Deck 5: The Fibers of Organizations: People

Question 1

Power distance refers to

A) long term and short term leadership orientations
B) the relationship between superior and subordinate
C) the extent to which society accepts that power in organizations is
Distributed unequally
D) the amount of time between promotion from one supervisory level to the next.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Uncertainty avoidance is

A) the extent to which a culture feels threatened by ambiguity
B) a method to manipulate organizational change
C) resistance to organizational development and new management
D) the perceived insecurity of public managers

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In a/an ____________________ culture, identity is based on the individual, leadership is the ideal, and decisions are made by the individual.

A) masculine
B) feminine
C) individualistic
D) collectivistic

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In an empirical analysis, Alvin Gouldner determined that organizational roles fell along a political dimension that distinguishes between

A) idealists and realists
B) communists and capitalists
C) purists and visionaries
D) locals and cosmopolitans

Question 5

Dwaine Marvick divided bureaucrats into three career styles, identifying

A) lower, middle, and upper perspectives
B) entry, junior, and senior perspectives
C) institutionalist, specialist, and hybrid perspectives
D) assistant, associate, and full perspectives

Question 6

The chief executive officers and persons who hold top administrative persons in an organization typify the ______________________ leader.

A) hierarchical
B) transformational
C) charismatic
D) legal-rational

Question 7

The studies that posits groups follow their leaders blindly and without question have been lumped together under the category of

A) the Tao of Pooh
B) cow psychology
C) the sheep principle (sheeple)
D) Simon says

Question 8

A leader's ability to positively recognize another is known as

A) referent power
B) coercive power
C) legitimate power
D) reward power

Question 9

______________________ leaders are those whose personal attributes allow them to influence their followers to accomplish outstanding feats.

A) Traditional
B) Legal-Rational
C) Charismatic
D) Titular

Question 10

The ability of a public administrator to communicate a vision for the organization may be impaired by all of the following except

A) agency neutrality
B) congressional legislating of the status quo
C) short-term political appointments
D) emphasis on hard work

Question 11

What percentage of public administrators cite job security as their primary reason for working in government?

A) 50%
B) 60%
C) 70%
D) 80%

Question 12

____________________ describes career bureaucrats who work against the wishes of their superiors and the interests of the organization.

A) Cesspool Syndrome
B) Beagle Effect
C) Guerilla Government
D) Coalition Management

Question 13

Americans are more likely than Europeans to believe that the primary purpose of government is to ensure no citizen is in need.

Question 14

Power distance is closely related to organizational centralization and decentralization.

Question 15

Organizational stability can be enhanced by cosmopolitans as well as by locals.

Question 16

Task-motivated leaders function well in both high-control and low-control situations.

Question 17

A good public sector leader is unlawful, unhelpful, and directive.

Question 18

Public service motivation is more pronounced in men than in women.

Question 19

Public managers seem to have unusual motivations and derive unusual satisfactions from their jobs. Please address these motivations and satisfactions.

Question 20

What are the main "turning points" that a person experiences throughout his or her life, as described by Erik Erikson and other adult development psychologists? How are these turning points correlated with job satisfaction?

Question 21

What effect does birth order have on an individual's behavior in an organizational
setting?

Question 22

What is the difference between leadership and administration?

Question 23

Identify the main differences between private-, public-, and independent-sector boards.

Question 24

Researchers have identified seven bases of social power that support leaders. What are these types of power? How are public administrators more constrained than private ones in their access to and use of these power bases?

Question 25

Organizational leadership is often summarized as vision, communication, and hard work. How does this formula work in the public sector?

Question 26

Discuss Simon's fusion of psychological man and economic man into Administrative man. What are the implications of "administrative man" for the public organization?