C715 Organizational Behavior

Employees A and B work together on the same project team. When the team faces a complex problem, the team leader usually asks B to generate alternative solutions for the team to consider. Experience has shown that B is more likely to take initiative, to set ambitious goals, and to feel that the team can effectively influence its environment. Employee A tends to do well on jobs that are routine, is plagued with self doubt, and feels that the team is largely powerless over its environment.

Which statement is correct?

A. Employee A exhibits positive core self evaluation, and employee B exhibits negative core self evaluation

B. Employee A exhibits negative core self evaluation, and employee B exhibits positive core self evaluation.

C. Employee A exhibits negative core self evaluation, and employee B exhibits negative core self evaluation.

D. Employee A exhibits positive core self evaluation and employee B exhibits positive core self evaluation.

B. Employee A exhibits negative core self evaluation, and employee B exhibits positive core self evaluation.

Employee B was upset by Employee A's behavior at the department's planning meeting.

Which factors will influence Employee B's perception in this situation?

A. Stimulation, task, and skills

B. Situation, target, and perceiver

C. Problem, criteria, and alternatives

D. Heredity, environment, and perceiver

B. Situation, target, and perceiver

A person is broadminded, courageous, and forgiving.

Which type of values are these?

A. Terminal values

B. Transitory values

C. Determinate values

D. Instrumental values

D. Instrumental values

An employee enjoys having a large span of responsibility and is motivated to do well because of personal feelings.

Which kind of reward is this?

A. Intrinsic reward

B. Extrinsic reward

C. Affiliation reward

D. Compensatory reward

A. Intrinsic reward

Which theory of motivation focuses on 5 levels of needs, and further separates those needs by lower-order needs and higher-order needs?

A. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

B. McClelland’s Theory of Needs

C. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory
D. Two-Factor Theory

C. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Manager A supervises 10 district units with 100 employees and receives $100,000 in compensation. Manager B supervises 5 district units with 50 employees and also receives $100,000 in compensation. Manager A is upset by this relationship and is looking for a new job.

Which theory explains A's motivation to look for a new job?

A. Equity theory

B. Inequity theory

C. Perception theory

D. Perceptual fairness theory

A. Equity theory

A manager challenged an employee to produce an average of 24 assemblies each day for a week. This production goal was higher than the employee had ever achieved during any week. The manager gave the employee a tally sheet to mark after each assembly was completed.

Considering the goal-setting theory of motivation, the manager was counting on which factors to influence the employee to achieve the production goal?

A. Challenge and direction

B. Feedback and reflection

C. Specificity and feedback

D. Challenge and power

C. Specificity and feedback

What defines a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to a person occupying a given position in a social unit?

A. Group role

B. Group norm

C. Group status

D. Group conformity

A. Group role

Which type of group is defined by the organization's structure?

A. Unified group

B. Formal group

C. Informal group

D. Designated group

B. Formal group

Management has noticed that the quality improvement work group is struggling because members seem to be working in different directions.

Which suggested action can the company take to increase group cohesiveness?

A. Make the group larger

B. Physically isolate the group

C. Establish more rigid roles for group members

D. Decrease the difficulty of becoming a group member

B. Physically isolate the group

To resolve a conflict between the department staff and the janitorial staff, the department head informs the department staff of a new policy prohibiting the eating of food at the desk.

Which type of conflict resolution technique does this represent?

A. Problem solving

B. Authoritative command

C. Altering the human variable

D. Altering the structural variables

B. Authoritative command

What is an advantage of a cohesive group?

A. When organized by department, task subgroups compete within the group.

B. When performance-related goals are low, a cohesive group is more productive.

C. When performance-related goals are high, a cohesive group is more productive.

D. When organized by department, task subgroups do not form and command groups emerge.

C. When performance-related goals are high, a cohesive group is more productive.

What is an advantage of a group that is not very cohesive?

A. There is less need for giving rewards as group rewards.

B. When making a group decision, groupthink is more likely to occur.

C. When performance norms are high, productivity will be higher than in a cohesive group.

D. When performance norms are low, productivity may be higher than in a cohesive group.

D. When performance norms are low, productivity may be higher than in a cohesive group.

Which term describes the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually?

A. Social loafing

B. Independent effort

C. Selective perception

D. Employee disengagement

A. Social loafing

What is a strength of group decision making?

A. Power of groupthink

B. Increased diversity of views

C. Conformity pressures in groups

D. Reduced time for making decisions

B. Increased diversity of views

Which statement is true about work teams?

A. Members work together to neutralize synergy.

B. The members' primary focus is on improving individual effort.

C. The primary goal is to share information that is helpful to individual efforts.

D. Members of the group generate positive synergy through coordinated effort.

D. Members of the group generate positive synergy through coordinated effort.

What type of team is formed when employees from about the same hierarchical level but from different work areas come together to accomplish a task?

A. Virtual team

B. Diverse team

C. Divergent team

D. Cross-functional team

D. Cross-functional team

What are primary factors that differentiate virtual teams from face-to-face teams?

A. Reduce paraverbal cues and create more frequent social context

B. Reduce telecommunications costs and increase paraverbal cues

C. Improve employee satisfaction and create more frequent social context

D. Overcome time and space constraints and create limited social context

D. Overcome time and space constraints and create limited social context

What is a characteristic of problem-solving teams that is different than cross-functional teams?

A. Problem-solving team members meet only on a virtual basis.

B. Problem-solving team members come from different work units.

C. Problem-solving team members come from the same work unit.

D. Problem-solving teams use only computer technology to tie them together physically

C. Problem-solving team members come from the same work unit.

A team was assigned a project. Halfway through the project it was obvious that the team was failing to meet expectations. Management had made sure that individuals assigned to the team had good interpersonal skills as well as good problem-solving and decision-making skills. However, they overlooked other abilities of team members required for accomplishing the work.

Which ability necessary for team members was overlooked?

A. Type D personality

B. Technical expertise

C. Authoritarian personality

D. Propensity for social loafing

B. Technical expertise

When organizing a team to develop a new quality control system, management wanted to assign team members having characteristics common to effective teams.

Which list specifies common characteristics of effective teams?

A. A climate of trust, members who fill role demands, and a large team size

B. Group performance evaluation, absence of conflict, and members who fill role demands

C. A manageable level of conflict, members who are conscientious, and effective leadership

D. Group performance evaluation, members who score low on the personality characteristic of extroversion, and effective leadership

C. A manageable level of conflict, members who are conscientious, and effective leadership

A company switched from assembly lines to self-managed work teams.

What can team members do to improve the synergy and success of their teams?

A. Change work group roles at random

B. Assign individual roles rather than mutual team roles

C. Share information but not engage in collective performance goals

D. Take action on problems as individual members as well as in work teams

D. Take action on problems as individual members as well as in work teams

A company is changing their work organization from employees working individually to the use of teams.

Which reward system could be used to foster long-term team effectiveness?

A. Reward system that recognizes only group activity

B. Reward system that rewards only individual performance

C. Reward system that discourages collaboration by individuals

D. Reward system that rewards both individual and group activity

D. Reward system that rewards both individual and group activity

Management is considering a reorganization of sales regions and plans to allow employees to live and work in their respective sales territories throughout the United States. However, the vice president of sales wants the regionally-dispersed agents to participate in weekly sales meetings.

Which type of teams should be organized?

A. Virtual teams

B. Quality teams

C. Self-managed teams

D. Cross-functional teams

A. Virtual teams

What is the optimal method for maximizing team member participation in a global meeting?

A. Hard copy messaging

B. In-person meeting

C. Video conferencing technology

D. Unilateral communication techniques

C. Video conferencing technology

A team is struggling to become productive but cannot decide who should do what.

How should the team leader attempt to resolve the problem?

A. Resign as team leader

B. Coach the team through the difficulty

C. Disband the team because the problem cannot be solved

D. Research the problem and impose a solution without argument

B. Coach the team through the difficulty

Which option defines organizational culture?

A diverse cultural subset working together to strengthen impact

B. A shared system of meanings that is unique to the organization

C. An organizational segmentation according to cultural background

D. A human resources department program for recognizing diversity

B. A shared system of meanings that is unique to the organization

A company has acquired new software to improve productivity and expects its employees to familiarize themselves with it quickly. This requires employees to work extra hours to complete the mandatory training. All employees perform this requirement in the expected timeframe.
 
Which characteristic of organizational culture is emphasized with all the employees completing the training as planned?

A. Adaptability

B. Results orientation

C. Integrity

D. Team orientation

A. Adaptability

What is one of the forces that plays a particularly important role in sustaining an organization's culture?

A. Socialization process

B. Individualized interaction

C. Personal background of key employees

D. Educational level achieved by key employees

A. Socialization process

How can an organization transmit its culture to its employees?

A. By analyzing employee gripes and complaints

B. By using material symbols and specific language

C. By requiring employees to memorize the mission statement

D. By influencing the balance of employees' cultural backgrounds

B. By using material symbols and specific language

When is organizational culture considered dysfunctional?

A. When strong organizational cultures prohibit prejudice

B. When core values are in agreement throughout the organization

C. When different employee groups communicate common problems

D. When cultural incompatibility deters making acquisitions or mergers

D. When cultural incompatibility deters making acquisitions or mergers

What is an advantage of a strong organizational culture?

A. Employee behavior is rarely affected.

B. There is a lack of behavioral consistency.

C. The company has low employee turnover.

D. Organizational purpose results in limited cohesiveness.

C. The company has low employee turnover.

How might a charismatic leader work to increase performance in an organization?

A. Articulate an appealing vision.

B. Demonstrate Type A behavior.

C. Avoid unconventional behavior.

D. Issue a memo calling for increased effort.

A. Articulate an appealing vision.

Which contingency theory of leadership proposes that early in the interaction between a leader and a given follower the leader implicitly categorizes the follower as an "in" or an "out"?

A. Path-goal theory

B. Leader-participation model

C. Situational leadership theory

D. Leader-member exchange theory

D. Leader-member exchange theory

What is a characteristic employed by transformational leaders?

A. Contracts exchange of rewards for effort

B. Provides vision and sense of mission and gains trust

C. Practices management by exception

D. Intervenes only if performance standards are not met

B. Provides vision and sense of mission and gains trust

Which approach might be used to mentor a less-experienced employee?

A. Coaching and threatening

B. Refereeing and counseling

C. Counseling and sponsorship

D. Threatening and sponsorship

C. Counseling and sponsorship

Which conflict-resolution techniques might a manager use to control the level of conflict that has become dysfunctional?

A. Roughing and compromise

B. Authoritative command and roughing

C. Expansion of resources and confrontation

D. Superordinate goals and altering the structural variables

D. Superordinate goals and altering the structural variables

Recognize how workplace politics influence behavior within an organization.

How do employees often respond when feeling threatened by organizational politics?

A. With defensive behaviors

B. With proactive behaviors

C. With high performance pressures

D. With organizational investment

A. With defensive behaviors

What is a purpose of employee performance evaluations?

A. To provide feedback and determine reward allocations

B. To determine who is best tuned to organizational politics

C. To serve as a screening device for selecting new employees

D. To measure the physiological symptoms of organizational dysfunctionality

A. To provide feedback and determine reward allocations

What is true about the relationship between performance evaluation and motivation?

A. The relationship does not depend on the perceptual process.

B. The relationship is strongest when employees are not aware of the criteria used for the evaluations.

C. Performance evaluations have little potential for impacting motivation.

D. Employees must have confidence that the effort they exert will lead to a favorable performance evaluation.

D. Employees must have confidence that the effort they exert will lead to a favorable performance evaluation.

In which circumstances would the use of 360-degree performance evaluations apply?

A. When only internal customer feedback is helpful

B. When only external customer feedback is helpful

C. When both internal and external customer feedback is helpful

D. When feedback from supervisors is helpful but customer feedback is not helpful

C. When both internal and external customer feedback is helpful

A company has restructured around teams but performance has not met expectations.

What should be the main evaluation criterion in an appropriate performance evaluation for supporting and improving the performance of teams?

A. Team activities

B. Team cooperativeness

C. Team members' attitudes

D. Team results being tied to important goals

D. Team results being tied to important goals