84.
With regard to the managerial function of controlling in an organization that has a
conservative culture, managers ________.
A.
recognize that there are multiple potential paths to success and that failure must be
accepted for creativity to thrive
B.
are less concerned about employees’ performing their jobs in a specific, predetermined
manner
C.
are concerned about employees’ being flexible and taking the initiative to come up with
ideas for improving performance
D.
set specific, difficult goals for employees, frequently monitor progress toward these
goals, and develop a clear set of rules that employees are expected to adhere to
E.
encourage risk taking, creativity, and innovation
Managers who want to encourage risk taking, creativity, and innovation recognize that
there are multiple potential paths to success and that failure must be accepted for
creativity to thrive. Thus they are less concerned about employees’ performing their jobs in
85.
With regard to controlling in an organization, which of the following aptly describes the
difference between the managers in an innovative culture and those in a conservative
culture?
A.
Managers in an innovative culture recognize the necessity of flexibility, whereas
managers in a conservative culture have a clear, definite set of goals and rules.
B.
Managers in a conservative culture encourage risk taking and creativity, whereas
managers in an innovative culture emphasize formality and caution.
C.
Managers in an innovative culture require the employees to strictly adhere to preset
goals, whereas managers in a conservative culture do not.
D.
Managers in a conservative culture are concerned about long-term performance,
whereas managers in an innovative culture are concerned about short-term targets.
E.
Managers in an innovative culture expect their employees to perform in a specific,
predetermined manner, whereas managers in a conservative culture do not.
Managers in innovative cultures are also more concerned about long-term performance
than short-term targets because they recognize that real innovation entails much
uncertainty that necessitates flexibility. In contrast, managers in cultures that emphasize
caution and maintenance of the status quo often set specific, difficult goals for employees,
frequently monitor progress toward these goals, and develop a clear set of rules that
employees are expected to adhere to.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-05 Define organizational culture, and explain how managers both create and are influenced by
organizational culture.
Topic: Organizational Culture
Essay Questions
86.
Define personality traits. What are the Big Five personality traits?
“Personality traits” refers to the enduring tendencies to feel, think, and act in certain ways.
The Big Five personality traits are extraversion, negative affectivity, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, and openness to experience.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 02-01 Describe the various personality traits that affect how managers think; feel; and behave.
Topic: Big Five Personality Dimensions
87.
Discuss extraversion. How does it affect managers’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?
Extraversion is the tendency to experience positive emotions and moods and feel good
about oneself and the rest of the world.
Managers who are high on extraversion (extraverts) tend to be sociable, affectionate,
outgoing, and friendly. Managers who are low on extraversion (introverts) tend to be less
inclined toward social interactions and to have a less positive outlook. Being high on
extraversion may be an asset for managers whose jobs entail especially high levels of
social interaction. Managers who are low on extraversion may nevertheless be highly
effective and efficient, especially when their jobs do not require much social interaction.
88.
Distinguish between internal and external locus of control.
People with an internal locus of control believe they themselves are responsible for their
own fate; they see their own actions and behaviors as being major and decisive
determinants of important outcomes such as attaining levels of job performance, being
promoted, or being turned down for a choice job assignment. People with an internal locus
of control feel accountable and responsible for their own actions.
People with an external locus of control believe that outside forces are responsible for
what happens to and around them; they do not think their own actions make much of a
difference. People with an external locus of control tend not to intervene to try to change a
situation or solve a problem and leave it to someone else.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-01 Describe the various personality traits that affect how managers think; feel; and behave.
Topic: External Locus of Control
Topic: Internal Locus of Control
89.
Define the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power that affect managerial behavior.
Psychologist David McClelland has extensively researched the needs for achievement,
affiliation, and power.
• The need for achievement is the extent to which an individual has a strong desire to
perform challenging tasks well and to meet personal standards for excellence. People with
a high need for achievement often set clear goals for themselves and like to receive
performance feedback.
• The need for affiliation is the extent to which an individual is concerned about
establishing and maintaining good interpersonal relations, being liked, and having the
people around him or her get along with one another.
• The need for power is the extent to which an individual desires to control or influence
others.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-01 Describe the various personality traits that affect how managers think; feel; and behave.
Topic: Need for Achievement
Topic: Need for Affiliation
Topic: Need for Power
90.
What are the two types of personal values? Explain.
The two kinds of personal values are terminal and instrumental. A terminal value is a
personal conviction about lifelong goals or objectives; an instrumental value is a personal
conviction about desired modes of conduct or ways of behaving. Terminal values often
lead to the formation of norms. The terminal and instrumental values that are guiding
principles in an individual’s life, known as the value systems, explain what people are
striving to achieve in life and how they want to behave.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 02-02 Explain what values and attitudes are, and describe their impact on managerial action.
Topic: Values
91.
Define job satisfaction and discuss why it is so important for managers to be satisfied with
their jobs.
Job satisfaction is the collection of feelings and beliefs that managers have about their
current jobs. Managers who have high levels of job satisfaction generally like their jobs,
feel they are fairly treated, and believe their jobs have many desirable features or
characteristics. Levels of job satisfaction tend to increase as one moves up the hierarchy
in an organization. Upper managers, in general, tend to be more satisfied with their jobs
than entry-level employees. Managers’ levels of job satisfaction can range from very low
to very high. In general, it is desirable for managers to be satisfied with their jobs, for at
least two reasons. First, satisfied managers may be more likely to go the extra mile for
their organization or perform organizational citizenship behaviors—behaviors that are not
required of organizational members but that contribute to and are necessary for
organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and competitive advantage. A second reason why
it is desirable for managers to be satisfied with their jobs is that satisfied managers may
be less likely to quit.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-02 Explain what values and attitudes are, and describe their impact on managerial action.
Topic: Values
92.
Discuss organizational commitment and its relationship to organizational culture.
Organizational commitment is the collection of feelings and beliefs that managers have
about their organization as a whole. Managers who are committed to their organizations
believe in what their organizations are doing, are proud of what these organizations stand
for, and feel a high degree of loyalty toward their organizations. Committed managers are
more likely to go above and beyond the call of duty to help their companies and are less
likely to quit. Organizational commitment can be especially strong when employees and
managers truly believe in organizational values; it also leads to a strong organizational
culture.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-02 Explain what values and attitudes are, and describe their impact on managerial action.
Topic: Values
93.
Differentiate between moods and emotions. How do moods and emotions affect the
organization?
A mood is a feeling or state of mind. Emotions are more intense feelings than moods, are
often directly linked to whatever caused the emotion, and are more short-lived.
Research has found that moods and emotions affect the behavior of managers and all
members of an organization. For example, research suggests that the subordinates of
managers who experience positive moods at work may perform at somewhat higher levels
and be less likely to resign and leave the organization than the subordinates of managers
who do not tend to be in a positive mood at work. Other research suggests that under
certain conditions creativity might be enhanced by positive moods, whereas under other
conditions negative moods might push people to work harder to come up with truly
creative ideas. Recognizing that both mood states have the potential to contribute to
creativity in different ways, recent research suggests that employees may be especially
likely to be creative to the extent that they experience both mood states (at different
94.
Define the concept of emotional intelligence. How does having emotional intelligence help
managers?
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand one’s own moods and emotions and the
moods and emotions of other people. Managers with a high level of emotional intelligence
are more likely to understand how they are feeling and why, and they are more able to
effectively manage their feelings. When managers are experiencing stressful feelings and
emotions such as fear or anxiety, emotional intelligence lets them understand why and
manage these feelings so they do not get in the way of effective decision making. It also
can help managers perform their important roles such as their interpersonal roles
(figurehead, leader, and liaison).
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-04 Describe the nature of emotional intelligence and its role in management.
Topic: Emotional Intelligence
95.
What is organizational culture?
Organizational culture comprises the shared set of beliefs, expectations, values, norms,
and work routines that influence how members of an organization relate to one another
and work together to achieve organizational goals. In essence, organizational culture
reflects the distinctive ways in which organizational members perform their jobs and relate
to others inside and outside the organization. When organizational members share an
intense commitment to cultural values, beliefs, and routines and use them to achieve their
goals, a strong organizational culture exists. When organizational members are not
strongly committed to a shared system of values, beliefs, and routines, organizational
culture is weak.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-05 Define organizational culture, and explain how managers both create and are influenced by
organizational culture.
Topic: Organizational Culture
96.
Explain the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) framework. How does it help explain the
formation of organizational cultures?
The attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) framework posits that when founders hire
employees for their new ventures, they tend to be attracted to and choose employees
whose personalities are similar to their own. These similar employees are more likely to
stay with the organization. Although employees who are dissimilar in personality might be
hired, they are more likely to leave the organization over time. As a result of these
attraction, selection, and attrition processes, people in the organization tend to have
similar personalities, and the typical or dominant personality profile of organizational
members determines and shapes organizational culture.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-05 Define organizational culture, and explain how managers both create and are influenced by
organizational culture.
Topic: Organizational Culture
97.
Differentiate between terminal and instrumental values. How do they contribute to the
organizational culture?
Shared terminal and instrumental values play a particularly important role in organizational
culture. Terminal values signify what an organization and its employees are trying to
accomplish, and instrumental values guide how the organization and its members achieve
organizational goals. In addition to values, shared norms also are a key aspect of
organizational culture. Managers determine and shape organizational culture through the
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-05 Define organizational culture, and explain how managers both create and are influenced by
organizational culture.
Topic: Organizational Culture
98.
What is socialization? How does it help an organization?
Organizational socialization is the process by which newcomers learn an organization’s
values and norms and acquire the work behaviors necessary to perform jobs effectively.
As a result of their socialization experiences, organizational members internalize an
organization’s values and norms and behave in accordance with them not only because
they think they have to but because they think these values and norms describe the right
and proper way to behave.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 02-05 Define organizational culture, and explain how managers both create and are influenced by
organizational culture.
Topic: Organizational Culture
99.
Explain what organizational rites are. What are the different types? Give one example of
each.
Rites are formal events that recognize incidents of importance to the organization and its
employees.
The most common rites that organizations use to transmit cultural norms and values to
their members are rites of passage, of integration, and of enhancement.
• Rites of passage determine how individuals enter, advance within, and leave the
organization. The socialization programs developed by military organizations (such as the
U.S. Army) or by large accountancy and law firms are rites of passage.
• Rites of integration, such as shared announcements of organizational successes, office
parties, and company cookouts, build and reinforce common bonds among organizational
members. IDEO uses many rites of integration to make its employees feel connected to
one another and special. In addition to having wild “end–of-year” celebratory bashes,
groups of IDEO employees periodically take time off to go to a sporting event, movie, or
meal, or sometimes on a long bike ride or for a sail. These kinds of shared activities not
only reinforce IDEO’s culture but also can be a source of inspiration on the job.
100.
Explain how culture influences the way managers perform their four main functions:
planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Organizational culture shapes and controls the behavior of all employees, including
managers. Culture influences how managers perform their four main functions: planning,
organizing, leading, and controlling.
Planning – Top managers in an organization with an innovative culture are likely to
adherence to preset goals and more concerned about employees’ being flexible and taking
the initiative to come up with ideas for improving performance. Managers in innovative
cultures are also more concerned about long-term performance than short-term targets
because they recognize that real innovation entails much uncertainty that necessitates
flexibility. In contrast, managers in cultures that emphasize caution and maintenance of
the status quo often set specific, difficult goals for employees, frequently monitor progress
toward these goals, and develop a clear set of rules that employees are expected to
adhere to.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 02-05 Define organizational culture, and explain how managers both create and are influenced by
organizational culture.
Topic: Organizational Culture