1. Contingency theories of leadership specify the personal characteristics of the leader that will contribute to effectiveness
in a wide variety of situations.
a. True
b. False
2. An example of a situational force in leadership is group member characteristics.
a. True
b. False
3. According to Fiedler’s theory, task-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of high control and low control.
a. True
b. False
4. According to Fiedler’s theory, relationship-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of low control.
a. True
b. False
5. A major proposition of the path-goal theory is that the leader should engage in behaviors that run counter to the
subordinates’ environment and abilities.
a. True
b. False
6. If a leader wants to practice the path-goal theory of leadership, he should be prepared to compensate for the deficiencies
of subordinates.
a. True
b. False
7. According to the path-goal theory, the participative style is recommended when group members are performing
repetitive tasks.
a. True
b. False
8. The achievement-oriented leadership style works well with group members working on ambiguous and nonrepetitive
tasks.
a. True
b. False
9. In the situational leadership model II, the key contingency factor is the development level of group members as
determined by commitment and competence.
a. True
b. False
10. Situations shape not only how leaders behave, but also the consequences of leader behavior.
a. True
b. False
11. According to the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, it is not recommended that low-level employees should
be evaluated to find ways to enhance their work satisfaction.
a. True
b. False
12. To influence performance and satisfaction of subordinates, it is not recommended that the leader reduce frustrating
barriers to reaching goals, because overcoming obstacles is the only way to increase employee confidence long-term.
a. True
b. False
13. In the normative decision model, decision significance is defined as the significance of the decision to the success of
the project or organization.
a. True
b. False
14. An important situational factor in the normative model is the importance of commitment.
a. True
b. False
15. An ineffective way to lead an organization through a crisis is to strongly defend yourself against your critics or deny
wrongdoing.
a. True
b. False
16. Branch manager Marissa uses evidence-based leadership when she accuses subordinates of wrongdoing,
especially when she can heavily document her accusations.
a. True
b. False
17. A success factor for the leader of an organization or a key organizational unit is to think strategically, including
visualizing the big picture.
a. True
b. False
18. When asked about leadership effectiveness, an executive said, in part, “The length of the leash varies with different
people. . . .” The executive’s comments support the _____ perspective on leadership.
a. contingency
b. relationship-oriented
c. task-oriented
d. universal theory
19. The contingency approach to leadership explains that leaders are most effective when they:
a. plan for emergencies before they occur.
b. attune their behavior to situational forces.
c. follow universal managerial principles when faced with contingencies.
d. create backup plans to deal with human resources problems.
20. Baxter, a chief operating officer, practices contingency leadership when he:
a. warns workers in advance about potential punishments.
b. maintains an optimistic, positive attitude.
c. challenges the use of new technologies.
d. discards old ideas that no longer fit the situational forces.
21. Contingency leadership theorists believe that in terms of shaping the leader’s behavior, _____.
a. forces in the situation are much more important that the leader’s personal characteristics.
b. the internal environment is more critical than the external environment.
c. the leadership situation has a negligible influence.
d. the leader’s personal characteristics have a negligible influence.
22. A _____ perspective is that the leader’s behavior is profoundly influenced by the situation.
a. path-goal leadership
b. contingency leadership
c. normative decision model
d. middle of the road management
23. In Fiedler’s contingency theory, an important dimension for rating situation favorability is:
a. position power.
b. leader-member relations.
c. personal power.
d. task structure.
24. The general point of Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership is that the best style of leadership is determined by:
a. the leader’s personality.
b. how well the leader gets along with group members.
c. a balance of task and relationship factors.
d. the situation in which a leader works.
25. Following Fiedler’s contingency model, a leader can increase situational control by:
a. decreasing the task structure for group members.
b. creating conflict between himself or herself and group members.
c. increasing his or her position power.
d. increasing the demands on group members.
26. Division manager Pedro believes strongly in the path-goal theory of leadership, so he engages in behaviors that:
a. have a high probability of winning.
b. set quite high goals for all subordinates.
c. complement subordinate characteristics and task demands.
d. follow a logical path.
27. The general thrust of path-goal theory is to specify what a leader must do to:
a. make a directive style of leadership acceptable.
b. achieve high productivity and morale in a given situation.
c. improve the work attitudes of group members.
d. make the situation more favorable.
28. In path-goal theory, the directive leader improves morale when:
a. group members perform repetitive tasks.
b. group members are highly motivated.
c. there is ample time for task completion.
d. the task is unclear and vague.
29. In path-goal theory, the participative leader is best suited for improving the morale of:
a. well-motivated employees who perform repetitive tasks.
b. well-motivated employees who perform nonrepetitive tasks.
c. poorly-motivated employees who perform repetitive tasks.
d. poorly-motivated employees who perform nonrepetitive tasks.
30. One suggestion to the leader based on path-goal theory is for the leader to:
a. give people careful instructions, even when they can perform the task well.
b. encourage group members to provide their own structure.
c. purposely make ambiguous the path between goal attainment and receiving a reward.
d. reduce frustrating barriers to reaching goals.
31. The ______ leader enhances morale when group members work on stressful or frustrating tasks by displaying concern
for group members’ well-being.
a. supportive
b. directive
c. achievement oriented
d. participative
32. _____ is not a contingency factor that affects the decision-making style chosen in the normative decision model.
a. Decision significance
b. Leader expertise
c. Group expertise
d. Financial feasibility
33. In situations where leaders treat subordinates differently, team performance has been shown to be most negatively
impacted when those subordinates have:
a. poor exchanges with the leader.
b. good exchanges with the leader.
c. indifferent exchanges with the leader.
d. low opinions of their boss’s work ethic.
34. During a crisis, it is recommended that the leader:
a. take lots of time weighing options and formulating a plan.
b. act autocratically and emotionlessly to get a plan off the ground.
c. focus on minute details of the day-to-day recovery effort.
d. communicate widely about the problem.