Sales Management Midterm 1 - Chapter 6

General role inaccuracy: A. Produces consequences similar to those caused by role conflict and ambiguity B. Arises because the salesperson incorrectly perceives the relationships between the activities and performance dimensions or between the performance dimensions and the rewards C. Is only found in sales positions D. Arises from conditions that are dramatically different from those that create role conflict and ambiguity E. Is accurately described by none of the above

A

Kerry knows a salesperson's role is defined through a three-step process. The three-step process, in the order they occur is: A. Role partners communicate expectations, salespeople develop perceptions and salespeople convert perceptions into behaviors B. Salespeople develop perceptions, role partners communicate expectations and salespeople convert perceptions into behaviors C. Salespeople convert perceptions into behaviors, role partners communicate expectations and salespeople develop perceptions D. Role partners communicate expectations, salespeople convert perceptions into behaviors and salespeople develop perceptions E. There is no three-step process

A

Mallory frequently hears her salespeople comment that their work is not very exciting. Which of the following dimensions of job satisfaction will she hopefully assess and attempt to change? A. The job itself B. Coworkers C. Company policies D. Pay E. Customers

A

Nicole wants to win the trip to Hawaii being offered to the top salesperson this month. Nicole has a high: A. Valence for rewards B. Expectancy for reward C. Instrumentality D. Performance valence E. All of the above

A

Regina is highly motivated, willing to expend significant ___________ on each activity or task. A. Effort B. Valence C. Money D. Skill E. Instrumentality

A

Roger, a sales rep for an office furniture company is not sure whether he should be spending time showing customers how to assemble the furniture. Roger is experiencing __________ concern. A. Role expectancy B. Role ambiguity C. Role conflict D. Role inaccuracy E. Role rotation

A

Sara Davis believes that she could easily improve her selling performance by working a bit harder, but she also thinks that management would not reward her more for any performance improvement. Which of the following statements describes Davis? A. She has high expectancy and low instrumentality B. She has high expectancy and low valence for rewards C. She has high valence for performance and low expectancy D. She has high valence for rewards and low instrumentality E. She has high valence for performance and high instrumentality

A

Skill levels include all of the following EXCEPT: A. Motivation B. Interpersonal skills C. Leadership D. Technical knowledge E. Presentation skills

A

The Army recruiter is trying to sell the recent high school graduate on a career in the military. With the phrase, "Be all that you can be," the recruiter is using _____ as a recruitment tool. A. An intrinsic reward B. Job satisfaction C. Instrumentality D. An extrinsic reward E. A lower-level need

A

When handling highly technical or engineered products or when encountering non-routine problems or prospecting for new accounts, it is important that the sales representative have the ability to: A. Be innovative, creative and flexible B. Use hard-sell tactics C. Rewrite company policies to satisfy customers D. Ask his or her role set for their opinions and inputs E. Look to a paternalistic sales manager for support

A

Which of the following statements about the salesperson's role in the organization is true? A. Role is defined by the expectations and demands communicated by members of one's own role set, by the personal perceptions of those expectations and demands and finally by the personal behavior of the individual B. What salespeople think they should be doing has less impact on their actual performance than what management and company say they should be doing C. A role set represents the activities and behaviors of any person that occupies a position in an organization D. Role ambiguity occurs when a salesperson inaccurately perceives the demands being placed on him E. A saleswoman who is unsure of how her customers are evaluating her performance is experiencing role conflict

A

With increased use of remote offices, research indicates salespeople perceive: A. Increased role stress B. Decreased dependency on technology C. Increased self-assurance D. Increased support from sales management E. All of the above

A

After talking with his manager, a salesperson thought he was supposed to be spending about 20 percent of his time prospecting and qualifying new customers. The manager actually wants him to spend 50 percent of his time on finding new customers. The salesperson is experiencing: A. Job demotivation B. Role inaccuracy C. Role ambiguity D. Task incompatibility E. Role conflict

B

All of the following are examples of organizational variables that would influence sales performance EXCEPT: A. How closely the sales force is supervised B. The number of competitors in a territory C. The company's advertising expenditures D. The firm's current market share E. The amount of role conflict

B

Research suggests that a certain degree of role conflict and ambiguity: A. Increases role stress B. Can be beneficial to the customer and the organization C. Decreases skill levels D. Guarantees salespeople will be motivated to quit E. Provides extrinsic rewards

B

The job itself, fellow workers, supervision, company policies, pay, promotion and advancement opportunities and customers are all dimensions of: A. The sales performance model B. Job satisfaction C. Motivation D. Job aptitude E. Organization culture

B

The valence for the performance of a person in sales is a function of: A. The person's estimate of the probability that increased performance will yield increased rewards B. Instrumentality and valence for rewards C. The person's relative desire for rewards D. How the person perceives the desirability of improved performance E. How the person perceives the linkage between performance and rewards

B

Which of the following individuals is most likely to have a boundary position in a company that manufactures modular homes? A. A person who receives inbound telemarketing B. A person who sells the modular homes in the field C. The sales manager D. The marketing manager E. The manufacturer's advertising agency

B

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic factors influencing worker's job performance? A. Role perceptions B. Government C. Aptitude D. Skill level E. Motivation

B

Which of the following organizational citizenship behaviors is a proactive behavior that includes making recommendations to management that will improve the overall performance of the organization? A. Sportsmanship B. Civic virtue C. Conscientiousness D. Altruism E. Competition

B

Which of the following statements BEST describes the relationship between supervision and role conflict and ambiguity? A. Close supervision can increase job ambiguity B. When sales managers structure and define the salesperson's role, he or she seems to experience more conflict C. Regular and frequent contact and interactions between role partners and close supervision will insure low levels of role conflict D. Sales managers can do nothing to hold role conflicts and ambiguities at a management level E. Newly hired salespeople perceive less role conflict than experienced salespeople do

B

Which of the following statements about the aptitude component of the model of sales performance is true? A. Aptitude is the same whether the salesperson is asked to sell roofing shingles or x-ray equipment B. Aptitude includes verbal intelligence, mathematical ability and sales expertise C. A salesperson's aptitude is unaffected by her height, sex, age and physical attractiveness D. Aptitude has no affect on a salesperson's motivation to perform E. Aptitude will not affect sales performance if two job candidates have identical motivation, role perceptions and skills

B

Which of the following statements about the salesperson's role in the organization is true? A. The model of sales performance suggests that a worker's job performance is a function of five basic factors: (1) motivation, (2) aptitude, (3) role perception, (4) personal satisfaction and (5) skill level B. Role inaccuracy differs from role conflict and ambiguity because the salesperson does not know he is suffering from role inaccuracy C. If a salesperson has high motivation and aptitude, but low skill, the model of salesperson performance suggests that this salesperson will still exhibit a high level of performance D. A salesperson's role is the appropriate set of activities or behaviors he or she will perform as defined by the company's policies and procedures and its organizational culture E. Role ambiguity occurs when a salesperson believes the role demands of two or more of her role partners are incompatible

B

With increasing complexity in relationships between companies and customers, many sales organizations are using more: A. Role ambiguity motivation B. Team selling C. Sales performance marketing D. Occupational adjustment assistance E. Advertising

B

Yolanda has a quarterly gathering of her salespeople, giving out awards, announcing promotions and describing the incentives offered for the next quarter. Yolanda is appealing to salespeople's: A. Intrinsic needs B. Low-order needs C. Organizational citizenship behavior D. Perceived role conflicts E. None of the above

B

A salesperson's role is: A. Unaffected by external pressures such as family or customers B. Defined by the job description C. Defined as the activities and behaviors performed by any individual occupying the sales position D. Determined by the perceived expectations of media E. Typically not a cause of job dissatisfaction

C

An office equipment salesperson is uncertain about whether he is satisfying his customers needs for follow-up service even though he is sacrificing his selling time to potential customers to service his current customers' equipment. He is most likely experiencing: A. Job demotivation B. Role inaccuracy C. Role ambiguity D. Task incompatibility E. Role conflict

C

Close supervision of the sales force by the sales manager has been referred to as a two-edged sword because it: A. Reduces both role conflict and role ambiguity B. Requires the boundary-spanning salesperson to please both internal and external stakeholders C. Helps reduce role inaccuracy while increasing role ambiguity D. Improves sales force performance while using up a huge amount of the sales manager's time E. Encourages linkage role inaccuracies while increasing motivation levels

C

In small doses, role conflict and ambiguity provide the salesperson and the organization with some stress. This stress: A. Produces an unhappy situation because stress reduces productivity B. Can be eliminated by more training and closer supervision C. Is a healthy situation since low levels of stress lead to adaptation and change D. Prevents salespeople from taking on any innovative roles E. Is the normal state of affairs for everyday existence and businesses could not operate without it

C

Researchers measuring aptitude have learned that: A. Broad measures of aptitude are most effective B. Aptitude only varies slightly from industry to industry C. Aptitude is very task-specific D. Aptitudes can be increased through training E. Aptitude is unaffected by an individual's physical characteristics

C

The sales performance model suggests that personal, organizational and environmental variables influence sales performance directly and: A. Through organizational citizenship behavior B. Competitive pressure from alternative suppliers C. By influencing other performance determinants such as role perceptions and motivation D. Through advertising incentives used to recruit salespeople E. All of the above

C

The salesperson's role is particularly susceptible to problems with role perception because: A. Sales managers typically closely supervise their sales forces B. Sales territories are frequently modified C. The salesperson has a large number of people he or she must satisfy D. There are few people the salesperson can confide in when he or she has a problem E. Selling is the only source of one-to-one communication for a company that wants to use integrated marketing communications

C

Which of the following statements about rewards is true? A. Intrinsic rewards relate to lower order human needs B. Intrinsic rewards include security and recognition C. Extrinsic rewards include pay and promotion D. Extrinsic rewards are those salespeople primarily attain for themselves E. Intrinsic rewards satisfy physiological needs

C

Because sales people occupy boundary positions they face the potential of demands from: A. Customers B. Sales managers C. The company D. All of the above E. None of the above

D

In which of the following examples will the salesperson described be most vulnerable to role inaccuracy, conflict and ambiguity? A. Molly Ford sells electronic equipment to home computer users B. Anderson Wills sells vinyl siding over the telephone C. Bill Welch sells health club membership to people who are out-of-shape D. Karen Rankin sells management consulting to businesses that want to set up an Internet retailing site E. What a salesperson sells and to whom he or she sells it has no bearing on the vulnerability to role inaccuracy, conflict and ambiguity

D

Perceived role inaccuracy is distinguishable from the other role perception variables by the fact that it: A. Is not directly the fault of the person occupying the role B. Has no psychological impact C. Is an obvious problem that is readily fixed D. Is largely an unrealized perception E. Causes the individual to adopt conflicting roles

D

The expectations associated with organizational citizenship behaviors are consistent with: A. Transactions selling B. Instrumentalities C. The Better Business Bureau D. Relationship selling E. Perceived role ambiguities

D

There is a level of hostility below which _____ may be benign but above which it will be malign. A. Competition B. Motivation C. Role perception inaccuracy D. Role ambiguity and perception E. Sales performance

D

Which of the following organizational citizenship behaviors is exemplified by mentoring younger salespeople? A. Sportsmanship B. Civic virtue C. Conscientiousness D. Altruism E. Competition

D

Which of the following statements about how personal, organizational and environmental variables relate to the model of sales performance is true? A. These variables have little or no effect on sales performance B. There appears to be no relationship among personal and organizational variables and role perceptions C. Environmental variables have been more widely studied than personal or organizational variables D. Overall, many questions concerning how personal, organizational and environmental variables affect sales performance remain unanswered E. Motivation is unrelated to personal variables

D

Which of the following statements about role accuracy is true? A. General role accuracy arises when a salesperson does not perceive the general link among effort, performance and reward B. Linkage-specific role inaccuracy involves such considerations as to whether salespeople correctly think they can negotiate on price, promise shorter delivery times than normal and handle adjustments for customers C. There is a low probability for linkage role inaccuracy among salespeople because activities, dimensions and rewards are multidimensional D. General role inaccuracy can occur at almost any job dimension that also gives rise to role ambiguity and conflict E. A salesperson who does not see the link between increased trade promotions and increased selling opportunities is experiencing a general role inaccuracy

D

Which of the following statements about skills as a component of the model of sales performance is true? A. Sales skill is basically the same as sales aptitude B. Selling is not a trainable skill C. Skill refers to a relatively enduring personal ability D. A skill is a learned proficiency at performing a task E. Skill is less important as a factor in sales performance than motivation, aptitude, role perception and organizational, personal and environmental variables

D

Which of the following statements about the components of role perceptions is true? A. Perceived role ambiguity occurs when a salesperson believes the role demands of two or more of his partners are incompatible B. Perceived role conflict arises when salespeople believe they do not have the information necessary to perform the job adequately C. Role inaccuracy is another term for role ambiguity D. Business to business salespeople are particularly vulnerable to role inaccuracy, conflict and ambiguity E. All of the above statements about the components of role perceptions are true

D

Which of the following statements about the salesperson's perception of his or her role in the organization is true? A. Because the salesperson is in a boundary position, he or she is more likely to experience role conflict and inaccuracy and less likely to experience role ambiguity B. Occupants of innovative roles experience less conflict than other organizational members because they can be flexible and because they perform their jobs independently C. Salespeople are said to be operating at the boundary of a firm because they are the most visible of all of the integrated marketing tools that an organization can use D. Occupants of innovative roles frequently face situations where they have no standard procedures or past experiences to guide them E. Because the salesperson is in a boundary position, he or she is less likely to experience role conflict than other members of the organization

D

Which of the following statements is NOT true? A. There is almost no published research concerning the effects of training programs on skill levels B. Different kinds of skills are needed for different types of selling tasks C. Aptitude and skill levels are related constructs D. Salespeople's past experience does not influence skill level E. The skill set needed for technical sales is different from the skill set needed for automobile sales

D

Al Greer has been told by his sales manager that he can no longer offer his customers a two-day delivery on the home decorating items he sells. Greer's biggest customer demands two-day delivery or else she will take her business to another company that handles similar merchandise. Since Greer works on a commission and earns no salary, he is likely to experience: A. Job demotivation B. Role inaccuracy C. Role ambiguity D. Task incompatibility E. Role conflict

E

Bill Jason overheard a salesperson ask, "If I put more effort into my job, will I increase my performance?" In terms of motivation, this question deals with: A. Role accuracy B. Valence for rewards C. Instrumentality D. Valence for performance E. Expectancy

E

Petra is trying to increase the sense of job satisfaction among her salespeople. She will likely consider which of the following dimensions of job satisfaction? A. Promotion and advancement opportunities B. Supervision C. Customers D. Coworkers E. All of the above

E

Role expectations: A. Have been developed in a general form to cover every industry and every type of sales position B. Are very similar from one type of role partner to another C. Are inconsistent among salespeople D. Seldom conflict with expectations of family members or supervisors E. Are accurately described by none of the above

E

Sales managers can reduce the amount of role ambiguity and conflict the sales force experiences by: A. Giving them an input in determining the standards by which they are evaluated B. Providing them with sales training opportunities C. Giving salespeople a greater voice in what they do and how they do it D. Altering the organization's span of control E. Doing any or all of the above

E

The sales representatives for Latoka Industries, a manufacturer of security systems for schools, warehouses, government buildings and other industrial and institutional markets, has been told they will now have to sell a newly designed security system to consumers. (Note the sales force was not given any training on how to sell to the consumer market.) Which of the following statements describes a likely problem for the Latoka sales force? A. Role inaccuracy will occur because Latoka's sales reps view themselves as industrial salespeople not consumer salespeople B. Role expectation will be a problem because Latoka's sales force will not know what consumers expect them to do C. Role conflict is likely because consumers will make demands that are unlike those made by industrial and institutional customers D. Role ambiguity will occur because Latoka's salespeople will not believe they have the information needed to sell to the consumer market E. All of the above statements describe problems that will likely impact Latoka's sales force

E

Which of the following is a dimension of intrinsic job satisfaction? A. Pay B. Fellow workers C. Supervision D. Customers E. The job itself

E