OB CH. 6

1. In terms of the work environment, learning: a. takes place through formal training programs b. is primarily the cognitive activity of acquiring knowledge c. is ad hoc and accidental d. is a change in behavior acquired through experience and knowledge acquisition

2. The behaviorist approach to learning assumes observable behavior is a function of: a. both the person and the environment b. external cues c. its consequences d. the interaction between the affect and cognitive components of an individual

3. In the animal learning research of Pavlov, the sound of the bell was the: a. conditioned response b. unconditional stimulus c. conditioned stimulus d. consequence of the dog's salvation

4. Modifying behavior so that a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus and elicits an unconditioned response defines: a. operant conditioning b. classical conditioning c. reinforcement d. learning

5. A person working at a computer terminal may get lower back tension as a result of poor posture. If the person becomes aware of that tension only when the manager enters the work area, then the person may develop lower back tension at the appearance of the manager. This scenario would be an example of: a. operant conditioning b. classical conditioning c. paired reinforcement d. behavior modification

6. Which of the following is NOT a limitation of classical conditioning? a. Humans are more complex and less amenable to simple cause-and-effect conditioning. b. Behavioral environments in organizations are complex and not very amenable to single stimulus-response manipulations. c. Unconditioned responses and unconditioned stimulus have not been connected in humans. d. Complex human decision making makes it possible to override simple conditioning

7. A form of operant conditioning that has been used successfully to shape organizational behavior is known as: a. job enrichment b. organization development c. employee empowerment d. organizational behavior modification

8. Operant conditioning is based on the notion that behavior is a function of: a. seated beliefs b. perception and thinking c. unconscious drives d. its consequences

Which of the following is a form of operant conditioning? a. expectancy theory b. the expectation-performance-reward-satisfaction chain c. the attempt by a supervisor to satisfy higher order needs of employees through participation d. organizational behavior modification

10. The process of modifying behavior through the use of positive or negative consequences following specific behaviors is called: a. classical conditioning b. Pavlovian conditioning c. Skinners Integrated Model of conditioning d. operant conditioning

11. Which of the following reinforcement consequences would have the most effect under OBM? a. routine pay for performance b. social recognition c. performance feedback d. money-based reinforcement

As a supervisor you decide to use positive reinforcement to increase the probability that desired job performance will be repeated. All of the following are appropriate as positive reinforcement except: a. salary increase after evaluation b. promotion after several outstanding performance reviews c. releasing employee to go home early but providing full pay d. no response or feedback when employee fails to complete task on t

13. Reinforcement and punishment are administered through: a. extinction b. positive or/and negative consequences c. ignoring the behavior d. withholding a positive consequence

14. All of the following are strategies used to influence the consequences of behavior except: a. extinction b. punishment c. positive consequences d. neutral consequences

15. A manager who reduces an employee's pay if the employee comes to work late and refrains from doing so when the employee is on time has: a. positively reinforced the employee's on time behavior b. negatively reinforced the employee's on time behavior c. utilized extinction to reduce the undesirable behavior d. none of these

As an outcome for exceptional performance, Jeffery was provided the opportunity to make a highly visible presentation to the board of directors. However, Jeffery was extremely nervous and upset about the presentation. This consequence was viewed by Jeffery as: a. negative b. positive c. extinction d. punishment

The schedule of reinforcement that provides the least impact or incentive for performing well is known as: a. fixed ratio b. variable ratio c. fixed interval d. variable interval

18. A colleague does not respond to the sarcastic comments of a coworker but compliments the sarcastic colleague for constructive comments. Which of the following statements are true? a. The colleague was using extinction and negative reinforcement. b. The colleague was using positive and negative consequences.. The colleague used only positive consequences. d. The colleague used extinction and positive reinforcement.

19. A non-response approach that weakens a behavior is known as: a. punishment b. negative reinforcement c. intermittent reinforcement d. extinction

20. If a random number of responses must be emitted before reinforcement occurs, it is a: a. fixed interval schedule b. fixed ratio schedule c. variable interval schedule d. variable ratio schedule

21. Central to Bandura's social learning theory is the concept of: a. self-monitoring b. a needs hierarchy c. self-efficacy d. continuous reinforcement

Social learning theory is based on the belief that: a. learning occurs because of behavioral consequences b. learning occurs based on group norms c. learning is strongly connected to need based drives d. learning occurs through the observation of other people and the modeling of their behavior

23. The strongest way for an employee to develop self-efficacy is to: a. develop a strong internal source of control b. develop a high degree of self-monitoring c. pick easier tasks in order to become more successful d. succeed at a challenging task

24. An individual's beliefs and expectations about his or her ability to accomplish a specific task successfully is known as: a. self-esteem b. external locus of control c. self monitoring behavior d. self-efficacy

25. Which of the following is NOT considered to be one of the four sources of task-specific self-efficacy critical to the social learning theory of Albert Bandura? a. prior experiences b. witnessing the success of others c. intelligence quotient d. assessment of current physical and emotional capabilities

Intuitors, in terms of learning, prefer: a. to search for practical applications b. interpersonal involvement c. specific, empirical data d. theoretical frameworks

The process of establishing desired results that guide and direct behavior is known as: a. motivation b. goal setting c. outcome instrumentality d. establishing input/output equity perceptions

All of the following are generally considered to be good characteristics of work goals except: a. specific b. time-bound c. measurable d. moderately difficult

Outcome (or performance) feedback is greatly facilitated by: a. qualitative goals b. open-ended goals c. quantitative goals d. peer competitive goals

Which of the following is NOT a major function served by goal setting? a. It can increase work motivation and task performance. b. It can reduce the role stress that is associated with conflicting or confusing expectations. c. It can improve the accuracy and validity performance evaluation. d. It can result in a restriction of focus that leads to a lack of creativity, spontaneity, and flexibility.

31. Which of the following has not been shown to moderate the relationship between goal difficulty and task performance?

32. An important intermediate step between goal acceptance and goal accomplishment is: a. behavior/reward contingencies b. goal clarity c. goal commitment d. goal specificity

A prerequisite for successful goal-setting programs, such as management by objectives (MBO), is: a. a relatively benign or stable environment b. supervisory goal commitment c. the connection between goals/outcomes/rewards d. organizational commitment

An important function of goal setting is: a. reducing role stress associated with conflicting and/or confusing expectations b. reducing the mental effort required in employee jobs c. minimizing performance evaluations d. simplifying supervision

35. As a supervisor, you can enhance the performance of your employees by: a. setting their goals b. closely controlling their behavior c. allowing employees to participate in goal setting d. giving workers easy goals

36. A supervisor who wants to reduce the stress associated with work within the goal-setting guidelines would: a. tie rewards more closely to expected outcomes b. clearly or specifically identify the goal(s) c. clarify task-role expectations d. develop or apply a personality test in order to better match the individual/task fit

Management by objectives is a goal-setting and performance-planning program originated by: a. Albert Bandura b. B.F. Skinner c. J. Willard Marriott d. Peter Drucker

Management by objectives involves: a. setting objectives for employees b. formulating corporate strategy c. superior control of subordinate behavior d. interaction between a superior and an employee for setting employees' goals and later evaluating performance and progress toward goal accomplishment

The process of defining, measuring, appraising, providing feedback on, and improving performance is called: a. MBO (Management by Objectives) b. a control system c. performance management d. performance appraisal

40. The first step in the performance measurement process is: a. rewarding positive performance behaviors b. measuring performance c. defining performance in behavioral terms d. assessing the impact of performance behaviors

41. Performance appraisal is used for all of the following except: a. evaluating employee work behavior b. making promotion and other reward decisions c. identifying employee developmental needs d. selecting persons from a pool of job applicants

42. The major function(s) of performance appraisal include: a. to provide feedback on performance b. to identify developmental needs c. to make promotion and reward decisions d. all of these

Performance feedback is more likely to lead to increased job performance when it is: a. constructive and specific b. provided in written form only c. not recorded d. one-way communication

A key criticism of self-evaluations is: a. the decrease in commitment to organizational goals b. they have not been shown to lead to more satisfying and constructive evaluation interviews c. they have a low level of agreement with supervisory evaluations d. they have been shown to have no relationship to improving job performance

All of the following are characteristics of 360-degree feedback except: a. It is a tactic to improve the accuracy of performance appraisals. b. When combined with self-evaluations, there is a high level of agreement with supervisory evaluations. c. It provides a well-rounded view of performance from superiors, peers, followers, and customers. d. High levels of agreement may not necessarily be desirable if the intent of the 360-degree evaluation is to provide a full picture of an individual's performance.

An effective performance appraisal system will contain or display all of the following except: a. reliability b. validity c. self-correcting behavior d. responsiveness

The reliability of an effective performance appraisal system comes from: a. insuring the appropriate dimensions of performance are appraised b. insuring that the dimensions of performance that are measured are constructed in a valid way c. insuring that evaluations from multiple sources and at different times are captured over the course of the evaluation period d. insuring that when evaluations are conducted employees clearly understand what dimensions are being evaluated

Traditional organizational reward systems in the United States place value on: a. entitlement b. group performance c. non-specific performance standards d. individual performance

Reward allocation decisions involve: a. sequential decisions about which outcomes will be rewarded b. simultaneous decisions about which people to reward, how to reward them, and when to reward them c. a process of considering individual perceptions regarding instrumentalities and whether reward levels will be perceived equitable d. sequential decisions about which people to reward, how to reward them, and when to reward them

The notion of entitlement at work is considered: a. to engender active, responsible, adult behavior b. to engender passive, irresponsible behavior c. to be necessary for developing expectations for high performance and appropriate rewards d. to define the consequence of rewarding high performance and developing achievement oriented behavior

The notion of entitlement at work is considered: a. to engender active, responsible, adult behavior b. to engender passive, irresponsible behavior c. to be necessary for developing expectations for high performance and appropriate rewards d. to define the consequence of rewarding high performance and developing achievement oriented behavior

52. Kelley proposed thaT individuals make attributions based on information gathered in the form of: a. consensus, distinctiveness, and attractiveness b. consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency c. attractiveness, distinctiveness, and consistency d. attractiveness, consensus, and consistency

Minimal effort, lack of commitment, lack of motivation, and personal problems: a. are external attributions for poor performance b. are unresolveable and usually result in employee termination c. are internal attributions for poor performance d. can usually be solved with negative reinforcement

An important aspect of a mentoring relationship is: a. disciplining the subordinate b. coaching and counseling c. peer feedback d. formal training

55. The successful consequences of tri-mentoring, a formalized peer mentoring system, is based upon the recognition and importance of: a. explicit or formal knowledge b. 360 degree feedback c. the specificity of feedback d. tacit knowledge