Midterm 1

Question 1

The objective of organizational behavior is to develop a better

Answer 1

understanding of people at work - Organizational behavior deals with how people act and react in organizations of all kinds

Question 2

Which of the following is an assumption of McGregor’s Theory X? The typical person ___.

Answer 2

dislikes work and will avoid it if possible - Most people dislike work; they avoid it when they can

Question 3

Which of the following is an assumption of McGregor’s Theory Y? The typical person

Answer 3

has imagination and creativity - The typical member of the general population has imagination, ingenuity, and creativity.

Question 4

_____ is the view the individual has of himself or herself as a physical, social, and spiritual or moral being.

Answer 4

Self-concept - Sociologist Viktor Gecas defines self-concept as “the concept the individual has of himself as a physical, social, and spiritual or moral being.”

Question 5

According to research on self-monitoring, which of the following is true?

Answer 5

High self-monitors received more promotions than did low self-monitors. - Among 139 MBA graduates who were tracked for five years, high self-monitors enjoyed more internal and external promotions than did their low self-monitoring classmates.

Question 6

Regarding the Big Five personality dimensions, a person scoring high on _____ is trusting, good natured, cooperative, and soft-hearted

Answer 6

agreeableness

Question 7

Heavier workloads for employees (resulting from years of organizational downsizing and cost-cutting) combined with an increase in dual-income families, single working parents, and elder care responsibilities serve to increase ____.

Answer 7

work/family conflict - A complex web of demographic and economic factors makes the balancing act between job and life very challenging for most of us. This is particularly true during a recession.

Question 8

_____ is a cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings.

Answer 8

Perception - Perception is a cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings. Recognition of objects is one of this process’s major functions.

Question 9

The _____ perceptual error represents the tendency to avoid all extreme judgments and rate people and objects as average or neutral

Answer 9

central tendency - Commonly Found Perceptual Errors

Question 10

Research suggests that as employees age, they experience ____.

Answer 10

higher job satisfaction - As age increases so do employees’ job satisfaction, job involvement, internal work motivation, and organizational commitment.

Question 11

Equity theory predicts that a student will experience _____ if a friend of equal scholarly ability studies the same amount for a test but receives a higher grade

Answer 11

negative inequity - If the comparison person enjoys greater outcomes for similar inputs, negative inequity will be perceived.

Question 12

_____ refers to the positive or negative value people place on outcomes

Answer 12

Valence - As Vroom used the term, valence refers to the positive or negative value people place on outcomes. Valence mirrors our personal preferences.

Question 13

A(n) _____ goal targets specific end result.

Answer 13

performance outcome - A performance outcome goal targets a specific end-result

Question 14

Management by objectives is a management system that incorporates ____.

Answer 14

goal setting - Management by objectives is a management system that incorporates participation into decision making, goal setting, and objective feedback. The central idea of MBO is getting individual employees to “own” a piece of a collective effort.

Question 15

People tend to reject or downplay feedback if they perceive it to be ____.

Answer 15

negative - Generally, people tend to perceive and recall positive feedback more accurately than they do negative feedback.

Question 16

_____ entails identifying and choosing alternative solutions that lead to a desired state of affairs.

Answer 16

Decision making - Decision making entails identifying and choosing alternative solutions that lead to a desired state of affairs. Identifying and sorting out alternatives like when and how to take a course of action is the process of decision making.

Question 17

_____ represents the idea that decision makers are restricted by a variety of constraints when making decisions

Answer 17

Bounded rationality - Bounded rationality represents the notion that decision makers are “bounded” or restricted by a variety of constraints when making decisions. These constraints include any personal or environmental characteristics that reduce rational decision making.

Question 18

_____ involves solving problems by choosing a solution that meets some minimum standard of acceptance.

Answer 18

Satisficing - Satisficing consists of choosing a solution that meets some minimum qualifications, one that is “good enough.” Satisficing resolves problems by producing solutions that are satisfactory, as opposed to optimal.

Question 19

A(n) _____ is defined as a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object.

Answer 19

attitude - An attitude is defined as “a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object

Question 20

According to research on the stability of attitudes, when is a person least likely to change his or her general attitudes?

Answer 20

Middle adulthood - What happens to attitudes over the entire span of adulthood? General attitudes were found to be more susceptible to change during early and late adulthood than during middle adulthood

Question 21

_____ is an affective or emotional response toward various facets of one’s job.

Answer 21

Job satisfaction - Job satisfaction essentially reflects the extent to which an individual likes his or her job

Question 22

Intelligence results from a combination of ____.

Answer 22

innate capacity and environmental influences - Historically, intelligence was believed to be an innate capacity, passed genetically from one generation to the next. Research since has shown, however, that intelligence also is a function of environmental influences

Question 23

Regarding the Big Five personality dimensions, a person scoring high on _____ is relaxed, secure, and unworried

Answer 23

emotional stability

Question 24

The _____ model proposes that managers use a four-step sequence when making decision: (1) identify the problem, (2) generate alternative solutions, (3) select a solution, and (4) implement and evaluate the solution

Answer 24

rational - The rational model proposes that managers use a rational, four-step sequence when making decisions: identifying the problem, generating alternative solutions selecting a solution, and implementing and evaluating the solution

Question 25

_____ is a capacity for attaining direct knowledge or understanding without the apparent intrusion of rational thought or logical inference

Answer 25

Intuition - "is a capacity for attaining direct knowledge or understanding without the apparent intrusion of rational thought or logical inference." As a process, intuition is automatic and involuntary

Question 26

One disadvantage of group-aided decision making is that it results in ____. 

Answer 26

domination by a vocal few - Advantages and Disadvantages of Group-Aided Decision Making

Question 27

The primary objective of the job characteristics model is to increase ____. 

Answer 27

internal motivation - Two OB researchers, J Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham, played a central role in developing the job characteristics approach. These researchers tried to determine how work can be structured so that employees are internally or intrinsically motivated.

Question 28

According to Herzberg's motivator-hygiene model, which of the following is a motivator? 

Answer 28

Responsibility - Herzberg found separate and distinct clusters of factors associated with job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Job satisfaction was more frequently associated with achievement, recognition, characteristics of the work, responsibility, and advancement.

Question 29

One characteristic of high achievers is that they ____. 

Answer 29

prefer situations in which their performance is due to their own efforts - Achievement-motivated people share three common characteristics: a preference for working on tasks of moderate difficulty; a preference for situations in which performance is due to their efforts rather than other factors, such as luck; and they desire more feedback on their successes and failures than do low achievers.

Question 30

_____ is an example of a pay for performance system

Answer 30

Piece rate pay - Pay for performance is the popular term for monetary incentives linking at least some portion of the paycheck directly to results or accomplishments.

Question 31

In a conversation, I tell you I saw a study that proves that being a military general causes muscular degeneration. The study shows that generals, on average, can only do 36% fewer pushups than lower ranking officers. You should assume the study is factually correct—generals, in fact, can do fewer pushups. Given this relationship, do you agree that being a military general causes muscle loss? Why or why not? If you disagree, how do you explain the fact that the relationship between being a general and pushups is real? Please base your answer on the information given in Unit 1. (1,1)

Answer 31

The fact that two things are related doesn’t mean that one caused the other. In this case, there is an intervening variable, which makes it appear that being a general causes muscular degeneration. However, being a general does not cause him or her to be able to do fewer pushups. Generals tend to be OLDER, and older people can generally do fewer pushups. Being old also increases the likelihood of a military officer being a general. So, the CAUSE is age, and it causes both decreasing ability to do pushups and an increasing likelihood of an officer being a general. Remember, the fact that two things are related doesn't mean one caused the other.

Question 32

You are a production manager for Zipco Corporation, a manufacturer of the Zippy Widget. Your boss has just called you in for a chat. She tells you that your production numbers are slipping and that she thinks it is because your section is poorly managed. You explain to your boss that morale has been dropping ever since the new equipment was installed. Your boss is furious. "I don't care what the cause of the problem is," she yells, "all I want is for production to go up and stay that way. Now, go fix it or I will find somebody who can!" If you were a "behaviorist," what would you do? (2,2)

Answer 32

First, give your boss her pills. She clearly forgot her medicine. Behaviorism: This is a model in which you attack the specific behaviors. You don’t really care if the new machines are popular. You simply want to have production increase. There are several possibilities: you could introduce quotas, with negative sanctions if they are not met. You could introduce a piecework system where the staff is paid per unit of production. You could pay bonuses for amounts of output over a minimum. If the problem is lack of training, that is not really your concern, because it is up to the employee to figure out how to increase production. If you are a behaviorist, all you want is for the numbers to go up, and you don't really care why.

Question 33

In unit 2, we discussed five things that are important when doing any kind of testing in the workplace (such as personality tests). Name at least two of the five things you are looking for to make tests effective and explain what each means. (2,4)

Answer 33

The five areas of concern are: Validity: Does the test measure the things it is intended to measure? Reliability: Does the test measure the trait the same way every time and measure each person the same way? Usefulness: Have I determined the exact use to be made for the data from the test and are these data actually going to be obtained from the test results? Legality: Am I violating any laws regarding civil rights, human rights or privacy by administering the test? (Note: This may be a function of the test's validity and reliability) Acceptability: Is the purpose for which the test is to be used understandable and acceptable to the person taking the test?

Question 34

According to the group presentation, there are six pillars of self esteem. Name and describe at least one of these pillars. (Student Presentation)

Answer 34

The six pillars are: 1. Live consciously. Be active and fully engaged in what you do and with whom you interact. 2. Be self-accepting. Don't be overly judgmental or critical of your thoughts or actions. 3. Take personal responsibility. Take full responsibility for your decisions and actions in life's journey. 4. Be self-assertive. Be authentic and willing to defend your beliefs when interacting with others rather than bending to their will to be accepted or liked. This is also found on Table 5.1 in your textbook.

Question 35

In class, we talked about 4 theories of conflict, and you worked in groups to present them to the class. Name two of these four theories and briefly describe how each explains conflict. (3,8)

Answer 35

The four are as follows: The psychodynamic perspective. Freudian. Ego, super ego, id. Psychological pressures drive our behaviors. This is like a little angel and devil sitting on each shoulder, driving your behavior. Conflict may be driven by unconscious fears or repressed concerns. Aggression may be driven by unconscious anxiety. Field theory. Lewin’s theory. We move through life space, and in it we encounter goals and barriers to reaching our goal. The theory talks of the relationship people to each other within this space, and how this relates to accomplishing our goals. The key issue in this theory is how you see the world. The theory is interested in the climate in which conflict takes place. This is the overall situation—Gestalt. Productive or destructive is determined by the climate: 1. Promotive—participatants see conflict as a win-win situation 2. Contrient—win-lose 3. Individualistic—participants don’t see themselves as interdependent. They lack common motives and indifferent attitudes toward each other 4. Overly cooperative—groupthink, unreflective group decisions. Social exchange perspective. Behaviorist and based on game theory. Does not attempt to determine WHY people have conflict, but how to deal with it. Uses game simulations. View conflict in the "Homo Economous" model—rewards and costs drive the conflict. The guiding force is self-interest. Seek “fairness” and it looks at three kinds of justice: Distributive Justice—equal distribution of the pie Procedural Justice—the way in which the pie is distributed Interactive Justice—whether or not I am treated with respect in the process. Human Relations Model This model looks at the relationship between task and affect and says that, depending on the presence or absence of task and affect that conflict will fall into five categories: Competitive, Collaborative, Compromising, Avoidance and Accommodation.

Question 36

What is the relationship of motivation to productivity? Are highly motivated employees more productive? (5,1)

Answer 36

As we discussed in class, while there some is evidence to support this, overall, the evidence of a direct relationship between motivation and productivity is inconclusive. Some better known theories, such as the work of Maslow, have not been fully supported by research findings. Only “goal setting” appears to be supported by research as a motivator that causes productivity, but this is also dependent on the type of employee and the specific situation. Even though we can’t “prove” that motivated employees are more productive, that does not mean we don’t want to try to motivate them. As managers we have an ethical responsibility to make the workplace as worker friendly as possible, even though we may not have proof that this will increase outputs. In fact, according to Herzberg, our biggest problem may be “demotivating” employees by not providing for their basic needs—although this theory is also not fully supported by research either.

Question 37

What is a “valent motivator?” How do you determine if a motivator is valent?

Answer 37

According to our discussion, a motivator is valent when it fulfills a person’s individual needs. For example, if I give you time off, it may not be valent to you if you live a boring life outside of work. You may be more motivated by being given a stimulating job. Since valence is the congruence between wants and the fulfillment of wants, to find valent motivators, you must first establish what the individual WANTS. If you then satisfy those wants, you have created a valent motivator.

Question 38

In Unit 1, we discussed Luthans model of average, successful and effective managers. What do successful managers spend their time doing? What do effective managers spend their time doing?

Answer 38

SUCCESSFUL managers are spending nearly HALF of their time (48%) networking—working the organization.  This includes talking to others, making friends, creating alliances, smoozing the boss, etc.  In other words, the way to get ahead in modern American organizations is the same as it has always been—bun smooching! The EFFECTIVE manager is very different.  She spends nearly half of her time (44%) communicating.  This includes providing information, coaching, mentoring, and supporting the staff.  These are the "hands on" managers