California State University, Northridge

MGT 360

Organizational Behavior, Version 1.1

Bauer & Erdogan

TRUE/FALSE

FWK Test Item File

Chapter 13

1)Power is the ability to get things done the way you want them to be done.

2. Power distribution is usually not visible in organizations.

3. Power has negative consequences but never has positive consequences.

4. One reason why power can be so easily abused is because individuals are quick to conform.

5. Conformity is people’s tendencies to behave consistently with social norms.

6. The Milgram, Asch, and Hawthorne studies illustrate how important it is to create checks and balances to help individuals resist the tendency to conform or abuse authority.

7. In the Milgram studies, participants were willing to administer harmful levels of voltage to learners when those learners provided incorrect answers.

8. The Asch experiments showed that a dissenting minority does not have much power.

9. Meta-analysis suggests that the level of conformity in the United States has been increasing since the 1950s.

10. The Zimbardo experiment was stopped early because all parties involved became too entrenched in their experimental roles.

11. The more that a party is dependent upon you, the less power you have.

12. The scarcer a resource is that you control, the more power you possess.

13. The more vital the resource you control, the greater the level of power you possess.

14. The more substitutes available for a resource, the higher the power level of the person possessing that resource.

15. The CEO of an organization has legitimate power because of his or her role.

16. Coercive power tends to accompany legitimate power in an organization.

17. Coercive power works through fear and forces people to do things they otherwise would not consider.

18. Michael is the individual in the firm who knows everything about computer issues. When anyone has a problem, they go to Michael. Michael has referent power.

19. Charisma is a type of referent power.

20. Influence is getting others to do what we want them to do.

21. The most commonly used influence technique is personal appeal.

22. Compliance is when the target of influence not only agrees to your request, but actively supports it.

23. Rational persuasion uses facts, data and logical arguments to influence a target person.

24. When college students are told by a speaker seeking their support, “You can make a difference. Do this for future generations,” that speaker is using inspirational appeals to convince students to join the cause.

25. Using any form of flattery in an appeal is an example of the exchange influence tactic.

26. Research shows that individuals who lived near stairwells in dorms were the most well liked people in those dorms because they were seen most often by

everyone who was coming and going. This is an example of the personal appeal influence tactic.

27. Research shows that managers with high referent power tend to use pressure tactics much more frequently than those with low referent power.

28. Legitimating tactics are those whose appeal is based upon position power.

29. Referent power is more effective than formal power bases and is positively related to employees’ satisfaction with supervision.

30. The most effective approach to impression management on the job is to build credibility and maintain authenticity.

31. Impression management has been shown to be related to higher performance ratings by increasing liking and perceived similarity.

32. The tone of your voice, rate of speech, and how you deliver your message are relatively unimportant in the impression management area.

33. Impression management is particularly salient in job interviews and promotional contexts.

34. Upward influence includes appealing to a higher authority or citing a firm’s goals as a reason for others to follow your suggestion.

35. Managers report using personal appeals most frequently with other managers and rational persuasion most frequently with subordinates.

36. Effective politics is about winning at all costs.

37. Almost all managers surveyed suggest workplace politics exist in their organizations and that to be successful individuals must engage in politics.

38. If employees feel their organizations are too driven by politics, they are less committed to the organization and perform worse on the job.

39. Individuals high in internal locus of control engage in more political behavior.

40. When resources such as raises or promotions are limited, employees see the organization as more political.

41. When individuals feel role ambiguity in their jobs, they feel the organization is more political.

42. The more democratic the decision making is in a firm, the more the firm will be perceived as political.

43. Social network analysis can reveal who can be trusted in an organization, who is important to decision making and even who is innovative.

44. Boundary spanners are people who are linked to the greatest number of people in the organization.

45. Social network analysis indicating strong ties is demonstrating informational, not emotional support.

46. Peripheral specialists in a social network are those with special expertise who can be called upon for advice even though they work independently from the group.

47. Strong ties in a social network are especially useful for innovation.

48. Company presidents usually possess at least legitimate, coercive, and referent power.

49. High power distance countries are those where power is centralized in the hands of a few.

50. In low power distance countries, decisions are often made based upon loyalty rather than some formal review process.

FILL IN THE BLANK

51.                                           is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get what you want.

52. People’s tendencies to behave consistently with social norms is                                             .

53. The                             studies looked at conformity and authority by having participants shock learners when those learners provided an INCORRECT response.

54. Individuals could be influenced to say that two lines were the same length when one was clearly shorter than the other due to conformity in the                                                                  studies.

55. The                                 study was stopped early because participants and the experimenter became too entrenched in their roles of aggressive jail guard and helpless prisoner.

56. When discussing dependency, the concept of                                      means the uniqueness of a resource.

57. To determine how dependent you are on someone you need to assess three key factors—   ,               , and                                           .

58. Power derived from one’s role in the organization is                                                       power.

59. A manager possesses                                     power because he can provide you an increase in pay or a promotion.

60. Punishing someone for noncompliance, as a parent does to a child when the child does not clean her room, is an example of                                                                              power.

61.                             power comes from knowledge and skills such as the long-time employee who knows everything about company history and procedures.

62. When negotiations are going on, the person computing the numbers to determine if a requested pay increase can be given possesses                                                                          power.

63. Oprah Winfrey has tremendous charisma and is adored by many fans. Oprah has         power.

64. When we try to get others to do what we want, we are using                                        .

65. The influence tactic used most frequently is                                                               in the United States.

66. When an influence target does not wish to comply with the request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt, the influence attempt response of         is occurring.

67. The influence attempt response                                          occurs when the target not only agrees to the request but also actively supports it as well.

68. The influence tactic that uses facts, data and logical arguments is                                                   

                           .

69. The influence tactic that seeks to tap into your values, emotions and beliefs is

                                                           .

70. The influence tactic that causes you to help another person because you like him or her and he or she asked for your help is                                                                                                         .

71.                                     is the influence tactic that uses flattery or other forms of making others feel good about themselves.

72. The influence tactic where there is give and take such that if someone does something for you, you do something for them is called                                                                             .

73. Exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want or else something undesirable will occur is the                                                                  influence tactic.

74. When someone tries to influence you by saying, “by the power vested in me…,” he or she is using      .

75.                                                               is actively shaping the way others perceive you such as being concerned about your nonverbal and verbal behaviors.

76. The ability to influence your boss and others in positions above you is                                         

                      .

77. People’s ability to relate well to others, self-monitor, inspire confidence and trust, and alter their reactions depending upon the situation they are in is

                                                                     .

78. The visual map of relationships between individuals is a                                                                     .

79. One of the key roles in a social network is a                                                        , or people who are linked to the greatest number of people.

80. A                                                                        is a person who connects one network to another within the company or even across organizations.

81. In a social network analysis,                                               are characterized by less frequent interaction with less emotional attachment, which are easier to maintain and thus people have more of them.

SHORT ANSWERS

82. What is conformity? Give an example of an instance where people conformed.

83. What is the relationship between dependency and power?

84. Identify two bases of power.

85. Name two of the most commonly used influence tactics.

86. What is impression management?

87. What are the directions that influence attempts can take?

88. What are some individual antecedents of political behavior?

89. What are some organizational antecedents of political behavior?

90. What is a key role in a social network?

ESSAY

91. Choose a leader from entertainment, business or government. Describe the kinds of power that leader possesses.

92. Discuss the three sets of classic studies on conformity and what the implications of their findings are.

93. Present a scenario when someone attempted to influence you to do something. Indicate what influence tactics or tactics they used to get you to do what they wanted.

94. Discuss Dale Carnegie’s recommendations for get others to like you. Do you find them viable?

95. How can you use impression management in an interviewing situation?