Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following statements is true with regard to the effectiveness of tactics? A) Soft tactics are less effective than hard tactics when used individually. B) The combination of a soft tactic with reasonable persuasion is more effective than a combination of two hard tactics. C) All tactics are equally effective with regard to upward influence. D) Individuals from collectivist cultures are typically more likely to use soft tactics that reflect personal power. E) Individuals from individualistic cultures are typically more likely to use coalition and other hard power tactics.

Q: Which of the following power tactics would be considered a hard tactic? A) rational persuasion B) inspirational appeals C) personal appeals D) coalition E) consultation

Q: Which of the following power tactics would be considered a soft tactic? A) rational persuasion B) exchange C) coalition D) politicking E) pressure

Q: Which of the following power tactics can be used most effectively for exerting lateral influence? A) legitimacy B) inspirational appeal C) coalition D) ingratiation E) pressure

Q: ________ is the only tactic effective across organizational levels. A) Legitimacy B) Inspirational appeal C) Rational persuasion D) Ingratiation E) Pressure

Q: When the audience does not care about the outcomes, using a combination of ________ can help lessen negative reactions to the feeling that one is dictating outcomes. A) ingratiation and personal appeals B) pressure and exchange C) legitimacy and ingratiation D) exchange and rational persuasion E) inspirational appeals and consultation

Q: Which of the following power tactics is more effective when the audience is highly interested in the outcomes of a decision process? A) ingratiation B) consultation C) personal appeals D) exchange E) pressure

Q: When the contract with one of their major suppliers was about to expire, the management of Pierre and Collins began seeking tenders from potential vendors. One of the top management executives, Todd Hughes, wanted the contract to go to a vendor he personally knew. In order to do so, he held separate discussions with two key members of the organization wherein he downplayed the potentials of the competing tenders and convinced them to support this offer. At the meeting to finalize a supplier, Todd and his supporters strongly supported the tender of the supplier they had chosen amongst themselves and convinced their CEO to hire this supplier despite the higher price quoted by him. Which of the following power tactics is being used here? A) ingratiation B) legitimacy C) coalition D) pressure E) inspirational appeals

Q: Mike Ford is a senior accountant at Coleman and Co., which is a financial management company. Mike has wanted to be on the board of representatives of his company for a long time, but the company stipulates a minimum number of years an employee must work at the organization before he or she makes it to the board. Mike is unwilling to work two more years to reach that stipulated experience and so he found a way to transgress this rule. He met up with one of the existing board members who was having problems accounting for allocated funds that went missing and offered to settle that for him in his department provided he nominate Mike to the board. Which of the following power tactics is being used here? A) ingratiation B) legitimacy C) inspirational appeals D) pressure E) exchange

Q: Rational persuasion is a power tactic that involves the use of ________. A) formal authority B) logical arguments and factual evidence C) emotions to target the values, needs, and hopes of the other party D) benefits or favors in exchange for following a request E) warnings, repeated demands, and threats

Q: The power tactic of using flattery and creating goodwill before making a request is known as ________. A) ingratiation B) consultation C) inspirational appeal D) motivational appeal E) affective appeal

Q: Which of the following power tactics uses warnings and threats and is typically the least effective of all the power tactics? A) coalitions B) exchange C) pressure D) rational persuasion E) consultation

Q: Which of the following power tactics involves increasing the target's support by involving him or her in decision making? A) legitimacy B) rational persuasion C) consultation D) ingratiation E) pressure

Q: Dependence would be low when ________. A) the goods have very few suppliers B) the goods have low accessibility C) the goods in question are scarce D) the products are important E) the goods have substitutes

Q: Levin and Co. is a group of oil refineries that has been in the news recently. The company had to stop production for over two weeks because their key supplier refused to sell them crude oil at the old prices. Even after rounds of negotiations, the supplier refused to give in to the demands of Levin and Co., and finally, the company had to acquire the raw material from the same supplier because alternative suppliers, though abundant, could not provide the quantities the company demanded at such short notice. This shows the role of ________ in increasing the power one enjoys. A) alternatives B) dependence C) abundance D) substitutability E) exchange

Q: Which of the following types of power is most likely to be negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment? A) expert power B) reward power C) legitimate power D) coercive power E) referent power

Q: Joanna Mills has recently been promoted to the position of a project manager at Palmer Inc., a software development firm. As a project manager, she now has the authority to delegate work, provide supervision and feedback, and monitor employee performance. Ever since her promotion, she has been preparing herself to guide her subordinates in different project activities. However, she feels that the employees do not proactively approach her for help. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this situation? A) Joanna has several years of experience in working on software programs. B) The sole criterion for Joanna's promotion was her effectiveness in meeting individual targets. C) Employees identify with Joanna because she successfully rose from the position of a programmer to that of a manager. D) The managers who promoted her believed that her approachable nature would be a key factor in improving team performance. E) The company follows a 360-degree performance evaluation system.

Q: Will Paten is the manager of a team of twelve people in the marketing division of Palmer Inc. Will, who has been working in the company for eleven years, is held in high regard and liked by all his colleagues and subordinates. However, Aaron and Abby, two of his subordinates, are noted for frequently flouting his rules and directives. They continue behaving in this manner even after Will had categorically requested them to refrain from upsetting the momentum of the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain Aaron and Abby's continued noncompliance with Will's requests? A) The promotions and bonuses of the team members depend heavily on Will's performance ratings. B) The company had provided Will with additional duties, and he was left with little time to ensure that his team members performed well. C) Will believes that since the job demands in marketing are ambiguous and ever-changing, a supportive approach to leadership would suffice. D) Will is uncomfortable exercising coercive measures to control employees. E) Will is considered an expert at analyzing market trends and making accurate projections about demand and revenue.

Q: Which of the following is true with regard to bases of power? A) Coercive power involves an identification with and imitation of the person in power. B) Legitimate power is used by companies when they hire celebrities to promote their products. C) Expert and referent power are the two major types of formal power. D) The personal sources of power are most effective for increasing employee performance and satisfaction. E) Reward power is the most common and broad type of power seen in operation in organizations.

Q: Carl believes that he is lucky to be working under a manager like Mr. Parker-conscientious, flexible and easy to work with. It was Mr. Parker who helped Carl learn the demands of the job, gave him opportunities to learn from the mistakes he made, and always provided sound advice. Mr. Parker, who has been in the field for over eighteen years, never made Carl feel like a novice and this only increased Carl's personal confidence in his work and his loyalty toward his manager. Carl, who is now doing very well on the job, aims to be a manager like Mr. Parker. From this scenario, which of the following conclusions can be drawn? A) Mr. Parker is an authoritarian manager. B) Carl has a low degree of trust propensity. C) Mr. Parker has a high degree of referent power. D) Mr. Parker engages in a lot of ingratiation. E) Mr. Parker exercises a high degree of coercive power.

Q: ________ power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. A) Coercive B) Legitimate C) Referent D) Expert E) Reward

Q: At the PR firm where Gerald works, everyone considers him to be very good with his work and depends heavily on his knowledge to help the organization to solve its problems. Gerald is often seen teaching interns a simpler way to present an article, helping project managers with scheduling, and even the CEO often asks him for his opinion on important matter because of his experience and skill. Gerald's specialized knowledge depicts his ________. A) expert power B) coercive power C) legitimate power D) referent power E) reward power

Q: ________ power is influence wielded as a result of proficiency, special skill, or knowledge. A) Legitimate B) Reward C) Referent D) Expert E) Coercive

Q: Which of the following types of power can be categorized as personal power? A) coercive B) legitimate C) reward D) referent E) positional

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding legitimate power? A) Legitimate power develops out of admiration of another and a desire to be like that person. B) Legitimate power comes from an individual's unique characteristics. C) Legitimate power is broader than the power to coerce and reward. D) Celebrities who endorse products in commercials wield legitimate power over people. E) Legitimate power is a type of personal power.

Q: Legitimate power is directly based on ________. A) charisma of the leader B) interpersonal trust and commitment of the manager C) structural position of the manager in the organization D) personality traits of the manager E) ability of the manager to serve his or her subordinates

Q: As a regional sales officer, one of Brandon's job responsibilities is to process the yearly appraisal forms of his subordinates and provide them with increments, bonuses, or benefits based on their performance that year. This job responsibility directly reflects his ________. A) active power B) expert power C) referent power D) reward power E) coercive power

Q: ________ power represents the compliance that is achieved based on the ability to distribute positive benefits that others view as valuable. A) Legitimate B) Coercive C) Reward D) Personal E) Reflective

Q: In the last one week, May and Phyllis have been putting in extra hours at work so that the project assigned to them by their manager is completed well within time. Though the manager was due to assign two more people to this project, he had not done so. As a result, May and Phyllis, who were having to do double their routine workload, went and complained to the division manager. May was promptly suspended from work for complaining about her immediate supervisor. This represents the operation of ________ power. A) reward B) legitimate C) coercive D) expert E) referent

Q: ________ power is based on the fear of the negative results from failing to comply. A) Legitimate B) Coercive C) Punitive D) Referent E) Abusive

Q: The two general groupings into which power may be categorized are ________. A) informational and personal B) formal and informal C) informal and legitimate D) formal and personal E) direct and indirect

Q: Research on power is likely to provide information on the most effective ________. A) leadership styles for motivating followers B) methods to reduce dependence on leaders C) tactics for gaining compliance of employees D) methods of rewarding successful employees E) modes of assessing employee performance

Q: Which of the following is true with regard to leadership? A) It maximizes the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns. B) It eliminates the requirement of goal compatibility. C) It stimulates research in the area of tactics of influence. D) It focuses on downward influence on followers. E) It encourages dependence of followers on leaders.

Q: Which of the following is a feature of power? A) lack of dependence of followers B) use of positive styles over negative tactics C) downward influence of leader on followers D) lack of goal compatibility between leaders and followers E) lack of control on behavior of followers

Q: Which of the following is a differentiating factor between power and leadership? A) control B) influence C) ability D) goal compatibility E) negative affect

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding power? A) A is said to have power over B if B controls something that A desires. B) The greater A's dependence on B, the greater A's power in the relationship. C) If A has the capacity to influence the behavior of B, then A is said to have power over B. D) A can have power over B only if A is B's leader. E) A can have power over B only when A and B have similar goals.

Q: Power is a function of ________. A) goal congruency B) realization C) inheritance D) dependence E) altruism

Q: How would you relate substitutes, trust, and online leadership?

Q: How do substitutes and neutralizers challenge the effectiveness of leadership?

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

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

Q: Describe the relationship between trust and leadership.

Q: What is servant leadership?

Q: Charismatic leaders are not always authentic leaders. Discuss.

Q: Describe the full range of leadership model.

Q: What are the key characteristics of charismatic leaders?

Q: Describe the path-goal theory of leadership.

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

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

Q: Identify and explain the two dimensions of leadership described in the Ohio State Studies.

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

Q: What is leadership? How is it different from management?

Q: Neutralizers make it impossible for leader behavior to make any difference to follower outcomes.

Q: The attribution theory of leadership says leadership is merely an attribution people make about other individuals.

Q: The primary gains from mentoring are seen in greater compensation and higher job performance.

Q: Mentoring provides unfiltered access to the attitudes of lower-ranking employees and can help anticipate potential organizational problems.

Q: The only key characteristic we use to determine the trustworthiness of a leader is his or her ability.

Q: Attempts to integrate ethical and charismatic leadership have led to the advancement of the idea of socialized charismatic leadership.

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

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

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

Q: Charismatic leadership is a manifestation of innate traits, and it cannot be learned or enhanced.

Q: Unconventional behavior is one of the key characteristics of a charismatic leader.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q: Strong leadership is an adequate condition to enable an organization to function at an optimal level of effectiveness.

Q: The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals can arise outside the formal structure of the organization.

Q: Lionel Tucker has been asked to lead a virtual team on a project with a tight time schedule. While allocating the project to him, his manager impressed upon him the need to complete this project successfully and in time so that this client gains enough confidence to use their services in the future. Lionel and his team communicate via e-mail as the team members are located at geographically dispersed locations. They have not had even one face-to-face meeting as yet. In this case, Lionel must have an ability to ________ in addition to all the other desirable abilities of a leader to lead the team successfully. A) generate charisma to inspire the team B) abdicate all responsibility to the members of the team C) micromanage his team members till project completion D) avoid making any decisions for the team E) convey support and trust through electronic means

Q: Which of the following is true with regard to online leadership? A) Identification-based trust is easily established in the case of online leadership. B) Online negotiations are smoother as geographic mobility is not required. C) The demands of an online leader are the same as those experienced by a servant leader. D) For online leaders, writing skills are an extension of their interpersonal skills. E) For online leaders, substitutes and neutralizers have no effect.

Q: Which of the following is a neutralizer of leadership? A) indifference to rewards B) experience and training C) explicit formalized rules D) cohesive work groups E) highly structured task

Q: ________ make it impossible for leader behavior to make any difference to follower outcomes. A) Catalysts B) Mentors C) Neutralizers D) Hygiene factors E) Vision and charisma

Q: The top management of Myers Corp are planning a reorganization of their company to cut costs and increase efficiency. The different department heads have been asked to present their departmental strengths, needs, and concerns at a meeting. The various division heads have come to an agreement that clarity of goals and tasks, detailed procedural guidelines like employee manuals, and a cooperative workforce are their main strengths. Additionally, they are of the opinion that cutting managerial positions to reduce costs and reorganizing Myers Corp as a relatively flat organization is a good approach. This scenario reflects the operation of ________ in replacing the support and ability offered by leaders. A) vision B) traits C) attributes D) substitutes E) charisma

Q: Which of the following is true about substitutes for leadership? A) Substitutes are clearly distinguishable from neutralizers. B) Substitutes enhance the need for leader's support or ability to create structure. C) Substitutes increase the levels of identification-based trust. D) Substitutes are factors and conditions that replace formal leadership. E) Organizations cannot provide any substitutes for leadership.

Q: Which of the following is a substitute for leadership in the theory that suggests leaders' actions are irrelevant in many situations? A) lack of experience B) training C) ambiguous task D) high need for supervision E) external feedback

Q: The president of a small Asian country was hailed as a visionary and a genius when the nation's economy burgeoned during his first term in office. However, when the currency and the stock markets crashed during his government's second term, he was censured as arrogant, elitist, and shortsighted. Which of the following theoretical approaches is reflected here? A) trait theories B) behavioral theories C) path-goal theory D) servant leadership perspective E) attribution theory