the following group techniques should Hubert consider?
interacting and brainstorming
Groupthink is most commonly seen in the group decision-making approach using ________.
interacting groups
Which of the following is a factor present in a perceiver which may affect perception?
interest
The second stage of the five-stage group development model is characterized by ________.
intragroup conflict within the group
The three-component model of creativity proposes that individual creativity essentially requires expertise, creative thinking skills, and ________.
intrinsic task motivation
Phyllis Stintson needs to decide whether to start a campaign against deforestation in Indonesia. Though her research team has provided substantial information on the high feasibility of the project, Stintson does not go ahead with the project. Stintson's decision is most likely influenced by which of the following if she made the decision by drawing unconscious references from several different experiences in the past?
intuition
Which of the following defensive behaviors involves developing explanations that lessen one's responsibility for a negative outcome and apologizing to demonstrate remorse?
justifying
Which of the following is a feature of power?
lack of goal compatibility between leaders and followers
Which of the following factors can lead to greater probability of sexual harassment at the workplace?
large power differentials
When the audience does not care about the outcomes, using a combination of ________ can help lessen negative reactions to the feeling that one is dictating outcomes.
legitimacy and ingratiation
Political behaviors usually ________.
lie outside of an individual's specified job requirements
Rational persuasion is a power tactic that involves the use of ________.
logical arguments and factual evidence
Megan Cardova, who works as a sales executive at Orbit Bank, has been failing to meet her sales targets for the last 10 months. Recently, she had a face-to-face discussion with her manager where she said that the unrealistic targets were the reason for her underperformance. The manager, however, noticed that all the other team members were achieving their targets and sometimes were even achieving more than the set numbers. Which of the following is Cardova's behavior most likely to be characterized by according to the attribution theory?
low consensus
According to the attribution theory, if a behavior scores ________, we tend to attribute it to external causes.
low on consistency
Samantha is never late for work. But last Monday she arrived an hour late because of heavy traffic. According to the attribution theory, Samantha's behavior on that day scores ________.
low on consistency
According to the attribution theory, if a behavior scores ________, we tend to attribute it to internal causes.
low on distinctiveness
Which of the following is a subtle form of sexual harassment?
making jokes with sexual overtones
Bonnie Patterson is a manager for seven years at Wayne and Watson, a legal consultancy firm. A good part of her work day involves holding meetings and she likes to get work on a time-bound schedule. For this reason, members of her team receive the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, followed by some time to contemplate over the issue at hand individually. Subsequently, the team members present their ideas one after the another, the group discusses them together, and lastly, a ranking is done to choose the most favored idea. This represents the ________ approach of group decision making.
nominal group
A group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion is the ________ technique.
nominal groups
Which of the following represents the acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members?
norms
Which of the following is a factor present in a target which may affect a person's perception?
novelty
Role perception is defined as ________.
our view of how we are supposed to act in a given situation
Which of the following is an individual factor that influences political behavior?
perceived job alternatives
When two people witness something at the same time and in the same situation yet interpret it differently, factors that operate to shape their perceptions reside in the ________.
perceivers
When the group energy is focused on the task at hand and the group is fully functional, it is said to be in the stage of ________.
performing
Daphne is one of the three project managers at Virgo Inc., an art and design studio. Raymond and Gabriel, the other two project managers, are unhappy working with Daphne as she always selects projects that suit her area of expertise and avoids projects which require more ambiguous work, have tight deadlines, and represent a low probability of success. Raymond and Gabriel feel that they deserve greater credit than Daphne for being open and accepting different work demands and situations, as opposed to Daphne, who always takes a conservative and risk-averse approach. Daphne is using the defensive behavior of ________ here.
playing safe
Which of the following factors contributes to political behavior in the organization?
presence of limited resources in the organization
Which of the following power tactics uses warnings and threats and is typically the least effective of all the power tactics?
pressure
Which of the following is a defensive behavior that is used to avoid change?
preventing
A(n) ________ refers to a discrepancy between the current state of affairs and some desired state
problem
Which of the following is a decision-making model that describes how individuals should behave in order to maximize some outcome?
rational decision-making model
Which of the following power tactics would be considered a soft tactic?
rational persuasion
The important groups to which an individual belongs or hopes to belong are known as ________ groups.
reference
Jonas Wilkes has struggled for many years with tight finances at home. Throughout school and college, he worked really hard, earned the best grades, and prepared himself for a better life. By a better life, he meant a house in the uptown Wellington Road and a membership in the Diamond District Club where he envisions himself playing golf on weekends. The residents of Wellington Road and the members of Diamond District Club serve as a ________ for him.
reference group
Which of the following types of power can be categorized as personal power?
referent
A local government work crew cleans up parks and other public spaces. In this crew the dirtiest jobs are generally given to the newest members, while the more senior members of the crew tend to do little except draw their pay. Which of the following classes of norms encompasses arrangements like this?
resource allocation norms
As a regional sales officer, one of Brandon's job responsibilities is to process the yearly appraisal forms of his subordinates and provide them with increments, bonuses, or benefits based on their performance that year. This job responsibility directly reflects his ________.
reward power
Under the zero-sum approach, rewards are distributed such that ________.
rewards increase for a group at the expense of loss for another group
Michael is devout and very active in his church. He is also a very dedicated employee. His manager offers him a promotion but the new role will require him to work Sundays. Michael would like the promotion, but realizes that it would force him to miss some church activities. In this situation, Michael is most likely to experience ________.
role conflict
Most people assume that a police officer should behave in a lawful manner, refrain from demonstrating favoritism to any particular group, and do their best to uphold the law. Which of the following terms best represents these beliefs?
role expectation
Janice Cooper has recently joined a hospital as a part of the internship program prescribed by the nursing school she attends. Janice, who was inspired to take up this profession by the story of Florence Nightingale, had very strong ideals about how she should behave as a nurse. She felt that as a nurse, she must be gentle, pleasant, and caring at all times so she could serve her patients well, and she often went to great lengths as an intern by putting in extra hours at the hospital and so on. The scenario reflects Janice's ________.
role perception
Placing the blame for a negative outcome on external factors that are not entirely blameworthy is known as ________.
scapegoating
Emily Boyce, a project manager at an insurance firm, regularly satisfices while making decisions. She often comes across complicated problems which would take a long time to resolve. Due to the pressing deadlines, she often meets project goals by satisficing a large number of her decisions. Which of the following is Boyce most likely to do?
search for solutions that are reasonable
Which of the following steps can be taken by a manager so as to minimize groupthink?
seeking input from employees before the group leader presents his opinions
With reference to decision making, which of the following does satisficing involve?
seeking solutions that are satisfactory and sufficient
Harriet Kirby, a fund raising manager at a women's rights organization, experienced a bad incident last year with the public relations manager of a banking company who had committed to sponsor a charity event. The bank backed out at the last minute. This year, when a renowned international bank executive showed interest in sponsoring the organization's upcoming annual event, Kirby rejected their participation. She felt that banks have a casual approach toward charity events, and it is risky to involve them in the event. Which of the following is Kirby most likely to be characterized by?
selective perception
Individuals engage in ________ because it is impossible for them to assimilate everything they see and can take in only certain stimuli.
selective perception
You are more likely to notice a car like your own due to ________.
selective perception
Sarah Covington, a sales manager at Synergy Corporation Bank, often keeps low expectations of her team. She feels that they are under qualified for their job and do not have substantial experience to sell a large number of accounts. Covington's team does not feel motivated enough and invariably underperforms and misses targets on a regular basis. Which of the following concepts best explains Covington's team's poor performance?
self-fulfilling prophecy
Which of the following terms refers to a situation in which a person inaccurately perceives a second person, and the resulting expectations cause the second person to behave in ways consistent with the original perception?
self-fulfilling prophecy
Jane Allen, a campaign manager at a non-profit organization, often takes full credit for project successes even when her team members' contributions play a big role in achieving milestones. However, when projects receive setbacks, she blames her team members and sometimes states that the situation was beyond her control. Allen's behavior is an example of a(n) ________ bias.
self-serving
Connie Cole works as a junior market analyst at SPS Services. Her previous manager retired a couple of months back and she now has a younger male manager who repeatedly insists that she accompany him for a coffee or dinner after work. Initially, Connie was unsuspecting and refused because she did not have the time for such engagements during weekdays. Later, when her manager's requests became frequent, she grew uncomfortable and told him firmly that she was not interested in him and his attempts were not welcome. She realized that this step may backfire because as her superior, he had complete control over her appraisals, bonuses, and promotions and her manager even told her that if she does not agree, he will "find other ways." Connie's experiences is best described as ________.
sexual harassment
The ________ norms dictate behavior such as with whom group members eat lunch and friendships on and off the job.
social arrangement
Our tendency to take personal pride or offense for the accomplishments of a group we are a part of, is the territory of the ________ theory.
social identity
When faced with a number of tight deadlines, Mandy Moore often delegates work collectively. Recently she chose some fairly experienced employees to work on a high-priority project. She was heartened to see that the selected group of employees was having numerous meetings and working hard. However, when she went to check on their progress at the halfway mark in the project schedule, she was shocked to see how little the team had done in the past three weeks. This scenario reflects ________.
social loafing
Which of the following terms indicates the tendency of individuals to spend less effort when working collectively
social loafing
Status refers to the ________.
socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others
Timothy Jenkins was working for six years at Hartford Mills, a company that takes a strong stand against unionization. Though Timothy's designation was that of a production supervisor, as the company grew, he also took on additional duties like keeping a check on employee safety, ensuring that legal measures are followed, and implementing programs for labor welfare that the company planned. Many believed that Timothy was doing a great job for the company and so it came as a surprise when Timothy was rumored to face severe disciplinary action as he was encouraging the workers to join a union. However, he was let off with a mere warning. Timothy claimed that he was only looking to ensure greater employee welfare which was one of the duties the company had assigned to him. Which of the following, if true, would help Hartford Mills avoid such situations in the future?
specifying the permissible and illegal aspects of an employee's formal role in the organization
Group decision making has a disadvantage in the area of ________, when compared to individual decision making.
speed
Will Cears works at Mesner Corp, as a middle-level manager. Will recognizes that his firm is plagued by organizational politics. Since he is not good at playing games, he frequently engages in defensive behaviors in order to protect himself and his interests. Will is frustrated because he believes that he has little control over his environment, and his environment is uncomfortable to him. He has had some success at establishing a sense of control for himself by appearing to be cooperative and supportive to his colleagues. However, he continues to hold his reservations against politicking and does not engage in it. This is an example of ________ in order to avoid action, blame, or change.
stalling
A manager believes that he should not hire older workers because they can't learn new skills. This belief is an example of ________.
stereotyping
Judging someone on the basis of one's perception of the group to which the person belongs is called ________.
stereotyping
Rose Buffay needs to give a presentation to the board of directors of her organization next week. She knows that her presentation will play an important role in her performance appraisal in the next quarter. However, she knows that two of her colleagues, John Roy and Keith Mathews, will also be giving a presentation on the same issue. She is nervous because she believes that men have a better flair for giving presentations. Buffay's perception of John and Keith is most likely characterized by
stereotyping
Which of the following is a shortcut used in judging others by making generalizations?
stereotyping
By the end of the stage of ________, a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group is established
storming
Which of the following represents the second stage in the five-stage group development model?
storming
Legitimate power is directly based on ________.
structural position of the manager in the organization
Research on power is likely to provide information on the most effective ________.
tactics for gaining compliance of employees
In the context of the social identity theory, distinctiveness refers to the ________.
tendency of in-group members to notice and emphasize identities that reflect how different they are from other groups...
Status is a characteristic under the social identity theory that reflects the ________.
tendency of people to link themselves to groups of higher social standing in an attempt to define themselves favorably...
Uncertainty reduction is a dimension of the social identity theory that manifests itself in the ________.
tendency of people to use the group as a means of understanding who they are and how they fit into the world
Similarity is a characteristic under the social identity theory that manifests itself in the ________.
tendency of people who have greater uniformity in values and characteristics to have greater group identification as well...
The first phase of group development for temporary groups involves ________.
the determination of the group's direction...
Dependence would be low when ________.
the goods have substitutes
During the third stage of group development ________.
the group demonstrates cohesiveness
Which of the following is an example of performance norms?
the manner in which a job must be done
Which of the following is a factor present in a situation which may affect a person's perception?
time
Buck passing is seen when an employee ________.
transfers responsibility for the execution of a task or decision to someone else
Tabby Tolman is a project coordinator at Tristar Solutions. Whenever a new project comes her way, she holds a project meeting and follows it up with repeated meetings to address any concerns the team may have and to monitor their progress. However, with the peak of the business season arriving, she has been holding just one project initiation meeting for every project to save on time. She has become increasingly worried about the team's progress with no inputs coming from the members and she has had no time to check with them. With two weeks left to go for a high priority project of a month's duration, she has now begun to see some work coming through and is relieved. This development reflects that the group is at the stage of ________.
transition following the halfway mark in the timeline
Which of the following is an overt form of sexual harassment?
unwanted physical touching
To avoid politicking during performance evaluations, an organization should ________.
use objective criteria
According to the concept of ________, decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes, ideally to provide the greatest good for the greatest number.
utilitarianism
Individuals who report unethical practices by their employer to outsiders are known as ________.
whistle-blowers
Which of the following is an organizational factor that increases illegitimate political behavior?
zero-sum reward practice
