HROB 101 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
leadership - Answer -the ability to influence a group in goal achievement
formal leaders - Answer -Those who hold a position of authority and may utilize the
power that comes from their position, as well as their personal power to influence
others.
informal leaders - Answer -Those without a formal position of authority within the
organization but demonstrate leadership by influencing those around them through
personal forms of power.
Openness - Answer -Being curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new
ideas
Conscientiousness - Answer -Being organized, systematic, punctual, achievement
oriented, and dependable
Extraversion - Answer -Being outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoying social
situations
Agreeableness - Answer -Being affable, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm
Neuroticism - Answer -Being anxious, irritable, temperamental, and moody
task-oriented leader behaviors - Answer -Structuring the roles of subordinates,
providing them with instructions, and behaving in ways that will increase the
performance of the group (also called initiating structure).
people-oriented leader behaviors - Answer -Showing concern for employee feelings
and treating employees with respect (also called consideration).
autocratic decision making - Answer -What occurs when leaders make the decision
alone without necessarily involving employees in the decision-making process.
democratic decision making - Answer -What occurs when leaders and employees
participate in the making of the decision.
laissez-faire decision making - Answer -What occurs when leaders leave employees
alone to make the decision. The leader provides minimum guidance and involvement in
the decision.
Theory X - Answer -A theory of human nature which assumes that employees are lazy,
do not enjoy working, and will avoid expending energy on work whenever possible.
, Theory Y - Answer -A theory of human nature which assumes that employees are not
lazy, can enjoy work, and will put effort into furthering organizational goals.
Fiedler's Contingency Theory - Answer -According to Fiedler's theory, different people
can be effective in different situations. The LPC score is akin to a personality trait and is
not likely to change. Instead, placing the right people in the right situation or changing
the situation to suit an individual is important to increase a leader's effectiveness. The
theory predicts that in "favorable" and "unfavorable" situations, a low LPC leader—one
who has feelings of dislike for coworkers who are difficult to work with—would be
successful. When situational favorableness is medium, a high LPC leader—one who is
able to personally like coworkers who are difficult to work with—is more likely to
succeed.
How does Fiedler determine whether a situation is "favorable," "medium," or
"unfavorable"? There are three conditions creating situational favorableness: leader-
subordinate relations, position power, and task structure. If the leader has a good
relationship with most people and has high position power, and the task at hand is
structured, the situation is very favorable. When the leader has low-quality relations with
employees and has low position power, and the task at hand is relatively unstructured,
the situation is very unfavorable.
Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) - Answer -This theory argues that leaders must
use different leadership styles depending on their followers' development level.
According to this model, employee readiness (defined as a combination of their
competence and commitment levels) is the key factor determining the proper leadership
style.
The model summarizes the level of directive and supportive behaviors that leaders may
exhibit. The model argues that to be effective, leaders must use the right style of
behaviors at the right time in each employee's development. It is recognized that
followers are key to a leader's success. Employees who are at the earliest stages of
developing are seen as being highly committed but with low competence for the tasks.
Thus, leaders should be highly directive and less supportive. As the employee becomes
more competent, the leader should engage in more coaching behaviors. Supportive
behaviors are recommended once the employee is at moderate to high levels of
competence. And finally, delegating is the recommended approach for leaders dealing
with employees who are both highly committed and highly competent. While the SLT is
popular with managers, relatively easy to understand and use, and has endured for
decades, research has been mixed in its support of the basic assumptions of the
model.[36] Therefore, while it can be a useful way to think about matching behaviors to
situations, overreliance on this model, at the exclusion of other models, is premature.
Robert House's path-goal theory of leadership - Answer -This theory is based on the
expectancy theory of motivation. The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that
employees are motivated when they believe—or expect—that (a) their effort will lead to
high performance, (b) their high performance will be rewarded, and (c) the rewards they
will receive are valuable to them. According to the path-goal theory of leadership, the
leadership - Answer -the ability to influence a group in goal achievement
formal leaders - Answer -Those who hold a position of authority and may utilize the
power that comes from their position, as well as their personal power to influence
others.
informal leaders - Answer -Those without a formal position of authority within the
organization but demonstrate leadership by influencing those around them through
personal forms of power.
Openness - Answer -Being curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new
ideas
Conscientiousness - Answer -Being organized, systematic, punctual, achievement
oriented, and dependable
Extraversion - Answer -Being outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoying social
situations
Agreeableness - Answer -Being affable, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm
Neuroticism - Answer -Being anxious, irritable, temperamental, and moody
task-oriented leader behaviors - Answer -Structuring the roles of subordinates,
providing them with instructions, and behaving in ways that will increase the
performance of the group (also called initiating structure).
people-oriented leader behaviors - Answer -Showing concern for employee feelings
and treating employees with respect (also called consideration).
autocratic decision making - Answer -What occurs when leaders make the decision
alone without necessarily involving employees in the decision-making process.
democratic decision making - Answer -What occurs when leaders and employees
participate in the making of the decision.
laissez-faire decision making - Answer -What occurs when leaders leave employees
alone to make the decision. The leader provides minimum guidance and involvement in
the decision.
Theory X - Answer -A theory of human nature which assumes that employees are lazy,
do not enjoy working, and will avoid expending energy on work whenever possible.
, Theory Y - Answer -A theory of human nature which assumes that employees are not
lazy, can enjoy work, and will put effort into furthering organizational goals.
Fiedler's Contingency Theory - Answer -According to Fiedler's theory, different people
can be effective in different situations. The LPC score is akin to a personality trait and is
not likely to change. Instead, placing the right people in the right situation or changing
the situation to suit an individual is important to increase a leader's effectiveness. The
theory predicts that in "favorable" and "unfavorable" situations, a low LPC leader—one
who has feelings of dislike for coworkers who are difficult to work with—would be
successful. When situational favorableness is medium, a high LPC leader—one who is
able to personally like coworkers who are difficult to work with—is more likely to
succeed.
How does Fiedler determine whether a situation is "favorable," "medium," or
"unfavorable"? There are three conditions creating situational favorableness: leader-
subordinate relations, position power, and task structure. If the leader has a good
relationship with most people and has high position power, and the task at hand is
structured, the situation is very favorable. When the leader has low-quality relations with
employees and has low position power, and the task at hand is relatively unstructured,
the situation is very unfavorable.
Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) - Answer -This theory argues that leaders must
use different leadership styles depending on their followers' development level.
According to this model, employee readiness (defined as a combination of their
competence and commitment levels) is the key factor determining the proper leadership
style.
The model summarizes the level of directive and supportive behaviors that leaders may
exhibit. The model argues that to be effective, leaders must use the right style of
behaviors at the right time in each employee's development. It is recognized that
followers are key to a leader's success. Employees who are at the earliest stages of
developing are seen as being highly committed but with low competence for the tasks.
Thus, leaders should be highly directive and less supportive. As the employee becomes
more competent, the leader should engage in more coaching behaviors. Supportive
behaviors are recommended once the employee is at moderate to high levels of
competence. And finally, delegating is the recommended approach for leaders dealing
with employees who are both highly committed and highly competent. While the SLT is
popular with managers, relatively easy to understand and use, and has endured for
decades, research has been mixed in its support of the basic assumptions of the
model.[36] Therefore, while it can be a useful way to think about matching behaviors to
situations, overreliance on this model, at the exclusion of other models, is premature.
Robert House's path-goal theory of leadership - Answer -This theory is based on the
expectancy theory of motivation. The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that
employees are motivated when they believe—or expect—that (a) their effort will lead to
high performance, (b) their high performance will be rewarded, and (c) the rewards they
will receive are valuable to them. According to the path-goal theory of leadership, the
