MGMT3301 EXAM 2

Managers should consider which guideline in determining whether a decision is ethical?

(Will I feel better or worse about myself after I make this decision?, Does the decision break any organizational rules?, Is the decision fair?) All of these.

Peters and Waterman's best-selling book In Search of Excellence made the argument that company success could be attributed to an organizational culture that included what feature?

(decisiveness, customer-orientation, empowerment) all of these

Generally, goals and objectives serve to

(gauge and report performance, improve performance, align effort) all of these.

In KPMG's 2017 survey of the 250 largest companies worldwide, approximately what percentage reported their corporate social responsibility?

93%

What is the first step in conducting a decision making premortem?

A planning team comes up with an outline of a plan.

Which statement regarding functional structures is accurate?

Departments may include manufacturing, finance, accounting, human resources, and information technology.

_________ refers to the number of levels within an organization.

Hierarchy

The saying, "Nothing fails like success," tells us what about organizational change?

High performance can lead to overconfidence and failure to change.

Which question should be addressed to determine whether your objective is measurable?

How will I know when it is accomplished?

What does research indicate about the practice of satisficing?

It is generally effective in making good decisions

Who is generally responsible for setting goals and objectives in an organization?

Leadership

Which statement regarding change is accurate?

Organizational change may involve structure, strategy, policies, procedures, technology, or culture.

A manager prepared for an employee's annual performance review by creating goals and objectives for the employee, scheduling a meeting, and presenting the employee with the goals and objectives. The employee agreed to meet these by the following year's annual review. What did this manager do wrong?

The manager did not involve the employee in setting agreed upon goals and objectives prior to the meeting.

Which statement is accurate with respect to gender differences in leadership style?

Women tend to display more democratic and less autocratic styles as compared to men

Airline attendants are told that if a customer complains about the service, they should be offered a free beverage. This is an example of

a decision rule.

A culture that emphasizes precision and paying attention to details is

a detail-oriented culture.

The leadership style that sets goals for employees and encourages them to reach their goals is

achievement-oriented

Research on the employee role in onboarding activities indicates that

active relationship building is particularly important to avoid turnover in those firms lacking systematic onboarding activities.

Carrera Corporation has its sights clearly set on the Smith-Robinson Company. The firm's employees often talk about "cutting Smith-Robinson off at the knees." Recently, a lawsuit was filed against Carrera because it raided the middle-level management level of the firm and hired away most of its managers and its highest-performing sales staff. Carrera has a(n) ___________ culture.

aggressive

Because they are sometimes seen as submissive, ________ people who are good natured, modest, and avoid conflict are less likely to be perceived as leaders.

agreeable

Selecting a new computer based on a low price without analyzing what software, warranties, and peripherals come with it is an example of which form of bias?

anchoring and adjustment

If onboarding activities are successful, employees

are more confident about their ability to perform in the organization and likely to remain longer with the firm.

"People are generally dishonest" is an example of a cultural

assumption

When leaders make decisions alone without involving employees in the decision-making process, they are using

autocratic decision making.

A modular organization is a type of ________ organization because it eliminates traditional barriers by outsourcing nonessential functions.

boundaryless

If an industry is highly regulated, firms competing within it likely have

bureaucratic structures.

In personal scorecard, the financial goals

capture your needs and aspirations about money.

The degree to which decision-making authority is concentrated at higher levels in an organization refers to

centralization.

Objectives typically are

clear, concise, and understandable.

Tall structures provide employees with

closer supervision.

What is a symptom of groupthink?

collective rationalizations

A Balanced Scorecard relies on which process to bind short-term activities to long-term activities?

communicating and linking

In Marco's experience, turnover is positive; it keeps workers motivated to keep their jobs, so he regularly fires employees who underperform. High-performing employees, however, often leave for other jobs because they feel they have no job security. Marco's efforts to force turnover in spite of the negative effects are most likely caused by a(n) ________ bias.

confirmation

Willa is part of a project group. Her group members chose her as the leader of the group because she is always on task and on time for meetings, sets achievable goals, and is willing to assist anyone who needs help. Willa is

conscientious

Heather meets with her subordinates on a regular basis to share concerns and information with the group. She takes their feedback but makes decisions on her own. According to the leadership decision tree, Heather's decision-making style is to

consult

Experts have proposed that creativity occurs as a result of the interaction between personality traits, attributes, and

context

Bettie's Bakery sold out of their muffins every day last week. Bettie thought that it was because she changed the recipe slightly and now her customers loved the muffins. She decides to triple her muffin output for the following week. However, muffin sales fall because the temporary increase was related to purchases for Teacher Appreciation Week. Bettie experienced a(n)

correlation and causality bias.

What is a benefit of centralized organizational structure?

cost savings in purchasing operations

The culture of Altamira Corporation is characterized by participative decision making, innovation, and openness. Most employees feel part of the team. The accounting department, however, is run using authoritarian decision making to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Accounting manager Stanley Jones believes in tight control to prevent errors. The department has a low error rate and high turnover. The accounting department's culture could be classified as a

counterculture

Maurice works as the frozen food manager in a large grocery store. When his stock of two-pound bags of frozen shrimp gets down to two cases, he emails the warehouse to send ten cases to restock. The "automated" ordering of ten cases when supply gets to two cases in the store is called a(n)

decision rule

A disadvantage of formalization in organization structure is

decreased innovation

Compared to other styles, effects on decision quality or employee productivity are weaker when leaders use which decision making style?

democratic

Nelson is the manager of a marketing department in a medium sized company with six employees reporting to him. In deciding the goals for the department for next quarter, he schedules a meeting for employee input and direction. Nelson uses a(n) ___________ style of decision making in the marketing department.

democratic

John is a member of a team of decision makers. As a way to avoid groupthink he has been tasked with challenging and questioning the group as they work to come to an agreement. Which role is he fulfilling within the group?

devil's advocate

Expectancy theory suggests individuals are motivated when

effort leads to high performance.

According to Blanchard and Hersey's Situational Leadership Theory, a leader's style is directly influenced by

employee readiness.

Directive leadership is thought to be most effective when

employees experience ambiguity on the job.

Mechanistic structures include which element?

employees given specific job descriptions with their roles and responsibilities

Organic structures are conducive to

entrepreneurial activity and innovation.

Out of all personality traits, the one with the strongest relationship to both leader emergence and leader effectiveness is

extraversion

Research findings of leader behaviors suggest

extremely high levels of leader task-oriented behaviors may lead to burnout in employees.

Firms with people-oriented cultures tend to value

fairness, supportiveness, and respecting individual rights

A common reason that people resist change on the job is

fear of failure.

Organic structures can be described as

flexible and decentralized with low levels of formalization.

Researchers have determined that there are three factors to evaluate the level of creativity in the decision-making process: flexibility, originality, and

fluency

By one estimate, the primary reason managers who start a new job fail, or either voluntarily or involuntarily leave, is not being able to

form effective relationship with colleagues.

A company president is in a position of authority due to the associated title. This demonstrates what kind of leader?

formal

The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of what external force impacting organizational change?

generational events

Task-oriented behaviors are also called

initiating structure

3M Corporation provides its employees time each week to generate ideas for new products. This practice is responsible for the development of such products as Post-it ® notes. This is evidence of a(n) ___________ culture.

innovative

Firms that are flexible, adaptable, and experiment with new ideas are ___________ firms.

innovative

Darius finds out that his manager has been cheating employees out of pay bonuses. Darius' manager seems to lack

integrity

Which trait is the most highly correlated with leadership ability?

intelligence

The Balanced Scorecard focuses on four types of measures, including which one that looks at organizational efficiency?

internal processes

Which decision-making model is least effective when the manager has no prior experience with a particular issue?

intuitive

Marisol is a paramedic for the county ambulance service. Yesterday there was a terrible accident when a bus carrying senior citizens to a casino was struck by a semitruck. Fifteen of the bus riders were killed and 25 injured. As Marisol arrived on the scene, she quickly made decisions as to which victims needed immediate care and who could wait. Marisol likely used what decision-making model in conducting triage?

intuitive decision-making model

Employees engage in higher levels of conflict when leaders use which decision making style?

laissez-faire

While many people assume that charisma is innate, the text suggests it is possible to improve your charisma by

making sure employees have confidence in you

Research on mentoring suggests

mentor training enhances program outcomes.

Being curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas describes the Big Five personality trait of

openness

Maria has been a part-time faculty member at the university for nine years. She teaches two to three writing courses a semester. Last month, the dean announced that next academic year, part-time instructors would be limited to teaching only two classes during the entire year. Maria is upset and tells her husband, "I may look into teaching at the community college next year but don't let anyone at the university know." This is an example of what kind of change reaction?

passive resistance

The trait approach to leadership examines which factor?

personality characteristics

What is more characteristic of a decentralized organization than a centralized organization?

positive emotional climate

Angelo works as the frozen food manager in a large grocery store. When his stock of two-pound bags of frozen shrimp gets down to two cases, he emails the warehouse to send ten cases to restock. The type of decision Angelo is making about restocking shrimp is a

programmed decision

Moore's law references a need for organizational change by highlighting

rapid developments in technology

In the SMART criteria, what does the "R" stand for?

realistic

The degree to which a person is at peace with themselves and has an overall positive assessment of their self-worth and capabilities is related to their

self-esteem.

In the SMART criteria, what does the "S" stand for?

specific

Examples of measures used in objectives include

stock price

To ensure all cast members share and embrace the history of Walt Disney World, new hires at the resort must take courses on traditions at Disney. With these classes, the Walt Disney Company is creating a

strong culture.

Cultures that emerge within different departments, branches, or geographic locations are called

subcultures.

Novalee makes it a point to talk to her subordinates every day about what is going on in their personal lives. She always congratulates them when they share successes and has a kind word and "a shoulder to cry on" if necessary when things are not going well. Novalee has a ___________ leadership style.

supportive

Characteristics of MBO include

systematic and organized.

Companies that are collaborative and emphasize cooperation among employees have a(n) ___________ culture.

team-oriented

In an organization where high-level managers make the effort to involve others in decision-making and seek opinions of others, corporate culture tends to be

team-oriented.

A problem the Group decision support system (GDSS) intended to solve is

the ability to make sure every idea is heard

As the population in the country became more diverse, P&G began to manufacture and sell variations of its product that would appeal to different cultures. This demonstrates how _______ can cause organizational change.

the environment

Behavioral approaches to leadership behaviors fail to consider

the environment in which behaviors occurred.

The timing for a performance evaluation should coincide with

the needs of the employee and the organization.

Despite potential benefits, the disadvantages of a matrix structure include

there is potential for interpersonal conflict with team members as well as with leaders.

Operational decisions refer to

those things that employees do each day to make the organization run.

John is a top-level manager at ACME Manufacturing. His goal is to increase the intrinsic motivation of his employees and create higher levels of commitment to organizational change. Which contemporary approach to leadership is he exhibiting?

transformational

According to Daniel Goleman, effective leaders are different from ineffective leaders due to their

understanding of other people's emotions.

Security, safety, and social equality are all examples of cultural

values

Your objective is probably realistic if

you believe it can be accomplished.

Abusive leaders are costly to organizations because of

(lost productivity, increased absenteeism, increased health care costs) all of these.

When trying to persuade people to change their ways, having a history of suggesting implementable changes is which method of overcoming resistance to proposals?

Assess your credibility.

Which statement about how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many businesses operated or will operate is accurate?

Companies are expected to speed up their automation of many tasks that are repetitive and dangerous.

Which statement about leader-member exchange (LMX) theory is accurate?

In high LMX relationships, the leader has a trust-based relationship with the member.

Which statement is accurate regarding the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) process?

Individuals self-select the companies for which they choose to work.

Which statement about corporate social responsibility (CSR) is accurate?

It has been gathering momentum for over a decade.

Which statement is accurate regarding Robert House's path-goal theory of leadership?

Leaders can create high performing employees by making sure employee effort leads to performance and that performance is rewarded with desired rewards.

What can employees do to improve the leader-employee relationship?

Seek feedback to improve their performance.

An example of a question requiring a strategic decision is:

Should we downsize our organization?

When setting an objective, you should answer six "W" questions. Which one relates to identifying requirements and constraints?

Which?

When Sophia lost a sale to a competitor, she blamed it on the actions of her competitor instead of the fact that Sophia forgot to follow up on the opportunity. This demonstrates

a fundamental attribution error.

Under Fielder's contingency theory, an LPC (least preferred coworker) score is similar to

a personality trait.

As the analysis of leadership characteristics has evolved, the concept of what makes a strong leader has moved from

all powerful and knowing to humble and open to feedback.

There are a number of things organizations can do prior to change to prepare employees, including

allowing employees to participate.

Artifacts reflecting values of an organization include

an office layout with open spaces

Kahneman and Tversky found that individuals tend to rely too heavily on arbitrary numbers, or irrelevant traits or facts, when making a decision. This is called ________ bias.

anchoring

Organizational culture consists of three levels:

assumptions, artifacts, and values

Indira overhears a professor in the school of business saying that having a finance degree guarantees you a job after graduation. She also notices some job postings for finance majors at the career center. Even though she is currently studying communications, Indira decides to change her major immediately. Indira's decision seems to be affected by

availability bias

Willard is a manager in a large manufacturing firm. He sets a tight production schedule every day and makes certain each employee knows what job they are performing that day and how to perform it. Willard appears to have a ___________ leadership style.

directive

A new CEO has developed a plan that calls for company reorganization from a functional structure to a matrix one. In a meeting with her subordinates, manager Chloe says, "This will be great. You will still work for this area and me, but you'll have variety and growth opportunities by reporting to a second manager for various projects. This new structure will help grow this company." Chloe shows what reaction to this change?

enthusiastic support

In an organization, the union contract is explicit as to employee work rules, the tasks each individual employee will perform, the pay each employee will receive, how employees can move from one position to another, and so on. This is an example of a ___________ structure in the organization.

formalized

In response to organizational change, compliance refers to

going along with proposed changes with little enthusiasm.

Using Fiedler's contingency theory, if you dislike working with a person and do not care for them on a personal level either, you would

have a low least preferred coworker score

Vroom, Yetton, and Jago's normative decision model was meant to

help leaders determine how much involvement they should seek when making decisions

Walker seldom loses his temper at work and always demonstrates empathy for others. He is internally motivated and has many admirable social skills. Walker appears to have

high emotional intelligence.

An organizational outcome of servant leadership is

higher levels of customer service

Blanchard and Hersey's Situational Leadership Theory describes employees in the earliest stages of development as

highly committed, but with low task competence.

Organizational structure refers to

how the work of individuals and teams within an organization is coordinated.

Which of these is a step in creative decision making?

immersion

For abusive leaders, research has found a correlation between their negative behavior with employees and their

inability to regulate their emotions.

Matrix organizational structures are characterized by

increased communication within the organization.

Overconfidence bias occurs when

individuals overestimate their ability to predict future events.

According to Fiedler's contingency theory, conditions creating situational favorableness include

leader-subordinate relations

The most common appraisal error is

leniency

One of the stages in Lewin's three-stage model of planned change is

making sure that organizational members are ready for, and receptive to, change.

A trusted individual who provides an employee with advice and support regarding career-related matters is a

mentor

In a personal Balanced Scorecard, __________ reflects your values and philosophy of life.

mission

Programmed decisions are those which

occur frequently enough that an automated response is developed for them.

Patricia just started a new job at a new company. The first day there, she observes whether people eat lunch at their desks, if they take timed breaks, and if they leave right at 5 pm. She is trying to understand the

organizational culture.

Organizational culture is most related to the P-O-L-C function of

organizing.

The information system department's employees are highly skilled individuals who possess an internal locus of control. The firm is looking to hire a manager for the department to replace the retiring manager. What type of leadership style would likely be most effective with this group?

participative

Cho knew the market for high-end clothing was changing, so she surveyed her managers and their employees for suggestions on what changes needed to be made to the company's marketing plan. This demonstrates which leadership style?

participative leadership

Which reaction to change is happening when an employee looks for a new job rather than bringing their concerns to the attention of decision makers?

passive resistance

A firm pays above average wages to its employees. Each employee is given at least two weeks of vacation and any time family matters arise, flexible arrangements are made to facilitate the employee. Each Thanksgiving, a turkey is provided to each employee, $100 gift certificates are given for the holidays, and during the summer the firm pays for each employee and one guest to attend an all-expense-paid day at the local amusement park. This firm seems to be a(n) ___________ company.

people-oriented

Research indicates that employees tend to stay longer in ___________ cultures.

people-oriented

Mikhail is a manager at Acme Manufacturing. He strives to show concern for his employees' feelings and to treat them with respect. What leader behavior is he exhibiting?

people-oriented.

Jessica must decide which of two job offers she is going to choose. She begins her process by listing the key criteria she is looking for in a job including salary level, location, promotional opportunities, and so on. She then takes each job offer letter and carefully goes through each line assessing the offer in relationship to the criteria she established. Jessica is using what type of decision making?

rational

A well-known Fortune 500 CEO dresses up in a different outlandish costume each year for a presentation during the annual stockholder meeting. The presentation is broadcast to all divisions and offices of the firm and employees enthusiastically view the proceedings. This scenario is an example of what visual element of culture?

rituals

The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, issued an apology for an inflammatory statement he made at a major industry event. This is an example of which of the six steps to culture change?

role modeling

Whirlwind Manufacturing has a large sign posted in the firm's parking area that keeps count of the number of days since the last accident in the firm. Currently, the number stands at 150. The count is changed every day in somewhat of a "ceremony," and when 50 days go by without an accident, the firm provides a free lunch to all employees. Posters throughout the plant remind workers to wear protective clothing including earplugs, safety hats and glasses, and hard-toed shoes. Whirlwind works hard to maintain a

safety culture.

The tendency to accept the first alternative that meets minimum criteria is called

satisficing

The leadership approach that defines the leader's mission as developing employees and helping them reach their goals is

servant leadership

If the company mission statement does not affect employee behavior on a day-to-day basis, it:

serves as an aspirational goal for employee behavior.

The incubation step in the creative decision-making process refers to the step where the decision maker

sets the problem aside and does not consciously think of it.

As a self-described technology geek, Lawrence likes to browse brick and mortar stores and once he has found what he likes, he uses the Internet to look for better prices. This demonstrates the concept of

showrooming.

What characterizes a strong organizational culture?

shows consensus among employees on company values

Two or more companies that find an area of collaboration and combine their efforts to create a partnership beneficial to both parties describes a

strategic alliance

Best practices relating to performance reviews suggest that goals and objectives should inspire, challenge, and

stretch capabilities

When leaders motivate employees through inspiration, corporate culture tends to be

supportive and people-oriented.

Research at Ohio State University and University of Michigan discovered two broad categories of leader behaviors:

task-oriented and people-oriented structures.

The decision-making technique designed to help with group decision making by ensuring that all members participate fully is

the nominal group technique

Miguel is a department manager in a family-owned retail store. He and his subordinates clash over scheduling and other procedural aspects of the job almost daily. While having the title of manager, Miguel makes few decisions for the department, instead implementing those relayed by the owner. The sales associate positions as well as his managerial position do not have specific duties tied to them; instead everyone is supposed to do "whatever it takes." According to Fiedler's contingency theory, the situation would best be described as

unfavorable.