Final Exam Review

Question 1

What is organizational development?

Answer 1

-family of techniques that are designed to help organizations change for the better
-involves changing how people do their work, how they communicate, and how they coordinate their efforts

Question 2

What is the multistage process of organizational development?

Answer 2

1 - the employees first learn that change needs to occur
2 - the specific form of change must be determined - with the help of employees
3 - the change can be implemented; most likely initially some resistance to change
4 - the new way of operating must be consolidated and become part of the accepted way people operate

Question 3

What are the techniques identified for organizational development?

Answer 3

• employee acceptance of change
• management by objectives
• survey feedback
• team building
• t-group

Question 4

What is management by objectives?

Answer 4

based on goal setting, each employee’s own goals are coordinated with the goals of both supervisors and subordinates

Question 5

What is survey feedback?

Answer 5

involves conducting a survey of employee attitudes and opinions and then feedback on the results to the entire organization

Question 6

What is team building?

Answer 6

designed to enhance the functioning of work teams (total quality management deming and quality and teams)

Question 7

What is t-group?

Answer 7

training group; intervention to enhance the communication and interpersonal skills of individual employees through the use of specific group exercises

Question 8

What determines the effectiveness of an organizational development program?

Answer 8

top management

Question 9

What is the classic organizational theory?

Answer 9

to create a rational structure and several principles - to allow for the orderly and efficient functioning of an organization

Question 10

Who created the classical organizational theory?

Answer 10

Weber late 1800s

Question 11

What are the characteristics and principles for effective organizations?

Answer 11

• division of labor
• delegation of authority and chain of command
• span of control
• line v. staff

Question 12

What is division of labor?

Answer 12

organization’s specialized job positions, each of which is responsible for different tasks

Question 13

What is span of control?

Answer 13

the number of subordinates who report to each supervisor

Question 14

What is line v. staff?

Answer 14

line positions; involved directly with the organization’s major purpose and staff positions; support the activities of a line position

Question 15

What is the main focus of the human-relations theory?

Answer 15

concerned with the interaction between supervisors and subordinates

Question 16

Who created the human relations theory?

Answer 16

McGregor 1960

Question 17

What are the propositions of theory X?

Answer 17

• managers are responsible for organizing elements of the organization
• managers should direct the activities of subordinates
• employees are resistant to organizational needs
• the average employee is lazy, lacks ambition and dislikes responsibility, concerned for him/herself and not the organizations, resistant to change, and gullible and not very bright

Question 18

What are the propositions of theory Y?

Answer 18

• managers are responsible for organizing elements of the organization
• employees are not by the nature resistant to organizational needs, they have become that way b/c of prior organizational procedures
• managers should make it possible for subordinates to recognize and develop their organizational capabilities
• managers should create organizational conditions so that subordinates can achieve their own goals

Question 19

Why is the contingency theory called the contingency theory?

Answer 19

it is contingent on the nature of the environment the organization is situated on

Question 20

What is Burns and Stalker’s 1968 view on contingency theory?

Answer 20

• organizational systems should vary based on the level of the stability in the environment
• two different types of management systems (mechanic and organic systems)
• management is the dependent variables

Question 21

What is Lawrence and Lorsch’s 1969 view on contingency theory?

Answer 21

• key issue is environmental uncertainty and information flow
• focus on exploring and improving the organization’s relationship with the environment
• environment is characterized along a certainty-uncertainty continuum

Question 22

What are the general principles of the systems theory?

Answer 22

• parts that make up the system are interrelated
• health of the overall systems is contingent on subsystem functioning
• import and export material from and to the environment
• permeable boundaries (materials can pass through)
• relative openness (the system can regulate permeability)
• second principle of thermodynamics (entropy)
• synergy
• equifinality vs “one best way”

Question 23

How is an organization viewed?

Answer 23

from biological sciences

Question 24

What are the 10 characteristics Katz and Kahn describe of an open system?

Answer 24

1 - import energy
2 - transform energy
3 - output products
4 - cycle of events
5 - escape entropy
6 - input information
7 - homeostasis
8 - specialization
9 - coordination and integration
10 - equifinality

Question 25

What is the general theme running through most definitions of leadership?

Answer 25

leadership involves influencing the attitudes, beliefs, behavior, and feelings of other people

Question 26

What is leader emergence?

Answer 26

who becomes a leader?

Question 27

What is leader effectiveness?

Answer 27

what determines the effectiveness of the leader?

Question 28

What is the trait theory?

Answer 28

• is the oldesdt
• great leaders are born not made
• perceptions of the leader are important

Question 29

What is the power theory?

Answer 29

the extent to which one can influence another to do something - the bases of power include both individual characteristics and organizational condition

Question 30

What is expert power?

Answer 30

power based on the knowledge and expertise the supervisor has

Question 31

What is referent power?

Answer 31

the extent to which the subordinate likes and identifies with the supervisor

Question 32

What is legitimate power?

Answer 32

the power inherent in a supervisor’s job title

Question 33

What is reward power?

Answer 33

the ability to reward subordinates with bonuses

Question 34

What is coercive power?

Answer 34

the ability to punish subordinates with disciplinary actions, fines, firing, or salary education

Question 35

What leadership styles did Ohio State University find regarding behavior theory?

Answer 35

initiation structure
consideration

Question 36

What is Fiedler’s contingency theory?

Answer 36

• depends on the situation
• least preferred coworker scale
• LOW LPC: task-oriented - would score high on initiating structure
• HIGH LPC: relationship-oriented - would score high on consideration

Question 37

What is situational favorability?

Answer 37

1 - leader-member relations: do subordinates like the leader? if good, then it is favorable
2 - task structure: how clear are the goals of the task? (favorable = structured)
3 - position power: ability of leader to reward or punish (favorable = strong)

Question 38

What is Vroom and Yetton’s view of contingency theory?

Answer 38

• doesn’t describe how leadership process works
• indicates the supervisory approach that is expected to be most effective in a particular situation when making decisions
• designed only for DECISION-MAKING

Question 39

How does the leader-member exchange theory differ from prior theories of leadership?

Answer 39

-focuses on the subordinate-supervisor dyad rather than the supervisor and workgroup
- leaders develop relationships with each member of the workgroup?

Question 40

What is transformational leadership?

Answer 40

deals with the leaders who have considerable and unusual influence over their followers
- charismatic leaders (give followers a vision of a better future)

Question 41

What are the four components of transformational leadership?

Answer 41

Bass and Riggio (2006)
- idealized motivation
- inspirational motivation
- intellectual stimulation
- individual consideration

Question 42

What is idealized motivation?

Answer 42

the extent to which leaders encourage followers with their statement and model high standard of behaviors

Question 43

What is inspirational motivation?

Answer 43

providing a vision

Question 44

What is intellectual stimulation?

Answer 44

encouraging followers to question the status quo and think of better ways to do things

Question 45

What is individualized consideration?

Answer 45

paying attention to the development and well-being of followers