Organizational Behavior, Version 1.1
Bauer & Erdogan
FWK Test Item File
Chapter 4
TRUE/FALSE
1. SAS Institute advocates its employees create a work/life balance by suggesting, “If you are working more than 8 hours, you are just adding bugs.”
(True)
2. SAS Institute is a pioneer in perks given by the company with the philosophy that the firm should “offer everything but the kitchen sink” to maintain employee satisfaction.
(False)
3. Attitudes are more strongly related to behaviors than to intentions to behave.
(False)
4. Behavior is influenced by attitudes and situations.
(True)
5. Based on the number of studies conducted, job satisfaction is the most important job attitude.
(True)
6. There is a high overlap between job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
(True)
7. Job satisfaction can be fully explained by the work environment.
(False)
8. Maria just completed a series of personality assessments and is found to have the traits of external locus of control and introversion. Given the results of studies on attitude, it is likely she also has positive work attitudes.
(False)
9. Person/job fit and person/organization fit are positively related to job satisfaction.
(True)
10. People with positive affective dispositions tend to be more satisfied with their jobs.
(True)
11. The job characteristics of autonomy and high skill variety are related to organizational commitment.
(True)
12. Realistic job previews help prevent breaches of the psychological contract.
(True)
13. Employees are happier at work if they are socially accepted in their work groups.
(True)
14. All stress on the job is bad.
(False)
15. The concept of always putting work life first is outdated.
(True)
16. A happy worker is always a productive worker.
(False)
17. The relationship between positive work attitude and behavior is clear.
(False)
18. Natalia is assisting new employee Jane by showing her around the facility. This is an example of organizational citizenship behavior.
(True)
19. If you don’t like your job, it is likely you will reduce your performance.
(False)
20. A departing employee’s manager is the best person to conduct the exit interview.
(False)
21. The success of work attitude surveys depends on the perceived credibility of management by employees.
(True)
22. The most powerful influence on job performance is general mental ability.
(True)
23. The importance of higher general mental ability for high performance is stronger for manual labor positions than management positions.
(False)
24. When an employee is treated well, he wants to reciprocate, so he performs his job more effectively.
(True)
25. General mental ability is likely the most important factor explaining employee citizenship behaviors.
(False)
26. Young people exhibit higher citizenship behaviors than older people.
(False)
27. Firms with “sick leave” policies tend to have more individuals with unscheduled absences than those with “personal day off” policies.
(True)
28. Age is positively related to both frequency and duration of absenteeism.
(False)
29. Personality is the main reason why individuals turnover in a firm.
(False)
30. In organizations that have a pay for performance system, overall turnover level will be lower.
(False)
31. Whistleblowers, or people who report wrongdoing, tend to be those who have very high levels of commitment to a company.
(False)
32. Work/family conflict lowers job satisfaction in collectivistic cultures.
(False)
33. In China, absence from work due to illness is considered relatively unacceptable.
(True)
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Opening Section: People Come First: The Case of SAS
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34. SAS Institute has been ranked annually as “one of the best places to work.” Among the reasons for such a ranking is the “perks” SAS offers its employees including all of the following EXCEPT
a. on-site health care for employees and covered dependents.
b. a full gym and swimming pool.
c. five-hour work days.
d. racquetball and basketball courts on-site.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
35. SAS Institute’s commitment to its employees is demonstrated through all of the following programs EXCEPT
a. employee opportunity to work on interesting and challenging projects.
b. regular administration of employee satisfaction surveys.
c. pioneering of unique and effective perks for employees.
d. paying employees below market salaries but offering additional perks.
(d) Medium/Application
Section I: Work Attitudes
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36. An attitude is
a. our opinions, beliefs and feelings about our environment.
b. an outcome of our efforts.
c. the drive that energizes an individual.
d. the degree to which people have freedom to decide how to act.
(a) Easy/Knowledge
37. If one looks at the number of studies conducted on attitudes, which of the following seems to be the most important?
a. organizational commitment
b. job satisfaction
c. satisfaction with supervisors
d. cognitive ability
(b) Easy/Comprehension
38. Job satisfaction is
a. the feelings people have toward their jobs.
b. the emotional attachment people have toward the company they work for.
c. an unwritten understanding about what the employee will bring to the work environment.
d. also known as emotional intelligence.
(a) Easy/Knowledge
39. Organizational commitment is
a. the feelings people have toward their jobs.
b. the emotional attachment people have toward the company they work for.
c. an unwritten understanding about what the employee will bring to the work environment.
d. also known as emotional intelligence.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
40. Which of the following statements is true?
a. There is an exceptionally strong correlation between attitudes and behavior such that attitudes will almost perfectly predict behavior.
b. Intention to behave and actual behavior are almost always the same.
c. Attitude provides clues to behavior, but situational factors also impact behavior.
d. Attitude is weakly related to intention to behave and actual behavior.
(c) Difficult/Evaluation
41. Which of the following statements regarding employee happiness at work is FALSE?
a. Personality is related to one’s happiness at work.
b. Develop good relationships at work.
c. A fit between you and the company is important.
d. Pay is the most important aspect of job satisfaction.
(d) Medium/Analysis
42. Happiness at work can be enhanced by
a. pay at all times; pay is always the key aspect to job satisfaction.
b. reaction to organizational life. Work is stressful, just “suck it up.”
c. pulling yourself away from your co-workers and concentrating on the job.
d. knowing yourself and what you want from the job.
(d) Medium/Evaluation
43. Research shows that all of the following impact the employee’s satisfaction with the job and commitment to the organization EXCEPT
a. how he or she is treated in the firm.
b. the actual work the employee performs.
c. the firm’s competitiveness.
d. the relationships formed with colleagues and managers.
(c) Medium/Knowledge
44. All of the following factors contribute to job satisfaction EXCEPT
a. personality.
b. job characteristics.
c. work/life balance.
d. firm competitiveness in the market.
(d) Easy/Knowledge
45. All of the following factors contribute to organizational commitment EXCEPT
a. personality.
b. job characteristics.
c. firm competitiveness in the market.
d. work/life balance.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
46. Employees with which of the following personality traits would experience high job satisfaction?
a. those with positive affective dispositions
b. those with neurotic personalities
c. those with low self-esteem
d. those who are introverted
(a) Difficult/Synthesis
47. Which of the following statements is true?
a. External locus of control and introversion result in positive work attitudes.
b. Low self-esteem results in more positive work attitudes.
c. People who are critical of themselves experience less job satisfaction.
d. People with positive affective dispositions are less committed to their work organizations.
(c) Difficult/Synthesis
48. Research on job characteristics indicate that
a. people with a minimal variety of skills are always less satisfied with their job.
b. people with autonomy on their job are always more satisfied with their job.
c. all people want feedback on their jobs.
d. people who have high growth need tend to expect their jobs to help them build new skills.
(d) Difficult/Evaluation
49. Research on relationships at work indicates all of the following EXCEPT
a. whether we are treated with respect is related to our commitment to the company.
b. the development of a trust-based relationship with the manager is related to organizational commitment.
c. how considerate our manager is impacts our job satisfaction, but not our organizational commitment.
d. our level of social acceptance by our coworkers impacts our organizational commitment.
(c) Difficult/Evaluation
50. All of the following stressors lead to lower job satisfaction and organizational commitment EXCEPT:
a. role conflict.
b. high responsibility at work.
c. organizational politics.
d. job insecurity.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
51. Which of the following statements about work attitude causes is accurate?
a. Job satisfaction is purely environmental.
b. Person/job fit is positively related to job satisfaction.
c. Psychological contract breach leads to high job satisfaction.
d. Organizational justice results in psychological contract breach.
(b) Difficult/Synthesis
52. Which of the following statements about work attitude causes is true?
a. role ambiguity can lead to job dissatisfaction.
b. negative affective disposition leads to higher organizational commitment.
c. stress always leads to job dissatisfaction.
d. using too many skills on the job usually leads to job satisfaction because it increases stress.
(a) Difficult/Synthesis
53. Which of the following is related to lower levels of organizational commitment?
a. negative affective disposition
b. maintenance of the psychological contract between worker and firm
c. perceived fairness of company policies
d. manager consideration of our opinions and suggestions
(a) Difficult/Synthesis
54. Which of the following statements is true regarding the causes of positive work attitudes?
a. The notion of work/life balance is outdated.
b. All stressors are bad.
c. Job/person fit is positively related to job satisfaction.
d. The level of coworker acceptance of an employee has no impact on the employee’s commitment to the organization.
(c) Difficult/Synthesis
55. Which of the following statements regarding work attitude and performance is FALSE?
a. Those with the most positive work attitudes are always strong performers.
b. In engineering, there tends to be a stronger link between work attitude and performance than one finds in an assembly line job.
c. The correlation between commitment and performance is not strong.
d. Your skill level in performing a job matters.
(a) Medium/Analysis
56. Indicate which of the following statements is true.
a. A happy worker is always a productive worker.
b. Work attitude is related to organizational citizenship behaviors.
c. Attitude is the most important factor in performance.
d. Work attitude has no impact on customer satisfaction.
(b) Difficult/Synthesis
57. Organizational citizenship behaviors include all of the following EXCEPT
a. working voluntary overtime.
b. assisting new employees.
c. speaking positively about the organization.
d. performing the duties in one’s job description.
(d) Medium/Comprehension
58. Which of the following is accurate for the relationship between attitudes and performance?
a. though you want to perform better, your skill set may prevent that from occurring.
b. though you want to perform better, the equipment used at work may not be functioning properly.
c. though you want to perform better, too much may be outside your control.
d. All of the above.
(d) Medium/Comprehension
59. Which of the following statements regarding work attitudes and job performance is accurate?
a. Work attitudes are more strongly related to job performance than they are to organizational citizenship behaviors.
b. If you want to perform better, you will actually perform better.
c. Workforce satisfaction has an impact on profitability.
d. People who are happy at work are more satisfied in their overall life too.
(d) Difficult/Synthesis
60. Workforce satisfaction is related to all the following outcomes EXCEPT
a. greater customer loyalty.
b. more absenteeism.
c. higher profitability.
d. fewer accidents in the workplace.
(b) Difficult/Analysis
61. Companies track employee work attitudes through
a. performance evaluation interviews.
b. attitude surveys.
c. employee suggestions.
d. overhearing workplace conversations.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
62. Attitude surveys conducted by companies produce more useful information if
a. surveys are completed electronically.
b. the management is perceived as credible by employees.
c. past surveys were conducted but no action has resulted from them.
d. individual survey responses are made public.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
63. Which of the following statements about exit interviews is true?
a. A departing employee’s manager should always conduct the exit interview because the immediate supervisor knew the employee best.
b. An exit interview always indicates why an employee is departing a firm.
c. An exit interview always indicates how management can improve so other employees will not leave.
d. An exit interview should be conducted by a member of the human resource department for best results.
(d) Medium/Comprehension
64. When analyzing the information on work attitudes and aspects of the work environment, which of the following statements is true?
a. Attitudes always predict behavior in the work environment.
b. People with negative work attitudes never perform well.
c. Personality and organizational citizenship are the two key attitudes that are the most relevant to important outcomes in the work environment.
d. Maintenance of the psychological contract helps develop organizational commitment.
(d) Difficult/Synthesis
| Section II: Work Behaviors |
65. All of the following are general mental abilities EXCEPT
a. reasoning skills.
b. analytical skills.
c. emotional intelligence.
d. verbal skills.
(c) Easy/Knowledge
66. Which of the following factors is a major predictor of job performance?
a. work/life balance issues
b. employee age
c. employee personality
d. how we are treated at work
(d) Medium/Analysis
67. Which of the following factors is NOT a major predictor of organizational citizenship behaviors?
a. general mental abilities
b. positive work attitudes
c. how we are treated at work
d. personality
(a) Easy/Knowledge
68. Which of the following statements regarding job performance is INCORRECT?
a. Measures of job performance include the speed and accuracy with which the job is performed.
b. One of the powerful influences on job performance is how we are treated at work.
c. Contrary to what most people would think, stress has very little impact on job performance.
d. Work attitudes, like job satisfaction, are moderate correlates of job performance.
(c) Medium/Analysis
69. Research indicates which of the following factor is the strongest predictor of job performance?
a. general mental ability
b. work attitudes
c. stress
d. positive work attitudes
(a) Medium/Analysis
70. Research indicates which of the following statements regarding factors that predict job performance is FALSE?
a. When we are treated well, we want to reciprocate, thus when the company treats us well, we perform more effectively.
b. Positive work attitudes and performance are unrelated.
c. Conscientious employees perform better than those who are not conscientious.
d. High role ambiguity, and the resulting stress, can eventually lead to lower performance.
(b) Medium/Analysis
71. Research on the relationship between personality and job performance indicates
a. people who are extraverted perform slightly less well than those who are intraverted.
b. dependable people are better performers than those less dependable.
c. there is little relationship between reliability and job performance.
d. achievement-oriented people are so goal-oriented that they often fall short in their performance.
(b) Easy/Comprehension
72. Research on work attitudes and performance indicates
a. work attitudes are strong correlates of job performance.
b. work attitudes are a stronger correlate of performance in complex jobs than in simpler jobs.
c. dissatisfied employees always reduce performance level.
d. work attitudes are a moderate correlate of performance.
(d) Medium/Analysis
73. Which of the following factors is not a predictor of organizational citizenship behaviors?
a. abilities
b. personality
c. positive work attitudes
d. age of the employee
(a) Easy/Knowledge
74. Which of the following statements regarding the predictors of organizational citizenship behaviors is FALSE?
a. The link between ability and citizenship behavior is stronger than the link between motivation and citizenship behavior.
b. The most important factor in determining employee citizenship behavior is how employees are treated by those around them.
c. People with positive affectivity tend to exhibit stronger citizenship behaviors.
d. Older people tend to exhibit stronger citizenship behaviors than younger people.
(a) Difficult/Analysis
75. Which of the following scenarios is likely to produce low levels of citizenship behaviors?
a. Maria is an agreeable, conscientious employee of a large conglomerate.
b. Randall’s boss is extremely family-oriented and recently allowed him to leave work early to attend his son’s after-school soccer game.
c. Horatio is a young engineer with negative affectivity.
d. Jennifer is a devoted employee who is happy at her work.
(c) Difficult/Synthesis
76. Which statement regarding citizenship behaviors is accurate?
a. People who are older demonstrate higher levels of citizenship.
b. People who are unhappy still perform citizenship behaviors to a very high degree.
c. Job attitudes are weakly related to citizenship behaviors.
d. People who are treated poorly tend to perform higher levels of citizenship behaviors.
(a) Medium/Comprehension
77. Which of the following factors is not a cause of high levels of absenteeism in a firm?
a. positive work attitudes
b. health problems
c. age of the worker
d. work/life balance issues
(a) Easy/Comprehension
78. Which of the following statements regarding absenteeism is INCORRECT?
a. Instituting organizational policies that penalize absenteeism are reasonable approaches to controlling the problem.
b. Wellness programs are a viable way to address employee absenteeism.
c. Flexibility in work scheduling addresses absenteeism concerns.
d. There is no consistent link between personality and absenteeism.
(a) Medium/Analysis
79. Research on absenteeism indicates which of the following statements to be accurate?
a. Problems in job design can result in absenteeism.
b. Older individuals, because they are more likely to have health problems, are more likely to be absent from work.
c. Employees who are permitted to manage their work schedules with regard to time at the company are more likely to be absent.
d. Absenteeism saves organizations money because the company does not have to pay employees who are absent from their jobs.
(a) Medium/Analysis
80. Which of the following statements regarding ways to deal with late coworkers is INCORRECT?
a. Try ignoring lateness and not imposing negative consequences.
b. Be on time yourself!
c. Schedule meetings around everyone else’s meetings.
d. Find out exactly why employees are late.
(a) Easy/Comprehension
81. Which of the following employees is more likely to turnover?
a. those who have been in the company for a long time.
b. those who have negative work attitudes
c. those who have a low deal of stress
d. those who are high performers.
(b) Easy/Knowledge
82. Research on turnover indicates which of the following statements is FALSE?
a. Unhappy employees are more likely to leave than those who are satisfied with the organization.
b. Poor work attitudes cause intentions to leave, which often causes actually leaving the company.
c. All turnover is bad for an organization.
d. Agreeable and conscientious people are less likely to quit their jobs.
(c) Medium/Comprehension
83. Research suggests which of the following relationships between performance and turnover?
a. Pay for performance systems have no impact on an employee’s likelihood to turnover.
b. The establishment of a pay for performance system in a company guarantees that high performers will stay in the firm.
c. In general, good performers are more likely to leave a firm because other firms readily recognize their skills and actively seek their employment.
d. Poor performers are more likely to quit their jobs compared to high performers.
(d) Medium/Comprehension
84. The primary reason for employee turnover is
a. gender.
b. work attitudes.
c. age.
d. general mental abilities.
(b) Medium/Knowledge
85. Which of the following statements regarding age and turnover is FALSE?
a. Programming opportunities offered to new hires, such as orientation, can reduce the turnover of this group.
b. Younger individuals are more likely to turnover than older individuals.
c. Individuals who have been on the job only a short period of time are unlikely to turnover because they just got the job.
d. Younger individuals have an easier time, overall, leaving a job than older individuals.
(c) Medium/Analysis
86. Which of the following statements regarding turnover is true?
a. The link between work attitudes and turnover is direct.
b. Even though they are very unhappy with a job, employees may not leave an organization.
c. Employees will quit their jobs voluntarily only when they feel they will get fired.
d. Manager absenteeism causes employee turnover.
(b) Medium/Analysis
87. Which of the following is NOT a tip for leaving your job gracefully?
a. The world is a small place; don’t let tales of your unprofessional behavior travel.
b. Don’t badmouth your employer; why make others feel bad?
c. When you decide to leave, leave. Don’t hang around doing work you will not be doing a very good job on.
d. Return all office supplies, keys, and anything else that belongs to the company.
(c) Medium/Comprehension
| Section III: The Role of Ethics and National Culture |
88. When an ethical climate exists at a firm, studies suggest all of the following EXCEPT
a. people are less likely to want to leave the firm.
b. people are likely to only perform the duties of their job description because they do not want to engage in anything that will upset the balance of the ethical situation in place.
c. people are happier at work.
d. people are more committed to the firm.
(b) Medium/Comprehension
89. Which of the following is an issue to keep in mind with regard to maintaining an ethical environment in the firm?
a. Monitoring employee online activity is a good way of creating an ethical climate.
b. Use of video cameras in the workplace will make employees feel the firm cares about ethics.
c. High levels of employee monitoring increases citizenship behaviors.
d. Monitoring employees may increase ethical compliance but may create a culture of mistrust.
(d) Difficult/Analysis
90. Which of the following statements regarding ethical behaviors in the workplace is true?
a. High levels of employee monitoring increase employee commitment to the organization.
b. High levels of employee monitoring increase work performance.
c. High levels of employee monitoring increase citizenship behaviors.
d. High levels of employee monitoring may reduce the frequency of unethical behaviors.
(d) Difficult/Analysis
91. Which of the following statements regarding job attitudes and cultural differences is true?
a. Work/family conflict lowers job satisfaction in collectivistic cultures.
b. High levels of empowerment are related to high job satisfaction in India.
c. Work/family conflict lowers job satisfaction in individualistic cultures.
d. Low levels of empowerment are related to high job satisfaction in the USA.
(c) Difficult/Analysis
Closing Section: Rebounding from Defeat: The Case of Jeffrey Katzenberg
|
92. Jeffrey Katzenberg has ________.
a. been successful at everything he has tried.
b. been CEO of Starbucks.
c. been CEO of DreamWorks Animation.
d. is the CEO of Disney.
(c) Easy/Comprehension
FILL IN THE BLANK
93. An _______ is an opinion, belief or feeling about an aspect of the environment.
(attitude)
94. The feelings people have toward their job is called ______ ___________.
(job satisfaction)
95. __________ ____________ is the emotional attachment people have toward the company they work for.
(Organizational commitment)
96. The tendency to experience positive moods more often than negative ones is _________ _____________ ______________.
(positive affective disposition)
97. When __________ match job demands, we tend to be more satisfied with our job.
(abilities)
98. An unwritten understanding about what the employee will bring to the work environment and what the company will provide in exchange is called a ______________ ______________.
(psychological contract)
99. _______ ____________ is vagueness as to what job responsibilities are in the job.
(Role ambiguity)
100. Helping new employees and working voluntary overtime are examples of ______________ _____________ ____________.
(organizational citizenship behaviors)
101. _______ ___________ are meetings with departing employees.
(Exit interviews)
102. The worst person to conduct an exit interview is the _________ __________ __________.
(departing employee’s manager)
103. ___________ ______________ and _____________ _____________ are two key attitudes that are the most relevant to important outcomes in the work environment.
(Job satisfaction, organizational commitment)
104. ____ ___________ is the performance level on factors included in the job description.
(Job performance)
105. The most powerful influence over job performance is ______ __________ _________.
(general mental ability)
106. _________________ include reasoning abilities, verbal and numerical skills, and analytical skills.
(General mental abilities)
107. Jobs with high complexity need to have employees with high ___________.
(general mental abilities)
108. Predictors of _____________ include general mental abilities, how we are treated at work, stress, and positive work attitudes.
(job performance)
109. Predictors of _______________ include how we are treated at work, personality, positive work attitudes and age of the employee.
(citizenship behaviors)
110. Predictors of __________include health problems, work/life balance issues, poor work attitudes and age of the employee.
(absenteeism)
111. Predictors of _____________include poor performance, poor work attitudes, stress, personality, and age of the employee.
(turnover)
112. With regard to age, ___________ individuals are better citizens.
(older)
113. .__________ is unscheduled absences from work.
(Absenteeism)
114. With regard to age, ________ employees are less likely to be absent from work.
(older)
115. ___________ is an employee leaving an organization.
(Turnover)
SHORT ANSWERS
116. Briefly discuss some of the reasons why SAS Institute is ranked on Fortune’s “Best Places to Work” list.
SAS Institute successfully manages its employees. The company shows its employees that it cares, and in return, the employees are devoted to the firm. Turnover at SAS is less than 5%.
The firm maintains its positive relationship with its employees by providing them opportunities to work on interesting and challenging projects. In working on those projects, barriers are removed by the firm so all the employee has to do is work on the project; no worries about equipment, rules, etc.
In addition, the perks offered to the employees are innovative and exciting. There are company athletic fields, a pool, gym memberships, tennis and basketball courts, on-site health care and the demand that employees go home to their families after a full 8-hour day.
117. Briefly describe which two job attitudes have the greatest potential to influence behavior.
The two attitudes with the greatest behavioral influence are job satisfaction and organization commitment. Job satisfaction is the feelings people have toward their job and organization commitment is the emotional attachment people have toward the company. These two work attitudes are closely monitored by companies because they are associated with performance, citizenship, absenteeism, and turnover outcomes.
118. Name and define two work attitudes.
Job satisfaction is one work attitude. Job satisfaction is the feelings people have toward their job.
Organizational commitment is a second work attitude. Organizational commitment is the emotional attachment people have toward the company they work for.
119. What is the relationship between attitude and behavior?
Much work has been done on the attitude to behavior link. The strength of this link depends on the particular attitude focused upon. Attitude can influence behavior but not necessarily predict it. In fact, research indicates that attitudes are more strongly related to intentions to behave than actual behaviors. Thus attitudes provide hints as to how employees will behave, but behavior is also strongly influenced by situational constraints.
120. List three factors that contribute to job satisfaction.
The following factors have been shown to contribute to job satisfaction: personality, person/environment fit, job characteristics, psychological contract, organizational justice, work relationships, stress and work/life balance.
121. List three factors which contribute to organizational commitment.
The following factors have been shown to contribute to organizational commitment: personality, person/environment fit, job characteristics, psychological contract, organizational justice, work relationships, stress and work/life balance.
122. Differentiate between positive and negative affective disposition.
Positive affective disposition is when an individual experiences positive moods more often than negative moods. Negative affective disposition is when an individual experiences more negative moods than positive moods.
123. Describe two specific personality traits related to positive work attitudes.
Research has examined a number of personality traits in relationship to positive work attitudes. They include: affective disposition, neurotic personality, emotional stability, conscientiousness, self-esteem, locus of control and extraversion.
124. What is meant by person/job fit?
Person/job fit is the fit between what the employee brings to the work environment and the environmental demands of that workplace. For example, when employee abilities fit the job demands, employee satisfaction can result.
125. Give an example of how a psychological contract between an employee and a firm could be breached.
When employees do not get what they expect from a company, a psychological contract can be breached. A psychological contract is an unwritten understanding about what the employee will bring to the work environment and what the company will provide in exchange. For example, if you were told during your initial selection interviews with a firm that the firm was family friendly, but now the boss is wanting you to be available 24/7 and is calling you on your company-issued cell phone at odd hours of the evening, you feel like the contract has been breached and you are sometimes, even often, dissatisfied.
126. Briefly describe how stress can be related to high levels of satisfaction.
Stress can be a two-way street. If role ambiguity is experienced (vagueness in relation to what one’s responsibilities are), role conflict (facing contradictory demands at work), organizational politics or lack of job security, satisfaction can be severely reduced. However, some stress can make us happy. Some people work best under deadlines, even tight deadlines. Further some people like having a great deal of responsibility and the stress which accompanies that simply makes them better at meeting the challenge.
127. Amanda is a new mother. Briefly describe two programs that Alcoa, her employer, might implement to attempt to create some work/life balance for Amanda and others like her.
Alcoa might be able to offer Amanda a flextime schedule where she would need to be in the office for certain hours or on certain days, but could work her schedule out around those core hours as her personal needs dictate as long as she fulfills the hour requirements for the position as a whole.
Again, depending on the specific job she performs, Amanda may be able to work out a telecommuting arrangement with the firm.
Work sharing is another option where Amanda and some other employee will share the one position, dividing up hours, pay, or benefits according to the number of hours they work each year.
128. What is the value of an exit interview for a firm?
Exit interviews are conducted with employees departing a firm. The intent behind them is to find out why the employee is leaving. The challenge is to make sure the employee is being “honest” with his reason for leaving. For example, if the interview is conducted by the employee’s immediate manager, the reason for leaving could actually involve that individual and to have him asking the questions would not probably gather the kinds of information needed to make appropriate changes. Turnover is very expensive for a firm, both in lost productivity and in the need to engage in another recruiting effort, so every opportunity a firm has to keep turnover low should be addressed.
129. What influence does general mental ability have over job performance?
Research indicates that general mental ability is the most powerful influence on our job performance. Reasoning abilities, verbal and numerical skills, analytical skills and overall intelligence seems to be important across most situations. From the time we are young throughout our later life, the correlation between mental ability and performance is strong.
130. Why does how an employee is treated in a firm predict citizenship behavior?
The motivation/behavior link with regard to citizenship behavior is very clear. We tend to do for others as they do for us. So, if we are treated well by those around us, we, in turn, what to return the favor and thus engage in citizenship behaviors.
131. John is a 57-year-old employee at XYZ, Inc. Describe the expectations we might have with regard to the likelihood that he will be absent quite frequently from work.
Since John is older, the expectation is that he will be sick more often and thus will be absent more often. Surprisingly, however, research suggests that age and absenteeism are inversely related. That is, older individuals tend to be absent less than younger employees. Some of the reasons given for this finding include the loyalty older individuals tend to hold for their firms, and their stronger work ethic.
132. Give an example of when turnover is a problem and when turnover is beneficial to a firm.
Turnover is a problem when there is no one to perform a job and the job is critical. Of course, this issue can be further compounded by the difficulty experienced by the firm in filling the open position. Add to that the need to train an employee and wait until he “gets up to speed” on the job and the impact can be quite negative.
On the other hand, if you have an employee who simply is not performing well and may, in fact, be reducing the level of performance of those around him, then the turnover of the poor performer becomes a positive opportunity for the firm.
133. Describe the impact pay for performance systems could have on the employees in a firm.
Pay for performance systems can have a positive impact on a firm. First, the opportunity to enhance pay is afforded in these systems to those who perform well. Therefore, high performers will be paid well. Those who are not good performers may hasten their leave-taking from the firm because they are being paid less. However, in the pay for performance system, you only get paid less if you perform poorly. So poor performers are leaving, and that may not be all bad!
134. Describe the link between work attitudes and turnover.
The link between work attitudes and turnover is actually fairly simple. If workers are unhappy, they will leave. That said, the linkage between work attitudes and turnover is not direct. Instead, those who are unhappy with a firm have an intention to leave, but whether they will actually act on that intention is a separate issue.
135. Discuss the impact stress has on turnover in a firm.
Stress can cause employees to leave a firm. If the position held by an employee seems to have role ambiguity and role conflict as part of it, then employees are more likely to leave the firm.
136. Which personality traits tend to be exhibited by those employees who are less likely to turnover?
Employees who are conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable are less likely to quit their jobs. Why? Some suggest that these personality traits may assist the employee in performing better at work and thus, they quit less. Further, these characteristics may lead them to develop better relationships with coworkers, which again is a factor in retention.
137. Tyler is a 22-year-old, recent graduate of a large university. Given the research on age and turnover, what are some expectations a manager may have with regard to Tyler’s likelihood of remaining with the firm?
Research tends to suggest that younger employees are more likely to leave organizations. Young employees have fewer responsibilities and may be much more able to quit a job they don’t like. Since young employees experience much more stress there is little bonding them to the firm and they again elect to leave the company. Anything the manager can do to address these issues might help to retain his young recruit.
138. Discuss the findings of studies examining job attitudes and ethical work climates.
Studies examining ethical work climates find that when organizations value doing the right thing, employees tend to be happier at work, are more committed to the firm, and are less likely to leave.
139. Discuss the dilemma companies face in trying to prevent their employees from behaving unethically by monitoring employees.
Preventing unethical behavior in employees can take many forms. One such option is to monitor employees through the use of video cameras and e-mail scanning. Engaging in such monitoring activities, however, leads employees to feel like they are being treated unfairly and are being disrespected. The catch-22 arises that if you increase the level of monitoring in the firm, you do decrease the incidence of unethical behavior, but you will likely decrease job satisfaction and commitment to the firm as well as job performance.
140. Briefly describe differences in job attitudes held around the world.
A study looking at 20 countries found that only in individualistic cultures did work/family conflict lower job satisfaction. In collectivist cultures, the bonds created between coworkers counter the sacrifices they make to work, so they are not dissatisfied.
Autonomy and empowerment are clearly valued in the United States, but empowerment, when instituted in India, led to lower job satisfaction.
141. Briefly discuss how cultures around the world influence work behaviors.
In the United States, helping an individual learn his new job is regarded as a citizenship behavior. In other cultures, it is simply seen as part of the job itself.
Similarly, to be absent from work in China for illness, stress or depression is unacceptable. In Canada, unacceptable reasons for absence from work include family reasons.
ESSAY
142. Is a happy worker a productive worker?
This question has been the focus of substantial amounts of research over the years and the answer is still not clear. Clearly happy workers seem to want to be better performers as their happiness makes them more engaged workers. However, wanting to perform better and actually performing better are not necessarily the same.
One aspect which could prevent a happy worker from being a more productive worker may simply be that the worker lacks the necessary skills to perform better.
And sometimes, too, the happy worker is so busy being happy that he fails to perform. While many programs instituted by firms use this statement as their guiding principle, there is no hard evidence to prove that a fruitful endeavor.
143. Rosaline is the superintendent of a school district. A new board of directors, to whom she is responsible, has just been elected and the philosophical direction the board wishes to take varies from the direction Rosaline has taken the district over the past five years. Rosaline is going to tender her resignation. How can she do so gracefully?
After working for five years to make your vision a reality, the likely urge is to vent your frustrations as loudly as you can. However, such an action, while refreshing for maybe five minutes, simply does not serve either party well in the future. Thus, Rosaline should consider the following:
Don’t engage in a knee-jerk reaction. Everyone has bad days and an entirely new philosophy may appear to be a mountain that you are unwilling to climb. That said, think of your career. Before tendering the resignation, look to see if there are opportunities for job change. Current economic conditions do not bode well for rash decisions. Find an alternative and then carefully plan your subsequent steps toward it.
When you do choose to go, inform your boss (the board president) of your decision first. While dramatic announcements get attention, again they serve few down the road.
Don’t speak poorly of the organization you are departing. The world is a small place and getting smaller. You have no clue what the future will hold or who you might need to contact in the future.
Finish what you have started. Don’t leave anyone scrambling to figure out what you are doing or how to do it. Just finish it.
Return what is the firm’s, keep what is yours.
Be professional in everything you do.
144. Agnes is so frustrated. This morning she called a meeting for 9 o’clock sharp to discuss the new product launch. Though most of the key players were on time, Kim and Nelson were both 25 minutes late, making some excuses about how they had to make an important call before either could attend. That made four meetings in a row when they were late. What can you do? Other members at the meeting are getting frustrated too as you have to repeat information and re-explain key points.
First, find out why they are late. Are they late because they are unhappy or dissatisfied? Or, are they simply late because it is their nature to be so?
Don’t let the continued tardiness go unnoticed and “unpunished.” Ignoring the behavior may be saying to them that you somehow approve of what they are doing.
Find out what everyone’s schedules are. Maybe you really are scheduling meetings when they have standing phone appointments.
If they are late, require them to make up for their lateness by taking on some extra duties or responsibilities related to the project.
Remind people of the meeting. Sometimes we are just so busy in today’s dynamic work environment that we do forget commitments.
Reward those who do come on time. Food works well. Barring that, just thank everyone for being there on time!
Make sure you are on time. If you have a tendency to call a meeting for 9 but it never gets started to 9:10 because you are out copying the agenda for everyone, then they will arrive late to compensate for your tardiness. Before you know it, a 9 o’clock meeting begins at 9:30.
145. Matthew is a 22-year-old accountant working in his first job at a major accounting firm in Philadelphia. When he is home in Virginia for a visit, he sits down for a chat with his father, who is a human resource director at a large manufacturing firm. Matthew tells his father how unhappy he is that he chose to work for the Philadelphia firm. As he does his job, he realizes this is not what he wants to do for the rest of his life. What advice can dad provide him to help him be a happier worker?
First, be positive. Any experience is a learning experience. You are never stuck forever anywhere.
If, indeed, the fit between you and the firm or you and the job is not what it should be, then find out what is wrong with the fit. Use this information as you begin a job search. Don’t however, have a knee-jerk reaction and just quit.
Get accurate information about the firm and the job. Maybe you are in a job that you just don’t fit, but maybe that is only a temporary assignment with better things to come.
Develop good relationships at work. The work relationships are part of your network and you never know when your network will come in handy.
Know when to leave. Gather information and weigh it carefully. Make sure the next organization or job is a good fit.
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