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Student name:__________
1) Power is an aspect of a relationship between two or more persons. What implication does
this fact have for organizational members who wish to increase their power? Decrease the power
of others?
2) How does a person’s zone of inference impact of authority and compliance?
3) Describe the Milgram studies and their findings.
4) Assume that your supervisor stopped by to say, “We’re really losing money using that
Beal stamping machine, so I want you to do me a favor. I want you to come in this weekend and
break the machine, so we can get a new one. But be sure to make it look like and accident. I don’t
trust anyone but you to do it, and it will really help us out.” Would you comply with his request?
Why or why not?
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5) Describe the nine specific tactics used by individuals to influence others.
6) You cannot influence anyone (induce certain behavior in another person) without:
A) ethics
B) influence
C) power
D) rewards
7) John French and Bertram Raven suggested that all of the following are interpersonal
sources of power except:
A) Legitimate
B) Expert
C) Coercive
D) Relevant
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8) The five sources of interpersonal power can be divided into two major categories:
_______________.
A) organizational and personal
B) structural and informational
C) operational and influence
D) structural and personal
9) _______________ power refers to a person’s ability to influence others because of their
position within the organization.
A) Status
B) Authentic
C) Legal
D) Legitimate
10) Organizational authority has all of the following characteristics except:
A) It is used horizontally.
B) It is invested in a person’s position.
C) It is accepted by subordinates.
D) It is used vertically.
11) If a request by a manager to a subordinate were perceived as an acceptable order, it
would lie within __________.
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A) the manager’s “zone of authority”
B) the subordinate’s “zone of acceptance”
C) the subordinate’s “zone of indifference”
D) the manager’s “zone of indifference”
12) A person’s _______________ is the basis of his or her referent power.
A) intelligence
B) charisma
C) expertise
D) knowledge
13) Performing a requested task because of fear of rejection by co-workers for
noncompliance is an example of the impact of _______________ power.
A) referent
B) reward
C) expert
D) coercive
14) A person’s _______________ power can be changed by rewriting their job description.
A) referent
B) doyen
C) expert
D) legitimate
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15) _______________ sources of power result from the nature of the organizational social
system, rather than from the attributes of an individual.
A) Reward
B) Structural
C) Referent
D) Coercive
16) Research indicates that when subordinates believe a manager’s coercive power is
increasing, they also perceive a drop in _______________ power.
A) reward
B) legitimate
C) referent
D) Any or All of the choices are correct.
17) Resources in organizations are typically allocated _______________, along the lines of
authority.
A) horizontally
B) diagonally
C) upward
D) downward
18) Kanter argues quite convincingly that power stems from _____________.
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A) access to resources, information and support
B) the ability to identify meaningful work
C) one’s position in the organization
D) the people
19) A manager is powerful because he or she does or has all of the following except:
A) Allocates required resources
B) Makes crucial decisions
C) Access to important information
D) Extensive training
20) Microsoft, Google, and Walmart became prominent, profitable companies because they
used the _______________ of their employees to gain a competitive advantage in their
industries.
A) knowledge
B) experience
C) creativity
D) All of the choices are correct.
21) ____________ is defined as a conclusion or analysis derived from data and information.
A) Data leveraging
B) Information application
C) K2
D) Knowledge
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22) All of the following are reasons why employee empowerment is not universally
embraced except:
A) Managers fear the loss of power, control, and authority.
B) Employees are not able to make responsible decisions.
C) Empowered employees displace too many managers.
D) Empowering employees was attempted before, and it failed.
23) _______________ is defined as sharing power and authority with subordinates to
increase their confidence and effectiveness.
A) Mentoring
B) Empowerment
C) Substitutability
D) Control
24) The power differential between subunits is influenced by:
A) The degree or ability to cope with uncertainty
B) The centrality of the subunit
C) The substitutability of the subunit
D) All of the choices are correct.
25) All of the following are types of subunit coping activities except:
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A) Prevention
B) Information
C) Absorption
D) Deflection
26) Within the context of strategic contingency theory, a strategic contingency is
A) a plan that will be used only in the event that the primary plan is unattainable.
B) a reserve of funds to be used in case of emergency.
C) an alternative plan of strategic importance.
D) an event or activity that is extremely important for accomplishing organizational
goals.
27) Forecasting is an example of coping by _______________.
A) prevention
B) information
C) absorption
D) deflection
28) All else being equal, a subunit possesses power if its activities have more
_______________ impact than those of other subunits.
A) immediate or urgent
B) financial
C) emotional or disgruntlement
D) visible
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29) Which of the following is an example of substitutability?
A) Preventing market share decline by product development
B) Absorbing problems from other units
C) Being in an urgent or immediacy position
D) Possessing needed skills or expertise to perform the tasks of other units
30) An example of coping by ________________ might be one subunit taking a problem
employee from another in an attempt to retrain and redirect that employee.
A) absorption
B) cooperation
C) training
D) transfer
31) According to Hickson, “The ____ a subunit copes with uncertainty, the _____ its power
within the organization.”
A) more, greater
B) less, greater
C) more, less
D) None of the above. Hickson did not address this point.
32) _________ zero centrality.
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A) Staff subunits have
B) The least information providing subunits have
C) The most geographically separated subunits have
D) No subunit has
33) If an organization can obtain alternative sources of the _______________ to perform the
job done by a subunit, that subunit’s power will be diminished.
A) skill
B) information
C) resources
D) All of the choices are correct.
34) The Milgram studies focused on _______________.
A) the effects of punishment on learning
B) obedience to authority
C) the impact of environment on perceptions of role
D) the impact of subordinate-leader relations
35) _______ demonstrated how powerful perceived power can in his Stanford Prison
Experiment.
A) Clark
B) Milgram
C) Zimbardo
D) French and Raven
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36) A study of 700 employees suggested that political skill can accurately be broken down
into all of the following factors except:
A) Social astuteness
B) Interpersonal influence
C) Networking ability
D) Survival instincts
37) Which of the following was deemed the most important personal characteristic of
effective organizational politicians?
A) Being logical
B) Having self-confidence
C) Being articulate
D) Being highly intelligent
38) A study that assessed the political skill of about 700 employees suggested that political
skill can be accurately broken down into _____ distinct factors.
A) 3
B) 4
C) 5
D) 7
39) All of the following were presented in the text as reasons or purposes for which political
games are played except:
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A) To increase productivity
B) To resist authority
C) To counter the resistance to authority
D) To build power bases
40) _______________ is used to convince you that a particular course of action is logically
the best course because it is in your best interest.
A) An inspirational appeal
B) A personal appeal
C) Consultation
D) Rational persuasion
41) Politics and political behavior are found:
A) only in large organizations
B) only in small organizations
C) in both small and medium sized organizations
D) in all organizations
42) _______________ are used to gain your support by seeking the help of others to persuade
you, or by using the support of others as an argument for you to also give your support.
A) Consultative tactics
B) Inspirational appeals
C) Ingratiating tactics
D) Coalition tactics
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43) _______________ are used to create a sense of obligation, because someone is doing
something nice for you.
A) Consultation tactics
B) Inspirational appeals
C) Ingratiating tactics
D) Coalition tactics
44) _______________ are used to gain your support for a course of action, by letting you
participate in the planning for the action.
A) Consultation tactics
B) Inspirational appeals
C) Ingratiating tactics
D) Coalition tactics
45) ________ has identified 13 types of political games played in organizations.
A) Henry Mintzberg
B) John Milgram
C) Peter Drucker
D) Robert Konopaske
46) The influence tactic of consultation is most likely to result in _______________.
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A) resistance
B) compliance
C) commitment
D) peer pressure
47) The influence tactic of _______________ may result inresistance.
A) coalition
B) exchange
C) pressure
D) Any tactic may result if it is used in an unskillful manner or if the request being
made is clearly objectionable.
48) Researchers report that those who use _______________ behaviors and logic to convince
others have a greater chance of succeeding at their careers than do those who do not use these
tactics.
A) consultative
B) inspirational
C) ingratiating
D) pressuring
49) In impression management, _______________ is used to create the impression that you
are participative and that you want, value, and respect input from the person you are trying to
influence.
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A) consultation
B) inspiration
C) pressure
D) ingratiation
50) An employee who uses _______________ to convince her teammates to pursue a certain
approach to a project is likely to hurt her image as a team player.
A) impression management
B) self-promotion
C) intimidation
D) self-handicapping
51) In impression management, _______________ is designed to project an impression of
you as a nice, thoughtful, or friendly person.
A) consultation
B) inspiration
C) pressure
D) ingratiation
52) Researchers recommend that a manager’s behavior satisfy all of the following criterion to
be ethical except:
A) Utilitarian outcomes
B) Organizational goals
C) Individual rights
D) Distributive justice
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53) There is nothing wrong with the acquisition and use of power if it is done in a
professional and _______________ manner.
A) logical
B) ethical
C) systematic
D) consistent
54) Which of the following is not a factor associated with political skills?
A) sociability
B) interpersonal influence
C) networking ability
D) apparent sincerity
55) If a potential behavior cannot pass the three ethical criteria it may still be considered
ethical in the particular situation if it passes the criterion of __________________.
A) do no harm
B) extreme need
C) strategic contingencies
D) overwhelming factors
56) What is the difference between power and influence?
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57) Which power would you prefer to develop for yourself: expert power or legitimate
power? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these sources of power?
58) Organizational authority has three characteristics, what are they?
59) Sources of interpersonal power can be divided into two major categories. What are these
categories with what sources of power are they associated?
60) Kanter argues that power stems from multiple sources. What are they?
61) What is the difference between data, information, and knowledge?
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62) How has empowerment been defined by Conger and Kanungo?
63) Despite the commonsense appeal of empowering employees, empowerment is not
universally embraced for a number of reasons. List three.
64) Identify three strategies or techniques a manager can employ to empower his or her
employees.
65) In the case of self-managed teams, empowerment can be fostered by delegating
additional formal decision-making control to the team. What benefit does this produce for the
team?
66) Assume that the printing process is a strategic contingency for a publishing company and
that only one group of employees knows how to operate the printing press. How could the
environment be changed to more evenly balance power within the printing department?
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67) What is a strategic contingency?
68) Subunit power is influenced by three factors, what are they?
69) How does substitutability impact subunit power?
70) Briefly explain, what was the major finding of the Milgram studies.
71) Political games are played at all organizational levels by both managers and non-
managers. Identify three purposes for which these games are played.
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72) A number of frequently used influence tactics were discussed in the text. How many have
you witnessed being played in organizations of which you are a member? What other tactics
have you seen used?
73) Researchers recommend that a managers’ behavior satisfy certain criteria to be considered
ethical. What are those criteria?
74) What is self-handicapping?
75) What is impression management and how might an interviewee use it?
76) Influence is the capability to get someone to do something.
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⊚ true
⊚ false
77) Power is considered an attribute of a particular person.
⊚ true
⊚ false
78) No individual or group can have power in isolation.
⊚ true
⊚ false
79) Legitimate power is also called authority or position power.
⊚ true
⊚ false
80) Possessing legitimate power ensures that all of your orders will be followed by your
subordinates.
⊚ true
⊚ false
81) A person’s zone of indifference can widen or narrow, depending on the situation.
⊚ true
⊚ false
82) Even if a reward has no value to an individual, it is likely to influence behavior.
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⊚ true
⊚ false
83) One must be in a position of authority to possess coercive power.
⊚ true
⊚ false
84) Experts have power even when their formal position in the organizational hierarchy is
low.
⊚ true
⊚ false
85) Expert, legitimate, reward, and coercive power are largely prescribed by the organization.
⊚ true
⊚ false
86) Structure impacts informal power through its effect on information and communication
flows within the system.
⊚ true
⊚ false
87) The use of coercive power seldom results in resistance.
⊚ true
⊚ false
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88) The use of expert or referent power results in compliance, but not commitment.
⊚ true
⊚ false
89) Organizations with very few levels of management between the customer and top
leadership are likely to have a less balanced distribution of power than traditional organizations
with multiple layers of management.
⊚ true
⊚ false
90) According to Kanter, if one has the ability to get cooperation, they do not need access to
resources, information and support to have power over others.
⊚ true
⊚ false
91) Individuals who influence decision-making processes and their outcomes must have
formal authority.
⊚ true
⊚ false
92) Having access to relevant and important information is power.
⊚ true
⊚ false
93) Coercive influence is considered by some experts to be more powerful than any part or
structure of an organization.
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⊚ true
⊚ false
94) Effective empowerment requires that employees must be only given enough information
to carry out their immediate tasks.
⊚ true
⊚ false
95) Performance feedback is typically not necessary for newly empowered employees.
⊚ true
⊚ false
96) The higher the substitutability of a subunit, the greater is its power within the
organization.
⊚ true
⊚ false
97) In the language of organizational theory, political behavior results in the displacement of
power.
⊚ true
⊚ false
98) Compliance occurs when you agree internally with a decision, action, or request, are
enthusiastic about it and are likely to exert unusual effort to carry it out.
⊚ true
⊚ false
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99) Any influence tactic can result in resistance if it is used unskillfully or if the request being
made is clearly objectionable.
⊚ true
⊚ false
100) Virtually everyone makes a deliberate effort in some situations to create a desirable
impression.
⊚ true
⊚ false
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Answer Key
Test name: chapter 12
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