80) Venia, who often relies on the method of authority, has to make an important decision about marketing a product. Which of the following would she most likely do?
A) hire an ad agency because she liked working with the agency before
B) hire an ad agency because her close friend works for the agency
C) hire an ad agency because many other companies have hired it
D) hire an ad agency because a survey showed it was effective
E) hire an ad agency because her boss recommended it
Answer: E
Explanation: The method of authority suggests that people hold firmly to a belief because some respected official, agency, or source has said it is so. Venia, who often relies on this method, would mostly likely hire an ad agency because her boss recommended it.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Authority
Learning Objective: 01-05 What is the role of theory in the scientific method?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
81) You work for a company that manufactures jeans, and you have an idea about how cold weather correlates with buying jeans. If you were implementing the scientific method for this company, which of the following actions would you do first?
A) write a report showing how the data proves that more jeans sell in cold weather
B) predict that more of the company's jeans will sell in January than in July
C) collect data to prove that jeans will sell more in January than in July
D) distribute surveys to find out how cold weather affects customers
E) assert that cold weather makes people buy more jeans
Answer: E
Explanation: The scientific method begins with a theory, defined as assertions. Because of this, you would first assert that cold weather makes people buy more jeans. This would be your theory, which would start the scientific method.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-05 What is the role of theory in the scientific method?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
82) Which of the following is an example of meta-analysis?
A) Yeeun used one study, which used a consistent measuring method, to determine the cause of employee stress.
B) Sosuke used one study, which combined different samples, to determine why customers buy a certain product.
C) Gail used two studies, each using the same samples and measures, to determine why sales of a product have declined.
D) Sergio combined several studies, each using the same measuring method, to determine why profitability has increased.
E) Fionn combined several studies, each using different kinds of samples and measures, to determine the cause of employee turnover.
Answer: E
Explanation: Meta-analyses involve the use of several studies, each using different kinds of samples and measures.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
83) Which of the following correlations indicates no statistical relationship between two variables?
A) 1
B) -1
C) 0
D) 0.10
E) -0.10
Answer: C
Explanation: A correlation of zero indicates no statistical relationship.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
84) Which of the following correlations indicates a perfect statistical relationship between two variables?
A) 1
B) -1
C) 0
D) 100
E) -100
Answer: A
Explanation: A correlation of one indicates perfect statistical relationship.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
85) ________ summarize the statistical relationships between variables.
A) Hypotheses
B) Correlations
C) Observations
D) Collections
E) Theories
Answer: B
Explanation: Correlations summarize the statistical relationships between variables. Correlations can be positive or negative.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
86) Correlations can be positive or negative and can range from
A) 0 to +1
B) -1 to +1
C) 0 to +100
D) -10 to 0
E) -10 to +10
Answer: A
Explanation: Correlations can be positive or negative and range from 0 (no statistical relationship) to +1 (a perfect statistical relationship).
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
87) In organizational behavior research, a correlation of +1 between two variables is considered
A) weak.
B) inconclusive.
C) arbitrary.
D) irrelevant.
E) perfect.
Answer: E
Explanation: In organizational behavior research, a correlation of +1 is considered perfect.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
88) Which of the following explains the term causal inferences?
A) proving that two variables are correlated
B) making sure the sample size is adequate enough
C) explaining why one variable is not correlated to another
D) establishing that one variable truly does result in another
E) analyzing a situation and understanding what went wrong
Answer: D
Explanation: Making causal inferences involves establishing that one variable really does cause another.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
89) Which of these is one of the conditions necessary to establish causal inferences?
A) The presumed cause follows the presumed effect in time.
B) Multiple alternative explanations exist for the correlation.
C) Factors other than the variables in question could create causation.
D) The two variables are correlated.
E) The sample size is large enough.
Answer: D
Explanation: Making causal inferences requires establishing three things. First, that the two variables are correlated; second, that the presumed cause precedes the presumed effect in time; and third, that no alternative explanation exists for the correlation.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
90) A study shows that people who chew bubble gum have more cavities. Which criteria of casual inference does this example show?
A) The two variables are not correlated.
B) Multiple alternative explanations exist for the correlation.
C) The presumed cause precedes the presumed effect in time.
D) The study was conducted in an open environment.
E) The sample size is large enough.
Answer: C
Explanation: The study clearly shows that the presumed cause (chewing bubble gum) precedes the presumed effect (cavities). Making causal inferences requires establishing three things. First, that the two variables are correlated; second, that the presumed cause precedes the presumed effect in time; and third, that no alternative explanation exists for the correlation.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
91) A study shows that the high turnover rate at a company is only caused by the domineering attitude of a middle manager. What criteria of causal inference does this example show?
A) The study was conducted in an open environment.
B) No alternative explanation exists for the correlation.
C) The presumed effect precedes the presumed cause in time.
D) The two variables are not correlated.
E) The sample size is large enough.
Answer: B
Explanation: The study shows only one explanation for a high turnover rate, namely the domineering attitude of a middle manager. Making causal inferences requires establishing three things. First, that the two variables are correlated; second, that the presumed cause precedes the presumed effect in time; and third, that no alternative explanation exists for the correlation.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
92) Which of these takes all the correlations found in studies of a particular relationship and calculates a weighted average of them?
A) alpha analysis
B) gamma analysis
C) meta-analysis
D) causal analysis
E) beta analysis
Answer: C
Explanation: Meta-analysis takes all the correlations found in studies of a particular relationship and calculates a weighted average of them.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
93) Ji-woo is interested in the effects of the choice of reward on employee motivation. She knows that there have been several studies done on this subject and compares their results looking for an average correlation. Ji-woo is conducting a
A) meta-analysis.
B) mediocre analysis.
C) medial analysis.
D) remedial analysis.
E) moderated analysis.
Answer: A
Explanation: Ji-woo is conducting a meta-analysis.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
94) Which of the following argues that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education?
A) resource-based view
B) contingency approach
C) traditional management
D) management by objectives
E) evidence-based management
Answer: E
Explanation: Evidence-based management is a perspective that argues that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Evidence-Based Decision Making
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
95) Manon supports an evidence-based management style. Considering this, which of the following actions would she most likely take?
A) disregarding a casual inference that indicates the cause of employee dissatisfaction
B) taking the advice of a government agency on how to increase employee motivation
C) lessening the reliance on analytics to hire employees and instead relying more on intuition
D) transforming a human resources department by hiring more research and development experts
E) combining meta-analysis with her own experience to determine the cause of employee turnover
Answer: D
Explanation: Evidence-based management is a perspective that argues that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education, much as they do for medical education. Proponents of evidence-based management argue that human resources should be transformed into a sort of R&D department for managing people. As a result, Manon would most likely transform a human resources department by hiring more research and development experts.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
96) Define organizational behavior (OB). How does it differ from human resource management (HRM)?
Answer: OB is a field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations, whereas HRM uses the theories and principles studied in OB and explores the practical applications of those principles in organizations.
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Organizational Behavior (OB)
Learning Objective: 01-01 What is the definition of "organizational behavior" (OB)?
Bloom's: Remember
AACSB: Knowledge Application
97) Identify the key individual outcomes in the studies of organizational behavior and describe the factors that affect these key outcomes—that is, describe the integrative model of OB.
Answer: The key individual outcomes in studies of organizational behavior are job performance and organizational commitment. The factors that affect these outcomes are individual mechanisms (job satisfaction; stress; motivation; trust, justice, and ethics; and learning and decision making). Individual mechanisms, in turn, are driven by organizational mechanisms (organizational culture and structure), group mechanisms (leadership: styles and behaviors, and power and negotiation; and team processes and team characteristics), and individual characteristics (personality and cultural values and ability).
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Organizational Behavior (OB)
Learning Objective: 01-02 What are the two primary outcomes in studies of OB?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
98) Briefly explain the importance of the individual mechanisms that feature in the integrative model of organizational behavior. Give an example for each.
Answer: Student answers and examples will vary but should demonstrate understanding of the integrative model of organizational behavior and the individual mechanisms involved. A sample answer follows.
Several individual mechanisms directly affect job performance and organizational commitment. These include job satisfaction, which captures what employees feel when thinking about their jobs and doing their day-to-day work. For example, people who complain about the lack of creativity in their jobs are expressing a low level of job satisfaction. Another individual mechanism is stress, which reflects employees' psychological responses to job demands that tax or exceed their capacities. For example, employees who become ill because of job stress reflect this mechanism. The integrative model also includes motivation, which captures the energetic forces that drive employees' work effort. For instance, an increase in pay can result in an increase in employee motivation. Trust, justice, and ethics reflect the degree to which employees feel that their company does business with fairness, honesty, and integrity. For example, if employees find out their employer supports dishonest business practices, then the employees could lose their trust of the company. The final individual mechanism shown in the model is learning and decision making, which deals with how employees gain job knowledge and how they use that knowledge to make accurate judgments on the job. For example, employers who offer job training programs deal with this mechanism.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Organizational Behavior (OB)
Learning Objective: 01-03 What factors affect the two primary OB outcomes?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Knowledge Application
99) Briefly explain the importance of group mechanisms that feature in the integrative model of organizational behavior. Give an example of each mechanism.
Answer: Student answers and examples will vary but should demonstrate understanding of the group mechanisms that play a role in the integrative model. A sample answer follows.
Employees typically work in one or more work teams led by some formal (or sometimes informal) leader. Like the individual characteristics, these group mechanisms shape satisfaction, stress, motivation, trust, and learning. Team characteristics and diversity describe how teams are formed, staffed, and composed and how team members come to rely on one another as they do their work. For instance, the grouping of people with diverse skills into a team so they will complement each other shows this mechanism. Team processes and communication is how teams behave, including their coordination, conflict, and cohesion. For example, a team that knows the strengths and weaknesses of its members can focus on accentuating the strengths and lessening the weaknesses to improve performance. Leader power and negotiation is all about how individuals attain authority over others. For example, people are often made the leaders of groups because of their ability to motivate others. Leader styles and behaviors capture the specific actions that leaders take to influence others at work. For instance, a leader could advocate an accepting attitude of ideas during brainstorming sessions to promote group creativity.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Organizational Behavior (OB)
Learning Objective: 01-03 What factors affect the two primary OB outcomes?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
100) Using the resource-based view of the organization, explain how people are a valuable resource. Provide an example to justify your answer.
Answer: Student answers and examples will vary but should demonstrate understanding of how people can be valuable resources. A sample answer follows.
The resource-based view of organizations describes what exactly makes resources valuable—that is, what makes them capable of creating long-term profits for the firm. People are rare and inimitable. The inimitability of people can be described using the following three reasons: history, numerous small decisions, and socially complex resources. For example, a person's history is rare and inimitable because of that person's unique experiences. Also, each person makes countless small decision that are unique. Finally, a company consists of individuals, each of who has unique resources. One person could have a skill at marketing, another at team building, and so on. The combination of these skills forms socially complex resources.
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Topic: Organizational Behavior (OB)
Learning Objective: 01-03 What factors affect the two primary OB outcomes?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
101) Explain the Rule of One-Eighth.
Answer: According to the Rule of One-Eighth, only one-half of organizations will believe the connection between how they manage their people and the profits they earn. One-half of these organizations, which see the connection, will do what other organizations have already done—try to make a single change to solve their problems, not realizing that the effective management of people requires a more comprehensive and systematic approach. Of the firms that make comprehensive changes, probably only about one-half will persist with their practices long enough to actually derive economic benefits. Thus, one-half times one-half times one-half equals one-eighth, so at best, 12 percent of organizations will actually do what is required to build profits by putting people first.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Organizational Behavior (OB)
Learning Objective: 01-04 Why might firms that are good at OB tend to be more profitable?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
102) Briefly describe the four different ways of knowing things. Give an example of each. Which way do you believe provides the soundest explanation and most compelling support?
Answer: Student answers and examples will vary but should demonstrate understanding of the four ways of knowing things. A sample answer follows.
The four ways are method of experience, method of intuition, method of authority, and method of science. The method of experience involves people holding firmly to a belief because it is consistent with their experience. For example, a person might never eat at a restaurant chain because of a bad experience with one of these restaurants. People use the method of intuition if they make a choice because it seems obvious. For example, a person might buy a certain cell phone because most people seem to buy it. With the method of authority, people hold a belief because some respected agency, official, or source has said that it is so. For example, a person might not see a movie because a trusted critic panned the film. The method of science involves people holding a belief because of scientific studies. For instance, a person might think that a certain region holds oil because of extensive geological studies of this region. The method of science provides the soundest explanation and most compelling support for arguments, provided the predictions are tested with data.
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-05 What is the role of theory in the scientific method?
Bloom's: Apply
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
103) Explain the scientific method and its impact on organizational behavior.
Answer: The scientific method begins with theory, defined as a collection of assertions—both verbal and symbolic—that specify how and why variables are related, as well as the conditions in which they should (and should not) be related. But theories must be tested to verify that their predictions are accurate. The scientific method requires the formation of a hypothesis, which is a written prediction that specifies relationships between variables. Then relevant data are collected, and the hypothesis is verified or tested for accuracy. The theory is reformulated if the hypothesis is wrong.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-05 What is the role of theory in the scientific method?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
104) Briefly explain correlation.
Answer: Correlation is a method used to identify the statistical relationship between two variables. A correlation, abbreviated r, describes the statistical relationship between two variables. Correlations can be positive or negative and range from 0 (no statistical relationship) to ±1 (a perfect statistical relationship).
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
105) What is meta-analysis?
Answer: Meta-analysis takes all of the correlations found in studies of a particular relationship and calculates a weighted average (such that correlations based on studies with large samples are weighted more than correlations based on studies with small samples). Meta-analyses can form the foundation for evidence-based management—a perspective that argues that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education, much as they do for medical education.
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Method of Science
Learning Objective: 01-06 How are correlations interpreted?
Bloom's: Understand
AACSB: Knowledge Application
