83) Employees exhibiting which of the following features are more likely to engage in political
behavior?
A) lack of organizational investment
B) external locus of control
C) low need for power
D) Machiavellian personality
E) low self-monitoring
84) 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
85) If an individual ________, then he or she is less likely to engage in illegitimate political
behavior.
A) has invested a lot in the organization in terms of time and efforts
B) possesses a scarce skill or knowledge
C) has influential contacts outside the organization
D) does not expect any future benefits from the organization
E) has an external locus of control
86) Which of the following is an organizational factor that increases illegitimate political
behavior?
A) internal locus of control
B) low expectations of success
C) high trust
D) low organizational investment
E) zero-sum reward practice
87) Which of the following organizational factors encourages political behavior?
A) using objective criteria in the appraisal
B) using multiple outcomes to measure performance
C) allowing significant time to pass between the time of an action and its appraisal
D) avoiding the zero-sum approach for resource allocation
E) ensuring role clarity
88) Timothy Jenkins had been working for six years at Hartford Mills, a company that takes a
strong stand against unionization. Though Timothy’s designation was that of a production
supervisor, as the company grew, he also took on additional duties like keeping a check on
employee safety, ensuring that legal measures are followed, and implementing programs for
labor welfare that the company planned. Many believed that Timothy was doing a great job for
the company, and so it came as a surprise when Timothy was rumored to face severe disciplinary
action, as he was encouraging the workers to join a union. However, he was let off with a mere
warning. Which of the following, if true, would explain this paradox?
A) The management had recently instituted a formal employee welfare committee.
B) Timothy stressed the fact that he was a meticulous worker who always adhered to company
policies.
C) The management had recently moved from an open shop mechanism to a closed shop
mechanism.
D) Timothy claimed that he was only looking to ensure greater employee welfare, which was one
of the duties the company had assigned to him.
E) Timothy argued that allowing unionization had increased the levels of employee satisfaction
in one of their rival companies.
89) Timothy Jenkins had been working for six years at Hartford Mills, a company that takes a
strong stand against unionization. Though Timothy’s designation was that of a production
supervisor, as the company grew, he also took on additional duties like keeping a check on
employee safety, ensuring that legal measures are followed, and implementing programs for
labor welfare that the company planned. Many believed that Timothy was doing a great job for
the company, and so it came as a surprise when Timothy was rumored to face severe disciplinary
action, as he was encouraging the workers to join a union. However, he was let off with a mere
warning. Timothy argued that he was only doing his job—a job in which he had responsibility
for improving the welfare of employees. Which of the following, if true, would help Hartford
Mills avoid such situations in the future?
A) ensuring the provision of a retaliatory policy for employees who go against the company
B) holding town hall meetings to explain to employees why Timothy was suspected
C) enlisting the support of popular employees like Timothy to discharge the employee welfare
duties
D) engaging in collective bargaining as it is the only way to motivate employees to work
efficiently
E) specifying the permissible and prohibited aspects of an employee’s formal role in the
organization
90) To avoid politicking during performance evaluations, an organization should ________.
A) create role ambiguity
B) use democratic decision making
C) use a single outcome measure
D) use objective criteria
E) allow a significant lapse
91) Under the zero-sum approach, rewards are distributed such that ________.
A) rewards are equal and do not increase or decrease with changes in profit margins
B) rewards increase for all employees at an identical rate
C) any drop in profits reduces the pay of employees by an identical amount
D) amount allocated for rewards is variable
E) rewards increase for a group at the expense of loss for another group
92) Reactive and protective behaviors designed to avoid action, blame, or change are termed
________.
A) repressive behaviors
B) defensive behaviors
C) submissive behaviors
D) impression management behaviors
E) proactive behaviors
93) Will Cears works at Mesner Corp. as a middle-level manager. Will recognizes that his firm is
plagued by organizational politics. Since he is not good at playing games, he frequently engages
in defensive behaviors in order to protect himself and his interests. Will is frustrated because he
believes that he has little control over his environment and his environment is uncomfortable to
him. He has had some success at establishing a sense of control for himself by appearing to be
cooperative and supportive to his colleagues. However, he continues to hold his reservations
against politicking and does not engage in it. This is an example of ________ in order to avoid
action, blame, or change.
A) buffing
B) buck passing
C) scapegoating
D) misrepresenting
E) stalling
94) Buck passing is seen when an employee ________.
A) avoids an unwanted task by falsely pleading ignorance or inability
B) prolongs a task to give the appearance of being occupied
C) documents his or her activity rigorously to project an image of competence and thoroughness
D) develops explanations that lessen his or her responsibility for a negative outcome
E) transfers responsibility for the execution of a task or decision to someone else
95) Which of the following defensive behaviors involves rigorously documenting activity to
project an image of competence and thoroughness?
A) buffing
B) justifying
C) scapegoating
D) stretching
E) overconforming
96) Placing the blame for a negative outcome on external factors that are not entirely
blameworthy is known as ________.
A) scapegoating
B) buffing
C) stalling
D) justifying
E) overconforming
97) Daphne is one of the three project managers at Virgo Inc., an art and design studio. Raymond
and Gabriel, the other two project managers, are unhappy working with Daphne as she always
selects projects that suit her area of expertise and avoids projects which require more ambiguous
work, have tight deadlines, and represent a low probability of success. Raymond and Gabriel feel
that they deserve greater credit than Daphne for being open and accepting different work
demands and situations, as opposed to Daphne, who always takes a conservative and risk-averse
approach. Daphne is using the defensive behavior of ________ here.
A) scapegoating
B) ingratiating
C) stalling
D) retaliating
E) playing safe
98) Which of the following defensive behaviors involves developing explanations that lessen
one’s responsibility for a negative outcome and apologizing to demonstrate remorse?
A) scapegoating
B) misrepresenting
C) justifying
D) overconforming
E) stretching
99) Which of the following is a defensive behavior that is used to avoid change?
A) stalling
B) scapegoating
C) misrepresenting
D) stretching
E) preventing
100) Which of the following differentiates between high self-monitors and low self-monitors?
A) High self-monitors are more likely to use defensive impression management techniques,
while low self-monitors are more likely to use self-focused impression management techniques.
B) High self-monitors are commonly seen in collectivist cultures, while low self-monitors are
commonly seen in individualist cultures.
C) High self-monitors tend to mold their appearances and behavior to fit each situation, while
low self-monitors tend to present images of themselves that are consistent with their
personalities.
D) High self-monitors prefer to avoid using power and politics at the workplace, while low self-
monitors engage in a lot of politicking.
E) High self-monitors have an external locus of control as they attribute successes or failures to
luck and fate, while low self-monitors have an internal locus of control and believe that they
control the outcomes.
101) The low self-monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher levels of social
conformity, and is more likely to be skilled in political behavior than the high self-monitor.
102) The Machiavellian personality is characterized by the will to manipulate and the desire for
power.
103) Using a single outcome measure is recommended when designing a performance evaluation
system.
104) When the production manager at CalTrack was asked to provide reasons for the delay in the
last batch of stock to be produced for the month, he clearly stated that this was the result of one
of his front-level managers taking two days off and that the fault was not his. The manager is
using buffing as a defensive behavior here.
105) What are the various individual factors that make a person more likely to engage in political
behavior?
106) What are defensive behaviors? Provide three examples of defensive behaviors and explain
why an employee would engage in the behavior.
107) Victor Ortiz was a successful and popular manager at the marketing division of a consumer
goods company. Many attributed the company’s immense success in the last two years to Victor’s
highly creative marketing plans, which cost the company very little but increased the visibility of
its products. He also effectively tied up with new retail chains so the demand for their products
grows as the new retail chains grow. Recently, a subordinate alleged that Victor had sexually
harassed her, and stories of similar allegations made against him in the past resurfaced. The
situation was laid to rest when Victor made an appearance with the victim by his side claiming
that the allegations were baseless as he was romantically involved with her. Though this
announcement did not convince people, the allegations against Victor were withdrawn. From the
information provided in this scenario, this outcome can be explained by the fact that ________.
A) Victor has a high degree of referent power
B) Victor has enough power to get away with his misdeeds
C) Victor has abided by the standards of equity and justice
D) Victor has used a defensive impression management technique
E) Victor has used scapegoating to free himself from the charges
108) The more effort applicants put into highlighting their skills, motivation, and admiration for
the organization, the more likely they are to be hired.
109) When two organizations with very political environments interact with one another, the
political interactions between them can hurt performance in collaborative projects.
110) Studies from multiple countries around the world have similarly shown that higher levels of
political skill are associated with lower levels of perceived job performance.