Study Notes

Question 1

The two primary dimensions of behavioral theories of leadership are

Answer 1

consideration and initiating structure.

Question 2

Which statement exemplifies Hersey-Blanchard’s situational leadership theory?

Answer 2

A leader’s style must change over time as individuals develop and require a different type of direction and leadership.

Question 3

In the contingency theory of leadership, what is the term for the degree of confidence, trust, and respect that followers have in their leader?

Answer 3

Leader-member relations

Question 4

Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer define four branches of emotional intelligence:

Answer 4

1. Perceiving emotion. Identifying and evaluating emotions in oneself and others. For example, the emotionally intelligent person is in tune with emotional shifts in a room during an organizational meeting.
2. Using emotion to facilitate thought. Capitalizing on feelings to promote and inform decision making, problem solving, and other cognitive activities. The emotionally intelligent person can use changes in mood, for example, as an opportunity to approach a decision from multiple viewpoints.

Question 5

Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer define four branches of emotional intelligence:

Answer 5

3. Understanding emotion. Interpreting complex emotions and understanding their causes. The emotionally intelligent person, for example, can predict how employees’ emotions are likely to evolve following the announcement of structural changes to the organization.
4. Regulating emotion. Tracking and managing one’s own and others’ emotions. For example, the emotionally intelligent person can detach from feeling angry about a particular problem if anger has proven limiting in helping to solve the problem.

Question 6

What practice illustrates transparency?

Answer 6

Supporting promotions decisions with specific examples

Question 7

What is the term for the proposition that ethical behavior is determined by local culture, laws, and business practices?

Answer 7

Cultural relativism

Question 8

Conflict Resolution Modes: Accomodate (smooth)

Answer 8

The leader restores good relations by emphasizing agreement and downplaying disagreement. Useful when there is little time to be lost and movement forward is needed. It does not, however, address the root conflict. If the group continues, the conflict will probably recur.

Question 9

Conflict Resolution Modes: Assert (or force)

Answer 9

The leader imposes a solution. One side wins and the other loses—hence the term “win/lose” conflict resolution.Useful in a crisis because it resolves the issue quickly; also when authority is being challenged or when the impact on future relations with the group is minimal. Like accommodation, it does not permanently address the problem.

Question 10

Conflict Resolution Modes: Avoid

Answer 10

The leader withdraws from the situation or accepts it, leaving the conflict to be resolved by others or remain unresolved. Useful when the conflict will resolve soon without any direct intervention or when the conflict or relationship is not worth the time investment. Leaders should be aware that avoiding conflict can weaken their role in the organization and may damage the group by leaving a problem unresolved or allowing it to be poorly resolved.

Question 11

Conflict Resolution Modes: Collaborate (or confront)

Answer 11

The leader and those in conflict accept the fact that they disagree and look for a “third way,” a new solution to the problem of the conflict. Since both sides contribute to the solution, this may be seen as “win/win” conflict resolution.Useful when the stakes are high, relationships are important, and time allows. (It does require time and strong interpersonal skills.) There is greater chance for an enduring, equitable, mutually satisfying resolution.

Question 12

Conflict Resolution Modes: Compromise

Answer 12

The leader asks those in conflict to bargain—altering positions on different issues until a mutually acceptable solution is defined. The solution relies on concessions. For this reason, it is often referred to as “lose/lose” conflict resolution. Useful for complex issues, when both sides are determined to win, and when time doesn’t allow for true problem solving. Solutions may be temporary and only partially effective, but when strong personalities are involved, it does preserve the egos of all parties.

Question 13

There are different negotiating styles, but they are commonly considered as soft, hard, or principled: SOFT

Answer 13

Soft negotiators value the relationship more than the outcome and will back down on issues in the interest of reaching agreement—even if they are no longer getting what they need.

Question 14

There are different negotiating styles, but they are commonly considered as soft, hard, or principled: HARD

Answer 14

Hard negotiators are committed to winning, even at the cost of the relationship.

Question 15

There are different negotiating styles, but they are commonly considered as soft, hard, or principled: Principled

Answer 15

Principled negotiators aim for mutual gain. They can separate people from positions and maintain focus on the issues. They identify common interests and make them a goal of the negotiation. This is referred to as interest-based or integrative bargaining. Principled negotiators are also creative: They come to the negotiation prepared with different options that may satisfy both sides.

Question 16

Edward T. Hall—high- and low-context cultures

Answer 16

Context level affects communication and relationships:
High-context culture—A statement’s meaning includes the verbal message and the nonverbals and social and historic content attached to the statement.
Low-context culture—A statement’s meaning is encoded in its words only.

Question 17

Geert Hofstede—dimensions of culture

Answer 17

Six dimensions:
Power distance—Pattern of distribution of power to culture’s members.
Individualism/collectivism—Degree to which individuals perceive themselves as members of a group.
Uncertainty avoidance—Level of tolerance of ambiguous, new, or changed situations.
Masculine/feminine.
Long-term/short-term—Long-term cultures prepare for change; short-term cultures focus on traditions and tend to resist change.
Indulgence/restraint—Gratification of individual desires.

Question 18

Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner—cultural dilemmas

Answer 18

Seven dilemmas that illustrate points of cultural tension:
Universal/particular—Flexibility versus rules.
Individual/communitarian—The good that drives decisions (the individual or society as a whole).
Neutral/affective—Expression of emotion.
Specific/diffuse—Public and private boundaries.
Achieved/ascribed—Source of merit (personal accomplishment or connection).
Sequential/synchronic—Sense of time (linear and limited or cyclical and expansive).
Internal/external—Individual control over one’s destiny.

Question 19

Hofstede’s Dimensions and Global HR: Power Distance

Answer 19

Extent to which less-powerful members of organizations and institutions accept unequal distribution of power

Question 20

Hofstede’s Dimensions and Global HR: Individualism/ collectivism

Answer 20

Degree to which individuals are integrated into groups
Individualism: Ties are loose, self-reliance valued
Collectivism: Strong, cohesive groups; protection is exchanged for loyalty to group

Question 21

Hofstede’s Dimensions and Global HR: Uncertainty avoidance

Answer 21

Level of tolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity; extent to which individuals feel comfortable in unstructured, new, or unexpected situations

Question 22

Hofstede’s Dimensions and Global HR: Masculine/ feminine

Answer 22

Masculine traits: Ambitious, tendency to polarize, oriented toward work and achievement
Feminine traits: Nurturing, empathetic, oriented toward quality of life, striving for consensus, favoring small size and slow pace

Question 23

Hofstede’s Dimensions and Global HR: Long-term/ short-term

Answer 23

Long-term orientation: Values thrift, perseverance; orders relationships by status and values

Short-term orientation: Values social traditions and fulfilling social obligations, being respected; expects

Question 24

Hofstede’s Dimensions and Global HR: Indulgence/ restraint

Answer 24

Indulgence: Enjoyment of life and freedom in gratifying desires
Restraint: Suppression of desires in order to meet social norms

Question 25

Trompenaars’s and Hampden-Turner’s Dilemmas and Global HR: Universal/ Particular

Answer 25

A universalist culture esteems consistency, clarity, and impartiality. Rules for each case ensure fairness.

A particularist culture is flexible, pragmatic, and comfortable with ambiguity. It considers the case and its context first and will make exceptions; fairness is achieved by considering many factors and relationships.

Question 26

Trompenaars’s and Hampden-Turner’s Dilemmas and Global HR: Individual/ Communitarian (collectivist)

Answer 26

To an individualist, a good society is one in which there is freedom and opportunity to advance oneself.

To a communitarian, a good society is achieved when we all take care of each other, even if this means loss of personal freedom or opportunity.

Question 27

Trompenaars’s and Hampden-Turner’s Dilemmas and Global HR: Neutral/ Affective

Answer 27

A neutral society disapproves of public expressions of emotion.

In affective cultures, individuals express emotions freely

Question 28

Trompenaars’s and Hampden-Turner’s Dilemmas and Global HR: Specific/ Diffuse

Answer 28

People in specific cultures have open public lives but a strong boundary between public and private lives.
People in diffuse cultures allow access to
People in specific cultures have open public lives but a strong boundary between public and private lives.

People in diffuse cultures allow access to their public lives only through introduction by a trusted associate, but when access is granted, it includes access to the person’s private life

Question 29

Trompenaars’s and Hampden-Turner’s Dilemmas and Global HR: Achieved/ Ascribed

Answer 29

In an achieved culture, individuals are valued according to their own accomplishments (what they do).

In an ascribed culture, value may be derived from social factors, like position, wealth, family, or gender (who they are).

Question 30

Trompenaars’s and Hampden-Turner’s Dilemmas and Global HR: Sequential/ Synchronic

Answer 30

Sequential cultures see time as linear and an important part of life. Planning, keeping appointments, and making productive use of time are important. The future is more important than the past.

Synchronic cultures see time as large enough to accommodate multiple activities at the same time. They can also accommodate delays if a change is necessary to support a relationship. The past and the present are just as important or more important than the future.

Question 31

Trompenaars’s and Hampden-Turner’s Dilemmas and Global HR: Internal/ External

Answer 31

In an internal world, individuals can decide and follow their own paths. One can dominate nature.

In an external world, human beings are part of a larger scheme that directs the course of events. Individuals can only adapt, not create. They must submit to nature. Zeynep Aycan (2005) refers to this dimension as “fatalism.”

Question 32

What are the three main types of world legal systems?

Answer 32

Civil, common, religious

Question 33

Which system of law is the most prevalent in the world?

Answer 33

Civil law

Question 34

Which world legal system is based primarily on legal precedent?

Answer 34

Common law

Question 35

What is the term for the concept that laws are to be enforced only through accepted, codified procedures?

Answer 35

Due process

Question 36

What is extraterritoriality?

Answer 36

An extension of the power of a country’s laws over its citizens outside that country’s sovereign national boundaries

Question 37

How are the concepts of value and the value chain related to strategy?

Answer 37

Value chain analysis identifies areas critical to strategic success.

Question 38

What is the key benefit of developing consistent, long-term goals?

Answer 38

It reduces resources wasted on nonstrategic activities.

Question 39

Mind mapping and affinity diagramming.

Answer 39

Mind mapping begins the discussion with core ideas. The group members add related ideas and indicate logical connections, eventually grouping similar ideas. This can be done on paper or a whiteboard or with sticky notes. Affinity diagramming is a way of sorting a large amount of data that has already been collected. The group categorizes and subcategorizes data until relationships are clearly drawn.

Question 40

Ratio analysis

Answer 40

commonly refers to using relationships between data in financial statements to measure the financial health of an organization (e.g., the current ratio, which is assets divided by liabilities).

Question 41

What is an advantage of the nominal group technique in conducting research?

Answer 41

It involves research participants in prioritizing data.

Question 42

An HR manager wants to detect a correlation between possession of a certain type of degree and job performance ratings. What type of analysis would help?

Answer 42

Regression analysis