Question 1

Organisational behaviour is:
A)a work culture that respects the interests of multiple stakeholders, including the individual, the organisation and the community.
B) The systematic study of individuals, groups and organisations to create high-performing organisations that engender high levels of outcomes for all organisational stakeholders, including employees, shareholders and the community.
C) organisations behaving in a manner consistent with societal expectations.
D) the relationships between the self-concept, personality and emotions of an individual employee in an organisation.

Accepted Answer

The definition of organisational behaviour is expressed in Chapter 1 and in the glossary.

Question 2

What are the three main mechanisms through which globalisation can promote productivity and increasing living standards?
A) Exposure to the world's best practices, better resource allocation and savings deployed to productive investment.
B) The internet, more access to foreign direct investment and deregulation of markets.
C) Outsourcing to low labour cost countries, increased workforce mobility and streamlining of senior executives salary packages.
D) More cross-cultural exchanges, improved communication technologies and better supply chain modelling.

Accepted Answer

The first is through better resource allocation, for example access to a large pool of low-cost workers. Second, globalisation exposes industries to the world's best practices, which in turn increases productivity. Third, with globalisation, savings by the world's households, firms and governments can be deployed to productive investment opportunities anywhere around the globe.

Question 3

Research from a variety of disciplines suggests that pushing staff to sustain higher levels of individual and organisational performance, without addressing individual issues, will probably lead to:
A) lower levels of stress and reduced productivity.
B) higher levels of stress and increased productivity.
C) higher levels of stress and reduced productivity
D) lower levels of stress and reduced productivity .

Accepted Answer

Sustaining higher levels of employee and organisational performance over time without addressing individual (e.g. work-family balance), community (e.g. waste recycling) and societal (e.g. reducing adverse environmental impact) issues could be counter-productive, inducing higher levels of stress and reduced productivity.

Question 4

Which of the following is a not regarded as a negative impact of globalisation?
A) Reduced wages for the poorly educated and technologically unskilled.
B) Job displacement in affected businesses.
C) Increased power of unions.
D) Worsened economic conditions in countries that cannot engage in the global economy.

Accepted Answer

Globalisation has been discredited for its impact on reducing wages for the poorly educated and technologically unskilled, for job displacement in affected businesses, for worsened economic conditions in countries that cannot engage in the global economy and the decreased power of unions.

Question 5

Which of the following is not an OB research topic relevant to globalisation?
A) Recruiting and developing global leaders.
B) Global organisational learning.
C) Cross-cultural communication.
D) Cultural migration.

Accepted Answer

Cascio (2008) identified five OB topics relevant to globalisation: recruiting and developing global leaders, global organisational learning, cross-cultural communication, global performance management and managing global careers.

Question 6

Which of the following is not regarded to be a positive impact of globalisation?
A) Rise of union influence.
B) Increased wages for the well educated and technologically skilled.
C) Improved economic conditions in countries and regions that successfully compete in the global economy.
D) Increased access to more goods at reduced prices.

Accepted Answer

Globalisation is credited with increased wages for the well educated and technologically skilled, with improved economic conditions in countries and regions that successfully compete in the global economy, and with increased access to more goods at reduced prices.

Question 7

The systematic study of organisational behaviour can be traced to:
A) efforts made by social psychologists to apply their methods to organisational problems in the early 1800s.
B) efforts made by sociologists to apply their methods to organisational problems in the 1950s.
C) the contributions of Sigmund Freud in psychoanalysis.
D) efforts made by experimental psychologists to apply their methods to organisational problems in the early 1900s.

Accepted Answer

Hugo Mü nsterberg, an experimental psychologist from Germany who later joined the staff of Harvard University, is commonly thought of as the first organisational psychologist.

Question 8

The knowledge that one was being observed and the expectation that changes to one's work environment should change productivity is a finding of which famous research experiment?
A) The time and motion studies.
B) The Hawthorne studies.
C) The scientific management studies.
D) The observational studies.

Accepted Answer

In the Hawthorne studies, researcher Elton Mayo (an Australian psychologist) and his colleagues set out initially to study the effects of changes in the physical work environment in Western Electric's Hawthorne Plan (e.g. lighting levels and length of work breaks) on productivity. They concluded that subtle social aspects of the work environment seemed to affect productivity.

Question 9

'Changes in performance or other behaviour result from people knowing that they are the subject of study'. This statement describes a phenomenon called:
A) the Hawthorne effect.
B) the Halo effect.
C) the Self-other effect.
D) the Frederick Taylor effect.

Accepted Answer

While serious research design flaws were later identified in the Hawthorne Studies (Landsberger, 1958) and some of the original conclusions have been challenged (Parsons, 1992), the studies have resulted in the widely cited concept of the Hawthorne effect, in which changes in performance or other behaviour result from people knowing that they are the subject of study.

Question 10

There is emerging consensus among scholars and practitioners that:
A) a firm's ability to retain its form, stick to one strategy and sustain its capabilities is the key to competitive success.
B) a firm's ability to continually react to every external force is the key to competitive success.
C) a firm's ability to anticipate and change before a change is indicated is the key to competitive success.
D) a firm's ability to continually learn, adapt and upgrade its capabilities is the key to competitive success.

Accepted Answer

There is emerging consensus among scholars and practitioners that a firm's ability to continually learn, adapt and upgrade its capabilities is the key to competitive success (Dyer & Nobeoka, 2000).

Question 11

The suggestion system in Toyota's kaizen system:
A) effectively turns every worker into a 'knowledge worker'.
B) tends to stifle worker creativity and innovation.
C) effectively turns every worker into a 'cog in the larger bureaucratic machine'.
D) is only suitable for the manufacturing industry.

Accepted Answer

Toyota's employee suggestion system receives approximately one million ideas a year, out of which about 90 per cent are successfully implemented. Toyota has in effect turned every worker intoa 'knowledge worker' through its commitment to kaizen and the creative idea suggestion system.

Question 12

When experienced managers leave the organisation:
A) they take with them their future earning potential, which is a loss to the human capital of the firm.
B) they take with them their tacit knowledge, which is a loss to the human capital of the firm.
C) they take with them their intellectual property, which is a loss to the human capital of the firm.
D) they take with them their databases, which is a loss to the human capital of the firm.

Accepted Answer

When experienced mangers leave the organisation, they take with them their tacit knowledge (non-transferable expertise), which is a loss to the human capital of the firm.

Question 13

Successful implementation of knowledge management practices requires:
A) a culture that restricts innovation.
B) a culture that controls the costs of human capital.
C) a simplistic view of organisational structure.
D) a fundamental cultural change.

Accepted Answer

Successful implementation of KM practices requires a fundamental cultural change: many organisations have failed to harness the benefits of KM because of their simplistic view of the structure, culture and overall readiness of their organisation to undertake culture change.

Question 14

Wellbeing is:
A) a legal requirement in most modern workplaces.
B) an index of life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviours, work environment and basic access.
C) a feeling of general happiness and absence of illness.
D) an index of absenteeism in the workplace.

Accepted Answer

A significant amount of time is spent in the work environment and changes in this environment may profoundly influence health and wellbeing, job and organisational performance. See also glossary.

Question 15

According to Kossek, Kalliath, and Kalliath (2013), which condition does not contribute to the development of a flourishing workplace?
A) A reward system that promotes individual and team effort.
B) Individuals feeling they are recognised and valued for good work.
C) Individuals believing they are able to have a career with their employer with mutual positive social exchange.
D) Individuals being able to develop skills and knowledge that keep them employable for a lifelong career.

Accepted Answer

One of the challenges facing organisations today is the design of workplaces that create congruence between employer and employee interests. Kalliath and colleagues (2013) list four conditions conducive to the development of a flourishing work environment. These include the above options B, C and D. Kalliath and colleagues note also that, 'productive organisations that use human capital effectively take the longer term perspective on the employment relationship, in which quality human resources are seen as a core competency of the organisation'.

Question 16

'Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' is one definition of:
A) inter-organisational trust.
B) corporate social responsibility.
C) ethical behaviour.
D) organisational behaviour.

Accepted Answer

The most general definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the one proposed by Gro Harlem Brundtland during her term as Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO): 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'.

Question 17

Business ethics is:
A) a written statement of ethical standards.
B) the study of moral or ethical choices that can arise in the running of a business.
C) the natural tensions that stem from the differing interests of companies, their employees, customers and the greater society.
D) conflict of interest.

Accepted Answer

Business ethics is the study of the moral or ethical choices that can arise in the running of a business.

Question 18

Pressures to behave unethically do not include:
A) the natural tensions that stem from differing interests of companies, their employees, customers and the greater society.
B) a person's upbringing.
C) conflicts of interest.
D) the corporate culture.

Accepted Answer

There are many influences in business to behave ethically or unethically. Management/leader behaviour, conflicts of interest, competition, values and corporate culture figure most prominently.

Question 19

Evidence-based management is:
A) management practice for which proof may be produced.
B) translating principles based on best evidence into organisational practices.
C) management practice in which the outcomes or decisions are clearly evident.
D) thorough record keeping on management decisions in practice.

Accepted Answer

Evidence-based management means translating principles based on best evidence into organisational practices.

Question 20

'Scientific method' is:
A) a method in which only measurable outcomes are considered valid.
B) a method employed in the physical sciences.
C) the systematic study of observable events and their impact on other events in order to attribute cause and effect and draw conclusions based on evidence.
D) a rigorous, structured approach that follows a set procedure and documents all outcomes.

Accepted Answer

Scientific method is the systematic study of observable events and their impact on other events in order to attribute cause and effect and draw conclusions based on evidence.

Quiz 1: Introduction to Organisational Behaviour

Organisational behaviour is:

What are the three main mechanisms through which globalisation can promote productivity and increasing living standards?

Research from a variety of disciplines suggests that pushing staff to sustain higher levels of individual and organisational performance, without addressing individual issues, will probably lead to:

Which of the following is a not regarded as a negative impact of globalisation?

Which of the following is not an OB research topic relevant to globalisation?

Which of the following is not regarded to be a positive impact of globalisation?

The systematic study of organisational behaviour can be traced to:

The knowledge that one was being observed and the expectation that changes to one's work environment should change productivity is a finding of which famous research experiment?

'Changes in performance or other behaviour result from people knowing that they are the subject of study'. This statement describes a phenomenon called:

There is emerging consensus among scholars and practitioners that:

The suggestion system in Toyota's kaizen system:

When experienced managers leave the organisation:

Successful implementation of knowledge management practices requires:

Wellbeing is:

According to Kossek, Kalliath, and Kalliath (2013) , which condition does not contribute to the development of a flourishing workplace?

'Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' is one definition of:

Business ethics is:

Pressures to behave unethically do not include:

Evidence-based management is:

'Scientific method' is: