BUS 220 Final Exam

As a new college graduate, Peter needs to develop contacts to ensure that his goal of having his own consulting company becomes a reality in the future. Which of the following actions should Peter take to develop and maintain his network?

He must nurture relationships with individuals present around him.

In the context of developing an appropriate mindset for networking, which of the following questions is most likely to be asked by "other-oriented" networkers when they approach a room full of people?

How can I help you?

Which of the following is true of project management?

It helps individuals learn about their coworkers' jobs and styles of work.

Identify an accurate statement about a PERT (program evaluation and review technique) chart.

It indicates the most optimistic estimates of the time to complete a project under the best conditions.

Which of the following is a characteristic of expert power?

It involves developing and expressing solid logical arguments to demonstrate ability and knowledge.

In the context of the changing nature of mentoring, which of the following is true of peer mentoring?

It is a relationship between members of a group who are at equal levels.

Which of the following statements is true of leaders?

Leaders move beyond the basic tasks of the day by creating a vision.

Harper is a trainer at an IT firm. Besides training and coaching new employees, she also conducts regular counseling and one-on-one sessions for existing employees because she is concerned about their well-being. In this scenario, identify a supportive behavior that should be used by Harper to demonstrate her acceptance of the employees.

She should empathize with the employees and pay attention to their problems.

Identify a true statement about good coaches.

They attend to both personnel and organizational needs.

Which of the following is a trend in today's business environment?

Organizational structures have become flatter and more participative.

Jeff needs to coach his subordinate Derin. Jeff has conducted a situational analysis and has identified the strengths and weaknesses of Derin. He has also communicated these to Derin. According to the coaching process, that is the next step that Derin should take?

She should determine which action plan to use.

During a meeting, who among the following performs the role of publicly taking notes on issues discussed, key decisions made, and action items assigned using a flip chart or whiteboard?

a scribe

Micro Inc. holds meetings when key employees or long-time employees retire. It publicly recognizes and appreciates the retirees' contributions to the company and gives them a grand farewell. In this scenario, identify the meetings held by Micro Inc.

a symbolic meeting

A compromise strategy for resolving a conflict is effective when

both parties involved in the conflict are at a comparable level.

In project management, the

known steps are anticipated.

During team meetings, an overachiever is most likely to ________.

monopolize in a genuine effort to be helpful

Facilitators must be knowledgeable about decision-making and problem-solving tools.

true

Managers often do not delegate because of the lack of confidence in their staff.

true

The production line approach is best when

an organization's managers are primarily hierarchical.

Two departments in Frieda's company are fighting over scarce resources. To resolve the conflict, Frieda tries to develop strategies by comparing the conflict to a trivial fight between siblings to watch their respective favorite television shows. Which of the following strategies to creative problem solving has Frieda applied in this scenario?

analogy method

Rhea is the facilitator of a meeting. Leon, one of the attendees, is a silent member. In order to get Leon involved in the discussion, Rhea should

ask for his opinions, and give positive verbal and nonverbal reinforcement.

A few months ago, the management at Coral Trio Incorporated had devised an action plan to counter its increasing employee turnover. The action plan involved enriching the employees' jobs by giving them more responsibilities, increasing their salary by 10 percent, and encouraging internal promotions. Currently, the management is evaluating the action plan to determine if the employee turnover has been reduced by at least 40 percent. Identify the step of the PDCA cycle taken by Coral Trio Incorporated at present.

check

Diane and Benjamin work at the U.S. office of their company. Through their special mentoring relationship, Diane, a senior member of the organization, has greatly improved her technical skills, while Benjamin, the new member of the organization, has learned how to streamline his work habits to accomplish reports quicker. Their relationship best exemplifies a(n)

co-mentoring relationship.

When driving, people stick to the speed limits to avoid receiving speeding tickets from the law enforcing officers. Which of the following is the source of the officers' power in this situation?

coercive power

When achieving goals take precedence over maintaining relationships, the best strategy for conflict resolution is

competing.

Which of the following is required for successful collaborative decision making?

considering yourself and the persons involved as one unit

The management at True Ink had a problem because the employee productivity was low. To solve this problem, the management first introduced productivity-based incentives and then it trained the employees to perform better. When the problem was not solved, the management realized that job rotation would drive the employees to perform better. In the context of strategies for increasing creativity in problem solving, this method of working toward a solution would be referred to as

convergent thinking.

Which of the following is used to address personal or attitudinal problems rather than those related to an individual's ability?

counseling

Which of the following is the last step to managing projects?

determining project measurement standards

Projects need control and consistency for accomplishing objectives while still involving all of the project members. Project managers will need to involve and give authority to members in order to gain support for initiatives, and encourage participation and responsibility. This implies that project managers should possess ________ skills.

empowerment and delegation

Carla is planning to use brainstorming in her next team meeting to generate new product ideas. In using brainstorming effectively, Carla should avoid

evaluating others' ideas.

Modifying Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, Clayton Alderfer tried to simplify the needs into three categories, namely,

existence, relatedness, and growth.

Jacob is not a team lead or a manager. Yet, his co-workers comply with his suggestions because they respect and trust the knowledge and skills he has acquired through experience. This scenario best illustrates

expert power base.

Capitalizing any training opportunity provided in your organization and volunteering for challenging projects that will allow you to showcase your skills and competencies will essentially add to your

expert power.

A facilitator usually focuses more on what a team is doing than on the team's process.

false

A task-oriented manager and a frequently socializing employee encounter negligible conflict in their boss-subordinate relationship.

false

An effective way to manage your email is to respond to personal emails before you respond to professional emails.

false

As a manager, it is important to ensure that there is no scope for politicking in the organization.

false

Changes in organizational structures, processes, technology, and the availability of data have decreased the need for members at all levels of an organization to make decisions.

false

Divergent thinking involves starting with a problem and working to move toward a solution.

false

During the wrap-up stage of a meeting, participants involve in a process check to determine whether the meeting objectives were met.

false

Group decision making is simpler than decisions made by one or two individuals.

false

Harmonizing and compromising are task-related behaviors.

false

In the illumination stage of creative problem solving, you test to see if an idea will work.

false

Information-sharing meetings generally require more time than decision-making meetings.

false

It is best if Jeff, a member of the product development team in Devon Incorporated, handles the design aspect of the project because he is best at design rather than attempt any other aspect of the project that he may be interested in.

false

Less empowered managers are more likely to empower their subordinates than managers who are more empowered.

false

Person power engenders compliance as opposed to commitment.

false

The accommodation strategy of conflict resolution is appropriate when maintaining a relationship is less important than accomplishing a specific goal.

false

The production line approach works well when employees' ties to a customer are primary and employees perform nonroutine tasks.

false

The sheer fact that by definition, meetings involve more than one person, decreases the potential for inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

false

When a person faces severe time restrictions, collaboration would be the most effective conflict management strategy.

false

Employees in a high involvement organization typically

have much greater voice and discretion over their work environment.

A Theory X manager

holds the belief that subordinates shirk responsibility.

When a team appears to be more inclined toward maintaining the status quo, which of the following facilitative intervention strategies can a facilitator use to spur creativity and innovation?

hypothetical questions

The process of backscheduling begins with

identifying the individual tasks necessary to achieve the objectives of a project.

Requesting feedback too frequently

implies the lack of confidence in your abilities.

Gerald was attending a job interview. He wanted to ensure that the employer's perception about him was positive. So, he went to the interview dressed in his best business formals and made sure he gave the interviewer a firm handshake. This method of trying to influence a person's perception about us is known as

impression management.

In the context of expanding one's professional network, ________ is an effective technique for learning about ideal jobs or careers and involves reaching out to and asking people about their own careers and jobs.

informational interviewing

When participants are gathered to create new products or services, or radically redesign existing ones, it is known as a(n) __________ meeting.

innovation

Arthur has been having difficulties with his team. As a manager, Donna asks Arthur about his perspective on solutions to these problems. By asking questions, Donna is trying to make the feedback effective by ensuring it is

interactive

Identify one of the key things to do after a networking meeting.

jotting down a few notes on the back of the concerned person's business card

In order to have an efficient meeting, Susan establishes guidelines and assigns a timekeeper to help the members stay on task. On the basis of this information, we can conclude that Susan is in the __________ stage of the meeting process.

kickoff

Which of the following power bases primarily comes from a person's position or managerial level in an organization?

legitimate power

Which of the following is an example of a nondirective approach to facilitate the counseling process?

listening and supporting

Which of the following is related to a person's belief regarding how much control he or she has over external events or the external environment?

locus of control

In the context of social structural characteristics that create an empowering environment, ________ refers to a clear set of responsibilities and duties, defined guidelines, and standards for accountability.

low role ambiguity

In the context of the types of behaviors exhibited in team meetings, the gatekeeping role in facilitating balanced team participation would be an example of the __________ behavior of a facilitator.

maintenance-related

Rachel, as a facilitator, sets norms and test limits to facilitate a team's self-management in its team meetings. Rachel's behavior is

maintenance-related.

Individuals who high Machiavellian personalities are likely to

manipulate encounters in order to gain advantage in work situations.

In a meeting, the __________ is primarily tasked with keeping the discussion task oriented and in line with the agenda.

meeting leader

When our brain process analyzes new situations based on past experiences that seem somehow similar to the new situations, __________ occurs.

pattern recognition

Ron, a facilitator, presides over a group meeting. He identifies that the group has lost track of its meeting objective and that he needs to get the group back on track again. Given this scenario, it is ideal for Ron to use the facilitative intervention strategy of

playing dumb.

Unlike Theory X managers, Theory Y managers

prefer high levels of involvement from employees.

When Team Sporting Goods was working through its process change, it provided employees with information regarding the changes that would result from implementing empowerment. This action generated and demonstrated organizational support. These actions are associated with the ________ stage of implementing empowerment.

preparation

Which of the following stages of creative problem solving involves gathering information, defining a problem, generating alternatives, and examining all available information?

preparation

Identify the mentor function that deals with the aspects of the relationship that enhance a sense of competency, identity, and effectiveness in a professional role.

psychosocial functions

Stan, Mark's manager, informs Mark that he has heard that Mark has been coming in late to office quite often. The problem with Stan's feedback is that it was not

purposeful

Since a meeting involves more than one person, it

raises the potential for ineffectiveness and inefficiency.

For which of the following power bases do employees primarily comply because they like, believe in, or want to emulate the person in power and what he or she represents?

referent power

Ray Corporation is considering the idea of using empowerment to motivate its workforce and cope with potential problems. However, the company should be careful when doing so because empowerment

results in increased costs associated with selection and hiring.

In the context of networking, the resources that can provide novel ideas, timely information, job opportunities, business leads, influence, and community support as a result of networking relationships are referred to as

social capital.

In ________ involvement, an organization makes a small shift from the production line or control model, and employees are encouraged to contribute ideas.

suggestion

According to Schein, which of the following is an example of a task-related behavior monitored by facilitators during team meetings?

summarizing

The two methods that primarily facilitate the counseling process are the severity of the problem being addressed in a session and

the manager's comfort and ability with counseling.

A facilitator is typically a neutral third party tasked with monitoring a team's process and helping improve its effectiveness.

true

A limitation for mentoring facing many organizations is a lack of sufficient female and minority role models.

true

By not monitoring performance and catching problems early in a project, Larry and his team are risking marginalization.

true

Differences in religious beliefs, attitudes toward diverse others, clashes in family values, or work ethic might result in interpersonal differences that surface in the work environment.

true

Effective feedback provides both instruction and motivation.

true

Formal mentoring relationships usually have specific time frames, methods for termination, and checkpoints for goal setting.

true

In the context of developing a plan for a meeting, a well-defined agenda includes logistical information, such as where and when the meeting will be held.

true

In the context of problem people in team meetings, the heckler is a combative individual who wants to play devil's advocate.

true

In the context of problem persons in team meetings, the griper is capable of turning a meeting into a grievance session.

true

Mentoring will fail if the environment does not support it.

true

Offering mentoring programs is an excellent way to boost the performance and advancement rates of minorities and women, as well as to build confidence and boost morale.

true

One of the keys for proteges to make mentoring work is to be selective.

true

Power has gotten a bad reputation due to the publicity around unethical power plays, but it is not power that is at issue but rather the abuse of power.

true

To be effective in politicking, it is important to understand the power base of others.

true

To make empowerment work, managers have to believe in and want empowerment, and employees must feel empowered.

true