Chapter 01: An overview of organizational behavior
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Chapter01-Assignment-Anoverviewoforganizationalbehavior.docxChapter 01: Assignment: An overview of organizational behavior
1. The effects of OB on personal and organizational success (Connect)
Use your knowledge of organizational behavior to select the correct answer for the following question.
Organizational behavior is the study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and ----------, and the organization itself.
Employees
Ethics
Responsibility
The Organization
Which of the following are ways that organizational behavior impacts organizational success? Check all that apply.
Appropriately applying organizational behavior principles positively influences a firm’s stock price.
Appropriately applying organizational behavior principles positively influences a firm’s retention of valued employees.
Appropriately applying organizational behavior principles decreases destructive conflict.
Appropriately applying organizational behavior principles improves employee motivation.
Appropriately applying organizational behavior principles decreases employees’ trust in the company.
Select the correct answer for the following question below.
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Theory
Management
Business Strategy
------------helps explain and predict how people and groups interpret events, react, and behave in organizations. It also describes the role of organizational systems, structures, and processes in shaping behavior.
2. Basic management functions and skills (Connect, Perform)
Use your knowledge of management functions to correctly answer the following question.
As you sit at your desk on your first day back after a rejuvenating vacation to the Caribbean, you bring your mind back to your work as the head of a beverage bottling plant. You have a lot of work to catch up on, and need to prioritize what is most important to address today. Because you need to improve the efficiency of your business unit you review the latest productivity and efficiency metrics to identify ways to keep inventory costs down.
Which of the following basic management functions did you just engage in?
Controlling
Leading
Organizing
Planning
For each example presented in the following table, identify the managerial function being illustrated.
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Example of Managerial Work |
Conceptual Skills |
Interpersonal Skills |
Diagnostic Skills |
Technical Skills |
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Motivating a new hire to perform well in the training program at Marriott |
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Identifying a new business area that GE can successfully pursue |
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Checking software code for accuracy at Google |
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For each example presented in the following table, identify the managerial function being illustrated.
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Example |
Leading |
Organizing |
Controlling |
Planning |
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As Facebook grew, Mark Zuckerberg had to redefine employees’ areas of responsibility and increase the number of hierarchical layers in the organization to maximize efficiency and performance during the company’s rapid growth. |
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Marco Armen is a production manager at The Iowa Metal Stamping Company. To reduce the amount of non-recyclable waste the company produces, Marco creates a feedback and reward system for employees to reduce their amount of non-recyclable scrap resulting from the company’s stamping process. |
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Bill Owen’s team at Lamar Advertising recently lost a big account and team morale has fallen. Bill decides to treat his employees to lunch and give them a pep talk to show his appreciation and to let them know that he believes in the team. |
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Use each of these key terms to best complete the following sentences. Use each term no more than once.
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Technical |
Interpersonal |
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Conceptual |
Diagnostic |
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When Sonia, a new graduate, begins her career as an engineer, she will most rely on her ----?-----skills to perform her job responsibilities at Boeing. |
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When Pedro tries to persuade his teammates to increase their production rate he is most heavily relying on his -----?----skills. |
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When Marissa Mayer became CEO of Yahoo and tried to identify how to turn around the ailing company she relied heavily on hers ----?---kills. |
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When Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea for Facebook and decided to make a company to pursue the idea, he relied most heavily on his ----?---skills. |
3. Strategic context of OB (Connect)
For each example presented in the following table, identify the business strategy illustrated.
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Example of Business Strategy |
Specialization |
Customer Intimacy |
Cost Leadership |
Growth |
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Chipotle Mexican Grill opened about 200 new restaurants in a year to maintain its strong financial performance. |
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Dunkin’ Donuts decided to focus on selling donuts rather than a wide variety of baked goods. |
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Netflix uses complicated mathematical techniques to allow it to make accurate movie recommendations to its customers. |
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Match each business strategy description with the corresponding organizational behavior concept. What would the organization’s focus need to be to execute each strategy?
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Business Strategy |
Organization Behavior Concept |
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Starbucks is primarily following a specialization strategy and focuses on a narrow set of beverage and food products. |
1. Automate as many jobs as possible 2.Focus on problem solving and teamwork 3.Increase operational flexibility and employees’ customer knowledge 4.Support a customer service culture
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Old Navy relies on a cost leadership strategy and needs to keep all of its expenses as low as possible. |
1. Automate as many jobs as possible 2.Focus on problem solving and teamwork 3.Increase operational flexibility and employees’ customer knowledge 4.Support a customer service culture
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A firm decides to specialize in designing new and innovative apps for the iPhone and to outsource their production. |
1. Automate as many jobs as possible 2.Focus on problem solving and teamwork 3.Increase operational flexibility and employees’ customer knowledge 4.Support a customer service culture
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Jeweler Tiffany & Co. is following a differentiation strategy and wants to charge a high price for high quality jewelry. |
1. Automate as many jobs as possible 2.Focus on problem solving and teamwork 3.Increase operational flexibility and employees’ customer knowledge 4.Support a customer service culture |
4. Contextual perspectives on OB (Connect)
Choose the correct term for each of the missing labels in this diagram.
A. Behaviors, system, technology, financial strategies
B. System, employee behaviors, transitional notes, technology
Select the correct answer for the following question.
Scientific management did which of the following?
Was readily accepted by workers
Gave workers control over how they did their jobs
Decreased productivity
Increased the monotony of work
Check the box under the aspect of the systems perspective to OB illustrated by the situation being described.
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Example |
Process |
Outputs |
Inputs |
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Hershey has large manufacturing facilities that turn cocoa beans, sugar, and milk into a wide variety of delicious chocolate products. |
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After offshoring many employees’ jobs and reducing pay for those who remain, the surviving employees of Acme go on strike. |
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Sue is a manager at a large chemical plant for Exxon. She pulls up the most recent inventory reports to see if the plant’s production targets are likely to be met. |
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Match each term with its definition.
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Definition |
Term |
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Organizations are cooperative systems and workers’ orientations, values, and feelings are important parts of organizational dynamics and performance. |
Human Relations movement Interactionalism Scientific Management Situational Perspective System |
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An interrelated set of elements that function as a whole. |
Human Relations movement Interactionalism Scientific Management Situational Perspective System |
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In most organizations, situations and outcomes are influenced by other variables. |
Human Relations movement Interactionalism Scientific Management Situational Perspective System |
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Individuals and situations interact continuously to determine individuals’ behavior. |
Human Relations movement Interactionalism Scientific Management Situational Perspective System |
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Productivity is maximized when organizations are rationalized with precise sets of instructions based on time-and-motion studies. |
Human Relations movement Interactionalism Scientific Management Situational Perspective System |
5. Managing for effectiveness and research (Connect, Perform)
Select the correct answer for the following question.
Kyongji is slightly more productive than Bernadette but she refuses to work overtime, often expresses negative opinions about the organization, and is often late. Bernadette is often willing to work overtimeand seldom misses work. Kyongji is probably ------?----than Bernadette.
A better organizational citizen
A higer performer
More committed
A lower performer
Match each work outcome with the corresponding organizational behavior concept. What is each behavior an example of?
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Work Outcome |
Organizational Behavior Concept |
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Organizational Commitment |
Amy volunteers to help a new coworker learn how to use the company’s intranet Mary sells 20 cars in a month Ryan steals 1,000 from the company Tyler plans to quit in a few months |
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Dysfunctional Behavior |
Amy volunteers to help a new coworker learn how to use the company’s intranet Mary sells 20 cars in a month Ryan steals 1,000 from the company Tyler plans to quit in a few months |
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Performance |
Amy volunteers to help a new coworker learn how to use the company’s intranet Mary sells 20 cars in a month Ryan steals 1,000 from the company Tyler plans to quit in a few months |
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Productivity |
Amy volunteers to help a new coworker learn how to use the company’s intranet Mary sells 20 cars in a month Ryan steals 1,000 from the company Tyler plans to quit in a few months |
Read the example scenario, then answer the following question.
Andy and Laura were talking during their break from their jobs at a retail store.
ANDY: I just got scheduled for a double shift on Sunday. It’s OK though—I know the boss really needs me until we’re able to hire two more people.
LAURA: Yeah, that’s a bummer, but I agree that it should only be for a little while.
Which organizational behavior concept does their conversation best illustrate?
Performance
Commitment
Sabotage
Productivity
Select the correct answer for the following question.
Turnover, Incivility, Absenteeism, Theft
------?-------can damage an organization’s culture.
Use each of these key terms to best complete the following sentences. Use each term no more than once.
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Intuition |
Scientific method |
Hypothesis |
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Theory |
Independent variable |
Dependent variable |
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Correlation |
Meta-analysis |
Global replication |
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The variable predicted to be affected by something else |
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A collection of verbal and symbolic assertions that specify how and why variables are related, and the conditions under which they should and should not relate |
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Relies on systematic studies that identify and replicate a result using a variety of methods, samples, and settings |
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Relying on an understanding of many of the norms, expectations, and behaviors of others learned from living and working with them |
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A statistical technique used to combine the results of many different research studies done in a variety of organizations and for a variety of jobs |
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The size and strength of the statistical relationship between two variables |
6. Book framework (Connect, Perform)
Match the following examples to the correct element of the framework of this book.
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Answer |
Element of framework |
Example |
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Why do individuals do what they do? |
A. |
Getting a new research and development team at Pfizer to leverage the diversity of their knowledge and expertise to come up with a new blockbuster drug |
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Why do groups and teams do what they do? |
B. |
Managing politics and power struggles at Goldman Sachs to ensure that customer needs are being ethically met. |
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Why does leadership matter? |
C. |
How to create a culture at your new technology startup that promotes innovation, trust, and high performance |
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How do organizational characteristics influence effectiveness? |
D. |
Motivating a new customer service employee at Aflac Insurance with a work-from-home day if performance targets are met |
Choose the correct term for each of the missing labels in this diagram.
A. Why are pay and benefits important at work?
Why do individuals do what they do?
How can managers influence employees?
B. What makes managers and organizations effective?
Why do individuals do what they do?
Why are pay and benefits important at work?
7. Chapter 01 Video Case Study: Camp Bow Wow: The World of Innovative Management (Lead)
Watch the following video in which owner Sue Ryan and manager Candace Stathis talk about Camp Bow Wow, a provider of dog care services. Then answer the questions that follow.
Candace states that part of managing involves making sure everyone is organized and where they are supposed to be at the right time. Which school of thought is most consistent with a concern about making sure everyone is organized and where they are supposed to be at the right time?
Scientific management
Universal approach
Scientific method
Hawthorne effect
Use your knowledge of the different critical management skills to classify each of the following statements. ( Note: Actual comments from the video are augmented for this question so they are not verbatim).
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Example |
Technical skills |
Interpersonal skills |
Conceptual skills |
Diagnostic skills |
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Sue says that she wants to be the best of all the facilities like hers in Boulder, the best of the Camp Bow Wows, and the best in the system as a whole. She sees an opportunity to create a high quality dog care service. |
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Use your knowledge of innovative management techniques to select the correct answer for the following question.
Assume for a moment that Sue, the owner of Camp Bow Wow in Colorado, said that she was looking to provide constantly evolving and improving pet care services that no other organization offered. This would be an example of a----------?----------- strategy.
Specialization by building customer intimacy.
Differentiation through product innovation
Expansion and growth to enhance earnings per share by building out new operations.
Cost leadership by being operationally excellent.
Chapter 03: Assignment: Individual Characteristics
1. Individual differences, ‘fit,’ and the role of realistic job previews. (Connect)
Match each description with the corresponding type of fit.
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Description |
Type of Fit |
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3M has a strong culture of innovation, which Pam really likes. Pam previously feels that she is happier in a less bureaucratic, more innovative environment like the one at 3M that supports autonomy and smart risk taking. |
Person-group fit Person-job fit Person- organization fit Person- vocation fit |
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Peter has always been a social person and enjoys working with people. He recently got an Associate’s degree in computer programming and spends his work day alone in a small cubicle. Peter is regretting his decision to go into programming as a career because he has very little social contact. |
Person-group fit Person-job fit Person- organization fit Person- vocation fit |
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Manuel is one of the top salespeople at Bloomingdale’s menswear department. Although Manuel doesn’t like the fact that some of the clothes in Bloomingdales come from overseas, he is good at his job, and is also very motivated by the opportunity to sell high quality merchandise. |
Person-group fit Person-job fit Person- organization fit Person- vocation fit |
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Amara is very happy with her work team. Everyone supports each other and is responsible about meeting both individual and team goals, making Rachel want to work hard to live up to their expectations of her. |
Person-group fit Person-job fit Person- organization fit Person- vocation fit |
What do we call personal attributes that vary from one person to another?
Teams
Individual differences
Managers
Select the best explanation for the following statement.
Thierry is reflecting on how he likes working in a collaborative, team-based culture but his current employer is very competitive and rewards only individual performance.
Person-job fit is low
Person-group fit is high
A realistic job preview was given
Person-organization fit is low
Which of the following is an example of a realistic job preview (RJP)? Check all that apply.
When she is recruited to be a trash truck driver for Waste Management, Trisha is told only potential negative things about the job, including the smell, early hours, and frequent traffic.
When Mary has her first interview for a job as a police officer, she is shown a video that tells her how rewarding policework can be, but it also outlines how difficult it can be to work night shifts.
When she is interviewed for a sales associate role at Verizon, Tina is told only positive things about the company.
When he is recruited to be a tax accountant at Deloitte, Hans is told that it is a great job and company
with a lot of career opportunities but also warned that during March and April it is common to have to work some evenings and weekends to get all of the tax filing work done.
2. Personality and personality frameworks and attributes (Connect)
Use your knowledge of general personality frameworks and attributes to correctly answer the following questions.
Nurture
Nature
Person-job fit
Perception
Myers-Briggs
Big five
Locus of control
Machiavellianism
-----?-------concerns the extent to which personality attributes are shaped by our environment.
Sensing/Intuition is part of the ----?---- personality framework.
According to the Big Five framework, people higher in this personality trait tend to have broad interests and to be curious, imaginative, and creative.
Openness
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Use each of these key terms to best complete the following sentences. Use each term no more than once.
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Agreeableness |
Neuroticism |
Extraversion |
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Conscientiousness |
Openness |
Machiavellianism |
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Authoritarianism |
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Eduardo tends to be insecure and often has mood swings at work that make his coworkers uncomfortable. Eduardo is likely to be high in this personality trait. |
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Ted is willing to listen to new ideas and to change his beliefs and attitudes in response to new information. Ted is likely high in this personality trait. |
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Aidan is often late with projects and seems disorganized. He is likely low in this personality trait. |
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Betty is sociable, talkative, and one of the first employees to welcome a new hire and offer to show him or her around. Betty is likely high in this personality trait. |
3. Personality traits that affect behavior in organizations (Connect)
Match each description with the personality trait it best describes.
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Description |
Personality Trait |
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Jun is unwilling to sacrifice her friendships at work just to try to get a promotion. She is also uncomfortable manipulating others and is unwilling to lie to get ahead. Jun is likely low in this personality trait. |
Authoritarianism Internal Locus of control Low tolerance for ambiguity Machiavellian |
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Karen knows that her boss’s request that she shred the pile of documents is unethical and possibly even illegal given the legal investigation but she shreds them anyway, because her boss requested it. This suggests that Karen is probably high in this personality trait. |
Authoritarianism Internal Locus of control Low tolerance for ambiguity Machiavellian |
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When Scott first hired Maria he gave her a lot of autonomy in how she did her job. Maria was uncomfortable with the vagueness of his instructions, however, so Scott became more directive with her and gave her more clearly defined tasks. Maria is likely low in this personality trait. |
Authoritarianism Internal Locus of control Low tolerance for ambiguity Machiavellian |
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Pete often volunteers for extra assignments and developmental opportunities to improve his chances of earning a promotion. On the other hand, Lucy believes that if she is meant to get promoted it will happen, and if not, she is just unlucky. Compared to Lucy, Pete is likely higher in this personality trait. |
Authoritarianism Internal Locus of control Low tolerance for ambiguity Machiavellian |
Use your knowledge of personality attributes to correctly answer the following questions.
Type As
Type Bs
Authoritarians
Machiavellians
High-----?------manipulate and exploit others to advance their personal agendas, which is the foundation of bullying.
Sonja didn’t give Paul all of the information he needed to complete his report, knowing that this would cause him to look bad at tomorrow’s meeting. Sonja-----?-------Paul.
Mentored
Builled
Coached
4. Different kinds of intelligence that affect behavior in organizations (Connect/Perform)
Use your knowledge of intelligence to correctly answer the following questions.
You were recently promoted to a management position at a large department store. One of your new responsibilities is recruiting and hiring people for various positions in the store. You decide to take a close look at some of the jobs that you will be hiring for in the next month to identify what types of people to recruit and hire. Because the Accountant position requires someone with strong quantitative skills, what type of intelligence will you be looking for to fill this position?
Linguistic intelligence
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
Emotional intelligence
Logical-mathematical intelligence
If you wanted to hire an inventor, what type of intelligence would you be most likely to focus on in assessing job candidates?
Spatial-visual intelligence
Logical-mathematical intelligence
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
Linguistic intelligence
Match each emotional intelligence dimension with its definition.
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Answer |
Key Terms |
Descriptions |
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Self-awareness |
A. |
Understanding what you are feeling |
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Self-motivation |
B. |
Interpreting others’ feelings |
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Self-management |
C. |
Helping someone else become less upset |
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Empathy |
D. |
Trying again if you fail |
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Social skills |
E. |
Controlling your impulses |
-----------?----tests should be combined with other predictors to reduce adverse impact and increase prediction accuracy.
Mental ability
Emotional Intelligence
Linguistic Ability
5. Different learning styles (Connect/Perform)
Use your knowledge of learning styles to identify the sensory modality that best corresponds to this behavior.
Ryan learns best when he can touch models and manipulate objects.
Kinesthetic
Auditory
Visual
Tactile
Use your knowledge of Kolb’s Learning Styles to identify the learning style exhibited in this example.
Shirley’s learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. She is more attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on practical value. What would Shirley’s learning style be according to the Kolb Learning Style Inventory?
Diverger
Accommodator
Assimilator
Converger
Match the following example with the Towler and Dipboye learning style orientation type that best corresponds to it.
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Answer |
Key Terms |
Descriptions |
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Discovery learning |
A. |
Tim prefers interactional activities and exercises during training. |
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Experiential learning |
B. |
Harry prefers taking notes and writing down instructions when learning. |
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Observational learning |
C. |
Pat likes working with others rather than learning individually. |
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Structured learning |
D. |
Cathy prefers role plays and acting out scenarios when learning. |
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Group learning |
E. |
Vlad prefers looking at diagrams and watching demonstrations when learning. |
6. Chapter 03 Video Case Study: Barcelona Restaurant Group: Managing Human Resources (Lead)
Watch the following video, in which the chief operating officer (COO) of Barcelona Group, Scott Lawton, talks about how his company manages human resources. Then answer the questions that follow.
Scott, the COO for Barcelona Restaurant states: “You can’t train people to be enthusiastic, nice, fun, great people. You have to hire that.” This quote suggest that Scott believes in what concept when hiring people to work at the restaurant?
Information processing capacity
Individual differences
Type A personality
Realistic job previews
Use your knowledge of the different sensory modalities to answer the following question. ( Note:
Barcelona doesn’t talk about training in the video so these are fictional statements provided for the purposes of answering this question.)
If Barcelona were to deliver training by having employees touch and feel the texture of different foods then this is an example of using the -----?--- sensory modality when learning.
Auditory
Visual
Tactile
Kinesthetic
If you are the COO of Barcelona, then given the description of the restaurant and work environment, what type of people might you be seeking to hire? Check all that apply.
Intelligent
Conscientious
Agreeable
Type B Personality
Assume you are the COO of Barcelona Restaurants and you realize that you have turned over probably 60% to 70% of management. Assume you believe that you have been hiring people with the correct technical skills to perform well but there have been other issues. For example, you believe that many of the managers have low confidence in their ability to be successful at whatever challenges or tasks they face so this creates a lot of stress and burn out. What might you do to help ameliorate this problem?
Hire people with low tolerance for ambiguity
Hire people higher in general self-efficacy
Hire people with high authoritarianism
Hire people who are narcissistic
