Management, 13e (Robbins)
Chapter 15 Understanding and Managing Individual Behavior
1) Individual behavior in organizations includes ________.
A) strategies, norms, and roles
B) attitudes, learning, and motivation
C) structure, culture, and team building
D) policies and procedures
2) The study of group behavior includes the study of ________.
A) perception, motivation, and learning
B) attitudes and personality
C) norms, roles, and leadership
D) organization structure and culture
3) ________ is a performance measure of both the efficiency and effectiveness of employees.
A) Employee productivity
B) Organizational citizenship behavior
C) Job satisfaction
D) Employee morale
4) ________ is defined as the failure to report to work.
A) Turnover
B) Tardiness
C) Absenteeism
D) Negligence
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5) Which of the following is true for organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)?
A) OCB is a performance measure of efficiency.
B) The requirements of OCB are spelt out in employee job profiles.
C) OCB is the behavior leading to permanent withdrawal from an organization.
D) OCB is discretionary behavior which promotes the effective functioning of the organization.
6) Organizational behavior is concerned only with group interactions.
7) The goals of organizational behavior can be stated as: If you can explain it, you can predict it.
If you can predict it, you can influence it.
8) Organizational citizenship behavior is discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s
formal job requirements.
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9) What is organizational behavior? How can the study of organizational behavior help
managers?
10) The three components that make up an attitude are ________ components.
A) cognitive, affective, and behavioral
B) active, behavioral, and adjustable
C) emotional, creative, and environmental
D) intentional, reactive, and adjustable
11) The component of attitude that includes beliefs and opinions is the ________ component.
A) cognitive
B) behavioral
C) affective
D) mental
12) Which component of attitude is reflected in the sentence, “This is the best way to reach the
place”?
A) cognitive
B) behavioral
C) emotive
D) affective
13) The ________ component of attitude is based on emotions.
A) cognitive
B) behavioral
C) affective
D) spiritual
14) In the statement, “The highway is very busy at 5 p.m., and is scary to drive on, so I’ll wait
until 7 p.m. to go home,” the word “scary” represents which component of an attitude?
A) cognitive
B) behavioral
C) practical
D) affective
15) When someone chooses to act in a certain way, she is demonstrating the ________
component of her attitude.
A) cognitive
B) behavioral
C) affective
D) practices
16) In the statement, “The highway is very busy at 5 p.m. and is scary to drive on, so I’ll wait
until 7 p.m. to go home,” the phrase, “so I’ll wait until 7 p.m. to go home,” represents which
component of an attitude?
A) cognitive
B) behavioral
C) emotive
D) affective
17) Which of the following is true for satisfied employees with high organizational commitment?
A) lower rates of turnover and absenteeism
B) higher rates of voluntary turnover
C) higher rates of cognitive dissonance
D) lower levels of job involvement
18) The degree to which an employee identifies with his or her job or actively participates in it
refers to the employee’s ________.
A) job involvement
B) organizational citizenship behavior
C) attitude
D) job satisfaction
19) The degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and
wishes to maintain membership in the organization is the employee’s ________.
A) job involvement
B) organizational commitment
C) job satisfaction
D) organizational citizenship
20) ________ is employees’ general belief that their organization values their contribution and
cares about their well-being.
A) Job involvement
B) Organizational commitment
C) Perceived organizational support
D) Organizational citizenship
21) The cognitive dissonance theory proposes that the intensity of the desire to reduce
dissonance is determined by ________.
A) importance, influence, and rewards
B) resources, commitment, and organizational structure
C) stability, position, and power
D) awareness, status, and punishments
22) Mary dislikes having to convince prospective customers to buy products that she believes are
inferior to others in the market. However, she has sales targets for all products, superior or
otherwise, that she must meet in order to receive her commission. Although Mary tries to meet
the target sales for all products, she is torn between her beliefs and the actions she must take.
This inconsistency or incompatibility is known as ________.
A) negative feedback
B) difficult objectives
C) cognitive dissonance
D) management by objectives
23) The regular use of ________ can alert managers to potential problems and employees’
intentions early enough to do something about them.
A) employee engagement
B) performance incentives
C) employee benefit plans
D) attitude surveys
24) The cognitive component of an attitude refers to the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or
information held by a person.
25) Research indicates that satisfied employees have lower levels of turnover while dissatisfied
employees have higher levels of turnover.
26) Employees with a high level of job involvement strongly identify with and really care about
the kind of work they do.
27) Perceived organizational support is the degree to which an employee identifies with a
particular organization and its goals.
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28) Low levels of perceived organizational support lead to lower turnover.
29) Cognitive dissonance is any incompatibility or inconsistency between attitudes or between
behavior and attitudes.
30) Define attitudes. List and discuss the three components of attitudes and include an example
of a statement that describes each component to support your answer.
31) Explain cognitive dissonance theory in brief.
32) In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), “sensing” personality types are those who
________.
A) like solving new problems and dislike doing the same thing over and over again
B) use reason and logic to handle problems
C) have a high need for closure and show patience with routine details
D) see the big picture and dislike routine
33) As a manager, if you prefer to have a harmonious work environment and dislike
reprimanding your subordinates, you would probably score high on the ________ aspect of the
MBTI®.
A) perception
B) thinking
C) intuition
D) feeling
34) Which of the following is true according to the MBTI®?
A) Introverted types are practical and prefer routine and order.
B) Feeling types use reason and logic to handle problems.
C) Perceiving types are rigid and structured.
D) Judging types want control and prefer their world to be ordered.
35) If your boss could be described as flexible, adaptable, and tolerant, he or she would probably
score high on which of the following aspects of the MBTI®?
A) extraversion
B) sensing
C) feeling
D) perceiving
36) If you are a good planner and purposeful, you would probably score high on the ________
trait of MBTI®.
A) thinking
B) perceiving
C) introversion
D) judging
37) Sandy is very good at precise work. He does not tire of repetitive work as easily as some of
the others. However, when faced with a new problem that requires an innovative solution, his
performance is not satisfactory. Sandy’s personality is likely to be classified as a(n) ________
type.
A) sensing
B) feeling
C) introvert
D) intuitive
38) Alan’s temperament is not well-suited to being a researcher. He tends to dislike doing the
same thing twice and has no patience to sort out information step-by-step. As a result, he often
jumps to conclusions. Alan is most likely a(n) ________ type of personality.
A) sensing
B) feeling
C) introversion
D) intuition
39) George gets along well with most people in the team. He is good at his job but needs to be
reassured once in a while. Another of George’s traits is that he is always trying to keep everyone
happy. George can be described as a(n) ________ personality.
A) sensing
B) feeling
C) introverted
D) intuitive
40) Doug is purposeful and an excellent planner. One thing that his team admires him for is his
ability to sift through a whole lot of information to extract precisely what is needed for a job at
hand. He is also a quick decision maker. Which of the following personality types does Doug fit
into?
A) sensing
B) perceptive
C) extraverted
D) judging
41) The Big Five Model of personality includes ________.
A) intuition
B) judgment
C) perception
D) extraversion
42) In the Big Five Model of personality, ________ refers to the degree to which someone is
good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.
A) extraversion
B) agreeableness
C) conscientiousness
D) emotional stability
43) In the Big Five Model of personality, conscientiousness refers to ________.
A) the degree to which someone is calm, enthusiastic, and secure (positive) or tense, nervous,
depressed, and insecure (negative)
B) the degree to which someone is sociable, talkative, assertive, and comfortable in relationships
with others
C) the degree to which someone is reliable, responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement
oriented
D) the degree of influence the individual believes he or she has over certain factors
44) According to the Big Five Model of personality, a person who has a wide range of interests
and is imaginative, fascinated with novelty, artistically sensitive, and intellectual is described as
________.
A) conscientious
B) extraverted
C) emotionally stable
D) open to experience
45) If you believe that you control your own destiny, which of the following personality traits are
you likely to possess?
A) external locus of control
B) risk aversion
C) high self-esteem
D) internal locus of control
46) A person who believes that what happens to him is due to luck or chance is said to have a(n)
________.
A) internal locus of control
B) Machiavellian personality
C) external locus of control
D) self-monitoring personality
47) According to research, employees who have a high internal locus of control ________.
A) exhibit more satisfaction with their jobs than externals
B) are more alienated from their work setting than externals
C) are less involved in their jobs as compared to externals
D) blame their bosses for poor performance more often than externals
48) Peter, an assistant manager, exhibits a distinct lack of emotional involvement with his
colleagues and subordinates. His entire focus is on achieving the goals he sets, no matter what
the course he has to take to get there. These traits lead an observer to conclude that Peter
________.
A) is high on Machiavellianism
B) has low self-esteem
C) is high on self-monitoring
D) has high cognitive dissonance
49) An individual who is high in ________ is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and
believes that ends can justify means.
A) self-esteem
B) Machiavellianism
C) self-monitoring
D) risk taking
50) Which of the following is true of a person who believes that “the ends justify the means”?
A) He is likely to be low on self-confidence.
B) He is likely to be high in Machiavellianism.
C) He is likely to have an external locus of control.
D) He is likely to be risk averse.
51) Though clearly capable, Mary does not seem very confident of herself. She is always unsure
of whether she can handle assignments that are difficult and as a result ends up choosing jobs
that are fairly straight forward and involve routine work. She is also susceptible to evaluations
from other people. Mary seems to have ________.
A) high cognitive dissonance
B) a high Machiavellianism score
C) low self-monitoring
D) low self-esteem
52) If you like yourself, then your personality would be described as having ________.
A) an internal locus of control
B) a high Machiavellianism score
C) high self-esteem
D) an external locus of control
53) People with high self-esteem ________.
A) are more prone to conform to the beliefs of those they respect
B) are more likely to seek approval from others
C) are more likely to take unpopular stands
D) are more susceptible to external influence
54) Sarah, the floor supervisor, seems to be a different person depending on whom she is with
and what the situation demands. She has the ability to adjust her behavior as and when required.
This indicates that she ________.
A) has low self-esteem
B) is low on Machiavellianism
C) has a high need for affiliation
D) is high in self-monitoring
55) ________ is a personality trait that measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her
behavior according to external situational factors.
A) Self-awareness
B) Self-esteem
C) Self-monitoring
D) Self-management
56) A person who can adapt and adjust behavior to external factors has ________.
A) low self-esteem
B) an internal locus of control
C) high self-monitoring
D) high risk-taking ability
57) Kevin is a whirlwind as a research and development supervisor. His colleagues are surprised
that even though he makes decisions very quickly and always with less information than others,
his decisions are as good as anybody else’s. This information implies that Kevin has ________.
A) high intuition
B) high Machiavellianism
C) high risk-taking ability
D) low cognitive dissonance
58) A manager makes decisions very quickly and requires little information for making the
decisions. Which of the following is a likely reason for this?
A) The manager has low self-esteem.
B) The manager is high in self-management.
C) The manager is high in emotional stability.
D) The manager is high in risk-taking.
59) People who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until
meaningful change occurs are said to have ________ personalities.
A) proactive
B) self-aware
C) reactive
D) agreeable