Deck 5: Contingency and Situational Leadership

Question 1

If a leader wants to practice the path-goal theory of leadership, he should be prepared to compensate for the deficiencies of subordinates.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

According to Fiedler's theory, task-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of high control and low control.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Situations shape not only how leaders behave, but also the consequences of leader behavior.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

When asked about leadership effectiveness, an executive said, in part, "The length of the leash varies with different people. . . ." The executive's comments support the _____ perspective on leadership.

A) contingency
B) relationship-oriented
C) task-oriented
D) universal theory

Question 5

A success factor for the leader of an organization or a key organizational unit is to think strategically, including visualizing the big picture.

Question 6

A major proposition of the path-goal theory is that the leader should engage in behaviors that run counter to the subordinates' environment and abilities.

Question 7

Branch manager Marissa uses evidence-based leadership when she accuses subordinates of wrongdoing, especially when she can heavily document her accusations.

Question 8

According to Fiedler's theory, relationship-motivated leaders perform the best in situations of low control.

Question 9

In the situational leadership model II, the key contingency factor is the development level of group members as determined by commitment and competence.

Question 10

The contingency approach to leadership explains that leaders are most effective when they:

A) plan for emergencies before they occur.
B) attune their behavior to situational forces.
C) follow universal managerial principles when faced with contingencies.
D) create backup plans to deal with human resources problems.

Question 11

According to the path-goal theory, the participative style is recommended when group members are performing repetitive tasks.

Question 12

An important situational factor in the normative model is the importance of commitment.

Question 13

Contingency theories of leadership specify the personal characteristics of the leader that will contribute to effectiveness in a wide variety of situations.

Question 14

According to the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, it is not recommended that low-level employees should be evaluated to find ways to enhance their work satisfaction.

Question 15

Baxter, a chief operating officer, practices contingency leadership when he:

A) warns workers in advance about potential punishments.
B) maintains an optimistic, positive attitude.
C) challenges the use of new technologies.
D) discards old ideas that no longer fit the situational forces.

Question 16

To influence performance and satisfaction of subordinates, it is not recommended that the leader reduce frustrating barriers to reaching goals, because overcoming obstacles is the only way to increase employee confidence long-term.

Question 17

In the normative decision model, decision significance is defined as the significance of the decision to the success of the project or organization.

Question 18

An example of a situational force in leadership is group member characteristics.

Question 19

The achievement-oriented leadership style works well with group members working on ambiguous and nonrepetitive tasks.

Question 20

An ineffective way to lead an organization through a crisis is to strongly defend yourself against your critics or deny wrongdoing.

Question 21

Which one of the following is a recommended approach to leadership during a crisis?

A) Micromanage small details
B) Lead with compassion
C) Be a transactional leader
D) Be indecisive

Question 22

Which one of the following is the most recommended approach to leadership during a crisis?

A) Lead with compassion.
B) Focus on small-scale details over the big picture.
C) Move group members away from their usual work routine.
D) Choose a circle-the-wagons mentality.

Question 23

The primary purpose of disaster planning is to:

A) reduce the financial costs of a crisis.
B) practice transformational leadership skills.
C) minimize leadership's liability for a crisis.
D) prevent a crisis.

Question 24

According to the normative decision model, leaders must choose a style that brings about the correct degree of _____ when making decisions.

A) group participation
B) group motivation
C) goal setting
D) job satisfaction

Question 25

In situations where leaders treat subordinates differently, team performance has been shown to be most negatively impacted when those subordinates have:

A) poor exchanges with the leader.
B) good exchanges with the leader.
C) indifferent exchanges with the leader.
D) low opinions of their boss's work ethic.

Question 26

The situational factors in the normative decision model are known as:

A) commitment requirements.
B) decision-making styles.
C) characteristics of the leader.
D) problem variables.

Question 27

Following Fiedler's contingency model, a leader can increase situational control by:

A) decreasing the task structure for group members.
B) creating conflict between himself or herself and group members.
C) increasing his or her position power.
D) increasing the demands on group members.

Question 28

One suggestion to the leader based on path-goal theory is for the leader to:

A) give people careful instructions, even when they can perform the task well.
B) encourage group members to provide their own structure.
C) purposely make ambiguous the path between goal attainment and receiving a reward.
D) reduce frustrating barriers to reaching goals.

Question 29

_____ is not a contingency factor that affects the decision-making style chosen in the normative decision model.

A) Decision significance
B) Leader expertise
C) Group expertise
D) Financial feasibility

Question 30

According to the normative decision model, group support refers to:

A) the likelihood that the team might commit to a company-wide decision.
B) team members' knowledge or expertise in relation to the problem.
C) the degree to which the team supports the organization's objectives at stake in the problem.
D) the ability of team members to work together in solving problems.

Question 31

The general point of Fiedler's contingency theory of leadership is that the best style of leadership is determined by:

A) the leader's personality.
B) how well the leader gets along with group members.
C) a balance of task and relationship factors.
D) the situation in which a leader works.

Question 32

In path-goal theory, the participative leader is best suited for improving the morale of:

A) well-motivated employees who perform repetitive tasks.
B) well-motivated employees who perform nonrepetitive tasks.
C) poorly-motivated employees who perform repetitive tasks.
D) poorly-motivated employees who perform nonrepetitive tasks.

Question 33

Division manager Pedro believes strongly in the path-goal theory of leadership, so he engages in behaviors that:

A) have a high probability of winning.
B) set quite high goals for all subordinates.
C) complement subordinate characteristics and task demands.
D) follow a logical path.

Question 34

In path-goal theory, the directive leader improves morale when:

A) group members perform repetitive tasks.
B) group members are highly motivated.
C) there is ample time for task completion.
D) the task is unclear and vague.

Question 35

A _____ perspective is that the leader's behavior is profoundly influenced by the situation.

A) path-goal leadership
B) contingency leadership
C) normative decision model
D) middle of the road management

Question 36

The general thrust of path-goal theory is to specify what a leader must do to:

A) make a directive style of leadership acceptable.
B) achieve high productivity and morale in a given situation.
C) improve the work attitudes of group members.
D) make the situation more favorable.

Question 37

Contingency leadership theorists believe that in terms of shaping the leader's behavior, _____.

A) forces in the situation are much more important that the leader's personal characteristics.
B) the internal environment is more critical than the external environment.
C) the leadership situation has a negligible influence.
D) the leader's personal characteristics have a negligible influence.

Question 38

During a crisis, it is recommended that the leader:

A) take lots of time weighing options and formulating a plan.
B) act autocratically and emotionlessly to get a plan off the ground.
C) focus on minute details of the day-to-day recovery effort.
D) communicate widely about the problem.

Question 39

The ______ leader enhances morale when group members work on stressful or frustrating tasks by displaying concern for group members' well-being.

A) supportive
B) directive
C) achievement oriented
D) participative

Question 40

In Fiedler's contingency theory, an important dimension for rating situation favorability is:

A) position power.
B) leader-member relations.
C) personal power.
D) task structure.

Question 41

George and Jonathan are the production and marketing managers of a firm. While George is optimistic to work out the issues of his least preferred coworker, Jonathan is adamant that the least preferred coworker in his team has to be replaced. In this case, which of the following statements is true?

A) Both George and Jonathan are task motivated leaders.
B) George is relationship motivated , while Jonathan is task motivated.
C) Jonathan is relationship motivated, while George is task motivated.
D) Both George and Jonathan are relationship motivated.

Question 42

Craig, a sales manager, has been asked to explain the under-performance of his team in the previous financial year. Instead of understanding and working on resolving the team's issues, Craig comes up with a number of defensive statements and denies wrongdoing from his team's part. This is known as _____ the problem.

A) stonewalling
B) debasing
C) ingratiating
D) reinforcing

Question 43

Adapting to changing times is most important for which approach to leadership?

A) Leadership grid
B) Charismatic
C) Trait approach
D) Contingency approach

Question 44

Which of the following serves as an example of evidence-based leadership?

A) The management decides to refer to best management practices from the past to find a solution to the issue at hand.
B) The management decides to collect feedback from employees about the existing compensation policy.
C) The management decides to carry out job appraisal of individual employees.
D) The management decides to keep a check on politics in the firm.

Question 45

Alfred intends to follow a directive style of leadership among his team members. In the context of the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, which of the following situations would have made Alfred stick to a directive leadership style?

A) The team is given orders to improve its performance; however, the exact sales revenue that the team should bring in is unclear.
B) A few group members have gone through an emotionally disturbing phase and they need emotional support from the leader.
C) Each group member has a thorough knowledge of their individual contributions to the team, making the task of the leader easier.
D) The team has been performing exceptionally well, and therefore further focus will be on building relationships with members of the team.

Question 46

In times of crisis, Stacy, an effective leader, addresses the inevitable drop in performance and productivity by:

A) having employees look only at the big picture and not smaller chunks of the problem.
B) quickly reworking the core values on which the company operates.
C) pushing her employees to return to their normal work and routines.
D) expressing a defensive, circle-the-wagons mentality.

Question 47

Rohan is asked by his supervisors to study (1) the contingency approach to leadership and (2) the path-goal model, in the hopes of implementing the essential tactics drawn from both theories. Provide a descriptive database that will help Rohan make a decision in this regard.

Question 48

Annette's team has been able to meet the production target of 20,000 units per year. In the next financial year, Annette sets a target of 25,000 units for the team. Accordingly, the team's individual targets are set to increase. In the context of the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, Annette is following the _____ of leadership.

A) directive and controlling style
B) supportive style
C) participative style
D) achievement oriented style

Question 49

A consultative or collaborative decision-making style is likely to bring about the best results when:

A) the problem is clearly defined.
B) the leader needs information from team members to solve a problem in hand.
C) team members' acceptance of the decision is incomplete.
D) there is urgency in decision making.

Question 50

Who among the following is not practicing evidence-based leadership?

A) Ryan, who relies heavily on common sense and adopting practices used by other companies
B) Brian, who makes a habit of studying leadership practices in companies similar to his own
C) Rahul, who regularly refers to new research in the field of leadership studies
D) Milan, who translates principles based on best evidence into organizational practices

Question 51

Which of the following is true of leadership during a crisis?

A) It is important to prevent potential crisis through disaster planning.
B) It is important to think tactically and have short term goals to avoid any crisis.
C) It is important that the work is flexible and nonroutine, to prevent crisis.
D) It is important to be a transactional, and not a transformational leader, to minimize crisis.

Question 52

Jonathan has to make use of the path-goal theory to adopt a specific style of leadership in his team. He consults with his superior for help. In this case, give a picture of what Jonathan's superior might suggest.

Question 53

A key part of evidence-based leadership or management is to:

A) keep a log of the mistakes of subordinates.
B) justify asking for an increased budget.
C) prove that your decision was the right one.
D) translate principles into practice.

Question 54

Who among the following is providing sound crisis leadership?

A) Milan, who expects her employees to adapt to a crisis even without proper planning beforehand
B) Ryan, who remains calm and stable even when the situation seems most dire
C) Aftab, who believes that pessimism is the most realistic reaction to a crisis and will avoid the worst consequences
D) Linda, who spends most of her energy focusing on defending her group against criticism for causing the crisis

Question 55

Kevin announces that starting next financial year, 25% of his team members' salaries will depend on their performance. His team members had no say in this process. In the context of the normative decision model, Kevin demonstrates _____.

A) facilitating
B) deciding
C) delegating
D) consulting

Question 56

Ayan, the newly appointed team manager of the sales team, practices autocratic leadership in his team. However, his team members who are quite experienced and equipped in their fields are not satisfied with the style of leadership practiced by Ayan, particularly that he doesn't seek consensus in many of his decisions, which negatively affects team productivity. This scenario depicts the violation of _____.

A) a contingency approach to leadership
B) a strict authoritarian approach to leadership
C) a liberal authoritarian approach to leadership
D) a middle of the road approach to leadership

Question 57

Plant manager Kristina practices evidence-based leadership when she:

A) uses leadership practices proven to be effective.
B) carefully documents poor performance.
C) asks group members to justify their claims.
D) maintains a log of her interactions with group members.

Question 58

Alan used to follow a libertarian leadership style. He recently decided to become stricter toward productivity targets as a result of fluctuations in the market, even though this leadership style goes against his natural inclinations. He does this in order to make his team more task-oriented. This is an example of _____.

A) leaders using debasement techniques
B) situations shaping how leaders behave
C) leaders using techniques of ingratiation
D) dividing the group into in-group and out-group

Question 59

Which of the following is true of a delegating decision making style?

A) The leader works behind the scene to provide resources and encouragement.
B) The leader makes decisions for the group.
C) The leader directly intervenes in group deliberations.
D) The leader sells his decisions.

Question 60

Vroom, the sales manager of a major advertising firm, has tried implementing the path-goal theory among his teammates. However, on further analysis, he studies the details of the normative decision model in order to apply its key concepts as well. What would be the five key decision-making styles from the normative model from which Vroom can choose a strategy for his team?