Deck 10: Power and Influence in the Workplace

Question 1

If people in certain roles can request certain behaviors of others, then there is

A) countervailing power.
B) substitutability.
C) legitimate power.
D) reverse dependence.
E) visibility.

Answer 1

legitimate power.

Question 2

Jazmin is quick to complain about Timothy's lack of contribution on the team. She threatens posting pictures of the team working without him for the manager to see. Jazmin is using ________ power.

A) reward
B) legitimate
C) referent
D) expert
E) coercive

Answer 2

coercive

Question 3

Sometimes employees have more power than their manager's because power is the ________ of an employee's control of resources.

A) perception
B) actual
C) potential
D) counter-valence
E) legitimacy

Answer 3

perception

Question 4

People tend to feel an obligation to help others who have helped them. This subtle form of legitimate power is based on ________.

A) countervailing dependence
B) the norm of reciprocity
C) the zone of indifference
D) absorption
E) expertise

Question 5

Having the right to control the information others receive is a form of ________ power.

A) coercive
B) reward
C) expert
D) legitimate
E) referent

Question 6

Behaviors that employees willingly engage in based on their manager's legitimate power are within the

A) zone of deference.
B) zone of compliance.
C) zone of indifference.
D) zone of agreement.
E) zone of trust.

Question 7

Which of the following refers to the availability of alternative sources of resources?

A) visibility
B) nonsubstitutability
C) centrality
D) discretion
E) referent power

Question 8

If you decided not to show up for work or school tomorrow, how many people would have difficulty performing their jobs because of your absence? The answer depends on your

A) visibility.
B) absorption.
C) centrality.
D) discretion.
E) persuasion.

Question 9

Many professionals display their educational diplomas and awards on office walls to remind visitors of their expertise. This is an example of

A) visibility.
B) absorption.
C) centrality.
D) discretion.
E) persuasion.

Question 10

Consulting firms often attempt to convince clients that only they have the skills and knowledge the client needs. Which contingency of power is the consulting firm trying to increase?

A) centrality
B) visibility
C) discretion
D) nonsubstitutability
E) charisma

Question 11

For many employees, the best nonsubstitutability strategy is to

A) have a Master's degree.
B) become friends with the boss.
C) develop a personal brand.
D) criticize co-workers.
E) become more visible.

Question 12

A New York City Transit Union strike once clogged roads and prevented half of city workers from getting to the job on time. This illustrates the contingency of

A) visibility.
B) discretion.
C) centrality.
D) nonsubstitutability.
E) legitimacy.

Question 13

Many front-line supervisors have legitimate, reward, and coercive power. However, these are often curtailed due to the supervisor's lack of ________ due to rules they must follow.

A) discretion
B) visibility
C) centrality
D) trust
E) nonsubstitutability

Question 14

What are the three resources which potentially enhance the power of members in social networks?

A) information, visibility, referent power
B) discretion, visibility, reward power
C) information, visibility, reward power
D) visibility, coercive power, reward power
E) information, discretion, social capital

Question 15

Network members with high ________ control the distribution of information and other resources to people on either side of them within the network.

A) degree centrality
B) visibility
C) closeness
D) betweenness
E) discretion

Question 16

The more someone fills structural holes in a network through brokering, the more likely he or she is to

A) be laid off or demoted.
B) be seen as someone who engaged in unethical practices.
C) engage in impression management.
D) be taken advantage of by others in the network.
E) get early promotions and higher pay.

Question 17

Which of the following is true of people who feel empowered?

A) They are less likely to rely on stereotypes.
B) They are very good with empathizing.
C) They tend to be less motivated.
D) It increases automatic thinking.
E) It increases mindful thinking.

Question 18

When asked to recommend someone for valued positions, other network members more readily think of you than of people outside the network because of your

A) increased visibility.
B) increased referent power.
C) increased reciprocity.
D) expert power.
E) increased expertise.

Question 19

Having weak ties (i.e., being merely acquaintances) with people from diverse networks can be more valuable than having strong ties (i.e., having close friendships) with people in similar networks. Why is this so?

A) Strong ties tend to be different from us, and different people tend to have different information and connections that we don't have.
B) Weak ties are acquaintances who are usually different from us and therefore offer resources we do not possess.
C) Strong ties are acquaintances who are usually different from us and therefore offer resources we do not possess.
D) Weak ties tend to be similar to us and to each other, and similar people tend to have the same information and connections that we already have.
E) Strong ties serve as a "bridge" across several unrelated networks, where we receive unique resources from each network rather than more of the same resources.

Question 20

Reciprocity increases among network members as they become more embedded in the network. That is because these members gain

A) reward power.
B) referent power.
C) legitimate power.
D) coercive power.
E) weak ties.

Question 21

Extreme forms of ________ include bullying, which involves explicit threats of punishment.

A) coalition forming
B) upward appeal
C) persuasion
D) assertiveness
E) information control

Question 22

Which of the following would give a person information control?

A) high centrality in a social network
B) low centrality in a social network
C) high discretion in a social network
D) legitimate power
E) referent power

Question 23

Maggie begins a meeting by telling the attendees that the President of the company supports what she is about to present. Which influence tactic is Maggie using?

A) ingratiation
B) assertiveness
C) Machiavellianism
D) exchange
E) upward appeal

Question 24

Which of the following is true about impression management?

A) Employees rarely engage in pleasant impression management behavior to satisfy the basic norms of social behavior.
B) Career professionals do not encourage impression management.
C) Impression management is part of a larger category of influence tactics known as ingratiation.
D) It is not common for people to rely on impression management to get ahead in the workplace.
E) People who engage in high levels of ingratiation are less influential and less likely to get promoted.

Question 25

The norm of reciprocity is most related to which influence tactic?

A) persuasion
B) exchange
C) upward appeal
D) impression management
E) coalition

Question 26

________ is an integral part of exchange influence activities.

A) Silent authority
B) Coerciveness
C) Ingratiation
D) Negotiation
E) Assertiveness

Question 27

Benny approached his supervisor at the plant, and asked if he could have the upcoming Wednesday off, if he promised to work the midnight shift for Alexi that Friday. Which influence tactic was Benny using?

A) persuasion
B) silent authority
C) exchange
D) information control
E) coalition formation

Question 28

In which of the following ways are coalitions influential?

A) They are a soft influence tactic.
B) They can be a source of power by symbolizing the legitimacy of the issue.
C) They create a sense that the issue deserves attention because it has less support.
D) They ignore the power of the social identity process.
E) They have a narrow-based membership.

Question 29

Which of the following would make a message more persuasive?

A) It should stick to one point of view.
B) The messenger should combine persuasion with hard influence tactics.
C) Use emotional appeals instead of logical arguments.
D) Use as many strong arguments as one can find.
E) Warn the audience in advance of opposing arguments.

Question 30

What is the most commonly used influence tactic in organizations?

A) persuasion
B) impression management
C) assertiveness
D) exchange
E) upward appeal

Question 31

How does impression management most often occur?

A) through persuasion
B) through bullying
C) through self-presentation
D) through the formation of a coalition
E) through force

Question 32

People who do not trust coworkers and disregard moral principles are likely to

A) be high Mach.
B) be good team players.
C) have a strong work ethic.
D) ignore organizational politics.
E) be highly persuasive.

Question 33

Organizational politics may be reduced by

A) cutting back resources available to organizational units.
B) encouraging leaders to become role models of organizational citizenship.
C) being more tolerant of employees who use political tactics to get what they want from the organization.
D) selecting employees with a high need for personalized power.
E) conducting background checks on potential employees.

Question 34

Employees who experience organizational politics from others have which of the following?

A) higher job satisfaction
B) higher task performance
C) lower organizational citizenship
D) lower levels of work-related stress
E) higher motivation to stay with the organization

Question 35

Organizational politics is suppressed when resource allocation decisions are

A) questionable.
B) costly and vague.
C) reinforced.
D) clear and simplified.
E) lacking support.

Question 36

Having sufficient resources, clear rules on resource allocation and applying effective change practices all help to

A) maximize organizational politics.
B) minimize organizational politics.
C) encourage Machiavellian behavior.
D) eliminate the need for organizational politics.
E) make organizational politics tolerable.

Question 37

Your team is allocated a project involving a major client, the Beswick Company. Although the organization has many clients, this client, and project, is the largest source of revenue and affects the work of several other teams in the organization. The project requires continuous involvement with the client, so any problems with the client are immediately felt by others in the organization.

-According to the model of power, your team has

A) very little power in the organization.
B) a high degree of centrality.
C) a high degree of substitutability.
D) a low level of visibility.
E) an absence of referent power.

Question 38

Your team is allocated a project involving a major client, the Beswick Company. Although the organization has many clients, this client, and project, is the largest source of revenue and affects the work of several other teams in the organization. The project requires continuous involvement with the client, so any problems with the client are immediately felt by others in the organization.

-Jamie, a member of your team, is the only person in the company with whom this client is willing to deal. It can be said that Jamie has

A) a high degree of nonsubstitutability.
B) a low degree of centrality.
C) a high level of discretion.
D) referent power.
E) a low level of visibility.

Question 39

Krystal's boss in the accounting department initially rejected her proposal for a new budgeting process. So Krystal spoke to and received support from the heads of two departments that would benefit from the proposed budgeting process. She also found support from several coworkers in the accounting department because they believed the new budgeting process would be simpler and fairer. When Krystal's boss realized that several key people supported the new budgeting system, he agreed to test it in a pilot project.

-What form of influence is Krystal mainly using here?

A) silent authority
B) coalition formation
C) assertiveness
D) impression management
E) persuasion

Question 40

Krystal's boss in the accounting department initially rejected her proposal for a new budgeting process. So Krystal spoke to and received support from the heads of two departments that would benefit from the proposed budgeting process. She also found support from several coworkers in the accounting department because they believed the new budgeting process would be simpler and fairer. When Krystal's boss realized that several key people supported the new budgeting system, he agreed to test it in a pilot project.

-What other form of influence is Krystal using?

A) exchange
B) information control
C) upward appeal
D) integration management
E) silent authority

Question 41

How do people react to influence attempts? Describe and discuss the different types of reactions.

Question 42

Jose dominates the power relationship with his employees. However, the employees still have some degree of power.

Question 43

First-line supervisors have legitimate, reward, and coercive power. This enables them to exercise their judgement in decision making.

Question 44

Social networking is a form of influence that tends to increase the individual's expert and referent power.

Question 45

Social networks generate power through goodwill and resource sharing.

Question 46

Strong connections are always the most powerful ties in social network connectivity.

Question 47

A person in a social network who can control the flow of information to many people has high "betweenness."

Question 48

In high power distance cultures, silent authority is the most common form of influence.

Question 49

Compliance occurs when people identify with the influencer's request and are highly motivated to implement it.

Question 50

People with high Machiavellianism get what they want through cooperation and negotiation.

Question 51

Influence tactics that are motivated out of self-interest and have a negative impact on the organization are the basis of organizational politics.