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C. define the steps necessary to complete the assigned tasks and monitor her
performance frequently
D. let her know about the lack of follow-through and give her more time to improve her
performance
48. A leader who emphasizes communication with followers in both achieving goals as
well as meeting social needs would best be described as possessing ______.
A. directing style
B. delegating style
C. supporting style
D. coaching style
49. Allowing a group of employees to run the daily operations of the organization while
the supervisor remains out of the picture unless he is needed to solve problems, listen
to concerns, give praise, and provide feedback is best explained with ______.
A. directing style
B. delegating approach
C. supporting approach
D. coaching approach
50. Once a group has established a plan of action toward achieving its goals, the
supervisor allows the group to carry out the plan with little to no involvement. This is an
example of ______.
A. directing style
B. delegating approach
C. supporting approach
D. coaching approach
51. Leaders adjust their styles based on ______.
A. the collective needs of the group
B. their own skill sets
C. followers skill sets
D. the level of motivation and competency of their followers
52. Leaders evaluate the competence and commitment of followers in which leadership
theory?
A. path-goal
B. leader-member exchange
C. servant
D. situational
53. A highly committed follower who does his job consistently well needs which type of
leader?
A. supportive
B. directive
C. coaching
D. delegating
54. A follower with low-level motivation and mid-to-high level ability to complete the job
benefits from ______.
A. a leader who provides a high level of support
B. a leader who directs tasks carefully
C. a leader who stays out of the day-to-day tasks
D. a leader who is both a cheerleader and authoritarian
55. The highly committed follower who just has not figured out how to do his job benefits
from ______.
A. a leader who provides a high level of support
B. a leader who directs tasks carefully
C. a leader who stays out of the day-to-day tasks and provides low levels of support
D. a leader who is both a cheerleader and authoritarian
56. A leader applying the situational approach would ______.
A. focus on developing leader skills
B. focus on adapting behavior to the subordinate and task characteristics of followers
C. focus on supportive behaviors for all followers
D. focus on assessing and adapting to followers’ needs in the workplace
57. When the leader tries to apply the right style of behavior to the situation he or she
______.
A. first diagnoses, then adjusts appropriately
B. first adjusts, then evaluates the situation
C. first diagnoses, then delegates tasks
D. first adjusts, then provides direction
58. Jocelyn is struggling to grasp the process of a new job you have given her. She
states she understands the outcome of the project, but not how to start the project. She
looks miserable and uninterested in trying to start the project. Which alternative
represents the most effective leadership style you should use with Jocelyn?
A. discuss the initial steps and ask her for input on alternative ways she could get
started
B. specify what she must do to complete the tasks and let her get started
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C. define the steps necessary to complete the assigned tasks and monitor her
performance frequently
D. let her know she just needs to get started now
59. You are the leader of a group project for a class in which you previously have
successfully used coaching style. Now the group members seem very insecure about
whether they can complete the project, but it is apparent that they have learned a lot
about how to do the project and are now quite competent to do a good job. You decide
to switch to a supporting style. Why did you make this switch?
A. the followers moved up in competence
B. supportive behaviors always help followers
C. the followers’ competence and commitment are about equal
D. the followers have moderate level of commitment
60. I prefer to use a low level of supportive leader behaviors and high directive
behaviors with all of my followers. Which of my followers will benefit most from my use
of these behaviors?
A. D1
B. D2
C. D3
D. D4
61. I tend to tell my staff what to do and how to do it while I encourage them and ask
them for input about the goals of our organization. Which of my followers will benefit
most from my use of these behaviors?
A. D1
B. D2
C. D3
D. D4
62. I prefer to tell my staff what to do and rarely integrate them in the decision-making
process. Which of my followers will benefit most from my use of these behaviors?
A. D1
B. D2
C. D3
D. D4
63. Situational approach to leadership ______.
A. clearly describes how a follower’s age impacts a leader’s style decisions
B. emphasizes cultural competence for leaders across all situations
C. does not account for gender in leader–follower prescriptions
D. does not consider followers’ skill levels
64. Which of the following is a criticism of situational approach?
A. It does not address how commitment and competence integrate into development
levels.
B. It is used in training and development programs.
C. It has prescriptive value for leaders.
D. It is highly flexible in nature.
65. In situational leadership ______.
A. leaders find their personal best style and apply it to all followers
B. leaders adapt their behaviors to meet the organization’s needs
C. leaders match their styles to the subordinate development levels
D. leaders adjust their styles based on their own skill level
66. Competence in the situational leadership approach can be defined as ______.
A. having a positive attitude toward the work
B. being dedicated and a hard-worker
C. having the desire to complete the task
D. possessing the skills necessary to complete the task
67. Commitment in the situational leadership approach can be defined as ______.
A. having motivation and confidence in doing the work
B. being dedicated and a hard worker
C. possessing the skills necessary to complete the task
D. mastering the skills necessary to complete the task
68. Situational leadership comprises both directive and supportive dimensions ______.
A. that are behaviorally similar to task and relationship behaviors in the behavioral
approach
B. that are applied in the same way to all followers
C. that are used separately depending on the followers’ needs
D. that are applied to followers who are not sure what their task needs are
69. The directive and supportive behaviors in situational approach ______.
A. are applied separately depending on followers’ needs
B. are applied to the same degree in the supportive behavioral style
C. must be applied together depending on the followers’ needs
D. must be applied to the same degree in the directive behavioral style
70. You communicate well with your followers by encouraging their work and helping
them plan out their daily tasks. Which leader behavioral style are you using?
A. delegating
B. directing
C. supporting
D. coaching
71. You communicate with your followers when necessary and provide direction if
followers ask for it but day-to-day control of the decisions and work are left to your
followers. You are using which leader behavioral style?
A. delegating
B. directing
C. supporting
D. coaching
72. The situational approach requires leaders to ______.
A. show high degree of control
B. demonstrate heavy authority
C. practice great flexibility
D. provide constant coaching
73. Which of the following is considered a strength of the situational approach?
A. its extensive use in leadership training and development
B. its strong theoretical underpinnings
C. its detailed conceptualizations of developmental levels
D. its applicability to large groups of followers
74. Research by Zigarmi and Roberts (2017) suggested that followers feel positive
about their job when ______.
A. leaders treat all of their employees in the same way regardless of situation
B. followers perceive a match between their own needs and their leader’s behavior
C. followers are situated in groups where everyone has complementary personality
traits
D. leaders use mostly supportive behaviors with females and directive behaviors with
males
75. Compared to the trait approach, the situational approach ______.
A. suggests leaders need to be fluid not fixed
B. is descriptive in nature, making them similar
C. defines the key characteristics leaders need to navigate all situations
D. views leader openness as more important than intelligence
76. In a study by Arvidsson and colleagues on situational leadership using air traffic
controllers as the subjects, researchers found the most often used leadership style was
______.
A. S1
B. S2
C. S3
D. S4
77. In a study by Arvidsson and colleagues on situational leadership using air traffic
controllers as the subjects, researchers found the least often used leadership style was
______.
A. S1
B. S2
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C. S3
D. S4
78. Early versions of the SLII model, developmental levels of followers were referred to
as ______.
A. confidence or openness
B. readiness or maturity
C. social judgment or emotionality
D. skills or traits
79. You area a regional manager, and your CEO suggests you use a coaching style
with your follower Julio, a junior employee. If you are using the situational leadership
approach, you should ______.
A. show Julio you believe in him by letting him make all decisions
B. back away from Julio and give him more time to develop on his own
C. encourage Julio and listen to his needs but still direct decisions on the goals
D. invite the CEO into the situation to conduct a coaching session with you and Julio
together
80. Supportive leader behaviors help group members by ______.
A. setting timelines
B. defining roles
C. describing methods of evaluation
D. asking for input
True/False
1. According to situational leadership, D3 subordinates may be highly skilled but also
lack commitment.
2. D4 subordinates are not certain that they can do the job by themselves.
3. Situational leadership requires the clear recognition of subordinate needs.
4. The SLII model emphasizes flexibility in leadership style.
5. In SLII, Style 2 is low directive and low supportive.
6. In SLII, Style 3 is high supportive and low directive.
7. In SLII, delegating is ineffective with subordinates who are very competent and
committed.
8. SLII is used by many corporations to train leaders.
9. One of the strengths of the situational approach is its clear conceptualization of
subordinates’ developmental levels.
10. The situational approach contends that leadership involves both directive and
supportive behaviors.
Short Answer
1. Which developmental level is a follower at if she is described as “an enthusiastic
beginner” and what leadership style should be used according to the SLII model?
2. According to the situational approach, what are the two factors about an employee
that a supervisor needs to consider when choosing appropriate leader behaviors?
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3. Gina supervises Ritesh by staying out of his way, fostering his confidence, and letting
Ritesh make the choices on how to accomplish goals. What leadership style is Gina
using?
4. You have just been appointed to lead a very active campus club on their goal to raise
US$10,000. You have inherited a four-person fundraising team that has been in place
for a year. If you want to apply the situational leadership approach, what should your
first and second actions be?
5. Give an example of a directive behavior and an example of a supportive behavior.
Essay
1. According to the SLII model, why is there a regression in commitment at development
Levels 2 and 3? Do you agree with this reasoning?
2. What are the characteristics of the four levels of follower development in the SLII
model? How would you characterize the development level of the students in this class?
Give evidence to support your view.
3. A basic assumption of the SLII is that employees’ skills and motivation vary over time.
Do you agree? Can you think of any exceptions? Does the SLII fit all work situations
equally well?
4. Not all leadership communication takes place in person. How would the following
media support or complicate each of the four leadership styles?
Telephone:
E-mail:
Twitter:
Written memos:
5. You have emerged as the leader of your business finance group project in class.
Your group has been working together for five weeks on the major part of the project,
the in-class group presentation. One group member has missed quite a few group
meetings lately and is minimally contributing to the ideas and final product for the in–
class presentation. This group member is a junior in finance with a minor in
communications and stated that she is an expert in PowerPoint and multimedia
presentations. Based on SLII, which leadership style should you exhibit?