Deck 12: Leadership

Question 1

Which of the following is a desirable feature of leadership?

A) one-directional influence from the leader to the follower
B) coercive power and authority
C) lack of freedom
D) passivity of followers
E) coexistence of leaders and managers

Answer 1

E
Explanation: Organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal effectiveness. We need leaders today to challenge the status quo, create visions of the future, and inspire organizational members to want to achieve the visions. We also need managers to formulate detailed plans, create efficient organizational structures, and oversee day-to-day operations.

Question 2

Trait theories of leadership most accurately predict the emergence and appearance of leadership.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: Traits do a better job predicting the emergence of leaders and the appearance of leadership than actually distinguishing between effective and ineffective leaders.

Question 3

The Ohio State Studies narrowed a list of more than a thousand dimensions to just one that accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees: participation.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: The most comprehensive behavioral theories of leadership resulted from the Ohio State Studies, which sought to identify independent dimensions of leader behavior. Beginning with more than a thousand dimensions, the studies narrowed the list to two that substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees: initiating structure and consideration.

Question 4

Nellie Fritz, the head of client support services at Olson Inc., is very popular among her subordinates. Many believe that Nellie has a knack for getting the work done without making the employees feel pushed into a corner. She is often seen speaking to her subordinates and support staff about their families, helping them with any personal problems they have, and praising employees for their good work. In light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Nellie, as a leader, is ________.

A) task oriented
B) high in consideration
C) low in trust propensity
D) low in relationship orientation
E) production oriented

Question 5

The Ohio State Studies narrowed the independent dimensions of leader behavior to two that substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees: consideration and ________.

A) employee-orientation
B) empathy
C) constructing vision
D) initiating structure
E) charisma

Question 6

Adrian Atwood, a senior manager at MNC, spends a lot of his time assigning group members to particular tasks and scheduling their work such that deadlines are achievable. Adrian also sets high expectations for standards of performance and holds regular meetings to ensure that productivity and quality are up to the mark. In the light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Adrian, as a leader, is ________.

A) low in task orientation
B) high in consideration
C) relationship oriented
D) employee oriented
E) high in initiating structure

Question 7

Emotional intelligence (EI) is critical to effective leadership because one of its core components is ________, which reflects the consideration that leaders must be able to express.

A) conscientiousness
B) empathy
C) optimism
D) introversion
E) perfectionism

Question 8

Explain mentoring with reference to the dimensions of initiating structure and consideration.

Question 9

Which of the following statements regarding leadership is true?

A) All managers are leaders.
B) Formal rights ensure good leadership.
C) Formal appointment is essential in creating leaders.
D) All leaders are hierarchically superior to followers.
E) Nonsanctioned leadership is as important as formal influence.

Question 10

Tim Wrench was leading the client services division of AmWeb for seven years when he was asked to move to another region where the company was setting up its office. Before moving, Tim was asked to help in finding a successor for him from his team. Tim's most obvious choice was Judy Judge, and the management accepted his choice as Judy was a popular person across the company. Judy was known for her vivacious nature, was often seen speaking to employees from various divisions, and was always excited to take up a new opportunity. Once she became a leader, she continued to give employees freedom and flexibility even if it resulted in deficiencies on the work front like missed deadlines or low quality. Judy's initial weeks as a leader were full of confusion among her team members, but many felt that the situation would come under control. When things did not improve in the next two months and many complaints poured in from clients, the management realized that Judy was not the best candidate to lead the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome?

A) Judy was a high-performing employee and enjoyed good relationships with everyone on the team.
B) Everyone felt Judy was given insufficient time to prove her worth as a leader.
C) Research has shown that traits can predict the emergence of a leader, but not his or her efficiency as a leader.
D) The client complaints were a common thing encountered by the company.
E) Judy demonstrated low levels of consideration and high levels of task-orientation.

Question 11

Trait theories of leadership focus on ________.

A) the special relationship that leaders establish with a small group of their followers
B) the personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders
C) the way the leader makes decisions
D) the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task
E) the match between the leader's style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control

Question 12

The behavioral theories view leadership as a set of actions that people can be trained in.

Question 13

Trait theories most accurately predict ________.

A) distinguishing features of an effective leader
B) differences between an effective and an ineffective leader
C) success of a leader
D) roles to be played by the leader
E) emergence of a leader

Question 14

In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, ________ is the extent to which a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings.

A) consideration
B) transaction
C) authentication
D) task orientation
E) identification

Question 15

According to the Big Five personality model, emotional stability is the most important trait of effective leaders.

Question 16

Which of the following Big Five personality traits has been identified as the most important trait in effective leaders?

A) conscientiousness
B) openness
C) extraversion
D) agreeableness
E) emotional stability

Question 17

In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, initiating structure refers to the extent to which ________.

A) a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings
B) a leader engages in participative management
C) a leader is accepting of and respects individual differences among various team members
D) a leader is likely to define and organize his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment
E) a leader initiates efforts to communicate personally with employees

Question 18

What is the role played by traits in predicting leadership behaviors?

Question 19

The Ohio State Studies started with more than a thousand dimensions of leader behavior.

Question 20

Leadership is best defined as ________.

A) the ability to merely project one's abilities in the lack of actual accomplishments
B) the ability to reduce the dependence of team members on each other
C) the ability to induce the team members to focus on individual goals rather than collective goals
D) the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals
E) the ability to use factors like training and experience to reduce dependence on formal leadership

Question 21

Fiedler defines the degree of confidence, trust, and respect that subordinates have in their leader as ________.

A) leader-member relations
B) task structure
C) positional power
D) follower variables
E) path-goal frameworks

Question 22

According to the situational leadership theory, if followers are unable and willing to do a task, then a leader needs to ________.

A) follow a supportive style
B) engage in participative leadership
C) refrain from providing too many inputs
D) display high task and relationship orientation
E) demonstrate high task and low relationship orientation

Question 23

Leslie is a middle-level production manager at the California branch of ALT Corp. ALT Corp. is an automobile manufacturing company that specializes in the manufacture of heavy motor vehicles. Leslie's job is to supervise his assembly line employees. Leslie has worked in this position for over four years, and he strongly believes that a supportive leadership style is most suitable in his context. Which of the following, if true, would weaken Leslie's approach to leadership in this case?

A) The company is planning to lay off some employees in the near future.
B) The company has stopped the production of most of its older models as it wants to focus on the most profitable models.
C) The assembly line jobs are routine and highly structured by nature.
D) The recent round of OSHA inspections revealed that many assembly line employees were not complying with stipulated safety measures.
E) The company's workforce is comprised primarily of employees of the baby boomer generation.

Question 24

Trevor Guerney is a manager who believes that those who are to be affected by a change must be involved in the change. Consequently, he always ensures that his subordinates have the knowledge of what is happening around them, and he often holds meetings to obtain employee opinion and suggestions before making any decision that would apply to them. Similarly, Trevor's team proactively approaches him with problems and potential solutions as they know he will not respond by criticizing them. From the information provided in the scenario, we can say that ________.

A) Trevor's leadership is primarily task-oriented
B) Trevor's team has a low degree of trust propensity
C) Trevor's team requires more directive leadership
D) Trevor's team has positive leader-member relations
E) Trevor's team is unsatisfied with his power position

Question 25

Leslie is a middle-level production manager at the California branch of ALT Corp. ALT Corp. is an automobile manufacturing company that specializes in the manufacture of heavy motor vehicles. Leslie's job is to supervise his assembly line employees. Leslie has worked in this position for over four years, and he strongly believes that a supportive leadership style is most suitable in his context. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Leslie's approach to leadership in this case?

A) The company has recently announced its move to diversify into manufacturing light motor vehicles because of high profitability in that line.
B) Most of the assembly line employees are highly experienced in their jobs and committed to Leslie.
C) With developments in technology, the company was enhancing the role of assembly line employees with new tasks combined into natural work units.
D) The company has initiated many changes in the tasks of assembly line workers in its attempts to refine the process of manufacturing.
E) A good proportion of the assembly line employees are new employees.

Question 26

Which of the following situational dimensions identified by Fiedler relates to the degree to which job assignments are regimented, that is, structured or unstructured?

A) task reflexivity
B) task significance
C) task structure
D) task complexity
E) task orientation

Question 27

According to the Fiedler contingency model, a very favorable situation in which the leader has a great deal of control is characterized by ________.

A) high task structure, good leader-member relations, and strong position power
B) limited position power, good leader-member relations, and low task structure
C) less structured jobs, strong position power, and moderate leader-member relations
D) broad employee responsibilities, low position power, and moderate leader-member relations
E) good leader-member relations, low position power, unstructured jobs

Question 28

Max Hiller was recently hired by Sync, a consumer goods company. During his first meeting with the sales team, Max impressed upon his team that work performance is the only criterion he would use to evaluate them. To help them perform well and meet their targets, he pushed his team to work extra hours. He also gave very clear instructions to each member regarding their job responsibilities and continually verified if they were meeting their targets. Which of the following, if true, would weaken Max's approach?

A) Max is leading many new employees who have joined his team directly after training.
B) Max's team functions in a sluggish manner and picks up pace only a week or so before the monthly operations cycle meetings.
C) Max's sales team is comprised of independent and experienced employees who are committed to their jobs.
D) Max's team does not display high levels of cohesiveness, and members fail to coordinate with each other.
E) Sales figures for the region that Max's team is responsible for have improved in the last quarter.

Question 29

Dora Lee has just completed and scored the LPC questionnaire given to her during an evaluation exercise. She is surprised when she finds out that she described her least preferred co-worker in relatively positive terms because she recalls being particularly annoyed by this difficult co-worker several times in the past. Based on your understanding of Fiedler's model, you explain to Dora that her LPC score makes sense within the model because ________.

A) Dora tends to become very dominating when given ambiguous tasks
B) Dora is usually much more focused on productivity than on developing relationships
C) Dora tends in general to focus on building good relationships with the other employees
D) Dora has a spotty work history and has tended to switch jobs every couple of years
E) Dora is usually chosen for positions of high responsibility within your organization

Question 30

According to the situational leadership theory, a follower with the desired ability and willingness is likely to be ________.

A) lacking in the area of motivation
B) deficient in the specific skills required
C) comfortable in his ability to do the job well
D) highly skilled in relevant areas but low on experience
E) in need of leadership that is highly task oriented

Question 31

Which of the following theories of leadership is based on situational variables?

A) attribution theory
B) trait theories
C) charismatic leadership theory
D) path-goal theory
E) behavioral theories

Question 32

Maura Ruiz has been working in the e-learning industry for over eight years. She is aware of the fact that in this industry, once an employee has learned his or her job, the work becomes fairly automatic and competence can be achieved rapidly. She has been noticing how in her team, this competence has come along with a lot of complacency; the employees, though able, are unwilling to work hard. According to the situational leadership theory, to rectify this situation, Maura would benefit the most if she uses the ________ style of leadership.

A) task-oriented
B) production-oriented
C) participative
D) directive
E) autocratic

Question 33

Fiedler's contingency model assumes that ________.

A) an individual's leadership style is essentially fixed
B) an individual is constantly striving to develop a more productive style
C) an individual's leadership is primarily determined by the features of the followers
D) an individual's leadership style can be altered much like his or her personality traits
E) an individual's leadership style must be task oriented to be effective

Question 34

In the context of Fiedler's model, the situational dimension termed ________ relates to the degree of influence a leader has over important variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases.

A) task structure
B) leader-member exchange
C) position power
D) initiating structure
E) leader-member relations

Question 35

The least preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire is used to measure whether ________.

A) the followers are able and willing
B) a leader is task- or relationship-oriented
C) the members are in the ingroup or out-group
D) employees prefer servant leadership over situational leadership
E) the leader is high on the dimension of conscientiousness

Question 36

Contingency theories focus on the ________ that impact leadership success.

A) personality variables
B) leader's abilities to inspire and transform followers
C) situational variables
D) values and ethics
E) features of the followers

Question 37

George has been a project leader at NSys for five years. George's job description involves scheduling work for his team, coordinating their work with that of the other departments, and providing feedback. George, who has successfully led this team, believes that it is his task-oriented and directive approach that has helped him in the last five years. Which of the following, if true, would weaken his argument supporting a directive leadership?

A) The members of the team are resentful with George's directives relating to work.
B) George has seen that employees in his team lack initiative and motivation to work hard.
C) The team's workload is expected to rise substantially as the company is growing at an unprecedented rate.
D) George's team is organized as a wheel network and depends on his ability to coordinate amongst members of the team and between other departments.
E) NSys hires only highly qualified and experienced employees.

Question 38

Which of the following theoretical approaches in the study of leadership focuses on followers' readiness as a determinant of effective leadership?

A) Big Five personality model
B) behavioral theories
C) Fiedler contingency model
D) laissez-faire leadership
E) situational leadership theory

Question 39

According to the situational leadership theory, if employees are unwilling and unable, the appropriate leadership style in this situation would be ________.

A) participative
B) democratic
C) person-oriented
D) directive
E) supportive

Question 40

Which of the following statements is true with regard to the path-goal theory of leadership?

A) The theory considers leadership to be a set of attributes ascribed to leaders by followers.
B) The theory proposes only a passive and supportive role for leaders.
C) The theory considers removing obstacles to be a component of effective leadership.
D) The theory proposes that leaders must work closely with followers throughout.
E) The path-goal theory represents a laissez-faire approach to leadership.

Question 41

Which of the following scenarios reflects a transactional approach to leadership?

A) Samuel Perez has been running a small automobile service agency with a set of employees that he hired and trained over a decade ago. Though the business is mediocre and profit margins are not substantial, the employees work well as a team because each of them treats the other as equal, just like Samuel himself does.
B) Carol Turner began V Care, a non-profit organization, with the purpose of battling various forms of abuse. As the organization grew, she took care to hire employees who felt the same kind of sensitivity she felt for victims of abuse. Today, she openly proclaims that the organization that she started is successful because every single employee shares and understands what the organization is aiming for.
C) When new projects come, it is a time of excitement for the content production team of Impact, an advertising agency. Lori Wood, the department head, begins a project meeting by having her whole team envision what the final product of this campaign must aim at. She then sets progressively higher standards for the team and clarifies what each member of the team stands to gain if the project is a success. In allocating roles and tasks, she often incorporates the needs and preferences of her team members.
D) Wayne Torres believes that setting targets, monitoring employee performance, and correcting defaulting employees are his tried and tested ways to accomplish tasks. He rewards employees who do well and match his predetermined expectations and recognizes accomplishments that he values. His team, however, has not grown substantially and seems to be at a functional status quo.
E) Glenn Cruzz works at Leverage as a senior consultant. She ensures that her team of consultants has a framework of flexible tools and skills to help clients who come their way with diversity and inclusion issues. Through audits, research, and workshops, her team is encouraged to come up with unconventional solutions that help clients establish and leverage its employee diversity.

Question 42

________ leaders inspire followers to transcend their self-interests for the good of the organization and can have an extraordinary effect on their followers.

A) Transformational
B) Transactional
C) Task-oriented
D) Laissez-faire
E) Production-oriented

Question 43

In her first few weeks at the marketing division of Rolland Retails, Judith Cox realized that Joshua, Doug, and Carl were closer to her manager, Eric Scott, than the other five team members. Eric, Joshua, Doug, and Carl came to work at the same time, were seen together at the cafeteria, and stayed late and worked when the need arose. While Judith was in training, she received very good feedback from Eric, and as she transitioned to the floor, she felt that Eric was giving her interesting projects, allowing her more freedom, and seeking her opinion frequently. The information provided in the scenario supports the prediction that ________.

A) Judith will develop low trust propensity toward Eric
B) Joshua, Doug, and Carl will display low trust propensity in Judith
C) Eric's ingroup will remain a reference group for Judith permanently
D) Judith will become a part of Eric's ingroup in the marketing division
E) Judith will have lower levels of identification-based trust with Eric when compared to other trainees

Question 44

Describe the path-goal theory of leadership.

Question 45

Which of the following leadership theories argues that because of time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their subordinates-the ingroup, who are trusted, get a disproportionate amount of the leader's attention, and are more likely to receive special privileges?

A) situational leadership theory
B) leader-member exchange
C) path-goal
D) expectancy
E) Fiedler's theory

Question 46

Leaders who function primarily by clarifying role and task requirements to accomplish established goals exhibit a(n) ________ style of leadership.

A) transformational
B) transactional
C) charismatic
D) laissez-faire
E) employee-oriented

Question 47

Transformational leaders enhance performance of employees by ________.

A) restricting creativity among employees
B) focusing on short-term goals for employees
C) instilling pride in employees
D) establishing goals, roles, and requirements
E) abdicating all responsibility to employees

Question 48

According to the path-goal theory, directive leadership is likely to be welcomed and accepted by employees with high ability or considerable experience.

Question 49

In her first few weeks at the marketing division of Rolland Retails, Judith Cox realized that Joshua, Doug, and Carl were closer to her manager, Eric Scott, than the other five team members. Eric, Joshua, Doug, and Carl came to work at the same time, were seen together at the cafeteria, and stayed late and worked when the need arose. In contrast to them, the other five team members did the routine jobs assigned to them, and their interactions lacked the understanding and camaraderie that Eric shared with the others. Joshua, Doug, and Carl make up Eric's ________.

A) out-group
B) reference group
C) nominal group
D) ingroup
E) peripheral group

Question 50

Which theory of leadership proposes that followers attribute heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors?

A) situational leadership theory
B) path-goal leadership theory
C) transactional leadership theory
D) behavioral leadership theory
E) charismatic leadership theory

Question 51

Charismatic leaders ________.

A) engage in traditional behaviors that follow norms
B) focus on their own responsibilities largely ignoring the needs and feelings of employees
C) avoid personal risk
D) propose a vision of the future that is better than the status quo
E) ensure their own position as leader even if it means sacrificing others

Question 52

The situational leadership theory focuses on follower readiness to determine the appropriate leadership behavior.

Question 53

In terms of the full range of leadership models, which leadership behavior is the least effective?

A) management by exception (active)
B) contingent reward
C) management by exception (passive)
D) individualized consideration
E) laissez-faire

Question 54

In the context of the Fiedler contingency model, leader-member relations measures the degree of influence a leader has over power variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases.

Question 55

According to the Fiedler model of leadership, how can leader effectiveness be improved?

Question 56

According to the LMX theory, a leader implicitly categorizes followers as "in" or "out" ________.

A) after careful performance analysis
B) on a temporary basis
C) early in the interaction
D) because of political pressure
E) only after several months of working together

Question 57

According to evidence, what is the first step a charismatic leader takes to influence followers?

A) by developing an aura of charisma
B) engaging in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behavior
C) setting an example for followers through actions and words
D) articulating an appealing vision
E) communicating high performance expectations

Question 58

Which of the following leadership behaviors is likely to differentiate between transactional and transformational leaders?

A) management by exception (active and passive)
B) contingent reward
C) individualized consideration
D) micromanagement
E) laissez-faire

Question 59

The leader-participation model focuses on ________.

A) the personality traits of leaders
B) the presence of charisma in the leader
C) the way decisions are made by the leader
D) the mere projection of successful leadership by the leader
E) the use of ingroups by the leader

Question 60

A transactional leader is likely to ________.

A) reward employees for the work that they have done, thus recognizing accomplishments
B) help followers trust the leader and develop a loyalty toward the common vision
C) stimulate others in the organization to become thinkers of what the organization is all about
D) pay attention to the emotional needs of others and consider individual differences
E) avoid authoritarian, command, and control behaviors when dealing with employees

Question 61

The primary quality produced by authentic leadership is ________.

A) efficiency
B) reinforcement
C) supervision
D) trust
E) authority

Question 62

Which of the following is a feature of servant leadership?

A) pursuit of the leaders' self-interest
B) use of power and authority to achieve organizational ends
C) universal appeal and effectiveness across cultures
D) focus on growth, development, and well-being of followers
E) applicability restricted to the leader's ingroup

Question 63

Charismatic leaders are not always authentic leaders. Discuss.

Question 64

Transactional leaders guide their followers toward established goals by clarifying role and task requirements.

Question 65

The HR department at Basic Elements, a software development firm, has begun testing employee personality and preferences to reorganize their teams such that team members and leaders are matched. They believe that this will enable them to ensure smooth functioning and greater cohesion. As a part of this test, employees were given the least preferred co-worker questionnaire. The employees were asked to think of all the co-workers they had in the past and describe the one they least enjoyed working with by rating that person on a scale of 1 to 8 for each of 16 sets of contrasting adjectives. Rachel's LPC score was high, while Victor's was low. Many employees like Ashley had LPC scores that were moderate. Interpret and compare the results of Rachel, Victor, and Ashley.

Question 66

The best leaders are transformational, not transactional.

Question 67

________ is a dimension of trust defined as honesty, truthfulness, and the ability to display consistency between one's words and action.

A) Consideration
B) Sensitivity
C) Support
D) Reflexivity
E) Integrity

Question 68

An individual who lacks self-esteem and questions his or her self-worth is more likely to absorb a leader's direction rather than establish and individual way of leading or thinking.

Question 69

Cooper Mills is a company that accomplished one of the greatest success stories of our time. The company, which began in the garage of its current CEO, Kyle Cooper, went on to become one of the largest producers of textiles in the country. The company has now diversified successfully into other product lines. A group of researchers is now undertaking a study on Cooper Mills as an organization led by a transformational leader. Which of the following, if true, would most support the conclusion that Kyle Cooper is a transformational leader?

A) The management follows Kyle's principle of avoiding risks and conducting business conservatively.
B) Cooper Mills' goals tend to be very ambitious and to hold personal value for employees.
C) Cooper Mills has a centralized decision-making structure.
D) Cooper Mills' performance has held at average levels for the past three years.
E) Cooper Mills' compensation plans are designed to reward short-term results.

Question 70

A long-term strategy for attaining a goal by linking the present with a better future for the organization is defined as a(n) ________.

A) transaction
B) attribution
C) contingent plan
D) vision
E) substitution

Question 71

Intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration are likely to be seen in the management by exception (active) style of leadership.

Question 72

Which of the following dimensions of trust is defined as an individual's technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills?

A) integrity
B) ability
C) propensity
D) reflexivity
E) complexity

Question 73

The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory proposes that the leader implicitly categorizes the follower as belonging to his ingroup or out group after a detailed analysis of his or her performance over a prolonged period of time.

Question 74

Servant leadership reflects the ________.

A) traditional view that followers are expected to serve the leaders
B) task-oriented approach to leadership
C) use of empathy, listening, and persuasion by leaders
D) Western prototype of a leader who gives orders to followers
E) tendency of leaders to prioritize their interests over the interests of their employees

Question 75

In terms of the full range of leadership models, which leadership behavior represents the most active and effective approach for leaders?

A) contingent reward
B) idealized influence
C) management by exception (active)
D) individualized consideration
E) laissez-faire

Question 76

Transformational leadership has a greater impact on the bottom line in smaller, privately held firms than in more complex organizations.

Question 77

What are the key characteristics of charismatic leaders?

Question 78

Describe the full range of leadership model.

Question 79

________ is defined as a psychological state that exists when you agree to make yourself vulnerable to another because you have positive expectations about how things are going to turn out.

A) Consideration
B) Trust
C) Support
D) Empathy
E) Respect

Question 80

Compare and contrast charismatic leadership from the understanding of leadership under the attribution theory.