Deck 12: Power, politics, and Ethics

Question 1

Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests that certain types of activities lead to power.Which of the following activities is not likely to lead to power acquisition?

A)Extraordinary activities
B)Visible activities
C)Charitable activities
D)Relevant activities
E)Exceptional performance in non-routine activities

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Empowerment occurs when people are given ________ to take the initiative and solve organizational problems.

A)excessive power
B)authority,opportunity,and motivation
C)orders
D)employees
E)assertiveness training

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to David McClelland,the most effective managers

A)have a high need for personal power.
B)have a high need for affiliation.
C)are institutional managers.
D)are concerned with being well-liked.
E)use coercive power extensively.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Referent power is especially potent because

A)it stems from identification with the power holder.
B)few people have it.
C)its absence may lead to cognitive dissonance.
D)it is perfectly correlated with coercive power.
E)it is perfectly correlated with expert power.

Question 5

A well-liked Nobel Prize winner has considerable influence among the members of his scientific research team.This person is high on which two bases of social power?

A)Legitimate and referent
B)Coercive and reward
C)Legitimate and coercive
D)Reward and expert
E)Referent and expert

Question 6

Coercive power

A)is often associated with workgroup ineffectiveness.
B)is perfectly correlated with legitimate power.
C)is available when the power holder can exert influence by providing positive outcomes.
D)can only be applied by higher level organizational members to lower level members.
E)is generally effective at reducing employee resistance.

Question 7

An example of empowerment at work is approaching the service desk and hearing:

A)"Sorry! I don't have the authority to solve that problem."
B)"Let me refund your money in full."
C)"That's not my job."
D)"I'll tell my boss about this."
E)"I just need to get my supervisor's signature."

Question 8

A military commander who is well liked and admired by his troops is leading them on a highly structured mission.We can be certain that the commander is high on two bases or power.What are they?

A)Legitimate and referent
B)Reward and expert
C)Coercive and expert
D)Information and reward
E)Referent and coercive

Question 9

I have referent power over you.This means that

A)I know something you don't want made public.
B)I have a skill that you admire.
C)I like you.
D)you like me.
E)you dislike me.

Question 10

Legitimate power

A)is a function of one's formal organizational role.
B)is less important than the other power bases.
C)is applied equally by all those who possess it.
D)exists when the power holder is well liked by others.
E)is perfectly correlated with coercive power.

Question 11

Two army officers get into an argument,and one cites his rank in an attempt to settle the matter.To which power base is he resorting?

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

Question 12

Which base of individual power is most consistently associated with employee effectiveness?

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

Question 13

Which base of individual power is most closely associated with one's position or job in the organization?

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

Question 14

Behaviours that are used to convert power into actual influence are called

A)authority.
B)influence tactics.
C)empowerment.
D)power bases.
E)Machiavellian tactics.

Question 15

According to David McClelland,institutional managers

A)are very concerned with how much others like them.
B)have a high need for power.
C)use their power to further their self-interests and work against organizational goals.
D)adopt a directive and coercive leadership style.
E)are more likely to succeed in public sector organizations.

Question 16

Power is defined as

A)the capacity to influence others who are in a state of dependence.
B)a process of antagonism that occurs when one person or organizational subunit frustrates the goal attainment of another.
C)the joint occurrence of antagonism and blocked goals.
D)using influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the organization or to obtain sanctioned ends through nonsanctioned means.
E)establishing good connections with key organizational members in order to achieve one's goals.

Question 17

Which of the following statements concerning power is false?

A)Power can flow in any direction in an organization.
B)Power is not always exercised.
C)Because the target of power is dependent upon the power holder,a poor relationship necessarily exists between the two.
D)Power is a broad concept that applies to individuals,groups,and subunits.
E)Two individuals can have power over each other.

Question 18

The relationship between performance and empowerment suggests which of the following relationships?

A)Low power-effective performance
B)High power-effective performance
C)Sufficient power-effective performance
D)Legitimate power-expert performance
E)None of the above

Question 19

Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests that ________ activities lead to the acquisition of power.

A)charitable
B)fiscal
C)extraordinary
D)Machiavellian
E)unethical

Question 20

Which of the following is not an influence tactic?

A)assertiveness
B)ingratiation
C)coalition formation
D)rationality
E)Machiavellianism

Question 21

"High Machs"

A)tend to be loners and don't form coalitions with others.
B)act in an exceedingly emotional manner.
C)do not feel guilty about their Machiavellian behaviour.
D)never assume that people are gullible.
E)try to avoid face-to-face interactions as much as possible.

Question 22

Ethical questions usually revolve around the impact of organizational politics on various

A)stakeholders.
B)subunits.
C)Machiavellians.
D)networks.
E)managers.

Question 23

Which subunit controls strategic contingencies?

A)The one that can contract out the most work.
B)The one that is most isolated from the other units.
C)The one that is most peripheral to the workflow.
D)The one that can obtain scarce resources.
E)The one that is most substitutable.

Question 24

Which of the following statements depicts a subunit controlling strategic contingencies?

A)Last month,there was almost no absenteeism in the production department.
B)The finance department spoke strongly against reorganizing the company.
C)The marketing department's success saved the company from bankruptcy.
D)The data processing department saved considerable money by contracting out certain services.
E)The human resources manager recruited two new management trainees.

Question 25

What kind of power is most likely to be ineffective?

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

Question 26

The text defines organizational politics as the

A)capacity to influence others.
B)pursuit of self-interest.
C)creation of a network.
D)changing of a culture.
E)use of power to coerce others.

Question 27

Critical factors that affect organizational effectiveness are known as

A)strategic enforcers.
B)strategic influence.
C)strategic contingencies.
D)power contingencies.
E)influence tactics.

Question 28

According to David McClelland,the most effective managers do not

A)use their power to achieve organizational goals.
B)have a high need for power.
C)show a high degree of concern about how much others like them.
D)adopt a participative or coaching style of leadership.
E)clarify organizational priorities for subordinates.

Question 29

Using not-sanctioned means to pursue not-sanctioned ends is an example of

A)networking.
B)organizational politics.
C)the control of strategic contingencies.
D)conflict resolution.
E)ethical behaviour.

Question 30

A political network could include

A)peers.
B)subordinates.
C)people outside one's organization.
D)superiors.
E)All of the above

Question 31

The manager who agrees to recommend a raise for an employee if she increases her net sales by 30 percent is using ________ means to achieve ________ ends.

A)sanctioned; not-sanctioned
B)sanctioned; sanctioned
C)not-sanctioned; not-sanctioned
D)not-sanctioned; sanctioned
E)unethical; ethical

Question 32

Research on corporate codes of business ethics reveals that

A)confidentiality of personal information has the most consensus.
B)contractual and legally mandated issues has the most consensus.
C)whistle-blowing has the most consensus.
D)sexual harassment has the most consensus.
E)employee privacy has the most consensus.

Question 33

A manager with a high need for personal power

A)will be the most effective manager.
B)will avoid using organizational politics.
C)will avoid using that power to influence others.
D)will use their power for personal gain.
E)will not be concerned with status symbols.

Question 34

Which of the following statements concerning organizational politics is true?

A)Political activity is self-conscious and intentional.
B)Political activity cannot be beneficial to the organization.
C)Political activity is solely an individual activity,not a group or subunit activity.
D)Political activity involves placing organizational interests before self-interest.
E)Political activity cannot be countered by those with different agendas.

Question 35

The most effective strategy for neutralizing a "high Mach" co-worker is to

A)try to make him feel guilty.
B)expose her tactics and thus embarrass her.
C)interact with him in a formal,structured manner.
D)become highly emotional and thus unnerve her.
E)meet face-to-face.

Question 36

"High Machs" tend to be

A)moralistic individuals.
B)impractical people.
C)convincing liars.
D)gullible individuals.
E)low self-monitors.

Question 37

________ managers use their power for self-interest,whereas ________ managers are more concerned with being liked than with exercising power.

A)Personal power; affiliative
B)Institutional; affiliative
C)Affiliative; personal power
D)Personal power; institutional
E)Affiliative; institutional

Question 38

If you gain power by controlling strategic contingencies,you are most likely

A)drawing new customers to the firm.
B)acting unethically.
C)exhibiting Machiavellianism.
D)similar to McClelland's personal power managers.
E)exercising coercive power.

Question 39

The ideal situation for "high Machs" is one where

A)the "high Mach" can deal with those to be influenced face-to-face.
B)the interaction occurs under fairly emotional circumstances.
C)the situation is fairly unstructured.
D)few guidelines for appropriate forms of interaction have been established.
E)All of the above

Question 40

Which of the following conditions will not add to a subunit's power in the organization?

A)The work it performs can be contracted out.
B)It can reduce organizational uncertainty.
C)The work it performs is central to the organization's goals.
D)It can secure scarce resources.
E)The work it performs has an immediate impact on others.

Question 41

If you do favours for others and stress the obligations of others to you,what are you doing?

A)Bolstering your political network
B)Increasing your referent power
C)Coalition formation
D)Assertiveness
E)Buffing

Question 42

You have a new friend at work who has impressed you.He seems to be very good at observing others and he seems able to tune into their needs and motives.He can "read" people and seems to have emotional intelligence and knows how to present himself to others.What skill does your new friend possess?

A)Assertiveness
B)Ingratiation
C)Networking ability
D)Interpersonal influence
E)Social astuteness

Question 43

Which of the following is a defensive behaviour used to avoid blame for the consequences of some behaviour?

A)Stalling
B)Overconforming
C)Buffing
D)Buck passing
E)Ingratiation

Question 44

The most frequent perpetrators of sexual harassment are

A)supervisors.
B)customers.
C)top management.
D)subordinates.
E)co-workers.

Question 45

The text defined ethics as

A)acting morally.
B)systematic thinking about the moral consequences of decisions.
C)making decisions in such a way that the rights of all parties are considered.
D)a major step in the rational decision-making model.
E)reactive politics in organizations.

Question 46

Behaviour is likely to be most ethical under conditions of ________ competition.

A)high
B)low
C)medium
D)high or low
E)friendly

Question 47

The most severe forms of sexual harassment are committed by

A)coworkers.
B)supervisors.
C)customers.
D)subordinates.
E)top management.

Question 48

Research indicates that

A)formal education in ethics has little impact on ethical attitudes.
B)extreme competition reduces unethical behaviour.
C)business students have higher ethical standards than practising managers.
D)people with strong economic values seem prone to unethical behaviour.
E)managers view themselves as having looser ethical standards than their peers.

Question 49

Research indicates that among business students,

A)undergraduates have been found to be more ethical than MBA students.
B)undergraduates have been found to be just as ethical as MBA students.
C)undergraduates have been found to be just as unethical as MBA students.
D)MBA students have been found to be just as ethical as undergraduates.
E)undergraduates have been found to be more ethical than top managers.

Question 50

Which of the following is an example of an influence tactic?

A)Buffing
B)Buck passing
C)Ingratiation
D)Stalling
E)Overconforming

Question 51

The definition of political skills includes what two aspects?

A)Comprehending others and translating comprehension into action
B)Comprehending others and translating comprehension into influence
C)Comprehending others and translating comprehension into power
D)Influencing others and translating influence into personal gain
E)Influencing others and translating influence into self-interest

Question 52

Which of the following is a defensive behaviour that is used to avoid taking action?

A)Scapegoating
B)Overconforming
C)Buffing
D)Ingratiation
E)Rationality

Question 53

Political skill is positively related to

A)job performance.
B)job satisfaction.
C)career success.
D)occupation.
E)absenteeism.

Question 54

What do general managers do to bolster their political networks?

A)Meetings and informal small talk
B)Face-to-face encounters and informal small talk
C)Social activities and informal small talk
D)Attend conferences and informal small talk
E)Face-to-face encounters and social activities

Question 55

If you are able to understand your co-workers and to use that knowledge to influence them to act in ways that enhance your personal or organizational objectives,then what do you have?

A)Expert power
B)High need for power
C)A Machiavellian personality
D)Political skill
E)Referent power

Question 56

According to the text,ethical business decisions are more likely to occur

A)if we treat others the way we expect to be treated.
B)after some systematic thinking about a decision's moral consequences.
C)after managers are trained to satisfice rather than maximize.
D)if a long-term orientation replaces a short-term orientation.
E)if industry competition is weak or nonexistent.

Question 57

If you have political skill,it means you have the following except

A)social astuteness.
B)interpersonal influence.
C)assertiveness.
D)apparent sincerity.
E)networking ability.

Question 58

Research has shown that 56 percent of MBA students admitted to cheating during the past year,while non-business grad students admitted to cheating ________ of the time.

A)47
B)64
C)33
D)72
E)18

Question 59

Which of the following are facets of political skill?

A)Social astuteness and apparent sincerity
B)Networking ability and assertiveness
C)Social astuteness and ingratiation
D)Rationality and apparent sincerity
E)Social astuteness and ingratiation

Question 60

What does the deaf ear syndrome refer to?

A)Organizational inaction in the face of unethical behaviour
B)Organizational inaction in the face of the abuse of power
C)Organizational inaction in the face of allegations of sexual harassment
D)Organizational inaction in the face of nonsanctioned influence ends
E)Organizational inaction in the face of nonsanctioned influence means

Question 61

Highly political climates result in all of the following except

A)lower job satisfaction.
B)lower job performance for younger workers.
C)lower organizational commitment.
D)increased turnover intentions.
E)lower organizational citizenship behaviour.

Question 62

Owen is a long time friend of Simon who has been working for a very prestigious law firm for several years.Simon admires Owen for how successful he has become and asks him how he has managed to become so successful.Owen tells Simon that he always gives his business card out and makes a point of sending gifts and thank you notes to people.What does Owen do?

A)Engage in professional activities
B)Participate in community activities
C)Increase internal visibility
D)Maintain contacts
E)Socialize

Question 63

What is the relation between the bases of power and influence tactics?

A)Coercive power uses assertiveness.
B)Referent power uses rationality.
C)Expert power uses exchange.
D)Coercive power uses ingratiation.
E)Referent power uses upward appeal.

Question 64

The following are aspects to networking except

A)maintaining contacts.
B)socializing.
C)engaging in professional activities.
D)participating in community activities.
E)upward appeal.

Question 65

Expert power corresponds to the difficulty of

A)the job.
B)the subordinates.
C)replacement.
D)the situation.
E)leadership.

Question 66

People who are empowered have a strong sense of

A)who they are.
B)what they want.
C)what they must do.
D)self-efficacy.
E)self-esteem.

Question 67

What influence tactics are most favoured for influencing peers and subordinates?

A)Assertiveness,ingratiation,and rationality
B)Exchange,ingratiation,and upward appeal
C)Exchange,assertiveness,and ingratiation
D)Ingratiation,rationality,and exchange
E)Upward appeal,ingratiation,and rationality

Question 68

Rationality is most likely to be directed towards

A)subordinates.
B)peers.
C)superiors.
D)men.
E)women.

Question 69

What personality types are most likely to engage in networking behaviours?

A)High need for power and high Machiavellianism
B)High self-esteem and high Machiavellianism
C)High need for power and extraversion
D)High self-esteem and extraversion
E)High need for power and self-esteem

Question 70

What do Sherron Watkins and Cynthia Cooper have in common?

A)Unethical behaviour
B)Calling attention to sexual harassment
C)Networking
D)High need for power
E)Whistle-blowing

Question 71

You have three friends who are doing the same job in the same company.Jill tries to be assigned to high-profile projects and also sits on important committees and task forces.She also gives workshops and speaking engagements whenever she can.Cara spends time having drinks with co-workers after work,participating in company sports leagues,and she also participates in community activities.Sally takes the time to send gifts and thank you notes to people and gives out her business card whenever she can.Who will have a more successful career?

A)Jill
B)Cara
C)Sally
D)Jill and Sally
E)Jill and Cara

Question 72

Soon after Liam began his new job,he started to observe his co-workers to learn about the organization and how people get things done.One thing he noticed was that some of his co-workers would try very hard to get high-profile work projects and to also sit on important committees and task forces.What is Liam observing?

A)Maintaining contacts
B)Increasing internal visibility
C)Assertiveness
D)Ingratiation
E)Upward appeal

Question 73

What networking activities are most associated with career success?

A)Maintaining contacts and socializing
B)Engaging in professional activities and participating in community activities
C)Maintaining contacts and engaging in professional activities
D)Maintaining contacts and increasing internal visibility
E)Engaging in professional activities and increasing internal visibility

Question 74

What group(s)is/are most likely to be the recipients of the assertiveness influence tactic?

A)Subordinates
B)Peers
C)Superiors
D)Subordinates and peers
E)Subordinates,peers,and superiors

Question 75

When it comes to the use of influence tactics,someone with coercive power might gravitate towards

A)assertiveness.
B)ingratiation.
C)rationality.
D)exchange.
E)upward appeal.

Question 76

What is the effect of politics on job performance?

A)It has a negative effect on all workers.
B)It has a negative effect on younger workers but not older workers.
C)It has a negative effect on older workers but not younger workers.
D)It has a positive effect on younger workers and a negative effect on older workers.
E)It has a positive effect on older workers and a negative effect on younger workers.

Question 77

What influence tactic is associated with better performance evaluations for men?

A)Assertiveness
B)Ingratiation
C)Rationality
D)Exchange
E)Upward appeal

Question 78

What is Dr.Jeffrey Wigand known for?

A)Networking
B)Whistle-blowing
C)Unethical behaviour
D)High need for power
E)Sexual harassment

Question 79

Which of the following is most accurate?

A)Men engage in networking more than women.
B)Women engage in networking more than men.
C)Men and women engage in networking equally.
D)Younger men engage in networking more than older men.
E)Younger women engage in networking more than older women.

Question 80

What influence tactic do people report using very frequently?

A)Upward appeal
B)Exchange
C)Ingratiation
D)Rationality
E)Assertiveness