Management Quiz - 19

1. One of the most popular explanations of human motivations was developed by the Psychologist, Abraham Maslow, and popularized during the early 1960’s. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory argues that needs form a five-level hierarchy. Identify the need, which is at the bottom of hierarchy as per Maslow’s theory.
[A]Security need
[B]Social need
[C]Physiological need
[D]Esteem need



2. Numerous theories have been developed by behavioral scientists about how management can motivate employees. These theories assist managers in their understanding of why an individual chooses to work, why he may continue to work for a firm for a considerable amount of time, and how to boost the morale of a worker and motivate him to produce at his level or highest possible level. One of the theories is Alderfer's ERG theory. Which of the following is not true about Alderfer's ERG theory?
[A]Alderfer proposed a condensed version of Maslow's Need Hierarchy theory with only three groups of core needs.viz., existence, relatedness and growth
[B]The existence needs are related to Maslow’s physiological and safety needs
[C]The relatedness needs are the desire to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships
[D]ERG theory assumes a rigid hierarchy where a lower level need must be substantially gratified before one can move on



3. Another view about the nature of people was presented by Douglas Mc Gregor in his book, “The Human Side of Enterprise”. Mc Gregor identified two opposing perspectives that he believed typified managerial views of employees and suggested that management must start with the basic question of how managers see themselves in relation to others. McGregor suggested that there are two sets of assumptions that shape the way managers treat their employees. Which of the following is not correct about his theory?
[A]Theory X managers view people as having an inherent dislike of work
[B]Theory X managers assume that people do not want to be directed
[C]Theory Y managers assume that the average person will accept, even seek, responsibility
[D]Theory Y managers view people as responsible and conscientious



4. The success or failure of managers depends on their leadership qualities. It is the manager’s responsibility to achieve organizational goals, and he can do this only by helping others to find solutions and overcome obstacles. There are various leadership theories and they go a long way in assisting the managers to achieve their goals. One of the theories is the goal-setting theory. According to the goal-setting theory, identify the statement, which is not true.
[A]People are more motivated if there are concrete targets or objectives
[B]Individuals must buy into the goals
[C]Set targets should be challenging
[D]Goals should be set by upper management members



5. Apart from the tendency to judge subordinates, there are a number of other pitfalls managers must avoid in order to make their formal and informal appraisal programs effective. When a manager evaluates an employee highly on all aspects of his/her job performance even though, in reality, the employee excels at only one aspect, the manager is guilty of
[A]The halo effect
[B]Stereotyping
[C]Attribution error
[D]Selective perception



6. According to the path-goal theory of leadership, the main function of a leader is to clarify and set goals with subordinates, to help them to find the best path for achieving the goals, and to remove the obstacles to their performance and need satisfaction. All of the following statements with respect to path-goal theory are true except
[A]Directive leadership is appropriate if tasks already are well structured
[B]Directive leadership will create greater dissatisfaction if the task and the authority or rule system are dissatisfying
[C]Supportive leadership is less important if the primary work group provides social support to its members
[D]If the task or authority system is dissatisfying, supportive leadership is especially appropriate, because it offers one positive source of gratification in an otherwise negative situation



7. Attempts to explain and understand leadership led to the formulation of various leadership theories. There are four broad categories of leadership theories and they are trait theory, behavioral theory, situational or contingency theory, and transformational theory. Hersey and Blanchard gave one of the leadership theories named Situational theory of leadership. According to Hersey and Blanchard, when followers are in the initial “readiness” stage, the leader's behavior should be
[A]High task and high relationship
[B]High task and low relationship
[C]Low task and high relationship
[D]Low task and low relationship



8. Leadership is defined as the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals. A leader who tends to centralize authority, dictate work methods, and make unilateral decisions is a(n) _____ leader.
[A]Democratic
[B]Laissez-faire
[C]Autocratic
[D]Democratic-consultative



9. The managerial grid, propounded by Robert Blake and Mouton is a well-developed approach to defining leadership styles. They argue that managerial behavior is a function of two variables. i.e., concern for production and concern for people. They use managerial grid as a framework to help managers learn what their leadership style is and to track their movement toward the ideal management style. According to managerial grid, which of the following managerial styles is also known as 'organization-man-management'?
[A]Impoverished management
[B]Middle-of-the-road management
[C]Country club management
[D]Team management



10. Fiedler's least preferred coworker (LPC) questionnaire purports to measure the leader's behavioral orientation as either _____ or _____.
[A]Initiating consideration; initiating structure
[B]Employee-oriented; production-oriented
[C]Task-oriented; employee-oriented
[D]Delegating; participating



11. There are various leadership theories, which guide the managers and help them in achieving the desired goals. The theory that states that it is a leader's job to assist followers in attaining their goals and to provide the necessary direction and support is
[A]Fiedler's Contingency Model
[B]Path-Goal Theory
[C]Hersey and Blanchard's Model
[D]The Ohio State Studies



12. Fred E. Fiedler provided a starting point for situational leadership research. Fiedler and his associates at the University of Illinois suggested a contingency theory of leadership which holds that people become leaders not only because of the attributes of their personalities but also because of various situational factors and the interactions between leaders and managers. In this regard, situational leadership is a contingency theory that focuses on
[A]The followers
[B]The least-preferred coworker
[C]The leader's preferred style
[D]The situation



13. Attempts to explain and understand leadership led to the formulation of various leadership theories. In this regard, which of the following leadership theories assumes that good leaders are born?
[A]Trait Theory
[B]Situational Theory
[C]Behavioral Theory
[D]Contingency Theory



14. According to the Ohio State studies, a leader who is high in _____ is characterized by behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals.
[A]Enthusiasm
[B]Initiating structure
[C]Consideration
[D]Production-orientation



15. Which of the following types of leaders are perceived as agents of radical change rather than as caretakers of the status quo?
[A]Charismatic
[B]Transactional
[C]Autocratic
[D]Democratic