Deck 12: Power, Politics, and Ethics

Question 1

Expert power corresponds to the difficulty of

A)the job.
B)the subordinates.
C)replacement.
D)the situation.
E)leadership.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What kind of power is most likely to be ineffective?

A)Reward power
B)Coercive power
C)Referent power
D)Expert power
E)Legitimate power

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements concerning power is FALSE?

A)Power can flow in any direction in an organization.
B)Power is not always exercised.
C)Because the target of power is dependent upon the power holder, a poor relationship necessarily exists between the two.
D)Power is a broad concept that applies to individuals, groups, and subunits.
E)Two individuals can have power over each other.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Legitimate power

A)is a function of one's formal organizational role.
B)is less important than the other power bases.
C)is applied equally by all those who possess it.
D)exists when the power holder is well liked by others.
E)is perfectly correlated with coercive power.

Question 5

I have referent power over you.This means that

A)I know something you don't want made public.
B)I have a skill that you admire.
C)I like you.
D)you like me.
E)you dislike me.

Question 6

A well-liked Nobel Prize winner has considerable influence among the members of his scientific research team.This person is high on which two bases of social power?

A)Legitimate and referent
B)Coercive and reward
C)Legitimate and coercive
D)Reward and expert
E)Referent and expert

Question 7

A leader's legitimate power is the power base most consistently associated with employee effectiveness.

Question 8

Which base of individual power is most closely associated with one's position or job in the organization?

A)Referent
B)Legitimate
C)Expert
D)Coercive
E)Reward

Question 9

The more critical and unusual an individual's expertise,the more referent power she has.

Question 10

Power is defined as

A)the capacity to influence others who are in a state of dependence.
B)a process of antagonism that occurs when one person or organizational subunit frustrates the goal attainment of another.
C)the joint occurrence of antagonism and blocked goals.
D)using influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the organization or to obtain sanctioned ends through nonsanctioned means.
E)establishing good connections with key organizational members in order to achieve one's goals.

Question 11

Of the various bases of individual power,expertise is most consistently associated with employee effectiveness.

Question 12

Jane,a professor,has more important publications than anyone in her university department.She is very high on the ________ power base.

Question 13

Effective managers are generally viewed as being high in coercive power.

Question 14

Two army officers get into an argument,and one cites his rank in an attempt to settle the matter.To which power base is he resorting?

A)Expert
B)Coercive
C)Legitimate
D)Reward
E)Referent

Question 15

Power is a concept that applies to individuals.

Question 16

Which base of individual power is most consistently associated with employee effectiveness?

A)Expert
B)Coercive
C)Legitimate
D)Reward
E)Referent

Question 17

A military commander who is well liked and admired by his troops is leading them on a highly structured mission.We can be certain that the commander is high on two bases or power.What are they?

A)Legitimate and referent
B)Reward and expert
C)Coercive and expert
D)Information and reward
E)Referent and coercive

Question 18

Power can exist in a relationship even though it is not used or exercised.

Question 19

Coercive power

A)is often associated with workgroup ineffectiveness.
B)is perfectly correlated with legitimate power.
C)is available when the power holder can exert influence by providing positive outcomes.
D)can only be applied by higher level organizational members to lower level members.
E)is generally effective at reducing employee resistance.

Question 20

Referent power is especially potent because

A)it stems from identification with the power holder.
B)few people have it.
C)its absence may lead to cognitive dissonance.
D)it is perfectly correlated with coercive power.
E)it is perfectly correlated with expert power.

Question 21

What is the relation between the bases of power and influence tactics?

A)Coercive power uses assertiveness.
B)Referent power uses rationality.
C)Expert power uses exchange.
D)Coercive power uses ingratiation.
E)Referent power uses upward appeal.

Question 22

An example of empowerment at work is approaching the service desk and hearing:

A)"Sorry! I don't have the authority to solve that problem."
B)"Let me refund your money in full."
C)"That's not my job."
D)"I'll tell my boss about this."
E)"I just need to get my supervisor's signature."

Question 23

The sergeant defers to the captain because he is the captain.Thus,the captain has ________ power over the sergeant.

Question 24

Behaviours that are used to convert power into actual influence are called

A)authority.
B)influence tactics.
C)empowerment.
D)power bases.
E)Machiavellian tactics.

Question 25

What influence tactic do people report using very frequently?

A)Upward appeal
B)Exchange
C)Ingratiation
D)Rationality
E)Assertiveness

Question 26

________ is the capacity to influence others who are in a state of dependence.

Question 27

Richard Thackeray has just been hired as a management trainee in the marketing department at Kapster Enterprises.He is hoping to quickly move up the corporate hierarchy and eventually become the Vice President of Marketing.However,Richard realizes that there are several powerful managers above him in the hierarchy who undoubtedly have aspirations about becoming a vice president as well.What advice might you give to Richard about how to obtain power?

Question 28

Of all the bases of managerial power,________ is most consistently associated with employee effectiveness.

Question 29

Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests that ________ activities lead to the acquisition of power.

A)charitable
B)fiscal
C)extraordinary
D)Machiavellian
E)unethical

Question 30

What are the five bases of individual power? Which one do you think is most powerful overall? Provide an example to illustrate your rationale.

Question 31

The relationship between performance and empowerment suggests which of the following relationships?

A)Low power-effective performance
B)High power-effective performance
C)Sufficient power-effective performance
D)Legitimate power-expert performance
E)None of the above

Question 32

Liaisons with key ________ probably represent the best way of obtaining power through cultivating others.

Question 33

Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests that certain types of activities lead to power.Which of the following activities is NOT likely to lead to power acquisition?

A)Extraordinary activities
B)Visible activities
C)Charitable activities
D)Relevant activities
E)Exceptional performance in non-routine activities

Question 34

To gain power in an organization one's activities should be extraordinary,relevant,and ________.

Question 35

Employee effectiveness is highest when the boss is high on the ________ power base.

Question 36

________ power corresponds to the difficulty of replacement.

Question 37

William's employees cooperate with him because they like him.Thus,he has ________ power over them.

Question 38

Which of the following is an example of an influence tactic?

A)Buffing
B)Buck passing
C)Ingratiation
D)Stalling
E)Overconforming

Question 39

Empowerment occurs when people are given ________ to take the initiative and solve organizational problems.

A)excessive power
B)authority, opportunity, and motivation
C)orders
D)employees
E)assertiveness training

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT an influence tactic?

A)assertiveness
B)ingratiation
C)coalition formation
D)rationality
E)Machiavellianism

Question 41

________ are used to convert power into actual influence over others.

Question 42

Someone with coercive power might gravitate towards ingratiation.

Question 43

According to David McClelland,the most effective managers

A)have a high need for personal power.
B)have a high need for affiliation.
C)are institutional managers.
D)are concerned with being well-liked.
E)use coercive power extensively.

Question 44

Rationality is most likely to be directed towards

A)subordinates.
B)peers.
C)superiors.
D)men.
E)women.

Question 45

What influence tactics are most favoured for influencing peers and subordinates?

A)Assertiveness, ingratiation, and rationality
B)Exchange, ingratiation, and upward appeal
C)Exchange, assertiveness, and ingratiation
D)Ingratiation, rationality, and exchange
E)Upward appeal, ingratiation, and rationality

Question 46

When it comes to the use of influence tactics,someone with expert power might gravitate towards

A)assertiveness.
B)ingratiation.
C)rationality.
D)exchange.
E)upward appeal.

Question 47

What group(s)is/are most likely to be the recipients of the assertiveness influence tactic?

A)Subordinates
B)Peers
C)Superiors
D)Subordinates and peers
E)Subordinates, peers, and superiors

Question 48

Gordon Wong,VP of Human Resources at Zeta Manufacturing,has just reviewed last month's disappointing productivity figures from the assembly plant where an empowerment program was launched six months ago.Not only was performance down,but employee expenses and related costs had doubled over the same period last year.Gordon could not understand why the empowerment program had not achieved better productivity results-especially since the assembly workers now had virtually complete control over their jobs.As he reviewed the report,he pondered,"Perhaps our empowerment initiatives did not go far enough? Maybe we need to give them even more power?" Using your knowledge of empowerment,what advice might you give to Gordon?

Question 49

Research shows that women who used ________ as an influence tactic received the highest performance evaluations.

Question 50

People who are empowered have a strong sense of ________.

Question 51

According to David McClelland,institutional managers

A)are very concerned with how much others like them.
B)have a high need for power.
C)use their power to further their self-interests and work against organizational goals.
D)adopt a directive and coercive leadership style.
E)are more likely to succeed in public sector organizations.

Question 52

Empowerment means giving people the authority,opportunity,and ________ to take initiative to solve organizational problems.

Question 53

Used properly,________ puts power where it is needed to make the organization effective.

Question 54

Empowerment fosters job satisfaction but not performance.

Question 55

What influence tactic is associated with better performance evaluations for men?

A)Assertiveness
B)Ingratiation
C)Rationality
D)Exchange
E)Upward appeal

Question 56

________ means giving people the authority,opportunity,and motivation to take initiative and solve organizational problems.

Question 57

When it comes to the use of influence tactics,someone with referent power might gravitate towards

A)assertiveness.
B)ingratiation.
C)rationality.
D)exchange.
E)upward appeal.

Question 58

People who are empowered have a strong sense of

A)who they are.
B)what they want.
C)what they must do.
D)self-efficacy.
E)self-esteem.

Question 59

When it comes to the use of influence tactics,someone with coercive power might gravitate towards

A)assertiveness.
B)ingratiation.
C)rationality.
D)exchange.
E)upward appeal.

Question 60

Describe four influence tactics and explain how each may be related to one of the individual power bases.

Question 61

Subunits whose work is highly substitutable by other sources acquire substantial power by virtue of their flexibility and adaptability.

Question 62

The most effective managers have a high need for power and a low need for ________.

Question 63

The strategic contingencies view of power portrays power acquisition as a highly political and Machiavellian process.

Question 64

________ managers use their power for self-interest,whereas ________ managers are more concerned with being liked than with exercising power.

A)Personal power; affiliative
B)Institutional; affiliative
C)Affiliative; personal power
D)Personal power; institutional
E)Affiliative; institutional

Question 65

Which subunit controls strategic contingencies?

A)The one that can contract out the most work.
B)The one that is most isolated from the other units.
C)The one that is most peripheral to the workflow.
D)The one that can obtain scarce resources.
E)The one that is most substitutable.

Question 66

Men are more likely to have a high n Pow than women.

Question 67

According to McClelland,the most effective managers have a high need for power and want others to like them.

Question 68

Which of the following conditions will NOT add to a subunit's power in the organization?

A)The work it performs can be contracted out.
B)It can reduce organizational uncertainty.
C)The work it performs is central to the organization's goals.
D)It can secure scarce resources.
E)The work it performs has an immediate impact on others.

Question 69

According to David McClelland,the most effective managers do NOT

A)use their power to achieve organizational goals.
B)have a high need for power.
C)show a high degree of concern about how much others like them.
D)adopt a participative or coaching style of leadership.
E)clarify organizational priorities for subordinates.

Question 70

Being able to cope with environmental uncertainty can be a strong source of power within an organization.

Question 71

According to David McClelland,institutional managers are more effective than personal power managers.

Question 72

The human resources department is an example of an organizational subunit.

Question 73

Centrality in the work flow reduces the power of an organizational subunit.

Question 74

Which of the following statements depicts a subunit controlling strategic contingencies?

A)Last month, there was almost no absenteeism in the production department.
B)The finance department spoke strongly against reorganizing the company.
C)The marketing department's success saved the company from bankruptcy.
D)The data processing department saved considerable money by contracting out certain services.
E)The human resources manager recruited two new management trainees.

Question 75

More men than women have a high need for power.

Question 76

Critical factors that affect organizational effectiveness are known as

A)strategic enforcers.
B)strategic influence.
C)strategic contingencies.
D)power contingencies.
E)influence tactics.

Question 77

If you gain power by controlling strategic contingencies,you are most likely

A)drawing new customers to the firm.
B)acting unethically.
C)exhibiting Machiavellianism.
D)similar to McClelland's personal power managers.
E)exercising coercive power.

Question 78

A manager with a high need for personal power

A)will be the most effective manager.
B)will avoid using organizational politics.
C)will avoid using that power to influence others.
D)will use their power for personal gain.
E)will not be concerned with status symbols.

Question 79

A department that controls strategic contingencies has a strong effect on the activities of other departments.

Question 80

Superordinate goals are defined as the organization's most important strategic contingencies.