HROB 101 Final Exam Questions and
Answers20
ethnocentrism - ANSWERS -The belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures one
comes across.
Universalism - ANSWERS -The belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere without
modification
particularism - ANSWERS -The belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should
be applied and that something cannot be done the same everywhere. It asks the question,
What is more important, rules or relationships?
leadership - ANSWERS -the ability to influence a group in goal achievement
formal leaders - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -Those without a formal position of authority within the
organization but demonstrate leadership by influencing those around them through personal
forms of power.
Openness - ANSWERS -Being curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas
Conscientiousness - ANSWERS -Being organized, systematic, punctual, achievement oriented,
and dependable
,Extraversion - ANSWERS -Being outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoying social situations
Agreeableness - ANSWERS -Being affable, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm
Neuroticism - ANSWERS -Being anxious, irritable, temperamental, and moody
task-oriented leader behaviors - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -Showing concern for employee feelings and
treating employees with respect (also called consideration).
autocratic decision making - ANSWERS -What occurs when leaders make the decision alone
without necessarily involving employees in the decision-making process.
democratic decision making - ANSWERS -What occurs when leaders and employees participate
in the making of the decision.
laissez-faire decision making - ANSWERS -What occurs when leaders leave employees alone to
make the decision. The leader provides minimum guidance and involvement in the decision.
Theory X - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -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) - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -This theory is based on the
expectancy theory of motivation. The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that employees
Answers20
ethnocentrism - ANSWERS -The belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures one
comes across.
Universalism - ANSWERS -The belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere without
modification
particularism - ANSWERS -The belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should
be applied and that something cannot be done the same everywhere. It asks the question,
What is more important, rules or relationships?
leadership - ANSWERS -the ability to influence a group in goal achievement
formal leaders - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -Those without a formal position of authority within the
organization but demonstrate leadership by influencing those around them through personal
forms of power.
Openness - ANSWERS -Being curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas
Conscientiousness - ANSWERS -Being organized, systematic, punctual, achievement oriented,
and dependable
,Extraversion - ANSWERS -Being outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoying social situations
Agreeableness - ANSWERS -Being affable, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm
Neuroticism - ANSWERS -Being anxious, irritable, temperamental, and moody
task-oriented leader behaviors - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -Showing concern for employee feelings and
treating employees with respect (also called consideration).
autocratic decision making - ANSWERS -What occurs when leaders make the decision alone
without necessarily involving employees in the decision-making process.
democratic decision making - ANSWERS -What occurs when leaders and employees participate
in the making of the decision.
laissez-faire decision making - ANSWERS -What occurs when leaders leave employees alone to
make the decision. The leader provides minimum guidance and involvement in the decision.
Theory X - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -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) - ANSWERS -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 - ANSWERS -This theory is based on the
expectancy theory of motivation. The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that employees
