Deck 1: What Is Organizational Behavior?

Question 1

Strategic management focuses on the product choices and industry characteristics that affect an organization's profitability.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Strategic management focuses on the product choices and industry characteristics that affect an organization's profitability. A strategic management study might examine the relationship between firm diversification (when a firm expands into a new product segment) and firm profitability.

Question 2

Resources like culture, teamwork, trust, and reputation are termed "socially complex" because it is not always clear which organizations do (and do not) possess them, although it is clear how they came to develop.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: People also create socially complex resources, like culture, teamwork, trust, and reputation. These resources are termed "socially complex" because it's not always clear how they came to develop, though it is clear which organizations do (and do not) possess them.

Question 3

Like individual characteristics, group mechanisms shape satisfaction, stress, motivation, trust, and learning.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: The integrative model also acknowledges that employees do not work alone. Instead, they typically work in one or more work teams. Like the individual characteristics, these group mechanisms shape satisfaction, stress, motivation, trust, and learning.

Question 4

Job satisfaction has no effect on job performance, but it does affect organizational commitment.

Question 5

A correlation describes the statistical relationship between three variables.

Question 6

Authority-based management argues that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education.

Question 7

The theories and concepts found in OB are drawn from two disciplines: human resources management and strategic management.

Question 8

Much of what we know about organizational behavior is considered universal and "culture free," showing that managing people faces the same challenges everywhere.

Question 9

A useful way to understand correlation between two variables is to look at a scatterplot.

Question 10

Understanding correlation is important because OB questions are "yes or no" in nature.

Question 11

The integrative model of OB was designed with the Rule of One-Eighth in mind.

Question 12

Causal inferences means establishing that one variable really does cause another.

Question 13

The strength of a correlation can be inferred from the "compactness" of its scatterplot.

Question 14

Theory is defined as a collection of assertions-both verbal and symbolic-that specify how and why variables are related, as well as the conditions in which they should (and should not) be related.

Question 15

OB research suggests that there are several OB practices that each can increase profitability; that is, they serve as "magic bullets" for organizations.

Question 16

Firms that undergo an IPO typically have shorter histories and need an infusion of cash to grow or introduce some new technology.

Question 17

According to the resource-based view of organizations, a firm's resources include resources related to organizational behavior, such as the knowledge, ability, and wisdom of the workforce.

Question 18

To counter the effects of a bad product, effective management of OB can help make the product get better, incrementally, over the long term.

Question 19

Learning and decision making deal with how employees gain job knowledge and how they use that knowledge to make accurate judgments on the job.

Question 20

The two primary outcomes of interest to OB researchers, employees, and managers are job performance and job satisfaction.

Question 21

In the integrative model, ability-which includes cognitive abilities, emotional skills, and physical abilities-is classified as a(n)

A) organizational mechanism.
B) individual characteristic.
C) individual mechanism.
D) individual outcome.
E) group outcome.

Question 22

Research on satisfaction, emotions, and team processes found in OB draws heavily from studies in

A) organizational sociology.
B) industrial psychology.
C) managerial sociology.
D) economic sociology.
E) social psychology.

Question 23

Which of these individual mechanisms captures the energetic forces that drive employees' work efforts?

A) job performance
B) motivation
C) personality
D) ability
E) stress

Question 24

When a firm expands into a new product segment, it is known as

A) cartelization.
B) product recall.
C) diversification.
D) monopolization.
E) product divestment.

Question 25

Which of the following is one of the two primary goals managers have for their employees?

A) optimization of stock price
B) rationalization of job structure
C) maximization of job performance
D) obedience to organizational rules and regulations
E) utilization of rational decision-making techniques

Question 26

OB primarily uses models from ________ to understand motivation, learning, and decision making.

A) marketing
B) economics
C) psychology
D) sociology
E) anthropology

Question 27

Which of the following is a primary individual outcome of interest to organizational behavior researchers according to the integrative model?

A) job performance
B) team processes
C) personality
D) culture
E) stress

Question 28

According to the integrative model of organizational behavior, motivation, trust, justice, and ethics are

A) organizational mechanisms.
B) individual mechanisms.
C) individual outcomes.
D) group mechanisms.
E) group outcomes.

Question 29

Of the following, which is a primary individual outcome according to the integrative model?

A) team cohesion
B) job satisfaction
C) cultural awareness
D) personality adaptability
E) organizational commitment

Question 30

According to the integrative model, job satisfaction is a(n)

A) organizational mechanism.
B) individual mechanism.
C) individual outcome.
D) group mechanism.
E) group outcome.

Question 31

Which of the following focuses on the product choices and industry characteristics that affect an organization's profitability?

A) process management
B) strategic management
C) operations management
D) organizational behavior
E) human resource management

Question 32

Which of the following takes the theories and principles studied in OB and explores the "nuts and bolts" applications of those principles in organizations?

A) human resource management
B) operations management
C) financial management
D) strategic management
E) economic research

Question 33

Which of the following attributes have been identified as some of the worst behaviors exhibited by coworkers?

A) resisting even beneficial change
B) being first to arrive and last to leave
C) getting a job done without being managed
D) complaining about anything and everything
E) feeling an attachment to an employer for the long haul

Question 34

________ is a field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations.

A) Organizational behavior
B) Strategic management
C) Economic research
D) Resource management
E) Financial management

Question 35

OB research on job performance and individual characteristics draws primarily from studies in

A) managerial and organizational psychology.
B) industrial and organizational psychology.
C) economic and organizational sociology.
D) economic and managerial sociology.
E) industrial and economic psychology.

Question 36

Which of the following shows employees' psychological responses to job demands that tax or exceed their capabilities?

A) job performance
B) leadership style
C) job satisfaction
D) ability
E) stress

Question 37

As Isabella gains experience, she obtains job knowledge and uses this knowledge to manage her employees effectively. Which individual mechanism is referred to in this statement?

A) learning and decision making
B) trust, justice, and ethics
C) personality and ability
D) team processes
E) motivation

Question 38

Which of the following individual characteristics illustrated in the integrative model of OB reflect the various traits and tendencies that describe how people act, with commonly studied traits including extraversion, conscientiousness, and collectivism?

A) trust, justice, and ethics
B) learning and decision making
C) personality and cultural values
D) job performance and organizational commitment
E) organizational structure and organizational culture

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of a group mechanism?

A) ability
B) motivation
C) trust, justice, and ethics
D) organizational commitment
E) team characteristics and diversity

Question 40

Which of the following reflect(s) the degree to which employees feel that their company does business with fairness, honesty, and integrity?

A) trust, justice, and ethics
B) personality and ability
C) job satisfaction
D) team processes
E) motivation

Question 41

Which of the following captures the specific actions that leaders take to influence others at work?

A) leader influence and negotiation
B) leader styles and behaviors
C) leader cultural values
D) leader personality
E) leader power

Question 42

The resource-based view of organizations suggests that a resource is more valuable when it is

A) simple.
B) complex.
C) inimitable.
D) expensive.
E) substitutable.

Question 43

Organizational ________ is the organizational mechanism in the integrative model that captures "the way things are" in an organization.

A) structure
B) ability
C) leadership
D) performance
E) culture

Question 44

Which organizational mechanism illustrated by the integrative model dictates how the units within the firm link to other units?

A) organizational leadership
B) organizational structure
C) organizational culture
D) organizational ability
E) organization size

Question 45

You are the CEO of a business who wants to use an integrative model of OB. Which of the following actions would you take to implement this?

A) use one work team, but do not appoint a specified leader
B) have employees work alone but occasionally report to a manager
C) divide your employees into three work teams, each headed by a different leader
D) have employees work closely with two other people but without forming a team
E) use a work team for the managers, but have the other employees work individually

Question 46

Culture, trust, teamwork, and reputation are termed ________ because it is not always clear how they came to develop, though it is clear which organizations do possess them.

A) socially complex
B) vague correlations
C) natural structures
D) evidence-based resources
E) associative structures

Question 47

Culture, teamwork, trust, and reputation are examples of

A) socially complex resources.
B) easy-to-develop resources.
C) evidence-based resources.
D) associative structures.
E) natural structures.

Question 48

Which of the following statements about the resource-based view of organizations is accurate?

A) It suggests that resources are valuable because they are plentiful.
B) It describes what makes resources capable of creating long-term profits for the firm.
C) It suggests that inimitable resources are of lesser value to an organization.
D) A firm's resources include resources related to individual behavior.
E) It suggests that the value of resources depends on a single factor.

Question 49

Gateway Corporation developed a new form of technology for which they hold a patent. This technology allowed them to significantly reduce the cost of production on their major product line. This resource is

A) simple.
B) complex.
C) inimitable.
D) hypothetical.
E) substitutable.

Question 50

The resource-based view suggests that a resource is more valuable when it is

A) technologically advanced.
B) socially complex.
C) complex.
D) simple.
E) rare.

Question 51

The Container Store, a retailer based out of Texas, wants to increase the motivation of its employees. Which of the following examples would most likely achieve this?

A) a performance-based incentive system for its employees in which workers' pay will be based on their productivity
B) a reduction of insurance benefits for employees who have been working at the company for less than five years
C) the implementation of a new computer system that will enable employees to do more work for the same pay
D) a more hands-on managerial style in which all employees would have to fill out time cards
E) the consolidation of two departments into one, thereby reducing overhead expenses

Question 52

Which of the following examples shows an effective way of dealing with the international element of OB?

A) Nancy adjusted her approach with an employee from South Korea because he had different motivations than U.S. employees.
B) Hinata felt ashamed about discussing with her manager the difficulties of adjusting to American business practices.
C) Larry assumed the policies he used for his Chicago office would work equally as well in the new Tokyo branch.
D) Sean decided to ignore the international aspect of his work team because he did not want to play favorites.
E) Mario believes the principles of OB management are consistent in countries throughout the world.

Question 53

In which of the following scenarios does history create a business advantage?

A) Using its market research, Rise n'Shine devises the best-selling alarm clock to hit the market in the last 20 years.
B) To maintain a business advantage, Cindy's Cinnies keeps the recipe for their highly popular cinnamon rolls top secret.
C) Smooth Scent's new ad campaign gives this body lotion and cosmetics company a business advantage over competitors.
D) The first company to sell vacuum cleaners in the retail market, Suck It Up, uses its experience to maintain a business advantage.
E) HGT Enterprises and BDO, Inc., both West Coast real estate development firms, have been fierce competitors for more than 20 years.

Question 54

In the integrative model, which organizational mechanism captures shared knowledge about the rules, norms, and values that shape employee attitudes and behaviors?

A) organizational leadership
B) organizational structure
C) organizational culture
D) organizational ability
E) job satisfaction

Question 55

Which of the following group mechanisms summarizes how individuals attain authority over others?

A) leader personality
B) leader cultural values
C) leader responsibilities
D) leader styles and behaviors
E) leader power and negotiation

Question 56

According to the resource-based view of organizations, people are inimitable because they

A) are necessary for building co-workers' morale.
B) are necessary for the production of goods and/or services.
C) do their work with more precision than a machine could achieve.
D) create lasting changes in the organization that can be replicated if necessary.
E) make many small decisions that cannot be replicated by other organizations.

Question 57

The level of creativity demonstrated by Yosef's co-workers is rare. Therefore, according to the ________, these employees are valuable to the firm.

A) resource-based view of organizations
B) integrative theory of organizational behavior
C) normative selection model
D) economic theory of the firm
E) performance-based theory of organizations

Question 58

Magnus has come to mistrust the company he works for in recent months. Which of the following examples most likely caused this?

A) Magnus's efforts to get a new vending machine installed failed.
B) Magnus learned that his employer uses unethical advertising practices.
C) Magnus became disappointed when his employer did not promote a close friend.
D) Magnus had to fire an employee who had worked for his company for many years.
E) Magnus proposed a policy that was partially successful in increasing company revenue.

Question 59

You are a new employee who wants to impress upon your manager how valuable you are to the company. According to the research-based view, which of the following actions should you take?

A) play it safe and avoid suggesting ideas that might seem risky
B) agree with whatever your manager says, even if you disagree
C) make sure you arrive on time each work day and attend all the meetings
D) act in a friendly way with your co-workers and contribute to team discussions
E) make unique, significant contributions to the company that most employees could not achieve

Question 60

The resource-based view of organizations states that people are valuable assets because their knowledge, skills, and abilities are rare and also because people are

A) incorrigible.
B) inimitable.
C) accessible.
D) adaptable.
E) infallible.

Question 61

Top Shelf Enterprises is conducting its annual performance review. Which of the following employees would Top Shelf view as being the most inimitable?

A) Juana, who has had difficulty getting along with members of her work team
B) Bert, who has often been late to meetings and complains about his work load
C) Takumi, who devised a new component that increased company sales by 25 percent
D) Liam, who has been a steady and reliable worker for the company for over five years
E) Lotte, who has brilliant suggestions but often fails to follow them all the way through

Question 62

Of the following methods, which suggests that people hold firmly to some belief because some respected official, agency, or source has said it is so?

A) method of science
B) method of intuition
C) method of behavior
D) method of authority
E) method of experience

Question 63

Which of the following are two of the methods by which people "know" things?

A) method of intuition and method of education
B) method of education and method of authority
C) method of experience and method of intuition
D) method of authority and method of economics
E) method of economics and method of education

Question 64

According to the Rule of One-Eight, which of the following scenarios is the most common?

A) The CEO of Starbridge, Inc., read books about how putting people first build profits, but did not believe them.
B) The CEO of Energize, Inc., implemented comprehensive changes to put employees first, but ended this plan prematurely.
C) The CEO of LongRun, Inc., increased the benefits of employees, which was one of many suggested changes to put people first.
D) The CEO of ShoreIsland, Inc., made long-lasting changes that put employees first and, as a result, the company's profits soared.
E) The CEO of UpGrade, Inc., gave employees more responsibility over their work, but stopped this approach after only two months.

Question 65

The scientific method begins with

A) theory.
B) auditing.
C) paradigm.
D) hypotheses.
E) verification.

Question 66

________ is defined as a collection of assertions that specify how and why variables are related, as well as the conditions in which they should and should not be related.

A) Hypothesis
B) Information
C) Paradigm
D) Data
E) Theory

Question 67

Choose the method that suggests people accept some belief because studies have tended to replicate that result using a series of samples, settings, and methods.

A) method of science
B) method of intuition
C) method of behavior
D) method of authority
E) method of experience

Question 68

Who is considered to be the originator of the scientific method?

A) Jeffrey Pfeffer
B) Frederick Taylor
C) Charles Darwin
D) Sir Francis Bacon
E) Adam Smith

Question 69

Which of the following scenarios would be the most invisible to competitors?

A) Mongo Films fires its CEO and hires a new one.
B) Sports Stuff, Ltd., lowers its prices on swimwear.
C) JTR, Ltd., opens a manufacturing plant in the Philippines.
D) Spotless, Inc., starts a new line of natural bathroom cleaners.
E) High Grade, Inc., hires a new middle-manager for its Boston office.

Question 70

Ji-hu believes in making decisions based on the method of experience. Considering this, which of the following actions would he most likely take?

A) He would buy the Hellman espresso machine because the choice seems obvious.
B) He would buy the Almas espresso machine because his manager highly recommends it.
C) He would buy the Franceso espresso machine because research shows it is the most durable.
D) He would buy the Jones espresso machine because he liked his previous machine, which was made by Jones.
E) He would buy the Lucia espresso machine because surveys of the product show the highest customer approval.

Question 71

In the 1960s, a popular ad stated that "Blondes have more fun!" This is an example of

A) a positive correlation.
B) negative causation.
C) a proven fact.
D) verification.
E) data.

Question 72

________ are written predictions that specify relations between variables.

A) Hypotheses
B) Verifications
C) Theories
D) Data
E) Collections

Question 73

The scientific method requires that theories be used to inspire

A) verification.
B) hypotheses.
C) experience.
D) intuition.
E) auditing.

Question 74

Which of the following methods suggests that people hold firmly to some belief because it is consistent with their own observations?

A) method of science
B) method of intuition
C) method of behavior
D) method of authority
E) method of experience

Question 75

Riku, an HR manager, believes that his implementation of HR practices in the company is impeccable because he received the inputs for these practices from the CEO himself. Which of the following philosophies is he relying on?

A) method of science
B) method of intuition
C) method of behavior
D) method of authority
E) method of experience

Question 76

According to the Rule of One-Eighth,

A) at least 88 percent of organizations will do everything necessary to put people first and thereby build profits.
B) at best, 12 percent of organizations will actually do what is required to build profits by putting people first.
C) 75 percent of organizations won't believe the connection between how they manage their people and the profits they earn.
D) 38 percent of the organizations try to make a single change to solve their problems.
E) one in eight organizations miserably fails at making the people-to-profit connection.

Question 77

Venia, who often relies on the method of authority, has to make an important decision about marketing a product. Which of the following would she most likely do?

A) hire an ad agency because she liked working with the agency before
B) hire an ad agency because her close friend works for the agency
C) hire an ad agency because many other companies have hired it
D) hire an ad agency because a survey showed it was effective
E) hire an ad agency because her boss recommended it

Question 78

Ella believes that 360-degree performance review is ideal for her company because she recently read about a major survey of Fortune 100 companies that highlighted the effectiveness of this method. Which of the following philosophies is she relying on?

A) method of science
B) method of intuition
C) method of behavior
D) method of authority
E) method of experience

Question 79

You are a manager that uses the method of intuition to make decisions. Considering this, which of the following actions would you probably take?

A) Your hire more workers because it just makes sense.
B) You fire fifteen employees because your boss claims this action was necessary.
C) You recommend expanding your company into Canada because of survey reports.
D) You approve a budget for a new product lined based on extensive market research.
E) You lower your bid for a new project due of your history with a competitor who is also submitting a bid.

Question 80

Chiara decided to increase the price of her merchandise because it seemed to be the obvious thing to do. Which of the following philosophies is he relying on?

A) method of science
B) method of intuition
C) method of behavior
D) method of authority
E) method of experience