PSY 302 Week 5 Final Comprehensive Exam

Question 1

Assuming that all members possess the right KSAOs required to solve the problem at hand, how many people should be on a team to achieve maximum effectiveness?

  1–3 

  4–7 

  5–9 

  10–14

Question 2

Which type of organizational commitment is most positively related to organizational outcomes?

  cognitive 

  affective 

  continuance 

  normative 

Question 3

Which of the following expresses the correct order of the five stages of team development?

  norming à forming à storming à performing à adjourning 

  storming à adjourning à norming à forming à performing 

  adjourning à norming à storming à performing à forming 

  forming à storming à norming à performing à adjourning  

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT true of team decision making?

  It accelerates the decision-making process. 

  It leads to higher quality decisions. 

  It leads to more alternatives. 

  It promotes a sense of ownership of the decision. 

Question 5

Which of the following terms describes the level of enthusiasm a person feels for his or her job?

  employee engagement 

  job satisfaction 

  person–organization fit 

  organizational commitment 

Question 6

Which of the following jobs did a survey of 27,000 U.S. workers reveal to be one of the most inherently satisfying?

  laborer 

  assembly-line worker 

  cashier 

  power plant engineer 

Question 7

__________ describe(s) the cooperative, coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them.

  Virtuous spirals 

  Appreciative inquiry 

  The human-capital-centric approach 

  The built-to-change approach 

Question 8

What did a meta-analytical study by happiness expert Sonja Lyubomirsky and her colleagues find about the relationship between positivity, happiness, and success?

  Happiness causes positivity. 

  Positivity causes happiness. 

  Positivity causes success. 

  Success causes positivity. 

Question 9

Jennifer has always longed to become a veterinarian, but she instead keeps books and does accounting for the restaurant that has been in her family for more than 50 years. Which type of organizational commitment is Jennifer demonstrating?

  cognitive 

  continuance 

  affective 

  normative 

Question 10

Who perpetrates most cases of violent workplace fatalities?

  strangers 

  disgruntled employees 

  repeat customers 

  vendors 

Question 11

Which type of team is the most common and traditional?

  self-managed 

  manager-led 

  cross-functional 

  project

Question 12

After discussing what to do about an ongoing budgeting problem, Barbara’s team decides on a course of action that is more conservative than what was advocated by individual team members. What is the name of this phenomenon?

  risky shift 

  cautious shift 

  production blocking 

  groupthink 

Question 13

Which of the following statements best captures current trends regarding organizational change in fast-paced and hard-to-predict climates?

  Organizations are choosing to become more human-capital-centric than structure-centric. 

  Organizations are choosing to become more structure-centric than human-capital-centric. 

  Organizations are choosing to become more technology-centric than structure-centric. 

  Organizations are choosing to become more technology-centric than human-capital-centric. 

Question 14

Jayden’s work group adheres to a structured decision-making process in which team members generate ideas on their own and then bring what they came up with to the group for evaluation. What is the name of the process that Jayden’s group uses?

  brainstorming 

  shared mental model 

  nominal group technique 

  collective efficacy 

Question 15

Which U.S. company do the authors applaud for keeping its health care costs stable as costs have risen for other companies?

  Kaiser Family Foundation 

  Arthur Andersen 

  Safeway 

  Apple

Question 16

Which is most likely to be FALSE about project teams?

  They are relatively small. 

  They have vague goals. 

  They are temporary. 

  They are led by a project manager.

Question 17

Which element of employee engagement describes the sensation of being so engrossed in your work that you lose track of time?

  eustress 

  vigor 

  absorption 

  dedication  

Question 18

Lisa, a team leader, wants her team to avoid groupthink as it undertakes its projects. Given this, Lisa should do all of the following EXCEPT __________.

  encourage team members to refrain from dissent and criticism 

  wait for all members to participate before stating her opinion 

  create a separate team with a different leader to tackle the same problem 

  appoint someone to play devil’s advocate 

Question 19

At a tech company called Sonica, Team Product Development is hindered by one member who has very poor organizational skills. The team is constantly dragged down by this member and cannot progress past a certain point. Which of the following terms best describes this scenario?

  maximum emergence 

  minimum emergence 

  average emergence 

  dispersion emergence 

Question 20

Given recent research on success in and beyond the workplace, what should companies do to improve employees’ well-being?

  Teach employees to more positively interpret their circumstances. 

  Offer employees more vacation time and paid sick leave. 

  Increase employee salaries to the top of what is competitive for the industry. 

  Subsidize a larger portion of employees’ health care premiums and make sure they use their benefits.  

Question 21

Eric’s attitude toward his job largely stems from the fact that he believes it pays well. Which employee attitude component is Eric demonstrating?

  cognitive 

  affective 

  psychological 

  behavioral

Question 22

How might a team best reduce free riding and social loafing?

  by making each member of the team accountable to an identifiable segment of the work effort 

  by reducing the amount of work for which a free riding/social loafing team member is responsible 

  by avoiding placing free riding/social loafing coworkers on teams 

  by offering a free riding/social loafing team member financial incentives and rewards to do better 

Question 23

Four characteristics have been found to have the greatest influence on team performance. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

  team members’ personality 

  team members’ cognitive ability 

  a team’s diversity 

  a team’s location 

Question 24

What four health conditions account for 75% of all health care costs?

  hypertension, cancer, diabetes, and carpel tunnel syndrome 

  cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity 

  cardiovascular disease, asthma, depression, and multiple sclerosis 

  depression, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and obesity

Question 25

Gemstone CoreWorks operates in mining, a hazardous industry. Company managers tend to be unaware of official policies and procedures, and employees are not trained on adequate safety practices. Which of the following best describes Gemstone CoreWorks?

  It has a lot of role ambiguity and as such will experience a lot of inevitable accidents. 

  It is a human-capital-centric organization and as such will experience a lot of expensive accidents. 

  It has a poor climate of safety and as such will experience a lot of avoidable accidents. 

  It operates in a dangerous industry and as such will experience a lot of unavoidable accidents. 

Question 26

__________ are most likely to use virtual teams, while __________ are least likely.

  Multinational organizations; U.S.-based organizations 

  Multinational organizations; government agencies 

  Government agencies; multinational organizations 

  Government agencies; U.S.-based organizations 

Question 27

Why are traditionalists particularly likely to value hard work and regard work as a privilege?

  Because they grew up during the Great Recession. 

  Because they grew up during the Great Depression. 

  Because they endured many years of school, including college. 

  Because they benefited from numerous public assistance programs. 

Question 28

Shauna has a low level of tolerance for ambiguity. Given this, which of the following is most likely TRUE about Shauna?

  Shauna tends to find working on teams frustrating and unfulfilling and thus avoids them. 

  Shauna tends to find working on teams satisfying and fulfilling and thus seeks them out. 

  Shauna tends to be the source of much of her team’s conflict and is thus disliked by her team members. 

  Shauna tends to be the source of much of her team’s camaraderie and is thus a highly prized team member.  

Question 29

Ariel hates being a corporate lawyer and would quit tomorrow if she could. However, keeping her job at the firm is the only way she can afford to support her aging parents, pay her mortgage, and put her three children through college. Which type of organizational commitment is Ariel demonstrating?

  cognitive 

  continuance 

  affective 

  normative 

Question 30

Which kinds of cultures are most likely to easily or successfully implement teams?

  collectivist and doing oriented 

  high power distance and deterministic 

  collectivist and deterministic 

  doing oriented and high power distance 

Question 31

Which of the following best exemplifies organizational citizen behavior?

  When not at work, Joanne likes to volunteer with several political organizations. 

  Joanne goes out of her way to talk positively about her company and proactively help her team members. 

  Joanne gets paid enough money that she is able to handsomely donate to several charities of her choice. 

  Joanne thinks her company is lagging in its corporate social responsibility initiatives, so she volunteers to start an in-house program. 

Question 32

Which of the following can be a drawback of a cross-functional team?

  It can take a long time for the group to coalesce into a fully functioning team. 

  Members are more likely to make inappropriate comments to each other because of their relative anonymity. 

  It is common for members to experience reduced autonomy and low levels of empowerment. 

  Members tend to blame, remove, or replace other members they perceive to be low performers.

Question 33

Laurie is a naturally happy person. Even when she experiences a setback or life gets her down, within a few hours she reverts back to her naturally happy self. Which of the following terms best describes what Laurie is experiencing?

  hedonic treadmill 

  affective commitment 

  appreciative inquiry 

  crossover effect 

Question 34

During a meeting, team members become shy and cognitively blocked. They are hesitant to share controversial or unusual ideas, lest they be judged by their colleagues and lose their train of thought. These are all problems that are likely to occur during

__________.

  brainstorming 

  risky shift 

  group polarization 

  the nominal group technique 

Question 35

The presence of what main quality distinguishes work teams from work groups?

  goal attainment 

  diversity 

  interdependence 

  communication 

Question 36

Team DreamIt is composed of members who all have very high cognitive ability. They are tasked with designing a new system for filing invoices, which is a fairly simple and straightforward project. How is Team DreamIt likely to respond to the work?

  Team members are likely to argue over the proposed solutions and be unable to complete the project. 

  Team members are likely to get bored and lose interest in the project. 

  Team members are likely to complete the project faster and with more ingenuity than a team of lower cognitive ability. 

  Team members are likely to remain focused on the project, even though they are not intellectually stimulated by it. 

Question 37

Which of the following Big Five personality variables shows the strongest relationship to team performance?

  conscientiousness and openness to experience 

  agreeableness and emotional stability 

  emotional stability and conscientiousness 

  extraversion and agreeableness 

Question 38

What kind of diversity has been shown to improve a team’s effectiveness?

  demographic 

  task-related 

  value 

  cultural 

Question 39

How many times on average are members of Generation X likely to change jobs during their first 10 years out of college?

  None—they graduated during the Great Recession and had a difficult time finding a job at all. 

  None—they tend to favor stable employment and stick with one employer for the entirety of their career. 

  Twice—they are willing to switch jobs to seek a better opportunity or more favorable work conditions. 

  Four times—they have low job commitment and do not hesitate to leave a company they think is not a good ethical fit. 

Question 40

Which step of Kurt Lewin’s organizational change model sustains a change but may also cause resistance to future changes?

  refreezing 

  unfreezing 

  change 

  freezing  

Question 41

Randy was recently promoted to project director. He’s a bit nervous about the change but is also excited about it and motivated to do his best. What specifically is Randy experiencing?

  stress 

  eustress 

  hardiness 

  spillover effect 

Question 42

Which job do the authors use to exemplify how requiring workers to act as a team can add an unnecessary layer of coordination and be impractical and time consuming?

  a sales representative for a tech company 

  a specialist in a laboratory 

  a nurse in a surgical unit 

  a driver for a transportation company

Chapter 10: Health and Well-Being

Question 43

What are the two main approaches to managing the costs of health care in the workplace?

  reducing employer contributions and enhancing employees’ health 

  eliminating employer contributions and enhancing employees’ health 

  reducing employer contributions and encouraging free market health care options 

  encouraging free market health care options and enhancing employees’ health

Question 44

Which stage of team development ends with the team establishing a clear hierarchy and basic assignment of roles?

  forming 

  storming 

  adjourning 

  performing 

Question 45

Approximately how many workers died on the job in 2015?

  almost 1,000, or about 3 a day 

  almost 2,500, or about 7 a day 

  almost 5,000, or about 13 a day 

  almost 10,000, or about 27 a day 

Question 46

Tim constantly feels like his job puts more responsibilities on him than he can reasonably manage, and he doesn’t know how to approach some projects at all. Which cause of workplace dissatisfaction and stress is Tim experiencing?

  role conflict 

  role ambiguity 

  workload incompatibility 

  job insecurity 

Question 47

Which of the following best expresses the relationship between cohesion and team effectiveness?

  Cohesion is associated with lower productivity in both positive and negative environments. 

  Cohesion is associated with higher productivity in both positive and negative environments. 

  Cohesion is associated with higher productivity in negative environments but with lower productivity in positive environments. 

  Cohesion is associated with higher productivity in positive environments but with lower productivity in negative environments. 

Question 48

Cautious shift and risky shift are both facets of __________.

  synergy 

  production blocking 

  groupthink 

  group polarization 

Question 49

Vaughn’s team enjoys a common understanding of team processes, tasks roles, and how the team’s work will be done. What does Vaughn’s team possess, specifically?

  synergy 

  a shared mental model 

  collective efficacy 

  information sharing 

Question 50

Which of the following measures do the authors say companies have taken to help working parents improve their work–life balance?

  offering vouchers for day care facilities 

  subsidizing employees’ day care costs 

  providing on-site day care facilities 

  paying bonuses to employees with children under age 5