CH12(test bank) Flashcards
Leadership is best defined as ________.
A) the ability to merely project one’s abilities in the lack of actual accomplishments
B) the ability to reduce the dependence of team members on each other
C) the ability to induce the team members to focus on individual goals rather than collective goals
D) the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals
E) the ability to use factors like training and experience to reduce dependence on formal leadership
D) the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals
Which of the following statements regarding leadership is true?
A) All managers are leaders.
B) Formal rights ensure good leadership.
C) Formal appointment is essential in creating leaders.
D) All leaders are hierarchically superior to followers.
E) Nonsanctioned leadership is as important as formal influence.
E) Nonsanctioned leadership is as important as formal influence.
Which of the following is a desirable feature of leadership?
A) one-directional influence from the leader to the follower
B) coercive power and authority
C) lack of freedom
D) passivity of followers
E) coexistence of leaders and managers
E) coexistence of leaders and managers
Trait theories of leadership focus on ________.
A) the special relationship that leaders establish with a small group of their followers
B) the personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders
C) the way the leader makes decisions
D) the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task
E) the match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control
B) the personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders
Which of the following Big Five personality traits has been identified as the most important trait in
effective leaders?
A) conscientiousness
B) openness
C) extraversion
D) agreeableness
E) emotional stability
C) extraversion
Emotional intelligence (EI) is critical to effective leadership because one of its core components is
________ which reflects the consideration that leaders must be able to express.
A) conscientiousness
B) empathy
C) optimism
D) introversion
E) perfectionism
B) empathy
Trait theories most accurately predict ________.
A) distinguishing features of an effective leader
B) differences between an effective and an ineffective leader
C) success of a leader
D) roles to be played by the leader
E) emergence of a leader
E) emergence of a leader
The Ohio State Studies narrowed the independent dimensions of leader behavior to two that
substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees: consideration and
________.
A) employee-orientation
B) empathy
C) constructing vision
D) initiating structure
E) charisma
D) initiating structure
In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, initiating
structure refers to the extent to which ________.
A) a person’s job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard
for their feelings
B) a leader engages in participative management
C) a leader is accepting of and respects individual differences among various team members
D) a leader is likely to define and organize his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal
attainment
E) a leader initiates efforts to communicate personally with employees
D) a leader is likely to define and organize his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal
attainment
Adrian Atwood, a senior manager at MNC, spends a lot of his time assigning group members to
particular tasks and scheduling their work such that deadlines are achievable. Adrian also sets high
expectations for standards of performance, and holds regular meetings to ensure that productivity and
quality are up to the mark. In the light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Adrian, as a leader, is
________.
A) low in task orientation
B) high in consideration
C) relationship oriented
D) employee oriented
E) high in initiating structure
E) high in initiating structure
In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, ________
is the extent to which a person’s job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for
employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.
A) consideration
B) transaction
C) authentication
D) task orientation
E) identification
A) consideration
Nellie Fritz, the head of client support services at Olson Inc., is very popular among her
subordinates. Many believe that Nellie has a knack for getting the work done without making the
employees feel pushed into a corner. She is often seen speaking to her subordinates and support staff
about their families, helping them with any personal problems they have, and praising employees for
their good work. In light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Nellie, as a leader, is ________.
A) task oriented
B) high in consideration
C) low in trust propensity
D) low in relationship orientation
E) production oriented
B) high in consideration
The two dimensions of leadership behavior identified in the University of Michigan studies are
________.
A) absolute leadership and contingency leadership
B) transformational leaders and authentic leaders
C) employee-oriented leaders and production-oriented leaders
D) initiating structure and consideration
E) initiation and completion
C) employee-oriented leaders and production-oriented leaders
The University of Michigan studies define a(n) ________ leader as one who takes a personal interest
in the needs of his/her subordinates.
A) contingency
B) task-oriented
C) employee-oriented
D) production-oriented
E) structure initiating
C) employee-oriented
If a leader’s main concern is accomplishing his/her group’s tasks, the University of Michigan studies
label this leader ________.
A) employee-oriented
B) high in consideration
C) relationship-oriented
D) low in initiating structure
E) production-oriented
E) production-oriented
Norman has been working in the sales division for a large manufacturing company for four months.
In this short period of time, Norman has learned that Mr. Hill, his manager, keeps increasing monthly
targets significantly, and though each time the target appears unrealistic, Norman has been able to
achieve them throughout the last four months. Mr. Lee’s approach of leading his employees to work
more efficiently by setting successively higher targets is an example of his ________ leadership.
A) employee-oriented
B) consideration-based
C) person-oriented
D) production-oriented
E) support-oriented
D) production-oriented
Maurice Harper is a friendly and warm manager who starts her day at work by personally greeting
her colleagues and subordinates. Maurice is often seen listening sincerely to employees’ concerns and
problems. She takes the initiative to hold programs to renew and improve the skills of current
employees. Most of her employees know that she is accessible for help and information at all times
.Maurice is a(n) ________ leader.
A) achievement-oriented
B) transaction-oriented
C) employee-oriented
D) production-oriented
E) task-oriented
C) employee-oriented
Contingency theories focus on the ________ that impact leadership success.
A) personality variables
B) leader’s abilities to inspire and transform followers
C) situational variables
D) values and ethics
E) features of the followers
C) situational variables
Which of the following theories of leadership is based on situational variables?
A) attribution theory
B) trait theories
C) charismatic leadership theory
D) path-goal theory
E) behavioral theories
D) path-goal theory
The least preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire is used to measure whether ________.
A) the followers are able and willing
B) a leader is task or relationship-oriented
C) the members are in the in-group or out-group
D) employees prefer servant leadership over situational leadership
E) the leader is high on the dimension of conscientiousness
B) a leader is task or relationship-oriented
Dora Lee has just completed and scored the LPC questionnaire given to her during an evaluation
exercise. She is surprised when she finds out that she described her least preferred co-worker in
relatively positive terms because she recalls being particularly annoyed by this difficult co-worker
several times in the past. Based on your understanding of Fiedler’s model, you explain to Dora that her
LPC score makes sense within the model because ________.
A) Dora tends to become very dominating when given ambiguous tasks
B) Dora is usually much more focused on productivity than on developing relationships
C) Dora tends in general to focus on building good relationships with the other employees
D) Dora has a spotty work history and has tended to switch jobs every couple of years
E) Dora is usually chosen for positions of high responsibility within your organization
C) Dora tends in general to focus on building good relationships with the other employees
Fiedler’s contingency leadership model assumes that ________.
A) an individual’s leadership style is essentially fixed
B) an individual is constantly striving to develop a more productive style
C) an individual’s leadership is primarily determined by the the features of the followers
D) an individual’s leadership style can be altered much like his/her personality traits
E) an individual’s leadership style must be task oriented to be effective
A) an individual’s leadership style is essentially fixed
Fiedler defines the degree of confidence, trust, and respect that subordinates have in their leader as
________.
A) leader-member relations
B) task structure
C) positional power
D) follower variables
E) path-goal frameworks
A) leader-member relations
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 leadership is primarily task-oriented
B) Trevor’s team has a low degree of trust propensity
C) Trevor’s team requires more directive leadership
D) Trevor’s team has positive leader-member relations
E) Trevor’s team is unsatisfied with his power position
D) Trevor’s team has positive leader-member relations
Which of the following situational dimensions identified by Fiedler relates to the degree to which
job assignments are procedurized, that is, structured or unstructured?
A) task reflexivity
B) task significance
C) task structure
D) task complexity
E) task orientation
C) task structure
In the context of Fiedler’s model, the situational dimension termed ________ relates to the degree of
influence a leader has over important variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary
increases.
A) task structure
B) leader-member exchange
C) position power
D) initiating structure
E) leader-member relations
C) position power
According to the Fiedler contingency model, high managerial control is characterized by ________.
A) high task structure, good leader-member relations, and strong position power
B) limited position power, good leader-member relations, and low task structure
C) less structured jobs, strong position power, and moderate leader-member relations
D) broad employee responsibilities, low position power, and moderate leader-member relations
E) good leader-member relations, low position power, unstructured jobs
A) high task structure, good leader-member relations, and strong position power
Which of the following theoretical approaches in the study of leadership focuses on followers’
readiness as a determinant of effective leadership?
A) Big Five personality model
B) behavioral theories
C) Fiedler contingency model
D) laissez-faire leadership
E) situational leadership theory
E) situational leadership theory
According to the situational leadership theory, if followers are unable and unwilling to do a task,
then a leader needs to ________.
A) follow a supportive style
B) engage in participative leadership
C) refrain from providing too many inputs
D) display high task and relationship orientation
E) demonstrate high task and low relationship orientation
D) display high task and relationship orientation
According to the situational leadership theory, if employees are unwilling and unable, the
appropriate leadership style in this situation would be ________.
A) participative
B) democratic
C) person-oriented
D) directive
E) supportive
D) directive
According to the situational leadership theory, a follower with the desired ability and willingness is
likely to be ________.
A) lacking in the area of motivation
B) deficient in the specific skills required
C) comfortable in his ability to do the job well
D) highly skilled in relevant areas but low on experience
E) in need of leadership that is highly task oriented
C) comfortable in his ability to do the job well
Maura Ruiz has been working in the e-learning industry for over eight years. She is aware of the fact
that in this industry, once an employee has learned his job, the work becomes fairly automatic and
competence can be achieved rapidly. She has been noticing how in her team, this competence has come
along with a lot of complacency; the employees, though able, are unwilling to work hard. According to
the situational leadership theory, to rectify this situation, Maura would benefit the most if she uses the
________ style of leadership.
A) task-oriented
B) production-oriented
C) participative
D) directive
E) autocratic
C) participative
Which of the following statements is true with regard to the path-goal theory of leadership?
A) The theory considers leadership to be a set of attributes ascribed to leaders by followers.
B) The theory proposes only a passive and supportive role for leaders.
C) The theory considers removing obstacles to be a component of effective leadership.
D) The theory proposes that leaders must work closely with followers throughout.
E) The path-goal theory represents a laissez-faire approach to leadership.
C) The theory considers removing obstacles to be a component of effective leadership.
George is a project leader at NSys for five years. George’s job description involves scheduling work
for his team, coordinating their work with that of the other departments, and providing feedback.
George, who has successfully led this team, believes that it is his task-oriented and directive approach
that has helped him in the last five years. Which of the following, if true, would weaken his argument
supporting a directive leadership?
A) The members of the team are resentful with George’s directives relating to work.
B) George has seen that employees in his team lack initiative and motivation to work hard.
C) The team’s workload is expected to rise substantially as the company is growing at an unprecedented
rate.
D) George’s team is organized as a wheel network and depends on his ability to coordinate amongst
members of the team and between other departments.
E) NSys hires only highly qualified and experienced employees.
E) NSys hires only highly qualified and experienced employees.
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?
A) Max is leading many new employees who have joined his team directly after training.
B) Max’s team functions in a sluggish manner and picks up pace only a week or so before the monthly
operations cycle meetings.
C) Max’s sales team is comprised of independent and experienced employees who are committed to their
jobs.
D) Max’s team does not display high levels of cohesiveness and members fail to coordinate with each
other.
E) Sales figures for the region that Max’s team is responsible for have improved in the last quarter.
C) Max’s sales team is comprised of independent and experienced employees who are committed to their
jobs.
Which of the following leadership theories argues that because of time pressures, leaders establish a
special relationship with a small group of their subordinates — the in-group, who are trusted, get a
disproportionate amount of the leader’s attention, and are more likely to receive special privileges?
A) situational leadership theory
B) leader-member exchange
C) path-goal
D) expectancy
E) Fiedler’s theory
B) leader-member exchange
