Question 1

Empowerment involves sharing power, information, and rewards with employees to make decisions and solve problems in their work.

Accepted Answer

Empowerment refers to giving employees the authority, resources, information, and opportunities to make decisions and take actions that contribute to the organization's success. This involves sharing power, information, and rewards with employees so that they can solve problems, improve processes, and innovate. Empowered employees are more engaged, motivated, and committed to their work, and they are more likely to perform at high levels and achieve better results.

Question 2

The iron law of responsibility describes a situation in which one person's gain is equal to another person's loss.

Accepted Answer

The iron law of responsibility states that in the long run, those who do not use power in a manner that society considers responsible will tend to lose it. It does not describe a situation where one person's gain equals another person's loss.

Question 3

Power and politics are among the most important concepts in organizational behavior, but they are also the least understood.

Accepted Answer

Power and politics are complex and often subtle aspects of organizational behavior, making them difficult to fully understand and navigate.

Question 4

Power and force are interchangeable terms.

Accepted Answer

Power and force are not interchangeable terms. Force is a physical quantity that has the unit of Newtons, while power is the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred, and has the unit of Watts.

Question 5

Coercive power is the extent to which a manager can use extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to control other people.

Accepted Answer

Coercive power is based on the ability to deliver threats or punishment to others, not on the ability to control others through rewards.

Question 6

A zone of indifference is the range of authoritative requests to which a subordinate is willing to respond without subjecting the directives to critical evaluations or judgment.

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of a zone of indifference according to the principle of authority in organizational behavior.

Question 7

Power is defined as the ability of a person or group to influence or control some aspect of another person or group.

Accepted Answer

This is the commonly accepted definition of power in the field of social sciences.

Question 8

Legitimate power, or formal hierarchical authority, stems from the extent to which a manager can control subordinates' behavior because they believe the boss has the right to do so.

Accepted Answer

Legitimate power is based on the belief that a person has the right to exert influence over others due to their position in a formal hierarchy. This power is recognized by subordinates and is derived from the person's role or position in the organization.

Question 9

A term used to recognize that power comes from the ability to influence another in a social relation is called association power.

Accepted Answer

The term used to recognize that power comes from the ability to influence another in a social relation is actually refered to as social power, not association power.

Question 10

A zero sum game states that when power imbalances get bad enough, forces are triggered that will rise up and take the power away to restore balances.

Accepted Answer

A zero-sum game is a situation in economics or game theory where each participant's gain or loss of utility is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the utility of the other participants. It does not inherently involve power imbalances or forces rising up to restore balance.

Question 11

A dependency means that one person or group relies on another person or group to get what they want or need.

Accepted Answer

A dependency refers to a relationship where one party is dependent on another party to fulfill their needs or desires.

Question 12

Internalization is the authority or ability to exercise restraining or dominating influence over someone or something.

Accepted Answer

Internalization refers to the personal adoption or acceptance of values, beliefs, and attitudes of a particular culture or society. It is not related to exercising authority or domination over others.

Question 13

The problem of deferring responsibility and accountability upward in organizations is known as dysfunctional resistance.

Accepted Answer

The problem of deferring responsibility and accountability upward in organizations is known as "upward delegation," not dysfunctional resistance. Dysfunctional resistance refers to behaviors that employees exhibit to avoid change or new policies, not specifically the avoidance of responsibility by delegating tasks upward.

Question 14

The lack of autonomy and participation is known as constructive resistance.

Accepted Answer

The lack of autonomy and participation is actually known as passive resistance or noncompliance. Constructive resistance involves individuals actively working to improve the situation or system while still expressing their dissent.

Question 15

Control is a power made operative against another's will.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Control is a power made operative against...

Question 16

Power can be based on punishment instead of reward.

Accepted Answer

Power can be derived from the ability to punish those who do not comply or follow instructions, rather than rewarding those who do follow them. This is known as coercive power.

Question 17

We can increase our power and self-control by removing another's power over us.

Accepted Answer

When we remove another's power over us, we take control of our own emotions and reactions. This can boost our self-confidence and give us a sense of empowerment, leading to increased power and self-control.

Question 18

There are seven important aspects of position power: legitimate, reward, coercive, process, information, representative power, and subordination.

Accepted Answer

There are actually six important aspects of position power, not seven. They are legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, referent, and informational power. Subordination is not typically listed as a form of position power.

Question 19

Personal power stems from the formal hierarchy or authority vested in a particular role or position.

Accepted Answer

Personal power comes from an individual's unique qualities, skills, and efforts, not from their position or role within an organization's hierarchy.

Question 20

According to Chester Barnard, directives falling within the zone of indifference are obeyed, whereas those falling outside of it are not considered legitimate under the terms of the psychological contract.

Accepted Answer

Chester Barnard's concept of the zone of indifference refers to the range of directives or requests that fall within the scope of an employee's acceptance or agreement to comply with. Directives falling within this zone are considered legitimate by the employee and are likely to be obeyed, while those falling outside of it are not considered part of the psychological contract between the employee and the organization and may not be obeyed.

Quiz 12: Power and Politics