Organizational Theory and Behavior

PART 1

1. 360.org, an organization working toward curbing climate change, recently conducted an interview with Jessica for the position of a public relations officer. However, interviewers Brenda and Laura are divided over whether Jessica should be given the job. Brenda believes that Jessica does not have in-depth knowledge about the issue of global warming and its impact. On the other hand, Laura feels that Jessica would be perfect for the job because she has strong interpersonal skills. Which of the following, if true, would weaken Laura’s argument?

 

a. Jessica was unable to communicate clearly why she was right for the job.

b. Jessica was high on confidence about getting the job because of her strong networking skills.

c. Jessica listened intently to the interviewers’ questions before answering them.

d. Jessica was unable to fare well in the written test which analyzed her conceptual skills.

e. Jessica was very friendly and courteous with the receptionist while greeting her.

 

2. Which of the following best defines organizational behavior?

a. It is a field which is not influenced by factors in the external world.

b. It involves analyzing different people in an industry with independent profit-centered motives.

c. It involves the study of groups of people coming together for collective bargaining.

d. It involves developing exclusively the knowledge of managers and senior-level employees.

e. It involves the study of what people do in a company and how it affects the company’s output.

 

3. ________ refers to a gut feeling not necessarily supported by research.

a. Inference

b. Logic

c. Rationality

d. Intuition

e. Reasoning

 

4. Which of the following is a difference between sociology and psychology?

a. Sociology uses various methods of empirical investigation whereas psychology uses limited critical analyses. b. Sociology studies humans and animals whereas psychology focuses exclusively on humans.

c. Sociology studies people in relation to their social culture whereas psychology focuses on the individual.

d. Sociology incorporates research from social sciences, philosophy, and natural sciences; psychology does not. e. Sociology uses only qualitative techniques whereas psychology uses both qualitative and quantitative techniques.

5. Myriam is analyzing the gender roles of men and women in management in the United States and comparing them to the gender roles in management in Japan. She is surveying fifty male and fifty female managers in each country to compare their daily behavior. Myriam’s study exemplifies how ________ contributes to OB.

a. psychology

b. anthropology

c. corporate strategy

d. political science

e. archaeology

 

6. Which of the following is a result of globalization?

a. lower production of goods in developing nations

b. shared social value among all cultures

c. highly homogeneous workforce

d. organizations being bound by national borders

e. jobs moving to nations with low-cost labor

 

7. Which of the following is an example of a position in a service job?

a. environmental campaigner

b. production line worker

c. human resource executive

d. flight attendant

e. administrative executive

 

8. Which of the following is not a reality for today’s workforce?

a. The line between work and non-work time has become blurred.

b. Issues related to well-being have dropped as the number of employees who work at home rises.

c. Employees have heavy outside commitments.

d. Organizations are asking employees to put in longer hours.

e. Many workers never get away from the virtual workplace.

 

9. Group ________ is the extent to which members of a group support and validate one another at work.

a. associability

b. think

c. affect

d. cohesion

e. maturity

 

10. Differences in ________ indicate surface-level diversity.

a. values

b. ethnicity

c. style of work

d. attitudes e. personality

 

11. Malcolm Industries recently hired a large number of workers for the company’s new construction factory in Colorado. During the hiring process, the management made a clear effort to recruit physically strong individuals because the work at the factory involves manual labor. The jobs need to be performed by individuals who have the energy and physical stamina to work for long hours. Which of the following surface-level characteristics did the company most likely concentrate on when selecting the new workers?

a. beliefs

b. values

c. religion

d. personality

e. age

 

12. Which of the following is the most likely reason why employers should employ older workers?

a. Older workers are flexible and learn quickly.

b. They adjust to new technology promptly.

c. Older workers have extensive work experience.

d. They have shorter tenures and hence lower pension benefits than younger workers.

e. The rates of unavoidable absences are lower than those of younger workers.

 

13. ________ refers to an overall factor of intelligence as suggested by the positive correlations among specific intellectual ability dimensions.

a. The Flynn effect

b. Malleable intelligence

c. Extelligence

d. General mental ability

e. Virtual memory

 

14. Jeremy Samuels works in a police department in California. His job often requires him to observe clues that criminals leave behind. His job is to analyze these clues, which helps the department catch the criminal. Which of the following dimensions of intellectual ability does Jeremy most likely have?

a. perceptual speed

b. extent flexibility

c. number aptitude

d. spatial visualization

e. dynamic flexibility

 

15. Lorna Perry, who works in a financial firm in Michigan, is required to calculate a large number of clients’ accounts daily. She needs to tally figures and check accuracy at a high speed. Which of the following dimensions of intellectual ability does Lorna most likely use?

a. number aptitude

b. visual perception

c. extent flexibility

d. perpetual speed

e. deductive reasoning

 

16. In her work in the publishing industry, Vera Loranzo seeks out new authors who she considers promising. In the past two years, she has found a number of new writers whose work she thought was exceptional and immersed herself in the task of helping them shape their manuscripts for submission to her managers for publishing. Although she was extremely proud of the results, none of the authors she worked with were chosen for publication. After learning about her management’s decision, she is extremely frustrated and is beginning to resent the job she does. However, she knows there is nothing she can do and continues working because of the good perks and salary benefits the job offers. How can Vera’s job attitude be best described?

a. low emotional contagion

b. low job satisfaction

c. high psychological empowerment

d. low job involvement

e. high positivity offset

 

17. Lillian Stintson works for a global women’s rights organization. In the past few months, she has traveled across the globe for the campaign she was working on. In addition, she has been working weekends to meet campaign milestones. She has now decided to take a month’s holiday to relax and get a much-needed break. She knows that the organization will understand her need for a long holiday. Which of the following best represents Lillian’s feeling?

a. low organizational commitment

b. low employee engagement

c. low job involvement

d. high interest in whistle-blowing

e. high perceived organizational support

 

18. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true about the major job attitudes?

a. They tend to overlap one another.

b. They are highly distinct from one another.

c. They increase cognitive dissonance.

d. They are generally resistant to change.

e. They are not correlated to one another.

 

19. The ________ response includes actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions, including suggesting improvements, discussing problems with superiors, and undertaking some forms of union activity.

a. exit

b. voice

c. loyalty

d. neglect

e. acceptance

 

20. To get his company through some hard economic times, Ben’s working hours have just been reduced from 40 hours a week to 33. Ben is upset about the reduction in time and pay, but he shows up at work every morning and is willing to patiently wait until economic times improve and he can go back to working full time. Which of the following types of response is being displayed by Ben?

a. performance

b. loyalty

c. voice

d. neglect

e. exit

 

21. Jean Ervin works as a fund raising executive at a women’s rights organization in San Diego. Though she has been with the organization for only a year now, she has already been promoted and often gets excellent feedback from her manager. Her manager says that the key to Jean’s good performance is that she is happy with the work she does and she is excited about the challenges in tasks, which she takes up with a lot of enthusiasm. Which of the following mood dimensions is Jean most likely to be feeling?

a. neutral affect

b. high positive affect

c. high negative affect

d. low positive affect

e. low negative affect

 

22. Which of the following is an example of deep acting?

a. An Individual’s actual emotions.

b. Trying to modify one’s true inner feelings based on display rules.

c. Hiding one’s inner feelings and forgoing emotional expressions in response to display rules.

d. Emotions that are organizationally required and considered appropriate in a given job.

e. None of the above.

 

23. Which of the following is an argument used against emotional intelligence?

a. It does not have the capacity to predict criteria that matter.

b. It cannot be measured easily and measures of EI are diverse.

c. It is not genetically influenced and thus is void of an underlying biological factor.

d. It is not closely related to intelligence and personality.

e. It can be learned by experience.

 

24. Emotions such as relaxation, serenity, and calmness comprise the __________ mood dimension.

a. low positive affect

b. high negative affect

c. high positive affect

d. low negative affect

e. neutral affect

 

25. __________ refers to individual differences in strength with which individuals experience their emotions.

a. Intelligence quotient

b. Ambiguity effect

c. Affect intensity

d. The Hawthorne effect

e. Positivity offset.

PART 2

1. Esther Lugo has gone for an interview at an advertising firm in Manhattan and has been asked to complete a self-report survey to help interviewers understand if she is the right candidate for the job. From the interview, they have found that she is extroverted, empathic, scrupulous, and cooperative in nature, which are key characteristics needed for the job. These characteristics about Lugo indicate her ________.

a. personality

b. genealogy

c. knowledge

d. skill

e. talent

 

2. Which of the following statements is true about personality?

a. Personality remains constant over time.

b. Personality is free from the influence of the environment.

c. Personality can be measured solely through personal interviews.

d. Personality is influenced by hereditary factors.

e. Parents highly influence the development of their offspring’s personality.

 

3. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification, people belonging to the ________ type are practical and prefer routine and order and focus on details.

a. extraverted

b. sensing

c. perceiving

d. intuitive

e. feeling

 

4. Ellen Athers works as a communication executive at a travel house. She is known to be friendly with her colleagues and interacts with them regularly to build strong work relationships. She knows that her rapport with her co-workers is a crucial part of her work and invests time in these relationships. In addition, she is assertive in making decisions, and colleagues take her decisions seriously. Which of the following types is Athers most likely to be characterized as according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification?

a. extraverted

b. perceiving

c. solitary

d. brooder

e. introverted

 

5. Elaine Chamberlain works as a research executive at an environmental organization. Though her colleagues are helpful and friendly, because of her shy nature, she often eats her lunch at her desk and has limited interactions with them. She is glad that her nature of work does not require her to interact with her co-workers to a high extent. Which of the following types is Elaine most likely to be characterized as according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification?

a. social

b. introverted

c. exhibitionist

d. extraverted

e. gregarious

 

6. What does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator classification of S versus N stand for?

a. social/perceiving

b. sympathetic/thinking

c. stable/negligent

d. shrewd/feeling

e. sensing/intuitive

 

7. Which of the following is most likely to be a drawback of highly conscientious people according to the Big Five model?

a. They excessively emphasize being creative.

b. They engage in numerous risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking.

c. They focus on learning instead of performing a job efficiently.

d. They tend to indulge in irresponsible behavior and be disorganized.

e. They do not adapt well to changing contexts.

 

8. Which of the following is true about narcissists?

a. They go out of their way to be helpful to colleagues.

b. They do not require admiration or importance of people.

c. They have an inferiority complex about themselves.

d. They are meek, timid, and shy in nature.

e. They are more likely to emerge as leaders.

 

9. Which of the following is an instrumental value according to the Rokeach Value Survey?

a. social recognition

b. personal discipline

c. economic success

d. world peace

e. meaning in life

 

10. If a person responds to a particular situation in the same way over a long time period, then the attribution theory states that the behavior demonstrates ________.

a. traceability

b. distinctiveness

c. consistency

d. discontinuity

e. consensus

 

11. According to the attribution theory, if a behavior scores _________, we tend to attribute it to external causes. a. low on adaptability

b. high on stability

c. low on consistency

d. low on distinctiveness

e. low on consensus

 

12. ________ bias indicates the tendency of an individual to attribute his or her own successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors.

a. Congruence

b. Anchoring

c. Self-serving

d. Distinction

e. Status quo

 

13. Harriet Kirby, a fund raising manager at a women’s rights organization, experienced a bad incident last year with the public relations manager of a banking company who had committed to sponsor a charity event. The bank backed out at the last minute. This year, when a renowned international bank executive showed interest in sponsoring the organization’s upcoming annual event, Harriet rejected their participation. She felt that banks have a casual approach toward charity events and it is risky to involve them in the event. Which of the following best characterizes Harriet’s decision?

a. cognitive dissonance

b. self-fulfilling prophecy

c. bandwagon effect

d. self-serving bias

e. selective perception

 

14. Anne Warner, a climate campaigner at an environmental organization, is in charge of implementing a campaign activity where she needs to increase the use of renewable energy in the villages of Vietnam. For her project, she uses the rational decision-making model to implement activities. She has just completed identifying an appropriate criteria for decision making and has allocated weights to the criteria. Which of the following is Anne most likely to undertake next according to the model?

a. select hydro energy as the best option

b. weigh advantages between solar and wind energy

c. determine goals of the project

d. analyze the problems of the project

e. develop the alternatives

 

15. The ________ bias is a tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information.

a. availability

b. anchoring

c. hindsight

d. overconfidence

e. self-serving

 

16. ________ is defined as the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.

a. Learning

b. Motivation

c. Leadership

d. Management

e. Emotional labor

 

17. If Alberta is categorized as a Theory X manager, which of the following behaviors is she most likely to exhibit? a. She will trust her employees to use their discretion in most matters.

b. She will let her employees choose their own goals.

c. She will delegate authority extensively to junior managers.

d. She will empower her subordinates.

e. She will strictly control all the details of any project she is managing.

 

18. Which of the following statements is true regarding goal-setting theory?

a. Externally generated feedback is more powerful than self-generated feedback.

b. Goal commitment is more likely when individuals have an external locus of control.

c. People do better when they get feedback on how well they are progressing toward their goals.

d. Generalized goals produce a higher level of output than specific goals.

e. Assigned goals generate greater goal commitment in low rather than high power-distance cultures.

 

19. The ________ theory is also known as the social cognitive theory or the social learning theory.

a. self-determination

b. reinforcement

c. self-efficacy

d. two-factor

e. goal-setting

 

20. Which of the following sources of increasing self-efficacy involves gaining relevant experience with a particular task or job?

a. vicarious modeling

b. arousal

c. cognitive learning

d. enactive mastery

e. verbal persuasion

 

21. Which of the following statements is true regarding the job characteristics model?

a. The operation of the model requires employees to have similar skill sets.

b. The operation of the model is relatively individualistic in nature.

c. The operation of the model is universal and unaffected by cultural factors.

d. The operation of the model fulfills only extrinsic motivational needs.

e. The operation of the model cannot be quantitatively measured.

 

22. The main drawback of representative participation as an employee involvement measure is that ________.

a. it is able to exert its impact only in the short run

b. it is likely to require a major change in organizational roles

c. it is primarily symbolic in its impact

d. it is a time-consuming process

e. it is consistent with the Theory Y view of motivation

 

23. Which of the following statements is true regarding gainsharing?

a. Gainsharing involves paying employees based on the number of new skills acquired by them in a specific time period.

b. Employees working under gainsharing plans have a greater feeling of psychological ownership.

c. Gainsharing does not distribute profits, only gains in profits.

d. Gainsharing encourages social loafing.

e. Gainsharing focuses on productivity gains rather than profits.

 

24. Core-plus plans consist of ________. a. predesigned packages of benefits that an employee must accept as a whole

b. pretax dollars up to the dollar amount offered in the plan that an employee sets apart to pay for particular benefits

c. essential benefits and a menu-like selection of other benefits that an employee can choose from

d. fractions of a company’s profit margins determined on the basis of an established formula

e. monetary benefits which are linked to one’s performance appraisals

 

25. Which of the following is an example of an intrinsic reward?

a. bonus

b. gainsharing

c. employee stock option

d. profit-sharing plan

e. employee recognition

 

PART 3

1. Which of the following is true with regard to groups?

a. The membership of a group does not affect how its members treat outsiders.

b. A group is characterized by the independence of its members.

c. People have emotional reactions to the failure or success of their group.

d. An informal gathering cannot be considered a group.

e. A group typically lacks definite roles and structures.

 

2. An informal group is characterized by the ________.

a. pursuit of particular organizational goals

b. fulfillment of the need for social contact

c. predetermined designation of tasks of members

d. creation of timelines and rationale

e. stipulation of expected behaviors by the organization

 

3. Our tendency to take personal pride or offense for the accomplishments of a group we are a part of is the territory of the ________ theory.

a. reinforcement

b. expectancy

c. social exchange

d. equity

e. social identity

 

4. Aaron Dias was working on the last shift for the day at All Needs, a retail store owned by an Asian man, when he opened the cash register and stole some money thinking that nobody would witness him stealing. However, one of the customers watched him steal the money and reported it to the manager the next day, and Aaron was terminated. Subsequently, the manager became extremely strict with all his Caucasian employees and was often heard abusing them by saying, “You guys are all the same.” This scenario depicts ________.

a. contrast bias

b. social exchange

c. groupthink

d. ingroup favoritism

e. social loafing

 

5. Uncertainty reduction is a dimension of the social identity theory that manifests itself in the ________.

a. tendency of ingroup members to prefer and endorse the products, ideas, and aspects of someone else’s culture over their own

b. tendency of ingroup members to notice and emphasize identities that reflect how different they are from other groups

c. tendency of people to link themselves to groups of higher social standing in an attempt to define themselves favorably

d. tendency of people to use the group as a means of understanding who they are and how they fit into the world e. tendency of people who have greater uniformity in values and characteristics to have greater identification as well

 

6. A local government work crew cleans up parks and other public spaces. In this crew, the dirtiest jobs are generally given to the newest members, while the more senior members of the crew tend to do little except draw their pay. Which of the following classes of norms encompasses arrangements like this?

a. reference norms

b. performance norms

c. leisure norms

d. appearance norms

e. resource allocation norms

 

7. Hubert Gray needs an instruction manual developed for his new product. This is the last step of the project and he has severe budget constraints. He needs a small team of technical writers to work together closely to write the manual on fairly short notice. He needs them to communicate ideas quickly, creatively, and affordably. Which of the following group techniques should Hubert consider?

a. brainstorming

b. electronic and interacting

c. brainstorming and electronic

d. interacting and brainstorming

e. nominal and electronic

 

8. The current popularity of teams can be attributed to the fact that ________.

a. they represent a better way to use employee talents

b. they aid in the performance of simple tasks that do not require diverse inputs

c. they reduce the need for coordination and supervision

d. they enable quicker accomplishment of goals than individuals

e. they strengthen the worth of individual teams players over the team

9. GoAir, a low-cost airline, has created a team made up of employees from production, planning, quality control, tooling, design engineering, and information systems to automate the company’s C-17 program. This team is most likely to be an example of a ________ team.

a. self-managed work

b. task

c. problem-solving

d. command

e. cross-functional

 

10. Which of the following statements is not true regarding multiteam systems?

a. They are more successful when they have boundary spanners.

b. They are effectively teams of teams.

c. They are collections of two or more independent teams that share a superordinate goal.

d. They perform better when lines of communication are restricted.

e. They are used to offset the problems associated with adding more members to an existing team.

 

11. Cultural diversity is an asset for teams where tasks ________.

a. require a variety of viewpoints

b. required for completing the work are highly independent

c. involve emotional labor

d. are simple and routine

e. are highly technical

 

12. When teams are performing nonroutine activities, ________ stimulate discussion, promote critical assessment of problems and options, and can lead to better team decisions.

a. disciplinary conflicts

b. resource allocation conflicts

c. discriminatory conflicts

d. task conflicts

e. relationship conflicts

 

13. Which of the following statements is true regarding a cross-functional team?

a. Cross-functional teams have decreased in popularity in the last few decades.

b. Cross-functional teams are used for developing new ideas and coordinating complex projects.

c. A cross-functional team is made up of employees from different hierarchical levels.

d. In the case of a cross-functional team, the early stages of development are typically very short.

e. A cross-functional team is made up of employees from the same department.

 

14. The ________ network is a type of formal small-group network that relies on a central figure to act as the conduit for all the group’s communication.

a. cross-functional

b. matrix

c. chain

d. all channel

e. wheel

 

15. Formal information channels are characterized by:

a. the absence of noise in the communication cycle

b. the personal and social nature of usage

c. the compliance with the organizational authority chain

d. the transmission of spontaneous messages

e. the emergence in response to individual choices

 

16. A relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information making use of heuristics is defined as ________.

a. automatic processing

b. serial processing

c. parallel processing

d. controlled processing

e. depth processing

 

17. Before buying her new phone, Gina listed the various requirements her new phone must meet. As a wedding planner, much of her work revolves around using e-mail to forward pictures of locations, designs, and food arrangements that she could categorize by themes and prices. She requires a phone with high storage capacity, speedy internet, and easy-to-use methods to organize and save content. After listing these requirements, she fixed a budget and began surveying phones online. She also obtained information from friends. In a week’s time, Gina had shortlisted three models that suited her needs and was ready to make the final choice. Gina used ________ to arrive at this decision.

a. automatic processing

b. heuristic processing

c. selective processing

d. controlled processing

e. superficial processing

 

18. The time attendance system in the production division at MM, an automobile manufacturing company, was malfunctioning. Consequently, Greg Hill, one of the front-level managers, sent it for repair. In the meantime, he placed a register where all workers of the production division had to provide their time of entry and exit from office. At the end of the week, when looking through the time logs, he had certain concerns about a group of employees. In the next week, he personally tracked the time this group of employees spent working and realized that they were reporting a greater number of working hours than they actually worked. This group engaged in a barrier to communication called ________.

a. selective perception

b. communication apprehension

c. silence

d. lying

e. filtering

 

19. Trevor Guerney is a manager who believes that those who are to be affected by a change must be involved in the change. Consequently, he always ensures that his subordinates have the knowledge of what is happening around them, and he often holds meetings to obtain employee opinion and suggestions before making any decision that would apply to them. Similarly, Trevor’s team proactively approaches him with problems and potential solutions as they know he will not respond by criticizing them. From the information provided in the scenario, we can say that ________.

a. Trevor’s team has positive leader-member relations

b. Trevor’s team has a low degree of trust propensity

c. Trevor’s team is unsatisfied with his power position

d. Trevor’s team requires more directive leadership

e. Trevor’s leadership is primarily task-oriented

 

20. According to the situational leadership theory, if employees are unwilling and unable, the appropriate leadership style in this situation would be ________.

a. supportive

b. participative

c. democratic

d. directive

e. person-oriented

 

21. The president of a small Asian country was hailed as a visionary and a genius when the nation’s economy burgeoned during his first term in office. However, when the currency and the stock markets crashed during his government’s second term, he was censured as arrogant, elitist, and shortsighted. Which of the following theoretical approaches is reflected here?

a. attribution theory

b. trait theories

c. servant leadership perspective

d. behavioral theories

e. path-goal theory

 

22. The top management of Myers Corp are planning a reorganization of their company to cut costs and increase efficiency. The different department heads have been asked to present their departmental strengths, needs, and concerns at a meeting. The various division heads have come to an agreement that clarity of goals and tasks, detailed procedural guidelines like employee manuals, and a cooperative workforce are their main strengths. Additionally, they are of the opinion that cutting managerial positions to reduce costs and reorganizing Myers Corp as a relatively flat organization is a good approach. This scenario reflects the operation of ________ in replacing the support and ability offered by leaders.

a. substitutes

b. attributes

c. traits

d. charisma

e. vision

 

23. Buck passing is seen when an employee:

a. transfers responsibility for the execution of a task or decision to someone else

b. develops explanations that lessen his or her responsibility for a negative outcome

c. prolongs a task to give the appearance of being occupied

d. documents his or her activity rigorously to project an image of competence and thoroughness

e. avoids an unwanted task by falsely pleading ignorance or inability

 

24. Which of the following is a defensive behavior that is used to avoid change?

a. stretching

b. preventing

c. stalling

d. misrepresenting

e. scapegoating

 

25. Daphne is one of the three project managers at Virgo Inc., an art and design studio. Raymond and Gabriel, the other two project managers, are unhappy working with Daphne as she always selects projects that suit her area of expertise and avoids projects which require more ambiguous work, have tight deadlines, and represent a low probability of success. Raymond and Gabriel feel that they deserve greater credit than Daphne for being open and accepting different work demands and situations, as opposed to Daphne, who always takes a conservative and risk-averse approach. Daphne is using the defensive behavior of ________ here.

a. playing safe

b. stalling

c. retaliating

d. scapegoating

e. ingratiating

 

PART 4

1. According to the interactionist view, ________ conflicts support the goals of the group and improve its performance.

a. formal

b. reactive

c. evaluative

d. functional

e. informal

 

2. Which of the following is not true regarding gender differences in negotiations?

a. Men value status more than women.

b. Women value compassion and altruism more than men.

c. Women place a lower value on relationship outcomes than men.

d. Men place a higher value on economic outcomes than women.

e. Men and women negotiate differently.

 

3. Conflict between two people is called ________ conflict.

a. dyadic

b. bilateral

c. intragroup

d. dual

e. intergroup

 

4. A party who seeks to appease an opponent may be willing to place the opponent’s interests above his or her own, sacrificing to maintain the relationship. We refer to this conflict-handling intention as ________.

a. avoiding

b. compromising

c. accommodating

d. competing

e. collaborating

 

5. Which of the following is a conflict-stimulation technique?

a. exercising authoritative command

b. problem solving

c. expansion of resources

d. compromise

e. bringing in outsiders

 

6. Conflict is dysfunctional when it ________.

a. leads to change

b. provides a medium to release tension

c. provides a means for expressing frustration

d. reduces group cohesiveness

e. fosters an environment of self-evaluation

 

7. Your ________ determines the lowest value acceptable to you for a negotiated agreement.

a. hidden value

b. BATNA

c. bid price

d. margin of error

e. asking price

 

8. A ________ is characterized by a low degree of departmentalization, wide spans of control, authority centralized in a single person, and little formalization.

a. networked organizational structure

b. bureaucracy

c. matrix organization

d. simple structure

e. hierarchical organization

 

9. Which of the following statements is true about the simple structure?

a. It is characterized by a high degree of formalization.

b. It is most widely adopted in large businesses in which the manager and owner are different.

c. It becomes increasingly inadequate as an organization grows.

d. It is characterized by a narrow span of control.

e. It is very expensive to operate.

 

10. Which of the following types of organizational designs combines two forms of departmentalization, functional and product?

a. bureaucracy

b. simple structure

c. boundaryless structure

d. virtual structure

e. matrix structure

 

You are interested in explaining the different types of organizational designs to students of basic management. These students need to know the advantages and disadvantages of each structure as well as the structure’s characteristics.

11. You explain to your students the structure of a local grocery store situated in your neighborhood. The store employs two full-time employees-a salesperson and a cashier. The owner of the store acts as its manager and makes all the decisions. Which of the following organizational structures is being described by you?

a. virtual structure

b. bureaucracy

c. simple structure

d. boundaryless structure

e. matrix structure

 

12. A ________ organization is a small, core organization that outsources major business functions.

a. formalized

b. bureaucratic

c. centralized

d. matrix

e. virtual

 

13. You are the CEO of Achilles Incorporation. You have decided to hire other organizations to perform many of the basic functions of your business. You have hired an accounting firm to keep your records, a recruiting firm to handle human resource functions, and a computer firm to handle all records. To keep costs down, you are looking for other areas in which to outsource operations. You have chosen to operate your business as a ________.

a. virtual organization

b. matrix organization

c. highly centralized organization

d. bureaucracy

e. highly formalized organization

 

14. Porco Rosso, an aircraft manufacturer with a strong presence in the United States, is looking to expand its market overseas. The firm currently sells aircraft to several airlines in the United Kingdom but now wants to establish manufacturing units there as well in order to acquire a bigger share in the European market. Hence, it plans to merge with QueenAir, a British aircraft manufacturer. Which of the following, if true, would weaken the company’s decision to merge with QueenAir?

a. There is a striking difference in the organizational cultures of the two firms.

b. Merging with QueenAir would increase its profits considerably.

c. A competitor in the U.S. market recently went out of business.

d. There is increasing economic uncertainty in the U.S. market.

e. The preferences of airline customers in Europe and the U.S. are similar

 

15. Culture is most likely to be a liability when ________.

a. the organization’s environment is dynamic

b. the organization is highly centralized

c. the employees of the organization are highly skilled

d. the organization’s management is highly efficient e. the organization scores low on the degree of formalization

 

You are new to an organization and do not really know what to expect about the socialization process. You recently received your MBA and have an undergraduate degree in computer science. Your new firm is a software development company with an emphasis in the healthcare industry. Your hiring process included campus interviews, a daylong trip for an interview at the company, an offer phone call and letter, and some promotional material sent via the mail. When you arrive for your first day at work, you spend half a day in an orientation session that is conducted by the human resources department, where you complete paperwork and receive a company handbook. Then you spend the rest of the day with your supervisor, who gives you a tour, introduces you to your co-workers, and explains your first project. After that, you begin working and getting to know the others in the company. You find that in most respects, your experience fits your expectations, but in some ways you are surprised by realities that you hadn’t expected. None of these surprises are too difficult to accept, so you eventually begin to feel at home and happy with your new job.

 

16. Your supervisor provides you a mentor to help you with your work and guide you. This shows that your supervisor is using a(n) ________ socialization technique.

a. informal

b. divestiture

c. serial

d. variable

e. random

 

17. ________ typically contain narratives about the organization’s founders, rule breaking, and reactions to past mistakes.

a. Stories

b. Organizational charts

c. Rituals

d. Material symbols

e. Corporate chants

 

Ask Socrates Inc. is a computer software company that employs highly intelligent but somewhat unusual people. Every Friday, free lollipops, toys, or other treats are given out to encourage employees to remember how creative they were when they were children. All the new members of the organization are told about the founders who were three young people who “got lucky” and sold a video game that they invented. The employees are allowed to dress informally and can set their own working hours.

 

18. Ask Socrates Inc. employees are allowed to dress informally. This is an example of a ________ through which organizational culture is transmitted.

a. material symbol

b. symbolic act

c. fundamental mechanism

d. ritual

e. primary procedure

 

19. Due to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, job applicants ________.

a. cannot be subjected to behavioral assessment tests before a contingent offer

b. may be required to undergo a medical examination after they receive a contingent offer

c. can be subjected to a drug test only if they are being considered for senior-level management positions

d. cannot be subjected to a work-sample test after a contingent job offer

e. are never required to submit to a physical exam for a job

 

20. When an appraiser rates employees based on items on a continuum with the points reflecting actual behaviors on a given job, this type of evaluation is called ________.

a. assessment center evaluation

b. graphic rating scale

c. BARS

d. critical incident

e. group order ranking

 

21. Companies in which of the following countries would emphasize formal performance evaluation systems more than informal systems?

a. Chile

b. China

c. India

d. United States

e. Argentina

 

22. Formal performance appraisals are used more frequently in countries that ________.

a. are low in uncertainty avoidance

b. have long-term orientation

c. are low in in-group collectivism

d. value status quo and rigidity

e. are low in assertiveness

 

23. ________ is a change process based on systematic collection of data and selection of a change action based on what the analyzed data indicate.

a. Organizational development

b. Organizational restructuring

c. Planned change

d. Action research

e. Process consultation

 

24. ________ is a method of changing behavior through unstructured group interaction.

a. Action research

b. Planned modification

c. Psychoanalysis

d. Sensitivity training

e. Process consultation

 

25. In order to make their firm a learning organization, managers should ________.

a. increase the number of hierarchical levels in the organization

b. redesign the organizational structure

c. avoid the use of cross-functional teams

d. increase the degree of departmentalization

e. penalize mistakes