Final Exam Review - Exam 2

Ian Fuhr shares a key phrase at the beginning of his video that helps set the stage for his view on Servant Leadership. What is that phrase?

"Service before reward and People before profit"

At the end of his TEDx talk, Ian Fuhr says:

"serve the people who serve the people"

In the Ken Blanchard Video, what are the things he said make up a compelling vision?

1. What is your purpose? 2. What are your values? 3. What is your picture of the future?

When it is very important for the manager to create goodwill with the other party

Accommodating

The situational leadership video points out it is imperative for a leader to assess the readiness of their staff. What are the elements the leader must measure?

Competence Commitment

This is not one of the models we learned as a contingency leadership model.

Transactional Formative Leadership Model

Kill your enemies with kindness

accommodating

You have two employees working on the production line that are shouting obscenities at each other. From what you can gather, they met up together after a softball game last night after work, and one man started paying too much attention to the other man's wife. They are cursing and throwing things on the floor and disrupting all the other workers in the area. Which conflict style should you use to respond to this situation?

avoiding

Engaging help of others to persuade someone

coalition tactics

Split the difference

compromise

The default approach for most managers who are seeking an expedient mutually agreeable solution finding a middle ground.

compromising

Asking for a personal favor or to do something "because we're friends"

personal

Successful leaders manage conflict; they don't shy away from it or suppress it but see it as an engine of creativity and innovation.

true

Which of the following statements are true as it relates to being a manager or a leader?

1. A manager is concerned about properly applying policies and procedures. 2. A leader inspires and motivates others 3. The manager's time perspective is the present, the here and now while the leader is focused on the future.

During lecture we discussed three things that Professor Hillman wanted you to know about conflict. What were those three things?

1. Conflict is not fighting, when properly managed, it can be quite productive. 2. As managers, we have choices in how we deal with conflict in our department. 3. Conflict is always occurring in the workplace. We need to know how to manage it.

There are many types of conflicts in the workplace. Some conflicts are better than others. Some conflicts are rarely good. Of the various types of conflicts, which one is most often unproductive in an organization?

Relationship conflict

Effectively used when the manager recognizes a cooling-off period is needed

avoiding

Two heads are better than one

collaborating

According to the Ian Fuhr TEDx talk, the most important person in your business is:

the person serving the customer, your employee

When you see your boss take advantage of the good nature of some of your peers, asking them to work unpaid overtime in order to make the departments' productivity numbers better, he tells you that is just his way to "increase department productivity as I'm told to try and do every day." You should see this as an abuse of power.

true

Which of these is NOT part of the Interpersonal conflict management styles?

Challenging Comforting

During the Harvard Business Review video in class, the two experts explained that there were three types of political networks successful managers must develop. One was an Operational Network, what were the other two?

Developmental Network Strategic Network

Is focused on the department accomplishing the goals they have been assigned.

manager

In Ian's Fuhr's TEDx Talk on Servant Leadership, what does he say is the purpose of work?

to serve others

Charismatic leaders can inspire others to follow them and accomplish great things. Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King, Jr. are fine examples of a charismatic leader, but so is Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden. Just because you are a charismatic leader doesn't mean you only stand for good things.

true

Conflict in the workplace is going to occur, that is a guarantee. What we don't know is if the conflict will be constructive or dysfunctional. Dysfunctional conflict occurs when people let their emotions take over, often ignoring the original underlying problem, and focus on getting even or retaliating.

true

Directive behaviors, as it relates to the situational leadership model, is the degree of one-way communication the leader must provide to their employee.

true

Ken Blanchard answers what a "servant's heart" is for Southwest Airlines is to "hire based on character and train for skills"

true

Very time consuming, shouldn't be used for trivial matters or when deadlines are short

collaboration

The well-trained manager knows what actions can help de-escalate conflict when they are confronted with it in the workplace. Which of these activities should be avoided?

1. Crossing your arms and frowning when a staff person approaches you with a concern. Don't communicate hostility with your body language. 2. When you disagree with one of your staff and they continue to repeat their concerns, raising your voice to get your point across. 3. When an employee screams at another person in the lunchroom about LGBTQ issues, you direct both of them to return to their separate cubicles. You then bring them into your office one at a time and encourage them to make their strongest case against the other. You listen to both independently and return with your written decision. 4. An employee comes to you complaining about not feeling safe walking to the parking lot after work. You tell them not to worry about it, no one ever has been hurt after dark. It isn't be a big deal and they just shouldn't worry about it.

During a lecture, Professor Hillman emphasized several skills a manager must be aware of when trying to influence others. What were the items he recommended they consider?

1. Don't start using pressure as a hard sell to your staff 2. Use rational thinking and logical arguments to develop a compelling position to persuade them. 3. Connect with people emotionally when it makes sense to do so, but don't overuse this and don't make it too personal 4. Work with them to establish credibility as their manager, earn their trust

As a leader, if we identify one employee in the delegating quadrant of the situational leadership model,and another employee in the coaching quadrant of the model, what can we say about that situation?

1. Employees in the coaching quadrant are less committed than an employee in the delegating quadrant. 2. The employee in the delegating quadrant is more competent in completing their work than the employee in the coaching quadrant.

We discussed in class nine different types of tactics or approaches a manager could use to persuade their staff to commit to a new goal. Which three of these are the most effective?

1. Giving your staff the logic and facts behind your decision. We call this rational persuasion. 2. Explain how your approach will support the values and ideals of the organization to gain commitment. Using an inspirational appeal. 3. Gather your team together to discuss the pros and cons of the approach. Soliciting their advice to solve the problem.

In the Situational Leadership Model, a manager must assess the following items about their followers, their competence and committment, and apply the correct management approach. Which of the following statements are true about how the manager should respond?

1. If the follower shows high competence and high committment they are in the delegating quadrant and the manager should be using low directive and low supportive behavior. 2. The collaborative or supportive quadrant ( which is high in supportive behavior and low in directive behavior) should be used by the manager when the follower shows a high level of competence but a variable level of committment. 3. In the coaching quadrant, the follower has grown but still needs strong directive behavior from the manager, but also now needs to see strong supportive behavior from their manager as well. 4. If the follower shows high committment but low competence, the manager should use a directing approach.

During a story to explain how new graduates could make themselves more valuable in their first jobs, Professor Hillman suggested becoming SME's. Which of the following would he classify as being a SME?

1. If you were a marketing graduate, get as deep into search engine optimazation (SEO) as you can. 2. Finance people who start their career in jobs using Excel extensively should crack the book on how to create macro's and utilize internal advanced financing functions. They should look for opportunities to optimize existing widely used departmental Excel sheets. 3. Supply chain majors should get as deep technically into the ERP system of their new employer, like SAP, as they can to answer questions others in the company might have about how the ERP operates.

The TED talk you were asked to watch on Simon Sinek talking about why leaders make you feel safe, had a number of important points about leaership. Which of the following were points Sinek tried to make? Select only those that are in alignment with the main theme of the talk and mentioned in his speech.

1. It is the leader who sets the tone inside the organization. When the leader makes the choice to sacrifice themselves, or their comforts, or their tangibles, so that their people can feel safe, remarkable things happen [inside the organization]. 2. Leaders have no control over conditions outside the organization, the only place where they control is inside the organization, and that is where leadership matters. 3. There are people who are at the tops of organizations, and we do what they demand because they have the authority [legitimate power], but they are not leaders. There are others who have no rank or authority, but they are absolutely leaders because they look out for the people next to them, and people gladly follow them [referent power].

In the video we watched, "How To Deal with Different Conflict Styles," the woman gave managers good ways to deal with the various conflict styles they will encounter. Which of the following are true statements she gave during the video?

1. People using the compete style are very passionate and are very direct. The manager should be just as direct back as that is what they are expecting. Don't take it personally, have your logic laid out. 2. You can't force the avoiding people to tell you what is bothering them, but you can create a safe environment and ask them what they are thinking. Explain their opinion matters and you want to know it. 3. Managers must be careful with people who overuse the accomodating style constantly. It will surprise the manager that one day the over-accomodating person will either blow-up or drop out of sight. 4. People who are trying to use collaboration might need to be reminded that you as the manager have a time-constraint by when the decision must be made. You might need to drop to compromise if a deadline is looming.

Managers can distribute merit pay to people two ways, by increasing their salary or by providing a bonus on top of their existing salary. Bonuses tend to be more motivating for a number of reasons. What are those listed below are true?

1. The level of salaries is dictated more by market conditions and competition for labor, factors outside the control of the employee, and much less on the performance of the individual. 2. Salary increases often include cost-of-living adjustments and/or market adjustments. Including performance increase as part of this confuses the message as to why the increase was provided. 3. Salaries are rarely adjusted down and can cause significant employee morale issues when they are. Salaries tend to be stable over time so using one-time bonuses are easier to move higher or lower to reward top performance without negatively impacting morale.

In class, we learned how to apply the various leadership styles to different situations. We learned that some leadership styles were better for some types of businesses while others were not as well suited. Using what you know about leadership styles, determine which of the following are the best applications of these leadership styles.

1. The shift leader of a commercial lawn maintenance 5-person crew uses the leadership member exchange leadership style. He has a problem with one of his new seasonal workers talking back to him when given his assignments and swearing at him under his breath as he walks away. He believes he has to deal with this insubordination immediately. He mentions the problem to one of his in-group members, a year-round employee. He tells that in-group member to "clue that new guy in on how we talk to each other; otherwise, he is going to lose his job." He thinks this is a better way for the message to get delivered to the new out-group member. 2. The 6 members of the current team have suggested to upper management that they not replace the manager but allow them to become a self-managed team. They point out that if they are successful, it will save the company money, and they will be happier too. They've done their research and they argue that because they already have very strong group norms and hold each other accountable they are well suited for this new arrangement. They point out that they all have several years of experience at the company and act professionally toward themselves and those outside their group. Their compensation packages are rigidly controlled by human resources, and they have established and followed strong procedures and rules for how software is developed for the company. They claim that they are perfectly suited to be a self-managed team.

The savvy manager knows in order to keep their employees motivated, they may need to "flex" on some of the traditional work arrangements. Which of the following are suggested in the textbook as ways managers might enhance their staff's motivation and performance?

1. When the cost of transitioning between one employee and another is quite costly, like starting and stopping employees on an offshore drilling platform, a company might use an extended work schedule. The employee might work 12 hours per day for a month, and then have several weeks off in free time, until they return to the job. 2. Couples who have young children to get ready for school appreciate managers who allow flexible work schedule. Flex time environments require an employee to be in their office or at their desk during core time, but they can decide where and when to work during flex time. This allows one parent to get the kids on the bus, and the other parent to be home at the end of the day, while still completing a full work schedule for both parents. 3. Traditionally work has been from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the USA. Some companies allow an employee to use a compressed work schedule, which might be four 10 hour days with three days off. This is an example of a variable work schedule.

You were exposed to a new theory of leadership, called Situational Leadership. The basic premise of the theory is that no one leadership style fits all circumstances or followers. Using the "Sit-Lead" model, which of the following scenarios are correct in its application?

1. You have a new employee fresh out of college starting in your department next week. As their manager, you know that their commitment level will be high but their competency will be low. According to the Situational Leadership model, as a leader, you don't need to show them much supportive behavior, but you should use mostly directive behavior. As a result, you are very explicit in your directions, leaving no room for interpretation, guiding them to the proper steps to complete their assigned task. 2. You've delegated a new customer to one of your best salespeople. They told you they are ready to lead and you want to believe them. They launched into the new relationship with gusto, initially showing high levels of competence and commitment. However, after a few months, they start doubting their abilities because of some problems at the customer. They lost some projects and are starting to wonder if being the lead for this customer is the right thing for them. You diagnose the situation and move them back from the delegating quadrant to the support quadrant. You don't tell them what to do (they have high competence) but you give them lots of support and encouragement (because they are showing variable commitment) 3. Your 2nd shift supervisor has been with you for 6 months. They've learned the "ropes" but still have some more to learn but are well on their way. They just encountered their first really difficult problem supervising an insubordinate 2nd shift hourly worker. They are starting to doubt if being a supervisor is right for them. The Sit-lead model says as their boss you should show both strong supportive behavior as well as being very direct on what do to with this 2nd shift employee. This is called the Coaching quadrant. You use this quadrant because your supervisor has improved their competence since they s

In the eyes of the followers, leaders appear to be either transactional or transformational. Which of the following statement is true?

As described in other chapters, transactional leaders are more closely aligned with the "manager" function of keeping things running smoothly and hitting deadlines, while transformational leaders aligned with being a "leader" with a vision for the future.

When overused, it can make matters worse by postponing decisions or others may make decisions by default

Avoiding

You are struggling with the manager of the 3rd shift about how to use the joint meeting room / lunch room during shift change. There are no other rooms for people to meet and the 3rd shift manager wants to use it to collect his people to discuss production goals for his shift, but your people need a place to unwind at the end of their shift and talk to you about issues they had during their work. This is happening and causing a real problem in the short run, but will be addressed when they expand the factory in a few months. What is the best conflict style to use in this situation?

Compromising

From the video that Professor Hillman showed about Path-Goal Theory of Leadership, what did we learn?

For the Path-Goal theory to function properly, Vroom's Expectancy Theory of motivation must also be functioning.

Watching the Simon Sinek video, "Why Great Leaders make you feel safe." He gave a number of examples and phrases that talked about great leadership. Which of the following is one of those phrases?

In the military, they give medals to those who are willing to sacrifice themselves so others may gain, in business we give bonuses to people who are willing to sacrifice others, so that we may gain.

You suddenly find out that another manager in a parallel team to yours has left to move to another state. You have 8 staff members and they had 10. You've been approached by upper management to assume control of this other team in addition to yours, and as a result you will receive a 15% raise. You know that with 18 people reporting to you, you will have exceeded the recommended numbers for proper span of control and good relationships to be built with each staff member. You've decided to use your existing 8 people as the "lead" group and the 10 new people as the "following" group, but you won't call them that. You pick generic names like "Red Team" and "Blue Team" to ensure no one feels left out. But you meet with the red team three times a week and the blue team once per week. The red team gets the more difficult assignments. You get to know the blue team people individually to see if there is talent there which yo

Leader Member Exchange Model

The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Model described in your book, states what?

Leaders form unique independent relationships with their subordinates and naturally treat some as the "in-group" and some as the "out-group"

During the TED talk, Simon Sinek talks about what makes leaders great. He used several stories about leadership, and what he sees as the most important aspect of being a great leader. What was his main point in this video?

Leaders who have earned a high level of trust with their staff are able to do remarkable things. These leaders have established a "circle of safety" by putting the safety of the people they lead before themselves.

When managers and employees collaborate to set the goals the employee is expected to achieve, it is often referred to as MBO. What does MBO stand for?

Management by Objective

During lecture, Professor Hillman talked about how new employees can acquire power. He said they should become a SME. What does that mean?

SME = Subject Matter Expert

You are the president of a small tool and die firm in West Michigan. You have about 75 employees and 3 tiers of management. One of your three shift supervisors for the day shift has quit. Their team of 7 people comes to you with a proposition to not replace him. They say they know the work very well, have a high amount of trust between their team of seven, and have strong unwritten rules about how to hold each other accountable. You like the idea because it will save you the cost of a shift supervisor.

Self-Managed Team

You are a retail store manager with a staff of 10 people spread over multiple part-time shifts. The store is part of a chain with a lot of rules and regulations, particularly about what customers have to do to return a product. Your store is in the top 10% of stores nationwide for customer satisfaction and have one of the lowest return rates of any store in the nation. You think it is because your people work hard to ensure the customer is really happy with their purchase and isn't just sold anything to improve store sales. A customer comes back though and wants to return an expensive jacket. She does have the credit card, but not the receipt, which is required. It is also chain policy that returns can only occur 45 days after purchase, and it has been 51 days. Your assistant manager knows the customer and accepts the return. The customer during the same visit buys a replacement jacket. The following week your region

Servant Leadership

One of your staff members named Lou in your small accounting firm has really been a "shining" star when it comes to working on one of your largest clients, VDR. VDR has been with you a long time because your busines partner Keith has kept them very close and done excellent work for them. However, VDR is just as pleased working with Lou. You would like to see Keith go out and land other clients like VDR, but he says he needs to manage Lou and the other staff to ensure the quality of work is top notch. Lou comes to you complaining that Keith is too involved and micro-managing. Keith keeps directing Lou on what to do (even though Lou already knows what to do) at the client and has two scheduled meetings a week with Lou to make sure he has all the support he needs to be successful. You think it is time to ask Keith to find other clients to grow and let Lou run VDR. You prepare for your meeting with Keith.

Situational Leadership Model (Sit-Lead)

You and the Chief Operating Officer are meeting to discuss what to do about a shift supervisor named Jim that reports to you. Jim has been a "rockstar" among shift supervisors and so was offered a promotion which he seems hesitant to accept. You aren't sure how to approach Jim because he is reluctant to take on some new responsibilties in a new plant you have recently acquired about 1 mile away. The product is virtually identical to what he is responsible for now, but all the employees are new to your company since the acquisition. You and the COO decide not to force him into the position and just order him to take it, which you have the legitimate right to do. Rather you decide to approach him to see what kind of backing and support he needs to have in order to feel comfortable with the new position.

Situational Leadership Model (Sit-Lead)

When leaders are expected to have certain physical or intellectual attributes, and people are selected as future leaders because of these, we are using which approach to leadership?

Trait Approach

When a middle manager at WD-40 goes to a top manager to inform them they want to fire one of their direct reports, what question is asked of that middle manager?

What did you do to help them get an "A?" (achieve their goals)

Ian Fuhr has run all the onboarding programs for new employees at each of his companies. He thinks it is very important to ask this question of his new employees:

What is the purpose of work? People answer it is to make money. He says they are wrong, the purpose of work is to serve others.

During a lecture, Professor Hillman shared the 5 sources of managerial power he wanted you to remember. Which of these is NOT one of those powers?

authorized

Leave well enough alone

avoiding

Your assistant managers (you have 3 of them) come to you frustrated that the changes they have all agreed to several weeks ago have not yet been approved by you. You are concerned about the changes they recommend because it will force you to talk to the president of the company and beg for a large increase in the training budget for your department. You are pretty certain the president is going to deny your request and then question why you would even bring such an idea to him. Your assistant managers know this and are wiling to help you prepare a strong argument to present to the president. You are well aware of the pros and cons of each conflict style, which conflict style must you not use in this situation?

avoiding

Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann developed a conflict resolution assessment in the early 1970's. Which of the following are named as part of the model?

avoiding Accommodation competing

According to the video, if you have an employee whose readiness dictates that they need a great deal of both one-way, and two-way communication, then you can assume they are in the _________ quadrant.

coaching

You are in a company meeting with the managers of several other departments including marketing, technology, and accounting. Each department has big plans for the coming year and has plans for the small increase the president has announced in hiring. You want to add 3-4 people to your department but so do each of the other departments. The president says you probably only have money to hire 5 people in total and this will be the final hiring for the next 2 years as next year, budgets will be diverted to expanding the facility and not to hiring. You know your new hires will increase revenue and perhaps improve the budget the president has next year while the other departments plans add more cost without impacting revenue. Which conflict style is best to use in this situation?

collaborating

Looking at a disagreement from each other's insights. Resolving some condition that would otherwise have them competing for resources.

collaboration

Constant use of this style and the manager will end up being surrounded by "Yes Men"

competing

Might makes right

competing

There is an accident in the back of the factory and you are called to the scene. Several people are standing around looking at the person who was just hurt by some falling equipment and it looks like their hand and arm might be broken. There is extremely poor cell phone coverage in this remote area of the factory and so they can't call 911 to get an ambulance. Someone has to drive this person to the emergency room ASAP. What style do you use to decide who should drive him?

competing

Use this style when a quick decisive action is needed

competing

Ian Fuhr says that Servant Leaders don't motivate people. He says that Servant Leaders:

create a working environment that is conducive to people motivating themselves.

Offering something valuable in return for cooperation

exchange

During class, you were shown a video on office politics. The people in the video suggested, "be sure to avoid office politics. It isn't good for your career!"

false

The Hersey & Blanchard Theory of Leadership suggests that some members or subordinates are not ready to be part of the group. The manager should spend very limited time with these kinds of people as it takes away from spending time with the more productive members of the group.

false

When managers enable their workers to set their own goals, make decisions, and solve problems in their own areas of responsibility and skill set, this is call job expansion.

false

Talk openly and freely with the other person and express your thoughts and feelings.

good manager behavior

Appealing to aspirations, values, and ideals to gain commitment

inspirational

Spends much of their time thinking about the future of the company

leader

Works with their staff to help explain the meaning and purpose behind their role in the company

leader

Helps interpret and properly apply the company's policies and policies.

manager

When personnel problems occur in their department, they work to smooth it over and get back to efficient operations.

manager

Meeting separately with people involved with the conflict. Allowing these people to convince you of the merits of their own case.

poor manager behavior

Using logic and facts to persuade someone

rational persuasion

Of the five sources of managerial power discussed in class with Professor Hillman, he said this one was the most impactful power but also the hardest to obtain.

referent

When using goal-setting theory, it is important for the manager to keep in mind not the actual goal, but how the goal should be structured. Pick the items that below that should be part of the manager's "checklist" when setting goals.

specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, time-based

Leadership involves neither force nor coercion. A manager who relies solely on force and formal authority (legitimate power) to direct the behavior of their staff is not exercising leadership.

true