Org Behavior Quiz Chapter 1

Human behavior in organizations is NOT impacted by the organizational environment. True or False

False

Providing the best customer support before, during, and after a sale can create goodwill with customers, but it is NOT likely to give organizations a competitive advantage True or False

False

When organizations focus on the "softer" side of business, including organizational behavior factors, it can lead to weaker leadership. loss of trust among employees. better relationships with vendors. more motivated and more engaged employees. less motivated and less engaged employee

Focusing on the "softer" side of business, including organizational behavior factors, has been shown to lead to more motivated and engaged employees.

Organizational behavior (OB) typically includes the study of which basic component? Financial reporting Research and development Human actions and interactions within organizations The task environment Customer retention

Human actions and interactions within organizations Fundamentally, organizational behavior is the study of three things: human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself.

A manager who schedules regular department meetings to provide relevant information to employees is demonstrating strong interpersonal skills. technical skills. diagnostic skills. conceptual skills. leadership skills.

Interpersonal skills Interpersonal skills refer to a manager's ability interact effectively with other people.

An organizational system receives a variety of inputs from the environment, combines and transforms them, and then returns them to the environment True or False

True

Interactionalism suggests individuals and situations interact continuously to determine individuals' behavior True or false

True

Organizing is the process of designing jobs, grouping jobs into units, and establishing patterns of authority among jobs and groups of jobs True or False

True

Which of the following is NOT a factor that affects the nature of organizational behavior? he environment surrounding the organization Individuals' expectations and goals The organization itself Formal organizational policies and procedures Product price levels

product price levels The nature of organizational behavior is affected by environment, individuals, the organization itself, as well as its procedures and policies.

Maximizing the efficiency of the manufacturing or product development process in order to minimize costs is referred to as managerial skill. business superiority. operational excellence. maintenance strategy. differentiation.

operational experience This statement provides the definition of operational excellence.

The effective management of __________ is key to the creation of a competitive advantage as well as business strategy execution. people financial resources raw materials distribution channels communication channels

people Although these are all important elements, talent is considered the most important for a customer-oriented company.

Which of the following is an example of a hypothesis? Setting a goal will be positively related to the number of products assembled. A researcher found a 0.8 correlation between goal setting and productivity. Personally, I am more productive when I set goals. I wonder if there is a relationship between goal setting and productivity. There is no way to determine whether goal setting is positively or negatively related to productivity.

Setting a goal will be positively related to the number of products assembled. A hypothesis is a specific prediction of how two variables will be related.

Which of the following questions could NOT be answered as a result of organizational behavior research findings? What goal level will best motivate my employees? How important is employee satisfaction to job performance? Should I seek a promotion with a competing firm? Is stress always bad? When are different leadership approaches most effective?

Should I seek a promotion with a competing firm? While some of our intuitions about organizational behavior (OB) have been confirmed by research, some have not.

The systems perspective defines a system as an interrelated set of elements that function as a whole. a procedure for fair and impartial performance appraisals. a collection of independent organizations. the central technology of the organization. the ideal process to complete any organizational task.

an interrelated set of elements that function as a whole. This question provides the definition of a system.

A manager who recognizes how various tasks within an organization interrelate and contribute toward achieving broad corporate goals is demonstrating strong problem-solving skills. diagnostic skills. technical skills. conceptual skills interpersonal skills

conceptual skills A manager's ability to think in the abstract is determined by her conceptual skills.

Firms that apply a __________ strategy strive to be the lowest cost producer in the industry for a particular level of product quality. cost leadership differentiation specialization growth self-sabotaging

cost leadership This statement provides the definition of the cost leadership strategy.

Organizations pursuing a specialization strategy often try to develop a competitive advantage based on market concentration. profit margin. customer intimacy. brand recognition. product placement.

customer intimacy The development of customer intimacy is often central to the successful application of a specialization strategy.

The __________ variable in an experiment is the criterion, which researchers expect is affected by another factor. dependent independent codependent interdependent control

dependent In an experiment, the independent variable is the one that scientists control directly to determine whether it affects the dependent variable, which is what the scientists measure.

Turnover occurs when employees are called to jury duty. feign illness. are fired. resign from their jobs. are promoted.

resign from their jobs Turnover, by definition, is both voluntary and permanent. Getting fired is permanent but not voluntary, so it isn't turnover. Going to jury duty is neither voluntary nor permanent, and calling in sick is voluntary but temporary. Only quitting fits the definition of turnover.

Successful business strategies enable organizations to create and maintain a competitive advantage that is inflexible. Correct! sustainable. volatile. intangible.

sustainable An organization's objective is not only to develop a competitive advantage but also to hang onto it, making it sustainable.