Mgt 550 midterm part 1

  

Question 1

A point made by complexity theory is that leaders and managers

  

create unnecessary   complexity in their organizations.

 

can predict   accurately which strategies or product mixes will survive.

 

can usually stay   one step ahead of environmental forces.

 

can do little to   alter the course of the complex organizational system

Question 2

One of the definitions of leadership offered in the text deals with figuring out what is right rather than

  

having other people   tell you what is right.

 

explaining what is   right.

 

doing what is   right.

 

duplicating what is   right.

Question 3

A recommended approach for understanding the impact of leadership on performance is to ask

  

“Under what   conditions do leaders make a difference?”

 

“How well   liked is the leader?”

 

“What is the   history of the firm?”

 

“What company   policies regulate leadership?”

Question 4

The central theme of the nine dilemmas faced by leaders is

  

controlling costs   versus spending money.

 

granting people the   authority to act independently yet getting them aligned.

 

built-in conflicts   between labor and management.

 

motivating versus   satisfying employees.

Question 5

Marketing vice president Derek is engaged in the strategic planner role when he

  

takes a key   customer to lunch.

 

coaches an account   executive on how to close a major sale.

 

makes plan for   enlarging the office.

 

looks for ideas in   the outside world that could help the company.

Question 6

An effective way for a leader to collaborate with group members is to

  

make sure the group   members get their yearly salary increases.

 

make all the major   decisions himself or herself.

 

solicit input from   the right group members.

 

make the hierarchy   as steep as possible.

Question 7

The leadership irrelevance theory suggests that factors outside the leader’s control

  

work at cross   purposes against the leader.

 

have a larger   impact on business outcomes than does the leader.

 

are more relevant   to group members than is the leader.

 

point leaders in an   unethical direction.

Question 8

An advantage of being a leader noted in the leadership text is

  

being able to avoid   the long hours typically worked by team members.

 

loads of overtime   pay.

 

the opportunity to   sidestep organizational politics.

 

a chance to help   others grow and develop.

Question 9

An important application of farsightedness for executive leaders is to

  

study technological   developments.

 

avoid being   frustrated by the demands of group members and customers.

 

predict the   direction of environmental forces.

 

memorize product   information.

Question 10

Passion for the work on the part of a leader often expresses itself as a(n)

  

obsession for   achieving company goals.

 

distrust of   employees who are calm and relaxed.

 

obsession for   surfing the Internet during working hours.

 

tendency to engage   in ruthless cost cutting.

Question 11

Tenacity is considered to be an important leadership characteristic because

  

leaders have such   limited power over group members.

 

it requires   tenacity to keep a job during an era of downsizing.

 

it often takes so   long to implement a new program.

 

leaders are so   often under attack from group members.

Question 12

A systems thinker would be especially good at

  

exploiting   short-range benefits.

 

understanding how   the external environment influences the organization.

 

sizing up people.

 

managing his or her   emotions to advantage.

Question 13

Which one of the following actions on the part of a leader would most likely contribute to a reputation of trustworthiness?

  

Being highly   diplomatic so as not to offend anyone

 

Doing what she or   he thinks is right in spite of the political consequences

 

Behaving in a   manner differently than he or she expects others to behave

 

Making his or her   behavior inconsistent with his or her intentions

Question 14

An important strength of the trait approach to leadership is that it

  

can help with   leadership selection and development.

 

specifies how much   of a given trait is important for leadership.

 

specifies which   traits are needed for leadership in a given situation.

 

helps in analyzing   the situational demands.

Question 15

Self-confidence is an important leadership characteristic

  

primarily among   executives.

 

primarily among supervisors.

 

in almost every   leadership setting.

 

for male leaders   more than for female leaders.

Question 16

A key part of a leader having humility is to

  

insult the group   performance, including that of your own.

 

put group members   in the limelight, rather than oneself.

 

make forecasts   about the group not making standards.

 

ask the group to   lead itself so he or she can do analytical work.

Question 17

Melissa wants to bring about transformations in her organization. Which one of the following would be the best recommendation for her?

  

Get people to   develop a short-term perspective.

 

Help people   understand the need for change.

 

Commit people   to slightly better than average performance.

 

Get people to   think in terms of self-interest.

Question 18

A major concern about charismatic leadership is that

  

there are not   enough job openings for all the charismatic leaders.

 

charismatic leaders   are not really so effective.

 

group members   sometimes follow a charismatic leader down an unethical path.

 

charismatic leaders   place unreasonable expectations on group members.

Question 19

A synthesis of studies about transformational leadership and performance found that this type of leadership

  

was positively   associated with a group of criteria.

 

was negatively   associated with a group of criteria.

 

was less effective   than laissez-fire leadership.

 

was good for   performance but not satisfaction.

Question 20

A transactional leader in contrast to a transformational one is more likely to

  

inspire group   members with a compelling vision.

 

help group members   reach self-fulfillment.

 

emphasize the   growth of group members.

 

emphasize rewards   for good performance.

Question 21

To apply “management by storytelling,” the leader should

  

tell stories about   unsuccessful competitors.

 

tell fascinating   stories about the company to employees.

 

reward and punish   group members based on anecdotal evidence.

 

evaluate morale based   on anecdotal evidence.

Question 22

Max wants to develop a personal brand, so he

  

develops a second   identity on the Internet.

 

attempts to wear as   much clothing of the same brand as feasible.

 

give himself a nick   name such as “Corporate Warrior Max.”

 

studies his basket   of personal strengths.

Question 23

Charismatic leaders use visions for the important purpose of

  

keeping team   members in line.

 

conducting   transactions with people.

 

celebrating accomplishments.

 

inspiring group   members.

Question 24

Charismatic leaders are likely to cultivate relationships with group members by means of

  

threats of   punishment for noncompliance.

 

deliberately   appearing manipulative and unforgiving.

 

revealing their   true selves to others.

 

impression   management.

Question 25

A study showed that attributions of charisma are heavily influenced by

  

the network to   which the leader belonged.

 

a person’s mood at   the time.

 

the leader’s sex,   ethnicity, and race.

 

members of a   person’s network.