Human Relations: Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills, 12e (DuBrin)
Chapter 13 Positive Political Skills
13.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Sarah has good sensitivity to her surroundings, so she is unlikely to
A) order a glass of white wine when her friends order red.
B) smile at a grouchy customer.
C) drive a Honda to the Ford credit office where she works.
D) wear two-inch heels to the Toyota credit office where she works.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
2) You can tell that Janis has good social intelligence because she
A) understands that good relationships give her energy.
B) thinks people can be manipulated when they are needy.
C) is only hostile toward people she perceives to be stupid.
D) thinks being arrogant toward others helps them think more clearly.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
3) You can tell that Ralph has good social intelligence because he
A) tells great jokes during business meetings.
B) believes that a friendly atmosphere lowers productivity.
C) gives constructive criticism instead of angry attacks.
D) gives angry attacks toward lazy coworkers.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
4) Baxter has good political skills, so in terms of working with his manager, he is likely to
A) volunteer to develop a leader-member exchange.
B) avoid developing a leader-member exchange.
C) develop a low quality leader-member exchange.
D) develop a high quality leader-member exchange.
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5) Research evidence suggests that organizational citizenship behavior benefits
A) mostly the individual.
B) both the individual and the organization.
C) mostly the organization.
D) neither the individual nor the organization.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
6) An effective way to avoid being perceived as a yes-person is to
A) occasionally express constructive disagreement with the boss.
B) explain to coworkers why you want to be a yes-person.
C) from time to time, post negative comments about the boss on Web sites.
D) circulate jokes about the weaknesses of the boss.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
7) Jody is emotionally fit, so she is likely to
A) have difficulty controlling her weight.
B) be a high maintenance person.
C) be quite hostile toward people she dislikes.
D) appear relaxed and friendly at meetings.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
8) A study showed that impression management was most likely to be effective when the person
managing his or her impression
A) had good political skill.
B) had poor political skill.
C) was highly introverted.
D) was emotionally unstable.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9) When introducing people of different rank, proper etiquette is to
A) introduce both by first name only.
B) state the name of the youngest first.
C) state the name of the person of lower rank first.
D) state the name of the person of higher rank first.
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10) Emily and Derek both work in the same bank. While at the bank, they head toward a long
flight of stairs. Proper etiquette is for
A) Emily and Derek to hold hands going down the stairs.
B) Derek to ask, “Whose turn is it to go down stairs first?”
C) Derek to go down the stairs in front of Emily.
D) Emily to go down the stairs in front of Derek.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
11) A useful principle to keep in mind in terms of cross-cultural etiquette is to
A) give loads of smiles and hugs, and all will be fine.
B) be careful not to violate the customs of another culture.
C) recognize that the rules for being polite are the same in most cultures.
D) usually follow the etiquette rules of your own culture.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
12) Which of the following behaviors might be considered poor etiquette while interacting with a
disabled person?
A) Assuming that a person with a physical disability needs help.
B) Waving your hand to capture the attention of a deaf person.
C) Placing yourself at the eye level of a wheel-chair user.
D) Speaking directly to a person with a disability, not to the person’s companion.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
13) In terms of networking with influential people, a key suggestion is to
A) brag about your other important network members.
B) keep in touch even if you have nothing important to contribute.
C) think of a sensible reason to contact them.
D) suggest that you are willing to be a humble servant.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
14) A benefit statement for the purpose of networking explains how the proposed relationship
A) will benefit the other person.
B) will benefit you.
C) will benefit the organization.
D) should be part of the company benefits package.
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15) Sue wants to conform to her manager’s work style, so she should
A) ask her manager to change his or her style to match hers.
B) learn to complement the manager’s style.
C) match her work style to her manager’s preferences and needs.
D) minimize in-person discussions with the boss.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
16) Max, an inventory control specialist, has most likely broken through an unwritten boundary
when he
A) attends the company picnic in jeans and a tank top.
B) invites the CEO to visit his cubicle and discuss company goals.
C) invites another inventory control specialist to dinner.
D) sends the tech center a request for help.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) For flattery to work effectively, it is important to
A) use it sparingly.
B) combine it with a sprinkling of criticism.
C) include an element of credibility.
D) tell the other person you will be using flattery.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
18) Admitting your mistakes is a useful political tactic because
A) admitting mistakes is a frequent corporate policy.
B) workers are expected to make their fair share of mistakes.
C) perfect people are not considered to be eligible for promotion.
D) it shows you are honest enough to take responsibility for a negative event.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
19) Laughing at your boss’s humor tends to be an effective political tactic because
A) kissing up is a standard part of most jobs.
B) most managers are emotionally insecure.
C) the shared laughter helps build rapport.
D) a boss who laughs gives generous salary increases.
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20) A recommended method of expressing constructive disagreement is to
A) send an anonymous letter to your boss explaining your position.
B) use carefully worded, inoffensive statements.
C) express the disagreement during a staff meeting.
D) joke about your boss’s limited understanding of the problem.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
21) Long-term research conducted by the Gallup Organization suggests that friendships on the
job
A) lead to many complaints of sexual harassment.
B) tend to enhance productivity.
C) tend to lower productivity.
D) create so many cliques that morale is likely to suffer.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
22) A key characteristic of positive gossip for relationship building is that it
A) does not identify the people involved in the gossip scenario.
B) does not involve company personnel.
C) focuses on the social life of key personnel.
D) does not attack others.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
23) Office manager Carlos is introducing his department members to a visiting executive from
the home office. Carlos says to the executive, “I would like you to meet the members of my
outstanding team.” Carlos commits a microinequity when he
A) introduces the team in alphabetical order, and Ziggy Zigfried is introduced last.
B) introduces the team in reverse alphabetical order, and Alice Adams is introduced last.
C) neglects to introduce Megan, one of the team members.
D) asks the team members to introduce themselves to the executive.
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24) Diana, a resident in heart surgery, brings her complaint directly to the top administrator of
the hospital. She is committing the political blunder called
A) criticizing the boss in a public forum.
B) being a pest.
C) burning your bridges.
D) bypassing the boss.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
25) A key political blunder in most organizations is to be perceived as a
A) strong team player.
B) poor team player.
C) person who rarely complains.
D) strongly loyal employee.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
Job Scenario, Multiple-Choice
Steve is the cafeteria manager, the company headquarters of a major financial services firm
located in Texas. He is well prepared and well experienced for his role as cafeteria manager, and
aspires toward other positions in the company. Steve says, “Some people think I have reached
my ceiling as cafeteria manager. I don’t think so. I can see myself someday taking on other
responsibilities, including become the facilities manager. If I continue to run an outstanding
cafeteria and make the right connections, I can move up.”
26) Today the company is having a board meeting, and Steve, along with his staff, has been
asked to prepare a special luncheon to be served in a conference room. All of top management
will be attending. To gain political advantage in this situation, what do you recommend that
Steve do?
A) Go beyond the call of duty, and prepare an elegant meal that does not reflect imprudent
spending. If Steve is complimented, he will share credit with his staff.
B) Prepare a 30-second speech about his capabilities, which he will present to any executive with
whom he interacts.
C) Maintain a low profile, but leave a card at each plate setting with his Twitter and Facebook
addresses.
D) While the meal is being served, inform the members present that he has ambitions beyond the
role of cafeteria manager.
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27) Today Steve is meeting with Clarissa, the manager of human resources, to discuss plans for
expanding the cafeteria staff. Steve has heard that at his company, getting along well with
coworkers is a key criterion for being promoted. Steve regards Clarissa as a coworker, but they
have had only two brief contacts because Clarissa is relatively new to the company. What might
Steve do to best develop a good relationship today in their meeting in her office?
A) Flatter Clarissa by telling her that he has heard she is one of the most outstanding human
resource managers in the southern United States.
B) Suggest to Clarissa that he is willing to help her with some of her toughest tasks, because he
has great natural talents in dealing with people.
C) Explain to Clarissa that he understands how important her role is in the organization, and that
without the right people, a business firm is destined to fail.
D) Brag about his skill in managing people, and how he sees his job as a stepping stone to bigger
responsibility.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
13.2 True/False Questions
1) Political tactics power control and influence.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
2) Sam is a kindly middle manager who is an excellent coach for younger employees. He
believes that developing others is much more important than advancing his own career. Sam
would most likely achieve a top score on the Organizational Politics Questionnaire.
AACSB: Analytical thinking
3) Political skill and emotional intelligence are negatively related to each other because you need
to be emotionally insensitive to influence other people.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
4) According to the idea of social intelligence, good personal relationships act like vitamins,
giving us the energy to perform well.
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5) People with good political skills tend to develop poor leader-member exchanges, because
most managers dislike subordinates who use organizational politics.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
6) Billy is skilled at impression management, so he expresses constructive disagreement when he
thinks his boss is making a major error.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
7) Displaying organizational citizenship behavior is too transparent to help most people create a
good impression.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
8) An important result of impression management is that a person attains higher visibility in the
organization.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
9) A modern view of life in organizations suggests that being a yes-person too often can create a
poor impression with a person’s manager.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
10) Baxter displays emotional fitness on the job when he falls asleep for a few moments, yet
keeps his eyes open.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
11) You are taking the marketing vice president, Miguel Ortiz, on a tour of the office. You run
into office assistant, Ann Osaka, and you decide to introduce the two people. You are following
proper etiquette when you say, “Ann, I would like you to meet our new marketing vice president,
Miguel Ortiz.”
AACSB: Application of knowledge
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12) In an office setting, when two coworkers are walking up the stairs, the man should precede
(walk in front of) the woman going up the stairs.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
13) Margot, a bookkeeper, works in a cubicle, so she does not have to worry about business
etiquette so long as she stays in her cubicle.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
14) Sandra, an American worker, is sent on an overseas assignment to London. To practice good
cross-cultural etiquette, she should say something like this to her English work associates, “I am
proud to be an American, so when I am here I will practice American etiquette.”
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
15) Nancy conforms to her manager’s work style when she relies heavily on texting to
communicate with her manager, because her manager prefers texting to e-mail or phone calls.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
16) Clancy, a purchasing assistant, asks the CEO to go to a movie with him, so Clancy probably
does not have a clear understanding of unwritten boundaries.
AACSB: Application of knowledge
17) One reason flattering others is an important tactic for career advancement is that it helps
build constructive relationships with superiors.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
18) One reason that appearing cool under pressure is an effective political tactic is because it
shows that the person is capable of handling additional responsibility.
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19) The idea behind the tactic of expressing constructive disagreement is to be a yes-person with
your boss in a meeting, but later send a memo describing your disagreement.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
20) Making coworkers feel unimportant helps build relationships with them because you assert
your superiority.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
21) Asking coworkers for advice tends to weaken coworker relationships, because the person
who asks for advice will usually be perceived as a pest.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
22) Nursing supervisor Sasha says to a group of doctors during a staff meeting, “The nurses in
my department of some of the finest, most dedicated women you will find in our healthcare
system.” A male nurse in the department feels hurt because only the women were mentioned.
Sasha has committed a microinequity.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
23) Kevin follows group norms carefully, and as a result he improves his chances of building
good relationships with coworkers.
AACSB: Interpersonal relations and teamwork
24) A recommended way to handle a dispute with one’s manager is to quickly threaten to bring
the problem to the attention of the manager’s boss.
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25) Being a poor team player, or being perceived as one, is usually a serious political blunder.
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