Fundamentals of Management, 7e (Robbins/DeCenzo/Coulter) Chapter Foundations of Individual Behavior 1) One of the challenges in understanding organizational behavior is that it addresses issues that aren't obvious Answer: TRUE Explanation: Behavior within an organization has been compared to an iceberg Many aspects of the organization are visible, but just as many aspects are hidden from view but nevertheless have profound effect on the organization itself Diff: Page Ref: 214 Objective: 8.1 2) Organizational behavior is primarily concerned with group interactions Answer: FALSE Explanation: Organizational behavior is concerned with both group and individual behavior, as well as various organizational aspects that include the structure, culture and human resource policies of organizations Diff: Page Ref: 214 Objective: 8.1 3) The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and understand behavior Answer: FALSE Explanation: The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and influence, rather than understand behavior Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 4) Attitudes are evaluative statements concerning objects, people, or events Answer: TRUE Explanation: Attitudes are statements that reveal an assessment of something that can be favorable or unfavorable Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 5) Individuals try to reconcile attitudes and behavior so they are both rational and consistent Answer: TRUE Explanation: Research and common experience both indicate that individuals like to be consistent with respect to attitudes and behavior Another way of seeing this issue is that people not like to be seen as hypocrites—they try to what they say they believe in Diff: Page Ref: 217 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 8.2 6) Cognitive dissonance arises when people feel that their behavior and attitudes are consistent Answer: FALSE Explanation: Dissonance occurs when individuals feel that they are being inconsistent, not consistent Diff: Page Ref: 218 Objective: 8.2 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 7) The discomfort that results from high dissonance can be reduced when an individual feels that she has a choice in the matter Answer: FALSE Explanation: In fact, not having a choice usually makes a person feel better about dissonance than having a choice Not having a choice takes the responsibility off of the individual, and so relieves the discomfort of dissonance Diff: Page Ref: 218 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.2 8) Research shows that high job satisfaction correlates with high productivity Answer: TRUE Explanation: In general, the more satisfied a person is with his or her job, the more productive he or she is likely to be Diff: Page Ref: 219 Objective: 8.2 9) Personality is defined as a unique combination of behavioral, emotional, and thinking patterns that each person has Answer: TRUE Explanation: These patterns can be identified by personality tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and the Big Five model Diff: Page Ref: 220-221 Objective: 8.3 10) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® test can identify thousands of different basic personality types Answer: FALSE Explanation: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® recognizes sixteen different basic personality types, based on four personality dichotomies Diff: Page Ref: 220-221 Objective: 8.3 11) In the Big Five model, emotional security was positively related to job performance Answer: FALSE Explanation: Surprisingly, Big Five model research showed that individuals who were emotionally secure tended to have low job performance Diff: Page Ref: 222 Objective: 8.3 12) The ability to control one's own emotions is an important component in emotional intelligence Answer: TRUE Explanation: Controlling one's emotions and impulses is termed self-management Diff: Page Ref: 222 Objective: 8.3 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 13) Emotional intelligence and academic intelligence are virtually identical Answer: FALSE Explanation: Though the same individual can exhibit both emotional and academic intelligence, the two metrics are very different For example, a person with high EI can have low academic intelligence, and vice versa Diff: Page Ref: 222 Objective: 8.3 14) A worker with an external locus of control would tend to blame failure on himself Answer: FALSE Explanation: Rather than himself, a worker with an external locus of control would tend to blame failure on external sources, such as outside conditions or unfair treatment Diff: Page Ref: 223 Objective: 8.3 15) A high Mach person tends to think that ends justify means Answer: TRUE Explanation: A key to the high Mach personality is that it focuses on results and not the path— ethical or unethical—that a person takes to reach a goal Diff: Page Ref: 223 Objective: 8.3 16) Employees with high self-esteem tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than low SEs Answer: TRUE Explanation: High SE individuals tend to correlate with high job satisfaction, perhaps because they are able to derive more fulfillment out of the work itself rather than the praise they get from doing the work Diff: Page Ref: 223 Objective: 8.3 17) A low self-monitoring employee would be likely to be a good poker player Answer: FALSE Explanation: Low self-monitoring individuals would not have the ability to conceal their feelings, and would therefore tend to "give away" their hand in a poker game Diff: Page Ref: 223 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.3 18) A person who is risk-averse might well as a stock trader Answer: FALSE Explanation: Stock trading is a high pressure, high risk enterprise in which decisions need to be made quickly on little information People who are risk-takers tend to well in this kind of job Diff: Page Ref: 224 Objective: 8.3 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 19) According to John Holland, the key to job success is how well an individual's personality matches his or her job Answer: TRUE Explanation: Holland thinks that people have clear intrinsic personality types A better fit between personality type and job type results in higher job satisfaction Diff: Page Ref: 224 Objective: 8.3 20) According to John Holland's theory, a realistic personality type might be well-suited to be an economist Answer: FALSE Explanation: A realistic personality type would tend to prefer physical activities, something that an economist would typically not Therefore, the statement is false Diff: Page Ref: 224 Objective: 8.3 21) People from the Middle East tend to believe that life is not predetermined and they can control their own destiny Answer: FALSE Explanation: To the contrary, people from Middle Eastern countries tend to be fatalistic and think that life is predetermined Diff: Page Ref: 225 AACSB: Diversity Objective: 8.3 22) U.S workers, more than Iranian workers, would likely have an external locus of control Answer: FALSE Explanation: U.S workers, who come from a more individualistic culture in which people depend on their own talents and resources, tend to have a more internal, not external, locus of control Diff: Page Ref: 225 AACSB: Diversity Objective: 8.3 23) A fundamental idea of perception is that all people interpret and distort reality in some way Answer: TRUE Explanation: Perception is subjective No one sees fully objective reality Everyone interprets what he or she sees and distorts to a certain degree Diff: Page Ref: 226 Objective: 8.4 24) Distortion of perception can only come from the person who is perceiving Answer: FALSE Explanation: The target can also distort perception For example, a loud person is more likely to be noticed than a quiet person Diff: Page Ref: 226 Objective: 8.4 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 25) Attribution theory is primarily concerned with identifying one's own behavior Answer: FALSE Explanation: Attribution theory is concerned with determining whether the cause of others' behavior is external or internal Diff: Page Ref: 227 Objective: 8.4 26) Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays a behavior in many situations or whether it's particular to one situation Answer: TRUE Explanation: High distinctiveness means you see this behavior only for this particular task and not for related tasks Low distinctiveness means the behavior is general for any related task Diff: Page Ref: 227 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.4 27) The fundamental attribution error states that individuals tend to overestimate the influence of external factors in others Answer: FALSE Explanation: To the contrary, the fundamental attribution error assumes too much internal influence in the behavior of others Diff: Page Ref: 227 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 8.4 28) Individuals tend to attribute their own successes to external factors Answer: FALSE Explanation: Individuals tend to attribute success to inner qualities such as effort and talent, rather than external qualities such as good fortune Diff: Page Ref: 227 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 8.4 29) In stereotyping, observers use group characteristics to judge individuals Answer: TRUE Explanation: For example, an observer resorts to stereotyping when he assumes that a person of a particular ethnic group will be a "hard worker." Diff: Page Ref: 228 Objective: 8.4 30) Perceptual shortcuts are not necessarily distorted Answer: TRUE Explanation: Perceptual shortcuts can be valuable for making quick assessments of people and situations The danger of perceptual shortcuts is to rely on them too much or fail to go beyond an initial impression Diff: Page Ref: 229 Objective: 8.4 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 31) Operant behavior deals only with learned behavior Answer: TRUE Explanation: Operant behavior does not deal with innate or reflexive behavior Diff: Page Ref: 229 Objective: 8.5 32) In operant conditioning, if behavior is positively reinforced it is less likely to repeat Answer: FALSE Explanation: The opposite is true—positively reinforced behavior is more, not less likely to repeat Diff: Page Ref: 229 Objective: 8.5 33) Skinner would argue that a dog responding to a whistle is an innate or unlearned behavior Answer: FALSE Explanation: Skinner would argue that the behavior was learned—the dog must have been rewarded for the behavior in some way Diff: Page Ref: 230 Objective: 8.5 34) Classical conditioning predicts that hearing music from a familiar horror movie might cause a person to feel anxious Answer: TRUE Explanation: Classical conditioning predicts that the association between the music and the sense of fright causes the person to feel anxious Diff: Page Ref: 230 Objective: 8.5 35) Social learning theory maintains that models who are different from ourselves have the greatest influence on our behavior Answer: FALSE Explanation: Social learning theory states that people pay most attention to models who are similar, not different from themselves Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 36) When a manager praises an employee for a job well done, she is providing positive reinforcement Answer: TRUE Explanation: Positive reinforcement supplies a reward for a desired behavior Praise is a form of reward Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 37) Negative reinforcement penalizes an individual for an undesired behavior Answer: FALSE Explanation: Penalizing an individual for undesired behavior is called punishment, not negative reinforcement Negative reinforcement is the withdrawal of an unpleasant stimulus Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 38) Negative reinforcement is the withdrawal of something unpleasant Answer: TRUE Explanation: Withdrawing some kind of unpleasant stimulus is negative reinforcement Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 39) Gen Y individuals are those people who were born after 1997 Answer: FALSE Explanation: Gen Y people are defined as individuals who were born from 1982 to 1997 Diff: Page Ref: 233 Objective: 8.6 40) Gen Y individuals tend to be comfortable with new types of electronic technology Answer: FALSE Explanation: Most Gen Y individuals grew up with many kinds of electronic devices so they are comfortable with new devices Diff: Page Ref: 233 Objective: 8.6 41) Which of the following best defines organizational behavior? A) the actions of organizations in the workplace B) the study of the workplace C) the study of organizations D) the study of the actions of people at work Answer: D Explanation: D) Organizational behavior, OB, is not merely a study of the workplace, of organizations in isolation, or of the actions of organizations in the workplace Instead, OB focuses on people and their actions within the workplace while they are at work This makes the study of the actions of people at work the best definition of OB and the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 214 Objective: 8.1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 42) Hidden aspects of an organization that OB provides insight into include A) strategies B) attitudes C) structure D) objectives Answer: B Explanation: B) Strategies, structure, and objectives are visible, not hidden, aspects of organizations so they are incorrect responses Hidden responses include the attitudes that employees carry with them on the job, making attitudes the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 214 Objective: 8.1 43) Which of the following is a visible aspect of an organization? A) attitudes B) interpersonal conflicts C) intergroup conflicts D) objectives Answer: D Explanation: D) The attitudes, and both interpersonal and intergroup conflicts that arise within organizations are all hidden aspects of organizations Objectives, on the other hand, are explicit, non-hidden, visible aspects of an organization, making that the correct response for this question Diff: Page Ref: 214 Objective: 8.1 44) Organizational behavior focuses on A) individual behavior and group behavior B) group behavior only C) individual behavior only D) neither group behavior nor individual behavior Answer: A Explanation: A) OB focuses on both individual and group behavior, making that the correct response and eliminating the other responses A third major area that OB is concerned with are organizational aspects that include the structure, culture, and human resource policies and practices of organizations Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 45) Which of the following are the goals of organizational behavior? A) to explain, understand, and control behavior B) to control and influence behavior C) to explain, predict, and influence behavior D) to predict, understand, and change behavior Answer: C Explanation: C) OB's official goals are to explain, predict, and influence behavior, making that the correct response All other choices can be ruled out because they include at least one incorrect goal Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 46) When managers influence employee behavior they A) predict what employees will B) steer it in a particular direction C) understand why a behavior occurs D) try not to change a behavior Answer: B Explanation: B) Influencing behavior means that managers change the behavior in some way Predicting or understanding behavior does not change any aspect of behavior itself, so those two choices can be ruled out as correct responses, as well as trying not to change behavior This leaves "steering it in a particular direction" as the correct response—when they influence behavior managers try to steer the behavior into one particular direction that is beneficial to the organization Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 47) All of the following are included in the six behaviors that managers try to explain, predict, and influence EXCEPT A) productivity and absenteeism B) workplace attitudes and perceptions C) workplace misbehavior and turnover D) organizational citizenship behavior and job satisfaction Answer: B Explanation: B) Managers try to explain, predict, and influence the following six behaviors: productivity, absenteeism, workplace misbehavior, turnover, organizational citizenship behavior, and job satisfaction This rules out the three incorrect responses as correct answers since they include the identified behaviors above Attitudes and perceptions are not among the behaviors that managers focus on, so workplace attitudes and perceptions is the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 48) This "behavior" is really an attitude A) job satisfaction B) turnover C) workplace misbehavior D) employee productivity Answer: A Explanation: A) Behaviors are defined as actions that individuals take Productivity is a behavior because it involves working, an action, in an efficient way Turnover, or quitting a job, is definitely an action, so it too is a behavior Workplace misbehavior involves troubling actions that employees take, so it also qualifies as a behavior Job satisfaction is actually a feeling that employees have about their jobs, not an action that they take, so it is not really a behavior, making job satisfaction the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 49) Of the six behaviors that managers focus on, which behavior is typically the most troubling to an organization? A) absenteeism B) workplace misbehavior C) organizational citizenship behavior D) employee productivity Answer: B Explanation: B) Employee productivity and organizational citizenship behavior are both positive behaviors, so they are not troubling at all to managers Absenteeism is troubling, but it is not as severe a problem as workplace misbehavior, which can include violence and abuse, making workplace misbehavior the correct response for this question Diff: Page Ref: 215-216 AACSB: Ethical Understanding and Reasoning Abilities Objective: 8.1 50) is a performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness of employees A) Employee productivity B) Organizational citizenship behavior C) Job satisfaction D) Turnover Answer: A Explanation: A) Job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover are not in any direct way related to efficiency or effectiveness, so they are incorrect responses Productivity, on the other hand, is a way to measure how much an employee gets done on the job, so it is a measure of efficiency and effectiveness, making employee productivity the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 215 Objective: 8.1 51) The three elements that make up an attitude are its components A) cognitive, affective, and behavioral B) affective, effective, and defective C) cognitive, component, and affective D) behavioral, cognitive, and misbehavioral Answer: A Explanation: A) The three components are cognitive (beliefs, knowledge), affective (emotional), and behavioral (actions), making cognitive, affective, and behavioral the correct response All other responses contain at least one erroneous component Diff: Page Ref: 216 Objective: 8.2 10 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 112) Which situation would be an example of the target influencing a perception? A) viewing a dog through binoculars B) viewing a dog when you are exhausted C) a dog barking D) near dark conditions Answer: C Explanation: C) Viewing through binoculars or when the viewer is tired are both examples of the perceiver, not the target, influencing perception Viewing in near dark conditions is an example of context influencing perception The only choice in which the target itself influences perception is a dog barking in which the dog calls attention to itself by barking Diff: Page Ref: 226 Objective: 8.4 113) Attribution theory is primarily concerned with explaining A) the behavior of groups B) one's own perceptions C) the behavior of others D) the perceptions of others Answer: C Explanation: C) Attribution theory is useful primarily for explaining the behavior of other individuals, making the behavior of others the correct response and eliminating the behavior of groups as the correct response In attribution theory, observers try to characterize the behavior of others as predominantly caused by internal or external factors Attribution theory uses perceptions, but it is not involved in explaining perceptions, making both one's own perceptions and the perceptions of others incorrect responses Diff: Page Ref: 227 Objective: 8.4 114) In attribution theory, behavior is largely beyond an individual's control A) externally caused B) internally caused C) consistent D) inconsistent Answer: A Explanation: A) In attribution theory, internally caused behavior can be attributed to a person's own character traits, while externally caused behavior is caused by outside forces that the individual has no control over This makes "externally caused" the correct response and eliminates "internally caused" since internally caused behavior can be controlled by the individual Whether or not behavior is consistent or inconsistent does not affect how it is controlled, so both of these choices are incorrect responses Diff: Page Ref: 227 Objective: 8.4 31 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 115) In attribution theory, if everyone who is faced with a similar situation responds in the same way, we can say the behavior shows A) consensus B) high distinctiveness C) low distinctiveness D) medium distinctiveness Answer: A Explanation: A) Consensus in attribution theory compares a single person's behavior to others If others faced with a similar situation respond to the situation in a way that is similar to the particular person being evaluated, then the behavior exhibited is said to show consensus This is clearly the case for this question, making consensus the correct response Distinctiveness assesses behavior for a particular person in different situations, rather than different people in similar situations, making the three choices regarding distinctiveness all incorrect Diff: Page Ref: 227 Objective: 8.4 116) In attribution theory, if a person is conscientious in five separate tasks, but in the sixth task fails to be conscientious, this task is said to have A) low distinctiveness B) high distinctiveness C) high consensus D) low consensus Answer: B Explanation: B) The person was generally conscientious, so the fact that she failed to be conscientious in one instance suggests that the incident was highly unusual for this person, or had high distinctiveness This makes high distinctiveness the correct response and eliminates low distinctiveness as the correct response Consensus is a measure of how similar the person's behavior is to the behavior of others—something that is not being measured here—so high and low consensus are both incorrect Diff: Page Ref: 227 Objective: 8.4 117) In attribution theory, the behavior of an individual who shows low distinctiveness and low consensus is likely to be attributed as A) internally caused B) externally caused C) beyond his control D) not his fault Answer: A Explanation: A) Low distinctiveness and low consensus are both signs that this is a pattern of behavior that is particular to this person, so it is internally, not externally caused, making internally caused the correct response The other three choices can all be ruled out because all three choices identify external causes of behavior Diff: Page Ref: 227-228 Objective: 8.4 32 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 118) In attribution theory, the behavior of an individual who shows high distinctiveness and low consistency is likely to be attributed as A) under her control B) her responsibility C) internally caused D) externally caused Answer: D Explanation: D) High distinctiveness and low consistency are indications that this behavior is particular to this person for this particular task, not generalized, and likely to be caused by some external factor She is not likely to show the same type of behavior for a different task, so the behavior must be externally, not internally caused, making "externally caused" the correct response The other three choices can be ruled out because they all identify internal, rather than external, causes of behavior Diff: Page Ref: 227-228 Objective: 8.4 119) If a person who is always late for work is late once again and blames it on a traffic jam, coworkers would probably attribute that person's lateness to A) traffic B) an external source C) an internal source D) his car Answer: C Explanation: C) Habitual lateness for a repeated behavior shows high consistency and low distinctiveness for this kind of situation, so the behavior is likely to be internally caused, making an internal source the correct response The other three choices all identify external causes of being late, so they are incorrect responses Diff: Page Ref: 227-228 Objective: 8.4 120) Which pairing is correct? A) high distinctiveness ⇒ internal cause of behavior B) low distinctiveness ⇒ external cause of behavior C) high consensus ⇒ external cause of behavior D) low consistency ⇒ internal cause of behavior Answer: C Explanation: C) The only choice that correlates to actual behavior is the one indicating that when consensus is high it means that other individuals respond to a similar situation in the same way, indicating that the source of the behavior is external and beyond the person's control All other pairs are incorrect Diff: Page Ref: 227-228 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.4 33 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 121) Which pairing is NOT correct? A) low consistency ⇒ external cause of behavior B) low distinctiveness ⇒ external cause of behavior C) high consensus ⇒ external cause of behavior D) low consensus ⇒ internal cause of behavior Answer: B Explanation: B) The only choice that does not correlate to actual behavior is the one that indicates that when distinctiveness is low it means that this is not a unique situation for the individual, he or she often responds in a similar way, indicating that the source of the behavior would be thought of as internal, not external All other pairs are all valid correlations so they are incorrect responses for this question Diff: Page Ref: 227-228 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.4 122) The fundamental attribution error causes people to tend to attribute A) successes of others to external factors B) failures of others to external factors C) their own successes to external factors D) their own failures to internal factors Answer: A Explanation: A) The fundamental attribution error causes people to attribute success in others to external factors, such as luck, and failure of others to internal factors, such as laziness The only choice that reflects one of these two situations is the one indicating successes of others being attributed to external factors, the correct response The choice regarding attribution of failures of others to external factors is not correct because the fundamental attribution error causes people to attribute others' failures to internal, not external causes The remaining two choices refer to the self-serving bias, not the fundamental attribution error Diff: Page Ref: 227 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 8.4 123) The self-serving bias causes people to tend to attribute A) successes of others to external factors B) failures of other to external factors C) their own successes to internal factors D) their own failures to internal factors Answer: C Explanation: C) The self-serving bias causes people to attribute their own success to internal factors, such as hard work, and their own failure to external factors, such as bad luck The only choice that reflects one of these two situations is the choice indicating attribution of their own successes to internal factors, the correct response The choice indicating attribution of their own failures to internal factors is not correct because the self-serving bias causes people to attribute their failures to external, not internal causes The remaining two choices refer to the fundamental attribution error, not the self-serving bias Diff: Page Ref: 227 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 8.4 34 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 124) When people judge someone on the basis of the perception of a group they are a part of, they are using the shortcut called A) stereotyping B) selectivity C) assumed similarity D) the halo effect Answer: A Explanation: A) Stereotyping is judging others on the basis of their group, not on their individual merits, making it the correct response Selectivity is incorrect because it refers to "speed reading" to make judgments about an individual, not judging an individual by his or her group Assumed similarity is incorrect because it is making assumptions that others share your own traits, not judging an individual by his or her group The halo effect is incorrect because it is judging a person by a single trait, not judging an individual by his or her group Diff: Page Ref: 229 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 8.4 125) By using , we form an impression about a person based on a single characteristic, such as intelligence or appearance A) stereotyping B) selectivity C) the halo effect D) assumed similarity Answer: C Explanation: C) The halo effect is judging others on the basis of a single trait, making it the correct response Selectivity is incorrect because it is "speed reading," not judging an individual by virtue of a single trait Assumed similarity is incorrect because it is making assumptions that others share your own traits, not judging an individual by a single trait Stereotyping is incorrect because it is judging a person by his or her group, not by a single trait Diff: Page Ref: 229 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 8.4 126) Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience is known as A) reflex B) learning C) instinctual behavior D) intrinsic behavior Answer: B Explanation: B) The critical element that distinguishes learning from other behaviors is that it is a result of experience, not a behavior that is innate or genetically programmed This makes learning the correct response The other three choices all identify behavior that is inborn, rather than occurring as a result of experience, so those choices are incorrect Diff: Page Ref: 229 Objective: 8.5 35 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 127) Operant conditioning is any behavior that occurs as a result of A) coincidence B) an innate behavior program C) reinforcement from reward or punishment D) reinforcement from reward only Answer: C Explanation: C) Operant conditioning is any behavior that has been instilled as a result of reinforcement from either a reward or a punishment, making it the correct response and eliminating reinforcement from reward only because it does not mention punishment Operant conditioning is definitely based on experience, which rules out innate behavior, and not a result of coincidence, since reinforcements typically need to be repeated, ruling out coincidence Diff: Page Ref: 230 Objective: 8.5 128) Social learning theory involves learning through A) instinct B) systematic study of books and manuals C) logical inference D) observing models Answer: D Explanation: D) Instinct, studying, and using logic have little or nothing to with social learning, which is the process by which people learn by observing others who serve as models An example of social learning is a golfer who learns to swing by observing professional golfers on television The correct answer for this question is observing models Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 129) The amount of influence a model has begins with the process of becoming aware of the model A) attentional B) retentional C) motor reproduction D) reinforcement Answer: A Explanation: A) Becoming aware of a model depends on attentional processes being activated, making attentional the correct response Retention processes involve memory rather than attention, while motor reproduction processes involve copying behaviors, and reinforcement processes involve incentives being attached to behaviors Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 36 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 130) When a young basketball player copies the free throw style of an NBA player, he is using his A) retention processes B) motor reproduction processes C) attentional processes D) reinforcement processes Answer: B Explanation: B) A young player physically mimicking a model is using his motor reproduction processes, making this the correct response Retention processes involve memory rather than motor skills, while attentional processes involve observing and paying attention to the model Finally, reinforcement processes involve incentives being attached to behaviors rather than the use of motor skills Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 131) Which of the following is NOT thought to be a tool that managers can use to shape behavior? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) attentional processes Answer: D Explanation: D) Positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment are recognized ways to shape and influence behavior Positive reinforcement provides rewards Negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant stimulus Punishment applies an unpleasant stimulus to an unwanted behavior Attentional processes are features by which observers notice and pay attention to models, not ways to to shape behavior so it is the correct response for this question Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 132) When a manager gives an employee a bonus for a job well done, which behavior-shaping method is the manager using? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction Answer: A Explanation: A) The manager is giving the employee a reward, or distributing positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement would require the removal of an unpleasant stimulus, something that the manager is not doing here Punishment would require the manager to apply an unpleasant stimulus as a result of an unwanted behavior, the opposite of what is being done here Extinction would involve the removal of a positive or a negative reinforcement to get rid of the behavior, which the manager is not doing here Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 37 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 133) When a football coach makes the team run laps because it can't get a play right, he is using which behavior-shaping method? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction Answer: C Explanation: C) The coach is penalizing the team for an unwanted behavior, or distributing punishment, making punishment the correct response Negative reinforcement would require the removal of an unpleasant stimulus, while the coach here is instead applying that unpleasant stimulus Positive reinforcement would require the coach to reward a behavior, the opposite of what is being done here Extinction would involve the removal of a positive or a negative reinforcement to get rid of the behavior, but the coach here is applying a negative stimulus, not removing it Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 134) When a football coach cancels a grueling "meat-grinder drill" because the team is performing well, he is using which behavior-shaping method? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction Answer: B Explanation: B) The coach is using negative reinforcement to reward the team for a wanted behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus, making negative reinforcement the correct response Punishment would require the application, rather than the removal an unpleasant stimulus Positive reinforcement would require the coach to reward a behavior with some positive stimulus Extinction would involve the removal of a positive or a negative reinforcement to get rid of the behavior Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 135) In an attempt to get employees to stop congregating, a manager decides to remove free bagels from the company snack bar Which behavior-shaping method is she using? A) positive reinforcement B) negative reinforcement C) punishment D) extinction Answer: D Explanation: D) The manager is using extinction—she is removing a reinforcement to allow a behavior to disappear, making extinction the correct response Negative reinforcement would require the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to encourage a behavior, while in this case the manager is removing a pleasant stimulus to extinguish a behavior Punishment would require the application, rather than the removal of an unpleasant stimulus Positive reinforcement would require the manager to reward a behavior with some positive stimulus Diff: Page Ref: 231 Objective: 8.5 38 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 136) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Gen Y workers? A) high expectations B) little interaction with colleagues C) goal oriented D) seek out creative challenges Answer: B Explanation: B) Gen Y workers are goal oriented and like to build ownership of tasks, like to seek out creative challenges and tend to have high expectations, both for themselves and their employers What Gen Y workers don't seem to prefer is little interaction with colleagues In fact, Gen Y workers often actively seek out colleagues to learn from, making little interaction with colleagues the correct response for this question Diff: Page Ref: 233 Objective: 8.6 137) Which of the following is a common way in which Gen Y workers differ from workers in other generations? A) office attire B) ability to work hard C) ability to focus D) showing respect Answer: A Explanation: A) There is no evidence to support the idea that Gen Y workers not work as hard as, focus, or show as much respect as workers from other generations, so all of those choices are incorrect Where Gen Y workers seem to differ from other generations is in the clothing they wear—Gen Y workers tend to be much more casual than their older counterparts This makes office attire the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 233 Objective: 8.6 138) Which of the following is on the rise in today's organizations? A) respectful behavior B) use of good manners C) hostility and aggression D) amicable relations Answer: C Explanation: C) There is no evidence that respect, manners, or amicability are on the rise in today's organizations What is increasing are incidents of hostility, acrimony, aggression, and even violence, making hostility and aggression the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 233 Objective: 8.6 39 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 139) Describe the focus and goals of organizational behavior that are covered in this chapter Answer: Organizational behavior is a field of study that is concerned specifically with the actions of people at work This chapter focuses primarily on two areas of organizational behavior, individual behavior and group behavior Individual behavior includes topics such as attitudes, personality, perception, learning, and motivation Group behavior includes norms, roles, team building, leadership, and conflict The goals of organizational behavior are to explain, predict, and influence behavior Managers need to be able to explain why employees engage in some behaviors rather than others, predict how employees will respond to various actions the manager might take, and influence how employees behave Diff: Page Ref: 214-215 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.1 140) In a short essay, define what an attitude is Answer: Attitudes are evaluative statements  either favorable or unfavorable  concerning objects, people, or events Attitudes reflect how an individual feels about something When a person says, "I like work that is challenging," he or she is expressing an attitude about work Diff: Page Ref: 216 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.2 141) In a short essay, identify and discuss the three components of an attitude Answer: The three components that make up an attitude are cognition, affect, and behavior The cognitive component of an attitude is made up of the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a person The belief that "I am underpaid" illustrates cognition The affective component of an attitude is the emotional or feeling part of an attitude The affective component of an attitude would be reflected by the statement, "I am angry that I am underpaid." Finally, affect can lead to behavioral outcomes The behavioral component of an attitude refers to an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something For instance, "I will quit my job unless I get a raise" is an example of the behavioral component of an attitude Diff: Page Ref: 216 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.2 40 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 142) In a short essay, list and discuss the five personality traits of the Big Five Model of personality Answer: Extraversionthe degree to which someone is sociable, talkative, and assertive Agreeableness  the degree to which someone is good-natured, cooperative, and trusting Conscientiousness  the degree to which someone is responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented Emotional stability  the degree to which someone is calm, enthusiastic, and secure about who he or she is (positive) or tense, nervous, depressed, and insecure about who he or she is (negative) Openness to experience  the degree to which someone is imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual The Big Five provide more than just a personality framework Research has shown that important relationships exist between these personality dimensions and job performance Diff: Page Ref: 221 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.3 143) In a short essay, discuss how locus of control can help explain individual behavior in organizations Answer: People who believe that they are in control of their own lives have an internal locus of control—they see themselves as having agency over events They see their own efforts being the primary reasons for why they succeed or fail People with an external locus of control see themselves as pawns, believing that what happens in their lives is due to outside forces and events over which they have little control or influence These forces and events include both powerful institutions (the state, the culture) as well as such random things as luck or chance Locus of control is largely a cultural phenomenon In western societies, locus of control tends to be internal; people feel that what they matters In societies such as those in the Middle East, locus of control tends to be external—people feel that they have little control over what happens in their lives Diff: Page Ref: 223 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.3 41 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 144) In a short essay, discuss how Machiavellianism can help explain individual behavior in organizations Answer: An individual who is high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means High Mach individuals understand power and the way to get it Believing that ends justify means for a high Mach individual can result in corners sometimes being cut and ethics given short shrift or even ignored in favor of the goal that the person is seeking In jobs that require bargaining skills or that have substantial rewards for winning, high Machs are productive In jobs in which ends not justify the means or that lack absolute measures of performance, high Machs can vary in performance One can imagine that high Machs are good at manipulating others and acquiring power in very aggressive, highly competitive "dog eat dog" organizations and circumstances Diff: Page Ref: 223 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.3 145) In a short essay, discuss how self-esteem can help explain individual behavior in organizations Answer: Self-esteem (SE) refers to the degree to which people like or dislike themselves The research on self-esteem offers some interesting insight into organizational behavior For example, self-esteem is directly related to expectations for success High SEs believe that they possess the ability needed to succeed at work Individuals with high SEs tend to take more risks in job selection and are more likely to choose unconventional jobs than are people with low SEs A number of studies confirm that high SEs are more satisfied with their jobs than are low SEs Diff: Page Ref: 223 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.3 146) In a short essay, discuss how self-monitoring can help explain individual behavior in organizations Answer: Self-monitoring refers to an individual's ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability in adjusting their behavior They are highly sensitive to external cues and can behave differently in different situations An individual high in self-monitoring can adopt one mode of behavior when, for example, dealing with high-level managers, and a completely different behavior mode when in the company of rank-and-file workers Low self-monitors, on the other hand, seem unable to adjust their behavior according to situation They tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in every situation, and therefore would seem less capable of deception and less likely to try to indulge in deception Diff: Page Ref: 223 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.3 42 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 147) In a short essay, discuss how risk-taking can help explain individual behavior in organizations Answer: People differ in their willingness to take chances Differences in the propensity to assume or to avoid risk have been shown to affect how long it takes individuals to make a decision and how much information they require before making their choice To maximize organizational effectiveness, managers should try to align employee risk-taking propensity with specific job demands For instance, high risk-taking propensity may lead to effective performance for a commodities trader in a brokerage firm because this type of job demands rapid decision making On the other hand, an accounting job for a person who must be responsible for the financial well-being of an entire organization might be better suited to a conservative, non-risk-taking individual Diff: Page Ref: 223-224 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.3 148) In a short essay, list and discuss three shortcuts frequently used in judging others Answer: In assumed similarity, the observer's perception of others is influenced more by the observer's own characteristics than by those of the person observed For example, a middle manager may be focused on getting a promotion, so he will assume that other managers share his preoccupation in advancing in the organization When someone is judged on the basis of our perception of a group he or she is part of, we use the shortcut called stereotyping Racial, ethnic, and gender stereotyping typically are the most harmful form of stereotyping However, even "innocent" stereotyping, like assuming an individual from a particular group is a "hard worker" can create problems within an organization When individuals form a general impression about a person on the basis of a single characteristic, such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance, the halo effect is the influencing factor For example, a manager may attribute a disproportionate amount of responsibility on an employee who is a superb golfer, even though that person's golf abilities might not translate at all to the workplace Diff: Page Ref: 231-232 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.5 43 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 149) In a short essay, define learning and then explain operant conditioning Answer: Learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior that is not innate; it occurs as a result of experience Operant conditioning contends that people learn a behavior to get something they want or to avoid something they don't want The tendency to repeat learned behavior is influenced by the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement that happens as a result of the behavior For example, when a sales manager knocks herself out to exceed all previous sales totals in a successful sales drive, she might receive reinforcement from a variety of places: praise from her boss, recognition from the corporation, a promotion, a bonus, admiration from colleagues—all of which strengthen and fortify the notion for the manager to put in extra work The manager learned from her experience that extra effort pays off Diff: Page Ref: 229-230 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.5 150) In a short essay, describe social learning Answer: The belief that people can learn both through observation and direct experience is called social learning theory The influence of others is central to the social learning viewpoint The amount of influence that these models will have on an individual is determined by four processes: attentional processes; retention processes; motor reproduction processes; and reinforcement processes Attentional processes focus on how well the model captures a person's attention For example, a dancer would seek to emulate the moves that he sees in a popular video because they are dramatic and attractive Retentional processes measure how well the observer can remember the model and its key features Motor reproduction processes focus on how well the observer is able to emulate the model physically Reinforcement processes focus on how strong the incentives are for the observer to want to emulate the behavior Diff: Page Ref: 230-231 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.5 44 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 151) In a short essay, explain how managers can shape behavior using positive and negative reinforcement Answer: There are four ways to shape behavior: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, or extinction When a behavior is followed by some kind of reward, such as when a manager praises an employee for a job well done, it's called positive reinforcement Positive reinforcement will increase the likelihood of the desired behavior being repeated Rewarding a response with the elimination or withdrawal of something unpleasant is called negative reinforcement A manager who promises to cancel a "no Internet during work" restriction as a reward for increased production is using negative reinforcement The manager is removing something unpleasant (the restriction) as a reward for desired behavior—increased production Diff: Page Ref: 231-232 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.5 152) In a short essay, explain how managers can shape behavior using punishment and extinction Answer: Punishment penalizes undesirable behavior and seeks to eliminate it Suspending an employee without pay for repeatedly coming to work late is an example of punishment Eliminating any reinforcement that is maintaining a behavior is called extinction When a behavior isn't reinforced, gradually it disappears For example, a manager may offer rewards to encourage people to volunteer for early retirement If too many people volunteer for early retirement, putting stress on the organization, the manager may remove the reward and try to eliminate volunteering for early retirement Diff: Page Ref: 231-232 AACSB: Analytic Skills Objective: 8.5 45 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc ... one of the three characteristics listed above, so none of these choices is a good match for a lawyer Diff: Page Ref: 224 Objective: 8.3 104) Which of the following pairs would be a good match... a(n) A) external locus of control B) high Mach score C) low Mach score D) internal locus of control Answer: D Explanation: D) Locus of control reflects how much responsibility a person takes... 41) Which of the following best defines organizational behavior? A) the actions of organizations in the workplace B) the study of the workplace C) the study of organizations D) the study of the