EXAM QUESTIONS ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOR
When answering questions, the professor has always a model in mind which guides the answer.
You can always use a theory/model to answer the questions. This would give the best results in
this course. Not in all cases you have to mention which theory/model you use. The professor
expects you to use theories and or models. Show it also by using examples, showing you have a
grasp on the theories.
Question 1 Medical mistakes (15 p)
One of the most striking medical mistakes is the left-right error. After all, what you call your
right side, is left for people facing you. Although there are strict rules to prevent these errors
from occurring, they do occasionally happen. For example, surgery should have been
performed on your afflicted right eye, but instead your healthy left eye was treated.
In the literature there are multiple perspectives on how to prevent medical mistakes; two
perspectives are the professional and the system perspective.
Explain both perspectives. And argue based on these two perspectives why the prevention of
left-right errors is so difficult.
Answer:
System perspective: system is responsible for dealing with errors. Systems themselves can be
complicated and make mistakes. Making a perfect system still needs double-checking, humans
work with it and humans aren’t perfect.
Professional: humans are responsible for the error they make. Making protocols is difficult, it
should be left to professionals. However, humans make errors too. Active reflection could be a
solution.
Question 2 Nursing homes (30 p)
Dutch nursing homes are under a lot of pressure. They are expected to provide more care and
more complex care with less means. Employee associations received thousands of complaints
of employees working in nursing homes in the last months. Employees in nursing homes
complained about their working conditions, especially the high amount of work pressure they
experience. Employee associations claim that this is caused by the measures taken by the Dutch
government to contain costs of care. In nursing home X, this resulted in a HR policy that
focused on closer monitoring of employee performance, such as measurements and checks of
When answering questions, the professor has always a model in mind which guides the answer.
You can always use a theory/model to answer the questions. This would give the best results in
this course. Not in all cases you have to mention which theory/model you use. The professor
expects you to use theories and or models. Show it also by using examples, showing you have a
grasp on the theories.
Question 1 Medical mistakes (15 p)
One of the most striking medical mistakes is the left-right error. After all, what you call your
right side, is left for people facing you. Although there are strict rules to prevent these errors
from occurring, they do occasionally happen. For example, surgery should have been
performed on your afflicted right eye, but instead your healthy left eye was treated.
In the literature there are multiple perspectives on how to prevent medical mistakes; two
perspectives are the professional and the system perspective.
Explain both perspectives. And argue based on these two perspectives why the prevention of
left-right errors is so difficult.
Answer:
System perspective: system is responsible for dealing with errors. Systems themselves can be
complicated and make mistakes. Making a perfect system still needs double-checking, humans
work with it and humans aren’t perfect.
Professional: humans are responsible for the error they make. Making protocols is difficult, it
should be left to professionals. However, humans make errors too. Active reflection could be a
solution.
Question 2 Nursing homes (30 p)
Dutch nursing homes are under a lot of pressure. They are expected to provide more care and
more complex care with less means. Employee associations received thousands of complaints
of employees working in nursing homes in the last months. Employees in nursing homes
complained about their working conditions, especially the high amount of work pressure they
experience. Employee associations claim that this is caused by the measures taken by the Dutch
government to contain costs of care. In nursing home X, this resulted in a HR policy that
focused on closer monitoring of employee performance, such as measurements and checks of
