The Art of Leadership, 6e (Manning)
Chapter 14 Effective Delegation and How to Assign Work
1) ________ said, “Develop your people to do their jobs better than you can. Transfer your skills to
them. This is exciting but it can be threatening to a manager who worries that he is training his
replacement. Smart managers like to see their employees increase their responsibilities because it
frees the managers to tackle new or undone tasks.”
A) Martha Stewart
B) Michael Eisner
C) Mary Kay
D) Bill Gates
E) Ted Turner
2) Which of the following is most likely the meaning of the statement: “Who would pick someone
who smells like fish and mud? Who would pick an unpopular tax collector? Who would pick
leaders from filthy wharves and toil-filled fields? But He did, and together they changed the
world”?
A) Effective leadership involves seeing qualities in others unknown to themselves and treating
others in a way that brings out their best.
B) Every field needs leadership.
C) Leaders don’t need formal education.
D) Leadership is a mystery.
E) None of these
3) The life span of most businesses is ________. It takes successors only half a working generation
to put the company out of business most likely because of lack of ________.
A) two years; money
B) one and a half generations; delegation
C) seven generations; plant and equipment
D) one hundred years; systems and procedures
4) Two ways of exerting leadership strength are ________ and ________.
A) pushing down through intimidation; pulling up through delegation
B) opening doors; closing loopholes
C) starting things; stopping things
D) asking others; telling others
E) role-playing; theorizing
5) Which of the following is a reason why leaders fail to delegate?
A) Lack of knowledge
B) Lack of respect
C) Lack of trust
D) Insecurity
E) All of these
6) According to the steps for effective delegation, identify the immediate next step after selecting a
suitable person for the required task.
A) Defining the task
B) Gaining the person’s views
C) Giving authority and resources to perform the task
D) Rewarding the person
7) The opportunity to move from blue-collar to white-collar jobs is ________ common in the U.S.
workplace than in the rest of the world.
A) less
B) more
8) When a job transition is not made successfully, the result is the overpromotion syndrome
popularized by author ________.
A) Robert Townsend
B) Peter Drucker
C) Saul Gellerman
D) Rensis Likert
E) Lawrence Peter
9) Which of the following is one of the best ways to make a successful vital shift?
A) To use the new-job tryout
B) To use the lost cause test
C) To use a reverse movement
D) To use an upside down pyramid
E) None of these
10) Leaders should delegate ________ tasks so that a subordinate can see a project or assignment
through to completion, and they should allow time to get jobs done.
A) whole
B) partial
C) fun
D) boring
11) Identify a rule for effective delegation.
A) Don’t delegate the bad jobs, saving the good ones for yourself.
B) Use delegation as a development tool.
C) Learn to live with work styles that are not like your own.
D) Insist on clear communication.
E) All of these
12) Identify a proven principle for assigning work effectively.
A) Know exactly what you want to communicate before giving an order.
B) Ask rather than tell, but leave no doubt that you expect compliance.
C) Make assignments in a logical sequence, using clear and concise language.
D) Take responsibility for the orders you give.
E) All of these
13) Which of the following is a proven principle for assigning work effectively?
A) Consider the availability of the employee’s time and whether this is the ideal person to do the
job.
B) Use the correct language for the employee’s training level.
C) Be considerate but never apologetic when asking someone to do a job.
D) Give people the opportunity to ask questions and express opinions.
E) All of these
14) When delegating work, which of the following sets of the three D’s should you follow for all
work?
A) Delegate it, do it, or deploy it.
B) Do it, delegate it, or ditch it.
C) Distribute it, do it, or destroy it.
D) Diminish it, delegate it, or do it.
15) The “Peter Principle” refers to
A) the shop floor exhaustion syndrome.
B) the tendency of organizations to promote individuals to their level of incompetence.
C) the tendency of individuals to take on more work than they can perform.
D) the principle of vertical versus horizontal organizational structure.
16) According to John Holland’s model of personality and occupational types, which of the
following statements is most likely true of realistic people?
A) They like to work with other people and are concerned with their welfare.
B) They like working outdoors and working with their hands.
C) They tend to be analytical, reserved, and scholarly.
D) They tend to be helpful, caring, and empathetic.
17) According to John Holland’s model of personality and occupational types, which of the
following statements is most likely true of investigative people?
A) They like to work with other people and are concerned with their welfare.
B) They thrive in social settings that offer opportunities for casual conversations.
C) They are detail-oriented and prefer working alone.
D) They tend to be helpful, caring, and empathetic.
18) According to John Holland’s model of personality and occupational types, identify a typical
high-stress activity for artistic individuals.
A) Expressing nonconforming ideas
B) Performing maintenance and repairs
C) Making a speech
D) Following rules and regulations
19) Which of the following should a leader do when assigning work effectively?
A) Be considerate but not apologetic.
B) Make assignments in a logical manner.
C) Use work assignments as a means of developing people.
D) Give people the opportunity to ask questions and express opinions.
E) All of these
20) According to John Holland’s model of personality and occupational types, social people are
most likely described as ________.
A) tactful
B) adventurous
C) ambitious
D) creative
21) According to John Holland’s model of personality and occupational types, enterprising people
________.
A) are most likely to avoid parties
B) prefer routine and detail work
C) are most likely to become tax experts or bankers
D) enjoy leading, speaking, and convincing others
22) According to John Holland’s model of personality and occupational types, who among the
following prefers highly ordered activities that characterize detail work and have little interest in
artistic or physical skills?
A) Conventional people
B) Realistic people
C) Enterprising people
D) Investigative people
23) Which of the following statements is most likely true about middle managers in organizations?
A) They officially represent the organization in the external environment.
B) They are responsible for implementing the policies and plans developed by top management.
C) They establish the organization’s goals and overall strategy.
D) They are primarily responsible for supervising and coordinating the activities of operating
employees.
24) Which of the following statements is most likely true about frontline managers in
organizations?
A) They supervise and coordinate the activities of operating employees.
B) They officially represent the organization in the external environment.
C) They are responsible for implementing the policies and plans developed by top management.
D) They establish the organization’s operating policy.
25) Which of the following statements is most likely true of technical skill?
A) It refers to having knowledge about and being able to work with concepts and ideas.
B) It refers to having knowledge about and being proficient in a specific type of work or activity.
C) It becomes more important than conceptual skill as one rises higher in an organization.
D) It includes the ability to motivate, coordinate, and advise other people, either as individuals or
as a work group.
26) Identify an essential element of relational expertise.
A) Weighing of ethical considerations in customer relations
B) Strategic decision making
C) Abstract thinking
D) Sensitivity in human relations
27) Which of the following statements is most likely true of conceptual skill?
A) It primarily includes detailed job knowledge and hands-on expertise.
B) It is most important for first-level management.
C) It includes the ability to think abstractly.
D) It is primarily characterized by a willingness to help others.
28) In the context of management processes or functions, the organizing (O) function ________.
A) focuses on tracking progress against plans and making corrections
B) entails supervising, facilitating, coaching, and developing people
C) includes determining strategies to succeed and making policy decisions
D) involves aligning structure, people, and resources to achieve goals
29) When exerting leadership strength, pushing down through intimidation is infinitely more
effective than pulling up through delegation.
30) Great companies do not hire people and motivate them; they hire already motivated people and
then inspire and support them.
31) Top managers typically spend a large proportion of their time coordinating, facilitating, and
supporting the work of subordinates.
32) Conceptual skills become more important than technical skills as individuals move from
first-level manager, to mid-level manager, to top-level manager.
33) Relational skills are important throughout one’s career at every level of management.
34) The controlling (C) function of management primarily entails supervising, facilitating,
coaching, and developing people.
35) According to Laurence J. Peter, the overpromotion syndrome results in enhancing employee
morale and productivity.
36) In the new-job tryout, employee pride is easily preserved because the job is considered a
two-way tryout.
37) Shadowing allows an existing employee to actually work at a different type of job or level of
responsibility for an interim period of time to see if the work is agreeable and can be performed
effectively.
Match the items below with their descriptions:
A) equally important at all levels of management
B) important leadership skill
C) one of the most important skills of the successful leader
D) rules for effective delegation
E) successful leader
F) proven principles for assigning work effectively
G) overpromotion syndrome
38) delegation
39) Peter principle
40) relational skill
41) Bill Gates
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42) assigning work effectively
43) don’t delegate the bad jobs, saving the good ones for yourself; use delegation as a development
tool; delegate work fairly among all employees; insist on clear communication; learn to live with
work styles that are not like your own
44) know exactly what you want to communicate before giving an order; ask rather than tell, but
leave no doubt that you expect compliance; be considerate but never apologetic when asking
someone to do a job; take responsibility for the orders you give; give people the opportunity to ask
questions and express opinions; follow up to make sure assignments are being carried out properly