Deck 14: Influence, Power, and Politics

Question 1

Gary tries to get Harriet to help him complete a sales report by offering to help her out next time she needs assistance. This is an example of the use of

A) influence.
B) power.
C) politics.
D) ingratiation.

Answer 1

influence.

Question 2

Employees often perform work tasks simply because their bosses tell them to do so. This is an example of __________ power.

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

Answer 2

legitimate

Question 3

Lower status organizational members, when seeking organizational goals, try to influence higher status members through the use of

A) assertiveness.
B) sanctions.
C) upward appeals.
D) blocking.

Answer 3

upward appeals.

Question 4

Which one of the following is NOT one of the five power bases outlined by French and Raven?

A) reward
B) illegitimate
C) legitimate
D) referent

Question 5

__________ power is one of the strongest power bases an individual can possess.

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

Question 6

Jack is supposed to deliver his work group's suggestions for a departmental quality improvement program to the department head. However, Jack has come up with some suggestions of his own that he feels are better than the group's suggestions. He substitutes his list for the group's. This is an example of the use of

A) influence.
B) power.
C) politics.
D) ingratiating.

Question 7

Research indicates that when attempting to influence participative managers, subordinates are most likely to use

A) ingratiation.
B) blocking.
C) upward appeals.
D) rational persuasion.

Question 8

The source of power that comes from the formal authority that an individual possesses because of his or her position is an organization is referred to as

A) reward power.
B) legitimate power.
C) network centrality.
D) resource control.

Question 9

The power that results from the fact that an individual is admired, respected, and liked by others is referred to as

A) reward power.
B) legitimate power.
C) referent power.
D) ingratiation.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a category of influence tactics?

A) assertiveness
B) coercion
C) upward appeals
D) ingratiation

Question 11

__________ is/are always self-serving, while __________ is/are not necessarily self- serving.

A) Organizational politics...influence and power
B) Influence and power...organizational politics
C) Power and politics...influence
D) Influence...power and politics

Question 12

Tim says, "My boss is such a wonderful person. I admire her so much." Tim is most likely influenced by his boss's __________ power.

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

Question 13

Studies of supervisors' influence tactics indicate that __________ is moderately effective in influencing subordinates.

A) ingratiation
B) blocking
C) coalitions
D) sanctions

Question 14

Larry is the best mechanic in his racing team's pit crew. Everyone knows that Larry knows everything about cars, and because of this they will follow his orders. This is due to Larry's __________ power.

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

Question 15

Karen threatens her subordinates, telling them she will fire them unless productivity improves. This is an example of __________ power.

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

Question 16

"My boss is always making me do things outside of my job description," complains Marietta. "For example, each holiday she makes me purchase a gift for her husband. If I didn't do it, she would probably fire me." This is an example of the use of

A) influence.
B) power.
C) politics.
D) ingratiation.

Question 17

Praising or flattering others in an effort to get them to do something is an example of

A) assertiveness.
B) coercion.
C) upward appeals.
D) ingratiation.

Question 18

The use of some aspect of a work relationship in order to compel another to perform a certain action in spite of their resistance is termed

A) influence.
B) power.
C) politics.
D) ingratiation.

Question 19

__________ is usually exerted by using informal strategies such as persuasion or peer pressure.

A) Influence
B) Power
C) Politics
D) All of the above

Question 20

Two main types of power are

A) organizational and individual.
B) organizational and coercive.
C) individual and coercive.
D) ingratiation and organizational.

Question 21

The use of __________ is damaging to an organization.

A) functional lateral politics
B) functional vertical politics
C) dysfunctional influence
D) dysfunctional politics

Question 22

According to the dimensions of organizational politics, an employee who gives secret company information to a newspaper reporter would be engaging in __________ politics.

A) internal
B) external
C) vertical
D) subversive

Question 23

In a management-union labor strike, management's chief negotiator makes promises to the union that she cannot keep. This causes the union to withdraw their demands for a wage increase and go back to work. Later the promises are not kept and the relationship between the union and the company is permanently damaged, leading to high rates of turnover and decreased productivity. The negotiator's behavior is an example of

A) functional politics.
B) dysfunctional politics.
C) coercive power.
D) dysfunctional power.

Question 24

The organizational power of an individual can be increased by

A) increasing work-related expertise or knowledge.
B) ending relationships with higher ranking members.
C) standing alone and defying authority.
D) ignoring politics and influence tactics.

Question 25

Political behaviors typically involve the use of power or influence that

A) are not part of one's position or organizational role.
B) are intended to harm others.
C) occur only at the top levels of an organization.
D) are sanctioned by the top levels of the organization.

Question 26

The power base that is most strongly and consistently linked to member satisfaction with the person wielding the power is

A) reward power.
B) coercive power.
C) referent power.
D) expert power.

Question 27

When low power members band together to increase their power, this is an example of

A) referent power.
B) a coalition.
C) coercive power.
D) the power corollary.

Question 28

In regards to organizational power, it is clear that

A) two people at the same level in a hierarchy have the same amounts of power.
B) power is concentrated at the bottom levels of the organizational hierarchy.
C) power is only derived from organizational sources.
D) no two people in an organization have exactly equal power.

Question 29

The process by which organizational members are able to increase their sense of power and personal control in the work environment is

A) the power corollary.
B) power building.
C) formal power development.
D) empowerment.

Question 30

The power base that is most strongly and consistently related to effective job performance is

A) reward power.
B) coercive power.
C) referent power.
D) expert power.

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT usually a cause of organizational politics?

A) competition for power
B) compensation for inadequacies
C) increased use of group decision making
D) written policies and procedures

Question 32

Brianna is trying to increase her chances of being promoted to vice president by working to build good work relationships with other managers outside her own department. Brianna's behavior should be viewed as

A) dysfunctional politics.
B) coercive power.
C) functional politics.
D) functional influence.

Question 33

Individual political behavior that satisfies both an individual's "selfish" goals, and helps the organization to attain its goals would be called

A) functional politics.
B) legal politics.
C) functional power.
D) positive influence.

Question 34

A coworker reports an error you made to the manager. You are mad and get back at her by starting an ugly rumor about her. This is an illustration of

A) reciprocal power.
B) the power corollary.
C) illegal power.
D) illegitimate power.

Question 35

Ideally, an effective leader should possess

A) high levels of all five power bases.
B) referent power.
C) legitimate and coercive power.
D) reward and coercive power.

Question 36

Political behavior involving a worker criticizing company practices to people outside the organization is called

A) external-lateral political behavior.
B) rate setting.
C) mudslinging.
D) whistleblowing.

Question 37

Employees in the shipping and receiving department of ABC company have slowed down their work rate in an effort to force their supervisor to buy safe lifting equipment. This is most clearly an example of

A) dysfunctional political behavior.
B) illegal political behavior.
C) external political behavior.
D) legitimate political behavior.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a strategy for managing organizational politics?

A) Refusing to tolerate political behaviors
B) Removing ambiguity and uncertainty
C) Creating a positive organizational climate
D) Providing an over supply of resources

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a dimension of organizational politics?

A) Internal-external
B) Lateral-vertical
C) Upward-downward
D) Legitimate-illegitimate
E) All of the above are dimensions of organizational politics

Question 40

Gray and Ariss (1985) propose that politics vary across the stages of an organization's

A) marketing plan.
B) life cycle.
C) orientation.
D) establishment.

Question 41

The use of coercive power can lead to a decrease in expert power.

Question 42

One cause of organizational politics is the increased use of group decision making.

Question 43

Workers who are competent, hard-working, and dedicated typically advance in an organization without using influence and politics.

Question 44

Cobb's (1984) model focuses on

A) lateral political behaviors.
B) the use of power in actual work settings.
C) hierarchical variations in the use of power.
D) transactional power plays.

Question 45

In Gray and Ariss' (1985) contingency model of organizational politics, in the earliest stages of an organization, the manager should

A) allow complete group decision making.
B) form teams responsible for different resources.
C) wield absolute power.
D) bring in an I/O psychologist.

Question 46

Stanley has recently started the DEF Company. Viewed from a contingency framework, as DEF becomes an older and more established organization, its managers will probably

A) continue to use the same set of political behaviors.
B) stop engaging in political behaviors.
C) rarely resort to political behaviors.
D) adopt more of a "bargaining" political strategy.

Question 47

Cobb (1984) proposes a(n) __________ model of power.

A) longitudinal
B) dynamic
C) episodic
D) transactional

Question 48

Gaining work-related expertise can increase one's power in an organization.

Question 49

Organizational politics can take many forms and can even benefit the organization.

Question 50

Influence resides in the relationship between parties; power resides in the individuals themselves.

Question 51

The power corollary in organizations states that legitimate, reward, and coercive power tend to go together.

Question 52

There is no way to measure power bases.

Question 53

Power is rarely connected to effective leadership.

Question 54

Written procedures and job descriptions typically reduce organizational politics.

Question 55

Expert power is becoming ever more important in today's work settings.

Question 56

Expert power is a type of organizational power.

Question 57

According to Cobb's episodic model of power, the ability to influence is more important than power in a formal situation.

Question 58

Referent power is the formal rights or authority that a person holds because of his or her position of importance in an organization.

Question 59

One way to increase power is to increase dependency on other people.

Question 60

Unlike influence, power is a consistent force that exists across time and situations.

Question 61

Describe the various causes of organizational politics.

Question 62

Describe functional and dysfunctional organizational politics, and dimensions of organizational political behavior.

Question 63

Describe various behaviors associated with different influence tactics.

Question 64

Describe the similarities and differences among organizational influence, power, and politics.

Question 65

Discuss the relationships between power and leadership.

Question 66

Describe how organizations can manage the occurrence of organizational politics.

Question 67

Define and give examples of the five power bases described by French and Raven.

Question 68

Discuss ways to increase power in organizations.