Deck 9: Politics and Decision-Making in Organizations

Question 1

The strength of the 'pluralist perspective is that it places emphasis on diversity, conflict and power.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

An 'ideal-type' or 'ideal model' is the purest most developed concept of a particular thing and acts as something to move toward rather than to achieve.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which of the following is a feature of 'power'?

A)The legitimate right to control
B)Physical coercion
C)The ability to influence
D)The ability to order

Answer 3

B AND C

Question 4

Which of the following are examples of political rule systems?

A)Culture
B)Representative democracy
C)Leadership
D)Autocracy

Question 5

Which of the following is a feature of 'authority'?

A)The legitimate right to control
B)Physical coercion
C)The ability to influence
D)The ability to order

Question 6

Conflict is always dysfunctional.

Question 7

A typology is a form of classification that involves grouping together subjects with like themes.

Question 8

Classical theorists frequently make reference to authority and power in organizations without recognizing them to be political issues.

Question 9

Which of the following are features of political behaviour in organizations?

A)Cultivating influential allies
B)Controlling the flow of information
C)Bargaining
D)All of the above

Question 10

The mainstream image of politics and organization relates directly to what is generally recognised as the 'unitarist' frame of reference.

Question 11

Which of the following are characteristics of the critical 'organizational politics' perspective?

A)It does not presume order and consensus
B)Management and leadership are political
C)A concern for consensus seeking
D)A unitary perspective

Question 12

Mintzberg (1973) considers managerial work as a medium and outcome or wider institutional and politico-economic forces.

Question 13

Burns and Stalker (1966) argue that organisational goals are the outcome of political struggles.

Question 14

Which of the following factors motivate group formation?

A)Technology
B)Workplace rules
C)Relative power of the interest groups
D)Limited amounts of managerial differentiation

Question 15

Which of the following are elements of an organization's political system?

A)Goals
B)Hierarchy of power
C)Number of employees
D)Values

Question 16

Bounded rationality is decision making where individuals are confronted with too many options and cannot consider the implications of all of them and tend to reduce the considered number of options to a manageable number.

Question 17

Which of the following are features of a 'structuralist' perspective?

A)Structure is independent of human dimension
B)Human dimension influences structure
C)Its view of organization as social units
D)Its view of the importance of the environment in determining structure

Question 18

Which of the following are characteristics of 'organic organizations'?

A)Knowledge as a contributing resource
B)A rigid hierarchy
C)Flexibility
D)Responsiveness

Question 19

Which of the following are elements in the 'pluralist' perspective?

A)A rejection of the unitary perspective
B)Stability is the norm
C)The adoption of a contingency approach
D)Change is dysfunctional

Question 20

Structuralist analyses raise considerable doubts about the pluralist conception of power.