I/O Quiz Questions

Question 1

In the context of Holland’s theory of vocational choice, a high degree of differentiation:

Answer 1

increases the predictability of the person-environment interaction.

Question 2

The rational-economic model of decision-making views decision-makers as attempting to make:

Answer 2

optimal decisions.

Question 3

Joshua is dissatisfied with the amount of his bonus and he believes his other co-workers received more than he did. This greatly angers him. Joshua is concerned with what type of justice?

Answer 3

Distributive (because it’s a reward)

Question 4

An assumption underlying process consultation is that:

Answer 4

behavior change precedes attitude change.

Question 5

Incentive/reward theory implies that which of the following is most important for ensuring worker motivation?

Answer 5

Making jobs interesting, attractive, and satisfying

Question 6

In the context of Porter and Lawler’s (1968) expectancy theory, __________ refers to the belief that meeting job performance goals will lead to certain outcomes.

Answer 6

instrumentality

Question 7

According to Janis (1972), groupthink is most likely to occur when:

Answer 7

a group is highly cohesive

Question 8

From the perspective of the situational leadership model, a “telling” leadership style is most effective when an employee is:

Answer 8

low in ability and low in willingness.

Question 9

“Criterion contamination” is a concern when

Answer 9

the measure of performance is subjectively scored.

Question 10

According to Holland’s RIASEC model, which personality type is best suited as an accountant?

Answer 10

Conventional

Question 11

According to Dawis and Lofquist’s (1984) Theory of Work Adjustment, job satisfaction depends most on which of the following?

Answer 11

The degree to which the characteristics of the job correspond to the worker’s needs and values

Question 12

According to Holland, the optimal situation is for the job environment to match the person’s:

Answer 12

personality.

Question 13

From the perspective of Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the relationship between pay and motivation is best described by which of the following?

Answer 13

Pay does not act as a motivator.

Question 14

For an advocate of expectancy theory, “instrumentality” refers to:

Answer 14

the relationship between performance and outcomes.

Question 15

__________ assessments are used when organizational development is desired, and _________ assessments collect individual data.

Answer 15

Self; personnel

Question 16

Having employees meet in groups to discuss alternative ways of accomplishing change is an example of which of the following strategies?

Answer 16

Normative-reeducative

Question 17

A meta-analysis of the research conducted by Baltes et al. (1999) found that, in terms of job outcomes, the compressed workweek has the least impact on:

Answer 17

objective measures of job performance.

Question 18

Which step of the four-step organizational assessment includes creating questions that are important to the organization and address topics such as organizational performance and motivation?

Answer 18

Step 2

Question 19

The major advantage of using a forced-choice method as an employee performance appraisal technique is that:

Answer 19

it helps alleviate leniency and other biases

Question 20

According to Tuckman and Jensen (1977), group members begin to develop close relationships with one another, trust each other, and feel as though they are part of a cohesive, effective group during the __________ stage.

Answer 20

norming

Question 21

According to Krumboltz (1996), a person’s career path is determined primarily by:

SLT

Answer 21

learning that occurs as the result of interactions with other people (Social Learning Theory)

Question 22

To promote recycling in a community, you attempt to establish a collaboration between educators, community leaders, and interested community members. This approach is best described as:

Answer 22

normative-reeducative

Question 23

As defined by Brousseau and Driver (1994), career concept refers to a person’s:

Answer 23

career decisions and motives

Question 24

Research comparing heterogeneous and homogeneous work groups has found that, in general, heterogeneous groups:

Answer 24

are more creative and better at decision-making

Question 25

Dr. Adolfo is hired as a consultant by the owner of a company who says she is having problems with employee productivity. As an advocate of goal-setting theory, Dr. Adolfo will most likely tell the owner that, to maximize the productivity of her employees, she should:

Answer 25

assign moderately difficult goals to employees and provide them with regular feedback about their attainment of those goals

Question 26

Research on job satisfaction suggests that it:

Answer 26

is a relatively stable trait and is minimally affected by job changes

Question 27

In organizations, peer evaluations:

Answer 27

are useful for predicting an employee’s subsequent promotions

Question 28

Trainability tests are:

Answer 28

work samples that incorporate a structured period of learning and evaluation

Question 29

An important implication of Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership is that:

Answer 29

an effective manager may become ineffective if the situation changes in certain ways

Question 30

If a process consultant is hired by a school district to help them resolve ongoing problems between school board members, the administrative staff, and the teachers, the consultant is most likely to:

Answer 30

help board members, staff, and teachers identify and modify the ways in which their behaviors are inconsistent with their goals

Question 31

According to Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model, a leader should use a participative style for subordinates who have:

Answer 31

high ability and low motivation

Question 32

An implication of Bandura’s social cognitive theory is that, to maximize worker motivation, a job should be designed so that:

Answer 32

the job maximizes opportunities for self-regulation

Question 33

The function of a formative evaluation is best described as obtaining the information needed to:

Answer 33

guide program development so as to produce the best version of the program as possible

Question 34

Female applicants consistently obtain lower scores on a selection test than do male applicants. However, when they are hired, females perform as well on the job as do males. This situation illustrates which of the following?

Answer 34

unfairness

Question 35

In the context of training, identical elements are associated with:

Answer 35

transfer of training

Question 36

Which of the following will have the greatest impact on employees’ perceptions of distributive justice at work?

Answer 36

Employees receive the pay and benefits they believe they deserve.

Question 37

According to House’s (1971) path-goal theory, the optimal leadership style depends primarily on:

Answer 37

certain characteristics of the worker and the work situation

Question 38

Frame-of-reference training is used to

Answer 38

improve a rater’s accuracy when evaluating a ratee’s performance

Question 39

Which of the following selection techniques is the most accurate predictor of job performance across different jobs and job settings?

Answer 39

general mental ability tests

Question 40

An organizational psychologist would use the Position Analysis Questionnaire to:

Answer 40

obtain the information needed to complete a job analysis

Question 41

According to the path-goal theory of leadership, a primary task of a leader is to help subordinates find the best path for attaining goals. In terms of leadership style, this theory proposes that:

Answer 41

the best style (directive, supportive, participative, or achievement-oriented) depends on certain characteristics of the task and the subordinates

Question 42

From the perspective of Holland’s approach to career choice and career counseling, a highly differentiated person:

Answer 42

resembles only one personality/occupational type (According to Holland, a person is highly differentiated when he/she obtains a high score on only one personality dimension.)

Question 43

A psychologist is hired to develop a selection test that will be used to assist in the hiring of management trainees. The psychologist’s first step in developing the selection test will be conducting a:

Answer 43

Job analysis

Question 44

In terms of initiating structure and consideration, the two core dimensions of leadership, research in organizations suggests that:

Answer 44

contrary to gender stereotypes, males and females do not differ substantially in terms of consideration or initiating structure

Question 45

Nadler’s (1988) systems model of planned change proposes that, to successfully implement change, managers must attend to four factors. One of these is informal organizational elements which consist of:

Answer 45

the organization’s implicit beliefs, values, and behaviors

Question 46

When using a Behaviorally-Anchored Rating Scale (BARS), scale points are “anchored” with:

Answer 46

critical incidents

Question 47

In addition to identifying “bounded rationality” as an impediment to rational decision-making, Herbert Simon is known for his work on:

Answer 47

Artificial intelligence

Question 48

As defined in the EEOC Uniform Guidelines, “unfairness” is a problem when:

Answer 48

different groups obtain consistently different scores on the predictor but similar scores on the criterion

Question 49

Overtraining is most associated with

Answer 49

decreased motivation and performance

Question 50

Research on Total Quality Management suggests that, when it fails, this is often because:

Answer 50

the employees were not sufficiently involved in problem-solving and decision-making

Question 51

Regarding self-assessments that are utilized to promote organizational development, what is key when implementing the findings?

Answer 51

Stakeholders of the organization are included in the discovery process.

Question 52

According to Tiedeman and O’Hara (1963), career development involves two phases - the anticipation; and implementation and adjustment phase- both of which consist of several stages. During these stages, the individual:

Answer 52

attempts to achieve a balance between integration and differentiation.

Question 53

One criticism of BARS is that:

Answer 53

it requires raters to indicate the kinds of behaviors they would expect of ratees rather than the behaviors that they have actually observed.

Question 54

A large law firm is facing a difficult and involved case. The senior partner asks a group of four lawyers to verbalize all ideas that come into their minds about the case, no matter how absurd the ideas may be. He then asks four other lawyers to do the same thing separately (individually) rather than as a group. The senior partner can expect that:

Answer 54

the individual lawyers will come up with the best ideas.

Question 55

As described by Krumboltz (1996), career counseling involves:

Answer 55

instilling an attitude of self-development in the individual so that he/she can adapt to changing work requirements in the future.

Question 56

When using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), a supervisor:

Answer 56

identifies an employees effective and ineffective job behaviors.

Question 57

In the context of training programs, utility analysis would be used to:

Answer 57

assess the return-on-investment of the training program.

Question 58

Kirkpatrick (1983) identifies four levels of rigor in the evaluation of training programs. According to his model, which of the following represents the highest level of evaluation?

Answer 58

Results criteria

Question 59

The establishment of comparable worth depends on the use of:

Answer 59

A neutral job evaluation procedure

Question 60

Fiedler’s LPC theory of leadership proposes that:

Answer 60

to be most effective, a leader’s personality should match the demands of the situation.

Question 61

Research comparing younger and older workers has found that:

Answer 61

younger workers expect more personal fulfillment from their jobs than older workers do.