Question 1

Which of the following is an important characteristic of a leader?
A) strives to maintain the status quo
B) goal-oriented
C) reactive
D) focused on past performance

Accepted Answer

A leader must be goal-oriented in order to guide their team towards a common objective and achieve success. Striving to maintain the status quo, being reactive, and focused on past performance are not necessarily important characteristics of a leader.

Question 2

Fisk Johnson is the fifth generation CEO of the family firm, SC Johnson. The combination of the ________, its ________, and its story-driven culture reinforce the willingness of the firm to lead the market in environmental awareness.
A) ownership structure of the firm, strong leader
B) listing of fragrances, financial awareness
C) ownership structure of the firm, employee union
D) employee participation, weak leadership

Accepted Answer

The ownership structure of the firm, which has remained within the Johnson family for five generations, provides stability and long-term vision for the company. The strong leadership of Fisk Johnson has also played a role in reinforcing the company's commitment to environmental awareness. Additionally, the company culture emphasizes storytelling and valuing the company's history and heritage, which likely contributes to a strong sense of purpose and mission, including a focus on sustainability.

Question 3

The CEO scraps the company commission-based reward system because it rewards employees for inappropriate behavior. This is an example of
A) ethical behavior.
B) designing the organization.
C) unethical behavior.
D) the failure to maintain the status quo.

Accepted Answer

In designing the organization, successful leaders are actively involved in building structures, teams, systems, and organizational processes that facilitate the implementation of their vision and strategies.

Question 4

Choose the best answer: Leaders play a key role in developing and sustaining organization
A) the status quo.
B) culture.
C) reporting relationships.
D) rules and regulations.

Accepted Answer

Leaders have a crucial impact on shaping an organization's culture, which refers to the shared values, beliefs, customs, behaviors, and attitudes that guide the decisions and actions of its members. An effective leader can create a positive and supportive culture that promotes innovation, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning, while a poor leader can foster negative and toxic culture that encourages politics, secrecy, blame-shifting, and resistance to change. Therefore, leaders must be intentional and consistent in modeling the desired cultural traits, communicating and enforcing the cultural norms and standards, recognizing and rewarding the behavior that aligns with the culture, and addressing the behavior that violates the culture. Choices A, C, and D may also be important to some extent, but they are typically more static and formal aspects of an organization that do not necessarily reflect its adaptive and dynamic aspects. For example, a leader may maintain the status quo by preserving the existing policies and procedures, but this may not be sufficient to ensure the organization's long-term success and relevance in a rapidly changing context. Similarly, a leader may establish reporting relationships that determine who reports to whom, but this does not necessarily guarantee effective communication, collaboration, and performance. Finally, a leader may create rules and regulations that regulate the behavior and conduct of employees, but this may not be enough to motivate them to go beyond the minimum requirements and deliver outstanding results that differentiate the organization from its competitors.

Question 5

According to the textbook, ________ and ________ must accept personal responsibility for developing and strengthening ethical behavior throughout the organization.
A) bankers, employees
B) employees, external stakeholders
C) managers, top executives
D) managers, stockholders

Accepted Answer

The textbook states that managers and top executives are the ones who must accept personal responsibility for developing and strengthening ethical behavior throughout the organization. While other stakeholders such as employees and stockholders can also play a role, it is ultimately the responsibility of management to create a culture of ethics within the organization.

Question 6

Expert power is derived from
A) organizationally conferred decision-making authority.
B) manager access, control, and distribution of information that is not freely available to everyone in an organization.
C) referent power.
D) leader capability and knowledge in a particular field.

Accepted Answer

Expert power is derived from an individual's capability and knowledge in a particular field. This knowledge and expertise allow the individual to influence others' actions and decisions in the organization. It is different from organizationally conferred decision-making authority (A) and manager access/control of information (B), which are examples of legitimate and informational power, respectively. Referent power (C) is derived from the liking, admiration, and respect others have for an individual.

Question 7

The source of referent power is
A) subordinate identification with the leader.
B) leader identification with the subordinates.
C) derived from the fact that the manager can potentially act as a reference when the employee applies for another job.
D) derived from manager ability to provide effective incentives to employees.

Accepted Answer

The source of referent power is subordinate identification with the leader. This means that the subordinates respect and admire the leader, and therefore, are more likely to follow their directions and suggestions, even when they don't fully understand or agree with them. The leader's qualities such as knowledge, skills, personality, and behavior contribute to their referent power. They can use their referent power to influence and motivate subordinates, as well as to establish a positive and productive work environment.

Question 8

Refusal to share information, conflicts over resources, conflicts between departments and divisions, and petty interpersonal differences are symptoms of which type of barrier to change?
A) systemic barriers
B) political barriers
C) behavioral barriers
D) entry barriers

Accepted Answer

Political barriers involve power struggles, conflicts, and resistance to change within the organization. Refusal to share information, conflicts over resources, conflicts between departments and divisions, and petty interpersonal differences are symptoms of political barriers. Systemic barriers refer to structural or operational aspects of the organization that hinder change, while behavioral barriers refer to attitudes, beliefs, and individual resistance to change. Entry barriers refer to obstacles preventing new competitors from entering the market.

Question 9

When faced with barriers to change, leaders can create a good climate for advancing the aims of the organization and making progress towards its goals by building ________ and ________.
A) a learning organization; an ethical organization
B) a following organization; an ethical organization
C) a learning organization; an efficient organization
D) an efficient organization; a learning organization

Accepted Answer

Leaders must draw on a range of personal skills as well as organizational mechanisms to move their organizations forward in the face of such barriers. Two factors mentioned are building a learning organization and building an ethical organization. These provide the kind of climate within which a leader can advance organization aims and make progress toward its goals.

Question 10

Which of the following does not constitute organizational bases of leader power?
A) legitimate power
B) reward power
C) referent power
D) coercive power

Accepted Answer

The three organizational bases of leader power are legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power. Referent power is actually a personal power source that comes from an individual's characteristics and relationships with others.

Question 11

________ are obstacles associated with a managerial tendency to look at issues from a biased or limited perspective.
A) Systemic barriers
B) Behavioral barriers
C) Political barriers
D) Barriers to exit

Accepted Answer

Behavioral barriers refer to obstacles created by an individual's cognitive limitations or biases. This may include the tendency of managers to only consider information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs or to focus on short-term results without considering long-term consequences. Systemic barriers refer to obstacles created by the organization's structural or cultural factors. Political barriers refer to obstacles created by power struggles or conflicting interests within the organization. Barriers to exit refer to obstacles that make it difficult for competitors or new entrants to enter the market.

Question 12

Poor organizational design by leaders can result in all the following except
A) lack of understanding of responsibility and accountability among managers.
B) inadequate or inappropriate budgeting and control systems.
C) reward systems that do not motivate individuals toward desired organizational goals.
D) teams, systems, and organizational processes that facilitate implementation.

Accepted Answer

Poor organizational design can result in a lack of clarity around responsibility and accountability among managers, inadequate budgeting and control systems, and reward systems that do not motivate individuals towards organizational goals. However, it is unlikely to result in teams, systems, and organizational processes that facilitate implementation. In fact, poor organizational design would likely hinder the implementation of these components.

Question 13

Which of the following statements about leadership is false?
A) Leadership is focused on the creation and implementation of a creative vision.
B) Leadership is the process of transforming organizations from what they are to what the leader would have them become.
C) Leaders work to build a status quo and seek control mechanisms to maintain it.
D) Effective implementation of strategy is essential for successful leadership.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false as leaders typically seek to challenge the status quo rather than build it and are focused on driving change and innovation.

Question 14

Coercive power is the
A) power exercised by use of fear of punishment for errors of omission or commission by employees.
B) power of persuasion exercised by a charismatic leader to get compliance from reluctant subordinates.
C) arises from manager access, control, and distribution of information that is not freely available to everyone in an organization.
D) ability of the leader or manager to confer rewards for positive behaviors or outcomes.

Accepted Answer

Coercive power is the power that is exerted by fear of punishment for errors or non-performance. It can be a negative form of power that is often used to force compliance or obedience from subordinates. This can include threats of disciplinary action, being demoted, being fired, or receiving a negative performance review. Coercive power can lead to resentment and fear among employees and can be an ineffective way to motivate people in the long run.

Question 15

Which of the following does not explain why organizations are prone to inertia and slow to change?
A) personal time constraints
B) political barriers
C) vested interests in the status quo
D) entry barriers

Accepted Answer

Entry barriers are not a reason why organizations are prone to inertia and slow to change. Personal time constraints, political barriers, and vested interests in the status quo are all factors that contribute to organizational inertia.

Question 16

Effective leadership is like a three-legged stool. Which of the following is not represented by one of the stool legs?
A) maintaining the status quo
B) nurturing a culture dedicated to excellence and ethical behavior
C) setting a direction
D) designing the organization

Accepted Answer

Maintaining the status quo is not represented by one of the three legs of effective leadership as effective leadership involves innovation, adaptability, and change. The other three choices represent the three key elements of effective leadership: setting a direction, designing the organization, and nurturing a culture dedicated to excellence and ethical behavior.

Question 17

When Target offered online purchasing of groceries for in-store pick up and then store delivery to customer locations it realized that their supply chain logistics no longer matched with the demands of this new offer. This is an example of what kind of barrier to change?
A) vested interests in the status quo
B) personal time constraints
C) behavioral barrier
D) systemic barrier

Accepted Answer

The supply chain logistics no longer matching with the demands of the new offer is a systemic barrier, meaning that the existing systems and processes are unable to accommodate the change.

Question 18

A strategic vision provides many benefits. Which of the following is not one of those benefits?
A) a clear future direction
B) a framework for their organization mission and goals
C) enhanced employee communication and commitment
D) the ability to influence the environment of the firm

Accepted Answer

A strategic vision actually enhances the ability of a firm to influence its environment.

Question 19

________ are obstacles in which the design of organization structure, information processing, and reporting relationships, impede the proper flow and evaluation of information.
A) Systemic barriers
B) Behavioral barriers
C) Political barriers
D) Barriers to entry

Accepted Answer

Systemic barriers refer to obstacles within the structure and design of an organization that hinder the efficient flow and evaluation of information. These barriers may include problems such as outdated technology or ineffective reporting relationships. Behavioral barriers refer to challenges that arise from individual behavior, such as resistance to change or lack of motivation. Political barriers involve obstacles rooted in power dynamics and conflicting interests within an organization. Barriers to entry are obstacles preventing new companies from entering a particular market.

Question 20

Former GVO marketing director, David Lieberman, tells a story about a new product idea proposed by a creative person. The idea was loved by everyone except a high-ranking manufacturingrepresentative who rejected the idea because the new proposal involved a color change which he implied would create a spare-parts problem. Because his experience in manufacturing involved cost cutting, lean inventories and focus, he could not conceive of how this new product proposal would be good for innovation. This is an example of what kind of organizational barrier?
A) vested interests in the status quo
B) personal time constraints
C) behavioral barrier
D) systemic barrier

Accepted Answer

Behavioral barriers cause managers to look at issues from a biased or limited perspective due to their education, training, work experiences, and so forth.

Quiz 11: Strategic Leadership Creating a Learning Organization and an Ethical Organization

Which of the following is an important characteristic of a leader?

Fisk Johnson is the fifth generation CEO of the family firm, SC Johnson. The combination of the , its , and its story-driven culture reinforce the willingness of the firm to lead the market in environmental awareness.

The CEO scraps the company commission-based reward system because it rewards employees for inappropriate behavior. This is an example of

Choose the best answer: Leaders play a key role in developing and sustaining organization

According to the textbook, and must accept personal responsibility for developing and strengthening ethical behavior throughout the organization.

Expert power is derived from

The source of referent power is

Refusal to share information, conflicts over resources, conflicts between departments and divisions, and petty interpersonal differences are symptoms of which type of barrier to change?

When faced with barriers to change, leaders can create a good climate for advancing the aims of the organization and making progress towards its goals by building and .

Which of the following does not constitute organizational bases of leader power?

________ are obstacles associated with a managerial tendency to look at issues from a biased or limited perspective.

Poor organizational design by leaders can result in all the following except

Which of the following statements about leadership is false?

Coercive power is the

Which of the following does not explain why organizations are prone to inertia and slow to change?

Effective leadership is like a three-legged stool. Which of the following is not represented by one of the stool legs?

When Target offered online purchasing of groceries for in-store pick up and then store delivery to customer locations it realized that their supply chain logistics no longer matched with the demands of this new offer. This is an example of what kind of barrier to change?

A strategic vision provides many benefits. Which of the following is not one of those benefits?

________ are obstacles in which the design of organization structure, information processing, and reporting relationships, impede the proper flow and evaluation of information.