Deck 1: What Is Organizational Behavior

Question 1

Betty believes that it is best to take the casual or common sense approach to reading others. She needs to remember that ________.

A) the casual approach is nonsensical, and should be avoided as much as possible
B) the systematic approach and the casual approach are one and the same
C) laboratory experiments on human behavior often result in unreliable findings
D) the casual or common sense approach to reading others can often lead to erroneous predictions
E) behavior is unpredictable, hence there is no accurate way to analyze it

Answer 1

D
Explanation: D) Unfortunately, the casual or common sense approach to reading others can often lead to erroneous predictions. However, you can improve your predictive ability by supplementing intuition with a more systematic approach.

Question 2

Psychology's major contributions to the field of organizational behavior have been primarily at what level of analysis?

A) the level of the group
B) the level of the individual
C) the level of the organization
D) the level of culture
E) the level of interacting groups

Answer 2

B
Explanation: B) Psychology's contributions to the field of organizational behavior have been mainly at the individual or micro level of analysis, while the other disciplines have contributed to our understanding of macro concepts such as group processes and organization.

Question 3

What are the three primary determinants of behavior in organizations?

A) profit structure, organizational complexity, and job satisfaction
B) individuals, profit structure, and job satisfaction
C) individuals, groups, and job satisfaction
D) groups, structure, and profit structure
E) individuals, groups, and structure

Answer 3

E
Explanation: E) OB investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations.

Question 4

Basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific support is called ________.

A) intuition
B) organizational process
C) organizational behavior
D) evidence-based management
E) conceptual management

Question 5

Which of the following problems would an OB study be least likely to focus on?

A) an increase in absenteeism at a certain company
B) a fall in productivity in one shift of a manufacturing plant
C) a decrease in sales due to growing foreign competition
D) an increase in theft by employees at a retail store
E) excessive turnover among volunteer workers at a non-profit organization

Question 6

Analyzing relationships, determining causes and effects, and basing conclusions on scientific evidence all constitute aspects of ________ study.

A) organizational
B) intuitive
C) theoretical
D) systematic
E) case-based

Question 7

________ is a science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals.

A) Psychiatry
B) Psychology
C) Sociology
D) Political science
E) Organizational behavior

Question 8

Janet needs to assign a very important advertising account to one of her writers. First she reviewed each writer's work load, then she studied the sales data of the products for the last three campaigns of each writer, then she reviewed each writer's annual review to familiarize herself with their goals. Finally, she gave the account to Paula, a very creative, efficient, writer who has had high sales results with her last three clients' products. Janet's management style is based on ________.

A) intuition or "gut feeling"
B) organizational behavioral studies
C) subjective assessments
D) preconceived notions
E) systematic study

Question 9

Austin is a graduate student helping to organize a study on individual job satisfaction. The study focuses on the top five causes of satisfaction or dissatisfaction on a job. His department is surveying 200 individuals in 100 different types of organizations. Austin is most likely a graduate student in the department of ________.

A) psychology
B) anthropology
C) political science
D) social psychology
E) archaeology

Question 10

Organizational behavior is constructed from all of the following disciplines except ________.

A) physics
B) psychology
C) anthropology
D) sociology
E) social psychology

Question 11

Which of the following is not a topic or concern related to OB?

A) turnover
B) leader behavior
C) productivity
D) management
E) family behavior

Question 12

You are bringing together faculty from different behavioral disciplines to author a new textbook in organizational behavior. Represented are professors from psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, political science, and industrial engineering.
Which faculty member should furnish information about personality, learning, and motivation?

A) sociology
B) psychology
C) anthropology
D) political science
E) industrial engineering

Question 13

The OB topic of motivation has been most influenced by which behavioral discipline?

A) psychology
B) social psychology
C) sociology
D) political science
E) corporate strategy

Question 14

Which behavioral science discipline is most focused on understanding individual behavior?

A) sociology
B) social psychology
C) psychology
D) anthropology
E) organizational behavior

Question 15

Until the late 1980s, business school curricula emphasized the ________ aspects of management.

A) ethical
B) people
C) technical
D) human
E) global

Question 16

Which of the following is not a core topic of organizational behavior?

A) motivation
B) attitude development
C) conflict
D) resource allocation
E) work design

Question 17

Which of the following explains the usefulness of the systematic approach to the study of organizational behavior?

A) Human behavior does not vary a great deal between individuals and situations.
B) Human behavior is not random.
C) Human behavior is not consistent.
D) Human behavior is rarely predictable.
E) Human behavior is often not sensible.

Question 18

________ is the study of the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations.

A) Leadership
B) Organizational strategy
C) Performance management
D) Employee relations
E) Organizational behavior

Question 19

In order to predict human behavior, it is best to supplement your intuitive opinions with information derived in what fashion?

A) common sense
B) direct observation
C) systematic study
D) speculation
E) organizational theory

Question 20

Which of the following is not a reason why business schools have begun to include classes on organizational behavior?

A) to increase manager effectiveness in organizations
B) to help organizations attract top quality employees
C) to expand organizations' consulting needs
D) to improve retention of quality workers
E) to help increase organizations' profits

Question 21

Which of the following statements is not true about work force diversity?

A) Disability is a category of workforce diversity.
B) Managing workforce diversity presents many challenges.
C) Workforce diversity focuses on differences within a country.
D) Sexual orientation is a part of workforce diversity.
E) Workforce diversity is a concern only in the United States.

Question 22

Human beings are complex, and few, if any, simple and universal principles explain organizational behavior. Nevertheless, it does not mean that OB cannot offer reasonably accurate explanations of human behavior or make valid predictions. It does mean that OB concepts must ________.

A) focus on the reliability and validity of research data
B) attempt to establish cause-and-effect relationships
C) be consistently applicable across a wide range of situations
D) reflect situational, or contingency, conditions
E) avoid assumptions

Question 23

Group behavior, power, and conflict are central areas of study for ________.

A) archaeologists
B) philanthropists
C) anthropologists
D) social psychologists
E) operations analysts

Question 24

The subject of organizational culture has been most influenced by which behavioral science discipline?

A) anthropology
B) psychology
C) social psychology
D) political science
E) corporate strategy

Question 25

Which of the following statements best describes the current status of organizational behavior concepts?

A) They are based on universal truths.
B) Since people are complex, the theories explaining their actions must also be complex.
C) There is general consensus among OB researchers and scholars on the simple concepts that underlie most human behavior.
D) Cause-and-effect principles that tend to apply to all situations have been discovered.
E) Cause-and-effect relationships for most human behaviors have been isolated.

Question 26

Jude is a social psychologist. He is working on a concept in social psychology, which is a major study area, and learning how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance. Jude is studying the concept of ________.

A) culture
B) ethics
C) power
D) change
E) fatigue

Question 27

________ is an effect of increasing globalization.

A) More expensive consumer goods
B) An increase in manufacturing jobs in developed nations
C) An ever increasingly homogeneous workforce
D) Shared economic values among all cultures
E) Jobs moving to nations with low-cost labor

Question 28

OB concepts must reflect contingency conditions for all of the following reasons except ________.

A) human beings are complex
B) our predictions and assumptions are almost accurate all the time
C) one person's behavior changes in different situations
D) we are limited in our ability to make sweeping generalizations
E) two people often act very differently in the same situation

Question 29

You are bringing together faculty from different behavioral disciplines to author a new textbook in organizational behavior. Represented are professors from psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, political science, and industrial engineering.
Which professor out of this group would you expect to address issues on communication?

A) the psychologist
B) the anthropologist
C) the political scientist
D) the social psychologist
E) the industrial engineer

Question 30

Whereas ________ focuses on differences among people from different countries, ________ addresses differences among people within given countries.

A) workforce diversity; globalization
B) globalization; workforce diversity
C) culture; diversity
D) culturalization; workforce diversity
E) psychology; social psychology

Question 31

This field of study has helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between people in different countries and within different organizations.

A) anthropology
B) corporate strategy
C) political science
D) operations research
E) psycholinguistics

Question 32

As managers oversee the movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor, ________.

A) they tend to ignore the home country needs
B) they must deal with strong criticism from labor groups
C) they manage less diverse workforces
D) they avoid markets like China and other developing nations
E) they work themselves out of a job

Question 33

________ focuses on the study of people in relation to their social environment.

A) Psychology
B) Sociology
C) Corporate strategy
D) Political science
E) Operations management

Question 34

Which field of study has contributed to OB through its research on organizational culture and formal organization theory and structure?

A) psychology
B) operations management
C) corporate strategy
D) political science
E) sociology

Question 35

________ is a measure of how organizations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity.

A) Globalization
B) Workforce diversity
C) Affirmative action
D) Organizational culture
E) Operational homogeneity

Question 36

Which of the following statements best describes contingency variables?

A) They are scientific factors based on universal truths.
B) They are factors that moderate the relationship between two or more events or situations.
C) There is general consensus among OB researchers that they can be controlled.
D) They are the cause-and-effect principles that tend to apply to all situations that have been discovered.
E) They are simple and universal principles that explain organizational behavior.

Question 37

Raymond is completing a study on discrimination in which he has noted that saleswomen who wear skirt suits make more sales than saleswomen who only wear pant suits. However, Raymond determined that his findings only pertained to those industries in which the purchasing decision maker is traditionally masculine. For example, the sales results were the same for all women selling to medical office managers, a female dominated field. Raymond used ________ variables to more accurately explain his results.

A) global
B) general
C) dependent
D) non-reactive
E) contingency

Question 38

________ blends concepts from psychology and sociology and focuses on the influence people have on one another.

A) Corporate strategy
B) Anthropology
C) Political science
D) Social psychology
E) Archaeology

Question 39

You should expect that the faculty member from ________ will probably contribute information about large-scale group behavior.

A) sociology
B) psychology
C) social psychology
D) anthropology
E) industrial engineering

Question 40

Myriam is analyzing the gender roles of men and women in management in the United States and comparing them to the gender roles in management in Japan. She is surveying fifty male and fifty female managers in each country to compare their daily behavior. Myriam's study exemplifies how ________ contributes to OB.

A) anthropology
B) psychology
C) archaeology
D) political science
E) corporate strategy

Question 41

Which of the following is not an example of an ethical dilemma?

A) Do I allow some employees to work from home, and not others?
B) Do I offer a bribe to land a contract?
C) Do I write a check on a closed account?
D) Do I fire an employee to avoid paying her a big bonus?
E) Do I fire a whistle blower for exposing the company's wrongdoing?

Question 42

Which of the following is one of the main reasons why married employees find it difficult to make time to fulfill commitments to home, spouse, children, parents, and friends?

A) workaholism
B) temporary work culture
C) service focus
D) dual-career couples
E) flexible teams

Question 43

Given the climate of "temporariness" in modern organizations, employees must ________.

A) continually update their knowledge and skills
B) be prepared to stay in the same position for longer periods of time
C) have closer connections with their peers
D) foster friendship within the work environment
E) limit their mobility if they hope to compete

Question 44

Managers and their organizations are responding to the problem of unethical behavior in all of the following ways except ________.

A) by offering seminars, workshops, and other training programs to try to improve ethical behaviors
B) by writing and distributing codes of ethics to guide employees through ethical dilemmas
C) by hiring people who can identify unethical employees and take action against them
D) by providing in-house advisors who can be contacted for assistance in dealing with ethical issues
E) by creating protection mechanisms for employees who reveal internal unethical practices

Question 45

Eighty percent of the United States workforce today is made up of ________ jobs.

A) textile
B) technology
C) automobile
D) restaurant
E) service

Question 46

Which of the following is the major challenge to managers in a fully networked organization?

A) eliminating the need for paper communication by relying entirely on e-mail, file transfers, and the like
B) retaining team members who can easily move to another employer when demand for their services changes
C) managing contract and temporary workers
D) maintaining a "virtual office" through the use of computers, interoffice networks, and the Internet
E) managing people who work together but are geographically separated

Question 47

Employees today are ________.

A) expressing increased confidence in management
B) expressing increased trust in management
C) increasingly certain about what constitutes appropriate ethical behavior
D) increasingly uncertain about what constitutes appropriate ethical behavior
E) less likely to engage in unethical practices

Question 48

What is the primary reason many large companies such as Sears and Boeing have implemented cost-cutting programs and eliminated thousands of jobs?

A) to expand globally
B) to win the war for talent
C) to become lean and mean
D) to avoid going broke
E) to merge with another company

Question 49

Situations where an individual is required to define right and wrong conduct are termed ________.

A) diversity issues
B) human resource problems
C) ethical dilemmas
D) organizational complexities
E) social puzzles

Question 50

________ allow(s) people to communicate and work together even though they may be thousands of miles apart.

A) Flexible cubicles
B) Stratified work environments
C) Decentralized communication
D) Evidence-based management
E) Networked organizations

Question 51

Workforce diversity means that organizations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of all of the following except ________.

A) age
B) gender
C) domestic partners
D) socio-economic status
E) religion

Question 52

Which of the following is not a service job?

A) fast-food counter worker
B) sales clerk
C) waiter
D) nurse
E) production line worker

Question 53

One of the key challenges for managers in today's organizations is to ________.

A) emulate successful models
B) strive hard to conform to norms
C) emphasize individual performance
D) provide employees with ethical choices
E) stimulate tolerance for change

Question 54

The use of temporary work groups and employee rotation has reduced the ________ of working in a specific group, as well as the security attached to it.

A) predictability
B) spontaneity
C) autonomy
D) morale
E) satisfaction

Question 55

Which of the following factors makes it imperative that organizations be fast and flexible?

A) workforce diversity
B) corporate excess
C) truncated capacity
D) advances in corporate strategy
E) globalization

Question 56

The common characteristic of service jobs is that they require ________.

A) substantial interaction with an organization's customers
B) low pay
C) a focus on productivity
D) little job knowledge
E) little technical competence

Question 57

Which of the following has not contributed to blurring the lines between employees' work life and personal life?

A) the creation of global organizations
B) communication technology allowing employees to work any time and from any place
C) organizations asking employees to put in longer hours
D) creation of flexible teams
E) the increase in dual career households

Question 58

Which of the following is not considered a key quality of an employee in a customer-responsive culture?

A) friendly and courteous
B) accessible
C) knowledgeable
D) good computer skills
E) willing to do what's necessary to please the customer

Question 59

Which of the following was the most significant change in the United States labor force during the last half of the twentieth century?

A) substantial decreases in the number of workers who are under 55
B) increases in the percentage of United States citizens of Hispanic origin
C) the increasing number of African-Americans at all levels within the workforce
D) the steady increase in the percentage of employed males
E) the rapid increase in the number of female workers

Question 60

The blurring of the line between work and non-work time has created ________.

A) personal conflicts
B) a more stable workforce
C) higher pay scales for more hours worked
D) dual career households
E) greater job satisfaction

Question 61

The common characteristic of manufacturing jobs is that they require substantial interaction with an organization's customers.

Question 62

What psychology is to the group, sociology is to the individual.

Question 63

In good economic conditions, understanding how to reward, satisfy, and retain employees is at a premium, however, in bad times, issues like stress, decision making, and coping come to the fore.

Question 64

Behavior is generally unpredictable, and the systematic study of behavior is a means to making reasonably accurate predictions.

Question 65

Organizational behavior is a field of study that helps in measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes; identifying communication patterns; and building trust. It has made important contributions to the study of group behavior, power, and conflict.

Question 66

Social psychology is an area within psychology, blending concepts from both psychology and socialism.

Question 67

As the world has become more global, managers have to become capable of working with people from different cultures.

Question 68

In terms of the United States labor force, the number of workers belonging to the 55-and-older age group is expected to dramatically decline in the near future.

Question 69

Although managers must be technically competent, technical knowledge is often not enough for success.

Question 70

Intuition comes from "gut feelings" about the state of some phenomenon of interest.

Question 71

Today's managers and employees must learn to cope with temporariness, flexibility, spontaneity, and unpredictability.

Question 72

Workforce diversity is a topic dealing with how organizations are becoming more homogeneous in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity.

Question 73

An ethically healthy climate ________.

A) exists where employees confront a minimal degree of ambiguity regarding what constitutes right and wrong behaviors
B) is non-existent in businesses
C) seldom allows employees to do their work productively
D) cannot be created by managers, but must be dictated by the organization's mission
E) interferes with the actual performance of the organization

Question 74

Conflict and power have been major topics of concern for social psychologists.

Question 75

Less than 10 percent of the United States labor force is female.

Question 76

OB draws from several research-based theories about how people behave in organizations and contains several straightforward cause-and-effect relationships.

Question 77

Anthropology has helped us understand differences in values and attitudes between people in different countries.

Question 78

OB researchers cannot offer reasonably accurate explanations of human behavior since people act very differently in similar situations.

Question 79

The vast majority of management decisions are still made in a hurry, with little or no systematic study of available evidence.

Question 80

Over the last three decades, business school curricula has focused more on the technical aspects of management such as economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques, and less on subjects related to human behavior and people skills.