Organizational behavior Exam 1

Which of the following is a characteristic of emotions?

A) Emotions are short-lived feeling experiences.

________ refers to a gut feeling not necessarily supported by research.

A) Intuition

________ refers to a positive feeling about one's job resulting from an evaluation of its

A) Job satisfaction

________ leaders inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the organization and can have an extraordinary effect on their followers.

A) Transformational

Anna Jonas owns a manufacturing firm in Indonesia and strongly believes that it is important that workers' rights be respected. However, because of the recent economic meltdown, she makes the management pay workers a wage which is below ethical standards. In addition, the working conditions are below standards because of low investment in safety equipment. She knows her actions are unethical but continues to do so to avoid major losses. Jonas is most likely to be experiencing ________.

A) cognitive dissonance

Which of the following terms refers to a person's ability to detect and to manage emotional cues and information?

A) emotional intelligence, Explanation: Emotional intelligence (EI) is a person's ability to (1) perceive emotions in the self and others, (2) understand the meaning of these emotions, and (3) regulate one's emotions.

Employees with ________ strongly identify with and care about the kind of work they do.

A) high job involvement

Negative affect is a mood dimension consisting of ________ at the high end.

A) nervousness

A transactional leader is likely to ________.

A) reward employees for the work that they have done, thus recognizing accomplishments

Discuss attribution theory.

Answer: Attribution theory suggests that when we observe an individual's behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused. That determination, however, depends largely on three factors: (1) distinctiveness, (2) consensus, and (3) consistency. First, distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations. A behavior high in distinctiveness is more likely to be given an external attribution. Second, if everyone who faces a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the behavior shows consensus. A behavior high in consensus is more likely to be considered an externally caused behavior. Third, the more consistent the behavior, the more we are inclined to attribute it to internal causes.

What is emotional intelligence? Briefly explain the arguments for and against emotional intelligence.

Answer: Emotional intelligence is a person's ability to: (a) be self-aware (to recognize his/her own emotions when he/she experiences them), (b) detect emotions in others, and (c) manage emotional cues and information. People who know their own emotions and are good at reading emotional cues-for instance, knowing why they're angry and how to express without violating norms-are more likely to be effective. The arguments for EI include:a) Intuitive Appeal: There's a lot of intuitive appeal to the EI concept. Most everyone would agree that it is good to possess street smarts and social intelligence.b) EI Predicts Criteria That Matter: Evidence is mounting that suggests a high level of EI means a person will perform well on the job.c) EI Is Biologically Based: One study has shown that people with damage to the part of the brain that governs emotional processing (lesions in an area of the prefrontal cortex) score significantly lower on EI tests.The arguments against EI include:a) EI Is Too Vague a Concept: To many researchers, it's not clear what EI is.b) EI Can't Be Measured: Many critics have raised questions about measuring EI. Because EI is a form of intelligence, for instance, then there must be right and wrong answers about it on tests, they argue.c) The Validity of EI Is Suspect: Some critics argue that because EI is so closely related to intelligence and personality, once you control for these factors, EI has nothing unique to offer.

Explain how emotions and moods are different from each other.

Answer: Emotions are more likely to be caused by a specific event, and emotions are more fleeting than moods. Unlike moods, emotions like anger and disgust tend to be more clearly revealed by facial expressions. In addition, some researchers state that emotions may be more action-oriented and they may lead one to take some immediate action. On the other hand, moods may be more cognitive, meaning they may cause one to think or brood for a while.

Most managers agree that the evidence on EI indicates that it should not be a factor in hiring employees, especially for jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction.

Answer: FALSEExplanation: One implication from the evidence on EI is that employees should consider it a factor in hiring employees, especially for jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction.

What impact do social activities have on one's moods?

Answer: For most people, social activities increase positive mood and have little effect on negative mood. Research suggests activities that are physical, such as skiing or hiking with friends, or informal, such as going to a party, or epicurean, like eating with others, are more strongly associated with increases in positive mood than events that are formal or sedentary, such as watching TV with friends.

What is intuitive decision making? Explain.

Answer: Intuitive decision making is an unconscious process created from distilled experience. It occurs outside conscious thought and relies on holistic associations, or links between disparate pieces of information. It is fast and is affectively charged, which means that it usually engages the emotions. While intuition is not rational, it is not necessarily wrong. Nor does it always contradict rational analysis. Instead, the two can complement each other. In certain instances, relying on intuition can improve decision making. But it is important not to rely on it too heavily. This is because it is unquantifiable and thus it is hard to know when our hunches are right or wrong. The key is neither to abandon nor rely solely on intuition, but to supplement it with evidence and good judgment.

What is servant leadership?

Answer: Scholars have recently considered ethical leadership from a new angle by examining servant leadership. Servant leaders go beyond their own self-interest and focus on opportunities to help followers grow and develop. They do not use power to achieve ends; they emphasize persuasion. Characteristic behaviors include listening, empathizing, persuading, accepting stewardship, and actively developing followers' potential. Servant leadership leads to higher levels of commitment to the supervisor, self-efficacy, and perceptions of justice; it also increases team potency

We have thousands of attitudes, but OB focuses on a very limited number that form positive or negative evaluations employees hold about their work environments.

Answer: TRUE

People seek consistency between their attitudes and their behaviors

Answer: TRUEExplanation: Any form of inconsistency is uncomfortable and individuals will, therefore, attempt to reduce it. They will seek a stable state, which is a minimum of dissonance.

People in good moods tend to be more creative than people in bad moods.

Answer: TRUEExplanation: Supervisors should actively try to keep employees happy because doing so creates more good moods, which in turn lead people to be more creative.

Transactional leaders guide their followers toward established goals by clarifying role and task requirements.

Answer: TRUEExplanation: Transactional leaders guide their followers toward established goals by clarifying role and task requirements.

The three components of an attitude are cognition, affect, and behavior.

Answer: TRUEExplanation: Typically, researchers have assumed that attitudes have three components: cognition, affect, and behavior.

What are the major causes of job satisfaction?

Answer: The major job satisfaction facets are the work itself, pay, advancement opportunities, supervision, and co-workers. Enjoying the work itself is almost always the facet most strongly correlated with high levels of overall job satisfaction. Most people prefer work that is challenging and stimulating over work that is predictable and routine.

Explain how organizations can create team players.

Answer: The primary options for trying to turn individuals into team players include: a) Selection. b) Training c) Rewards

________ teams are defined as groups of employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors.

B) Self-managed work

________ is defined as a psychological state that exists when you agree to make yourself vulnerable to another because you have positive expectations about how things are going to turn out.

B) Trust

What is the first step in the rational decision-making model?

B) defining the problem

The role of a(n) ________ is a type of informational role according to Mintzberg's classification of managerial roles.

B) disseminator

The degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his or her performance as being important to self-worth is referred to as ________.

B) job involvement

Virtual teams are characterized by ________ in comparison to teams which interact face-to- face.

B) the use of computers to interact

________ refers to feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus.

C) Mood, Explanation: Moods are feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus.

Which of the following is true about the correlation between salary and job satisfaction?

C) Pay does not play a critical role in job satisfaction when an individual reaches a level of comfortable living.

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

C) Work teams generate positive synergy through coordinated effort.

According to Mintzberg's classification of managerial roles, a(n) ________ searches the organization and its environment for opportunities and initiates projects to bring about change.

C) entrepreneur

Which of the following is an advantage of group decision making when compared to individual decision making?

C) increased diversity of views

Transformational leaders enhance performance of employees by ________.

C) instilling pride in employees

To get his company through some hard economic times, Ben's working hours have just been reduced from 40 hours a week to 33. Ben is upset about the reduction in time and pay, but he shows up at work every morning and is willing to patiently wait until economic times improve and he can go back to working full time. Which of the following types of response is being displayed by Ben?

C) loyalty, Ben demonstrates loyalty to the company and passively waits for things to improve, which is a constructive response. Ben is not voicing his negative feelings about less work, continues to show up for work, and does not neglect his duties. He is passive, rather than active, in his behavior.

Which of the following is a shortcut used in judging others by making generalizations?

C) stereotyping

________ refers to basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific proof.

D) Evidence-based management

Which of the following statements is true regarding negotiation?

D) Feeling bad about your performance during a negotiation tends to impair future negotiations.

Which of the following statements is true regarding team composition?

D) In successful teams, members should be selected to ensure all the various roles are filled.

Which of the following statements is most likely to be true about differences between men and women in relation to emotional reactions?

D) Women tend to hold onto emotions longer than men.

Katherine Connor started her day with a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper. However, something about the day makes her feel low. When she reaches the office, she feels upset and distracted from work although she cannot pinpoint a reason for feeling this way. She continues to feel upset and distracted through the rest of the day. Which of the following is she most likely to be experiencing?

E) a mood

According to the situational leadership theory, if followers are unable and willing to do a task, then a leader needs to ________.

D) display high task and relationship orientation

Groupthink is most commonly seen in the group decision-making approach using ________.

D) interacting groups

Charismatic leaders ________.

D) propose a vision of the future that is better than the status quo

According to Mintzberg's classification of managerial roles, the role of a(n) ________ is to make or approve significant organizational decisions and assign human, physical, and monetary assets.

D) resource allocator

Effective teams translate their common purpose into ________ goals.

D) specific

Leadership is best defined as ________.

D) the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals

Job dissatisfaction is more likely to translate into ________ when employees feel or perceive they have many available alternatives and when employees have high human capital.

D) turnover

Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding moods?

E) Moods are cognitive in nature.

Rachel Hartley is a former top management graduate student who now works as a project manager at a retail firm. However, despite her strong educational background, she often finds it difficult to manage her team efficiently. She is not able to understand her team's emotions when they feel frustrated with a work challenge or when they need appreciation for a job well done. Which of the following does Hartley suffer from?

E) low emotional intelligence, Explanation: Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to detect and to manage emotional cues and information.

Which of the following statements is an example of the behavioral component of an attitude?

I have decided to apply for the position of a campaigner in the climate department.

Why is it important to complement intuition with systematic study in our attempts to understand behavior within organizations?

It is important to complement intuition with systematic study to understand behavior within organizations in order to make accurate predictions of behavior. Underlying this systematic approach is the belief that behavior is not random. Rather, one can identify fundamental consistencies underlying the behavior of all individuals and modify them to reflect individual differences. The systematic study of behavior is a means to making reasonably accurate predictions. Systematic study involves looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and basing our conclusions on scientific evidence, that is, on data gathered under controlled conditions and measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner. LO: 1.3: Show the value to OB of systematic study.

Using the concept of organizational survival, how would you define what makes an organization successful? Why is organizational survival important to defining organizational success?

Organizational survival refers to evidence that an organization is able to exist and grow over the long term. The survival of an organization depends not just on how productive the organization is, but also on how well it fits with its environment. A company that is productively making goods and services of little value to the market is unlikely to survive for long, so survival factors in things like perceiving the market successfully, making good decisions about how and when to pursue opportunities, and engaging in successful change management to adapt to new business.

What are the three components of an attitude?

he three components of an attitude are cognition, affect, and behavior.1. The cognitive component is a description of or belief in the way things are.2. Affect is the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude.3. The behavioral component of an attitude refers to an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.