Deck 8: Building Effective Working Relationships

Question 1

Which of the following is true in relation to task-oriented and/or people-oriented people?

A) Task-oriented people care only about the task, not about people.
B) People-oriented people care only about people, not the task.
C) Task-oriented people care equally about tasks and people.
D) People-oriented people care only about the task, not the people.
E) Task-oriented people care about people, but the task is what they concentrate on.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

To build and maintain effective working relationships, you should respect:

A) those who you regard highly.
B) those in positions of seniority.
C) those who respect you.
D) those who think and work like you.
E) everyone, regardless of their position or personal characteristics.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

When you take responsibility for something, you:

A) blame yourself instead of others for problems and mistakes.
B) blame circumstances instead of yourself or others for problems and mistakes.
C) make excuses for problems and mistakes, so as to explain their occurrence.
D) face problems and mistakes head on and do what you can to fix them.
E) blame the organisation as a whole, rather than any individual, for problems and mistakes.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

If you have the ability to read and understand the undercurrents of relationships within your organisation, and to build good working relationships with the people around you, then you can be said to have:

A) emotional intelligence.
B) strategic intelligence.
C) political intelligence.
D) economic intelligence.
E) technical intelligence.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is not necessarily true when it comes to promoting your ideas?

A) The best idea is always the one that is approved and implemented.
B) Floating an idea with a few trusted colleagues can help with assessing its viability and gathering suggestions as to how it can be improved.
C) It is possible to encounter opposition even with well thought-out ideas.
D) Saying 'because' after presenting facts and figures can greatly increase the chances of an idea being accepted, because accurate facts and figures appeal to people's senses of logic and reason.
E) To be successful, an idea should be framed in such a way that it will meet the organisation's main aims and strategy.

Question 6

According to Jung's theory of personality types, which of the following statements is true?

A) Feelers are imaginative and good at playing around with ideas and theories.
B) Intuitors are down-to-earth, energetic and hard-working, preferring action to words or ideas.
C) Sensors see the world, problems and decisions - and other people - based more on their personal values and gut reactions than on a technical weighing up of facts, pros and cons.
D) Thinkers are strong on clear, logical reasoning. They are methodical and enjoy analysing problems, but are less effective when it comes to implementing solutions.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 7

If you were unsure as to how to act in a particular situation in your workplace, and so decided to consult your organisation's code of conduct, You would be acting:

A) with integrity.
B) honestly.
C) ethically.
D) truthfully.
E) with honour.

Question 8

The Johari Window can help to increase self-awareness by allowing people to:

A) see themselves as others see them.
B) see others as they see themselves.
C) see themselves as others see them, and to see others as they see themselves.
D) see themselves as they would like others to see them.
E) see others as they would like to be seen.

Question 9

The way to build trust is to:

A) direct all of your attention to the task at hand.
B) balance the attention you pay to the task at hand with the attention you pay to people.
C) direct all of your attention to the people with whom you work or who you manage.
D) direct most of your attention to the task at hand, and a small amount of attention to the people with whom you work or who you manage.
E) direct most of your attention to the people with whom you work or who you manage, and a small amount of attention to the task at hand.

Question 10

A leader-manager who gives credit when tasks succeed and accepts responsibility when they do not would be likely to earn the trust of those with whom they work or who they manage.

Question 11

Gabriel is put in charge of managing staff members in relation to the roll-out of new database software. Many staff members with poor computer skills are nervous about this change, and end up asking Gabriel many questions about whether what they are doing is right. Gabriel nurtures and helps the staff members, and manages the change very well. It is very likely that he is:

A) an analyst.
B) an empathist, but not a realist.
C) a legalist.
D) a realist, but not a empathist.
E) both an empathist and a realist.

Question 12

When you disagree with a decision made by your manager, you should:

A) stand your ground and refuse to implement it.
B) implement it poorly, so that it will ultimately fail.
C) explain why you disagree and offer an alternative.
D) explain why you disagree and offer an alternative you know will fail, so as to undermine your manager.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 13

Organisational politics is mainly concerned with protecting your position, influence and personal advantage against others who may threaten to weaken your standing within your organisation.

Question 14

Developing self-awareness is vital to building effective workplace relationships because it:

A) allows you to recognise your faults.
B) allows you to understand others.
C) helps you to avoid making mistakes.
D) helps you to know your limitations.
E) helps you to see where you fit into your organisation's culture.

Question 15

Pauline is a manager who is results-driven, extroverted, ambitious and strong-willed. Her personality type could best be classified as that of a:

A) conscientious thinker.
B) interacting socialiser.
C) dominant director.
D) steady relater.
E) conscientious director.

Question 16

Espoused theory is:

A) what people think.
B) what people say.
C) what people say about others.
D) what people do.
E) how people treat others .

Question 17

To manage effectively, you need:

A) incongruence, or disagreement, between your espoused theories and your theories-in-use.
B) congruence, or agreement, between your espoused theories and the theories-in-use of those with whom you work.
C) congruence, or agreement, between the espoused theories of those with whom you work and your theories-in-use.
D) congruence, or agreement, between your espoused theories and your theories-in-use.
E) incongruence, or disagreement, between your espoused theories and the theories-in-use of those with whom you work.

Question 18

When working for more than one manager, a way to avoid becoming overloaded with work is:

A) keep each of your managers up-to-date about your workload, so that they all know your commitments.
B) share your electronic calendar with each of your managers.
C) block out specific times for working on different projects and assignments, so that each manager knows when not to interrupt you.
D) provide each manager with a document that tracks progress on all of your projects and other work.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 19

A benefit of developing and maintaining strong networks is that they:

A) allow you to expand and share your information, knowledge, perspectives and skills.
B) allow you to extend your sphere of influence.
C) can provide you with a wide range of advice, help and information.
D) can provide you with support on which you can draw.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 20

If part of your managerial role was to analyse and consider your organisation's future priorities and challenges, the most useful people to consult with would be likely to come from:

A) an operational network.
B) a personal network.
C) an informal network.
D) a strategic network.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true of collaborating and compromising?

A) They are essentially the same thing, since both parties give ground to end the conflict.
B) Compromise requires all parties to be committed to the solution, whereas collaborating recognises that that neither party will be fully satisfied.
C) Collaborating is likely to resolve a conflict more rapidly than compromising.
D) Collaborating is an effective way of finding a temporary, short-term solution, while compromise requires further discussion.
E) Compromise may resolve a conflict more rapidly than collaboration, but may not be as effective, because it does not explore the issues in as much depth.

Question 22

Which of the following is not part of the process of solving the problem?

A) Explaining the tangible, or real, effects the conflict or issue has had on each of the parties
B) Summarising the problem
C) Evaluating the possible solutions
D) Deciding together
E) Searching for mutually acceptable solutions

Question 23

If you place little importance on an issue and a relationship may be jeopardised if you pursue it, then the most sensible approach may be to:

A) compete.
B) collaborate.
C) accommodate.
D) avoid.
E) submit.

Question 24

Conflict in an organisation is always damaging, because someone always ends up being the 'loser'.

Question 25

Jim and Leslie disagree about the order in which the steps of a certain procedure should be implemented. They privately criticise one another, and stir up resentment and division within the organisation. The procedure is eventually implemented in the way Leslie wanted it to be implemented, but well past the date on which it should have been introduced. Because of this, the project is well over budget. The real problem that occurred in this scenario was:

A) that Jim was wrong, and should have realised this.
B) that the procedure was obviously not drafted clearly.
C) that Jim and Leslie's manager should have seen earlier that Jim was wrong.
D) the way that Jim and Leslie chose to try to resolve the conflict.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 26

Caving in to someone else's point of view in order to keep the peace even though you do not agree with it is an example of a:

A) win-win situation.
B) lose-lose situation.
C) lose-win situation.
D) consensus.
E) mutual compromise.

Question 27

Where an emergency situation exists, an appropriate and/or necessary response to conflict may be to act in an uncooperative and aggressive manner (i.e. to compete).

Question 28

In a framing statement, you should make it clear that:

A) you will listen to both parties, but you will determine the final outcome.
B) neither party is likely to be satisfied with the final outcome, so they should consider withdrawing from the process.
C) your aim is to reach an agreement that satisfies everyone.
D) the organisation's priorities will be given precedence over those of the parties to the dispute.
E) one party's arguments or suggestions will be accepted in full over another party's.

Question 29

A week ago, Amelia had a disagreement with Gurinder. Because Gurinder has not spoken to her since, she now thinks he does not like or respect her. As a result, she is thinking about what happened more and more often. Gurinder considered the disagreement to be minor, and has not given it a second thought since it occurred. Contrary to what Amelia thinks, he has not been avoiding her; their paths simply have not crossed. For Amelia, what stage has the conflict with Gurinder reached?

A) Discomfort stage
B) Discomfort and/or incident stage
C) Incidents and/or misunderstanding stage
D) Misunderstanding and/or tension stage
E) Crisis stage

Question 30

When faced with an unavoidable conflict situation, the most effective response is to act:

A) submissively.
B) aggressively.
C) passively.
D) assertively.
E) attentively.