Case 11.1
Wayne is making a sales call on a new client company. The previous sales professional
servicing this account, Tom, left to join another company. Wayne had liked Tom the
moment he met him but thought of him as a bit of a slob because of the way he always
chewed gum.
Wayne is calling on Cassandra, the operations manager for this company. She is a
middle-level manager. As Wayne walks into Cassandra’s office, he notes her
expensively tailored suit, her professional demeanor, the simple cologne, and the lack of
jewelry. Cassandra’s appearance and office dcor are reminiscent of the VP’s office in
Wayne’s own company.
During the sales call Wayne is somewhat nervous. He stutters occasionally during the
presentation, stumbles over the answers to a couple of Cassandra’s questions, and tends
to end his statements with a question. At the end of the call, Cassandra thanks him for
his visit, the information, and walks out to the main entrance with him, making casual
conversation. They shake hands, and Wayne goes on to his next sales call. As she walks
back to her office, she thinks, “Should I do business with a company represented by
someone with so little self-confidence?”
Refer to Case 11.1. What did Wayne lack during his presentation to Cassandra?
a. Wardrobe engineering
b. Professional presence
c. Etiquette
d. Image
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. Assuming William possesses a certain amount of self-awareness, he
would be well advised to
a. communicate his expectations more.
b. work on developing his emotional intelligence.
c. adjust his leadership style and behaviors so as to prevent unhappiness and dissension
among the employees.
d. all of the above.
Which of the following statements is trueregarding men and women’s linguistic styles?
a. Female-style humor tends to focus on banter and teasing remarks.
b. Men tend to speak in a steady flow, free of pauses, interrupting each other to take
turns.
c. Women tend to dominate discussions during meetings.
d. Men are likely to downplay their certainty and are more apt to emphasize politeness.
Malcolm is starting to turn down overtime opportunities, he’s developed a personal
reading list that he is working through, and he is cutting back from seven-day weeks to
five-and-one-half-day weeks. Malcolm is most likely working on what kind of
non-financial resource?
a. Work as self-expression
b. Education and training
c. Deeper spirituality
d. Developing more leisure time
Sleep is an effective stress management technique
a. because it allows you to avoid the circumstances that create stress for a period of
time.
b. when you get at least six hours of rest per night.
c. only when combined with exercise and a proper diet.
d. because it allows your body’s restoration processes to work.
____ is the collection of superficial elements, such as appearance, clothing, hairstyle,
fragrance, and jewelry, that we use to make a statement about ourselves.
a. Wardrobe engineering
b. Surface language
c. Grooming
d. Etiquette
Case 14.1
XYZ Corporation is undergoing a merger with a larger company. This change will bring
XYZ into the twenty-first century technologically but will bring about a number of
changes. As XYZ is the acquired company, about one-third of its work force will be laid
off. The reasons for the layoff have been clearly explained, and Virginia, the respected
president of XYZ, is implementing the layoff in the best interests of the company, even
though it is very painful for her. A number of the best employees and managers started
looking for new jobs before XYZ announced who would be laid off and who would
stay. Most employees are putting in long hours, and the company exercise room is full
as managers and employees try to burn off their fears and frustrations with these
changes.
Virginia is really excited about these changes and about the positive outcomes for the
future of the company and its employees. Virginia has handled things well but is under
a lot of pressure. She obsesses about being organized. She carries her pager into the
restroom with her and is constantly talking on her cellular phone. She likes to have her
computer terminal on whenever she’s in the office, just in case she needs it, and is very
uncomfortable when she has to travel without her laptop computer with its internal fax
modem and cellular phone link.
John was promoted from first-line supervisor to VP of operations because all of the
other managers found new jobs when the merger was announced. He didn’t want the
job, but he had to take it to stay at XYZ. He’s had to give up daily interaction with his
production line people and begin doing things for which he has little preparation or
experience and doesn’t particularly care for, like attending lots of meetings. He’s bearing
up well and is able to handle the increased responsibilities.
Refer to Case 14.1. The primary cause of stress for most of the employees of XYZ
would most likely be
a. noise pollution.
b. incompetent leadership.
c. technostress.
d. the change brought on by the acquisition.
Wearing what ever you want to work is
a. probably OK on “casual Friday”.
b. a good idea until they create a drss code.
c. conforming to what your peers do.
d. something a CEO can do.
Refer to Case 16.1. Given a typical mix of men and women, what percentage of their
top managers would be women?
a. 50 percent
b. 35-45 percent
c. 25-35 percent
d. less than 20 percent
Kyoko is managing a team of people who are working on a critical project. She wants
to use positive reinforcement, but the days are so busy that she never seems to find the
time. What should Kyoko do to best overcome this obstacle to the use of positive
reinforcement?
a. Ask the employees what they want her to say or do.
b. Put her own needs aside, lengthen her days, and continue dipping from her “bucket.”
c. Give everyone a pay raise upon the project’s completion.
d. Plan and set aside a few minutes each day to provide positive feedback.
Recent data analysis shows that the wage gap is determined by
a. the state you live in.
b. how good a woman is at negotiating larger salaries.
c. whether a woman is balancing motherhood with her careers.
d. more women assuming higher paying top management roles.
Positive energy
a. finds methods of increasing pay for workers.
b. helps us cope with physically demanding work
c. requires feedback and appreciation.
d. praises employees at the levels of senior management.
Which of the following would not be a positive result of self-managed teams?
a. Each member acquires knowledge and skills to do a variety of jobs.
b. Members feel more accountable for work of the total team.
c. The team achieves synergy through similar thinking patterns.
d. Members are more engaged and challenged.
Behavior is influenced by
a. activating events.
b. feelings.
c. activating events and feelings.
d. activating events, feelings, and thinking patterns.
Improving interpersonal effectiveness and building relationships often require a
reduction in the size of the ____ in your Johari Window.
a. open area
b. blind, hidden, and unknown areas
c. hidden area
d. unknown area
When you determine your communication style, you should also keep in mind
a. it represents who you are and that doesn”t change.
b. there are always moments of spontaneously.
c. your means of assessing it is pretty accurate.
d. you share traits of other styles.
People with low self-esteem tend to
a. ignore their weaknesses
b. emphasize their weaknesses
c. shrugging off failures as no big deal.
d. see who they really are, but try to change
Lisa was born and raised in rural Indiana. She found a job teaching in the projects of
New York City. She now possesses a great ability to interpret the actions, gestures, and
speech patterns of her diverse body of students. Lisa demonstrates high
____________________.
Case 9.1
Anne has been feeling depressed lately. A few weeks ago her pet cat died of old age.
Anne was sad, naturally, but lately she has hardly been able to function. While talking
to a friend about how she was feeling, she suddenly remembered how distraught she
was as a child when she rolled over on a new kitten in her sleep and smothered it. Anne
decides to join a self-help group in order to get control of her feelings. That same week
a coworker failed to fulfill her responsibilities on an important project, resulting in
delays. Anne was “chewed out” by her boss as a result. Anne wants to tell the coworker
how angry she was. Anne’s boss, Jerry, is subject to angry outbursts. When he is upset,
he lets everyone know it, quickly and fully.
Refer to Case 9.1. What should Anne do to take control of her anger before she
expresses it to her coworker?
a. Recognize and accept the anger of her boss.
b. Reflect on her need to express her anger.
c. Explain in concepts and in generalities why this situation bothers her so much.
d. Suppress her feelings and live with it; this kind of thing happens all the time.
As Jin’s sales manager, Ines senses that Jin’s customer retention has been slipping for
the last two months. She wants to do what she can to prevent the trend from continuing.
Ines’ first step to responding to Jin’s performance issues should be
a. getting Jin to recognize and agree that her customer retention needs improvement.
b. documenting Jin’s customer retention rate.
c. getting Jin to commit to an improvement plan.
d. exploring ways that Jin can improve her customer retention.
As organizations enhance diversity, which employment practice should they adopt?
a. Limit the race and gender of employees.
b. Recognize that subtle biases will always exist and not much can be done about them.
c. Design a plan that actively recruits men and women of different ethnicity, disabilities,
and sexual orientation.
d. All of these.
Over time, the human relations movement
a. focused more on plant layout and mechanical processes
b. had little effect on improvements in productivity.
c. offered a simplified perception of employees.
d. reflected a shift in values and concerns, from things to people.
Joshua got a promotion but the job involves moving to Brazil. He can be more
successful if he:
a. talks with Brazilians living in America.
b. learns the lanaguage with tapes.
c. increases his cultural intelligence.
d. does a good job there.
C H A N G E In Chapter 7 you read about Ursula Burn’s personal story about disclosing
to the head of Xerox that she was confused. This is an example of
a. using the meeting to show her talents.
b. ambition.
c. the difficulty and challenge of being honest.
d. the blind pane in Johari’s Window.
In Chapter 10, you were introduced to an athlete whose life demonstrates the power of
positive energy. Despite early disappointments in fulfilling his dreams, he was finally
able to realize them. His story demonstrates
a. the power of this force of energy that helps you achieve high levels of happiness.
b. he was not fully engaged in his youth.
c. his esteem needs were finally satisfied.
d. he reached the level of Maslow’s self-actualization.
Case 9.1
Anne has been feeling depressed lately. A few weeks ago her pet cat died of old age.
Anne was sad, naturally, but lately she has hardly been able to function. While talking
to a friend about how she was feeling, she suddenly remembered how distraught she
was as a child when she rolled over on a new kitten in her sleep and smothered it. Anne
decides to join a self-help group in order to get control of her feelings. That same week
a coworker failed to fulfill her responsibilities on an important project, resulting in
delays. Anne was “chewed out” by her boss as a result. Anne wants to tell the coworker
how angry she was. Anne’s boss, Jerry, is subject to angry outbursts. When he is upset,
he lets everyone know it, quickly and fully.
Refer to Case 9.1. What would be an effective way for Anne to express her anger to
Jerry?
a. Tell him “I feel very upset when you yell at me, especially in front of my coworkers.”
b. Wait a few weeks before talking with Jerry in order to allow her to “cool off.”
c. Yell back at Jerry.
d. Journaling.
Which style of conflict management is a cooperative/nonassertive style?
a. Avoidance
b. Accommodating
c. Compromising
d. Problem-solving
Kyoko tells her friend Scott that, this semester, she’s taking Accounting 122, Human
Resources 156, and Business Ethics 201. This is an example of
a. self-awareness.
b. self-disclosure.
c. self-efficacy.
d. self-description.
Working in a windowless cubicle, in a polluted oil field, or in a crowded retail store are
all examples of
a. ergonomics problems.
b. environmental stress.
c. mental incompetence.
d. physical stress.
Case 9.1
Anne has been feeling depressed lately. A few weeks ago her pet cat died of old age.
Anne was sad, naturally, but lately she has hardly been able to function. While talking
to a friend about how she was feeling, she suddenly remembered how distraught she
was as a child when she rolled over on a new kitten in her sleep and smothered it. Anne
decides to join a self-help group in order to get control of her feelings. That same week
a coworker failed to fulfill her responsibilities on an important project, resulting in
delays. Anne was “chewed out” by her boss as a result. Anne wants to tell the coworker
how angry she was. Anne’s boss, Jerry, is subject to angry outbursts. When he is upset,
he lets everyone know it, quickly and fully.
Refer to Case 9.1. Anne’s boss, Jerry, seems to have which emotional style?
a. Suppression of emotions
b. Capitulating to emotions
c. Overexpressing emotions
d. Accommodating his emotions
Examples in Chapter 10 show that positive energy can be developed in companies by
a. being more flexible with working hours and giving quick rewards.
b. engaging all workers by asking for their opinions and suggestions.
c. reinforcing their needs.
d. managers who always demonstrate optimism.
In the beginning of Chapter 4, you were introduced to three individuals who received a
rejection letter from an institute of higher learning. How did this affect their lives?
a. There was a pattern of successful careers despite the rejection.
b. They changed careers.
c. Their wounded self-esteem limited their possibilities
d. They realized their mistake in applying for that particular school.
Case 7.1
Antonio has a number of employees who report to him. He has been considering how to
motivate these employees to higher levels of performance and productivity. Antonio
believes that most people are motivated by the satisfaction they receive from doing their
jobs. He thinks that workers have a personal need to do well on the job. Another
manager, Dexter, argues that while Antonio may be right, it is important to offer
financial incentives. Dexter believes that workers don’t really want to come to work and
that managers therefore have to provide a “carrot” to ensure quality and productivity.
Part of his evidence is that employees keep complaining about pay, working conditions,
and benefits even though the company pays well above average for the industry and the
area. Several days after this conversation, both Dexter and Antonio attend a workshop
on employee motivation that explains Herzberg’s motivation-maintenance theory.
Refer to Case 7.1. During the workshop, Dexter learns that he has misunderstood why
the employees are complaining about pay, working conditions, etc. The real reason,
according to Herzberg’s theory, is that they lack
a. maintenance factors.
b. satisfaction of basic security and safety needs.
c. the feeling of being part of a “corporate” family.
d. motivational factors.
An emotive communication style operating in the excess zone is characterized by the
a. avoidance of decisions and display of emotion.
b. expression of highly emotional opinions and seeming unwillingness to listen to
others.
c. determination to come out on top and inability to admit to being wrong.
d. constant seeking of reassurance and attempting to win approval by agreeing with
everyone.
Men use communication to establish and maintain relationships.
In general, strikes are examples of win/lose situations.
“I’m sorry; I wish I had informed you of the deadline sooner and will give you more
warning in the future” includes acceptance of responsibility.
Offer four tips for personal financial management.
Strained work relationships often arise because people will not discuss real or imagined
problems in the workplace.
A first impression, positive or negative, is often formed in the first
____________________ of meeting someone.
Your facial expressions are an important element of your professional image.
Nancy used to call herself stupid when she did badly on an exam and felt badly. Now
she uses ____________________ by talking about what she learned and how she will
do better.
Rachel has been promoted from a virtual team member to a manager. She wants to do a
better job. While she was working as a member she noticed there was a lack of
__________________ and no one knew about deadlines and completion of milestones.
She wants the entire team to be current on information.
____________________ means acquiring a better understanding of who you are and
how your behavior influences other people.
Monica makes decisions primarily with her heart, which is a good way to achieve
emotional balance.
We can never really know a person’s attitude unless we see their_____________.
Malik’s boss, Lina, told the staff “We need to improve customer service.” Malik later
told Lina that he felt bothered by her statement since he feels he is exceptionally
attentive to the customers’ needs. Lina didn’t mean to imply Malik’s performance was
subpar, but rather phrased her statement so as not to draw attention to any one person in
the room. Malik and Lina experienced a(n) ____________________.
What are some of the characteristics that influence team dynamics?
Explain the concept of the “business casual look.” Draw an appropriate business casual
look for a 24 year-old female dental office manager and 48 year-old nonprofit donor
development director
A strong, temporary feeling that can be either positive or negative is a(n)
____________________.
Work environment stressors can be lessened by putting up family pictures, adding a
plant or objects that put you in a good mood..
The thoughts, feelings, and actions that characterize someone are generally viewed as
their ____________________.
The more crucial the conversation the more likely people are to handle it well.
____________________ refers to a person’s speaking pattern and includes elements of
directness/indirectness, word choice, use of jokes, or figures of speech, etc.