Chapter 18
79) Elaine is very good at what she does, but she is constantly stressed by internal deadlines assigned to co-workers, obligatory meetings, and time lost in unrelated idle cubicle chatter. Today, after a meeting with her supervisor, she has been given more responsibility for her work, is able to set her own deadlines, decline attendance to various department meetings, and telecommute two days a week. Elaine's boss is using which of the following organizational strategies to reduce her stress? A) job redesign B) organizational communication C) employee involvement D) organizational development E) process reengineering
Answer: A Explanation: A) Elaine's boss is redesigning her job. Redesigning jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, more autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce stress because these factors give employees greater control over work activities and lessen dependence on others.
75) Which of the following types of jobs is least likely to create stress and reduce satisfaction? A) jobs that make multiple and conflicting demands B) jobs that provide a high level of feedback C) jobs that lack clarity about the employee's duties D) jobs that provide the employees less control over the pace of their work E) jobs that provide a low level of variety
Answer: B Explanation: B) Jobs that provide a low level of variety, significance, autonomy, feedback, and identity appear to create stress and reduce satisfaction and involvement in the job. Jobs that make multiple and conflicting demands or that lack clarity about the employee's duties, authority, and responsibilities increase both stress and dissatisfaction.
69) Jerry is feeling very stressed because his boss expects a project to be delivered to the client within a very unreasonable deadline. Jerry has to work nights and weekends to make the deadline. Jerry is feeling stress due to a(n) ________ factor.
Answer: B Explanation: B) Organizational stress factors include pressures to avoid errors or complete tasks in a limited time, work overload, a demanding and insensitive boss, and unpleasant co-workers.
73) Rudolf is dealing with impending layoffs at work. Yesterday, at a pharmacy, he measured his blood pressure and it was high. He also notices that when he thinks about the future, his heart rate accelerates. Rudolf is demonstrating ________ symptoms of stress. A) psychological B) physiological C) behavioral D) personal E) reactive
Answer: B Explanation: B) Specialists in the health and medical sciences have determined that stress can cause physiological symptoms such as changes in metabolism, increased heart and breathing rates, increased blood pressure, and headaches. Stress can even induce heart attacks.
65) ________ is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important. A) Change B) Stress C) Innovation D) Stimulation E) Creativity
Answer: B Explanation: B) Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.
68) Political uncertainties, economic uncertainties, and technological change are examples of the ________ factors of potential stress. A) structural B) environmental C) organizational D) personal E) social
Answer: B Explanation: B) There are three main types of environmental uncertainty or stress: economic, political, and technological.
74) Excessive smoking, substance abuse, and sleep disorders are all examples of ________ symptoms of stress. A) personal B) psychological C) behavioral D) physiological E) pathological
Answer: C Explanation: C) Behavior-related stress symptoms include changes in productivity, absence, and turnover, as well as changes in eating habits, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol, rapid speech, fidgeting, and sleep disorders.
67) One of Carl's department employees was severely injured on the job. Carl has called in psychological counselors to talk to the other employees and scheduled a series of safety trainings for the department to be completed by the end of the week. He has also asked the HR personnel to talk to the department about the disability insurance that the company offers and make sure that his employees know what is available. Carl is using ________ to help cope with the stress caused by his employee's injury. A) demands B) action research C) resources D) innovation E) appreciative inquiry
Answer: C Explanation: C) Resources are things within an individual's control that he or she can use to resolve the demands. Research suggests adequate resources help reduce the stressful nature of demands when demands and resources match. Having resources to cope with stress is just as important in offsetting it as demands are in increasing it.
77) Which of the following statements is not true regarding organizational approaches to managing stress? A) With goal-setting in the organization, individuals perform better when they have specific and challenging goals and receive feedback on their progress toward these goals. B) Redesigning jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, more autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce stress. C) Managers should consider decreasing employee involvement in decision making because evidence clearly shows that decreases in employee empowerment reduce psychological strain. D) Increasing formal organizational communication with employees reduces uncertainty. E) Some employees need an occasional escape from the pace of their work.
Answer: C Explanation: C) Managers should consider increasing employee involvement in decision making because evidence clearly shows that increases in employee empowerment reduce psychological strain.
71) Benny is stressed with the new corporate reorganization. He now reports to a foreign office that has usurped many of his responsibilities, including the contract labor for his projects. Therefore, he's working with new and less qualified contractors with whom he doesn't have a relationship. However, the managers of the other departments find themselves in the same boat, and every day they are able to laugh over lunch about their new managerial impotence. ________ is helping Benny handle his stress. A) Emotional contagion B) Cognitive dissonance C) Social support D) Time management E) Self-efficacy
Answer: C Explanation: C) Social support, collegial relationships with co-workers or supervisors, can buffer the impact of stress. It acts as a palliative, mitigating the negative effects of even high-strain jobs. Benny is using this social support to be able to laugh at his new situation.
76) Louise is overwhelmed with the new tasks that she has been assigned after the department merger. Each day, she arrives at work and makes a list of the new tasks, writes a number next to each one according to the urgency of completion, and schedules a time to complete each one. Although she's still stressed, Louise is able to get most of the work done and feels better at the end of the day. Louise is using ________ techniques to reduce her stress. A) job enrichment B) goal setting C) relaxation D) time-management E) job enlargement
Answer: D Explanation: D) Louise is using basic time-management principles to better cope with tensions created by job demands. A few of the best-known time-management principles are (1) making daily lists of activities to be accomplished, (2) prioritizing activities by importance and urgency, (3) scheduling activities according to the priorities set, and (4) knowing your daily cycle and handling the most demanding parts of your job when you are most alert and productive.
70) Family issues, economic problems, and personality characteristics are examples of the ________ factor of potential stress. A) social B) environmental C) structural D) psychological E) personal
Answer: E Explanation: E) One category that creates stress is factors in the employee's personal life: family issues, personal economic problems, and inherent personality characteristics. Marital difficulties, the breaking of a close relationship, and discipline troubles with children create stresses employees often can't leave at the front door when they arrive at work.
66) Which of the following stressors is likely to produce less strain than the other stressors? A) confusion over job responsibilities B) office politics C) lack of unity of command D) red tape E) pressure to complete tasks
Answer: E Explanation: E) Pressure to complete tasks is a challenge stressor whereas red tape, office politics, lack of unity of command, and confusion over job responsibilities are hindrance stressors. Although research is just starting to accumulate, early evidence suggests challenge stressors produce less strain than hindrance stressors.