BUAD309 Ch. 12 – Flashcards

Leadership is best defined as ________. A) the ability to merely project one's abilities in the lack of actual accomplishments B) the ability to reduce the dependence of team members on each other C) the ability to induce the team members to focus on individual goals rather than collective goals D) the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals E) the ability to use factors like training and experience to reduce dependence on formal leadership

Which of the following statements regarding leadership is true? A) All managers are leaders. B) Formal rights ensure good leadership. C) Formal appointment is essential in creating leaders. D) All leaders are hierarchically superior to followers. E) Nonsanctioned leadership is as important as formal influence.

Which of the following is a desirable feature of leadership? A) one-directional influence from the leader to the follower B) coercive power and authority C) lack of freedom D) passivity of followers E) coexistence of leaders and managers

Trait theories of leadership focus on ________. A) the special relationship that leaders establish with a small group of their followers B) the personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders C) the way the leader makes decisions D) the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task E) the match between the leader's style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control

Which of the following Big Five personality traits has been identified as the most important trait in effective leaders? A) conscientiousness B) openness C) extraversion D) agreeableness E) emotional stability

Emotional intelligence (EI) is critical to effective leadership because one of its core components is ________ which reflects the consideration that leaders must be able to express. A) conscientiousness B) empathy C) optimism D) introversion E) perfectionism

Trait theories most accurately predict ________. A) distinguishing features of an effective leader B) differences between an effective and an ineffective leader C) success of a leader D) roles to be played by the leader E) emergence of a leader

Tim Wrench was leading the client services division of AmWeb for seven years when he was asked to move to another region where the company was setting up its office. Before moving, Tim was asked to help in finding a successor for him from his team. Tim's most obvious choice was Judy Judge and the management accepted his choice as Judy was a popular person across the company. Judy was known for her vivacious nature, she was often seen speaking to employees from various divisions, and was always excited to take up a new opportunity. Once she became a leader, she continued to give employees freedom and flexibility even if it resulted in deficiencies on the work front like missed deadlines or low quality. Judy's initial weeks as a leader were full of confusion among her team members, but many felt that the situation would come under control. When things did not improve in the next two months and many complaints poured in from clients, the management realized that Judy was not the best candidate to lead the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome? A) Judy was a high-performing employee and enjoyed good relationships with everyone on the team. B) Everyone felt Judy was given insufficient time to prove her worth as a leader. C) Research has shown that traits can predict the emergence of a leader, but not his/her efficiency as a leader. D) The client complaints were a common thing encountered by the company. E) Judy demonstrated low levels of consideration and high levels of task-orientation.

The Ohio State Studies narrowed the independent dimensions of leader behavior to two that substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees: consideration and ________. A) employee-orientation B) empathy C) constructing vision D) initiating structure E) charisma

In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, initiating structure refers to the extent to which ________. A) a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings B) a leader engages in participative management C) a leader is accepting of and respects individual differences among various team members D) a leader is likely to define and organize his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment E) a leader initiates efforts to communicate personally with employees

Adrian Atwood, a senior manager at MNC, spends a lot of his time assigning group members to particular tasks and scheduling their work such that deadlines are achievable. Adrian also sets high expectations for standards of performance, and holds regular meetings to ensure that productivity and quality are up to the mark. In the light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Adrian, as a leader, is ________. A) low in task orientation B) high in consideration C) relationship oriented D) employee oriented E) high in initiating structure

In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, ________ is the extent to which a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings. A) consideration B) transaction C) authentication D) task orientation E) identification

Nellie Fritz, the head of client support services at Olson Inc., is very popular among her subordinates. Many believe that Nellie has a knack for getting the work done without making the employees feel pushed into a corner. She is often seen speaking to her subordinates and support staff about their families, helping them with any personal problems they have, and praising employees for their good work. In light of the Ohio State Studies, this indicates that Nellie, as a leader, is ________. A) task oriented B) high in consideration C) low in trust propensity D) low in relationship orientation E) production oriented

The two dimensions of leadership behavior identified in the University of Michigan studies are ________. A) absolute leadership and contingency leadership B) transformational leaders and authentic leaders C) employee-oriented leaders and production-oriented leaders D) initiating structure and consideration E) initiation and completion

The University of Michigan studies define a(n) ________ leader as one who takes a personal interest in the needs of his/her subordinates. A) contingency B) task-oriented C) employee-oriented D) production-oriented E) structure initiating

If a leader's main concern is accomplishing his/her group's tasks, the University of Michigan studies label this leader ________. A) employee-oriented B) high in consideration C) relationship-oriented D) low in initiating structure E) production-oriented

Norman has been working in the sales division for a large manufacturing company for four months. In this short period of time, Norman has learned that Mr. Hill, his manager, keeps increasing monthly targets significantly, and though each time the target appears unrealistic, Norman has been able to achieve them throughout the last four months. Mr. Lee's approach of leading his employees to work more efficiently by setting successively higher targets is an example of his ________ leadership. A) employee-oriented B) consideration-based C) person-oriented D) production-oriented E) support-oriented

Maurice Harper is a friendly and warm manager who starts her day at work by personally greeting her colleagues and subordinates. Maurice is often seen listening sincerely to employees' concerns and problems. She takes the initiative to hold programs to renew and improve the skills of current employees. Most of her employees know that she is accessible for help and information at all times .Maurice is a(n) ________ leader. A) achievement-oriented B) transaction-oriented C) employee-oriented D) production-oriented E) task-oriented

Contingency theories focus on the ________ that impact leadership success. A) personality variables B) leader's abilities to inspire and transform followers C) situational variables D) values and ethics E) features of the followers

Which of the following theories of leadership is based on situational variables? A) attribution theory B) trait theories C) charismatic leadership theory D) path-goal theory E) behavioral theories

The least preferred co-worker (LPC) questionnaire is used to measure whether ________. A) the followers are able and willing B) a leader is task or relationship-oriented C) the members are in the in-group or out-group D) employees prefer servant leadership over situational leadership E) the leader is high on the dimension of conscientiousness

Dora Lee has just completed and scored the LPC questionnaire given to her during an evaluation exercise. She is surprised when she finds out that she described her least preferred co-worker in relatively positive terms because she recalls being particularly annoyed by this difficult co-worker several times in the past. Based on your understanding of Fiedler's model, you explain to Dora that her LPC score makes sense within the model because ________. A) Dora tends to become very dominating when given ambiguous tasks B) Dora is usually much more focused on productivity than on developing relationships C) Dora tends in general to focus on building good relationships with the other employees D) Dora has a spotty work history and has tended to switch jobs every couple of years E) Dora is usually chosen for positions of high responsibility within your organization

Fiedler's contingency leadership model assumes that ________. A) an individual's leadership style is essentially fixed B) an individual is constantly striving to develop a more productive style C) an individual's leadership is primarily determined by the the features of the followers D) an individual's leadership style can be altered much like his/her personality traits E) an individual's leadership style must be task oriented to be effective

Fiedler defines the degree of confidence, trust, and respect that subordinates have in their leader as ________. A) leader-member relations B) task structure C) positional power D) follower variables E) path-goal frameworks

Trevor Guerney is a manager who believes that those who are to be affected by a change must be involved in the change. Consequently, he always ensures that his subordinates have the knowledge of what is happening around them and he often holds meetings to obtain employee opinion and suggestions before making any decision that would apply to them. Similarly, Trevor's team proactively approaches him with problems and potential solutions as they know he will not respond by criticizing them. From the information provided in the scenario we can say that ________. A) Trevor's leadership is primarily task-oriented B) Trevor's team has a low degree of trust propensity C) Trevor's team requires more directive leadership D) Trevor's team has positive leader-member relations E) Trevor's team is unsatisfied with his power position

Which of the following situational dimensions identified by Fiedler relates to the degree to which job assignments are procedurized, that is, structured or unstructured? A) task reflexivity B) task significance C) task structure D) task complexity E) task orientation

In the context of Fiedler's model, the situational dimension termed ________ relates to the degree of influence a leader has over important variables such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases. A) task structure B) leader-member exchange C) position power D) initiating structure

According to the Fiedler contingency model, high managerial control is characterized by ________. A) high task structure, good leader-member relations, and strong position power B) limited position power, good leader-member relations, and low task structure C) less structured jobs, strong position power, and moderate leader-member relations D) broad employee responsibilities, low position power, and moderate leader-member relations E) good leader-member relations, low position power, unstructured jobs

Which of the following theoretical approaches in the study of leadership focuses on followers' readiness as a determinant of effective leadership? A) Big Five personality model B) behavioral theories C) Fiedler contingency model D) laissez-faire leadership E) situational leadership theory

According to the situational leadership theory, if followers are unable and unwilling to do a task, then a leader needs to ________. A) follow a supportive style B) engage in participative leadership C) refrain from providing too many inputs D) display high task and relationship orientation E) demonstrate high task and low relationship orientation

According to the situational leadership theory, if employees are unwilling and unable, the appropriate leadership style in this situation would be ________. A) participative B) democratic C) person-oriented D) directive E) supportive

According to the situational leadership theory, a follower with the desired ability and willingness is likely to be ________. A) lacking in the area of motivation B) deficient in the specific skills required C) comfortable in his ability to do the job well D) highly skilled in relevant areas but low on experience E) in need of leadership that is highly task oriented

Maura Ruiz has been working in the e-learning industry for over eight years. She is aware of the fact that in this industry, once an employee has learned his job, the work becomes fairly automatic and competence can be achieved rapidly. She has been noticing how in her team, this competence has come along with a lot of complacency; the employees, though able, are unwilling to work hard. According to the situational leadership theory, to rectify this situation, Maura would benefit the most if she uses the ________ style of leadership. A) task-oriented B) production-oriented C) participative D) directive E) autocratic

Which of the following statements is true with regard to the path-goal theory of leadership? A) The theory considers leadership to be a set of attributes ascribed to leaders by followers. B) The theory proposes only a passive and supportive role for leaders. C) The theory considers removing obstacles to be a component of effective leadership. D) The theory proposes that leaders must work closely with followers throughout. E) The path-goal theory represents a laissez-faire approach to leadership.

George is a project leader at NSys for five years. George's job description involves scheduling work for his team, coordinating their work with that of the other departments, and providing feedback. George, who has successfully led this team, believes that it is his task-oriented and directive approach that has helped him in the last five years. Which of the following, if true, would weaken his argument supporting a directive leadership? A) The members of the team are resentful with George's directives relating to work. B) George has seen that employees in his team lack initiative and motivation to work hard. C) The team's workload is expected to rise substantially as the company is growing at an unprecedented rate. D) George's team is organized as a wheel network and depends on his ability to coordinate amongst members of the team and between other departments. E) NSys hires only highly qualified and experienced employees.

Leslie is a middle-level production manager at the California branch of ALT Corp. ALT Corp. is an automobile manufacturing company that specializes in the manufacture of heavy motor vehicles. Leslie's job is to supervise his assembly line employees. Leslie has worked in this position for over four years and he strongly believes that a supportive leadership style is most suitable in his context. Which of the following, if true, would strengthen Leslie's approach to leadership in this case? A) The company has recently announced its move to diversify into manufacturing light motor vehicles because of high profitability in that line. B) Most of the assembly line employees were highly experienced in their jobs and committed to Leslie. C) With developments in technology, the company was enhancing the role of assembly line employees with new tasks combined into natural work units. D) The company had initiated many changes in the tasks of assembly line workers in its attempts to refine the process of manufacturing. E) A good proportion of the assembly line employees were new employees.

Leslie is a middle-level production manager at the California branch of ALT Corp. ALT Corp. is an automobile manufacturing company that specializes in the manufacture of heavy motor vehicles. Leslie's job is to supervise his assembly line employees. Leslie has worked in this position for over four years and he strongly believes that a supportive leadership style is most suitable in his context. Which of the following, if true, would weaken Leslie's approach to leadership in this case? A) The company is planning to lay off some employees in the near future. B) The company has stopped the production of most of its older models as it wants to focus on the most profitable models. C) The assembly line jobs are routine and highly structured by nature. D) The recent round of OSHA inspections revealed that many assembly line employees were not complying with stipulated safety measures. E) The company's workforce is comprised primarily of employees of the baby boomer generation.

Max Hiller was recently hired by Sync, a consumer goods company. During his first meeting with the sales team, Max impressed upon his team that work performance is the only criterion he would use to evaluate them. To help them perform well and meet their targets, he pushed his team to work extra hours. He also gave very clear instructions to each member regarding their job responsibilities and continually verified if they were meeting their targets. Which of the following, if true, would weaken Max's approach? A) Max is leading many new employees who have joined his team directly after training. B) Max's team functions in a sluggish manner and picks up pace only a week or so before the monthly operations cycle meetings. C) Max's sales team is comprised of independent and experienced employees who are committed to their jobs. D) Max's team does not display high levels of cohesiveness and members fail to coordinate with each other. E) Sales figures for the region that Max's team is responsible for have improved in the last quarter.