HRM Exam 3

Homer's group is having a conflict over who will lead the group. According to the five-stage model of group/team development, the next stage will be
A) performing
B) norming
C) forming
D) adjourning
E) none of the above

B) norming

Juby convened a group to help deal with a sudden increase of complaints about customer service. This group can be best described as a(n) _ group.
A) friendship
B) taskforce
C) informal
D) self-managed
E) all of the above

B) taskforce

The five stages of group development (in order) are: forming, norming, storming, performing, and adjourning. This statement is
A) true
B) false

B) false
Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning

Which of the following is NOT a symptom of groupthink?
A) collective rationalization
B) self-appointed mindguards
C) an illusion of vulnerability
D) self (individual) censorship
E) none of the above

C) illusion of vulnerability

Which of the following was identified as a way to reduce social loafing?
A) make individual contributions identifiable
B) make individuals feel like they are making a valuable contribution to the group
C) keep the group as small as possible
D) all of the above

D) all of the above

Not only does Bort get to assemble the entire toaster, he is also responsible for checking to see if the toaster meets quality standards. In addition, Bort determines the pace at which he works and schedules repairs for the equipment used to make the components for the toaster. This best describes job…
A) engineering
B) rotation
C) enrichment
D) sociotechnical systems
E) none of the above

C) enrichment (does more than the normal person does)

According to Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics model, the three critical psychological states are
A) growth-need-strength, MPS, autonomy
B) skill variety, autonomy, feedback
C) knowledge of results, responsibility, meaningfulness
D) loving, touching, squeezing

C) knowledge of results, responsibility, meaningfulness

Donny and Marie are reliant on each other to make their music magic. This relationship is most characteristic of __ interdependence.
A) sequential
B) reciprocal
C) pooled
D) linear
E) none of the above

B) reciprocal

Which of the following is an individual difference factor in Hackman & Oldham's job characteristics model?
A) autonomy
B) task identity
C) skill variety
D) (job) feedback
E) none of the above

E) none of the above

Which of the following is used to calculate MPS?
A) task identity
B) skill variety
C) autonomy
D) A and B
E) all of the above

E) all of the above

Which of the following is most likely a statement made by a person with an accommodating conflict handling style?
A) "If it makes other people happy, I am all for it"
B) "I insist that my position be accepted during a disagreement."
C) "I give in to others if they are willing to meet me halfway."
D) "I try to dig into an issue and find a solution good for all of us."

A) "If it makes other people happy, I am all for it"

Itchy has high concern for his goals and low concern for Scratchy's goals. According to research on conflict handling styles, Itchy will choose a(n) style to deal with the conflict
A) accomodation
B) collaboration
C) avoidance
D) competition

D) competition

Traditional win-lose, fixed amount situations--where one party's gain is another party's loss--characterize
A) integrative negotiations
B) intraorganizational negotiations
C) distributive negotiations
D) attitudinal structuring
E) all of the above

C) distributive negotiation

Logrolling requires that parties have more than one issue to negotiate. This statement is
A) true
B) false

A) true

Bort is trying to sabotage Wendy's work because she is smelly and disagreeable. Bort and Wendy can be best described as being at the ___ stage of conflict.
A) manifest
B) latent
C) perceived
D) felt
E) none of the above

A) manifest

People do what Mr. Burns requests because of the fear that he will fire them. In this instance, Mr. Burns can be described as possessing power.
A) reward
B) coercive
C) legitimate
D) referent
E) department of water and

B) coercive

Which of the following was listed as a source of functional and divisional power?
A) irreplaceability
B) centrality
C) ability to control uncertain contingencies
D) all of the above

D) all of the above

Diti is able to get people to do what she wants because she is very charismatic. Diti would be best described as having power.
A) legitimate
B) expert
C) referent
D) reward
E) none of the above

C) referent

Paco has a lot of reward power. His power can be best described as stemming from a(n) source.
A) organizational
B) personal
C) acculturation
D) Machiavellian
E) interstitial

A) organizational

Although no one asked him to, Tito started wearing super bell bottoms to work because everyone else in his department was wearing them. Tito is most likely demonstrating
A) compliance
B) conformity
C) obedience
D) controlling of the agenda
E) none of the above

B) conformity (since nobody asked him to)

Judy asks Ron to go to help her buy a part in San Diego. Ron agrees. She then tells him that she found out she can't go and asks him to do it for her. Judy is most likely using the technique to induce compliance.
A) foot-in-the-door
B) door-in-the-face
C) low-ball
D) bird-in-the-hand

C) low-ball

Paco is part of a team with other workers in his same area. He and his team have to find a design flaw in the engines they produce. Paco can best be described as being part of a _ group/team.
A) taskforce
B) cross-functional
C) friendship
D) self-managed

A) taskforce

Group members are most likely to keep feelings to themselves, act more secure than they actually feel, and experience confusion and uncertainty about what is expected of them in the _ stage of group development.
A) norming
B) storming
C) forming
D) performing

C) forming

Petra is part of a team with people from different departments in her company. The team is meeting to decide how to better meet customer needs. Petra can be best described as being part of team.
A) self-managed
B) cross-functional
C) friendship
D) informal

B) cross-functional

Rica's group is having an emotional debate over who will lead the group. According to the five-stage model, Rica's group can be best described as being at the _ stage of group development.
A) forming
B) norming
C) storming
D) adjourning

C) storming

Research indicates that traditional brainstorming is very effective. This statement if
A) true
B) false

B) false (should list alternative ways to get ideas)

Which of the following is NOT a symptom of groupthink?
A) collective rationalization
B) direct pressure on dissenters
C) group censorship
D) an illusion of unanimity
E) all of the above are symptoms

C) group censorship

Rico and Suave are not required to communicate with each other very often at work. Each can do his job relatively independently of the other. This situation best describes interdependence.
A) sequential
B) reciprocal
C) pooled
D) patio
E) none of the above

C) pooled

Which of the following is NOT a core job dimension (characteristic) in Hackman & Oldham's job characteristics model?
A) autonomy
B) feedback
C) task identity
D) responsibility
E) none of the above

D) responsibility

Rather than working on one part of the engine, Justin now works on five parts of the engine. This is most characteristic of
A) sociotechnical systems
B) job rotation
C) job enlargement
D) job enrichment
E) louis richment

C) job enlargement (horizonatal)

A cornerstone of job is the specialization of labor with the goal of achieving higher efficiency.
A) engineering
B) enrichment
C) rotation
D) sociotechnical systems

A) engineering

Who would most benefit from job enrichment?
A) Paco - who has low GNS
B) Juby - who is unhappy with organizational policies
C) Bort - who has high self-actualization needs.
D) Jerby - who has low skills and abilities
E) all of the above would benefit equally

C) Bort - who has high self-actualization needs.

The JDS is used for job diagnosis. This statement is
A) true
B) false

A) true

Which approach to job design would most likely produce the highest levels of efficiency and the lowest levels of employee satisfaction?
A) job specialization
B) job enlargement
C) job rotation
D) job enrichment

A) job specialization

Kathleen's company has recently redesigned her job. She now has responsibilities and tasks to perform that were formerly reserved for management and staff specialists. Kathleen's company can be described as using
A) horizontal loading
B) vertical loading
C) job enlargement
D) job rotation
E) parallel transactment

B) vertical loading (letting someone move up in the company)

Nam is interested in arriving at a distributive solution that is the most fair. Nam would most likely choose a(n) __ conflict handling style.
A) accommodation
B) collaboration
C) avoidance
D) compromise
E) competition

D) compromise (meet in the middle is most fair)

The principles of "Separate people from the problem" and "Focus on interests and not positions" are part of distributive bargaining approach. This statement is
A) true
B) false

false (integrative/win-win)

When dealing with conflict, Zayden states "I find it's best to probe for the real needs underlying the other person's stated position, and then explore with him/her ways of meeting both our needs through some sort of creative solution." Zayden most likely is referring to the _ conflict-handling style.
A) collaboration
B) competition
C) avoidance
D) accommodation

A) collaboration

Jon chooses to use competition style of conflict management. According to research on interpersonal conflict handling styles. Jon has
A) high concern for himself
B) high concern for others
C) low concern for himself
D) all of the above

A) high concern for himself

The three major sources of interpersonal and intergroup conflict are differentiation, scarcity of resources, and task management. This statement is
A) true
B) false

true

Itchy and Scratchy have a relationship marked by constant arguing and aggression. This situation best describes ____ conflict
A) latent
B) manifest
C) perceived
D) felt
E) none of the above

B) manifest

Itchy and Scratchy's manager may want to use ___ to help resolve the conflict.
A) negotiation
B) mediation
C) distributive issues
D) conflict restructuring
E) urine monkeys

B) mediation

Which of the following was listed as a tactic for increasing individual power?
A) controlling the agenda
B) bringing in an outside expert
C) building coalitions and alliance
D) all of the above

D) all of the above

Which of the following was listed as a source of informal individual power?
A) legitimate
B) information
C) reward
D) expert

D) expert

Paco has a lot of reward power. Paco's power can be best described as stemming from a(n) __ source.
A) informal individual
B) personal
C) means and ends
D) organizational
E) none of the above

D) organizational

The potential of a supervisor to give out punishment is power, while the employee's identification with the goals of the supervisor is an indication of the supervisor's power.
A) coercive; reward
B) legitimate; expert
C) legitimate; referent
D) coercive; referent

D) coercive; referent

Although no one asked him to, Chip styled his hair so that he looked like all the other guys in his company. Chip is most likely demonstrating
A) obedience
B) compliance
C) conformity
D) irreplaceability
E) the Paul Mitchell effect

C) conformity

Because Jerbina is the most knowledgeable person in her department about computers, people usually follow her recommendations. Jerbina would be best described as having power that stems from a(n) __ source.
A) organizational
B) positional
C) personal
D) meat

C) personal

Which of the following individuals is most likely to be politically active in an organization?
A) Jerby - who has an external locus of control
B) Juby - who has a poor personal reputation
C) Bort - who has an internal locus of control
D) Homer - who suffers from extreme bladder hostility

C) Bort - who has an internal locus of control

Bort wants a date with his co-worker, Kris. He first suggests that they go on vacation together. Kris says no. Then, he asks her if she will go out to coffee with him. Kris agrees. Bort is most likely using the ___ technique to induce compliance.
A) low-ball
B) foot-in-the-door
C) door-in-the-face
D) foot-in-the-face

C) door-in-the-face

A is a desired goal an organization seeks to achieve.
A) rite of enhancement
B) shared assumption
C) terminal value
D) instrumental value
E) none of the above

C) terminal value

Jerby tells her new employees information about the company and what they need to do to be successful. This process can be best described as organizational
A) acculturation
B) assent
C) socialization
D) subculturing
E) none of the above

C) socialization

ethics are moral values that a group of similarly trained people develop to control their performance of a task or use of their resources.
A) societal
B) professional
C) individual
D) group

B) professional

In Pablo's company, the central concern of employees is job security. This concern persists even when organizational membership changes. Beliefs about the importance of job security can best be characterized as
A) shared assumptions
B) cultural symbols
C) shared behaviors
D) cultural values
E) all of the above

D) cultural values

According to your text, the concept of organizational language does not extend to nonverbal communication. This statement is
A) true
B) false

B) false

The managers at Rica's company share a consistent set of values and methods for getting work done. Rica's company appears to have a culture.
A) total quality
B) strong
C) whistle-blowing
D) throat

B) strong

Homer wants to change the culture of his organization. According to lecture which of the following would be the 2nd easiest to change?
A) cultural values
B) shared assumptions
C) cultural symbols
D) shared behaviors
E) all of the above

D) shared behaviors

Xiolototijichy wants to know why his organization has the culture it does. On what should Xiolototijichy focus?
A) organizational rites
B) organizational ceremonies
C) language
D) all of the above

D) all of the above

Job design

the process of linking specific tasks to specific jobs and deciding what techniques, equipment, and procedures should be used to perform those tasks

Scientific Management

a set of principles and practices stressing job simplification and specialization, was developed by Taylor to increase the performance of individual employees

Job simplification

involves breaking up the work that needs to be done into the smallest identifiable tasks

Job specialization

training workers to do the small task over and over again to attain a high level of efficiency

Job enlargement

involves increasing the number of tasks an employee performs but keeping all of the tasks at the same level of difficulty and responsibility; horizontal loading

Job enrichment

involves designing jobs to provide opportunities for employee growth by giving employees more responsibility and control over their work; responsibilities that used to belong to their supervisors; vertical loading

How can a manager enrich an employee's job?

-Allow employees to plan their own work schedules
-Allow employees to decide how the work should be performed
-Allow employees to check their own work
-Allow employees to learn new skills

Job Characteristics Model

an approach to job design that aims to identify characteristics that make jobs intrinsically motivating and the consequences of those characteristics
-proposed by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham:

Core Job Dimensions

skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback

Skill variety

the extent to which a job requires an employee to use a number of different skills, abilities, or talents
High: high need for different skills
Low: low need for different skills

Task identity

the extent to which a job involves performing a whole piece of work from its beginning to its end
High: customer service from start to finish
Low: doing a small unimportant action

Task significance

the extent to which a job has an impact on the lives or work of other people in or out of the organization
-High: does an important task, medical worker or doctor
-Low: does a miniscule task like drying a car after it goes through the wash

Autonomy

the degree to which a job allows an employee the freedom and independence to schedule work and decide how to carry it out

Feedback

the extent to which performing a job provides an employee with clear information about his or her effectiveness
High feedback: constant and immediate feedback
Low feedback: rarely received, unaware of a mistake

Motivating Potential Score (MPS)

is a measure of the overall potential of a job to foster intrinsic motivation.
MPS = average of the first three core characteristics (skill variety, task identity, and task significance) x autonomy and feedback,

Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS)

developed to measure employees' perceptions of their jobs on each of the core dimension, by Hackman and Oldham

Experienced meaningfulness of the work (1st critical psychological state)

the degree to which employees feel their jobs are important, worthwhile, and meaningful

Experienced responsibility for work outcomes (2nd critical psychlogical state)

the extent to which employees feel they are personally responsible or accountable for their job performance.

Knowledge of results (3rd critical psychological state)

the degree to which employees know how well they perform their jobs on a continuous basis; it stems from the core dimension of feedback

Critical psychological states result in four key outcomes:

-high intrinsic motivation
-high job performance
-high job satisfaction
-low absenteeism and turnover

Three types of individual differences that affect relationships between core dimensions & psychological states

-growth-need strength
-knowledge and skills
-satisfaction

Growth-need strength

the extent to which an individual wants his or her work to contribute to personal growth, learning, and development

Knowledge and skills

at an appropriate level enable employees to perform their jobs effectively

Satisfaction with work context

describes how satisfied employees are with extrinsic outcomes (such as pay, benefits, job security, and good relationships with coworkers) they receive from their jobs

Social Information Processing Model

An approach to job design based on the idea that information from other people and employees' own past behaviors influence employees' perceptions of and responses to the design of their jobs.

Contingent workers

employees organizations hire or contract with on a temporary basis to fill needs for labor, which change over time

Organizational objectives

the overarching purpose of an organization—what it stands for and what it seeks to accomplish.

Social identity theory

people tend to classify themselves and others into social categories, such as being members of a certain group or team, religion, political party, or organization

Goal setting theory

explains what types of goals are most effective in producing high levels of motivation and performance and why goals have these effects

Difficult goals affect motivation and performance by

-directing employees' attention & action toward goal-relevant activities
-causing employees to exert higher levels of effort
-causing employees to develop action plans to achieve their goals
-causing employees to persist in the face of obstacles or difficulties

Limits to goal-setting theory

-When employees lack the skills and abilities needed to perform at a high level
-When employees are given complicated and difficult tasks that require all of their attention and require a considerable amount of learning
-When employees need to be creative

Management by Objectives (MBO)

a goal-setting process in which a manager meets periodically with their supervisor to set goals and evaluate how well previously set goals have been met

Three basic steps for MBO programs

goal setting, implementation, and evaluation

Pooled interdependence

When team members may work independently and simply combine their efforts to create the team's output
ex. real estate person is under a company but works for themselves

Sequential interdependence

when one impacts someone who impacts someone else who impacts someone else etc.

Caveats for Tuckman's five stage model

not all groups mature at same speed, sometimes even skip stages

Tuckman's Five-Stage Model

forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning

Forming

the first stage of team development, in which team members meet each other, form initial impressions, and begin to establish team norms

Storming

the second stage of development, characterized by conflict and disagreement, in which team members disagree over what the team should do and how it should do it

Norming

the third stage of team development, in which team members begin to settle into their roles, group cohesion grows, and positive team norms develop

Performing

the fourth stage of team development, in which performance improves because the team has matured into an effective, fully functioning team

Adjourning

Return to independence because tasks are complete