Q&A Hero

Q: (p. 226) If a job applicant is rejected because of information in a credit report, the applicant must be given the name and address of the organization that developed the report.

Q: (p. 226) When initiating a drug-testing program, it is best if the employer randomly tests job applicants as well as current employees.

Q: (p. 225) Polygraph is a device that records physical changes in the body as the test subject answers a series of questions.

Q: (p. 225) Psychomotor tests measure personality characteristics.

Q: (p. 225) Aptitude tests measure a person's capacity or potential ability to learn and perform a job.

Q: (p. 223) The present employees of an organization often become involved in the recruiting process.

Q: (p. 223) In most large organizations, the human resource department is usually responsible for the final selection decision.

Q: (p. 222) Private employment agencies charge a fee for their services.

Q: (p. 221) In job posting, employees bid on a job based on seniority, job skills, or other qualifications.

Q: (p. 220) Combining the information provided by the job specification and the skills inventory enables the organization to evaluate the present status of its human resources.

Q: (p. 217) A job description involves giving the qualifications necessary to perform the job.

Q: (p. 217) The purpose of selection is to choose the best person for the job from qualified candidates.

Q: (p. 203 Fig 10.5) What are the steps to use in building productive teams?

Q: (p. 203) Describe the linking-pin concept.

Q: (p. 199) List the conditions that tend to influence a member's conformity to a group.

Q: (p. 198) List three factors that tend to increase a group's cohesiveness.

Q: (p. 196-197) Define formal and informal work groups.

Q: (p. 210 Fig 10.8) Which of the following factors is NOT a way of getting an informal work group to work with you? A. Communicate openly. B. Attempt to provide individual rewards. C. Remove production obstacles. D. Practice constructive discipline.

Q: (p. 209) A supervisor who supports the informal work group in legitimate claims is likely to get: A. fired by management. B. support from the group, in turn. C. his or her motives questioned by the group. D. stonewalled.

Q: (p. 208 Fig 10.7) All of the following are potential benefits from informal work groups EXCEPT: A. blending with the formal organization to make a workable system for getting work done. B. increasing the workload for the manager. C. providing a useful channel of communication in the organization. D. providing stability to the organization.

Q: (p. 206) A person who is often selected as an informal group leader will usually have a high degree of ________________ skills. A. communication B. administrative C. technical D. influential

Q: (p. 206) Which of the following is true of a quality circle? A. It has strength of more than 20 people. B. Membership into the quality circle is compulsory. C. It involves employees in the decision-making process. D. Members of a quality circle are from multiple departments and work on different jobs.

Q: (p. 204) Supervisors can influence group cohesiveness by doing all of the following EXCEPT: A. keeping groups big. B. inspiring group competition. C. isolating groups from each other. D. finding a good personality fit between new and old employees.

Q: (p. 203) The first step in building an effective team is: A. giving clear goals. B. developing a cohesive group that conforms to group norms. C. building trust among people. D. finding the right people.

Q: (p. 203) The process of establishing a cohesive group that works together to achieve its goals is: A. team building. B. strategic planning. C. goal setting. D. group cohesiveness.

Q: (p. 202) Which of the following effects states that giving special attention to a group of employees changes the employees' behavior? A. The placebo effect B. The Hawthorne effect C. The Pygmalion effect D. The observer-expectancy effect

Q: (p. 199) When group members lose their ability to think as individuals and conform at the expense of their good judgment, ________________ occurs. A. idiosyncrasy credit B. cohesiveness C. groupthink D. conformity

Q: (p. 199) Group members tend to conform to group norms when: A. they required to do so by the supervisor. B. the norms sanctioned by the group are minor. C. the norms are consistent with the individuals' attitudes. D. no rewards or punishments are offered.

Q: (p. 198) If an informal work group views management as a threat the group will more than likely: A. become more cohesive. B. become less cohesive. C. change its norms. D. leave the organization.

Q: (p. 198) What usually happens if a highly cohesive, informal group is pressured by some force outside of the group? The group would probably: A. disband. B. become closer to each other. C. resort to violence and other tactics. D. seek legal counsel.

Q: (p. 198) Which of the following factors would probably cause a group to become less cohesive? A. The group gets attacked from the outside. B. Participation in group activities becomes an unpleasant experience. C. The group becomes more successful. D. The group members become more cooperative.

Q: (p. 197) The degree of attraction among group members, or how tightly knit a group is called: A. group cohesiveness. B. group norm. C. groupthink. D. group design.

Q: (p. 197-198) Which of the following groups is LEAST likely to be cohesive? A. The marketing department in a mid-sized company B. A bowling team that bowled the entire season without winning a game C. A group of secretaries that eats lunch together almost every day D. A group of engineers working on the space shuttle, Endeavor

Q: (p. 197) The informal rules that a group adopts to regulate the behavior of its members are: A. group activities. B. group norms. C. group goals. D. group roles.

Q: (p. 197) Formal work groups consist of: A. people who work in teams to carry out a specific task. B. people who recreate together. C. friends and acquaintances. D. employees having mutual interests.

Q: (p. 197) Identify the correct statement about a task force. A. It has a single goal, such as resolving a problem. B. It is an example of an informal group. C. It consists of a manager and all the employees working toward multiple goals. D. A task force's work is ongoing and not confined to one issue.

Q: (p. 196) A group that has been formed by people sharing a common hobby, such as football, is termed a(n): A. social group. B. interest group. C. reference group. D. functional group.

Q: (p. 210) By setting unattainable goals, the supervisor will encourage the employees to work harder.

Q: (p. 209) Providing individual rewards in a group setting encourages the employees to work together.

Q: (p. 208) If a supervisor encourages participation in decision making, the work group will usually work for the supervisor in a more effective way.

Q: (p. 207) The formal authority granted by top management is no guarantee that a supervisor will effectively guide a group.

Q: (p. 206) Membership in a quality circle is usually mandatory.

Q: (p. 205) Social loafing can be reduced when managers establish a clear method to identify individual contributions.

Q: (p. 204) Cognitive dissonance refers to the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group.

Q: (p. 204) People exhibiting idiosyncrasy credit have often helped develop a group's norms.

Q: (p. 203) The linking-pin concept holds that managers link formal work groups to the total organization.

Q: (p. 202) The results of the Hawthorne studies show that when groups of employees are singled out for attention, they tend to work less efficiently.

Q: (p. 199) When groupthink occurs, members become unwilling to say anything against the group or any member, even if an action is wrong.

Q: (p. 199) Group conformity is the degree to which the members of the group accept and abide by the norms of the group.

Q: (p. 199) Group conformity is also known as group cohesiveness.

Q: (p. 198) Informal work groups with lower status tend to be more cohesive than those with higher status.

Q: (p. 198) A work group of 20 employees should be more cohesive than a work group of 10 employees.

Q: (p. 197) Group norms refer to the degree of attraction or stick-togetherness of the group.

Q: (p. 197) An understanding of informal work groups is irrelevant to a managers' work relating to formal groups.

Q: (p. 196) Informal work groups often develop when a group of employees have mutual interests such as sports.

Q: (p. 196) A group of employees that reports to one supervisor is an example of an informal group.

Q: (p. 196) Basically, there are two types of groups in organizations: formal and informal work groups.

Q: (p. 208) List three suggestions for getting an informal work group to effectively work for a supervisor.

Q: (p. 206) Write a short note on the self-directed work team.

Q: (p. 206) What is the goal of a quality circle?

Q: (p. 204) Describe the idiosyncrasy credit.

Q: (p. 204) List four ways by which a supervisor influences group cohesiveness.

Q: (p. 188) List three practical tips for effective delegation.

Q: (p. 186 Fig 9.10) List three reasons why supervisors are reluctant to delegate.

Q: (p. 185) From a supervisor's viewpoint, analyze the following statement: "If you want something done right, do it yourself!"

Q: (p. 184) List three factors that must be considered when making work assignments.

Q: (p. 182) Describe the span of control principle.

Q: (p. 181) Explain the term "scalar principle."

Q: (p. 179) Explain the term "empowerment."

Q: (p. 178) Define a virtual organization and list the three types of virtual organizations.

Q: (p. 177-178) What is a matrix structure?

Q: (p. 174) What is departmentalization?

Q: (p. 188) Which of the following is a good tip for delegating? A. Know your subordinates' abilities. B. Ensure overlap of authority. C. Beware of overdelegating. D. Make frequent offers of assistance.

Q: (p. 188) Which of the following tasks should NOT be delegated to subordinates? A. Opening the mail B. Counseling workers on job-related issues C. Writing simple memos to their colleagues D. Planning social functions and activities

Q: (p. 186) Which of the following is a reason for supervisors being reluctant to delegate to their subordinates? A. Subordinates are often fearful of power. B. Supervisors enjoy the additional work. C. Supervisors feel more confident in doing the work themselves. D. Subordinates have a desire to set the right example.

Q: (p. 185) Supervisors who believe they must do things themselves in order to get them done right probably: A. have thoroughly understood the supervisory process. B. have done a poor job of selecting and training employees. C. seldom feel a need to prove themselves. D. spend little time on nonsupervisory tasks.

Q: (p. 184) Assigning work involves telling employees: A. what to do. B. what to do and how to do it. C. how to do a specific job. D. everything that has to be done exactly as prescribed by the supervisor.

Q: (p. 183) Which of the following is NOT one of the three basic steps involved in successful delegation? A. Prepare a job description. B. Create an obligation. C. Assign work to subordinates. D. Grant permission.

Q: (p. 183) The most frequent reason that supervisors fail in their jobs is probably: A. ineffective MBOs. B. lack of employee cooperation. C. inability to make decisions. D. failure to delegate.

Q: (p. 182 Fig 9.9) Which of the following is NOT one of the factors to be considered when determining the span of control for a supervisor? A. Supervisor's experience B. Complexity of the jobs C. Quality of the employees D. Physical proximity