Organizational Behavior, 18e (Robbins)
Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior?
1) A survey of over 2,100 CFOs across 20 industries indicated that a lack of interpersonal
skills is the top reason why some employees fail to advance.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Business schools have realized the significant role interpersonal skills play
in determining a manager's effectiveness. A survey of over 2,100 CFOs across 20
industries indicated that a lack of interpersonal skills is the top reason why some
employees fail to advance.
LO: 1.1: Demonstrate the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Easy
Quest. Category: Concept
2) Discuss the growing importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.
Answer: Until the late 1980s, business school curricula emphasized the technical aspects
of management, focusing on economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques.
Course work in human behavior and people skills received relatively less attention. Over
the past three decades, however, business faculty have come to realize the role that
understanding human behavior plays in determining a manager's effectiveness and
required courses on people skills have been added to many curricula. Developing
managers' interpersonal skills also helps organizations attract and keep high-performing
employees. Regardless of labor market conditions, outstanding employees are always in
short supply. Having managers with good interpersonal skills is likely to make the
workplace more pleasant, which in turn makes it easier to hire and keep qualified people.
Creating a pleasant workplace also appears to make good economic sense.
LO: 1.1: Demonstrate the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.
Difficulty: Moderate
Quest. Category: Concept
,3) ________ get things done through other people. They make decisions, allocate
resources, and direct the activities of others to attain goals.
A) Assistants
B) Managers
C) Secretaries
D) Interns
E) Apprentices
Answer: B
Explanation: The defining characteristic of managers is that they get things done through
other people. They make decisions, allocate resources, and direct the activities of others
to attain goals.
LO: 1.2: Define organizational behavior (OB).
Difficulty: Easy
Quest. Category: Concept
,4) Sally Mitchell works as a manager at an environmental organization. She is currently
working on a global warming project and decides which tasks related to creating
awareness about the issue need to be done. In addition, she is also deciding which
members of her team will work on engaging with the public and which will work on
lobbying with the government. She is also assigning people as team members to ensure
that tasks are undertaken on time. Which of the following categories of functions is
Mitchell undertaking?
A) planning
B) organizing
C) scrutinizing
D) controlling
E) envisioning
Answer: B
Explanation: Managers are responsible for designing an organization's structure. This
function is called organizing. It includes determining what tasks are to be done, who is to
do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are
to be made.
LO: 1.2: Define organizational behavior (OB).
AACSB: Analytical thinking
Difficulty: Hard
Quest. Category: Application
5) Johanna Reid, a campaign manager at a child rights organization, recently started
working on an illiteracy project. During the project, she needs to motivate team members
to attain their project milestones and direct them through different phases of the project.
Which of the following kinds of functions will these tasks be covered under?
A) planning
B) organizing
C) scrutinizing
D) evaluating
, E) leading
Answer: E
Explanation: The leading function of managers involves motivating employees, directing
their activities, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving
conflicts among members.
LO: 1.2: Define organizational behavior (OB).
AACSB: Analytical thinking
Difficulty: Hard
Quest. Category: Application
Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior?
1) A survey of over 2,100 CFOs across 20 industries indicated that a lack of interpersonal
skills is the top reason why some employees fail to advance.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Business schools have realized the significant role interpersonal skills play
in determining a manager's effectiveness. A survey of over 2,100 CFOs across 20
industries indicated that a lack of interpersonal skills is the top reason why some
employees fail to advance.
LO: 1.1: Demonstrate the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Easy
Quest. Category: Concept
2) Discuss the growing importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.
Answer: Until the late 1980s, business school curricula emphasized the technical aspects
of management, focusing on economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques.
Course work in human behavior and people skills received relatively less attention. Over
the past three decades, however, business faculty have come to realize the role that
understanding human behavior plays in determining a manager's effectiveness and
required courses on people skills have been added to many curricula. Developing
managers' interpersonal skills also helps organizations attract and keep high-performing
employees. Regardless of labor market conditions, outstanding employees are always in
short supply. Having managers with good interpersonal skills is likely to make the
workplace more pleasant, which in turn makes it easier to hire and keep qualified people.
Creating a pleasant workplace also appears to make good economic sense.
LO: 1.1: Demonstrate the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace.
Difficulty: Moderate
Quest. Category: Concept
,3) ________ get things done through other people. They make decisions, allocate
resources, and direct the activities of others to attain goals.
A) Assistants
B) Managers
C) Secretaries
D) Interns
E) Apprentices
Answer: B
Explanation: The defining characteristic of managers is that they get things done through
other people. They make decisions, allocate resources, and direct the activities of others
to attain goals.
LO: 1.2: Define organizational behavior (OB).
Difficulty: Easy
Quest. Category: Concept
,4) Sally Mitchell works as a manager at an environmental organization. She is currently
working on a global warming project and decides which tasks related to creating
awareness about the issue need to be done. In addition, she is also deciding which
members of her team will work on engaging with the public and which will work on
lobbying with the government. She is also assigning people as team members to ensure
that tasks are undertaken on time. Which of the following categories of functions is
Mitchell undertaking?
A) planning
B) organizing
C) scrutinizing
D) controlling
E) envisioning
Answer: B
Explanation: Managers are responsible for designing an organization's structure. This
function is called organizing. It includes determining what tasks are to be done, who is to
do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are
to be made.
LO: 1.2: Define organizational behavior (OB).
AACSB: Analytical thinking
Difficulty: Hard
Quest. Category: Application
5) Johanna Reid, a campaign manager at a child rights organization, recently started
working on an illiteracy project. During the project, she needs to motivate team members
to attain their project milestones and direct them through different phases of the project.
Which of the following kinds of functions will these tasks be covered under?
A) planning
B) organizing
C) scrutinizing
D) evaluating
, E) leading
Answer: E
Explanation: The leading function of managers involves motivating employees, directing
their activities, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving
conflicts among members.
LO: 1.2: Define organizational behavior (OB).
AACSB: Analytical thinking
Difficulty: Hard
Quest. Category: Application
