Deck 12: Power, Influence, and Politics

Question 1

The kind of power that comes into play when one's personal characteristics and social relationships become the reason for compliance is expert power.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The base of power that most people think of as authority and that is anchored to one's formal position is punishment.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Empowerment is an either-or proposition; either a subordinate is empowered or not-there are no "degrees" of empowerment.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Efforts to enhance employee performance, well-being, and positive attitudes are known as positive organizational support.

Question 5

Pay-for-performance plans are a form of reward power.

Question 6

In order to have effective meetings, a leader should never use an agenda for a meeting.

Question 7

The primary reactions people have to attempts by others to manage or influence them are compliance, commitment, and aggression.

Question 8

Commitment is superior to compliance because it is driven by extrinsic motivation.

Question 9

The highest level of empowerment is power sharing.

Question 10

People who do what is required, exert no extra effort, and provide no extra input are said to be resisting.

Question 11

Personal power is composed of sources of influence that you possess independent of your position or job.

Question 12

Structural empowerment is based on transferring authority and responsibilities from management to employees.

Question 13

Research has shown that generally expert and referent power have a positive effect on work outcomes, reward and legitimate power have a slightly positive effect, and coercive power has a slightly negative effect.

Question 14

There are five bases of power: legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, and referent.

Question 15

Effective empowerment involves giving decision-making authority to all employees in each and every situation.

Question 16

Reward power is a form of personal power.

Question 17

Reward, coercive, and negative legitimate power tend to produce compliance, and sometimes resistance.

Question 18

One often overlooked and underestimated source of referent power is your network of relationships.

Question 19

Legitimate power can be expressed either positively or negatively.

Question 20

Power is the ability to marshal resources to get something done.

Question 21

The emphasis on self-interest is what distinguishes politics from other forms of influence.

Question 22

Structural empowerment is an input into psychological empowerment.

Question 23

Uncertainty triggers political actions.

Question 24

Getting others to support your efforts to persuade someone to do something is called consultation.

Question 25

When a coalition's target issue is resolved, the coalition members usually stick together around a new issue they have embraced.

Question 26

Recent research and practice have shown that the four elements-meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact at work-that are important for individuals also foster psychological empowerment in teams, but not for whole organizations.

Question 27

A network is an informal group bound together by the active pursuit of a single issue.

Question 28

Influence tactics can be taught and learned.

Question 29

Positive core self-evaluations and positive psychological capital likely enhance employees' sense of empowerment.

Question 30

The three levels of political action are the worker, the organization, and the environment.

Question 31

Organizational influence tactics are intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect the self-interest of individuals or groups that are not endorsed or aligned with those of the organization.

Question 32

Rational persuasion, consultation, collaboration, and inspirational appeals are most effective at building commitment.

Question 33

Ingratiation is considered one of the "hard" influence tactics.

Question 34

Organizational justice is the strongest organizational influence on politics.

Question 35

Psychological empowerment occurs when employees feel a sense of meaning, competition, self-efficacy, and impact at work.

Question 36

Having the sense that you have control over your work is called competence.

Question 37

Conscious efforts to affect and change a specific behavior in others are called manipulation.

Question 38

Trust in coworkers and negative affect are the strongest work environment and individual difference predictors of organizational politics.

Question 39

While structural empowerment draws on job design and characteristics, psychological empowerment is related to self-efficacy.

Question 40

The most frequently used influence tactic is pressure.

Question 41

A moderate amount of impression management is a necessity for the average employee today.

Question 42

Generally, coalitions are issue-oriented, while networks are people-oriented.

Question 43

To have more effective meetings, managers should:

A) Experiment with the numbers and frequencies of meetings held
B) Allow meetings to go longer than scheduled; schedules are only guidelines
C) Create a general agenda showing just the time, date, and place of the meeting
D) Insist that only problems be fully discussed, and possible solutions aired at later meetings
E) Set general goals for each meeting

Question 44

The network level of political action is distinguished by the cooperative pursuit of general self-interests.

Question 45

The basis of power that most people think of as authority is:

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

Question 46

The ability to marshal resources to get things done is known as:

A) Politics
B) Power
C) Networking
D) Coalition-building
E) Empowerment

Question 47

John leads a team of 10 salespersons. He informs the team members that the first member to achieve the year's target will be sent on an all-expenses-paid holiday to the Grand Canyon National Park. John is demonstrating __________ power.

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

Question 48

Valued knowledge or information gives an individual ________ power over those needing that information.

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

Question 49

Individuals or organizations have _______ power if they can obtain compliance by promising or delivering positive reinforcement.

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

Question 50

Research has found that people's perceptions of politics were positively associated with job satisfaction.

Question 51

Jeff has been a project assistant for XYZ Corporation for five years. Recently he was asked to train Harriet, a new employee. He suggests to her that she use an Excel worksheet to lay out the projects she is currently working on, and she complies. He is using _______ power.

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

Question 52

One way to make a bad impression on others is to overcommit.

Question 53

Apologies are a form of trust repair.

Question 54

In his annual performance review meeting with Eileen, who has been working at the company for two years, Ruben suggests that if she keeps up her good work she is likely to be offered a promotion within the next year. Ruben is exercising his _______ power.

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

Question 55

Research shows that most impressions of interviewers of job candidates are formed rationally through careful questioning.

Question 56

Alexa, a manager, explains to Harvey that if he is late to work one more time in the next six weeks he will be suspended without pay for a day. Alexa is exercising _______ power.

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

Question 57

The field of public relations is impression management at the organizational level.

Question 58

The ability to make threats or deliver punishment gives an individual or organization _______ power.

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

Question 59

Impression management is any attempt to control or manipulate the images related to a person, organization, or idea.

Question 60

Dewey, a manager at the Busy Bee Restaurant, gives Alice her schedule for the next week. Alice knows she must follow that schedule. What kind of power is Dewey exercising?

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

Question 61

The type of influence a person exercises independent of his or her job or position is:

A) Reward power
B) Coercion power
C) Legitimate power
D) Personal power
E) Political power

Question 62

Fiona used an influence tactic on Gerald and got him to enthusiastically agree to her proposal. Gerald demonstrated initiative and persistence while completing the assignment. This is an example of:

A) Resistance
B) Defiance
C) Hindrance
D) Compliance
E) Commitment

Question 63

If the second party grudgingly agrees to the first party's proposal and needs a lot of prodding to satisfy the minimum requirements, the second party is said to be exhibiting:

A) Hindrance
B) Defiance
C) Commitment
D) Resistance
E) Compliance

Question 64

A person who is passive-aggressive in reaction to another's influence attempt is exhibiting:

A) Resistance
B) Rebellion
C) Compliance
D) Commitment
E) Coercion

Question 65

Which of the following statements about the effect of power is true?

A) Expert power has a generally negative effect
B) Referent power has a slightly positive effect
C) Reward power has a generally negative effect
D) Coercive power has a slightly negative effect
E) Legitimate power has a slightly negative effect

Question 66

__________ power tend to produce compliance.

A) Positive legitimate, expert, and referent
B) Negative legitimate, expert, and referent
C) Negative legitimate, coercive, and reward
D) Negative legitimate, reward, and expert
E) Positive legitimate, expert, and reward

Question 67

____________ power tends to produce __________.

A) Negative legitimate; commitment
B) Reward; compliance
C) Positive legitimate; compliance
D) Reward; commitment
E) Expert; compliance

Question 68

_________ power tend to produce commitment.

A) Positive legitimate, expert, and referent
B) Negative legitimate, expert, and referent
C) Negative legitimate, coercive, and reward
D) Negative legitimate, reward, and expert
E) Positive legitimate, expert, and reward

Question 69

Professor Jones asks Professor Brown to cover class for her while she is out of town presenting a paper at a conference. They are good friends and work together effectively on several committees. Professor Brown not only covers the class, but develops a special lecture and exercise for the students. Professor Jones is using her _______ power and Professor Brown is ________.

A) Reward; committed
B) Reward; complying
C) Referent; committed
D) Referent; complying
E) Expert; complying

Question 70

_______ power comes into play when one's personal characteristics and social relationships become the reason for compliance.

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

Question 71

Efforts to enhance employee performance, well-being, and positive attitudes are called:

A) Organizational citizenship behavior
B) Positive organizational behavior
C) Organizational politics
D) Empowerment
E) Organization development

Question 72

___________ power tends to produce __________.

A) Positive legitimate; resistance
B) Reward; commitment
C) Expert; commitment
D) Referent; compliance
E) Coercive; compliance

Question 73

The best possible influence outcome is __________ because the target person's intrinsic motivation energizes good performance.

A) Commitment
B) Defiance
C) Compliance
D) Resistance
E) Hindrance

Question 74

ABC Company purchases new safety glasses for its machine operators. Unfortunately, the equipment makes the operators very uncomfortable on hot days. Davey removes the equipment when the foreman is not around. This is an example of:

A) Resistance
B) Citizenship
C) Compliance
D) Commitment
E) Attribution

Question 75

The type of influence a person exercises because of the job he or she holds is:

A) Reward power
B) Personal power
C) Political power
D) Referent power
E) Position power

Question 76

You are a management consultant. During a training session you are conducting, a manager from XYZ Energy Corporation asks you to summarize the best research evidence on the impact of the five bases of power on job performance, job satisfaction, and turnover. Which of these would be a correct response?

A) Reward power had stronger positive impact than referent power.
B) Legitimate power had stronger positive impact than expert power.
C) Referent power had a weaker positive impact than legitimate power.
D) Expert and referent power had a generally positive impact.
E) Coercive power had a positive impact on performance and a negative impact on satisfaction.

Question 77

Professor Smith promises Professor Davis that he will buy him dinner if Professor Davis covers class for him one day while Professor Smith is presenting a paper at a conference. Professor Davis agrees, although he is merely going to hand out an assignment to students and be available for questions if they have any. Professor Smith is using his _____ power and Professor Davis is _______.

A) Reward; committed
B) Reward; complying
C) Referent; committed
D) Referent; complying
E) Expert; complying

Question 78

Therese is a charismatic person who is often able to get other employees to work late on special projects by being very friendly and fun to be around. She is exercising her ______ power.

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

Question 79

Hugh tried his best to convince Irene about a new business proposal, but Irene presented some good counterarguments and stalled the proposal. This is an example of:

A) Compliance
B) Adherence
C) Allegiance
D) Resistance
E) Commitment

Question 80

__________ is one form of motivation by which a manager can accomplish structural empowerment.

A) Reinforcement theory
B) Equity theory
C) Job design theory
D) Expectancy theory
E) Maslow's hierarchy of needs