Which of the following fields of study is most likely to involve studying organizational
culture, formal organization theory, and structure?
A) sociology
B) deontology
C) epistemology
D) agnotology
E) dysteleology
Xanadu Industries manufactures and sells the same calipers as Utopia Industries.
Employee wages account for 35 percent of the cost of manufacturing calipers at both
Xanadu Industries and Utopia Industries. Xanadu Industries is seeking a competitive
advantage over Utopia Industries. Richard, the manager put in charge of devising a
strategy to meet this end, suggests lowering employee wages. This leads to a grave
conflict between Richard and the labor union. Which of the following, if true, would
suggest that the labor union will accept Richard’s suggestion to lower the wages?
A) As they make a large number of precision instruments, caliper manufacturers receive
huge volume discounts on raw materials.
B) Utopia Industries recently set up a new manufacturing facility in the vicinity.
C) Xanadu Industries has taken away 20 percent of Utopia Industries’ business over the
last year.
D) Utopia Industries pays its employees, on average, 10 percent more than does Xanadu
Industries.
E) Many people who work for manufacturing plants live in areas in which the
manufacturing plant is the only source of employment.
Max Hiller was recently hired by Sync, a consumer goods company. During his first
meeting with the sales team, Max impressed upon his team that work performance is
the only criterion he would use to evaluate them. To help them perform well and meet
their targets, he pushed his team to work extra hours. He also gave very clear
instructions to each member regarding their job responsibilities and continually verified
if they were meeting their targets. Which of the following, if true, would weaken Max’s
approach?
A) Max is leading many new employees who have joined his team directly after
training.
B) Max’s team functions in a sluggish manner and picks up pace only a week or so
before the monthly operations cycle meetings.
C) Max’s sales team is comprised of independent and experienced employees who are
committed to their jobs.
D) Max’s team does not display high levels of cohesiveness, and members fail to
coordinate with each other.
E) Sales figures for the region that Max’s team is responsible for have improved in the
last quarter.
Individuals engage in ________ because it is impossible for them to assimilate
everything they see and can take in only certain stimuli.
A) selective perception
B) cognitive dissonance
C) self-serving bias
D) emotional labor
E) self-fulfilling prophecy
Which of the following theories proposes the idea of a dual continuum?
A) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory
B) self-determination theory
C) two-factor theory
D) cognitive evaluation theory
E) McClelland’s theory of needs
Dunder Mifflin Inc. is considering implementing employee ethics training programs.
Some members of senior management are opposed to these programs. Their opposition
is most likely based on which of the following beliefs?
A) Ethics training is very expensive.
B) Ethics change from country to country.
C) Individual value systems are fixed at an early age.
D) Integrity cannot be taught by example.
E) Ethics training does not help employees to recognize ethical dilemmas.
After the training and development manager at Add Worth, Nicole Hayes, resigned, the
CEO has made it a priority that the position be filled soon by someone of equal
expertise and experience as Nicole. To locate the right candidate, Jennifer Ray, the HR
manager, has been contacting recruitment firms, checking job sites, and pushing for
referrals from the employees. However, she has only found candidates with little or no
experience in the field who were willing to work full time for the position. At the next
meeting with the CEO, Jennifer proposes an alternative strategy; she suggests hiring
two experienced candidates who are open to the idea of handling the training needs on a
part-time basis as a team. The CEO listens to her proposal but is not too convinced by
it. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Jennifer’s proposal to use job
sharing for the vacant position?
A) Trainers are exempted from the requirement of being at the office throughout the
common core period of the workday.
B) The employees of the company on the work council have planned to demand the
flextime option.
C) A good proportion of the company’s prized workforce comprises employees from the
baby boomer generation who are set to retire in the impending future.
D) The headhunting firms that Jennifer contacted are usually helpful in generating a
good pool of potential candidates.
E) A rival firm recently adopted telecommuting to reduce administrative costs cutting
into its bottom line.
Which of the following statements is true about measuring job satisfaction?
A) The single global rating system is not very time consuming.
B) The summation of job facets approach takes into account cognitive dissonance
experienced by employees.
C) The summation of job facets approach prevents managers from zeroing in on
problems.
D) The summation of job facets approach involves responding to one particular
question.
E) The single global rating approach is rarely used for measuring job satisfaction.
A relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information making use of
heuristics is defined as ________.
A) serial processing
B) depth processing
C) parallel processing
D) controlled processing
E) automatic processing
The supervisors of the production division of one of the branches of Georgia Mills have
been informed of some irregularities noticed in inventory of raw materials by some
trusted subordinates. To get a clearer picture, the supervisors had a quick meeting with
the subordinates who reported the matter over lunch. The subordinates recommended
rotating the schedule of employees who account for the incoming and used up stock so
as to pinpoint the defaulting employee. The supervisors agreed that this was a good
strategy but admitted that the matter must be escalated to the production manager
before such a change can be implemented. They followed up this meeting with
subsequent sessions to evaluate how the change worked. The supervisors and
subordinates form a(n) ________ team in this scenario.
A) cross-functional
B) independent
C) problem-solving
D) virtual
E) self-managed
Which of the following best describes the physical ability known as trunk strength?
A) the ability to maintain equilibrium despite forces pulling off balance
B) the ability to coordinate the simultaneous actions of different parts of the body
C) the ability to expend a maximum of energy in one or a series of explosive acts
D) the ability to exert muscular strength using the abdominal muscles
E) the ability to move the trunk and back muscles as far as possible
An MNC in a developing country is operating amidst severe space constraints, and the
infrastructural conditions in the city are bad, causing a lot of lost man-hours.
Anticipating rapid growth in the months to come, the company has created a
recruitment plan based on its revenue expectations. However, it wants to manage this
expansion without undertaking an expensive physical expansion. Which of the
following could be a solution for the company?
A) profit sharing
B) groupshifting
C) telecommuting
D) gainsharing
E) codetermining
Which of the following is a disadvantage of downward communication?
A) communication apprehension
B) inferiority complex
C) inability to convey feedback
D) one-way nature
E) fear of authority chain
Which of the following is the first step in Kotter’s eight-step plan for implementing
change?
A) Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision.
B) Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is
needed.
C) Plan for, create, and reward short-term “wins” that move the organization toward the
new vision.
D) Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change.
E) Communicate the vision throughout the organization.