Q&A Hero

Q: An example of a situational force in leadership is group member characteristics. a. True b. False

Q: Contingency theories of leadership specify the personal characteristics of the leader that will contribute to effectiveness in a wide variety of situations. a. True b. False

Q: Vroom, the sales manager of a major advertising firm, has tried implementing the path-goal theory among his teammates. However, on further analysis, he studies the details of the normative decision model in order to apply its key concepts as well. What would be the five key decision-making styles from the normative model from which Vroom can choose a strategy for his team?

Q: Jonathan has to make use of the path-goal theory to adopt a specific style of leadership in his team. He consults with his superior for help. In this case, give a picture of what Jonathan's superior might suggest.

Q: Rohan is asked by his supervisors to study (1) the contingency approach to leadership and (2) the path-goal model, in the hopes of implementing the essential tactics drawn from both theories. Provide a descriptive database that will help Rohan make a decision in this regard.

Q: Which of the following is true of a delegating decision making style? a. The leader works behind the scene to provide resources and encouragement. b. The leader makes decisions for the group. c. The leader directly intervenes in group deliberations. d. The leader sells his decisions.

Q: A consultative or collaborative decision-making style is likely to bring about the best results when: a. the problem is clearly defined. b. the leader needs information from team members to solve a problem in hand. c. team members' acceptance of the decision is incomplete. d. there is urgency in decision making.

Q: Which of the following is true of leadership during a crisis? a. It is important to prevent potential crisis through disaster planning. b. It is important to think tactically and have short term goals to avoid any crisis. c. It is important that the work is flexible and nonroutine, to prevent crisis. d. It is important to be a transactional, and not a transformational leader, to minimize crisis.

Q: Which of the following serves as an example of evidence-based leadership? a. The management decides to refer to best management practices from the past to find a solution to the issue at hand. b. The management decides to collect feedback from employees about the existing compensation policy. c. The management decides to carry out job appraisal of individual employees. d. The management decides to keep a check on politics in the firm.

Q: Craig, a sales manager, has been asked to explain the under-performance of his team in the previous financial year. Instead of understanding and working on resolving the team's issues, Craig comes up with a number of defensive statements and denies wrongdoing from his team's part. This is known as _____ the problem. a. stonewalling b. debasing c. ingratiating d. reinforcing

Q: Kevin announces that starting next financial year, 25% of his team members' salaries will depend on their performance. His team members had no say in this process. In the context of the normative decision model, Kevin demonstrates _____. a. facilitating b. deciding c. delegating d. consulting

Q: Who among the following is not practicing evidence-based leadership? a. Ryan, who relies heavily on common sense and adopting practices used by other companies b. Brian, who makes a habit of studying leadership practices in companies similar to his own c. Rahul, who regularly refers to new research in the field of leadership studies d. Milan, who translates principles based on best evidence into organizational practices

Q: Who among the following is providing sound crisis leadership? a. Milan, who expects her employees to adapt to a crisis even without proper planning beforehand b. Ryan, who remains calm and stable even when the situation seems most dire c. Aftab, who believes that pessimism is the most realistic reaction to a crisis and will avoid the worst consequences d. Linda, who spends most of her energy focusing on defending her group against criticism for causing the crisis

Q: In times of crisis, Stacy, an effective leader, addresses the inevitable drop in performance and productivity by: a. having employees look only at the big picture and not smaller chunks of the problem. b. quickly reworking the core values on which the company operates. c. pushing her employees to return to their normal work and routines. d. expressing a defensive, circle-the-wagons mentality.

Q: Annette's team has been able to meet the production target of 20,000 units per year. In the next financial year, Annette sets a target of 25,000 units for the team. Accordingly, the teams individual targets are set to increase. In the context of the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, Annette is following the _____ of leadership. a. directive and controlling style b. supportive style c. participative style d. achievement oriented style

Q: Alfred intends to follow a directive style of leadership among his team members. In the context of the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness, which of the following situations would have made Alfred stick to a directive leadership style? a. The team is given orders to improve its performance; however, the exact sales revenue that the team should bring in is unclear. b. A few group members have gone through an emotionally disturbing phase and they need emotional support from the leader. c. Each group member has a thorough knowledge of their individual contributions to the team, making the task of the leader easier. d. The team has been performing exceptionally well, and therefore further focus will be on building relationships with members of the team.

Q: George and Jonathan are the production and marketing managers of a firm. While George is optimistic to work out the issues of his least preferred coworker, Jonathan is adamant that the least preferred coworker in his team has to be replaced. In this case, which of the following statements is true? a. Both George and Jonathan are task motivated leaders. b. George is relationship motivated , while Jonathan is task motivated. c. Jonathan is relationship motivated, while George is task motivated. d. Both George and Jonathan are relationship motivated.

Q: Alan used to follow a libertarian leadership style. He recently decided to become stricter toward productivity targets as a result of fluctuations in the market, even though this leadership style goes against his natural inclinations. He does this in order to make his team more task-oriented. This is an example of _____. a. leaders using debasement techniques b. situations shaping how leaders behave c. leaders using techniques of ingratiation d. dividing the group into in-group and out-group

Q: Ayan, the newly appointed team manager of the sales team, practices autocratic leadership in his team. However, his team members who are quite experienced and equipped in their fields are not satisfied with the style of leadership practiced by Ayan, particularly that he doesnt seek consensus in many of his decisions, which negatively affects team productivity. This scenario depicts the violation of _____. a. a contingency approach to leadership b. a strict authoritarian approach to leadership c. a liberal authoritarian approach to leadership d. a middle of the road approach to leadership

Q: Adapting to changing times is most important for which approach to leadership? a. Leadership grid b. Charismatic c. Trait approach d. Contingency approach

Q: Plant manager Kristina practices evidence-based leadership when she: a. uses leadership practices proven to be effective. b. carefully documents poor performance. c. asks group members to justify their claims. d. maintains a log of her interactions with group members.

Q: A key part of evidence-based leadership or management is to: a. keep a log of the mistakes of subordinates. b. justify asking for an increased budget. c. prove that your decision was the right one. d. translate principles into practice.

Q: The primary purpose of disaster planning is to: a. reduce the financial costs of a crisis. b. practice transformational leadership skills. c. minimize leaderships liability for a crisis. d. prevent a crisis.

Q: Which one of the following is a recommended approach to leadership during a crisis? a. Micromanage small details b. Lead with compassion c. Be a transactional leader d. Be indecisive

Q: According to the normative decision model, group support refers to: a. the likelihood that the team might commit to a company-wide decision. b. team members' knowledge or expertise in relation to the problem. c. the degree to which the team supports the organizations objectives at stake in the problem. d. the ability of team members to work together in solving problems.

Q: Which one of the following is the most recommended approach to leadership during a crisis? a. Lead with compassion. b. Focus on small-scale details over the big picture. c. Move group members away from their usual work routine. d. Choose a circle-the-wagons mentality.

Q: The situational factors in the normative decision model are known as: a. commitment requirements. b. decision-making styles. c. characteristics of the leader. d. problem variables.

Q: According to the normative decision model, leaders must choose a style that brings about the correct degree of _____ when making decisions. a. group participation b. group motivation c. goal setting d. job satisfaction

Q: During a crisis, it is recommended that the leader: a. take lots of time weighing options and formulating a plan. b. act autocratically and emotionlessly to get a plan off the ground. c. focus on minute details of the day-to-day recovery effort. d. communicate widely about the problem.

Q: In situations where leaders treat subordinates differently, team performance has been shown to be most negatively impacted when those subordinates have: a. poor exchanges with the leader. b. good exchanges with the leader. c. indifferent exchanges with the leader. d. low opinions of their bosss work ethic.

Q: _____ is not a contingency factor that affects the decision-making style chosen in the normative decision model. a. Decision significance b. Leader expertise c. Group expertise d. Financial feasibility

Q: The ______ leader enhances morale when group members work on stressful or frustrating tasks by displaying concern for group members well-being. a. supportive b. directive c. achievement oriented d. participative

Q: One suggestion to the leader based on path-goal theory is for the leader to: a. give people careful instructions, even when they can perform the task well. b. encourage group members to provide their own structure. c. purposely make ambiguous the path between goal attainment and receiving a reward. d. reduce frustrating barriers to reaching goals.

Q: Jack, an investment banker, wishes to quit his company and start one on his own. He dreams of getting his company listed on the Fortune 500 within a year of its incorporation and is willing to undertake all possible risks to make his dream a reality. What are the various traits/characteristics that can be attributed to Jacks entrepreneurial style of leadership?

Q: Erin, the marketing head of a luxury hotel, always considers the inputs of her marketing team in all decisions regarding the new marketing strategies and branding exercises to be carried out. What are the various behaviors that can be adopted by Erin to be considered an effective participative leader? What are some problems that Erin might encounter while adopting a participative style of leadership?

Q: Joseph has been appointed as the chief marketing officer of an automobile manufacturer. Joseph feels he was appointed due to his belief that true leadership emerges from a deep desire to help others. What is the primary motivation for Josephs belief? What are the ways in which Joseph can fulfill the purpose of his appointment and his desire to serve others?

Q: David, the chief security officer of SimplyBuy.com, an e-commerce initiative, makes decisions regarding the enhancement of data security of the companys clients on his own, assuming that other members will comply. Davids decision-making strategy is attributed to the _____ style of leadership. a. autocratic b. consultative c. democratic d. consensus

Q: Jessica, the chief fashion designer at ApparelDezire, consults her team for designs to be showcased in the upcoming fashion week. Jessica decides on a couple of designs based on the suggestion of group members and the ones she feels the group would agree upon. Jessicas decision is attributed to the _____ style of leadership. a. autocratic b. consensus c. democratic d. consultative

Q: ​Katie, the marketing head of MeDiASure, a digital marketing agency, entrusts her team with the task of conceptualizing innovative marketing strategies for a client. Katie collects the groups opinion and lets the team take the final call on the most suitable strategies. In this scenario, Katie is assuming the role of a(n) _____. a. ​consensus leader b. ​consultative leader c. ​autocratic leader d. ​democratic leader

Q: Emily, the product development manager of JuzTel, seeks suggestions from her team members for improvising on the companys existing range of cell phones. The team members pour in their suggestions and Emily takes the final call on the inputs received by them. In this scenario, Emily is portrayed as a(n) _____. a. democratic leader b. autocratic leader c. consultative leader d. consensus leader

Q: ​Which of the following leaders reflect the key aspects of servant leadership? a. ​James is driven by the desire to satisfy his needs of acquiring power and prestige. b. Roger attempts to impose his solutions to problems faced by his team members. c. ​Julia conveys to her group members to keep their emotions at bay at their workplace. d. ​Angelina focuses on what is feasible to accomplish despite being very idealistic in nature.

Q: Martha, the chief designer of StyleSmartz, is considered a role model by her design team members for her role as an effective leader and her relationship-oriented attitudes and behaviors. Martha is considered an effective leader by the team due to her tendency to _____. a. motivate employees by satisfying their basic necessities or low-level needs b. adopt a zero-tolerance stand on erring and unproductive employees c. discourage employees from letting their emotions affect their work d. engage in management openness by encouraging members to voice their opinion

Q: Keith, the chief financial officer of MoneyPro Inc., a stock brokerage firm, is unhappy with the performance of his firm in the last quarter. He blames the lackadaisical attitude of his group members for the firms poor performance. Which of the following measures should Keith adopt to protect the investors of his firm and increase his effectiveness as a leader? a. He should concentrate on the weaknesses of his group members and focus on patching up such. b. He should provide his group members with excessive feedback on good investment options. c. He should focus on micromanaging his group members in order to reduce any possible chances of inefficiency. d. He should further raise funds from the market and be willing to invest them in riskier options to ensure maximum yield.

Q: Peter, the team leader of IntraCall Inc, is not satisfied with the performance of his team due to the negative feedback and innumerous complaints received by dissatisfied callers. Which of the following measures can Peter adopt to build the reputation of his team and be considered an effective leader? a. He should identify and sack fire employees and reshuffle the entire team. b. He should concentrate on honing the strengths of his employees and putting them to best practice. c. He should concentrate on the weaknesses of his employees and focus on patching up such areas. d. He should focus on providing solutions to problems rather than asking tough questions.

Q: Stephen, chief financial officer of Pluto Inc., is considered to be a very organized and disciplined leader by his employees, thus scoring high on the dimension of initiating structure. This impression of Stephen could stem from the fact that he _____. a. provides some monetary assistance to help an employee educate his children b. is never biased or favors an employee over the other c. arranges to set up a gymnasium for the members of his team d. emphasizes completing work on time without any unreasonable delays

Q: John, the chief marketing officer of Neptune. Inc., is working closely with his team to develop a series of marketing campaigns for the newly launched product of his company. John is considered to be a leader who is high on consideration by his employees. The employees impression of John could stem from the fact that John _____. a. emphasizes on completing the marketing campaigns within the stipulated deadlines b. ensures that people in the work group are being utilized to the best of their capacity c. experiments with his innovative marketing strategies in the work group d. ensures that the members of his team have a separate floor to themselves in the office

Q: Leaders who obtain the best results typically use _____. a. several different styles in one week b. the style recommended by the board c. the style recommended by the group members d. whatever style matches the latest management fad

Q: Which of the following statements is true about the gender differences in effectiveness between men and women leaders? a. Men were rated higher on relationship-oriented leadership skills. b. Men were rated lower on orientation toward strategic planning and organizational vision. c. Women were rated lower on orientation toward production and obtaining results. d. Women were rated higher on relationship-oriented leadership skills.

Q: Male leaders are most likely to be _____. a. more relationship oriented in their leadership b. more concerned with building cordial relations c. disseminating information and demonstrating competence d. relying heavily on interpersonal skills and tending toward a transformational style

Q: Judy Rosener contended that male leaders, in contrast to female leaders, are more inclined to _____. a. manage by rewards b. rely on interpersonal skills c. practice participative leadership d. use a command-and-control style

Q: An entrepreneurial leader is least likely to _____. a. have a strong achievement drive and sensible risk taking b. thrive on hierarchy and routine c. act quickly when opportunity arises d. have a visionary perspective combined with tenacity

Q: An entrepreneurial leader is most likely to _____. a. have high enthusiasm and creativity b. have a moderate achievement drive c. be calm and deliberate when an opportunity arises d. work smoothly within a bureaucracy

Q: A pronounced characteristic of an entrepreneurial leader is _____. a. a reliance on others to take the big risks b. a preference for taking huge risks c. a cautious attitude toward taking risks d. a sensible risk taking approach

Q: Jeremy, a low-level employee at a textbook publishing company, is motivated by the fact that his manager often takes time to discuss his future in the publishing industry, suggesting interesting directions his job might take and offering him career assistance. Jeremys manager could be referred to as a ______ leader. a. autocratic b. servant c. participative d. entrepreneurial

Q: As a CEO, Anna is respected by her subordinates because she focuses on future business opportunities, responds quickly to market challenges, takes sensible risks, and is enthusiastic every day at work. Her leadership style might be categorized as _______ leadership. a. autocratic b. entrepreneurial c. servant d. participative

Q: A study with Norwegian workers found that when employees reported to a manager with a laissez-faire leadership style, they _____ a. experienced role ambiguity b. believed the manager did not grant them enough freedom c. enjoyed the structure and close guidance d. worked quite hard to avoid being disciplined

Q: Participative management is likely to work the best with a. employees in a large bureaucracy. b. competent and intelligent people. c. shy and nonassertive employees. d. employees in small, entrepreneurial firms.

Q: A consultative leader _____. a. confers with the group before making a decision b. consults reference sources before making a decision c. turns over decision-making authority to the group d. takes a vote before reaching a decision

Q: The generally accepted leadership style in the modern organization is the _____. a. micromanagement style b. participative style in general c. democratic form of participative style d. autocratic style

Q: Suggestions for making better use of 360-degree surveys include _____. a. customizing the assessment dimensions based on the leadership competencies that are associated with success b. ensuring that managers perceive the feedback as being geared toward administrative control rather than personal development c. identifying the lower-order needs of the workers that are to be fulfilled d. encouraging workers to give and receive feedback as per their choice

Q: A key part of 360-degree feedback is for leaders to _____. a. receive feedback from those who work with and for them. b. use a circular form for evaluating others. c. receive both positive and negative feedback almost daily. d. receive a little feedback almost every workday.

Q: A(n) ____ type of leader is most likely to play the role of the Good Samaritan. a. autocratic b. servant c. consensus d. team

Q: The major thrust of the servant leader is to _____. a. work on behalf of group members to help them achieve their goals b. act humbly yet search for individual glory c. think first in terms of the stockholder d. place self-interest before service

Q: A top leader is supposed to help promote values and principles that _____. a. encourage employees to compete against one another b. line up squarely with company advertising c. create a public image of harmony d. contribute to the welfare of individuals and the organization

Q: A direct way of being a supportive leader is to _____. a. provide considerable structure to group members b. give frequent encouragement and praise c. engage heavily in goal setting d. establish the right values and principles

Q: An important way of inspiring people is to _____. a. satisfy their lower-level needs b. satisfy their higher-level needs c. implement tight control mechanisms d. place self-interest before service

Q: A leader engages in management openness when he _____. a. encourages subordinates to voice their opinion b. informs subordinates of his career plans c. publishes salary data on the intranet d. freely criticizes subordinates when they make a mistake

Q: When workers are aligned, they tend to _____. a. oppose many management policies b. work at cross-purposes with each other c. follow directions without question d. pull together for a higher purpose

Q: The purpose of a tough question by a leader is to help the person or group _____. a. stop and think about why they are doing or not doing something b. understand that they deserve to be punished c. overcome a loss in self-confidence d. realize how much they have to learn

Q: Without appropriate ____, the leader can rarely influence the actions of group members. a. performance feedback b. vision formulation c. customer focus d. risk taking and a bias for action

Q: If hands-on guidance is carried to the extreme, it can result in _____. a. team-management b. rapid skill-development of the group member c. micromanagement d. alignment of people

Q: Providing group members with too little hands-on guidance about how to accomplish important work can be a symptom of _____. a. micromanagement b. macromanagement c. poor delegation d. management openness

Q: Division manager Cassandra wants to get the most out of her direct reports. A good strategy would be for her to _____. a. establish penalties for her direct reports who display weaknesses b. teach her direct reports new strengths c. focus on patching up the weaknesses of her direct reports d. concentrate on the strengths of her direct reports

Q: In the Pygmalion effect, group members _____ a. rebel against high expectations b. respond only to verbal signals c. live up to expectations set for them d. become uncomfortable when placed under heavy pressure

Q: A leader who scored high on initiating structure would _____. a. emphasize work scheduling and assigning tasks b. disregard the feelings of team members c. emphasize listening and personal warmth d. strive to keep the group informed

Q: The consideration dimension of leadership behavior includes how well the leader creates an environment of _____. a. increased concern for financial controls b. carefully controlled work procedures c. emotional support, friendliness, and trust d. careful concern for organizational productivity

Q: A perform-or-perish culture calls for more of a consensus style of leadership. a. True b. False

Q: When an employee falls short of expectations, women are more likely to buffer criticism by finding something praiseworthy. a. True b. False

Q: The teamwork approach is built into the participative leadership style. a. True b. False

Q: An advantage of the participative leadership styles is that they substantially reduce the amount of time spent in committee meetings. a. True b. False