Deck 1: Ob: What It Is and Why It Matters

Question 1

Two catalysts behind major trends affecting the field of OB today are technology and increased employer demand for interpersonal skills.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

People approach resources in two different ways: chasing and stretching.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A new form of employment relationship, where a job is a short-term commitment to a company in the capacity of a consultant or contingent worker rather than an employee, is known as the ________ economy.

A)cyber
B)virtual
C)gig
D)career
E)spiral

Answer 3

C

Question 4

When it comes to resources, everyone performs better with constraints.

Question 5

OB principles usually generalize easily across different cultures.

Question 6

Important as they may be, people skills have proven stubbornly hard to develop.

Question 7

Most great managers learn to manage themselves only after they first learn to manage others effectively.

Question 8

A meta-analysis revealed that undergraduate GPA predicts job performance through five years post college.

Question 9

Little e evidence represents organization-specific data collection efforts to inform a specific decision.

Question 10

Big E evidence represents organization-specific data collection efforts to inform a specific decision.

Question 11

For most OB topics, executing skills is easier than is knowing their conceptual rules.

Question 12

The contingency approach to thinking suggests that there is rarely one best way to act, and the best course will be a result of many interacting forces.

Question 13

People skills can mostly be learned later or picked up on the job.

Question 14

To master a skill, it takes both knowledge practice ("know that")and application practice ("know how").

Question 15

Positions that require both cognitive and social skills have shown more wage growth in the past few decades than those that require high levels of mathematical or analytical thinking.

Question 16

According to Professor David Deming, future job security can be achieved by focusing on developing technical skills.

Question 17

Workplace diversity concerns differences among people between given countries or organizational contexts.

Question 18

A problem with little e data is that they do not generalize broadly.

Question 19

Management skills are linked to a more complex knowledge base than other types of skills and are inherently connected to interaction with other people.

Question 20

In a recent study of 1,300 recruiters, interpersonal skill was rated as among the most desirable, yet most scarce skills present in today's graduates.

Question 21

Which is not part of the evidence-based approach scholars use to study OB challenges?

A)define
B)understand
C)predict
D)analyze
E)evaluate

Question 22

Which type of evidence below is consistent with big E evidence?

A)conclusions reached via common sense
B)conclusions reached via experience or wisdom
C)intuition
D)a meta-analysis in a peer-reviewed journal
E)a case study at a single company

Question 23

Each letter in the acronym, SMART, relates to something that makes goals effective. Which letter below is misrepresented?

A)Structured
B)Measurable
C)Actionable
D)Relevant
E)Time-bound

Question 24

For setting SMART goals, the "M" stands for

A)Maintenance.
B)Magnitude.
C)Manageable.
D)Measurable.
E)Motivational.

Question 25

Which type of evidence represents organizational specific data collection efforts to inform a specific decision?

A)eig E
B)little e
C)empirical
D)inductive
E)deductive

Question 26

Which type of evidence refers to generalizable knowledge regarding cause and effect connections derived from scientific methods?

A)big E
B)little E
C)empirical
D)inductive
E)deductive

Question 27

Studies have explored how experts attack particular problems or challenges. The studies have found that experts internalize their own "theories in use." These theories are called

A)schemas.
B)algorithms.
C)heuristics.
D)mental models.
E)frameworks.

Question 28

OB researchers Adam Grant and Scott Sonenshein have studied what leads to success in organizations and in life. In their model, which term represents "embracing the resources we already have"?

A)matching
B)careering
C)chasing
D)stretching
E)extending

Question 29

The ability to develop a(n)________ view of people practices will likely differentiate the most successful organizations going forward.

A)logical
B)reflective
C)diagnostic
D)systematic
E)analytical thinking

Question 30

OB researchers Adam Grant and Scott Sonenshein have studied what leads to success in organizations and in life. When it comes to the success ladder, which of the following is true?

A)Matchers appear at the top of the ladder.
B)Givers appear at the bottom of the ladder.
C)Takers appear at the bottom of the ladder.
D)Takers appear at both the bottom and the middle of the ladder.
E)Givers appear at both the bottom and the top of the ladder.

Question 31

Which is not one of the key practices of the method of science?

A)learning about cause and effect connections
B)isolating variations that affect desired outcomes
C)conducting double-blind studies of OB phenomenon
D)creating a culture of evidence-based decision making and research participation
E)building decision supports to promote practices that evidence validates

Question 32

Which fallacy below occurs when a conclusion is based solely on a very small sample and/or personal experience?

A)Straw Man
B)Red Herring
C)Hasty Generalization
D)Ad Hominem
E)False Dilemma

Question 33

There is rarely one best way to act, and the best course will be a result of many interacting forces. This statement illustrates the ________ approach to OB.

A)pragmatic
B)contingency
C)realistic
D)exigency
E)principled

Question 34

Generation Z roughly encompasses people born

A)after 2005.
B)after 1995.
C)after 1990.
D)between 1965 and 1980.
E)between 1945 and 1964.

Question 35

Quality improvement process such as Six Sigma represent

A)inductive inference.
B)deductive inference.
C)meta-Analytical Thinking inference.
D)little e evidence.
E)big E evidence.

Question 36

Translating principles based on the best available scientific evidence into organizational practice is known as ________ management.

A)methodical
B)systematic
C)practitioner-based
D)evidence-based
E)scientific

Question 37

MBA alumni were recently asked how often they used various skills and what skill areas they felt needed additional training. The skill they reported using most and that was most in need of training was ________ skill.

A)interpersonal
B)ethical
C)managerial
D)quantitative
E)financial

Question 38

Each letter in the acronym, SMART, relates to something that makes goals effective. Which letter below is misrepresented?

A)Specific
B)Measurable
C)Actionable
D)Reliable
E)Time-bound

Question 39

Each letter in the acronym, SMART, relates to something that makes goals effective. Which letter below is misrepresented?

A)Specific
B)Measurable
C)Actionable
D)Relevant
E)Time-bound

Question 40

Which is not a major trend affecting the field of OB today?

A)globalization and diversity
B)cybersecurity/privacy
C)big data
D)the gig economy
E)the virtual workplace

Question 41

What is the knowing-doing gap in OB? How does it relate to skill mastery? What can you do to accept the challenge of going from knowing to doing?

Question 42

Explain what it means to think contingently about OB issues. What would non-contingent thinking look like?

Question 43

Describe organizational behavior. How does it relate to effective managerial practices?

Question 44

List and discuss the five key practices involved in the method of science.

Question 45

OB researchers Adam Grant and Scott Sonenshein have a theory about what leads to success in organizations and in life (OB Buzz 1-3). Describe it. How do givers, matchers, and takers fare on the success ladder? Why do some people succeed with so little, while others fail with so much?

Question 46

Organizational success is always about the

A)people.
B)management team.
C)business model.
D)business plan.
E)economy.

Question 47

Explain how OB skills are linked to personal and career success.

Question 48

Given the gig economy, some researchers have gone so far as to claim that organizations are

A)emerging.
B)vanishing.
C)augmenting.
D)diversifying.
E)consolidating.

Question 49

What OB theories or models might apply to your challenge? This is the key question in the ________ step of the strategy that OB researchers use to study their field.

A)analyze
B)evaluate
C)predict
D)define
E)understand

Question 50

Describe the major trends that are profoundly changing OB today. What are the trends? How are they affecting the field of OB? Can you predict what the next new trends for the field might be?

Question 51

What is the method of science?

Question 52

Seeking too many resources undermines our work and well-being. That is, when it comes to resources, everyone performs better with

A)constraints.
B)restrictions.
C)boundary conditions.
D)limits.
E)margins.

Question 53

OB researchers Adam Grant and Scott Sonenshein have studied what leads to success in organizations and in life. In their model, which term represents "exhausting ourselves in the pursuit of more"?

A)matching
B)careering
C)chasing
D)stretching
E)extending

Question 54

What is big E evidence? Why is it important for managing organizational behavior?

Question 55

Select three of the chapters (from the whole book)previewed in Table 1.1, "OB Topics Teaser." How would you answer the "interesting question" for each of the three chapters now? How do you think your answer might change after completing this course?

Question 56

You should become more evidence-based in your thinking. Something you should not do in this regard is learn how to

A)evaluate evidence to make decisions.
B)use evidence to make decisions.
C)use management frameworks.
D)identify confounding variables.
E)overcome the knowing-doing gap in management development.

Question 57

You have a skeptical friend who claims that people skills don't matter to managerial success. Instead, your friend argues that people skills are merely soft skills that can be easily trained and developed. Defend the field of OB using any of the content from the chapter.

Question 58

According to a recent study by McKinsey, retention of top performers was most closely related to

A)increased compensation.
B)increased benefits.
C)supervisor relationships.
D)subordinate relationships.
E)peer relationships.

Question 59

How is the workforce becoming more diverse today?