Exam 13: Understanding Individual Behaviour

Mentoring Careers (Scenario) Jamal was glad to see the high school interns come and work in his office-and glad to see them go. It was not that he did not enjoy their company or that they did not work hard and attempt to perform at a high level, but many times he had seen kids come into his plant determined to be in a particular occupation that did not suit them. It was both frustrating and sad to see them try so hard at something they did not like and were not good at performing. So, for this next group of five interns, he decided to do something different. He did a little research and found out about Holland's Typology of Personality and Vocational Preference. Then, as the interns arrived, he asked them to take the test to help guide them into occupations for which they may better be suited. -Samir prefers activities that involve helping and developing others. Consistent with the testing, he is described as being social, friendly, and understanding. Which of the following occupations is not a potentially good match for him?

Mentoring Careers (Scenario) Jamal was glad to see the high school interns come and work in his office-and glad to see them go. It was not that he did not enjoy their company or that they did not work hard and attempt to perform at a high level, but many times he had seen kids come into his plant determined to be in a particular occupation that did not suit them. It was both frustrating and sad to see them try so hard at something they did not like and were not good at performing. So, for this next group of five interns, he decided to do something different. He did a little research and found out about Holland's Typology of Personality and Vocational Preference. Then, as the interns arrived, he asked them to take the test to help guide them into occupations for which they may better be suited. -Salim's testing indicated that he prefers activities involving thinking, organizing, and understanding and that he is basically analytical and curious. Which of the following occupations is not a potentially good match for him?

An Interesting Group (Scenario) Ruba has her hands full. She recently took over managing the technical support group at her company and immediately noticed that her supervisors represent an unusual collection of personalities. She was having a problem understanding them and called the human resource department who referred her to a local psychologist. The psychologist suggested that she do some "low- key" testing. Ruba agreed, as she felt she had no other way of understanding her supervisors. The testing was completed and Ruba reviewed the results of the information. -Issam is a whirlwind as research and development supervisor. He makes decisions very quickly and always with less information than others. This characteristic is consistent with his test, which describes him as having ______.

If everyone who's faced with a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the behavior shows______.

The Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) lacks evidence to support its validity.

In ______attribution theory, an employee who underestimates the influence of external factors and overestimates the influence of internal factors is said to have .

explain the four ways that managers can shape employees' behavior.

Which Is It? (Scenario) Marwan has been Lina's boss now for about six months. Recently, Lina had recommended firing Samir, one of her own staff, for his repeated "inability to get along with others." Marwan checked with Samir's coworkers, and none of them supported Lina's contention. In addition, several of Lina's peers had met with Marwan. Word of Samir's fate was getting out, and they wanted to let Marwan know that in the past, Lina had singled out other employees for persecution. When asked for specific problems with Samir, Lina mentioned that in addition to his attitude, he had been late several times recently. Marwan knew that Samir lived several miles away and that others had been late due to poor weather. Marwan did not know whether he should support Lina, his manager, or hold off and not fire Samir. -What factor of attribution theory was Marwan concerned about when he found out that Samir had been late to work because of the weather?

According to Holland's Typology, a realistic personality type might be well- suited to being an economist.

Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience is known as______ .

One of the challenges in understanding organizational behavior is that it addresses issues that aren't obvious.

When a manager molds an individual's behavior by guiding his or her learning gradual steps, this describes______ .

A low self- monitoring employee would not adjust well to self- sent signals, but would respond well to signals in his or her external environment.

According to Holland's Typology, enterprising types tend to be self- confident, ambitious, energetic, and domineering.

If an employee does not exhibit a desired behavior, a manager might use ______.

On the MBTI, if you are a good planner, you would probably score high on_______ .

______is the tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors such as ability or effort while putting the blame for personal failure on external factors such as luck.

______is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory impressions to give meaning to the environment.

The Perceptive Manager (Scenario) Rami has been a manager for several years. He has several employees who work directly for him. Rami tries to understand these employees so that he can help them do a better job, motivate them, and understand their needs better. -One of Rami's employees learns how to be a good employee by watching others performing ______desirable and undesirable things. describes learning by watching others.

Organizational behavior focuses on group behavior and________ .