MGT 500 MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS AND ALL
ANSWERS CORRECT
One characteristic of good theories in OB is that they are (5) - ANSWER •
Contributes to the objectives of science
• Parsimonious
• Testable - Can't "prove" much
• Logically consistent with self and other known theories
• Relevant
The gap between felt and displayed emotions in emotional labor is referred to as
- ANSWER Emotional dissonance
. Which of the following is an appropriate/ethical use of the MBTI? -
ANSWER None of the above
When a manager confidently predicts that a new product will be successful
based simply on the success of past product lines, he/she is falling victim to
which common judgement bias? - ANSWER Representative Bias
What aspect of an employee's work performance refers to discretionary
behaviors not necessarily contained in the formal job description but benefit the
organization? - ANSWER Organizational citizenship
Describe the self‐serving bias in perception and attribution. - ANSWER Self-
serving bias is the idea that we attribute personal success to internal causes and
we attribute personal failures to external causes. For example - I did great on
that exam because I studied really hard. OR I did poorly on that exam because
the professor tried to trick us.
Kurt Lewin suggested that behavior is function of the person * environment.
Why is this idea so critical for managers to understand when examining
employee behavior? - ANSWER Personality traits alone cannot successfully
predict behavior. Situations or the environment can significantly alter the way
,that people act. Personality traits are on a broad spectrum and there is a wide
range for interpretation when you are focusing solely on personality. If
managers take the environment into account as well they will be able to identify
and promote positive behaviors, create a positive workplace culture, identify
causes of "antisocial" behaviors and assess likely employee response before
initiating organizational change.
- Often times situations not people often determine behavior *
Describe two ways to help overcome persistent decision‐making biases? -
ANSWER - Provide confidence estimates (use confidence intervals or error
terms)
- Calibrate our judgement (carefully track our trial and error) if we don't track
our trial and error then we are not likely to improve.
- Healthy skepticism: be aware of people that are experts, experts have a lot of
overconfidence
*** OR: 1. When thinking about the problem at hand - you should try to
reframe the problem more broadly. By paraphrasing, doing a 180 turn around,
broadening it and redirect the problem.
2. Generating alternatives. Do not limit yourself to one alternative.
Differentiate between deontological and teleological theories of ethics. Provide
examples. - ANSWER Deontological theories of ethics rely on our sense of
duty to act according to what is right. This focuses more so on whether an
action is right in itself rather than looking at the consequences, intentions or
motives of an action.
Example: "Do not kill" We all see killing or murdering as an awful human deed
because we are taught since our childhood that killing somebody is a wrong act.
For instance, if we found out somebody killed someone we consider him wrong
because he/she has killed somebody. But we don't know the detail behind the
situation. Maybe that person has killed another one in self-defense.
OR: "Do not steal" Stealing is also considered as a legal crime. We are taught
not to steal anything or take anybody's thing without asking them.
Teleological theories of ethics looks at the consequences of an action to
determine whether it is morally right. Teleological theories can be applied
situationally and contextually.
, Example: Stealing would be deemed right or wrong depending on the
consequences. Suppose I were contemplating stealing a loaf of bread from the
neighborhood grocery store. My motive alone would have nothing to do with
the rightness or wrongness of the act. What really matters lies in the potential
short-term and long-term consequences. If my children were starving, and if
stealing a loaf of bread would immediately prevent them from starving, then I
might seriously consider stealing. But I'd have to know if the consequences
would significantly harm the grocery store? What would be the odds of getting
caught? If I got caught, what would happen to me? Would I go to jail? Get
fined? If I went to jail, who would take care of my children? Therefore, even if
my motive (preventing my children from starving) was praiseworthy, the act of
stealing might still be wrong because other actions might be more cos
According to the article "Evidence‐based Management," organizations often
engage in practices that are based on "half‐truths" rather than evidence. Explain
what is meant by a "half‐truth" and provide two examples of practices based on
"half‐truths." - ANSWER Half-truths - advice that is true some of the time,
under certain conditions.
Example: . Beliefs in the power of being first and fastest in everything we do
are so ingrained that giving people contradictory evidence does not cause them
to abandon their faith in the first-mover advantage. Beliefs rooted in ideology or
in cultural values are quite "sticky," resist disconfirmation, and persist in
affecting judgments and choice, regardless of whether they are true. Belief and
conventional wisdom = lead to half-truths
Definition of organizational behavior (Baldwin, Bommer, & Rubin) -
ANSWER Discipline of behavioral science that attempts to describe, explain,
predict and, influence human behavior in an organizational context.
What are the three levels of analysis in OB? - ANSWER Individual, group,
organization level (see intro to OB & ethics notes for specific examples of each
level)
Organizational Behavior outcomes - ANSWER 1. Productivity (efficiency):
employee output taking resources into account
2. Employee performance (effectiveness): Task or job performance aka core
substantive or technical task essential to the job
ANSWERS CORRECT
One characteristic of good theories in OB is that they are (5) - ANSWER •
Contributes to the objectives of science
• Parsimonious
• Testable - Can't "prove" much
• Logically consistent with self and other known theories
• Relevant
The gap between felt and displayed emotions in emotional labor is referred to as
- ANSWER Emotional dissonance
. Which of the following is an appropriate/ethical use of the MBTI? -
ANSWER None of the above
When a manager confidently predicts that a new product will be successful
based simply on the success of past product lines, he/she is falling victim to
which common judgement bias? - ANSWER Representative Bias
What aspect of an employee's work performance refers to discretionary
behaviors not necessarily contained in the formal job description but benefit the
organization? - ANSWER Organizational citizenship
Describe the self‐serving bias in perception and attribution. - ANSWER Self-
serving bias is the idea that we attribute personal success to internal causes and
we attribute personal failures to external causes. For example - I did great on
that exam because I studied really hard. OR I did poorly on that exam because
the professor tried to trick us.
Kurt Lewin suggested that behavior is function of the person * environment.
Why is this idea so critical for managers to understand when examining
employee behavior? - ANSWER Personality traits alone cannot successfully
predict behavior. Situations or the environment can significantly alter the way
,that people act. Personality traits are on a broad spectrum and there is a wide
range for interpretation when you are focusing solely on personality. If
managers take the environment into account as well they will be able to identify
and promote positive behaviors, create a positive workplace culture, identify
causes of "antisocial" behaviors and assess likely employee response before
initiating organizational change.
- Often times situations not people often determine behavior *
Describe two ways to help overcome persistent decision‐making biases? -
ANSWER - Provide confidence estimates (use confidence intervals or error
terms)
- Calibrate our judgement (carefully track our trial and error) if we don't track
our trial and error then we are not likely to improve.
- Healthy skepticism: be aware of people that are experts, experts have a lot of
overconfidence
*** OR: 1. When thinking about the problem at hand - you should try to
reframe the problem more broadly. By paraphrasing, doing a 180 turn around,
broadening it and redirect the problem.
2. Generating alternatives. Do not limit yourself to one alternative.
Differentiate between deontological and teleological theories of ethics. Provide
examples. - ANSWER Deontological theories of ethics rely on our sense of
duty to act according to what is right. This focuses more so on whether an
action is right in itself rather than looking at the consequences, intentions or
motives of an action.
Example: "Do not kill" We all see killing or murdering as an awful human deed
because we are taught since our childhood that killing somebody is a wrong act.
For instance, if we found out somebody killed someone we consider him wrong
because he/she has killed somebody. But we don't know the detail behind the
situation. Maybe that person has killed another one in self-defense.
OR: "Do not steal" Stealing is also considered as a legal crime. We are taught
not to steal anything or take anybody's thing without asking them.
Teleological theories of ethics looks at the consequences of an action to
determine whether it is morally right. Teleological theories can be applied
situationally and contextually.
, Example: Stealing would be deemed right or wrong depending on the
consequences. Suppose I were contemplating stealing a loaf of bread from the
neighborhood grocery store. My motive alone would have nothing to do with
the rightness or wrongness of the act. What really matters lies in the potential
short-term and long-term consequences. If my children were starving, and if
stealing a loaf of bread would immediately prevent them from starving, then I
might seriously consider stealing. But I'd have to know if the consequences
would significantly harm the grocery store? What would be the odds of getting
caught? If I got caught, what would happen to me? Would I go to jail? Get
fined? If I went to jail, who would take care of my children? Therefore, even if
my motive (preventing my children from starving) was praiseworthy, the act of
stealing might still be wrong because other actions might be more cos
According to the article "Evidence‐based Management," organizations often
engage in practices that are based on "half‐truths" rather than evidence. Explain
what is meant by a "half‐truth" and provide two examples of practices based on
"half‐truths." - ANSWER Half-truths - advice that is true some of the time,
under certain conditions.
Example: . Beliefs in the power of being first and fastest in everything we do
are so ingrained that giving people contradictory evidence does not cause them
to abandon their faith in the first-mover advantage. Beliefs rooted in ideology or
in cultural values are quite "sticky," resist disconfirmation, and persist in
affecting judgments and choice, regardless of whether they are true. Belief and
conventional wisdom = lead to half-truths
Definition of organizational behavior (Baldwin, Bommer, & Rubin) -
ANSWER Discipline of behavioral science that attempts to describe, explain,
predict and, influence human behavior in an organizational context.
What are the three levels of analysis in OB? - ANSWER Individual, group,
organization level (see intro to OB & ethics notes for specific examples of each
level)
Organizational Behavior outcomes - ANSWER 1. Productivity (efficiency):
employee output taking resources into account
2. Employee performance (effectiveness): Task or job performance aka core
substantive or technical task essential to the job
