MGMT 311 TOPIC EXAMS QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
| American Public University
1. An employee misses a difficult target but learns which strategy failed and uses the feedback to improve the next
attempt. Which response best supports motivation?
A. Lower every future goal to an effortless level.
B. Remove all feedback.
C. Conclude that ability can never improve.
D. Treat informative failure as feedback for strategy adjustment while maintaining realistic confidence.
Correct Answer: D. Treat informative failure as feedback for strategy adjustment while maintaining realistic
confidence.
Explanation: Self-efficacy and goal pursuit benefit from credible feedback that supports learning, strategy change, and
attainable progress rather than helplessness.
2. An organization wants to know whether employees perform assigned duties, voluntarily help coworkers, and
avoid behaviors that harm the firm. Which set of outcomes is it assessing?
A. Only organizational structure.
B. Only job satisfaction.
C. Task performance, citizenship behavior, and counterproductive behavior.
D. Only personality traits.
Correct Answer: C. Task performance, citizenship behavior, and counterproductive behavior.
Explanation: These three categories capture core forms of employee behavior: required task contribution, discretionary
helpful behavior, and harmful voluntary behavior.
3. A leader wants employees to speak up about errors. Which action is most likely to shape culture in that
direction?
A. State the value once and ignore contrary behavior.
B. Respond constructively to reported mistakes and reward learning-oriented transparency.
C. Punish the first employee who reports a problem.
D. Reward managers for hiding bad news.
Correct Answer: B. Respond constructively to reported mistakes and reward learning-oriented transparency.
Explanation: Culture changes when repeated leader behavior, rewards, and routines reinforce the desired norm.
Psychological safety requires credible responses to speaking up.
4. A company creates a pilot team, tests a new workflow, measures results, and revises the process before scaling.
What change principle is illustrated?
A. Use experimentation and feedback to learn before full implementation.
B. Avoid measurement.
C. Treat the first design as irreversible.
D. Escalate commitment before evidence arrives.
Correct Answer: A. Use experimentation and feedback to learn before full implementation.
Explanation: Piloting creates evidence, exposes implementation problems, and supports iterative improvement before
resources are committed at full scale.
, 5. A team leader wants to reduce bias in performance ratings. Which action is most useful?
A. Rely on first impressions.
B. Use one global trait to judge all dimensions.
C. Use clear behavioral criteria, multiple observations, and evidence gathered across the review period.
D. Rate from memory at year-end only.
Correct Answer: C. Use clear behavioral criteria, multiple observations, and evidence gathered across the review
period.
Explanation: Structured criteria and repeated observations reduce reliance on memory shortcuts, first impressions, and
halo effects.
6. A diverse project group initially experiences more debate but ultimately integrates more information and
identifies a better solution. What mechanism can explain the benefit?
A. Diverse perspectives can increase information processing and reduce unexamined assumptions.
B. Task conflict can never be useful.
C. Diversity eliminates all conflict.
D. Similarity always improves creativity.
Correct Answer: A. Diverse perspectives can increase information processing and reduce unexamined assumptions.
Explanation: When inclusion and constructive processes are present, diverse information and viewpoints can improve
problem solving by expanding what the group considers.
7. Two employees believe they can meet a target and both value the reward, but only one trusts the manager to
deliver it. Which employee should have stronger motivation, all else equal?
A. The employee with lower instrumentality.
B. They must have identical motivation.
C. The employee who distrusts the reward link.
D. The employee who believes performance will actually lead to the reward.
Correct Answer: D. The employee who believes performance will actually lead to the reward.
Explanation: The trusted performance-reward connection creates higher instrumentality. Expectancy theory predicts
stronger motivation when all three components are favorable.
8. An employee informally changes how tasks are performed and builds new relationships to make the job more
meaningful without changing the official title. What is this called?
A. Escalation of commitment.
B. Job crafting.
C. Coercive power.
D. Groupthink.
Correct Answer: B. Job crafting.
Explanation: Job crafting refers to employee-initiated changes in task, relational, or cognitive boundaries of work to
improve fit or meaning.
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
| American Public University
1. An employee misses a difficult target but learns which strategy failed and uses the feedback to improve the next
attempt. Which response best supports motivation?
A. Lower every future goal to an effortless level.
B. Remove all feedback.
C. Conclude that ability can never improve.
D. Treat informative failure as feedback for strategy adjustment while maintaining realistic confidence.
Correct Answer: D. Treat informative failure as feedback for strategy adjustment while maintaining realistic
confidence.
Explanation: Self-efficacy and goal pursuit benefit from credible feedback that supports learning, strategy change, and
attainable progress rather than helplessness.
2. An organization wants to know whether employees perform assigned duties, voluntarily help coworkers, and
avoid behaviors that harm the firm. Which set of outcomes is it assessing?
A. Only organizational structure.
B. Only job satisfaction.
C. Task performance, citizenship behavior, and counterproductive behavior.
D. Only personality traits.
Correct Answer: C. Task performance, citizenship behavior, and counterproductive behavior.
Explanation: These three categories capture core forms of employee behavior: required task contribution, discretionary
helpful behavior, and harmful voluntary behavior.
3. A leader wants employees to speak up about errors. Which action is most likely to shape culture in that
direction?
A. State the value once and ignore contrary behavior.
B. Respond constructively to reported mistakes and reward learning-oriented transparency.
C. Punish the first employee who reports a problem.
D. Reward managers for hiding bad news.
Correct Answer: B. Respond constructively to reported mistakes and reward learning-oriented transparency.
Explanation: Culture changes when repeated leader behavior, rewards, and routines reinforce the desired norm.
Psychological safety requires credible responses to speaking up.
4. A company creates a pilot team, tests a new workflow, measures results, and revises the process before scaling.
What change principle is illustrated?
A. Use experimentation and feedback to learn before full implementation.
B. Avoid measurement.
C. Treat the first design as irreversible.
D. Escalate commitment before evidence arrives.
Correct Answer: A. Use experimentation and feedback to learn before full implementation.
Explanation: Piloting creates evidence, exposes implementation problems, and supports iterative improvement before
resources are committed at full scale.
, 5. A team leader wants to reduce bias in performance ratings. Which action is most useful?
A. Rely on first impressions.
B. Use one global trait to judge all dimensions.
C. Use clear behavioral criteria, multiple observations, and evidence gathered across the review period.
D. Rate from memory at year-end only.
Correct Answer: C. Use clear behavioral criteria, multiple observations, and evidence gathered across the review
period.
Explanation: Structured criteria and repeated observations reduce reliance on memory shortcuts, first impressions, and
halo effects.
6. A diverse project group initially experiences more debate but ultimately integrates more information and
identifies a better solution. What mechanism can explain the benefit?
A. Diverse perspectives can increase information processing and reduce unexamined assumptions.
B. Task conflict can never be useful.
C. Diversity eliminates all conflict.
D. Similarity always improves creativity.
Correct Answer: A. Diverse perspectives can increase information processing and reduce unexamined assumptions.
Explanation: When inclusion and constructive processes are present, diverse information and viewpoints can improve
problem solving by expanding what the group considers.
7. Two employees believe they can meet a target and both value the reward, but only one trusts the manager to
deliver it. Which employee should have stronger motivation, all else equal?
A. The employee with lower instrumentality.
B. They must have identical motivation.
C. The employee who distrusts the reward link.
D. The employee who believes performance will actually lead to the reward.
Correct Answer: D. The employee who believes performance will actually lead to the reward.
Explanation: The trusted performance-reward connection creates higher instrumentality. Expectancy theory predicts
stronger motivation when all three components are favorable.
8. An employee informally changes how tasks are performed and builds new relationships to make the job more
meaningful without changing the official title. What is this called?
A. Escalation of commitment.
B. Job crafting.
C. Coercive power.
D. Groupthink.
Correct Answer: B. Job crafting.
Explanation: Job crafting refers to employee-initiated changes in task, relational, or cognitive boundaries of work to
improve fit or meaning.
