Deck 1: What Is Organizational Behavior

Question 1

Companies may pursue more than one strategy at a particular time.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Walmart is a good example of a firm pursuing a differentiation strategy.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Mismatches between merged or acquired organizations can result in underperformance and the loss of talented employees.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Organizational behavior skills should be applied flexibly.

Question 5

All organizations are able to create a competitive advantage.

Question 6

When managers are surveyed ten to fifteen years out of school to identify the most important classes they ever took,they rarely mention organizational behavior.

Question 7

Effective employees and managers understand that they need to be flexible in adapting to work challenges.

Question 8

Starbucks is pursuing a specialization strategy.

Question 9

A better product that is worth a premium price or a good product at a lower price can both be a source of competitive advantage.

Question 10

An understanding of OB makes workers technically better in their area of specialty.

Question 11

The effective management of people is key to the creation of a competitive advantage and business strategy execution.

Question 12

Both individuals and organizations benefit from OB.

Question 13

In addition to better understanding yourself,organizational behavior can help you understand why people and groups behave the way they do in organizations.

Question 14

Scientific management left no room for individual preferences or initiative,and was not always accepted by workers.

Question 15

Successful businesses following a specialization strategy rarely enjoy a high degree of customer loyalty.

Question 16

For companies pursuing a differentiation strategy,the frequent introduction of new products is often a key to staying competitive.

Question 17

OB is an important topic for anyone who works or who will eventually work in an organization,which means practically everyone.

Question 18

Johnson & Johnson,Nike,and 3M are good examples of organizations whose competitive advantage is based on product innovation.

Question 19

A mounting body of evidence shows that an emphasis on the softer side of business positively influences bottom line results.

Question 20

Employees who need stability and predictability would not fit well in companies focused on product innovation.

Question 21

Societies such as the U.S.,Sweden,and Germany have small variation in the distribution of power across supervisors and employees while others such as Japan and Mexico have a large power difference.

Question 22

Relying solely on codes of conduct and ethics to manage ethical behavior in the workplace is insufficient.

Question 23

Even though much of the research on organizational behavior has been done in the United States,what is true for Americans working in the U.S.may not be true for anyone else,including non-Americans working in the U.S.

Question 24

The U.S.workforce is expected to become less diverse in coming years.

Question 25

Serving stockholders and serving the community are mutually exclusive.

Question 26

Sir Francis Bacon developed the scientific method.

Question 27

The way employers treat their employees is part of corporate social responsibility.

Question 28

The scientific method begins with theory.

Question 29

Corporate sustainability initiatives can be top-down (with someone in a position of authority dictating to managers and employees what to do)or grassroots (with employees identifying projects and taking the initiative to organize their own activities.)

Question 30

The scientific method begins with a hypothesis.

Question 31

A code of ethics specifies expected and prohibited actions in the workplace,and gives examples of appropriate behavior.

Question 32

Americans probably have a less parochial perspective than people from other cultures.

Question 33

Production technology can increase work group autonomy,decision making,and responsibility.

Question 34

An independent variable is a criterion.

Question 35

Most ethical dilemmas in the workplace are very simple,with obvious "right" answers.

Question 36

Until they are proven to be correct,theories are no guarantee of fact.

Question 37

A correlation is an answer to a simple yes or no question.

Question 38

A dependent variable is a criterion.

Question 39

To be lasting,social responsibility efforts must be integrated into the culture of the organization.

Question 40

Older workers almost always embrace new technologies readily.

Question 41

Organizational members who are responsible for the attainment of organizational goals by planning,organizing,leading,and controlling the efforts of others in the organization are called __________.

A) executives
B) coordinators
C) managers
D) bosses

Question 42

When starting a company,what sequence of steps should a person take?

A) organize, plan, control, lead
B) organize, plan, lead, control
C) plan, organize, lead, control
D) plan, organize, control, lead

Question 43

In reality,we never see perfect +1.0 or -1.0 correlations when it comes to people's behavior.

Question 44

High employee retention also cuts the cost of operations.

Question 45

Which managerial function involves directing and coordinating the work of others,influencing and motivating others,maintaining morale,and resolving individual and group conflicts?

A) planning
B) organizing
C) leading
D) controlling

Question 46

What is explained by the field of organizational behavior?

A) individual motivation
B) team dynamics
C) organizational structure
D) all of these

Question 47

A correlation is always a positive number.

Question 48

The study of organizational behavior can help us to answer which of the following questions?

A) Why are emotions important at work?
B) Is there one best way to lead?
C) Why are some teams more effective than others?
D) all of these

Question 49

A correlation of 0 indicates no relationship between the two variables.

Question 50

"People skills" are often what make the difference between an average and an excellent performer in almost any job.

Question 51

The organizational behavior skills in your metaphorical "toolkit" should be applied _____________.

A) rigidly
B) flexibly
C) randomly
D) none of these

Question 52

Which managerial function involves monitoring performance to ensure that it is consistent with quality and quantity standards?

A) planning
B) organizing
C) leading
D) controlling

Question 53

An organization consists of people with ___________ assigned roles working together to achieve __________ goals.

A) formally, common
B) casually, individual
C) formally, individual
D) casually, common

Question 54

Which managerial function involves designing the organization's or workgroup's structure,identifying what tasks need to be done,hiring the right people,delegating and assigning each task,establishing a chain of command,and creating rules for communication and decision making?

A) planning
B) organizing
C) leading
D) controlling

Question 55

Which managerial function involves setting goals,establishing a strategy to pursue those goals,and forecasting future threats and opportunities that might influence the company's needs and strategies?

A) planning
B) organizing
C) leading
D) controlling

Question 56

Investing now in developing your OB skills will do which of the following?

A) prepare you to be a more effective employee
B) prepare you to be a more effective manager
C) help you to move up faster in any organization
D) all of these

Question 57

It is not necessary to test hypotheses and validate theories in your own organization before making decisions based on them.

Question 58

Organizational behavior takes a systems approach to how individuals and groups act in organizations.

Question 59

A correlation of -1 is as strong a negative relationship as we can get.

Question 60

The study of organizational behavior can help us to answer which of the following questions?

A) What is the role of politics at work?
B) What steps can I take to effectively manage my career?
C) What are the positive and negative effects of stress at work?
D) all of these

Question 61

According to Michael Porter,to have a competitive advantage a company must ultimately be able to give customers _______________.

A) the best possible product
B) the best customer service
C) superior value for their money
D) everything they want

Question 62

Successful business strategies are grounded in creating and maintaining a competitive advantage that is ______________.

A) inflexible
B) sustainable
C) volatile
D) all of these

Question 63

Developing a product or service that has unique characteristics valued by customers is characteristic of a __________.

A) differentiation strategy
B) cost leadership strategy
C) specialization strategy
D) evaluation strategy

Question 64

By listening to employees,recognizing their work,building trust,and behaving ethically,managers have boosted such performance measures as _________.

A) operating earnings
B) return on investments
C) stock price
D) all of these

Question 65

What characteristics give Costco a competitive advantage?

A) a strong and loyal customer base
B) access to a broad range of high quality products for low prices
C) committed employees
D) all of these

Question 66

According to General Electric CEO Jack Welch what is the source of productivity?

A) highly intelligent leaders
B) challenged, empowered, excited, rewarded teams of people
C) well-organized policy manuals
D) law enforcement

Question 67

Which of the following is/are part of business strategy?

A) strategies of different functional areas in the firm
B) how changing industry conditions will be addressed
C) how the firm will address the range of choices it faces
D) all of these

Question 68

If a company creates and maintains a culture that encourages employees to bring new ideas into the company,it is most likely to be using what strategy?

A) cost leadership
B) differentiation
C) growth
D) specialization

Question 69

Firms pursuing a __________ strive to be the lowest cost producer in an industry for a particular level of product quality

A) cost leadership strategy
B) differentiation strategy
C) specialization strategy
D) evaluation strategy

Question 70

Although Costco pays its employees substantially more than its closest competitor,Sam's Club,it has similar financial returns on its labor costs due to which of the following?

A) lower turnover
B) higher levels of employee productivity
C) both of these
D) neither of these

Question 71

A ________ is anything that gives a firm an edge over rivals in attracting customers and defending itself against competition.

A) cultural privilege
B) competitive advantage
C) business bias
D) personal talent

Question 72

If a company is good at engineering efficient manufacturing processes to keep production costs and customer prices low,it is likely to be pursuing which strategy?

A) cost leadership
B) differentiation
C) specialization
D) growth

Question 73

Business strategies are ___________.

A) planned
B) reactive
C) both
D) neither

Question 74

Which of the following is NOT a source of competitive advantage?

A) providing the best customer service
B) having the most expensive product
C) having a well-known brand name
D) being more convenient to buy from

Question 75

According to Michael Porter,businesses can compete successfully by doing which of the following?

A) being the cheapest producer
B) making unique products valued by consumers
C) applying their expertise in a narrow market segment to meet that segment's particular product or service needs
D) any of these

Question 76

An understanding of OB can help organizations to prevent which of the following problems?

A) unhappy employees
B) weak leadership
C) lack of direction
D) all of these

Question 77

Maximizing the efficiency of the manufacturing or product development process to minimize costs is referred to as _________.

A) managerial skill
B) business superiority
C) maintenance strategy
D) operational excellence

Question 78

Using your knowledge of OB can help you to move up __________ in any organization.

A) more steadily
B) faster
C) both of these
D) neither of these

Question 79

Which of these could be a source (or sources)of competitive advantage?

A) distribution
B) speed
C) convenience
D) all of these

Question 80

Most operationally excellent firms require managers to hire and train employees with which of the following characteristics?

A) flexible
B) able to focus on shorter-term objectives
C) concerned about minimizing production costs
D) all of these