COM336 Test 3 Study Guide

Which of the following can be a symptom of groupthink?

Members believe that they are morally right and people who oppose them are wrong.

Shanna notices that there are a pretty good number of employees in the company who are from her same cultural background, but that she is the only one who is in a position as a senior manager or higher. This observation suggests that her organization is probably a

Plural organization

Which of the following does NOT represent an antecedent condition of groupthink?

The group has members with strong opinions.

Satisficing occurs when which of the following is true?

There are numerous possible options and large amounts of potential information.

Which of the following is an example of organization decision makers participating in retrospective rationality?

They present an image to the public as thoughtful decision makers for a haphazard decision.

T/F: According to media richness theory, the richness of a media refers to the number of emotional and social cues transmitted through a channel.

True

T/F: Communication via telephone has greater media richness than communicating via text messaging.

True

T/F: Discussing alternative solutions should reduce faulty decision-making.

True

T/F: Employees tend to use circumvention to communicate dissent when they perceive their supervisor lacks competence or skill to handle the situation.

True

T/F: Machiavellian employees tend to exercise power by giving orders and directive to others more than they receive them, especially during competitive situations.

True

T/F: Role overload can trigger intrarole and interrole conflicts.

True

T/F: Studies reveal that men and women can sometimes talk about sexual harassment with the same words and phrases but intend different meanings without even knowing it.

True

According to the principles of the diffusion of innovation, a late majority adopter would be involved in which way with a new computer application to improve work flow?

A late majority adopter would adopt the computer application after seeing that at least half the people have used it successfully.

Which of the following is not a way that technology is changing communication in the workplace?

It makes rational decisions easier to make.

Which of the following is not considered an important form of effective communication during the implementation of change?

It should be disseminated using the latest communication technologies.

Carol is the head of the department. People often privately disagree with some of her suggestions but tend to go along with her at meetings anyway because she is in charge. This suggests that Carol has what type of power?

Legitimate

Which of the following behaviors would you NOT expect to find during the orientation phase of group decision making?

people disagreeing about which solution would be the best one

According to the Dewey rational decision making model, during which step in the process should a group do brainstorming?

suggest and consider alternative solutions

Which of the following is not a factor in defining bullying?

the gender or sex of the people involved

Which of the following is an example of hierarchy as it is defined in systems theory?

the relationship of department to the larger part of a larger division in which it operates

Flirting and sexual harassment are both social-sexual behaviors. One important difference between the two behaviors is

whether the behavior is wanted or unwanted.

Two employees want their manager to decide who deserves how much commission for sales on a big account. They both think they deserve the most credit. Their manager finally says, "You two decide and let me know your decision by the end of the day today. I'll abide by your decision." The manager is using which type of conflict style?

Avoiding

The garbage can model of decision making suggests that good decisions

often happen randomly by chance

While the terms are somewhat different, a person using integrative bargaining is quite similar to which conflict style?

Collaborative

Although the terms are somewhat different, a person who uses a distributive bargaining approach is quite similar to person who uses which conflict style?

Competing

In dividing up new office space, two departments each want large offices and more space than is available. Finally, the groups agree that one group will get larger offices but less overall work space, while the other group gets smaller offices but more space. This is an example of which conflict style being used?

Compromising

During decision making, groups will sometimes split into subgroups based on their views on the decision. During which phase would this split be most likely to occur?

Conflict

Which of the following is an example of covert rather than overt resistance to new work regulations?

Employees do not follow new procedures when their supervisors are not present.

Carol is more knowledgeable about technology than anyone else in her department. Other members almost always agree with her recommendations on technology purchases. This indicates that Carol has what type of power in her department?

Expert

T/F: Employee resistance and dissent are always unethical.

False

T/F: Individuals should never use the conflict strategy of avoidance.

False

T/F: Referent, coercive, and reward power bases are all forms of positional power.

False

T/F: Spiral models of decision making force groups to proceed in a linear, sequential manner through the decision making process.

False

Which of the following is an appropriate definition of ideology?

Ideology is a set of criteria for evaluating actions as right or wrong.

According to the textbook authors, the exercise of power is best thought of as

Influence

The company president praises the employees for their work and tells them they will all be receiving raises but fails to mention that a number of employees are also being laid off at the same time. This is probably an example of

denying or transmuting contradictions.

Change in the workplace can result in an emotional response because

even small changes are changes in the organizational culture.

Compared to culturally similar groups, culturally diverse groups working on challenging problems generally perform

less effectively initially but the same or better in the long run.

Two methods of third-party intervention in conflict are mediation and arbitration. Which of the following is true of the arbitrator but not true of the mediator?

makes a decision that both parties must follow

A department chair decides to change a little-used computer lab into a student lounge so that students will interact more between classes. The chair notices that students do use the lounge more while waiting for classes in the building. This is an example of which kind of change?

material, planned