A software development firm has witnessed

MGMT 3720 – Organizational Behavior EXAM 3

(CH. 9, 10, 11, & 12)

Question 1

1.

While discussing their marketing campaign for a new product, the members of the cross-functional team responsible for Carver Inc. realized that a couple of changes relating to their prior plan would be beneficial. The offer of a franchising that had earlier been brushed off by the company head was discussed thoroughly and it was decided that it would be implemented on a trial basis initially, and on full scale if found to work well. From the information provided, it can be concluded that this cross-functional team has a high degree of ________.

Answer

reflexivity

uncertainty

diversity

conformity

demography

Question 2

1.

Max Hiller was recently hired by Sync, a consumer goods company. During his first meeting with the sales team, Max impressed upon his team that work performance is the only criterion he would use to evaluate them. To help them perform well and meet their targets, he pushed his team to work extra hours. He also gave very clear instructions to each member regarding their job responsibilities and continually verified if they were meeting their targets. Which of the following, if true, would weaken Max's approach?

Answer

Sales figures for the region that Max's team is responsible for have improved in the last quarter.

Max is leading many new employees who have joined his team directly after training.

Max's sales team is comprised of independent and experienced employees who are committed to their jobs.

Max's team functions in a sluggish manner and picks up pace only a week or so before the monthly operations cycle meetings.

Max's team does not display high levels of cohesiveness and members fail to coordinate with each other.

Question 3

1.

Which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of group cohesiveness and performance norms on group productivity?

Answer

When both cohesiveness and performance norms are high, productivity will be high.

The productivity of the group is affected by the performance norms but not by the cohesiveness of the group.

If cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity will be high.

When cohesiveness is low and performance norms are also low, productivity will be high.

If cohesiveness is low and performance norms are high, productivity will be low.

Question 4

1.

Neutralizers make it impossible for leader behavior to make any difference to follower outcomes.

Answer

True

False

Question 5

1.

Communication includes both the transfer and the understanding of meaning.

Answer

True

False

Question 6

1.

According to the path-goal theory, directive leadership is likely to be welcomed and accepted by employees with high ability or considerable experience.

Answer

True

False

Question 7

1.

Before buying her new phone, Gina listed the various requirements her new phone must meet. As a wedding planner, much of her work revolved around using e-mail to forward pictures of locations, designs, and food arrangements that she could categorize by themes and prices. She required 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.

Answer

controlled processing

heuristical processing

selective processing

superficial processing

automatic processing

Question 8

1.

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 customer attendants watched him steal the money and reported it to the manager the next day, following which Aaron was terminated. Subsequently, the manager became extremely strict with all his Caucasian employees and was often heard abusing them saying "you guys are all the same." This scenario depicts ________.

Answer

social loafing

in-group favoritism

groupthink

contrast bias

contrast bias

Question 9

1.

Which of the following is true with regard to the impact of diversity on team effectiveness?

Answer

High levels of diversity among team members benefit the group from the stage of forming.

Race and gender diversity bear the highest positive impact on team performance.

Cultural diversity serves as an asset for tasks that call for a variety of viewpoints once the team has worked out its differences.

Leadership has a negligible role to play in diverse teams because the members manage themselves autonomously.

Elements of diversity are undesirable as they interfere with team processes in the long run.

Question 10

1.

The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals can arise outside the formal structure of the organization.

True

False

Question 11

1.

ABL is one of the largest consumer goods companies in the country and it recently held its annual conference where members of all regional divisions were invited. Since the company is vast and rarely finds all its employees together in such a manner, it used this opportunity to present to them certain new ideas they had regarding various aspects of their functioning. Large meetings with each regional team were held to provide them with information about the proposed changes and to obtain their anonymous votes through computers. This helped the company speed up the decision-making process and consolidate the results immediately. Which of the following group decision techniques did ABL use here?

Answer

nominal groups approach

heuristics and algorithm approach

electronic meeting approach

reference groups approach

brainstorming

Question 12

1.

When the middle-level manager of the production department at Wilson Works was laid off, many employees who worked under him became apprehensive about their job security. They were aware of the current trend toward laying-off employees in the economy. The termination of their manager combined with the fact that their division had performed only moderately well in the last two quarters led the employees to believe that they were at a high risk of losing their jobs as well. Which of the following, if true, would weaken the argument that the production manager should hold face-to-face meetings to assure the employees in the production division?

Answer

Rumors had spread about impending lay-offs at Wilson Works.

Wilson Works had a strong formal communication network in place.

The middle level manager supervised over five hundred employees.

The employees had serious concerns over job security.

The company had no fixed policy with regard to rightsizing employees.

Question 13

1.

Bonnie Patterson is a manager for seven years at Wayne and Watson, a legal consultancy firm. A good part of her work day involves holding meetings and she likes to get work on a time-bound schedule. For this reason, members of her team receive the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, followed by some time to contemplate over the issue at hand individually. Subsequently, the team members present their ideas one after another, the group discusses them together, and lastly, a ranking is done to choose the most favored idea. This represents the ________ approach of group decision making.

Answer

brainstorming

interacting

nominal group

reference group

Groupthink

Question 14

1.

Jason Jones has been asked to assemble an eight-member self-managed work team of experienced employees to work on a project that combines the functional areas of research, production, marketing, and distribution. Jason is apprehensive about managing a team so large; he knows from prior experience that larger teams do not always result in greater productivity. Jason has also been informed by the management that this team is being established as the project must progress according to the predetermined timeline. The work lagging behind by one division will cause a cumulative delay in all the successive stages of the project's execution. Jason plans to implement a group-based incentive that he feels would motivate each of the team members to work efficiently. Which of the following is an assumption made by Jason in implementing this plan?

Answer

Since the team is comprised of employees who are highly skilled in their respective areas, the output of the group will be of high quality.

Increasing the number of experienced employees in the team will reduce the need for supervision.

Each employee in the team is motivated to work equally hard to ensure that the group's performance is satisfactory.

Each employee will work well within the boundaries of their divisional functions and conflicts will be relatively fewer.

Each employee will be committed to working within the resources allocated.

Question 15

1.

The advantages of oral communication are speed and feedback.

Answer

True

False

Question 16

1.

Treesa Mayering recently began her first job at a PR firm called Pro as a copywriter. Her job involves creating scripts for press releases, advertisements, and other media events. She has been working under the guidance of Will Preston, the senior copywriter. Treesa, who has no prior experience in this job, had worked on scripts for advertisements and online brochures alone, when she was asked to work on a press release for the first time. Will reviewed Treesa's script and sent her an e-mail full of detailed corrections which she promptly implemented. However, when Will looked at the script later, he felt that it did not represent a significant improvement of her first draft. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome?

Answer

Will routinely e-mailed feedback on scripts for advertisements, online brochures, and press releases to his team members.

Treesa was hired because she demonstrated considerable analytical and creative thinking skills in her pre-employment tests.

Will believed that Treesa's understanding of his e-mailed feedback would be accurate.

Treesa took a lot of time to implement Will's corrections and revise her script.

The feedback provided by Will was not elaborate and comprehensive enough.

Question 17

1.

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome and even profitably use this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument that Joe experienced groupshift during the meeting?

Answer

Joe stated that precise methods of fuel filling and consumption must be implemented to efficiently use their current supply of fuel.

Joe proposed the usage of direct and higher altitude routes that would curtail fuel consumption.

Joe stated that the company should cut expenditures on other areas like marketing and advertising instead of hiking fares to retain their current profit margins.

Joe stated that hiking prices would lead to losing market share to the low-cost airlines which already controlled half the market.

Joe suggested adding a fuel surcharge to all tickets for commercial flights with immediate effect.

Question 18

1.

Shirley Shands is a hardworker but Debra, her manager, is irritated with her. While Debra concedes that Shirley's work gives her no cause for complaint, Debra is tired of the interruptions in her work because of Shirley asking for repeated clarifications over what exactly she has to say in e-mails or phone calls. She often requests Debra to proofread her e-mails before sending them, and Debra feels she sends too many e-mails instead of just speaking to the person concerned. From the scenario, we can conclude that ________.

Answer

Shirley processes her e-mails in an automatic and superficial manner

Shirley uses filtering when communicating with Debra

Debra is engaging in social loafing

Shirley and Debra come from a high-context culture

Shirley suffers from communication apprehension

Question 19

1.

Shane Dermott is a manager at a software design firm that develops software programs for clients using multiple teams of specialists. One of his most successful teams has been performing very well for years and so it came as a surprise to Shane when he noticed a sharp drop in the team's performance. He decided to speak with the team individually and find a solution. After interviewing all 7 team members, he determined that one of the team members performed routine administrative tasks that were hardly visible to any of the other team members and understood that this was a case of social loafing which demotivated the entire group. Which of the following would most likely improve the performance of the employee who was social loafing?

giving him additional assignments to complete

providing him with administrative training

making him individually responsible for definite and crucial tasks

encouraging him to work more independently

empowering him to make decisions autonomously

Question 20

1. Intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration are likely to be seen in the management by exception (active) style of leadership.

True

False

Question 21

1.

Which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of status on conformity pressure?

High-status individuals are often given less freedom to deviate from norms than are other group members.

People in high-status jobs have especially negative reactions to social pressure exerted by people in low-status jobs.

Lower-status people are better able to resist conformity pressures than their high-status peers.

Groups exert equal conformity pressure on all individuals regardless of their status.

As compared to high-status members, low-status members are given a wider range of discretion as long as their activities aren't severely detrimental to group goal achievement.

Question 22

1.

Hank Murphy was selected to develop an advanced personal communication device with his own self-managed work team. Hank was assured that resource allocation and timelines were flexible for this project provided the work was a cut above that provided by the rest of the employees. As a part of the project guidelines, Hank included the demand that the device being developed by the team should also be marketed exclusively by them without resorting to franchising or cobranding. This was to ensure that customers recognized the product as reflecting the values of their company. Work on this project began with a lot of vigor and once the device was developed, Hank's team implemented their marketing strategy. However, even three months after the product's release, visibility remained low in the market and many reviewers did not consider the device to be much of an innovation. Which of the following statements, if true, would indicate a lack of reflexivity in Hank's self-managed work team?

In Hank's team, the members took accountability for the group's performance as a whole and reported their individual progress to him as well.

The device was later marketed as a part of a national level tie-up with E-store outlets and did remarkably well in its second stint in the market.

Hank's team members developed multiple blueprints of the device which were thoroughly discussed, improvised, and synthesized into the final plan for the product.

In the first few weeks of the project, Hank had witnessed a moderate level of conflict between the team members as each one had his own idea about how best to go about this high-priority project.

Hank's team used e-mail and instant messaging to communicate unique information when some of the team members were not available for face-to-face interactions.

Question 23

1.

Groupthink is a phenomenon that relates to the consensus norms.

True

False

Question 24

1.

Transformational leadership has a greater impact on the bottom line in smaller, privately held firms than in more complex organizations.

True

False

Question 25

1.

Social loafing illustrates a process gain from using teams.

True

False

Question 26

1.

E-Way is an electronics company that is developing a new cellphone that will be released in the market soon. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument that the company should use social media to promote the new cellphone?

Answer

E-Way's last two releases received a lot of criticism from consumers.

The target consumers for the cellphone are not restricted to any demographic category.

One of E-Way's rival companies had used social media successfully to advertise its new product.

The production team overshot the budget and the marketing team has low funds.

The company has a tightly integrated production and distribution mechanism.

Question 27

1.

Which of the following is true with regard to deviant workplace behavior?

Answer

It is involuntary in nature.

Widespread deviant workplace behavior depends on the accepted norms of the group.

It has a negligible adverse impact on organization as it is accepted by some employees.

Research on deviance at the workplace has shown that employees operating individually engage in more deviant behaviors than those who function as a part of groups.

Leaving work early is an example of a property-related deviant workplace behavior.

Question 28

1.

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?

Answer

nominal and electronic

brainstorming

brainstorming and electronic

electronic and interacting

interacting and brainstorming

Question 29

1.

The behavioral theories view leadership as a set of actions that people can be trained in.

Answer

True

False

Question 30

1.

According to the Big Five personality model, emotional stability is the most important trait of effective leaders.

Answer

True

False

Question 31

1.

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 ________.

Answer

lying

selective perception

silence

filtering

communication apprehension

Question 32

1.

Lionel Tucker has been asked to lead a virtual team on a project with a tight time schedule. While allocating the project to him, his manager impressed upon him the need to complete this project successfully and in time so that this client gains enough confidence to use their services in the future. Lionel and his team communicate via e-mail as the team members are located at geographically dispersed locations. They have not had even one face-to-face meeting as yet. In this case, Lionel must have an ability to ________ in addition to all the other desirable abilities of a leader to lead the team successfully.

Answer

avoid making any decisions for the team

generate money to inspire the team

convey support and trust through electronic means

generate charisma to inspire the team

micromanage his team members till project completion

Question 33

1.

Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?

Answer

increasing the rewards the group is given if it succeeds

increasing the amount by which the group's progress is monitored

ensuring that individual contributions to the group's outcome are identified

increasing the size of the group

increasing the group's workload

Question 34

1.

Unconventional behavior is one of the key characteristics of a charismatic leader.

Answer

True

False

Question 35

1.

Nancy is a part of a group at work which stresses a lot on collective goals and performance. Nancy is amazed at how well the members of the team use their skills to benefit themselves and their team members. Whenever a problem arises, the team, as a whole, provides reasons and solutions for the same. She enjoys working in this group as there is a lot of positive energy. This group that Nancy is a part of is a work group.

Answer

True

False

Question 36

1.

Jason Jones has been asked to assemble an eight-member self-managed work team of experienced employees to work on a project that combines the functional areas of research, production, marketing, and distribution. Jason is apprehensive about managing a team so large; he knows from prior experience that larger teams do not always result in greater productivity. Jason has also been informed by the management that this team is being established as the project must progress according to the predetermined timeline. The work lagging behind by one division will cause a cumulative delay in all the successive stages of the project's execution. Which of the following measures, if adopted by Jason, would best ensure that the team members are working efficiently?

Answer

discouraging team members from restricting themselves to their own functional areas by experimenting with and learning the job done by other members of the team

implementing a group-based incentive he has planned for this team

instructing the team members to finalize the plan for the project right at the beginning and ensuring that it is implemented without any changes

assigning the specific tasks of the project to each team member by keeping in mind their preference and abilities

implementing a training program to provide the team members with the necessary technical and human relations skills for the project

Question 37

1.

In the communication process, decoding precedes encoding.

Answer

True

False

Question 38

1.

A software development firm has witnessed substantial growth and seeks to expand and reorganize its structure to meet the demands from clients in a better manner. HR has been given a clear directive that one of the major criteria for selection of recruits would be the candidate's ability to function as a team player. This is because the company is revamping all its major functions from the traditional departmental model to an arrangement of flexible teams. Joe Sanchez is one of their oldest and most experienced employees who demonstrated considerable ability in developing the best programs but the problem with him is that he prefers to work alone. The company does not wish to lose resources like him and others who lack the ability to work in groups but team work is essential in their reorganization. Which of the following strategies will help rectify this problem?

Answer

informing all employees that ability to work in teams will be major determinant for promotions and bonuses

encouraging employees like Joe to work more independently

increasing the size of teams so the contribution of people like Joe will not affect team performance overall

encouraging the formation of more diverse teams

applying merit-based compensation systems instead of gainsharing

Question 39

1.

In self-managed teams, supervisory positions may be eliminated.

True

False

Question 40

1.

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome, and even profitably use, this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the occurrence of groupshift in Mark's opinions during the meeting?

Answer

Mark agreed with Joe's opinion that providing the best service possible, even if it meant incurring a loss in the short run, would be the best strategy.

Mark proposed that this was an opportunity for EuAir to use its brand name effectively and diversify into other products and services.

Mark proposed that the prices be hiked and additional customer service measures be included so costumers have the best experience flying with EuAir.

Mark felt that EuAir should suspend some of its less profitable flights in the short run in favor of the routes that have greater demand among consumers.

Mark encouraged the top-management team to consider laying off surplus employees and rightsizing EuAir to enhance its efficiency and lower costs.

Question 41

1. Which of the following statements regarding leadership is true?

Formal appointment is essential in creating leaders.

Nonsanctioned leadership is as important as formal influence.

Formal rights ensure good leadership.

All managers are leaders.

All leaders are hierarchically superior to followers.

Question 42

1.

Amy Jones has to come up with a strategy to regulate the excessive use of the Internet by her employees in such a way that they accept and commit to the solution themselves. It is advisable for her to use group decision making, rather than individual decision making in this situation.

Answer

True

False

Question 43

1.

Charismatic leadership is a manifestation of innate traits and it cannot be learned or enhanced.

Answer

True

False

Question 44

1.

Jordan is a sales officer who has been underperforming over the last three months. At the last monthly operations cycle meeting, he was given a warning. As the time for the next meeting draws close, Jordan fears his boss reprimanding him. Two days before the meeting, Jordan informs his manager that he has confirmed six deals in the last few days, one of which involves multiple orders for their machines. He, however, skips the detail that these are the only six orders he has been able to obtain in the whole month. Which one of the barriers to effective communication is depicted here?

Answer

silence

language

filtering

information overload

grapevine

Question 45

1.

Research has shown that the larger the team, the more effective its performance.

Answer

True

False

Question 46

1.

Which of the following statements is true regarding team composition?

Answer

Agreeableness is the only personality dimension that aids the ability to work in groups.

High-ability teams find it hard to adapt to changing situations.

A high-ability team will function well irrespective of the deficits in the abilities of the leader.

A team's performance is merely the summation of its individual members' abilities.

In successful teams, members should be selected to ensure all the various roles are filled.

Question 47

1.

The attribution theory of leadership says leadership is merely an attribution people make about other individuals.

Answer

True

False

Question 48

1.

Rhonda May was transferred to London three months back to oversee the opening of a new branch of the retail chain she worked for. Rhonda, who had never been to London, adjusted well with her British colleagues but received quizzical looks from many of her British colleagues every morning in the initial weeks in London. After asking one of her subordinates to explain what caused her colleagues to look at her in that strange way, she discovered the reason. When her British colleagues greeted her saying "how are you today?" every morning, she typically replied saying "I'm good" while Britishers typically say "I'm well" in response to this greeting. This is because "I'm good" can have multiple meanings like "I'm not a bad person" or "I'm suitable" while "I'm well" only gives a sense of mental and physical well-being. Rhonda then realized how subtly cultural barriers can operate. From the information provided in the scenario, this is an example of barriers caused by ________.

Answer

semantics and connotations

situational and physical cues

tone differences

intolerance toward other cultures

power distance

Question 49

1.

A slouched seated position reflects a casual and relaxed manner.

Answer

True

False

Question 50

1.

Lateral communications are often created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy within an organization.