Deck 5: Groups and Organizations

Question 1

John is a college student who admired his professors and began to dress and speak like them. For John, college professors are his

A) primary group.
B) secondary group.
C) reference group.
D) in-group.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Prior to launching the space shuttle Challenger, many project scientists reported a wide variety of problems, but the management team ignored them and launched the space craft. This management decision is an example of

A) risk shift thinking.
B) primary group loyalty.
C) groupthink.
D) equalitarian leadership.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The privilege that allows leaders to deviate from their groupʹs norms is called the

A) normative privilege.
B) expressive privilege.
C) idiosyncrasy credit.
D) leadership credit.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a cohesive in-group?

A) the use of symbols such as names, slogans, or badges
B) the use of positive stereotypes to view themselves
C) inner tensions and problems of unity
D) the tendency to compete with outgroups

Question 5

Families, friends, and schoolmates are examples of social

A) groups.
B) classes.
C) categories.
D) aggregates.

Question 6

When a group is made of people from different ethnic backgrounds and genders, it

A) usually falls apart.
B) forms a secondary group.
C) can devise more ways of solving problems.
D) becomes overwhelmed with personal problems.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about groups and organizations is true?

A) Cooperation can end hostility, and hostile groups can be made to cooperate.
B) Cooperation cannot end hostility because the hostile parties cannot be made to cooperate in the first place.
C) In a group, you will never accept the view of others when you are certain it is wrong.
D) Bureaucracies in modern societies are so huge that they cannot be managed efficiently.

Question 8

At the beginning of Muzafer Sherifʹs famous robber cave experiment, a group of boys arrived at a summer camp. At that point they were a social category because they

A) were members of outgroups.
B) had not yet interacted with each other.
C) were tired.
D) came from different social backgrounds.

Question 9

Jane was in charge of a difficult project in a large office. She was a tough leader and kept pushing people to accomplish the projectʹs goals. She would be an example of an) type of leader.

A) social
B) expressive
C) obnoxious
D) instrumental

Question 10

A group that a person belongs to and identifies with is called

A) a reference group.
B) a collective group.
C) an outgroup.
D) an ingroup.

Question 11

Ten people turned out for a campaign committee meeting to assist a candidate running for mayor. None of the participants knew each other prior to the meeting but began to work together planning campaign strategy. The ten people are now

A) a primary group.
B) a secondary group.
C) an aggregate.
D) a bureaucracy.

Question 12

While the term ʺgroupʺ refers to the people who make it up, the term ʺnetworkʺ focuses on

A) impression management strategies and social interaction.
B) the various statuses in the group.
C) the institutional levels of group life.
D) the relationships among the members.

Question 13

If a collection of people share some characteristics, interact with each other, and have some feelings of unity, they make up an)

A) reference group.
B) aggregate.
C) formal organization.
D) social group.

Question 14

Which of the following situations most likely illustrates a primary relationship?

A) a family enjoying a picnic at the beach
B) a group of men jogging along the beach
C) people buying food from a vendor
D) the persons responsible for cleaning and managing the beach

Question 15

Tom Brown was the supervisor of a group of computer programmers. He provided support if needed, but generally allowed members of his group to work by themselves. His leadership style would be called.

A) authoritarian.
B) democratic.
C) laissez-faire.
D) expressive.

Question 16

As the size of a group performing a task increases, each member tends to work less hard. Sociologists call this tendency

A) social responsibility.
B) social loafing.
C) social laziness.
D) social ingenuity.

Question 17

Which of the following is an advantage of primary groups?

A) They help people to surround their primary relationships with secondary relationships.
B) They help people meet their basic human needs for intimacy and security.
C) They can help link people to a wider network of contacts and job possibilities.
D) They can pressure people to rely more on friends than acquaintances.

Question 18

Alice and Jake are new in town and are searching for a physician. They ask friends and associates at work to recommend someone. They are

A) making use of their network.
B) making use of their reference group.
C) engaging in groupthink.
D) building a reference group.

Question 19

The kind of leader in a small group that is concerned with membersʹ feelings and group cohesiveness is called the

A) expressive leader.
B) instrumental leader.
C) popular leader.
D) task specialist.

Question 20

In a social network, a node is a

A) line.
B) link.
C) person or group.
D) kind of relationship.

Question 21

is a modern Western organization defined as being rational in achieving its goal efficiently.

A) Bureaucracy
B) Corporate culture
C) Formal structure
D) The corporation

Question 22

The Pentagon is an example of

A) an informal organization.
B) a formal organization.
C) a secondary group.
D) all of the above.

Question 23

Which of the following statements best applies to Elton Mayoʹs human relations model or organization?

A) Workersʹ productivity is determined by their intelligence.
B) Some workers cannot increase their productivity.
C) Noneconomic rewards can be important motivations for workers.
D) Specialization is not always necessary at work.

Question 24

Collectivist organizations encourage workers to be more productive and to work harder because of a policy known as

A) idealization.
B) formal structure.
C) rationalization.
D) participatory democracy.

Question 25

The key to increased productivity in todayʹs organizations is not, as Frederick Taylor assumed, in the formal organization, but in the

A) informal relationships of workers.
B) social networks of management.
C) formal relationships between management and workers.
D) none of the above

Question 26

Organizational culture, or more popularly called ʺcorporateʺ culture, consists of

A) members shared definitions of the organization.
B) members belief that they are special.
C) members shared ideas about competition.
D) members shared ideas about management.

Question 27

The three types of power the rank and files of a formal organization include all of the following EXCEPT

A) alienative.
B) calculative.
C) normative.
D) moral.

Question 28

In a utilitarian organization, the major type of power is power.

A) coercive
B) remunerative
C) normative
D) expressive

Question 29

Larry was a manager of a large factory. His job was to maximize production, and he developed an elaborate division of labor and carefully defined each task. He was probably following the model of organization.

A) scientific management
B) human relations
C) ideal-type bureaucracy
D) collectivist

Question 30

All of the following are features of large, formal organizations, EXCEPT for

A) a division of labor.
B) primary group relations.
C) elaborate rules and regulations.
D) specific, clearly stated goals.

Question 31

Karl Marxʹs collectivist organization model predicts that

A) bureaucracies will eventually be abolished.
B) bureaucracies are inevitable.
C) bureaucracies exploit the middle class.
D) workers will someday be paid more than managers.

Question 32

Research has discovered several reasons why corporate culture can help organizations succeed. Which of the following statements is NOT one of those reasons?

A) It promotes the ideas that working for a company is wonderful.
B) It promotes the belief that everybody should be treated equally.
C) It provides for part ownership of a companyʹs assets by employees.
D) It supports the culture in the form of recognitions and rewards.

Question 33

Which of the following statements does NOT belong to the functionalist perspective on organizations?

A) Organizations are essentially free of human conflict.
B) Members of organizations come together to cooperate in achieving a common goal.
C) Conflict and inequality occur in every organization.
D) Scientifically managed organizations reflect the functionalist perspective.

Question 34

The tendency for members of a cohesive group to maintain a consensus to the extent of ignoring the truth.

A) expressive think
B) groupthink
C) instrumental think
D) Parkinsonʹs think

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a kind of power available to higher participants to exercise control over lower participants, according to Amitai Etzioniʹs typology of organizations?

A) coercive power
B) remunerative power
C) normative power
D) instrumental power

Question 36

If you are a sociologist interested in studying how peopleʹs definitions of their activities and situations shape the operation of organizations, you are utilizing the perspective.

A) symbolic interactionist
B) conflict
C) functionalist
D) feminist

Question 37

The purpose of Amitai Etzioniʹs typology of organizations is to

A) illustrate the tensions that exist between primary and secondary groups.
B) defend and explain Max Weberʹs set of ideal types.
C) sort out the essential differences among the thousands of organizations.
D) state which principles of management apply to different organizations.

Question 38

According to the perspective on organizations, the practice of equality can help ensure organizational success.

A) functional
B) conflict
C) democratic
D) symbolic interactionist

Question 39

Based on Judy Rosenerʹs landmark study, which of the following is true of most successful female executives?

A) They use a ʺcommand and controlʺ way of dealing with subordinates.
B) They prefer an intuitive, anti-hierarchical style of management.
C) They utilize instrumental styles of leadership.
D) They are paid as much as men for successful management jobs.

Question 40

According to the scientific management model, the primary goal of an organization is to

A) facilitate group achievement.
B) rationalize production.
C) stress the informal structure of an organization.
D) maximize efficiency.

Question 41

Melvin Kohnʹs studies of bureaucratic workers found that compared with nonbureaucratic workers they are

A) less creative.
B) closed-minded.
C) intellectually flexible.
D) less intelligent.

Question 42

Social network is

A) a group to which an individual is strongly tied to its members
B) a collection of people who interact with one another and have a certain feeling of unity.
C) a web of social relationships that link individuals or groups to one another.
D) a group with limited membership.

Question 43

People in the United States have become willing to put up with invasive practices that involve the loss of personal privacy for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A) increased national security.
B) a productive workforce.
C) increased telemarketers.
D) keeping jobs.

Question 44

The addition of only one person to a group greatly increases the number of relationships.

Question 45

A student at a large public university who wants to take an unusual combination of courses is most likely to encounter a great deal of bureaucratic rules and form-filing. This is because bureaucracies are designed

A) for the unique and unusual cases.
B) for the typical, not unusual cases.
C) to treat people as cases.
D) as a specialized network of officials.

Question 46

The Peter principle is the observation that ʺ In every hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.

Question 47

Instrumental leaders are leaders who achieve group harmony by making others feel good.

Question 48

Reference group is

A) a collection of people who interact with one another and have a certain feeling of unity.
B) a group that is used as a frame of reference for evaluating oneʹs own behavior.
C) a web of social relationships that link individuals or groups to one another.
D) a group to which an individual is strongly tied as a member.

Question 49

Traditionalism has contributed to organizational efficiency in many Asian societies because of its emphasis on

A) a strong, hierarchical management style.
B) individualism and individual achievement.
C) the greater use of computers to control workers.
D) traditional group values and group achievement.

Question 50

The group to which an individual is strongly tied as a member is called an).

A) primary group
B) in-group
C) out-group
D) secondary group

Question 51

In actual bureaucracies, adherence to rules and regulations

A) always increases efficiency.
B) always decreases efficiency.
C) increases efficiency when tasks are unpredictable.
D) increases efficiency when tasks are stable and routine.

Question 52

Having a network of friends and relatives can only bring joy and chase away loneliness, worries, and trouble, especially for widows.

Question 53

When traditional, spontaneous, informal, or diverse ways of doing things are replaced by a planned and unified method, a process of occurs.

A) idealization
B) groupthink
C) rationalization
D) bureaucratization

Question 54

A social network is a web of social relationships that link individuals or groups to one another.

Question 55

Max Weber and other experts assumed that traditionalism in non-Western societies would always result in

A) less efficient organizations and economies.
B) individualism and individual achievement.
C) sensitivity, but not efficiency.
D) traditional group values and group achievement.

Question 56

Rationalization is Max Weberʹs term for the process of replacing subjective, spontaneous, informal, and diverse ways of doing things with a planned, objective, formally unified method based on abstract rules.

Question 57

A social network acts as a support system for its members.

Question 58

The feminist model emphasizes personal relationships and emotional support in organizations.

Question 59

The scientific management model of industrial organization suggests that a company can achieve maximum productivity if its workers do a simple repetitive task under close supervision.

Question 60

When we look for a job, we can get more help from friends than acquaintances.

Question 61

is a number of people who happen to be in one place but do not interact with one another.

Question 62

In a group situation, you will never accept someone elseʹs view when you are certain that it is wrong.

Question 63

Idiosyncrasy credit is the privileges that allows leaders to deviate from their groupʹs norms.

Question 64

The observation that ʺwork expands to fill the time available for its completionʺ is known as
Law.

Question 65

Jane is a nursing student who reads books about the life of nurses, and uses nursing expressions when talking to her friends. For her, nurses are her .

Question 66

is the observation that ʺ work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

Question 67

A social is a collection of people who interact with one another and have certain feelings of unity.

Question 68

is leaders who let others do their work more or less on their own.

Question 69

According to a major child-care study published in 2007, there is and bad news about what childcare centers can do to children.

Question 70

The in-group is a group of which an individual is not a member.

Question 71

In view, bureaucracy is inescapable but not very likable.

Question 72

According to , capitalist organizations-or business corporations- are the capitalistsʹ tool for exploiting the working class.

Question 73

According to 1975), virtually every organization includes higher participants such as the administrators) and lower participants the rank file).

Question 74

Universally known for their politeness, the Japanese find it easy to be polite to fellow passengers on a crowded train.

Question 75

The group to which an individual is strongly tied as a member is called the personʹs .

Question 76

and wrote the book ʺThe Power of Niceʺ

Question 77

The term refers to the tendency for group members to maintain consensus even if it means ignoring the truth.

Question 78

In every area of modern life there is a tendency toward , Weberʹs term for the process of replacing subjective, spontaneous, informal, and diverse ways of doing things with a planned, objective, formally unified method based on abstract rules.

Question 79

A nice, compassionate person will help a victim whether or not others are around.

Question 80

Herb, Joe, and Judy routinely meet for breakfast to discuss how to solve problems and promote work in the office. Their meetings are part of their companyʹs organization.