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Case 10.1
Antonio's company has an employee orientation program; an extensive employee
performance review program; and encourages managers to praise, write letters of
appreciation for jobs well done, and take the time to listen to their employees. Years
ago, the company began a positive reinforcement program. Managers were initially
reluctant to support the program because they expected employees to begin demanding
pay raises. But the company kept working at it, and eventually the program was
accepted. Then, in order to increase quality and productivity, assembly-line workers
were paid based on piecework for each acceptable component that they built. When the
incentive programs were first introduced, employees competed with each other,
teamwork was destroyed, and interpersonal relations dropped to an all-time low. Now
the incentive programs and other positive reinforcement programs seem to be working.
However, due to cutbacks in management levels and increasing work demands,
managers are finding it harder and harder to determine which employees most deserve
recognition.
Refer to Case 10.1. The company's payment of assembly-line workers for piecework is
an example of
a. profit sharing.
b. gain sharing.
c. confirmations.
d. production incentives.
In his late 30s, Jerry quit his lucrative career in engineering to teach middle school
science. His teaching salary is one-third less and his work hours are one-third more
compared to his engineering work; however, he finds the work fulfilling. Jerry is happy
that he finally found the courage to make a career switch that he had been considering
for several years. Jerry's career change is an example of
a. religious awakening.
b. right livelihood.
c. natural progression.
d. professional advancement.
A common problem regarding values and ethics on the international business scene is
a. bribery used to secure foreign contacts.
b. human rights violations.
c. lack of sensitivity to foreign customers.
d. all of these.
Peter, marketing director at Shout, has been using PrintSmart products for years and
feels that they have served Shout's marketing needs well. Beth, head of Shout's
technology department, has discovered a new brand of products, TopPrint, and explains
to Peter that she feels they should switch brands. Peter is having difficulty listening to
Beth's perspective because of his favorable experience with PrintSmart. Peter's reaction
to Beth is being filtered by
a. emotions.
b. role expectations.
c. gender bias.
d. attitudes.
Colleen frequently expresses her political views at work, at times triggering conflict
with between several coworkers and herself. In this example, political expression
a. is a destructive conflict trigger and should be curbed by management.
b. is a meaningful conflict trigger that opens people to different perspectives and should
be allowed to continue.
c. can be a destructive conflict trigger, but should be allowed to continue for the sake of
personal expressionism.
d. does not introduce conflict that could disrupt the work environment and should be
allowed to continue.
If a manager gives employees better working conditions and pay and opportunities for
social networking, the manager is using ____ to motivate the workers.
a. social needs
b. motivational factors
c. security needs
d. maintenance factors
The changing demographics of the global work force make which of the following
attitudes especially important for success in the workplace?
a. Self-leadership
b. Valuing coworker diversity
c. Being concerned about your own health and wellness
d. Self-directed learning
When Dan was growing up, his mother very often ordered him to "do this" and "don't
do that," which angered him. Now as an adult, Dan has a female boss who occasionally
checks up with him by asking him if he remembered to "do this/that." According to the
Transactional Analysis theory, one would most expect Dan to
a. appreciate his boss' concern.
b. be conscious of his emotional response and its relationship with his childhood
experiences.
c. interpret his boss' questions as badgering and feel angry.
d. react angrily, regardless of his boss' gender.
People skills are usually described as having the following abilities
a. internal motivation and general enthusiasm
b. managing time effectively and teamwork
c. techincal ablities and good interaction with people
d. good interaction with people and thinking skills
Case 4.1
Bill is concerned about Tim's self-esteem. Tim's attitudes about himself have begun
affecting his work. Tim is just consumed with the fear of failure. He keeps telling
himself that he's a failure, there's no use trying, he can't do any better. Bill says to Tim,
"It's good that you know what you can and can't do; that helps you be more realistic
about life. You just need to think of these matters in positive terms rather than hating
yourself."
Bill manages Tim by telling him that he appreciates his hard work. Bill points out the
things Tim does well and regularly explains to Tim that he expects great things of him.
After a few weeks, Tim begins to perform more effectively and his fear of failure
decreases. Bill further takes Tim "under his wing" and begins to advise him on
professional behavior, gives him time to explain ideas and his concerns, and even
becomes an advocate for Tim with Bill's boss.
Refer to Case 4.1. What strategy is Bill referring to when suggesting that Tim has the
right idea, and he just needs to adjust it for a positive effect?
a. Searching for the source of low self-esteem.
b. Developing an expertise
c. Developing an external locus of control
d. Taking responsibility for his decisions.
Case 12.1
Harvey is considering implementing team-building management in his company. He
wants to start with teams that work on the production line. He wants groups of five to
fifteen people, responsible for one clearly defined product, and he wants them trained to
be able to perform each other's tasks. Harvey believes that effective teams permit free
expression of feelings as well as ideas, have members who listen to each other, and
have well-understood tasks and objectives.
Cynthia is a first-line supervisor in Harvey's company. She has a high, balanced valuing
of both her people and their productivity. She seeks to be proactive in her management
and works hard at rewarding the contribution of ideas and recognizing
accomplishments. William, in contrast, is far more task-oriented and is more concerned
with production than with his people. To William, employees are instruments of
production.
Refer to Case 12.1. The types of teams Harvey is seeking to implement are
a. self-managed teams.
b. cross-functional teams.
c. problem-solving teams.
d. special-project teams.
Case 13.1
There is a major conflict going on in Andy's department. Workers do not trust Andy.
They resent his authoritarian style, and they resist his instructions and suggestions.
Andy sees the workers as "drones," and they think of him as "Darth Vader." Initially,
Andy's manager tells the workers to "put up with it" and to "get back to work." He
refuses to listen to their complaints and imposes his instructions with a threat of
discipline. A group of employees discusses the problem. Jane suggests that they just
drop it and go back to work. She doesn't want to lose her job and fears that even if they
win, their working relationship with Andy will be damaged beyond repair. Malcolm
suggests that they go back to Andy's boss and explain that they think talking about
Andy's behavior could improve productivity and quality. He tells the group they ought
to write down and present the substance of their concerns, not just attack Andy's
management style. Malcolm thinks they can work this out without removing Andy or
getting fired themselves.
Refer to Case 13.1. If the company doesn't do something with Andy, it runs the risk of
____.
a. losing valuable employees
b. a reduction in productivity
c. employees unionizing
d. all of these
Individuals with high cultural intelligence
a. frequently question themselves as to how to behave and communicate in other
cultures.
b. use their mind, body, and heart to quickly analyze and appropriately react to people
and situations in unfamiliar cultures.
c. possess charisma that enables them to communicate and behave in ways that are
acceptable to their own culture, even while in foreign cultures.
d. are only able to exercise their skill in foreign countries.
Linda says she values education. Over the years she has had several employees that
were working for her and earning their degrees at the same time. To support them,
Linda allows them to flex their daily work hours. In this example, Linda demonstrates
a. integrity.
b. ethics.
c. values.
d. high self-esteem.
Case 2.1
B.F.E., Inc. is changing its employee benefits plan. Some of the changes will be positive
and some will take current benefits away. As vice president of human resources,
Cynthia is concerned that the communication to the employees be as accurate as
possible. When the changes are communicated from management to the employees, a
small group of employees reacts negatively. The employees don't like the changes and
feel the company once again is taking advantage of them, even though the positive
changes outweigh what is being taken away. A representative is sent to Cynthia to
express their concerns. Cynthia is very concerned that she understand this group's
concerns.
Refer to Case 2.1. The few employees have filtered the company's message through
their
a. role expectations.
b. attitudes.
c. semantic filters.
d. gender bias.
An important first step in changing your attitude is
a. changing your lifestyle.
b. asking your parents for feedback.
c. asking your friends to change their attitudes with you.
d. concentrating on positive things in your life.
Your friend Gina has been downsized from the company. You care about her and decide
you should ask her to consider seeking help for depression when,
a. two weeks later, she is still grieving over her job loss.
b. several months later, she has given up looking for work and lost interest in doing
things with you and others that she once enjoyed.
c. two months later, she still worries incessantly about finding another job.
d. two months later, she hasn't found work and occasionally mentions missing her old
job; however, she seems to be enjoying spending more time with her family and friends.
Case 5.1
Joan is designing an ethics training program for her company. She decides to build it
around the story of the founder of the corporation, Rosa. Rosa's "rags-to-riches" story
reveals a woman with strong standards of personal conduct, deep personal values and
beliefs, and a pattern of good judgment. Rosa attributes her success to the upbringing
she had as a child. A second portion of the training program will review company
values, ethics code, and policies so that all employees are very clear on where the
company stands on key issues and business behaviors.
Refer to Case 5.1. The corporate positive step suggested by the text for preventing
corporate crime that the training program is notaddressing is
a. establishing an ethics training program.
b. hiring with care.
c. developing an ethics code.
d. modeling.
The major theme of interpersonal relations that deals with an individual understanding
of how his/her behavior affects others is
a. communication.
b. self-awareness.
c. motivation.
d. trust.
Nancy is passive, cooperative, and hesitant to make demands. In terms of
communication style, Nancy would be
a. high in dominance.
b. low in dominance.
c. high in sociability.
d. low in sociability.
Despite doing very well in several college business courses and earning a glowing
performance review from her internship supervisor, Mira is very anxious about being
able to pass her GMAT exams. Mira seems to demonstrate lower
a. self-respect.
b. self-efficacy.
c. self-worth.
d. self-concept.
Sherry hates to do financial reports. Her boss encourages her when he gives her a
financial report assignment and praises her when she gets it done on time and
accurately. He is quite stern and scolds her if she complains about doing them. Over
time, Sherry begins to feel more positively about doing the reports and actually comes
to enjoy them. This is an example of the power of
a. rewards and punishment in forming attitudes.
b. the effect of role model identification on attitude formation.
c. the socialization process at work.
d. a peer group on the development of attitudes.
Case 15.1
Topco, Inc. is a manufacturer of electric fans and other low-tech cooling devices. Joan
is the HR director. She is conducting a workshop for her managers on valuing diversity.
In an open discussion about the managers' concerns on this topic, Bob says, "I don't
care what someone's race or gender, or whatever, is. I just have a tough time with the
soft, fat, college-educated kids who come in here and tell me how to do my job." Jane
chimes in, "The real issue here is men's inability to relate to women, each other, and
minorities. I've yet to meet a male manager who can really understand someone who's
not one of his drinking buddies." After a few more comments, Joan continues with the
training program.
Joan spends some time demonstrating that highly skilled talented people will leave their
company if not valued, how an inappropriate joke creates tension, and how failure to
value individual employees could even lead to acts of sabotage. She then moves to
brainstorming what each manager can do as an individual to enhance diversity. She
closes the day's session with a discussion of how diversity training programs need to be
seen as a process and need to have clear objectives that permit assessment and be
supported by managers and top managers if they are to succeed.
Refer to Case 15.1. What might be an economic cost for the company due to Bob's
comment regarding "soft, fat, college-educated kids" who might be participating in the
presentation?
a. Comments received as an insult will create tension among workers and customers.
b. Employees.
c. A possible loss of highly skilled workers from the company could occur.
d. There will be no economic cost as a result of his statement.
Which is not a management skill job performance behavior that should be reinforced?
a. Maintains accurate records
b. Spends time on short- and long-term planning
c. Maintains authority over his or her staff
d. Maintains quality-control standards
Workplace violence can be diminished by implementing a number of practices, such as
a. escorting terminated employees from the building and warning them not to return.
b. dismissing or disciplining any employee who voices dissatisfaction over the work
environment before he or she becomes angry enough to become violent.
c. terminating disgruntled employees as soon as possible.
d. using hiring procedures to screen out unstable individuals.
Case 8.1
Ted is a vice-president in a small company. He's a very laid back and private man.
Everyone sees him as a very nice but indecisive man. When he makes a decision, he
communicates it accurately, but he just won't make them. Ted thinks that he is very
decisive; he just likes to be flexible and take his time making decisions. In casual
conversations with his secretary, Ted reveals that he went to school in the south, has
been married for 20 years, and is thinking about taking a cruise for the first time for this
year's vacation.
Ted is terrified of making the wrong decision in most situations. He knows this but
won't tell anyone, even his wife. You see, he once worked for a very demanding and
abusive boss who eventually fired him. Anytime Ted would make a decision this boss
disagreed with, whether it was the right decision or not, Ted's old boss would yell and
humiliate him in front of others. As a consequence, now, years later, Ted has a tough
time making decisions.
Refer to Case 8.1. Ted has decided to talk with his coworkers about how humiliated and
defensive he was after one of his former boss's disagreements over his decisions. Ted
needs to pay particular attention to which element of self-disclosure?
a. Practicing the art of apologizing
b. Accurately describing feelings and emotions
c. Communicating the situation in terms of facts
d. Presenting constructive criticism with care
The opening vignette in Chapter 6 highlighted two young people who accomplished
very challenging tasks. Based on Daniel Pink's theory, which of the needs motivated
them?
a. mastery
b. self-actualization
c. autonomy
d. purpose
Feedback from others can reduce the size of the unknown pane and increase the size of
the ____ pane.
a. blind
b. hidden
c. unknown
d. open
When making a decision that causes an internal value conflict, it is important to
a. weigh the pros and cons of each side of the decision.
b. procrastinate on making the decision.
c. prioritize your core values.
d. adapt your value system to minimize the conflict.
Candace owns a small business that is financially struggling. In order to respond to
economic pressures, Candace is now obligated to lay off an employee, close operations
on Sundays, and cut budget costs in a few other ways that will affect employees and
how they do business. If conflict arises, the root cause will likely be
a. adversarial management.
b. organizational change or competition over resources.
c. ineffective communication of new work practices.
d. value and personality clashes
A lose/lose conflict management strategy
a. is never appropriate and should be avoided at all costs.
b. results from a manager imposing his or her will on the "combatants."
c. may be an appropriate arbitration solution.
d. seeks to provide a long-term rather than a short-term solution.
The ____________________ of the Johari Window represents your public or awareness
area.
Career success is often a reflection of the strength in one's interpersonal skills.
When developing your life plan, it is important to meet the expectations of
othersespecially those of family, friends, and mentorsin the choices you make.
Although one may be unable to increase one's IQ (intelligence quotient), one's
emotional intelligence can improve throughout life as one's experiences lead to
increased competencies.
Tamika always tries to give herself credit for the team's success. Dan may occasionally
feel like he contributed more to the team, but realizes others helped him. He gives credit
to those team members. Tamika is a member of a _______________ team and Dan is a
member os a _______________ team.
____________________ is a dynamic blend of poise, self-confidence, control, and style
that empowers us to be able to command respect in any situation.
The unknown area of the Johari window never completely disappears because it
contains information that may never be known to you or to others.
Julie is confident about her ability to successfully think about and tackle new tasks. She
expects to do well. Julie has strong ____________________.
The technique for helping other people look at their own behavior without putting them
on the defensive is called ____________________.
Name at least four characteristics of someone with high self-esteem.
Bill projects a serious attitude about everything and expresses his opinions strongly. Bill
displays a(n) ____________________ communication style.
Individuals with low self-esteem tend to believe that someone or something outside
themselves controls their behavior.
Your authors hold the position that life is largely determined by how you react to it, not
what happens in it.
After a solution is made and agreed upon, conflict is resolved without danger of
resurfacing.
Negative work environments with "actively disengaged" workers suffer poor
performance.
The first step in managing your finances is only spending what you earn.
Jiro works for a small web design business. He and his coworkers feel empowered to
make a variety of decisions as needs arise from distributing client assignments, to
creating project timetables, to holding one another accountable for meeting deadlines
and performance standards. The working dynamic of Jiro and his coworkers is
characteristic of ____________________.
As a general rule, increased self-awareness is not a benefit of self-disclosure since you
are already aware of the information that you communicate about yourself.
The study of Psychology and psychologists have devoted most of their research on
mental illnesses.
Miguel is aware of his emotions and their effects on others and is able to keep his
disruptive emotions and impulses in check. Miguel demonstrates
____________________ competence.
An obstacle to full appreciation of men's work/life balance issues is that many men are
reluctant to discuss these personal pressures openly.
