Exam 15: Understanding and Managing Individual Behaviour

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

Results of a study of the Big Five Model include ________.

What can managers do to deal with workplace misbehaviour?

In a short essay, define cognitive dissonance and discuss the three factors that affect how people cope with cognitive dissonance.

A management trainee working for a bank who says, 'Working in this industry is just not who I am as a person,' probably lacks ________.

What does the research evidence suggest about the statement, 'Happy workers are productive workers'?

Mentoring Careers Jeff was glad to see the high-school work-experience students 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.It was that many times he had seen kids come into his plant determined to be in a particular occupation that they were not cut out for.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 sample occupations.Then, as the interns arrived, he asked each to take the test to help guide them into occupations for which they may better be suited. -Refer to Mentoring Careers (Scenario).Darrin's testing indicated that he prefers activities involving thinking, organising and understanding and that he is basically analytical and curious.All but which of the following occupations is a potentially good match for him?

Just Your Type Employees Doug has recently been promoted to manager of a group of 13 scientists.All of his employees are well educated and have been with the company for a minimum of three years.In an attempt to learn more about the employees and to better assign them to jobs that they will enjoy, he has administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. -Refer to Just Your Type Employees (Scenario).George dislikes telling people unpleasant things and relates well to most people.George tends to be ________.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a person who rates strongly as a 'perceptive' would likely be spontaneous.

The goals of organisational behaviour are to predict, explain and influence behaviour.

Which of the following terms is defined as 'an employee's orientation toward the organisation in terms of his/her loyalty, identification and involvement'?

Mentoring Careers Jeff was glad to see the high-school work-experience students 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.It was that many times he had seen kids come into his plant determined to be in a particular occupation that they were not cut out for.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 sample occupations.Then, as the interns arrived, he asked each to take the test to help guide them into occupations for which they may better be suited. -Refer to Mentoring Careers (Scenario).The testing indicated that Sally prefers coordinated physical activity and that she was basically shy, stable and conforming.All but which of the following occupations is a potentially good match for her?

________ is the degree to which people believe they are masters of their own fate.

If we are attempting to decide whether a particular behaviour of an individual is unusual or not, we are making a judgment on what factor of attribution theory?

The Big Five Model found that employees who score higher in conscientiousness develop higher levels of job knowledge.

An Interesting Group Robin had her hands full.She had recently taken over managing the technical support group at her company and immediately noticed that her supervisors represented a collection of personalities like she had never seen before.She was having a problem understanding them and called the human resource department who referred her to a local psychologist.The psychologist suggested that there be some 'low-key' testing completed.Robin agreed, as she felt she had to have some understanding of her supervisors soon or she would go nuts! The testing was completed and Robin reviewed the results of the information. -Refer to An Interesting Group (Scenario).Though clearly capable, Mary did not seem to like herself.Her results indicated an unwillingness to take risks in job selection and she seemed very susceptible to evaluations from other people.Together, these finding indicate that Mary ________.

An Interesting Group Robin had her hands full.She had recently taken over managing the technical support group at her company and immediately noticed that her supervisors represented a collection of personalities like she had never seen before.She was having a problem understanding them and called the human resource department who referred her to a local psychologist.The psychologist suggested that there be some 'low-key' testing completed.Robin agreed, as she felt she had to have some understanding of her supervisors soon or she would go nuts! The testing was completed and Robin reviewed the results of the information. -Refer to An Interesting Group (Scenario).Sarah, the floor supervisor, seems to be a different person depending on whom she is with and what the situation demands.The tests were consistent with this observation, indicating her ability to adjust her behaviour.This is consistent with her being described as having ________.

The Perceptive Manager James has been a manager for several years.He has several employees who work directly for him.James tries to understand these employees so that he can help them do a better job, motivate them and understand their needs better. -Refer to The Perceptive Manager (Scenario).An employee has a bad habit of being late for work.James gets the employee to commit to being on time three days one week, four days the next week and each day the following week.________ is the term used to describe James's motivation technique for this employee.

According to the textbook, an individual's ________ is the unique combination of the psychological traits used to describe that person.

According to Holland, becoming a lawyer would be a good job match for someone with what type of personality type?