Deck 7: Organizational Structure and Dynamics

Question 1

Which term refers to the pattern of shared values and assumptions about how things are done within an organization?

A) Organizational structure
B) Organizational culture
C) Major line of authority
D) Primary challenge of communication

Answer 1

Organizational culture

Question 2

Which term refers to an assessment of the location of power in an organization and the type of political behavior that is likely to happen identifying politically active individuals and coalitions in the organization, the amount of power they have, and the likely ways they will use their power?

A) Political coalition
B) Political diagnosis
C) Power evaluation
D) Organizational assessment

Answer 2

Political diagnosis

Question 3

_____ is a form of impression management defined as behavior that attempts to avoid being accountable for the full consequences of one's negative behavior, decisions, and performance.

A) Ingratiation
B) Self-promotion
C) Face-saving
D) Distortion

Answer 3

Face-saving

Question 4

Which of the following interpersonal barriers to communication in agencies refers to any interference with the intended message?

A) Lying and distortion
B) Noise
C) Personality factors
D) Individual perceptual errors

Question 5

Which term represents a wide range of messages that a sender may use between the extremes of lying and complete honest?

A) Fabrication
B) Projection
C) Distortion
D) Impact

Question 6

Which term refers to the process of seeking out receiving expert help to resolve a problem or issue?

A) Accreditation
B) Supervision
C) Consultation
D) Administration

Question 7

Which term is a form of impression management defined as the act of seeking acceptance and support through deliberate efforts such as using flattery, supporting others' opinions, doing favors, or laughing excessively at others' jokes?

A) Ingratiation
B) Self-promotion
C) Face-saving
D) Distortion

Question 8

Organizational _____ is the system of task reporting and authority relationships within which the work of the organization is done.

A) structure
B) culture
C) lines of authority
D) concept

Question 9

Which of the following personality factors refers to the degree to which a person seeks the company of others and may be a barrier to effective communication?

A) Introversion
B) Emotional stability
C) Agreeableness
D) Openness

Question 10

Which term is defined as having a fixed mental picture of a member of some specified group based on some attribute or attributes that reflect an overly simplified view of that group, without consideration or appreciation of individual differences?

A) Discrimination
B) Stereotyping
C) Projection
D) Distortion

Question 11

Which term refers to the process by which a designated person watches over and evaluates a worker's performance, directs and coordinates activities, and provides feedback?

A) Supervision
B) Accreditation
C) Projection
D) Consultation

Question 12

Which of the following statements accurately describes centralized organizations?

A) Most organizations tend to be extremely decentralized.
B) A probation and parole department provides an example of decentralization.
C) A continuum can depict organizations and their degree of centralization.
D) Centralized companies tend to be very flexible.

Question 13

_____ power is that based on established authority or expertise in a particular domain.

A) Coercive
B) Expert
C) Legitimate
D) Reward

Question 14

Which term refers to the process by which individuals attend to, organize, interpret, and retain information from their environments?

A) Perception
B) Impact
C) Intent
D) Legitimation

Question 15

Which term refers to the interpersonal practice not only of being in tune with how another person feels, but also conveying to that person that you understand how he or she feels?

A) Warmth
B) Empathy
C) Genuineness
D) Openness

Question 16

Which type of organizational justice involves people's perceptions of how fair the organization's processes are as the organization carries out tasks and achieves goals?

A) Interpersonal
B) Informational
C) Procedural
D) Distributive

Question 17

Which term refers to informal approaches to gaining power or other advantage through means other than merit or luck?

A) Organizational politics
B) Organizational power
C) Agency culture
D) Agency communication

Question 18

What is the final, remembering phase of Williams' filtering process?

A) Organization
B) Retention
C) Interpretation
D) Reiteration

Question 19

Jasper perceives his colleague Casper as having trouble being punctual in meeting deadlines, and therefore perceives everything Casper does negatively even when his work is done well and punctually. This is an individual perceptual error entitled:

A) the halo effect.
B) stereotyping.
C) projection.
D) disillusion.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT one of the guidelines cited in the text to improve ethical interpersonal communication in agencies?

A) Listen carefully to each other.
B) Be honest.
C) Be ingratiating.
D) Encourage a climate of trust.

Question 21

Ingratiation is the act of describing oneself in an unwarranted and overly positive manner.

Question 22

The exercise of influence tends to be more subtle than the exercise of power.

Question 23

Similarity error happens when interviewers place too much importance on the similarities and differences between themselves and the interviewees.

Question 24

An organization's formal structure typically is detailed in an organizational chart.

Question 25

In the filtering process of perception, the organization phase is the process of remembering interpreted information.

Question 26

Lines of authority are usually specified in writing by the agency.

Question 27

Organizational politics are always self-serving.

Question 28

One of the tactics described in the text that should be used in agency politics is the strategy of divide and conquer.

Question 29

Active listening may involve paraphrasing what the speaker has said.

Question 30

Channels of communication always follow the formal lines of authority.

Question 31

The political network is the system of affiliations and alliances within the social service organization's environment.

Question 32

Decentralized organizations resemble those run based on classical scientific management theories.

Question 33

Organizational culture involves the agency's personality.

Question 34

Communication's effectiveness involves the extent to which the sender's intent matches the receiver's impact.

Question 35

A consultant has no administrative power over the recipient of consultation.

Question 36

Projection refers to evaluating another person solely on the basis of one attribute, either favorable or unfavorable.

Question 37

A person's level of conscientiousness can be a barrier to effective interpersonal communication.

Question 38

Organizational culture is the manner in which an organization divides its labor into specific tasks.

Question 39

Contrast error involves placing too much emphasis on how a job candidate compares with other candidates in the pool of those who applied.

Question 40

When employees believe that end-of-year bonuses were calculated and disbursed fairly, they will view the act as one of interpersonal justice.

Question 41

Explain how formal and informal lines of authority, communication channels, and power exist in the typical organization. How can you use the informal aspects to you advantage?

Question 42

Cite and describe the six strategies listed in the text that you should not use when involved in agency politics.

Question 43

Explain the following personality factors, and how they can either enhance or interfere with effective communication:
a. emotional stability.
b. agreeableness.
c. extraversion.
d. conscientiousness.

Question 44

How would you conduct a political diagnosis of an organization?

Question 45

Why is it important to understand the politics of the organization in which you work?

Question 46

Briefly describe the work supervisors must do in an organizational setting. What kinds of problems might a supervisor encounter as they act as liaison between management and supervisees?

Question 47

Explain how the following perception judgment errors may affect the interview process.
a. Similarity error
b. Contrast error
c. First-impression error

Question 48

List and define the four phases of the perception filtering process.

Question 49

What have been your experiences with supervisors? Evaluate one or two according to the following variables and explain your reasons. To what extent was each supervisor:
a. a good communication link between you and upper levels of management or administration?

b. effective at resolving intra-staff conflicts?

c. supportive of your work?

d. a fair and reasonable evaluator of your job performance?

Question 50

Compare and contrast lying and distortion. How are these barriers to effective interpersonal communication?

Question 51

Compare and contrast organizational culture and structure.

Question 52

How would you describe yourself in terms of emotional stability, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness? How do these personality variables relate to how you see yourself interacting with others in a work setting?

Question 53

Describe the pros and cons of centralized versus decentralized organizations.

Question 54

Describe three types of organizational justice. Why are they important?