OB Test 3

To avoid politicking during performance evaluations, an organization should ________.

use objective factors

A long-term strategy for attaining a goal by linking the present with a better future for the organization is defined as a(n) ________.

vision

Genepa Corporation manufactures home appliances and other electronic products. Genepa is planning to introduce a new refrigerator model. The marketing manager at Genepa has developed a marketing plan for this new product and wants to communicate this plan to all the employees in the marketing department. Which of the following is most likely to be the best form of communication for communicating this plan?

written communication

which of the following is an organization factor that increases illegitimate political behavior?

zero-sum reward practice

Which of the following statements best defines a workgroup?

A workgroup interacts primarily to share information, rather than to engage in work that requires joint effort.

Formal information channels are characterized by ________.

Being complaint with the organization authority chain

Which of the following statements is true with regard to the path-goal theory of leadership?

The theory considers removing obstacles to be a component of effective leadership.

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 pairs of personality dimensions contribute to high team effectiveness?

Conscientiousness and openness to experience

Lionel Tucker has been asked to lead a virtual team on a project with a tight time schedule. While allocating the project to him, his manager impressed upon him the need to complete this project successfully and in time so that this client gains enough confidence to use their services in the future. Lionel and his team communicate via e-mail as the team members are located at geographically dispersed locations. They have not had even one face-to-face meeting as yet. In this case, Lionel must have an ability to ________ in addition to all the other desirable abilities of a leader to lead the team successfully.

Convey support and trust through electronic means

Dora Lee has just completed and scored the LPC questionnaire given to her during an evaluation exercise. She is surprised when she finds out that she described her least preferred co-worker in relatively positive terms because she recalls being particularly annoyed by this difficult co-worker several times in the past. Based on your understanding of Fiedler's model, you explain to Dora that her LPC score makes sense within the model because of ________.

Dora tends, in general, to focus on building good relationships with the other employees

In her first few weeks at the marketing division of Rolland Retails, Judith Cox realized that Joshua, Doug, and Carl were closer to her manager, Eric Scott, than the other five team members. Eric, Joshua, Doug, and Carl came to work at the same time, were seen together at the cafeteria, and stayed late and worked when the need arose. In contrast to them, the other five team members did the routine jobs assigned to them, and their interactions lacked the understanding and camaraderie that Eric shared with the others. Joshua, Doug, and Carl make up Eric's ________.

In-group

The controller role in a team is responsible for ________.

Examining details and enforcing rules

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 or she 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

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 matters because of his experience and skill. Gerald's specialized knowledge depicts his ________.

Expert power

The extensive use of work teams benefits organizations by

Generating a potential for creating greater outputs without increasing inputs

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.

The CEO of Xenon Solutions recently canceled numerous leave requests and asked several employees to put in extra days of work as the company was slated to meet several deadlines in the immediate future. In addition, he also assured that those who work this extra bit will be given their due leaves and additional incentives once the time crisis had passed. Following this announcement, Joan and Shane were overheard speaking in the cafeteria. Shane was resentful that his holiday plans were disrupted, and he was sure that the management would ultimately not provide any of the leaves and incentives it promised. Joan, however, said that she was sure that their CEO had a valid reason behind making such a request and that if they put in the extra effort, they would be rewarded suitably. From the information provided in the scenario, which of the following statements can be inferred?

Joan has a high degree of trust propensity

In her first few weeks at the marketing division of Rolland Retails, Judith Cox realized that Joshua, Doug, and Carl were closer to her manager, Eric Scott, than the other five team members. Eric, Joshua, Doug, and Carl came to work at the same time, were seen together at the cafeteria, and stayed late and worked when the need arose. While Judith was in training, she received very good feedback from Eric, and as she transitioned to the floor, she felt that Eric was giving her interesting projects, allowing her more freedom, and seeking her opinion frequently. The information provided in the scenario supports the prediction that ________.

Judith will become part of Eric's in-group in the marketing division

Which of the following is something that often differentiates power from leadership?

Lack of goal compatibility between leaders and followers

Which of the following factors can lead to a greater probability of sexual harassment at the workplace?

Large power of 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

Which of the following statements is true regarding legitimate power?

Legitimate power is broader than the power to coerce and reward

Which of the following is a subtle form of sexual harassment?

Making jokes with sexual overtones

Leslie is a middle-level production manager at the California branch of ALT Corp. ALT Corp. is an automobile manufacturing company that specializes in the manufacture of heavy motor vehicles. Leslie's job is to supervise his assembly line employees. Leslie has worked in this position for over four years, and he strongly believes that a supportive leadership style is most suitable in his context. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Leslie's approach to leadership in this case?

Most of the assembly line employees are highly experiences in their jobs and committed to leslie

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 has been 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 this scenario, which of the following conclusions can be drawn?

Mr. Parker has a higher degree of referent power

The team effectiveness model classifies the key components of effective teams into three general categories: context, composition, and process. Which of the following variables belongs to the composition category?

Personality of team members

Tim Wrench was leading the client services division of AmWeb for seven years when he was asked to move to another region where the company was setting up its office. Before moving, Tim was asked to help in finding a successor for him from his team. Tim's most obvious choice was Judy Judge, and the management accepted his choice as Judy was a popular person across the company. Judy was known for her vivacious nature, was often seen speaking to employees from various divisions, and was always excited to take up a new opportunity. Once she became a leader, she continued to give employees freedom and flexibility even if it resulted in deficiencies on the work front like missed deadlines or low quality. Judy's initial weeks as a leader were full of confusion among her team members, but many felt that the situation would come under control. When things did not improve in the next two months and many complaints poured in from clients, the management realized that Judy was not the best candidate to lead the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome?

Research has shown that traits can predict the emergence of a leader, but not his or her efficiency as a leader.

The top management of Myers Corp is planning a reorganization of their company to cut costs and increase efficiency. The different department heads have been asked to present their departmental strengths, needs, and concerns at a meeting. The various division heads have come to an agreement that clarity of goals and tasks, detailed procedural guidelines like employee manuals, and a cooperative workforce are their main strengths. Additionally, they are of the opinion that cutting managerial positions to reduce costs and reorganizing Myers Corp as a relatively flat organization is a good approach. This scenario reflects the operation of ________ in replacing the support and ability offered by leaders.

Substitutes

Research on power is likely to provide information on the most effective ________.

Tactics for gaining compliance of employees

Which of the following is true with regard to the use of individuals and teams?

Task complexity and requirement of different perspectives must be used as criteria when assigning work to teams over individuals and vice versa.

Which of the following is true with regard to sexual harassment at the workplace?

The best approach to preventing accusations of sexual harassment is to refrain from any behavior that may be taken as harassment

Carol Zelner, the manager of a small event management company, is known for her efficiency. She provides the team with clearly defined tasks, guidelines, and directives. Further, she is always available to provide feedback or resolve troubles. Recently, with Carol on leave for about three weeks, the team had a lot of problems. The team members lacked the requisite information on client details, locations, and budgets and had to repeatedly cross-check with each other or the clients. Which of the following, if true, would best explain the problems faced by Carol's team currently?

The communication in Carol's team follows the approach

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 strengthened her resolve to file a discrimination suit?

The company policy prescribed that tina would face no blacklash if she approached the EEOC

Gehring Services is a company organized around a strong management which values experience, knowledge, and structure. The company has a detailed framework of rules, procedures, and guidelines in place to help employees respond to problems in an orderly manner. Mails, memos, and notifications are used to communicate between managers, employees, and the management. Despite such provisions to help in structuring and executing work, the company incurs losses for delays and quality issues. One of their key clients had asked for two similar projects to be delivered by the teams headed by Briony and Benedict. While Benedict's team completed the project successfully on time, Briony's team had to implement numerous last-minute changes to meet client specifications, and she ended up delivering the project over a week late. Which of the following, if true, would explain this delay in Briony's submission?

The company stipulated that all communication be in the upward or downward mode only to ensure clarity and control.

Treesa Mayering recently began her first job at a PR firm called Pro as a copywriter. Her job involves creating scripts for press releases, advertisements, and other media events. She has been working under the guidance of Will Preston, the senior copywriter. Treesa, who has no prior experience in this job, had worked on scripts for advertisements and online brochures alone when she was asked to work on a press release for the first time. Will reviewed Treesa's script and sent her an e-mail full of detailed corrections, which she promptly implemented. However, when Will looked at the script later, he felt that it did not represent a significant improvement of her first draft. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome?

The feedback provided by Will was not elaborate and comprehensive enough.

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

which of the following statements is not true regarding multiteam systems?

They perform better when lines of communication are restricted

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 has assigned to him

Which of the following is a substitute for leadership in the theory that suggests leaders' actions are irrelevant in many situations?

Training

Trevor Guerney is a manager who believes that those who are to be affected by a change must be involved in the change. Consequently, he always ensures that his subordinates have the knowledge of what is happening around them, and he often holds meetings to obtain employee opinion and suggestions before making any decision that would apply to them. Similarly, Trevor's team proactively approaches him with problems and potential solutions as they know he will not respond by criticizing them. From the information provided in the scenario, we can say that ________.

Trevor's team has positive leader-member relations

Will Paten is the manager of a team of twelve people in the marketing division of Palmer Inc. Will, who has been working in the company for eleven years, is held in high regard and liked by all his colleagues and subordinates. However, Aaron and Abby, two of his subordinates, are noted for frequently flouting his rules and directives. They continue 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 is uncomfortable exercising coercive measures to control employees

Which of the following statements is true regarding a work team?

Work team generate positive energy through coordinated effect

In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, initiating structure refers to the extent to which ________.

a leader is likely to define and organize his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment

Jean Wills, a trainer with Leverage Inc., is infuriated because the conference hall that she had booked for her morning session with a new batch of trainees will be occupied by the HR team for the day. Jean feels that the company only superficially commits to training and that it is not a priority as this lack of facilities for training is a recurring phenomenon. Recently, she had asked the HR department to supply printed copies of her material for the orientation and training modules to the new trainees, and HR refused, saying the soft copies available on the systems would suffice. Which of the following contextual areas is the source of problem between the training department and the HR department in this scenario?

adequate resources

which of the following organizational factors encourages political behavior?

allowing significant time to pass between the time of an action and its appraisal

The president of a small Asian country was hailed as a visionary and a genius when the nation's economy burgeoned during his first term in office. However, when the currency and the stock markets crashed during his government's second term, he was censured as arrogant, elitist, and shortsighted. Which of the following theoretical approaches is reflected here?

attribution theory

Peter is working on a project. He feels that the parameters need to be changed to meet client specifications. First, he must talk to his immediate supervisor, who will then discuss the issue with her department director before any change can be implemented. Peter is most likely to be a part of the ________ type of small-group communication networks.

chain network

Araceli is a team member of a large corporation. She never speaks in team meetings because she has seen members talk behind each other's backs after the meetings. Members are constantly monitoring the other members' work and looking for mistakes to point out in a meeting. According to the information provided, which contextual factor is lacking in Araceli's team?

climate of trust

In the last one week, May and Phyllis have been putting in extra hours at work so that the project assigned to them is completed on time. Though the manager was due to assign two more people to this project, he had not done so and, instead, was emphasizing to employees the importance of adhering to the needs of the department in regard to workload. As a result, May and Phyllis, who had double their routine workload, complained to the division manager. May was promptly suspended from work for complaining about her immediate supervisor. This scenario describes ________ power.

coercive

Which of the following types of power is most likely to be negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment?

coercive power

People scoring high on ________ are valuable in teams because they're good at backing up fellow team members and at sensing when their support is truly needed.

conscientiousness

To retain its edge in the organic health food market, Natura has established a high-priority team comprised of senior executives from the company's production, marketing, and research divisions. These employees work together closely to study consumer attitudes about organic health foods and come up with a closely monitored development and marketing strategy for new products. This ensures that each division is informed of the specific needs, timelines, and expected outcomes of the strategy. It also makes Natura a company that adapts to changes in market trends swiftly. The team Natura uses here is of the ________ type.

cross-functional

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 as the reason, but her manager suspects she has been playing truant. When the manager confronted her about her pending work, Stacey gave excuses: the work was time-consuming, she was unwell, and it was not a high-priority project in the first place. In this scenario, Stacey is using a(n) ________ impression management technique.

defensive

Reuben Williams, the marketing manager for F&B Industries, is frustrated. He feels that the production division repeatedly lets his division down. Although the latest marketing strategy announced that a new product would be available in the market by July, the production division was unable to complete the production of the first batch till August. The production manager claims that manpower is short and the targets placed on the production division are unreasonably high. To resolve this deadlock, they will be meeting soon. This meeting is an example of ________ communication.

downward

Emotional intelligence (EI) is critical to effective leadership because one of its core components is ________, which reflects the consideration that leaders must be able to express.

empathy

Which of the following is desirable when a crucial project is delegated to a virtual team?

engaging in close monitoring of the work being done by the team throughout the project

Which of the following is a self-focused impression management technique?

enhancement

Jordan is a sales officer who has been underperforming over the last three months. At the last monthly operations cycle meeting, he was given a warning. As the time for the next meeting draws close, Jordan fears his boss reprimanding him. Two days before the meeting, Jordan informs his manager that he has confirmed six deals in the last few days, one of which involves multiple orders for their machines. He, however, skips the detail that these are the only six orders he has been able to obtain in the whole month. Which one of the barriers to effective communication is depicted here?

filtering

in an individual _____ then he or she is likely to engage in an illegitimate political behavior.

has invested a lot in the in the organization terms of time and efforts

Adrian Atwood, a senior manager at MNC, spends a lot of his time assigning group members to particular tasks and scheduling their work such that deadlines are achievable. Adrian also sets high expectations for standards of performance and holds regular meetings to ensure that productivity and quality are up to the mark. In the light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Adrian, as a leader, is ________.

high initiating structure

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

According to the Fiedler contingency model, high managerial control is characterized by ________.

high task structure, good leader-member relations, and strong position power

A software development firm has witnessed substantial growth and seeks to expand and reorganize its structure to meet the demands of clients in a better manner. HR has been given a clear directive that one of the major criteria for the selection of recruits would be the candidate's ability to function as a team player. This is because the company is revamping all its major functions from the traditional departmental model to an arrangement of flexible teams. Joe Sanchez, one of the firm's oldest and most experienced employees, has demonstrated considerable ability in developing the best programs, but he prefers to work alone. The company does not wish to lose resources like Sanchez and others who lack the ability to work in groups, but teamwork is essential to its reorganization. Which of the following strategies will help rectify this problem?

informing all employees that ability to work in teams will be a major determinant for promotions and bonuses

The work of your group would be better done in teams if the members of the team are ________.

interdependent

Which of the following leadership theories argues that because of time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their subordinates—the ingroup, who are trusted, get a disproportionate amount of the leader's attention, and are more likely to receive special privileges?

leader member exchange

Employees exhibiting which of the following features are more likely to engage in political behavior?

machiavellen personality

employees exhibiting which of the following features are more likely to engage in political behavior

machiavellian personality

employees exhibiting which of the following features are more likely to engage in political behavior?

machiavellian personality

Norah Baines is one of the most devoted teachers at Oakwood Academy. She has been working with the institution for seven years and is expecting a promotion soon. However, Norah's candidacy for this promotion is passed over in favor of another less experienced male employee due to, in Norah's view, her plans to start a family soon. Consequently, Norah expresses her concerns and even complains to other teachers and expresses her frustration and disappointment. Norah's communication falls into the ________ aspect of communication.

management

Alberto's team is developing a database for the water pollution data of three cities. Before he begins on this intensive project, he wants to improve the team efficacy of his team. Which of the following actions can Alberto take to increase team efficacy before the project starts?

provide client's software and database training for all

Which of the following theories of leadership is based on situational variables?

path goal theory

which of the following is an individual factor that influences political behavior?

perceived job alternatives

which of the following factors contributes to political behavior in organization?

presence of limited resources in the organization

A team consists of employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving the work environment but they do not have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggestions. This is most likely to be a(n) ________ team.

problem solving

The supervisors of the production division of one of the branches of Georgia Mills have been informed of some irregularities noticed in inventory of raw materials by some trusted subordinates. To get a clearer picture, the supervisors had a quick meeting with the subordinates who reported the matter over lunch. The subordinates recommended rotating the schedule of employees who account for the incoming and used up stock so as to pinpoint the defaulting employee. The supervisors agreed that this was a good strategy but admitted that the matter must be escalated to the production manager before such a change can be implemented. They followed up this meeting with subsequent sessions to evaluate how the change worked. The supervisors and subordinates form a(n) ________ team in this scenario.

problem solving

placing the blame for negative outcome on external factors that are not entirely blameworthy is known as

scapegoating

Nick, the director of manufacturing at a large electronics company, has created a team of eleven employees from quality control for working on high priority projects. Nick gives the team members the responsibility of planning and scheduling their own work and making all functional decisions. Also, members of this team evaluate each other's performance. This is an example of a ________ team.

self-managed work

Rhonda May was transferred to London three months back to oversee the opening of a new branch of the retail chain she worked for. Rhonda, who had never been to London, adjusted well with her British colleagues but received quizzical looks from many of her British colleagues every morning in the initial weeks in London. After asking one of her subordinates to explain what caused her colleagues to look at her in that strange way, she discovered the reason. When her British colleagues greeted her by saying, "How are you today?" every morning, she typically replied by saying "I'm good," while Britishers typically say, "I'm well" in response to this greeting. This is because "I'm good" can have multiple meanings like "I'm not a bad person" or "I'm suitable," while "I'm well" only gives a sense of mental and physical well-being. Rhonda then realized how subtly cultural barriers can operate. From the information provided in the scenario, this is an example of barriers caused by ________.

semantics and connotations

Which of the following theoretical approaches in the study of leadership focuses on followers' readiness as a determinant of effective leadership?

situational leadership theory

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

Trait theories of leadership focus on ________.

the personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from non-leaders