Deck 20: Leadership: Motivating Change Within Organizations

Question 1

If a manager maintains flexibility while designing a proposal,she may risk:

A)being seen as uncommitted to the proposal.
B)being the first employee to present the proposal.
C)losing her place in the internal labor market.
D)increasing the benefits beyond the costs of the proposal.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

If a senior manager wishes to see her proposal win support,then she should:

A)design a proposal that will yield high returns if successful.
B)likely to design a proposal that can be modified easily.
C)wait for the CEO to change the organizational architecture.
D)wait for the senior management to ask for her proposal.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What are the two tasks of good leaders?

Answer 3

Vision setting and motivating are the two important tasks of a good leader.A good leader should aim at formulating a vision by combining the knowledge of several employees.A good leader should motivate employees to follow visions not only through personal charisma but also through reward systems.

Question 4

Which of these changes in a division's architecture can allow a manger to gain support for a management proposal?

A)Lobbying for tax concessions
B)Outsourcing certain tasks
C)Emphasizing on marketing and brand value
D)Reallocating decision rights

Question 5

To motivate the employees of a company to change and follow a new mission,it is important to:

A)move overseas for most of the production.
B)outsource marketing and advertising.
C)change the company's organizational architecture.
D)rely on standard U-form organizational structures.

Question 6

The three issues related to proposal design are:

A)commitment,distribution,and marketing.
B)flexibility,marketing,and distribution.
C)flexibility,commitment,and marketing.
D)flexibility,commitment,and distribution.

Question 7

To say that a management proposal has distributional consequences means that:

A)warehouses will be overstocked if it is ratified and implemented.
B)it will disrupt the company's current distribution and marketing channels.
C)it will benefit some managers and harm others if implemented.
D)dividends will no longer be paid on the stock each quarter if it is implemented.

Question 8

Becca Lynn Stanton is a product manager whose compensation is 100% variable pay and based on the profits earned by her product line.Since she is risk-averse,she tends to favor production proposals that increase her income and status,but she is leery of production proposals that are likely to increase profits if implemented successfully and are equally likely to decrease profits if these are not implemented properly.What would it take to get her to consider a new production system?

Question 9

Leadership is the process of persuasion or example by which an individual induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader or his or her followers.This definition of leadership emphasizes ______ as an important characteristic of leadership.

A)motivation skills
B)lobbying
C)vision setting
D)planning skills

Question 10

A key to motivating people in a business entity is to remember that each person:

A)tends to be very lazy.
B)tends to act in his/her own self-interest.
C)follows the rules of ethics popularized by their professional societies.
D)tends to follow orders unless a strong reason is given to behave otherwise.

Question 11

Mahatma Gandhi,John
F.Kennedy,Martin Luther King Jr.are all cited as charismatic leaders.Economics tells us that charisma can be learned.What is the inconsistency in the economic argument?

Question 12

"Laying the groundwork" before introducing a proposal means:

A)being able to market the proposal to those employees who will be affected by it.
B)beginning to build facility before the ratification of the proposal so that the company cannot back away.
C)looking for alternative proposals that can be implemented.
D)calculating monitoring costs before implementation.

Question 13

During the 1990s,Xerox had a problem with quality.CEO Kearns found that to solve the problem,he needed to:

A)lobby the government for tax concessions.
B)change the performance-evaluation and incentive system.
C)invest heavily in research and innovation.
D)hire executives who understood the quality concerns.

Question 14

FranklinD.Roosevelt pointed out that the New Deal was a series of experiments and that one could learn the good and bad from trying.His leadership reveals:

A)commitment.
B)clever marketing.
C)distribution awareness.
D)flexibility.

Question 15

Why is academic decision making different from decision making within firms?

Question 16

Corporate power comes from the people who voluntarily agree to comply with a leader's proposal.Formal authority and control over a company's budgets and resources are some sources of corporate power.Corporate power also comes from the people who voluntarily agree to comply with a leader's proposal.Which one is most important for the successful functioning of today's corporate management?

Question 17

What are the three issues related to proposal design?

Question 18

Two key components of leadership are:

A)education and religious background.
B)social networks and gender
C)religious background and vision.
D)motivation and vision.

Question 19

While top level executives and the board of directors have wide-ranging discretion on leadership issues,most middle level managers recognize that they must exercise leadership:

A)only when told to by the senior management.
B)when the company decides to sell its overseas unit.
C)within the existing architecture.
D)only when the company decides to integrate upward.

Question 20

During the period 2001-2003,airlines in the U.S.had a difficult time earning a positive net income.Terrorism,war,disease,and a weak economy all combined to reduce both business and tourist travel.In addition,the major airlines faced competition from rivals who could lower ticket prices.Most airlines began a change in organizational architecture.All major jobs in airlines are unionized.What major leadership issues needed to be addressed as these companies reorganized?

Question 21

Logrolling is the:

A)building of a coalition of individuals who support one another's proposals.
B)art of marketing a business proposal with external resources.
C)process of changing the organizational architecture.
D)process of evaluating the performance of the top management.

Question 22

Which one of the following is a source of organizational power?

A)Vision setting
B)Work experience
C)Risk appetite
D)Control of budgets and resources

Question 23

Which one of the following is a source of organizational power?

A)Vision setting
B)Risk appetite
C)Work experience
D)Formal authority

Question 24

Ultimately,power to change within an organization comes from:

A)other people who voluntarily agree to comply with a leader's proposals.
B)employees who perform well only when a crisis occurs.
C)union leaders who directly participate in the decision-making process.
D)changing the organizational architecture every two years.

Question 25

Effective leadership requires the proper use of symbols.Which of these is a symbol used to inform employees what is valued in the company?

A)Formal creed
B)Nepotism
C)Logrolling
D)Reneging

Question 26

J.L.Pratt noted of the old General Motors that,"When one of them had a project,why he would get the vote of his fellow members,if they would vote for his project,he would vote for theirs." This is called:

A)logrolling.
B)hypertension.
C)reneging.
D)proposal marketing.

Question 27

If a manager has the right to fire,promote,and compensate an employee,the employee obviously has an economic incentive to comply with the manager's wishes.Which of the following potential sources of power is described by this statement?

A)Having friends and allies
B)Control of information
C)Control of budgets and resources
D)Formal authority

Question 28

In his famous Fortune magazine article,Wheat listed "what it takes" to become a great leader.Which of the following is not on his list?

A)Stand up and be seen.
B)Be brutally optimistic.
C)Don't let the facts get in your way.
D)Make team members feel important.

Question 29

Which one of the following is a source of organizational power?

A)Vision setting
B)Having an appetite for risk
C)Work experience
D)Having close friends and allies

Question 30

Symbols used by the leaders in an organization are unlikely to be effective in motivating employees to take particular actions unless reinforced by:

A)the reward system.
B)the shareholders.
C)the government.
D)the board of directors.

Question 31

The CEO of a company repeatedly highlighted the performance of its rivals before introducing a proposal that required a major change in the organizational architecture.This implies that in marketing his proposal,he:

A)indulged in unethical business practices.
B)used force and coercion.
C)relied on reputation.
D)emphasized a crisis.

Question 32

One way to market a proposal for a new business venture,especially when architectural changes are ruled out and the opposition seems strong is to:

A)replace the Board of Directors.
B)emphasize the level of crisis that exists inside the firm.
C)pretend that architectural changes will be made.
D)withdraw the proposal.

Question 33

Which of these is a drawback of logrolling?

A)Nobody wins in the long run.
B)All other proposals get support only after yours gets support.
C)Your proposal will be supported only after all other proposals get supported.
D)Once you support someone's proposal,they can turn their back on yours.

Question 34

Sometimes a person has a number of successes and people tend to think that this manager always presents good new proposals for ratification.If the same manager does not work hard at proposal design or marketing,it implies that she is:

A)trying to make allies within the company.
B)relying on reputation.
C)working hard to lay the groundwork for proposal.
D)going to change the architecture during the monitoring phase.

Question 35

For an employee (agent)with formal leadership assignments or title,specific knowledge can be:

A)a problem and a potential reason for loss of employment.
B)something that evolves into general knowledge.
C)a significant source of power in ratification of proposals.
D)the result of an intuitive translation.

Question 36

An individual can sometimes create power by developing a service or product that becomes important to other people within the organization.What is the source of organizational power for this individual?

A)Control over key resources
B)Control over specific information
C)Formal authority
D)Nepotism

Question 37

The ability of a leader to control the distribution and use of resources inside a corporation provides that leader with:

A)power to declare dividends on company shares.
B)power to introduce change within the organization.
C)the ability to veto voluntary assent to a proposal.
D)the ability to declare all changes emergencies.

Question 38

A logroll refers to a(n):

A)bunch of individuals who are indifferent about one single proposal,but agree to support it,so each can get what she wants.
B)individual who is indifferent about others' proposals,but agrees to support all the requests,so he can get what she wants.
C)bunch of individuals who care about others' proposals,and agree to support each other.
D)bunch of individuals who are indifferent about others' proposals,but agree to support all the requests,so each can get what she wants.