Which of the following Big Five personality traits has been identified as the most
important trait in effective leaders?
A) conscientiousness
B) openness
C) extraversion
D) agreeableness
E) emotional stability
Stacey was at work when Ann, her sister, called to confirm their dinner plan the
following weekend at their Aunt Hilda’s farmhouse. Stacey said she would call Joe, her
husband, and get back to her. However, when Stacey called her back, Ann could not
hear most of what she said because Jennifer, Ann’s daughter, was crying loudly in the
background. Who is the first sender in this scenario?
A) Joe
B) Stacey
C) Jennifer
D) Ann
E) Hilda
Which one of the following problems is most likely to occur in a matrix structure?
A) decreased response to environmental change
B) increased social loafing
C) loss of economies of scale
D) increase in groupthink
E) employees receiving conflicting directives
Ask Socrates Inc. is a computer software company that employs highly intelligent, but
somewhat unusual people. Every Friday, free lollipops, toys, or other treats are given
out to encourage employees to remember how creative they were when they were
children. All the new members of the organization are told about the founders who were
three young people who “got lucky” and sold a video game that they invented. The
employees are allowed to dress informally and can set their own working hours.
Which of the following is most likely to be used by Ask Socrates Inc. to inform its new
employees about its founders?
A) stories
B) material symbols
C) organizational charts
D) rituals
E) corporate chants
Jean Wills, a trainer with Leverage Inc., is infuriated because the conference hall that
she had booked for her morning session with a new batch of trainees will be occupied
by the HR team for the day. Jean feels that the company only superficially commits to
training and that it is not a priority as this lack of facilities for training is a recurring
phenomenon. Recently, she had asked the HR department to supply printed copies of
her material for the orientation and training modules to the new trainees, and HR
refused, saying the soft copies available on the systems would suffice. Which of the
following contextual areas is the source of problem between the training department
and the HR department in this scenario?
A) performance evaluation
B) reward systems
C) adequate resources
D) leadership
E) structure
Which of the following statements is true regarding a contrast effect?
A) It attributes success to internal factors and blames failure on external factors.
B) It involves judging a person on the basis of perception of the group to which he or
she belongs.
C) It involves evaluation of a person’s features based on comparison with another
person.
D) It indicates a tendency to draw a general conclusion about a person on the basis of
one feature.
E) It indicates a tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to accept subsequent
data.
Which of the following statements is true regarding work specialization?
A) Work specialization indicates to what degree will there be rules and formalized
regulations to direct employees and managers.
B) Work specialization decreases the time spent in changing tasks.
C) Work specialization increases the cost of finding and training workers to do specific
and repetitive tasks.
D) Work specialization decreases efficiency and productivity.
E) Work specialization hinders efficient use of employee skills.
Which of the following work-life initiatives is an example of a culture-change strategy?
A) offering flexible benefits
B) tying manager pay to employee satisfaction
C) allowing job sharing
D) providing fitness center
E) providing counseling services
The external competitiveness of an organization’s pay relative to elsewhere in the
industry is measured by its ________.
A) external benefit
B) external rotation
C) external costs
D) external equity
E) external liability
According to the ________ view of conflict, conflict can be a positive force in a group
and some conflict is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively.
A) resolution focused
B) traditional
C) managed
D) interactionist
E) transactional
Which of the following is an individual factor that influences political behavior?
A) reallocation of resources
B) unclear performance evaluation system
C) high performance pressures
D) perceived job alternatives
E) zero-sum reward practice
Winston Mayer is a sales manager for a large company producing beverages and
ready-to-eat meals. Winston is often seen working late and on weekends although the
company stipulates a five-day workweek. Winston justifies his working extra by
claiming that “in sales, one cannot afford to waste a minute” and he is often
condescending when subordinates take their allotted time off. He frequently speaks to
his manager about the deals he finalizes when he is working beyond the normal
working hours to prove his point. From the information provided, we can say that
Winston is using ________ as an impression management technique here.
A) flattery
B) exemplification
C) favors
D) apologies
E) conformity
Organizational demography suggests that attributes such as age or the date of joining
should help the organization in ________.
A) promoting diversity and multiculturalism
B) reducing discrimination in the workplace
C) determining appropriate compensation packages
D) assessing the training needs at an occupational level
E) predicting employee turnover in the company
The ________ network is a type of formal small-group network that permits the entire
group to actively communicate with each other.
A) matrix
B) virtual
C) wheel
D) chain
E) all-channel
MBO emphasizes goals that are ________.
A) tangible, verifiable, and measurable
B) achievable, controllable, and profitable
C) inspirational, verifiable, and creative
D) tangible, rewarding, and assigned
E) profitable, attainable, and self-set
________ typically contain narratives about the organization’s founders, rule breaking,
and reactions to past mistakes.
A) Stories
B) Material symbols
C) Rituals
D) Organizational charts
E) Corporate chants
Luke’s cubicle neighbor Leia, though an understanding and great co-worker, talks
loudly on the phone. Luke gets annoyed every time Leia’s phone rings, but he has
decided it’s simply not worth the trouble to talk to her about it. Luke’s conflict-handling
intention is called ________.
A) competing
B) avoiding
C) accommodating
D) compromising
E) collaborating
Jason Jones has been asked to assemble an eight-member self-managed work team of
experienced employees to work on a project that combines the functional areas of
research, production, marketing, and distribution. Jason is apprehensive about
managing a team so large; he knows from prior experience that larger teams do not
always result in greater productivity. Jason has also been informed by the management
that this team is being established as the project must progress according to the
predetermined timeline. The work lagging behind by one division will cause a
cumulative delay in all the successive stages of the project’s execution. Jason plans to
implement a group-based incentive that he feels would motivate each of the team
members to work efficiently. Which of the following is an assumption made by Jason in
implementing this plan?
A) Increasing the number of experienced employees in the team will reduce the need
for supervision.
B) Each employee in the team is motivated to work equally hard to ensure that the
group’s performance is satisfactory.
C) Since the team is comprised of employees who are highly skilled in their respective
areas, the output of the group will be of high quality.
D) Each employee will work well within the boundaries of their divisional functions,
and conflicts will be relatively fewer.
E) Each employee will be committed to working within the resources allocated.