nAmIB I A U n IVERS ITY OF SCIEnCE AnD TECHnOLOGY

FACUL TV OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT

QUALIFICATION: BACHELOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

QUALIFICATION CODE: 07BHRM; LEVEL: 6

21BHUR

COURSE CODE: OSB611S COURSE NAME: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

SESSION: JULY 2016 PAPER: THEORY

DURATION: 2 HOURS MARKS: 100

SECOND OPPORTUNITY EXAMINATION QUESTION PAPER

EXAMINER(S)

MODERATOR:

MS. E. JANUARY-ENKALI

MR. E.T. NDJOONDUEZU

MS. M. SEZUNI

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Answer ALL the questions.

2. Read all questions carefully before answering.

3. Marks for each question are indicated at the end of each

question.

4. Please ensure that your writing is legible, neat and presentable.

PERMISSIBLE MATERIALS 1. NONE REQUIRED

THIS QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF _8_ PAGES (Including this front page}

SECTION A (30)

Question 1 (Each multiple choice question carries one (1) mark) (20)

Choose the correct answer to the questions that follow by indicating only the applicable letter (i.e. a, b, c, d, or e) in your answer book.

1. Ndapanda is a project leader for a team that is writing, programming, testing, and performing quality assurance on a

new Spanish language software program. Ndapanda is in Okahandja where the developing house is located. Her

writers are in Spain. Her programmers are in India. Her testers are in Windhoek. And her quality assurance team is in

South Africa. After given clear specifications, each team has authority to make the necessary decisions to complete

their task, or send a task back to another part of the team. Which of the following best describes Ndapanda's team?

a) cross-functional virtual

b) self-managed face-to-face

c) problem-solving virtual

d) problem-solving face-to-face

e) cross-functional face-to-face

2. The early stages of development of a cross-functional team are time-consuming because ____ ,

a) most cross-functional team members are comprised of individuals from similar backgrounds

b) members must research the causes of problems which they are assigned to solve

c) most cross-functional team members have already established trust

d) members have to learn how to perform new functional tasks

e) members must learn to work with diversity and complexity

3. The abilities of a team's members are essential to success. Which of the following skills is not essential to team

success?

a) problem-solving skills

b) technical expertise

c) interpersonal skills

d) artistic skills

e) decision-making skills

4. What is the major problem with Maslow's hierarchy of needs in organizational behaviour?

a) It is difficult to apply to the workplace.

b) It is vague as to how a workplace can satisfy higher-order needs.

c) Its terminology tends to alienate those to whom it is applied .

d) It is almost impossible to assess how well an individual has a particular need filled .

e) There is little evidence that needs are structured or operate in the way it describes.

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5. Which of the following is a behaviour that would most likely be exhibited by a Theory X manager?

a) She lets her employees choose their own goals.

b)

c)

She trusts her employees to use discretion in most matters.

She strictly controls the details of any project she is managing.

d) She delegates authority extensively to junior managers.

e) She honestly informs her employees of the likelihood that they will lose their jobs.

6. Sarah wants her students to actively participate more in class. She has decided to use reinforcement theory to get the

results she wants. Which of the following methods is she most likely to use?

a) She is going to call on students who never participate.

b) She is going to yell at students, telling them that they are not making good grades.

c) She is going to ask the students that always participate to let someone else have a chance.

d) She is going to model what active participation should look like at the beginning of class.

e) She is going to place a tally mark beside a student's name each time they contribute.

7. When the team he supports wins the World Cup, Dimeke feels a surge of joy, which turns into a feeling of satisfaction

that lasts for days. What is one of the reasons that the feeling of satisfaction might be categorized as a mood and not

an emotion?

a) It is a very strong feeling.

b) It is brought about by a specific event.

c) It has a lengthy duration.

d) It is a positive feeling.

e) It is expressed on his face.

8. People think about ____ five times longer than they think about ___ _

a) negative events, positive events

b) positive events, negative events

c) behaviour affects, the consequences

d) their moods, their emotions

e) positive events, positive emotions

9. A researcher finds that people who work in a fish processing plant, doing work that most people find extremely

unpleasant, still have a positive mood about 60 percent of the time. Such a finding could most likely be explained by

which of the following?

a) the altered enhancement effect

b) self-elation

c) the fundamental attribution error

d) self-serving bias

e) positivity offset

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10. Jonny was recently promoted to lead sales, a position in which he assumes responsibility for more than 100 new

clients. Which of the following intellectual abilities is he likely to use the most?

a) memory

b) number aptitude

c) spatial visualization

d) inductive reasoning

e) perceptual speed

11. Which of the following is not one of the nine basic physical abilities that researchers have identified as important for

job performance?

a) Stamina

b) dynamic flexibility

c) speed

d) body coordination

e) trunk strength

12. Last year Nangura had her purse snatched on the street by two teens who wore their jeans very low. All she can

remember is seeing, as the teens ran away, was their plaid boxer shorts sticking out above their pants. Whenever

Nangura sees boys with low-riding jeans her face tightens and she mumbles something about "delinquents" . She is

extremely bothered that her own grandson, an honor student, has begun to wear his jeans low. Nangura's perception

of her grandson is influenced by ____ ,

a) motives

b) interests

c) setting

d) reality

e) experience

13. What term is used for the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the

influence of internal factors when making judgments about the behaviour of others?

a) fundamental attribution error

b) self-serving bias

c) selective perception

d) consistency

e) actor bias

14. A committee is made up of 12 managers: three each from the sales, production, accounting, and human resources

departments. They read a comprehensive study of the company they work for, and are asked which of its

recommendations are most important. In discussion they find that the managers perceive that the most important

recommendations are those concerning their own departments. This finding is most likely the result of what type of

bias?

a) selective perception

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b) halo effect

c) self-serving bias

d) projection

e) Pygmalion effect

15. Your rating in a job interview is high in contrast to the candidate who was interviewed directly before you, who was

rated extremely low. Your own high rating might be partially attributed to which of the following?

a) the halo effect

b) stereotyping

c) prototyping

d) contrast effects

e) projection

16. Most people assume that a police officer should behave in a lawful manner, not show any favouritism to any

particular group, and do their best to uphold the law. What term is used for this kind of belief?

a) a norm identity

b) a role perception

c) a role expectation

d) a norm

e) a norm violation

17. What can we assume from the difference in behaviour by the participants in Zimbardo's prison experiment?

a) All people have the same role expectations and behave accordingly.

b) Role abuse can be hindered and controlled by close monitoring.

c) Role abuse cannot be stopped as it is an inherent part of role expectation.

d) Role perceptions are viewed the same regardless of the situation.

e) Individuals with emotional stability are more easily controlled by roles.

18. A local police and army (Operation Omake) work crew cleans up parks and other public spaces. In this crew the

dirtiest jobs are generally given to the newest members, while the more senior members of the crew tend to do little

except draw their pay. What is the class of norms that encompasses arrangements like this?

a) confluence

b) resource allocation

c) appearance

d) performance.

e) financial rewards

19. Mrs. Shipanga believes strongly that it is important that worker's rights be respected, and that one of the more

important ways of doing this is to ensure that all workers be properly documented. She is supervising a contracting

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company that is building a new warehouse for her company. While doing this she discovers that many of the workers

employed by the contractor are undocumented aliens working for well below minimum wage.

Mrs. Shipanga is likely experiencing ___ _

a) ethical evasion

b) unresolved anger

c) cognitive dissonance

d) social pressure

e) uncertainty avoidance

20. Mrs. Shipanga can be expected to relieve the discomfort she is experiencing by ___ _

a) deciding this issue is unimportant

b) rationalizing that it is not her problem since she is not the contractor

c) attempting to stop the contractor using undocumented workers

d) coming to accept that using undocumented workers does not harm workers' rights

e) anyoftheabove

Question 2 {10)

True or False (Each question carries one (1) mark)

1. An adult's personality is proven to be made up only of situational factors, moderated by environmental conditions.

2. Ndeyapo keeps emotional distance from her co-workers and believes that the ends can justify the means. Ndeyapo

would rate high in Machiavellianism.

3. Individuals with Holland's "investigative" personality are well su ited for careers as small business managers.

4. A cu lt ure that rates high in power distance values equa lity and does not accept inequalities of power.

5. Profit-sharing programs may be direct cash outlays or allocations of stock options.

6. Skill-based pay encourages employees to concentrate on one or two highly desirable skills.

7. Employee involvement programs could provide employees with intrinsic motivation by increasing opportunities for

growth and responsibility.

8. If one is interested in changing employee attitudes or in improving organizationa l performance, representative

participation would be a good choice.

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9. Today's managers and employees must learn to cope with temporariness; learning to live with flexibility, spontaneity,

and unpredictability.

10. Workforce diversity is a topic dealing with how organizations are becoming more homogeneous in terms of gender,

race, and ethnicity.

SECTION B (20)

Question 3

In these pages we've already noted that one downside of agreeableness is that agreeable people tend to have lower levels of career success. Though agreeableness doesn't appear to be related to job performance, agreeable people do earn less money. Though we're not sure why this is so, it may be that agreeable individuals are less aggressive in negotiating starting salaries and pay raises for themselves. Yet there is clear evidence that agreeableness is something employers value. Several recent books argue in favour of the "power of nice" (Thaler & Koval, 2006) and "the kindness revolution" (Horrell, 2006).

In many circles, individuals desiring success in their careers are exhorted to be "complimentary," "kind," and "good" (for example, Schillinger, 2007).

Take the example of sao-employee Lindblad Expeditions. It emphasizes agreeableness in its hiring decisions. The Vice President of Human Resources commented, "You can teach people any technical skill, but you can't teach them how to be a kindhearted, generous-minded person with an open spirit."

So, while employers want agreeable employees, agreeable employees are not better job performers, and they are less

successful in their careers. One might explain this apparent contradiction by noting that employers value agreeable employees

for other reasons: They are more pleasant to be around, and they may help others in ways that aren't reflected in their job

performance. While the former point seems fair enough-agreeable people are better liked-it's not clear that agreeable

individuals actually help people more. A review of the "organizational citizenship" literature revealed a pretty weak correlation

between an employee's agreeableness and how much he or she helped others.

Moreover, a 2008 study of CEO and CEO candidates revealed that this contradiction applies to organizational leaders as well. Using ratings made of candidates from an executive search firm, these researchers studied the personalities and abilities of 316 CEO candidates for companies involved in buyout and venture capital transactions. They found that what gets a CEO candidate hired is not what makes him or her effective. Specifically, CEO candidates who were rated high on "nice" traits such as respecting others, developing others, and teamwork were more likely to be hired. However, these same characteristics-especially teamwork and respecting others for venture capital CEOs-made the organizations that the CEOs led less successful.

Questions

1. Do you think there is a contradiction between what employers want in employees (agreeable employees) and what employees actually do best (disagreeable employees)? Why or why not? (5)

2. Often, the effects of personality depend on the situation . Can you think of some job situations in which agreeableness are an important virtue? And in which it is harmful? (6)

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3. In some research conducted, it was found that the negative effects of agreeableness on earnings are stronger for men than for women (that is, being agreeable hurt men's earnings more than women's). Why do you think this might be the case? (9)

SECTION C (SO)

Question 4

1. Discuss some of the errors in perceptual judgment made by interviewers in job interviews. (10)

2. Define conformity. Explain the relationship that conformity has with deviant work behaviour? (10)

3. Deshi is upset with her supervisor because she was denied her requested vacation days, which were given to another worker. She is experiencing a very low level of job satisfaction, but cannot afford to quit her job. Describe three negative, passive responses that Deshi might take due to her dissatisfaction. Imagine that her manager actively catches her in a manifestation of workplace deviance. Predict the outcome of Deshi's behaviour. (10)

4. Describe the three relationships in Vroom's expectancy theory? (10)

5. Explain how stress affects emotions and moods. (10)

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