Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
Chapter 01: What is Organizational Behaviour
1) Organizational behaviour is generally defined as a field of study that
a. investigates how organizations effectively face competition.
b. investigates how individuals, groups, and structure affect and are affected by behaviour
within organizations.
c. attempts to understand and solve problems regarding individual behaviour on and off
the job.
d. seeks ways and means to match human effort with machines.
e. examines how the structure of different organizations contributes to, or inhibits,
effective communication.
2) Researchers in OB are finding that superior financial performance of an organization
seems to be directly related to
a. understanding what organizational behaviour is.
b. recognizing the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.
c. reducing the size of the company by layoffs.
d. controlling absenteeism and employee turnover.
e. better marketing efforts to customers.
3) Organizational behaviour is
a. for managers, employees, and those in the non-profit sectors.
b. for executives and managers only.
c. relevant to only those in the private sector of for-profit businesses.
d. relevant to only those at the workplace.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
e. only applicable for entrepreneurs and those working in the private and government
sectors.
4) Organizational behaviour is
a. based on one field of study.
b. an applied field of study.
c. an application of common sense within business and organizations.
d. the field of study where public expectations of employee behaviour is researched.
e. the use of a directive approach to manage employee behaviour.
5) The behavioural science discipline commonly referred to as ________, has been most
influential on the OB subject of organizational culture.
a. social psychology
b. anthropology
c. sociology
d. political science
e. psychology
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
6) Rita is concerned with the implications of the chronic absenteeism of her staff,
especially since it is a very busy unit. She is likely most concerned about the probability
of
a. improved workflow.
b. decrease in efficiency and effectiveness.
c. quicker decision making.
d. decrease in efficiency only.
e. greater quality of output.
7) Recognition of the importance of developing interpersonal skills is closely tied to the
need for organizations to
a. reward high-performing employees.
b. empower high-performing employees.
c. attain and retain high performing employees.
d. evaluate high-performing employees.
e. train high-performing employees on job skills.
8) A recent study found that the main reason why people like their jobs or stay with an
employer is
a. wages and benefits.
b. advancement opportunities.
c. supportive work environment.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
d. proximity to home.
e. company policies.
9) ________ suggests that managers should be more scientific in how they think about
management problems.
a. Open book management
b. Participative management
c. Evidenced-based management
d. Empowered management
e. Democratic management
10) Tara is used to making decisions based on her intuition or “gut feel” even though she
doesn’t always make the right decision. Tara’s decision-making process could benefit
from
a. empowered management.
b. open book management.
c. evidence-based management.
d. effective management.
e. organizational management.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
Objective: 1-2 Isn’t organizational behaviour common sense? Or just like psychology?
11) SCENARIO 1-1
You are an OB specialist at XYZ University and have been charged with the task of
bringing together faculty from different behavioural disciplines to author a new textbook
on organizational behaviour. You have faculty from the fields of psychology, sociology,
social psychology, anthropology, and political science. The key tasks here are to consider
the various ideas and to structure them in such a manner as to provide a clear and
plausible description of organizational behaviour and how it applies to the work
environment.
Referring to SCENARIO 1-1, you would likely address issues of communication toa. the
psychologist.
b. the anthropologist.
c. the political scientist.
d. the social psychologist.
e. the sociologist.
12) SCENARIO 1-1
You are an OB specialist at XYZ University and have been charged with the task of
bringing together faculty from different behavioural disciplines to author a new textbook
on organizational behaviour. You have faculty from the fields of psychology, sociology,
social psychology, anthropology, and political science. The key tasks here are to consider
the various ideas and to structure them in such a manner as to provide a clear and
plausible description of organizational behaviour and how it applies to the work
environment.
Referring to SCENARIO 1-1, information on ________ would probably be a contribution
from the faculty member from psychology.a. personality
b. job satisfaction
c. individual decision making
d. work stress
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
e. all of the above
13) SCENARIO 1-1
You are an OB specialist at XYZ University and have been charged with the task of
bringing together faculty from different behavioural disciplines to author a new textbook
on organizational behaviour. You have faculty from the fields of psychology, sociology,
social psychology, anthropology, and political science. The key tasks here are to consider
the various ideas and to structure them in such a manner as to provide a clear and
plausible description of organizational behaviour and how it applies to the work
environment.
Referring to SCENARIO 1-1, one of the major considerations that will need to be clearly
portrayed is thata. organizational behaviour is an applied behavioural science.
b. organizational behaviour is largely theoretical and difficult to apply to the real world.
c. leadership cannot be readily studied or understood through organizational behaviour.
d. relationships between leadership and decision making are not clear.
e. organizational behaviour is based largely upon an intuitive approach.
14) Which of the following disciplines would most likely describe organizations as being
the modern equivalent of tribes?
a. sociology
b. psychology
c. anthropology
d. archeology
e. political science
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
15) Predictability of individual behaviour is improved if we know
a. that the person is rational.
b. how the person perceives the situation.
c. that behaviour has a cause.
d. the person’s age.
e. the person’s level of education.
16) You are working as an assistant to an OB specialist doing research on a project to
determine relationships between certain variables and cause-effect situations. The
specialist is attempting to determine when people are motivated by pay or salary, and
when they are motivated by recognition, support, and encouragement. By examining the
connection between rewards and incentives, and motivation under various conditions, the
specialist appears to be using which of the following approaches in research?
a. open-systems approach
b. systematic study
c. human resources approach
d. observational approach
e. scientific management approach
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
17) Which of the following is the best description of OB’s current state?
a. All of OB is based on universal truths proposed by academics, researchers, and
practitioners.
b. OB is practically based on situational or contingency conditions.
c. There is little disagreement among OB researchers and scholars as to the current state.
d. Cause-effect principles have been isolated and tend to apply to all situations.
e. Political forces have a tendency to influence the study of OB and, hence, skew
resulting conclusions.
18) According to your text, a significant problem with using common sense to try and
understand and interpret behaviour of others is that
a. it is usually wrong.
b. what one person considers common sense is frequently different than what someone
else considers common sense.
c. some managers base actions on company policy, not common sense.
d. it is not considered progressive.
e. it is not considered an effective management strategy.
19) Erika is a supervisor in a department with eight employees. She has been recently
exposed to some of the management issues from OB and enthusiastically recognizes that
managing people well pays off. She knows that some of her employees have an
emotional attachment to the company since they have been there from the beginning.
This type of attachment is called
a. organizational citizenship behaviour.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
b. common sense.
c. affective commitment.
d. evidence-based management.
e. intuition.
20) Which of the following best describes the contingency approach in OB?
a. Behaviour is dependent on the situation.
b. Behaviour is predictable in all situations.
c. Since humans are logical, so is their behaviour.
d. Employee behaviour is only dependent on perception.
e. Motivational sources explain all behaviour.
21) The Competing Values Framework recognizes some of the most useful skills needed
by individual managers and employees in today’s world. These skills identified by the
model include
a. skills for achieving sound financial performance.
b. skills for developing recognizable corporate responsibility.
c. computer and information management skills.
d. skills for understanding yourself and others.
e. conflict management skills.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
22) The Competing Values Framework addresses issues facing organizations along two
dimensions. These dimensions include
a. flexibility vs. control and external focus vs. internal focus.
b. communication and productivity.
c. team building and personal development.
d. power and flexibility.
e. opportunity vs. consistency and external focus vs. internal focus.
23) Individual level variables that present challenges to managing in today’s workplace
focus on
a. learning to work with people who may be different from you.
b. organizational culture.
c. recruitment and training.
d. human resource policies.
e. evidence-based management.
24) Frank manages 25 employees in a small manufacturing business. He has discovered
that he needs to be flexible because sometimes supplies are not immediately available,
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
and because sometimes he cannot get the final product out due to transportation
problems. Frank also does the shift scheduling for when the employees work. He has
found that although he needs to be flexible around some of the employees’ schedules
because they are students, he also needs to be firm in order to control the process. Using
the ________ Frank needs to be ________.
a. Competing Values Framework; flexible and in control
b. Competing Values Framework; flexible, in control, and externally focused
c. contingency approach; flexible, in control, and externally and internally focused
d. contingency approach; flexible and in control
e. Competing Values Framework; flexible, in control, and externally and internally
focused
25) In general, a(n) ________ is best described as a consciously coordinated social unit
composed of two or more people who function on relatively continuous basis to achieve a
set of goals.
a. union
b. family
c. company
d. organization
e. team
26) The Competing Values Framework includes the internal focus, which includes
a. production processes.
b. marketplace.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
c. environmental conditions.
d. government regulations.
e. technological changes.
27) A new manager recalls that one of the seminars he attended about a year ago outlined
a process called the Competing Values Framework. He remembers this approach was
important in that it assisted managers and employees to develop behaviours which would
address a variety of issues. One of the benefits of considering this framework is that
a. it assists managers and employees to develop specialized and content-specific skills.
b. it places emphasis on traditional ways of doing things by enhancing those aspects that
work well.
c. it provides a setting where employees have the opportunity of sharpening existing
skills.
d. managers and employees can develop skills necessary to operate at various
organizational levels.
e. it is highly classroom-oriented and therefore becomes a cost-effective process for
training.
28) ________ commitment refers to an employee’s emotional attachment to the
organization, whereas ________ commitment refers to the employee’s identification with
the organization and wish to remain in that organization.
a. Organizational; affective
b. Affective; organizational
c. Citizenship; organizational
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Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
d. Effective; efficient
e. Corporate; organizational
29) Ted is looking to give his employees more decision-making responsibility in the
future. This is an example of
a. working with others.
b. empowerment.
c. productivity.
d. workforce diversity.
e. global competition.
30) A group level challenge that exists in the Canadian workplace includes which of the
following?
a. job satisfaction
b. empowerment
c. behaving ethically
d. workforce diversity
e. productivity
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
31) An organizational level challenge that exists in the Canadian workplace includes
which of the following?
a. developing effective employees
b. working with others
c. workforce diversity
d. job satisfaction
e. empowerment
32) Yolanda is committed to making sure that her employees feel empowered when they
undertake their daily responsibilities. This means that they
a. have been given formal power by the organization to say “no.”
b. have the authority to direct the work of others.
c. have the freedom to make choices about their personal lives.
d. are given the freedom to be self-actualized at work.
e. are given responsibility for what they do.
33) Which of the following is the most accurate description of ethics?
a. Ethics is a key part of our personality and forms the basis of our behaviour.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
b. Ethics is a branch of study that looks at past personal behaviour.
c. Ethics is common sense that informs us if what we do is right or wrong.
d. Ethics is the study of moral values that guide our behaviour.
e. Ethics helps employees communicate effectively.
34) When Mike is faced with making a difficult decision that has ethical implications, he
must draw on
a. religious teachings, artifacts and icons.
b. moral values and principles that guide individual behaviour.
c. principles that assist individuals to do the most efficient thing.
d. principles that assist individuals to be more productive as they work for the good of the
organization.
e. principles that inform us whether knowledge is valid and useful.
35) Workforce diversity is a challenge for organizations in today’s globalized world. To
address this challenge, organizations try to
a. standardize operations so everyone feels equal.
b. accommodate different life and work styles.
c. ensure everyone can speak English.
d. hire fewer employees from different cultural backgrounds.
e. have standardized rules and policies on workplace communication.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
36) Ahmad, as a new manager, wants to make sure that he manages workforce diversity
effectively. To accomplish this, he should
a. recognize differences among individuals.
b. treat everyone the same so as to avoid discrimination.
c. make sure no human rights laws are violated.
d. minimize conflict.
e. accelerate the assimilation process.
37) John feels like he is always “at work” because he can be reached on his mobile
device at any time and he is always taking work home. His employer should
a. give him a raise.
b. tell him how much it appreciates his hard work.
c. upgrade his personal technology.
d. help him to attain work-life balance.
e. tell him to stop complaining since everyone else is working hard too.
38) Organizations that do not help employees achieve a work-life balance will find it
increasingly difficult to ________ the most capable employees.
a. motivate
b. train and promote
c. attract and retain
d. empower
e. communicate with
39) An organization that has a workforce made up mainly of sales clerks and automobile
repair technicians should focus on
a. creating a customer-responsive culture.
b. stabilizing wages.
c. improving operations.
d. streamlining operations.
e. changing its business plan.
40) One of the most important challenges facing managers today is dealing positively
with workforce diversity. If this is accomplished, then a positive outcome might include
a. less innovation because of less confusion.
b. a loss in creativity but a gain in productivity.
c. a standardized decision making process.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
d. quicker turnover.
e. improved decision making with more creativity.
41) SCENARIO 1-2
As a long term employee of Challenge Services Inc., headquartered in Canada, you have
been transferred to an overseas assignment. This assignment will involve management
and decision making in a variety of areas, particularly focusing on the work place and the
diversity of individuals who will ultimately be involved in your company’s operations.
Despite the many variables facing you, you are excited at this challenging opportunity
and recognize that success will be achieved through a dedicated leadership style.
Referring to SCENARIO 1-2, you should expect to find ________ to be a particular
problem.a. technology
b. productivity
c. communication
d. computers
e. time management
42) SCENARIO 1-2
As a long-term employee of Challenge Services Inc., headquartered in Canada, you have
been transferred to an overseas assignment. This assignment will involve management
and decision making in a variety of areas, particularly focusing on the work place and the
diversity of individuals who will ultimately be involved in your company’s operations.
Despite the many variables facing you, you are excited at this challenging opportunity
and recognize that success will be achieved through a dedicated leadership style.
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
Referring to SCENARIO 1-2, during your initial planning phase for arrival at your new
assignment, one of the major aspects you will need to consider and acquaint yourself with
isa. technology.
b. local culture.
c. your firm’s corporate culture.
d. travel and accommodation.
e. living conditions.
43) Which of the following is an example of being an efficient organization or employee?
a. operating a hospital at the lowest possible cost while achieving higher output
b. being the highest in sales as a real estate broker in Toronto
c. a telemarketer who makes the expected and required number of calls at the end of the
day
d. an instructor who teaches larger classes than colleagues
e. a business owner who expands her operation to more than the average number of
locations for her industry
44) SCENARIO 1-3
Allison and Gail are both university students studying for a final exam in OB. Both
students have a goal of making a grade of 90 percent or better despite the time pressures
they seem to be facing. Gail studied diligently for six hours and made a grade of 92
percent. Allison studied diligently for nine hours and also made a grade of 92 percent.
Referring to SCENARIO 1-3, which of the students was effective?a. only Gail
Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 1—What Is Organizational Behaviour
b. only Allison
c. neither Gail or Allison
d. both Gail and Allison
e. it is impossible to tell from the information given
45) SCENARIO 1-3
Allison and Gail are both university students studying for a final exam in OB. Both
students have a goal of making a grade of 90 percent or better despite the time pressures
they seem to be facing. Gail studied diligently for six hours and made a grade of 92
percent. Allison studied diligently for nine hours and also made a grade of 92 percent.
Referring to SCENARIO 1-3, which of the following statements is most accurate?a. Gail
is more efficient than Allison.
b. Allison is more efficient than Gail.
c. Gail is more effective than Allison.
d. Allison is more effective than Gail.
e. it is impossible to predict efficiency or effectiveness in this case.
46) SCENARIO 1-3
Allison and Gail are both university students studying for a final exam in OB. Both
students have a goal of making a grade of 90 percent or better despite the time pressures
they seem to be facing. Gail studied diligently for six hours and made a grade of 92
percent. Allison studied diligently for nine hours and also made a grade of 92 percent.
Referring to SCENARIO 1-3, which student was more productive?a. Allison