Theory of Organizational Behavior

One conclusion of the University of Michigan studies was that a leader who attempts to build effective work group with high performance goals is exhibiting

employee-centered leader behavior

In the _________ stage of Glasl's model of conflict escalation, the goal becomes destruction and dissolution of the system

fragmentation of the enemy stage

The most difficult performance factor to manage is

motivation -performance is a function of motivation, ability, and environment

Tammi is often pessimistic and tends to see things in a negative light. Tammi is exhibiting a relatively high degree of

negative affectivity -Individuals higher in negative affectivity tend to experience more negative emotions, such as pessimism in Tammi's case

Ivan is trying to understand the concern of an angry customer, but several employees keep interrupting the conversion. The interruptions are an example of

noise

George is highly committed and has an attachment to the organization where he works. He feels he is a true member of the company. George is demonstrating

organizational commitment

Goal specificity is consistently related to

performance -like difficult, specificity has been has been consistently shown to be related to performance

When a person's abilities and the demands of the job are a good match, it is referred to as

person-job git

A person who tends to see things in a positive light and appears to be in a good mood most of the time has a high level of

positive affectivity

The basic expectancy framework suggests that for motivated behavior to occur,

the positive valences should outweigh the negative valences for potential outcomes

According to the goal-setting theory, actual performance is determined by the interaction of

Goal-directed effort

Managers should be aware of which of the following to be most effective?

(circumstances, employee;s personality traits, how employees fit into the group, employee's interests) All of these are correct

Which of the following is NOT a receiver-based barrier to communication?

A receiver records the message for further review

Which conflict resolution strategy entails giving the other party what it wants?

Accommodating

If an employee accepts orders from a supervisor solely because the supervisor is "the boss" the employee is exhibiting a high level of

Authoritarianism -the extent to which a person respects power and status differences

If an employee is satisfied with his or her job because he or she perceives the company's health benefit plan is better than what most other companies offer, it is an example of the ____________ component of your attitude

Cognition -refers to the knowledge that shapes a person's attitude- in this case, that the job's benefits are good

After working in a fast-food restaurant for three years to pay for college tuition, Amanda vowed to never work in a restaurant again. But after graduation the only job offer she received was as a manager at a local restaurant. If Amanda accepts the job, it may result in ____________________ dissonance.

Cognitive

___________Refers to the extent to which people can be counted on to get things done

Conscientiousness -Research has shown a positive correlation between conscientiousness and job performance

_______ is the process by which the receiver of a message interprets its meaning

Decoding

Why are flexible reward systems becoming an increasingly popular form of compensations systems?

Employees value flexible reward systems and may develop strong loyalty and attachment to an employer who provides them

Which of the "Big Five" personality dimensions refers to being talkative and energetic

Extroversion

The start-up phase of team implementation includes which of the following?

Informational or "awareness" training Much of the initial training is informational or "awareness" training that sends the message that top management is firmly committed to teams and that teams are not experimental

The ________ component of an attitude guides an individual's behavior in a situation

Intention

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Vroom's decision tree approach?

It assumes a high level of particpation in decision making is best for all situations

Which of the following statements does NOT describe individualistic cultures?

It is important to fit in with the group

Motivation behavior begins with one or more

Needs -Needs are the beginning of motivation

A successful MBO program starts with top managers establishing which of the following>

Overall organizational goals

__________ diversity occurs when there are differences in position or opinion among group members, especially regarding group goals or processes

Separation

Any time a customer voices a complaint about the way the food tastes, the restaurant manager always offers a complimentary meal. This represents

a decision rule

Based on the description in the Myers-Briggs inventory, the motto of _______ would be "ready, aim, aim"

an introvert

For effective communication to take place, both parties must

attach the same meaning to symbols used in the message -if two parties attach different meaning to the same symbols, a semantic barrier to communication has taken place

One of the primary differences between attitudes and personality is that

attitudes are more changeable than personality attributes

An organization's compensation structure should

be equitable and consistent

Car makers design and produce new model cars more quickly now than in the past. This is an example of

decreased cycle time

Expansions on goal-setting theory argue that goal-directed effort is a function of four goal attributes: goal acceptance, goal commitment, goal specificity and

goal difficulty

In the _______ stage of Glasl's model of conflict escalation, negative rumors are spread and stereotypes are formed as each side prepares for a fight and conducts a search for supporters

images/coalitions

Path-goal theory assumes that

leaders can change their behaviors

In the _____ stage of Glasl's model of conflict escalation, ultimatums are made and conflict escalation accelerates

threat as a strategy

The move toward a team-based format is often initiated and communicated to the entire organization by

top management -top management is instrumental in communicating the reasons for the change to the rest of the organization

Which conflict resolution strategy embodies an "I win, you win" mindset?

Collaborating

All of the following are considered cultural dimensions EXCEPT

Open-Mindedness

Jane welcomes new ideas and change. Jane's supervisor tends to resist any kind of change. Jane and her supervisor differ in their levels of which personality trait described in the Big Five personality framework>

Openness

________ is the extent to which a decision maker is willing to gamble when making a decision

Risk propensity

A team that is comprised of members from different departments or functional areas is

a cross-functional team -members from different departments or functional areas. This is one of the most common types of work teams

According to the path-goal theory of leadership, leaders are likely to improve subordinates' performance by

clarifying what behaviors will lead to desired rewards

A typical characteristic of a knowledge worker's career path is

compensation equivalent to that available to management

Which conflict resolution strategy entails pursing one's interests without any regard for the other party's

competing

Expectancy theory is difficult to apply directly in the workplace because it is so

complex

Being able to see similarities between situations, phenomena, or events is a creative ability called ________ thinking

convergent

Psychological contracts create _____________ promises and obligations between employees and the employer

implicit

One conclusion of the University of Michigan studies was that a leader who focuses on work procedures and performance is exhibiting

job-centered leader behavior

Managers should place individuals with a _______ tolerance for ambiguity in well-defined and regulated tasks

low

The accommodating strategy entails a _____ concern for one's interests and a high concern for the interests of the other party

low

Upward communication usually provides feedback to

managers

The human resource approach to motivation assumes that

meaningful employee contributions are valuable to individuals and the organization

Sara tries to always be on time for work because she once saw her supervisor give someone an award for good attendance. Sara is exhibiting learning through

positive reinforcement

When a conflict begins to escalate, one of the best ways to prevent further escalation is to

react equivalently to the other party, and try not to overact

Matching senior employees with diverse junior employees so that employees can learn more about a different group in the workforce is a diversity management technique referred to as

reciprocal mentoring

A moderate degree of workload-related stress can

stimulate energy and motivation

Uncertainty avoidance refers to the extent to which

workers prefer unambiguous situations

Videoconferencing, instant messaging, electric meetings, and even conference calls are considered ____________________ technology

Synchronous -allows real time communication and interaction

Medical, psychological, and behavioral responses to stress are primarily

individual consequences

The internet allows people to access only the information they want, a broadcast technique called

information pull

According to the rational decision-making approach, evaluating the alternatives

involves assessing all possible alternatives

Leadership as a ________ refers to a set of characteristics attributed to those who are perceived to use noncoercive influence successfully

property

The extent to which personality attributes are inherited from our parents or shaped by our environment is referred to as __________

the nature versus nurture argument

According to the acquired needs framework, high-need achievers are not effective top managers because

top managers seldom receive immediate feedback, which high-need achievers seek

According to the LPC theory, tasks that are complex, nonroutine, and ambiguous are categorized as

unstructured

Nonprogrammed decision are usually made by

upper management

The rational decision-making approach assumes decision makers

All are correct -have complete information -are objective -are systematic in their approach to decisions -work in an organization that encourages logical choices

Which of the following does NOT describe a typical characteristic that occurs during the social process of communication?

It requires face-to face interaction

Which of the following is a basic conclusion drawn from the current research about international management?

Behavior in organizational settings varies across cultures

_______ refers to the inability of human beings to process an unlimited amount of information, causing most decisions to be made in a partially irrational manner

Bounded rationality

Which of the following applies more to a function of leadership rather than a function of management?

Developing a vision of the future

___________ communication typically consists of messages about how to do a job, performance goals, the firm's policies, and how the company is performing

Downward

An organizational decision maker assesses conditions of certainty, uncertainty, and risk during the process of

Evaluating alternatives

What is a relatively new role for managers in teams?

Facilitator -During team implementation, managers' new roles are as coaches and facilitators of the team and its members

Plans in which employees can earn additional compensation in return for certain types of performance are called

Incentive systems

According to the LPC theory, what factor is presumed to have the biggest effect on the favorableness of a situation?

Leader-member relations

Which concept refers to the degree to which a person generally considers herself responsible for the things that happen to her?

Locus of control

_______ refers to difficulties in the communication process that might arise due to some type of interference or distortion that occurs during transmission of a message, resulting in distribution of the communication process

Noise

Which of the following is NOT a recommended strategy for dealing with the challenges of multicultural teams?

One-on-one conferencing -There is a sizable administrative cost to providing flexible reward systems, but this cost is often justified by increased employee loyalty and attachment

When __________ arises, a decision maker questions the decision made and searches for information to bolster it

Post-decision dissonance

What is the best reason to create teams in an organization?

Teams make sense for that organization -The reason for a company to create teams should be that teams make sense for that particular organization. The best reason to start teams in any organization is to achieve the positive benefits that can result from a team-based environment: enhanced performance, employee benefits, reduced costs, and organizational enhancements

Why does working in teams result in enhanced performance?

Teams pool individual efforts in new ways and strive for continuous improvements -Working in teams enables workers to avoid wasted effort, reduce errors, and react better to customers, resulting in more output for each unit of employee input. Such enhancements result from pooling of individual efforts in new ways and from continuously striving to improve for the benefit of the team

Doug is an employee of McDowell Instruments. Doug takes longer breaks than his coworkers, and often rationalizes his behavior because he feels the organization does not pay him enough for the level of work that he does. Doug is reducing his perceived inequity by

changing his inputs

The medium used to send information is called the

channel

The goal in studying the behavioral approach of leadership is to

determine what behaviors are associated with effective leadership

If a student is normally a C student, but recently received an A on an assignment, the ____________ of the circumstances would be high

distinctiveness

According to the rational decision-making approach, what is the second step of the decision making process?

Identify the Problem 1. State the situational goal 2. Identify the problem 3. Determine the decision type 4. Generate alternatives 5. Evaluate alternatives 6. Choose an alternative 7. Implement the plan 8. Control; measure & adjust

Which of the following statements explains why 360-degree feedback is highly beneficial to managers?

It gives managers a much wider range of feedback than traditional performance appraisals do

Another term for power distance is

Orientation to Authority -both refer to the extent to which people are comfortable with an unequal distribution of power

Which two types of reinforcement are generally accepted as means for increasing the frequency of desired behavior?

Positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement

Which of the following distributes a portion of the company's profits to all employees at a predetermined rate?

Profit-sharing program

For various reasons, Anne is unable to move ahead into a higher position at work. According to ERG theory, which of the following sets of needs will become more important to Anne?

Relatedness

______ conflict occurs due to personality differences

Relationship

____________ happens when people are motivated to look good to others and want to maintain a positive self-image

Social Facilitation -happens when people are motivated to look good to others and want to maintain a positive self-image. It happens when people are working alone, but in the presence of an audience

William is a member of a small group of employees from different work areas. They meet once each week in William's office, primarily to discuss and make suggestions to address workplace issues. This group is

a problem-solving team -established to solve problems and make improvements at work

When a few employees are given a small reward to show that they are appreciated, the reward carriers _____________ value

symbolic

_________ conflict occurs due to perceived or actual incompatibilities in beliefs about what is right or worng

values