University of Toronto

Faculty of Arts and Science and Rotman School of Management

RSM 260H1F – Organizational Behaviour

Fall 2013 Midterm

Duration: 110 minutes

Aids allowed: one aid sheet (front side only of an 8.5”x11” piece of paper)
Paper foreign language dictionary for international students

Please answer all questions in this exam. Answers to the multiple choice questions need to be filled in on the scantron sheets (remember to use pencil to fill in the circles) and also circled on the exam itself. Answers to the short answer questions should go in the exam booklet provided. All three components (scantron sheets, exam booklets, paper copy of exam) should be turned in at the conclusion of the exam.

This exam consists of 25 multiple choice questions, 10 true/false questions and 2 short answer essay questions – you must answer ALL questions.

The exam consist of 9 pages (including cover sheet)

Name: ___________________________________________________________

Student #: ___________________________________

Question | Grade | 25 multiple choice questions(2 points each) | /50 | 10 true/false questions(1 point each) | /10 | Essay question #1 | /20 | Essay question #2 | /20 | Total: | /100 |

SECTION 1: Multiple choice questions (25 questions x 2 points each = 50 points total)
Answer all multiple-choice questions. Circle the ONE best answer to the question, and fill it in on your scantron sheet. Make sure you indicate only one letter. If you change your mind, ensure it is clear which alternative is your answer. Place this question sheet and your scantron sheet inside your blue book when you turn in your exam.

1. | Who was the father of scientific management? | | a. | Henri Fayol | b. | Frederick Taylor | c. | Lyndall Urwick | d. | Max Weber | e. | Elton Mayo | |

2. | The human relations movement of the 1920s and 30s was originally concerned with the impact of fatigue, rest pauses, and lighting on productivity. Researchers began seeing the additional effects on productivity of | | a. | wage rates and profit sharing. | b. | ethnicity and culture. | c. | psychological and social processes. | d. | flex-work programs. | e. | product quality. | |

3. | Which of the following statements is false ? | | a. | If we can accurately predict organizational behaviour, then we can explain the reason for the behaviour. | b. | "Organizational behaviour" refers to both the behaviour and attitudes of organizational members. | c. | The field of organizational behaviour is concerned with both formal and informal groups in organizations. | d. | The field of organizational behaviour is concerned with the impact of culture on organizations. | e. | The field of organizational behaviour is concerned with determining the most effective structure for organizations. | |

4. | When we say that the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover is contingent on the labour market, we mean that | | a. | the condition of the labour market influences the extent to which satisfaction predicts turnover. | b. | job satisfaction depends on the condition of the labour market. | c. | turnover will result in job dissatisfaction when jobs are plentiful. | d. | turnover is wholly determined by the condition of the labour market. | e. | workers will be less likely to quit their jobs in a strong labour market. | |

5. | The three main components of perception are | | a. | selectivity, constancy, and primacy. | b. | primacy, recency, and projection. | c. | perceiver, situation, and target. | d. | perceiver, situation, and projection. | e. | perceiver, target, and attribution. | |

6. | The personality dimension which helps foster cooperation and nurturing of others and teamwork is | | a. | emotional stability. | b. | conscientiousness. | c. | general self-efficacy. | d. | self-monitoring. | e. | agreeableness. | |

7. | Edward has recently been told that he is very effective at networking with potential customers. However, his follow-up after initial contact is sloppy and his files are not up to date. In order to be more effective on the job he needs to keep working on the ________ part of his personality. | | a. | emotional stability | b. | openness to experience | c. | neurotic | d. | conscientiousness | e. | independence | |

8. | For many months, Sam performed his job excellently. However, just before his performance evaluation, Sam's boss saw him insult a client. In the performance evaluation, the boss gave Sam a very low rating. What happened? | | a. | Recency effect | b. | Harshness | c. | Contrast effect | d. | Self-serving bias | e. | Primacy effect | |

9. | Bob resigns from a job that most of his friends consider to be a very good job. Which of the following is a dispositional attribution of the reason for Bob's resignation? | | a. | Bob found a super job somewhere else. | b. | Bob is irresponsible and doesn't know a good thing when he sees it. | c. | Bob was forced to move to another city where medical care for his ill daughter is available. | d. | The job that he resigned from was actually very bad. | e. | The job that he resigned from was scheduled to be eliminated in an upcoming restructuring. | |

10. | "He does it everywhere, he does it all the time, and no one else does it." Which cue combination is the speaker invoking? | | a. | High consensus, high consistency, high distinctiveness | b. | Low consensus, high consistency, low distinctiveness | c. | Low consensus, low consistency, high distinctiveness | d. | High consensus, low consistency, low distinctiveness | e. | Low consensus, low consistency, low distinctiveness | |

11. | After writing an exam, Yani told everybody that he did not study very hard and spent the weekend partying and playing video games. However, when the exam grades were posted the following week, Yani told everybody that he never studied so hard for an exam in his life and he described himself as brilliant. What is this an example of? | | a. | The fundamental attribution error | b. | The actor-observer effect | c. | The self-serving bias | d. | Perceptual defence | e. | Contrast effects | |

12. | What job satisfaction facet is most likely to stimulate high performance? | | a. | Pay | b. | Content of the work | c. | Supervision | d. | People | e. | Promotion | | 13. | Mark says that he is happy with his salary, but finds that his job is not very challenging. This illustrates the concept of | | a. | discrepancy. | b. | inequity. | c. | facet satisfaction. | d. | distributive fairness. | e. | procedural fairness. | | 14. | What role do rewards play in the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance? | | a. | Employees who are satisfied are more likely to be rewarded so they will perform better. | b. | Employees who are rewarded will be more satisfied so they will perform better. | c. | Employees who perform better will be rewarded so they will be more likely to be satisfied. | d. | Employees who perform better will be more satisfied so they will be more likely to be rewarded. | e. | Employees who are rewarded will perform better so they will be more likely to be satisfied. | | 15. | You have two friends who are going to start new jobs after they graduate. Your friend Sasha has always had high self-esteem and your friend Ellen is someone with an external locus of control. How satisfied do you think your friends will be with their new jobs? | | a. | They will both have high job satisfaction. | b. | They will both have low job satisfaction. | c. | Ellen will be more satisfied than Sasha. | d. | Sasha will be more satisfied than Ellen. | e. | It depends on the jobs they have. | | | | 16. | Alderfer differs from Maslow in that his ERG theory assumes | | a. | growth needs can be completely satisfied just as existence and relatedness needs can be. | b. | a lower level need must be gratified before a less concrete need becomes operative. | c. | a rigid hierarchy of needs exists. | d. | if higher level needs are strong but ungratified, individuals will increase their desire for the gratification of lower level needs. | e. | the least concrete needs become more desired as they are fulfilled. | |

17. | Which of the following statements about persons with high need for achievement is least accurate? | | a. | High need achievers tend to excel in sales jobs. | b. | High need achievers tend to seek out performance feedback. | c. | High need achievers tend to set extremely difficult goals for themselves. | d. | High need for achievement can be acquired through training. | e. | High need achievers prefer situations in which they can take personal responsibility for outcomes. | |

18. | The consultant said to a client company “Look, you people offer the highest pay in the industry! If you tied it to performance you'd get some motivational punch.” The consultant is saying that | | a. | expectancy is low. | b. | instrumentality is low and second-level valence is high. | c. | second-level valence is low and instrumentality is high. | d. | expectancy is high. | e. | second-level valence is low and instrumentality is low. | |

19. | Which of the following is most accurate concerning participation in goal setting? | | a. | Participation in goal setting always increases performance. | b. | Participation in goal setting never increases performance. | c. | Participation in goal setting sometimes increases performance and sometimes it does not. | d. | Participation should never be used for goal setting in a climate of distrust between employees and management. | e. | Participation in goal setting almost always results in the setting of less difficult goals. | |

20. | According to Maslow, | | a. | self-actualization needs become weaker as they are gratified. | b. | self-actualization needs become stronger as they are gratified. | c. | self-actualization needs are seldom gratified. | d. | when self-actualization needs are gratified, physiological needs become motivating. | e. | when self-actualization needs are gratified, people are no longer motivated. | |

21. | n-Ach is an example of | | a. | belongingness or relatedness need. | b. | growth or relatedness need. | c. | growth or belongingness need. | d. | growth or self-actualization need. | e. | growth or self-esteem need. | |

22. | A company is thinking about enriching a certain job. Which of the following factors would suggest that this strategy is incorrect? | | a. | The current job has a very high Motivating Potential Score (MPS). | b. | The workers have very high growth need strength. | c. | Context satisfaction among the workers is very high. | d. | The job knowledge and skills of the workers are very high. | e. | Task significance is low. | |

23. | According to the Job Characteristics Model, what should be done to increase experienced responsibility for work outcomes? | | a. | Increase skill variety | b. | Increase task significance | c. | Reduce feedback | d. | Increase autonomy | e. | Reduce task identity | |

24. | What does task variety refer to? | | a. | The extent to which a job requires an individual to perform a wide range of tasks on the job | b. | The extent to which a job requires an individual to use a variety of different skills to perform a job | c. | The extent to which a job involves performing specialized tasks or possessing specialized knowledge and skill | d. | The extent to which the tasks on a job are complex and difficult to perform | e. | The extent to which a job requires an individual to learn to perform a variety of tasks | |

25. | In McClelland's theory of needs sales jobs are attractive to those high in need for ________, and management jobs are attractive to those high in need for ________. | | a. | achievement; power | b. | affiliation; power | c. | power; achievement | d. | achievement; achievement | e. | achievement; affiliation | |

Section 2: TRUE/FALSE (10 questions x 1 point each = 10 points total)
Fill in “A” on scantron if the statement is TRUE and “B” if the statement is FALSE.

26. The field of organizational behaviour is concerned with the actual behaviour or activities of organizational members but not with their attitudes.

27. Effective organizational leaders tend to possess identical personality traits.

28. According to the dispositional approach, individuals possess stable traits or characteristics that influence their attitudes and behaviours.

29. Locus of control is not a personality dimension.

30. Rita inaccurately attributed Tommy's failure to show up at work to car problems. This is a potential example of the fundamental attribution error.

31. The word discrepancy in discrepancy theory refers to the discrepancy between job inputs and job outcomes.

32. Process theories of motivation are concerned with how various factors motivate people.

33. Among the five core job characteristics, only skill variety is related to all of the outcomes in the Job Characteristics Model.

34. The traditional view of job design stressed job simplification.
35. McClelland's affiliation need is essentially equivalent to Maslow's belongingness need.

SECTION 3: Essay questions (2 questions x 20 points each = 40 points total)
Please answer both essay questions. Your answers should NOT be in point form. Please use neat writing and complete sentences. Each essay should be approximately 3-4 paragraphs in length. Be sure to define terms, to explain your answers, and to use examples to demonstrate your knowledge.
Please write in the exam booklet that is provided.
Question 1: (20 points)
Many companies in Canada have put in place initiatives in their workplace to increase the diversity of their labour force along many dimensions, including gender, race, age, religion, and cultural background. But managing a diverse workplace can be challenging. In class, we have discussed a number of biases that can influence how people perceive and treat each other. Choose TWO of the following biases – in-group/out-group bias; stereotypes (including stereotype threat); halo effect; projection – and explain how each of these biases could influence behavior in a diverse workplace. a) Define and explain the two biases you selected. Remember to define terms, explain terms in your own words, and provide specific examples of how each bias might occur in an organization. [6 points] b) Next, for each bias you have selected, suggest one strategy for minimizing each bias in the workplace (two strategies total, one per bias). Be concrete and specific and explain how these strategies will reduce the bias. [14 points]

Question 2: (20 points)
Motivation is a topic that we have discussed in detail in this course. Describe a time at work (or school) when you were very dissatisfied while working on a task. Using Goal Setting Theory, suggest two ways in which your work might have been redesigned to make the task more intrinsically motivating and, therefore, more satisfying. Please remember to thoroughly explain the theory (Goal Setting Theory) before talking about how it applies to the redesigns/changes that you suggest. Be sure to define key terms and be concrete and specific as you are explaining how changes will increase motivation. a) Define and explain Goal Setting Theory in your own words, being sure to talk about how Goal Setting Theory influences motivation. [8 points] b) Discuss two ways in which your work might have been redesigned using Goal Setting Theory to make the task more intrinsically motivating and, therefore, more satisfying. Be sure to define key terms and identify how the changes will increase motivation. [12 points]