Organizational Behavior, 14e (Robbins/Judge)

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior?

1) 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

2) Which of the following is most likely to be a belief held by a successful manager?

A) Technical knowledge is all that is needed for success.
B) It is not essential to have sound interpersonal skills.
C) Technical skills are necessary, but insufficient alone for success.
D) Effectiveness is not impacted by human behavior.
E) Technical skills do not influence efficiency.

3) Which of the following would not be considered an organization?

A) a church
B) a university
C) a military unit
D) all adults in a given community
E) an elementary school

4) Which of the following is least likely to be considered a manager?

A) an administrator in charge of fund-raising activities in a non-profit organization
B) a lieutenant leading an infantry platoon
C) a doctor who acts as head of the physiotherapy department at a public hospital
D) the mayor of a large city
E) an IT technician who enables communication between all of a company's employees

5) Which of the following is not one of the four primary management functions?
A) controlling
B) planning
C) staffing
D) organizing
E) leading

6) Which of a manager's primary functions requires the manager to define an organization's

goals, establish an overall strategy for achieving these goals and develop a comprehensive
hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities?
A) controlling
B) planning
C) staffing
D) coordinating
E) leading
7) Designing an organization's structure, such as who reports to whom, defines the ________
function.
A) planning
B) leading
C) controlling
D) organizing
E) contemplating

8) As a manager, one of Joe's duties is to present awards to outstanding employees within his
department. Which Mintzberg managerial role is Joe acting in when he does this?
A) leadership role X
B) liaison role
C) monitor role
D) figurehead role
E) spokesperson role

9) Which of the following is not an interpersonal role of management according to

Mintzberg?
A) a high school principal handing out graduation diplomas
B) a department head relocating the department after a fire
C) a manager interviewing potential employees
D) a shift foreman reprimanding a worker that arrived late
E) a project manager listening to a team presentation

10) According to Mintzberg, when a manager searches the organization and its environment
for opportunities and initiates projects to bring about change, the manager is acting in which
role?
A) negotiator
B) entrepreneur
C) monitor
D) resource allocator
E) reflective analyst

11) Managers need to have three essential skills in order to reach their goals. What are these
skills?
A) technical, decisional and interpersonal
B) technical, human, and conceptual
C) interpersonal, informational and decisional
D) conceptual, communication and networking
E) human, informational and communication

12) Jill is valued by her colleagues for her ability to perform effective break-even analysis on
upcoming ventures. In this case, her colleagues value her for competencies that fall within
which essential management skills categories?
A) technical
B) communication
C) human
D) conceptual
E) education

13) Technical skills encompass the ability to ________.

A) analyze and diagnose complex situations
B) exchange information and control complex situations
C) apply specialized knowledge or expertise
D) initiate and oversee complex projects
E) communicate effectively with others

14) Which one of the following would not be considered a human skill of a manager?
A) decision making.
B) communicating
C) resolving conflicts
D) working as part of a team
E) listening to others

15) Fred Luthans wanted to look at management from a different perspective. He wanted to
see what management qualities are needed ________.
A) to produce quality work X
B) to attain quality employees
C) to attain high pay
D) to be quickly promoted
E) to show economic returns

16) According to Luthans' research, successful managers, meaning those that were quickly
promoted, spent more of their time on ________ than on any other activity.
A) traditional management
B) human resource management
C) networking
D) communicating
E) hiring and firing

17) ________ is the study of the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on
behavior within organizations.
A) Conceptual skills
B) Leadership
C) Human skills
D) Decisional roles
E) Organizational behavior

18) 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

19) On which of the following problems would an OB study be least likely to focus ?
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 in volunteer workers at a non-profit organization

20) What are the three primary behavior determinants of organizational behavior?
A) profit structure, organizational complexity, 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

21) 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

22) 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

23) Janet needs to assign a very important advertising account to one of her writers. First she
reviewed each writers 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) substantive evidence approach
D) preconceived notions
E) systematic study

24) Basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence is called ________.
A) intuition
B) systematic study
C) organizational behavior
D) evidence-based management
E) conceptual management

25) 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

26) What do the authors of the textbook advise?

A) Disregard your intuition because it's usually wrong and will lead to incorrect
assumptions .
B) Use evidence as much as possible to inform your intuition and experience .
C) Rely on research since it is almost always right and researchers don't make mistakes .
D) Make predictions of individuals' behaviors based on others' actions .
E) Don't trust preconceived notions unless you have substantive evidence to back them up .

27) Organizational behavior is constructed from all of the following disciplines except
________.
A) physics
B) psychology
C) anthropology
D) sociology
E) social psychology

28) 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 the culture
E) the level of interacting groups

29) The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of
humans and other animals is known as ________.
A) psychiatry
B) psychology
C) sociology
D) political science
E) organizational behavior

30) ________ blends concepts from psychology and sociology and focuses on the influence
people have on one another.
A) Corporate strategy
B) Anthropology X
C) Political science
D) Social psychology
E) Archaeology

31) Austin is a graduate student helping to organize a study about individual job satisfaction.
The study focuses on the top five reasons that a person is satisfied or dissatisfied in his
current 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 (because it seeks to explain individual human behaviour)
B) anthropology
C) political science
D) social psychology X
E) archaeology

32) Group behavior, power, and conflict are central areas of study for ________.
A) archaeologists
B) sociologists
C) anthropologists
D) social psychologists
E) operations analysts

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

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

35) Which of the following fields has most helped us understand differences in fundamental
values, attitudes, and behavior among people in different countries?
A) anthropology
B) psychology
C) political science
D) operations research
E) psycholinguistics

36) Myriam is analyzing the gender roles of men and women in management in the United
States compared to those of management in Japan. She is surveying fifty men and fifty
women managers in each country to compare their daily behavior. Myriam's study
exemplifies how ________ contributes to OB.
A) anthropology
B) psychology
C) social psychology
D) political science
E) corporate strategy

37) 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-effect principles that tend to apply to all situations that have been
discovered.
E) They are simple and universal principles that explain organizational behavior.

38) There are ________ simple and universal principles that explain organizational behavior.
A) an infinity of
B) absolutely no
C) a confusing array of
D) fourteen
E) few if any

39) 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

40) Which of the following is not a reason why OB is extremely relevant today?
A) an aging workforce
B) a diverse workforce
C) changing employee practices
D) globalization
E) global warming

41) ________ 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

42) ________ 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

43) Which of the following statements is not true about workforce diversity?
A) Workforce diversity is a global concern.
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 U.S.
44) What was the most significant change in the U.S. 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 U.S. citizens of Hispanic origin
C) increasing numbers of African-Americans at all levels within the workforce
D) the steady increase in the percentage of workers that are men
E) the rapid increase in the percentage of workers that are women

45) Which of the following statements is not an implication of increased workplace diversity?
A) Managers should recognize differences between workers.
B) Diversity training should be provided.
C) Employee benefits should be revamped to accommodate the different needs of different
employees.
D) It is critical that all workers be treated alike.
E) Innovation and creativity in organizations is likely to increase.

46) Eighty percent of the U.S. workforce today is made up of ________ jobs.
A) textile
B) technology
C) automobile
D) restaurant
E) service

47) Approximately ________ % of the U.S. labor force is employed in service industries.
A) 10
B) 25
C) 40
D) 60
E) 80

48) Service industry jobs include all of the following except ________.
A) fast good counter worker
B) sales clerk
C) waiter
D) nurse
E) production line worker

49) Which of the following factors makes it imperative that organizations be fast and
flexible?
A) temporariness
B) corporate excess
C) truncated capacity
D) advances in corporate strategy
E) globalization

50) 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) make closer connections to their peers
D) foster friendship within the work environment
E) limit their mobility if they hope to compete X

51) 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

52) ________ 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) Cyber-empowerment machines
D) Widespread use of computers
E) Networked organizations

53) 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) communications 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

54) What growth area in OB research concerns how organizations develop human strengths,
foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential?
A) positive organizational scholarship
B) ethical behavioral research
C) balancing work-life conflict
D) networked organizational research
E) temporariness studies

55) 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) loyalty situations
E) social puzzles

56) A model is a(n) ________.

A) abstraction of reality
B) someone held in high esteem
C) independent variable
D) real-world scenario
E) dependent variable

57) Which of the following has only recently been considered a primary dependent variable
in organizational behavior?
A) productivity
B) absenteeism
C) turnover
D) job satisfaction
E) organizational citizenship behavior

58) At its root, productivity involves concern for both ________.

A) dependence and independence
B) diversity and homogeneity
C) motivation and distraction
D) absenteeism and motivation
E) effectiveness and efficiency

59) Which of the following is an example of being an efficient company?

A) operating at the lowest possible cost while yielding a higher output

B) creating the highest customer satisfaction ratings
C) meeting the production schedule
D) obtaining the highest market share
E) maximizing diversity at high cost

60) What term is used to describe voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an
organization?
A) absenteeism
B) turnover
C) downsizing
D) truancy
E) social atrophy

61) ________ is discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee's formal job
requirement, but that promotes the effective functioning of the organization.
A) Productivity
B) Motivation
C) Organizational citizenship
D) Organizational behavior
E) Corporate strategy

62) Individual-level independent variables include all of the following except ________.
A) leadership
B) learning
C) perception
D) motivation
E) decision-making
63) The six key dependent variables relevant to OB on the contingency model to help explain
the complexities of organizational behavior are ________.
A) productivity, absence, turnover, deviant workplace behavior, citizenship, and satisfaction
B) human resources, turnover, structure, culture, leadership, and trust
C) decision making, stress, citizenship, conflict, teams, and politics
D) biography, personality, emotions, perception, motivation, and ability
E) input, values, emotions, perception, attitude, and decision-making

64) Although managers must be technically competent, technical knowledge is often not
enough for success.
Answer: True
Explanation: Managers may get by on their technical and quantitative skills the first couple
of years out of school. But soon, leadership and communication skills become important to
success.

65) Managers get things done through other people.

Answer: True
Explanation: A manager is an individual who achieves goals through other people.

66) Modern theorists have condensed Fayol's five management functions down to four:
planning, organizing, commanding, and controlling.
Answer: False; Planning, Organizing, Leading, Controlling

67) Monitoring, comparing, and correcting activities are all included in the controlling
function.
Answer: True
Explanation: To ensure things are going as they should, management must monitor the
organization's performance and compare it with previously set goals. If there are any
significant deviations, it is management's job to get the organization back on track. This
monitoring, comparing, and potential correcting is the controlling function.

68) When managers initiate and oversee new projects that will improve their organization's
performance, they are acting in the capacity of an entrepreneur, which is an example of an
informational role.
Answer: False
Explanation: When managers initiate and oversee new projects that will improve their
organization's performance, they are acting in the capacity of an entrepreneur, which is an
example of a decisional role.

69) Research conducted by Luthans supports the belief that promotions are based on
performance.
Answer: False
Explanation: A study of 410 U.S. managers indicates those who seek information from
colleagues and employees, even if it’s negative, and who explain their decisions, are the most
successful. This illustrates the importance of networking and political skills in getting ahead
in organizations.

70) Many people's views on human behavior are based on intuition.

Answer: True
Explanation: Intuition is a gut feeling not necessarily supported by research. Many people
rely on intuition.

71) Conflict and power have been major topics of concern to social psychologists.
Answer: True
Explanation: Social psychologists have made important contributions to our study of group
behavior, power, and conflict.

72) Anthropology has helped us understand differences in values and attitudes between
people in different countries.
Answer: True
Explanation: Anthropology is the study of societies to learn about human beings and their
activities. Anthropologists' work on cultures and environments has helped us understand
differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between people in different
countries and within different organizations.

73) OB researchers cannot offer reasonably accurate explanations of human behavior since
people act very differently in similar situations.
Answer: True
Explanation: To give accurate explanations OB concepts must reflect situational, or
contingency, conditions. We can say x leads to y, but only under conditions specified in z, the
contingency variables.

74) Workforce diversity is a topic dealing with how organizations are becoming more
homogeneous in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity.
Answer: True
Explanation: Workforce diversity acknowledges a workforce of women and men; many
racial and ethnic groups; individuals with a variety of physical or psychological abilities; and
people who differ in age and sexual orientation.

75) Forty percent of the U.S. labor force is female.

Answer: False
Explanation: The most significant change in the U.S. labor force during the last half of the
twentieth century was the rapid increase in the number of female workers. By 2008, it was
46.5 percent.

76) Today's managers and employees must learn to cope with temporariness; learning to live
with flexibility, spontaneity, and unpredictability.
Answer: True
Explanation: Globalization, expanded capacity, and advances in technology have required
organizations to be fast and flexible if they are to survive. The result is that most managers
and employees today work in a climate best characterized as "temporary."
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 19-20

77) There's an increasing blurring between the work and nonwork time.
Answer: True
Explanation: Employees are increasingly complaining that the line between work and
nonwork time has become blurred, creating personal conflicts and stress.

78) Organizational behavior models generally assume job satisfaction to be an independent

variable.
Answer: False
Explanation: A dependent variable is the key factor that you want to explain or predict and
that is affected by some other factor. The dependent variables in OB are productivity,
absenteeism, turnover, and job satisfaction.

79) An organization that is productive must be both effective and efficient.

Answer: True
Explanation: An organization is productive if it achieves its goals by transforming inputs into
outputs at the lowest cost. Thus, productivity requires both effectiveness and efficiency.

80) An organization is productive if it achieves its goals and does so by transferring inputs to
outputs at the lowest cost.
Answer: False
Explanation: Productivity is a performance measure that includes effectiveness and
efficiency. An organization is productive if it achieves its goals by transforming inputs into
outputs at the lowest cost.

81) Reasonable levels of employee-initiated turnover facilitate organizational flexibility and

employee independence.
Answer: False
Explanation: In today's changing world of work, reasonable levels of employee-initiated
turnover improve organizational flexibility and employee independence, and they can lessen
the need for management-initiated layoffs.

82) The difference between the amount of rewards workers receive and the amount they
believe they should receive is termed job satisfaction.
Answer: False
Explanation: Job satisfaction is defined as a positive feeling about one's job resulting from an
evaluation of its characteristics.

Imagine that Kristen McKay is a manager at a company specializing in bread and bread-
baking paraphernalia. Kristen performs all the normal management functions outlined in your
textbook. Answer the following questions based on Henri Fayol's work.

83) When Ms. McKay develops a strategy for achieving her department's goals, she is
performing the ________ function of management.
A) planning
84) When Ms. McKay determines which employees will do what tasks, she is performing the
________ function of management.
A) planning
B) organizing
C) leading
D) controlling
E) reacting

85) When Ms. McKay motivates her employees and attempts to resolve conflicts among
department members, she is performing the ________ function of management.
A) planning
B) organizing
C) leading
D) controlling
E) reacting

86) When Ms. McKay compares projected sales to actual sales in her department, she is
performing the ________ function of management.
A) planning
B) organizing
C) leading
D) controlling
E) reacting

Josef Nobles has been a manager at Mountain Chemicals for five years. Hired for his
expertise in project accounting, he rose quickly through the ranks and is now the head of the
accounting and finance department. Josef is viewed as the rising star in the organization by
his superiors.

87) According to Katz, the skills that Mr. Nobles was hired for were what type of skill?
A) human
B) conceptual
C) technical
D) controlling
E) directing

88) Given the information we have, Mr. Nobles would probably be categorized by Luthans as
what type of manager?
A) effective
B) efficient
C) successful
D) productive
E) type A

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.

89) The faculty member from ________ should furnish information about personality,
learning, and motivation.
A) sociology
B) psychology
C) anthropology
D) political science
E) industrial engineering

90) Which professor out of this group would you expect to address issues of communication?
A) the psychologist
B) the anthropologist
C) the political scientist
D) the social psychologist
E) the industrial engineer

91) 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
Answer: A

The manager at a construction site observes that he is spending a great deal of time
interviewing prospective employees. This is due to the large amount of absenteeism and
turnover among his skilled workers. On questioning exiting employees he discovers that
many of them quit because they feel the work place is too dangerous. In particular, several
foremen have stated that the need to get the job done quickly is more important than a few
rules, and have gone as far as to mock the courage of workers who question this attitude.

92) What is not a dependent variable that the manager wishes to resolve in this case?
A) turnover
B) absenteeism
C) productivity
D) job satisfaction
E) the skill level of his workers

93) What is the best way for the manager to control the deviant behavior of the foremen?
A) ordering the foremen to conform with the required safety standards
B) finding out why the foremen place a greater importance on finishing the job than in safety
C) firing the foremen and promoting new foremen from the current pool of workers
D) taking over the work of the foremen himself
E) instituting training classes for the foremen on the importance of safety

94) Which of the following is an independent variable which is likely to be the root cause of
the workplace deviant behavior the manager has observed?
A) Foremen are paid significant bonuses if the workers they supervise complete their tasks
quickly.
B) Absenteeism is found to rise on those days when particularly hazardous work is being
performed.
C) Several of the foremen are close personal friends who have very similar attitudes toward
work and safety.
D) The structure of the organization does not involve all workers in the decision making
process.
E) Penalties for ignoring safety standards are not heavy, amounting to the equivalent of only
several hours' pay.

Allison and Gail both are studying for a final exam. Both have a goal of attaining a grade of
91 or better. Gail studied 6 hours and made a grade of 92. Allison studied for 9 hours and also
made a grade of 92.

95) Which of the students was effective?

A) only Gail
B) only Allison
C) neither Gail nor Allison
D) both Gail and Allison
E) insufficient information to judge

96) Which of the following statements is true?

A) Gail is more efficient than Allison.
B) Allison is more efficient than Gail.
C) Gail is more effective than Allison.
D) Allison is more effective than Gail.
E) Gail and Allison are equally efficient.

97) Which of the students was more productive?

A) Gail
B) Allison
C) Neither Gail nor Allison were productive.
D) It is impossible to tell from the information given.
E) They were equally productive.

98) Define and provide a workplace example for each of the four management functions
described by Henri Fayol.
ANSWER:
- Planning: a process that includes defining the goals, establishing stategy, developing
plans to coordinate activities. E.g: planning for the upcoming holiday, writing the
upselling campaingn,….
- Organizing: determine what tasks are to be done, how tasks are to be grouded, who is
to do, who reports to who, where decisions are to be made. Managers use workflow
and organizational chart in this function. E.g: managers assigned the project, divided
into 4 parts, each department take over one part.
- Leading: a function that monitors the employees, motivates others, selects the most
effective communication channels, revolves conflict. E.g: managers rewards for
employees who achieved the greatest performance.
- Controlling: monitoring activities to ensures that they are being accomplished as
planned, and correcting any significant deviations. E.g: following the speed working
of employees and checking regularly to take them on the right track if there’s any
mistake.
Answer: The four management functions as described by Henri Fayol are planning,
organizing, leading, and controlling. The planning function encompasses defining an
organization's goals, establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals, and
developing a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to integrate and coordinate activities. Writing
sales goals and quotas for a team of salespeople would be a workplace example of
management planning.
Organizing includes the determination of what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how
the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made.
Assigning projects and project team leaders is an example of organizing.
The leading function involves motivating employees, directing the activities of others,
selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts among
members. Leading weekly sales meetings on informational topics to motivate a sales team is
an example of leading.
Finally, controlling involves monitoring, comparing, and potential correcting to get the
organization back on track. Reprimanding an employee who consistently arrives to work late
is an example of controlling.

99) Describe the three essential management skills that differentiate effective managers from
ineffective ones. Provide a workplace example of how these skills could be used when
dealing with the challenge of a workplace recession.
ANSWER: 3 essential management skills:
- Technical: the ability to apply the specilized knowledge or expertise
- Human: the ability to work with, understand, and motivate others
- Conceptual: the mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations
When an organization is facing the challenges of a workplace recession, human skills
are essential to motivate employees and create a positive environment. They wold
also be necessary to fire employees

Answer: The three essential management skills identified by researchers are technical,
human, and conceptual. Technical skills are defined by the ability to apply specialized
knowledge or expertise. Human skills are defined by the ability to work with, understand, and
motivate other people. Finally, conceptual skills are defined by the ability to analyze and
diagnose complex situations. In a time of recession human skills are essential to motivate
fearful employees and to create a positive work environment. They would also be necessary
in the event of workplace staff reduction. Technical skills could be applied in the area of
expertise to raise production and, combined with conceptual skills, can be used to look for
small market niches and ways to analyze the industry to continue to make a profit until times
are better.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 7-8, 18-22
Topic: What Managers Do
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Management Skills
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 2, 7

100) Explain how Fred Luthans differentiates between successful and effective managers.
Answer: Luthans defined successful managers in terms of the speed of their promotions.
Effective managers were defined in terms of the quantity and quality of their performance
and the satisfaction and commitment of their employees. Different skills were associated with
each group. Successful managers used more networking skills, whereas effective managers
used more communication skills.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 8-9
Topic: What Managers Do
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Effective Versus Successful Managers
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
LO: 2

101) Describe how one of the sciences that contributes to organizational behavior could be
used in EBM. Define the science, some of the science's contributions to OB, and describe a
workplace example of how it could be used in EBM.

Answer: Evidence-based management (EBM) complements systematic study by basing

managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence. Doctors need to make
decisions about patient care based on the latest available evidence, and EBM argues that
managers should do the same, becoming more scientific in how they think about management
problems. For example, a manager that is struggling with high turnover in his company could
look toward social psychology to help solve the problem. Social psychology, generally
considered a branch of psychology, blends concepts from both psychology and sociology to
focus on people's influence on one another. One major study area is change, how to
implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance. A manager could look at a social
psychology study on job satisfaction to determine what changes he might make to be able to
better retain employees.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 11-13
Topic: What Managers Do
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Manager's Job
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 4, 5

X 102) Why is it important to complement intuition with systematic study in our attempts to
understand behavior within organizations?
Answer: It is important to complement intuition with systematic study in our attempts to
understand behavior within organizations in order to help uncover important facts and
relationships. This will provide a base from which more accurate predictions of behavior can
be made. That is, we can improve our predictive ability by complementing intuitive opinions
with a more systematic approach. Systematic studies looks at relationships, attempting to
attribute causes and effects, and base conclusions on scientific evidence. This process helps
us to explain and predict behavior.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 11-12
Topic: Disciplines That Contribute to the OB Field (KHÔNG THI DISCIPLINES, KHÔNG
CẦN HỌC)
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Systematic Study
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
LO: 4 X

103) How have the fields of psychology and sociology contributed to our understanding of
organizational behavior?
Answer: Psychology seeks to measure, explain, and change the behavior of humans.
Contributions have been made by learning theorists, personality theorists, counseling
psychologists, and industrial and organizational psychologists. Contributions have been made
in learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and
motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision-making processes, performance appraisals,
attitude measurement, employee-selection techniques, work design, and job stress. Sociology
studies people in relation to their social environment or culture. The greatest contributions by
sociologists have been in the study of group behavior in organizations, organizational culture,
formal organization theory and structure, organizational technology, communications, power,
and conflict.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 12-14
Topic: Disciplines That Contribute to the OB Field
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Behavioral Sciences
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
LO: 5

104) Compare and contrast the fields of psychology, social psychology, and sociology.
Answer: These fields all deal with the human condition. While psychology focuses on the
individual, sociology studies people in relation to their social environment or culture. Social
psychology blends concepts from both psychology and sociology, though it is generally
considered a branch of psychology. It focuses on people's influence on one another. Thus, it
could be said that social psychology falls between the extremes of the individual focus of
psychology and the large group focus of sociology.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 12-14
Topic: Disciplines That Contribute to the OB Field
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Behavioral Sciences
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
LO: 5

105) Describe how globalization affects a manager's people skills, and what human skills will
be called upon to be effective.
Answer: Human Skills, or people skills, are the ability to understand, communicate with,
motivate, and support other people, both individually and in groups. Globalization affects a
manager's people skills in at least two ways. First, managers are increasingly likely to find
themselves on foreign assignments. Once there, they may be managing a work force that is
defined by very different needs, aspirations, and attitudes from the workforce back at home.
Second, managers are going to find themselves working with superiors, peers, and employees
who were born and raised in a different culture. To work effectively with these people,
managers will need to understand their culture, how it has shaped them, and how to adapt a
management style to these differences. In order to deal with these challenges, and effective
manager should be a proficient listener, seek to understand the needs of others, and learn to
manage conflicts.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 8, 16-17
Topic: What Managers Do
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills; Multicultural and Diversity
Objective: Globalization
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 2, 7
106) Explain "workforce diversity." Explain what key managerial skill you think is most
important when dealing with workforce diversity.
Answer: Workforce diversity is a term used to describe how organizations are becoming
more heterogeneous with regard to gender, race, and ethnicity. It also includes disabilities,
sexual orientation, and age. Human skills are defined by the ability to work with, understand,
and motivate other people and would be important to manage a diverse workforce because of
the different individual variables that the manager would be working with.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 8, 17-18
Topic: Workforce Diversity
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills; Multicultural and Diversity
Objective: Workforce Diversity
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 3, 7

107) What dependent and independent variables are usually identified for construction of an
OB model?
Answer: A dependent variable is the key factor that you want to explain or predict and that is
affected by some other factor. OB Scholars have historically emphasized productivity,
absenteeism, turnover, and job satisfaction. Today, deviant workplace behavior and
organizational citizenship have been added to this list. An independent variable is the
presumed cause of some change in the dependent variable. The independent variables are
divided into individual-level, group-level, and organization systems level variables. The
individual-level variables include biographical characteristics, ability, values, attitudes,
personality, and emotions, perception, individual decision making, learning, and motivation.
Group-level variables include communication, leadership, power, and politics. Organization
systems level variables include the design of the formal organization; the organization's
internal culture; and the organization's human resource policies and practices.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 23-30
Topic: Application of Developing an OB Model
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Contingency Models
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
LO: 8

108) Describe two contingency variables that a manager could use in evaluating job
satisfaction in her organization.
Answer: Contingency variables are situational factors that moderate the relationship between
two or more variables. A manager must outline contingency variables in order to be able to
predict job satisfaction because not all humans want the same out of a career, or anything else
for that matter. For example, the manager could determine that flex time leads to job
satisfaction, but only under conditions specified in z. Z is the contingency variable. In this
example Z could be employees under the age of 30, or female employees. Z is the
contingency variable because some employees might prefer to work a regular schedule.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 14, 27-28
Topic: Defining Organizational Behavior
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Contingency Variables
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 6, 7
109) How would you compare an ethical dilemma to organizational citizenship behavior?
How are they similar or different?
Answer: An ethical dilemma is a situation in which employees are required to define right
and wrong conduct. Dilemmas include whether to blow the whistle, whether they should
follow orders with which they don't personally agree, whether they should give an inflated
performance evaluation to an employee whom they like, knowing that such an evaluation
could save that employee's job, or whether they should allow themselves to play politics in
the organization if it will help their career advancement. These ethical dilemmas result from
the blurring of the line differentiating right from wrong. Organizational citizenship behavior
(OCB) is discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee's formal job requirements but
nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization. Successful organizations
need employees who will do more than their usual job duties, who will provide performance
beyond expectations. By fostering OCB as a dependable variable in the workplace, ethical
dilemmas should be reduced. An employee would almost always choose what is "right" if he
feels a citizenship alliance toward the employer. Ethical dilemmas in which employees make
the wrong choices are more likely to occur in environments where employees are dissatisfied
and disgruntled.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 22-23, 26-28
Topic: Defining Organizational Behavior
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills; Ethical Reasoning
Objective: Ethical Dilemma
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 7, 8

110) What conclusions can you draw about turnover if an employer strives to find balance in
work-life conflicts? How can the employer find this balance and still have productive
employees?
BRAINSTORM:
- Allow employees to work from home
-
Answer: Because work is constantly infringing on people's lives, some employers make
efforts to find balance in the work-life conflict. For example, if a job requires a lot of travel
time away from the family, when the travel assignment is done, the employer could allow the
employee to work from home several days to be able to spend more time with the family.
Allowing flexible schedules and complimentary time off for overtime worked, gives an
employee time to recuperate what was lost to work, thus increasing job satisfaction and most
likely decreasing turnover.
Turnover is the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization. A
high turnover rate results in increased recruiting, selection, and training costs–which are quite
significant. Although it might appear that the employer is losing productivity by allowing
flexible time and balance in work-life conflicts, he is actually increasing productivity because
he isn't training new employees due to reduced turnover, and employees with high job
satisfaction are more productive.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 21-22, 25-26
Topic: Application of What Managers Do
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Turnover
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 7, 8