BUS 301 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED
ANSWERS
Why is OB in organizations (being good with people) important? - Answers -
Relationships are important in the world of business
What are the eight general factors (BIG-8) that impact behavior/performance (why
people do what they do)? List each one, define it, and describe how each affects
behavior. - Answers - 1. Context / Situation - EX. Being in class vs being at a football
game. Our behavior is influenced by the situation we are in.
2. Ability: GMA (General Mental Ability), Skills - the cognitive ability to perform well and
acquire skills
3. Personality - Peoples tendencies to think act and feel a certain way. It is more likely
that we will behave consistent to our personalities.
4. Motivation - Someone's drive to do something. It impacts people's behavior by
making them more inclined to do the task.
5. Attitude - Bad attitude means less likely to engage and have low effort. Good attitude
gives you motivation and you try harder.
6. Perceptions - Not the reality of the situation but how you see the situation. Ultimately,
we are going to act based on our perceptions.
7. Values - Things that are important to us. Makes us more likely to engage in activities
because they matter to us.
8. Outside work environment - There are factors outside work that impact our behavior.
Getting a flat tire on the way to work can make someone have a bad day.
BIG 8 WILL BE ON EVERY EXAM
Why is common sense not enough in managing the human aspects of an organization?
- Answers - Your actions impact employees and the business as a whole. You must
understand how your action make people feel. This knowledge is something that is
learned
What are the top reasons and lowest reasons workers who have been out of school
awhile take new jobs (what is most important and what is less important)? - Answers -
Top Reasons:
Open communication / transparency
Personal / Family life
Nature of work
Management Quality
Lowest Reasons:
Location
Salary / Wage
No other offers
, Size of employer
List the three goals of OB (or any science) - Answers - Description
Prescription
application
Describe the "contingency approach." - Answers - Businesses are all different and there
is no right way to manage every business
What do managers do (roles=POLKa)? - Answers - POLCA: Planning, organizing,
leading, controlling, adjusting
What are the major differences between what effective and successful managers do? -
Answers - Successful managers focus on communication and networking, level in
org/tenure. Effective managers focus on communication and HRM, unit perf; sub
satisfaction & commit
Define the two forms of "currency" at work. Which is most important and why? (from Ms.
Carla Harris) - Answers - Performance currency is the idea that good work gets you
noticed. Relationship currency is the idea that building memories and interacting with
co-workers will in turn get you opportunities behind closed doors. Relationship currency
is more important.
List the 7 keys/insights/lessons learned by managers - Answers - High Degree of
people issue
Less talented and motivated employees
Good subordinate relationships
Criticism leads to mistrust
Being respected is better than being liked
Dependence on others without authority over them
Focus on gaining commitment not control
Describe the following factors that effect the strength (how much we should believe
them; how much faith we can put in the results) and the generalizability of research
findings (to what population do the results apply; or can they apply to lots of people): -
Answers - - Sample characteristics: The larger the sample size and the more randomly
selected they are the better the generalizability and strength is. A goal is to have the
sample be representative of the population.
- Setting characteristics: There are two settings a laboratory and field study. A field
study is studying things in their natural habitat. A laboratory study is a contrived
environment. The strength and generalizability come more from field studies.
Methods: Observation, Survey, and experiment. - Answers - Observations get a lot of
rich data with high generalizability
Survey is responding to questions/scenarios
ANSWERS
Why is OB in organizations (being good with people) important? - Answers -
Relationships are important in the world of business
What are the eight general factors (BIG-8) that impact behavior/performance (why
people do what they do)? List each one, define it, and describe how each affects
behavior. - Answers - 1. Context / Situation - EX. Being in class vs being at a football
game. Our behavior is influenced by the situation we are in.
2. Ability: GMA (General Mental Ability), Skills - the cognitive ability to perform well and
acquire skills
3. Personality - Peoples tendencies to think act and feel a certain way. It is more likely
that we will behave consistent to our personalities.
4. Motivation - Someone's drive to do something. It impacts people's behavior by
making them more inclined to do the task.
5. Attitude - Bad attitude means less likely to engage and have low effort. Good attitude
gives you motivation and you try harder.
6. Perceptions - Not the reality of the situation but how you see the situation. Ultimately,
we are going to act based on our perceptions.
7. Values - Things that are important to us. Makes us more likely to engage in activities
because they matter to us.
8. Outside work environment - There are factors outside work that impact our behavior.
Getting a flat tire on the way to work can make someone have a bad day.
BIG 8 WILL BE ON EVERY EXAM
Why is common sense not enough in managing the human aspects of an organization?
- Answers - Your actions impact employees and the business as a whole. You must
understand how your action make people feel. This knowledge is something that is
learned
What are the top reasons and lowest reasons workers who have been out of school
awhile take new jobs (what is most important and what is less important)? - Answers -
Top Reasons:
Open communication / transparency
Personal / Family life
Nature of work
Management Quality
Lowest Reasons:
Location
Salary / Wage
No other offers
, Size of employer
List the three goals of OB (or any science) - Answers - Description
Prescription
application
Describe the "contingency approach." - Answers - Businesses are all different and there
is no right way to manage every business
What do managers do (roles=POLKa)? - Answers - POLCA: Planning, organizing,
leading, controlling, adjusting
What are the major differences between what effective and successful managers do? -
Answers - Successful managers focus on communication and networking, level in
org/tenure. Effective managers focus on communication and HRM, unit perf; sub
satisfaction & commit
Define the two forms of "currency" at work. Which is most important and why? (from Ms.
Carla Harris) - Answers - Performance currency is the idea that good work gets you
noticed. Relationship currency is the idea that building memories and interacting with
co-workers will in turn get you opportunities behind closed doors. Relationship currency
is more important.
List the 7 keys/insights/lessons learned by managers - Answers - High Degree of
people issue
Less talented and motivated employees
Good subordinate relationships
Criticism leads to mistrust
Being respected is better than being liked
Dependence on others without authority over them
Focus on gaining commitment not control
Describe the following factors that effect the strength (how much we should believe
them; how much faith we can put in the results) and the generalizability of research
findings (to what population do the results apply; or can they apply to lots of people): -
Answers - - Sample characteristics: The larger the sample size and the more randomly
selected they are the better the generalizability and strength is. A goal is to have the
sample be representative of the population.
- Setting characteristics: There are two settings a laboratory and field study. A field
study is studying things in their natural habitat. A laboratory study is a contrived
environment. The strength and generalizability come more from field studies.
Methods: Observation, Survey, and experiment. - Answers - Observations get a lot of
rich data with high generalizability
Survey is responding to questions/scenarios
