File: ch01, Chapter 1: Putting People First
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following statements best defines organizational behavior?
a) It is the behavior of organizations with regard to the community at large.
b) It is the behavior of people within organizations.
c) It is the behavior of organizations relative to other organizations.
d) It is the behavior of clients with organizations.
Answer: B
Feedback for correct answer: Organizational behavior (OB) is the discipline that sets out to
explain human behavior in organizations by examining the behavior of individuals, groups, or all
the members of an organization as a whole.
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: Why Study Organizational Behavior?
AACSB: Analytic skills
2. Which of the following is an example of a competency related to technical skills?
a) Using computer-based tools for financial purposes
b) Showing empathy toward fellow employees
c) Recognizing patterns in production and quality
d) Motivating colleagues to achieve their targets
Answer: A
Feedback for correct answer: Technical skills refer to expertise in a particular task or field. Using
computer tools is an example of technical skills.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Why Study Organizational Behavior?
AACSB: Analytic skills
3. Which of the following is an example of a competency related to relational skills?
a) Using computer-based tools for financial purposes
b) Showing empathy toward fellow employees
c) Recognizing patterns in production and quality
d) Analyzing the productivity and workflow in an organization
Answer: B
Feedback for correct answer: Relational skills are talents for getting along with and motivating
people.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Why Study Organizational Behavior?
AACSB: Analytic skills
4. Which of the following is an example of a competency related to conceptual skills?
a) Using computer-based tools for financial purposes
b) Showing empathy toward fellow employees
c) Understanding complex issues and analyzing them
d) Motivating employees to work in a team
Answer: C
Feedback for correct answer: Conceptual skills refer to the capability to understand complex
issues and underlying causes and to solve problems with broad implications.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Why Study Organizational Behavior?
AACSB: Analytic skills
5. What are conceptual skills?
a) They are the skills that managers use to understand complex issues and its underlying causes.
b) They are the skills related to the capacity to work well with other people both individually and
in a group.
c) They are the skills that managers use to motivate people to work effectively in a team.
d) They are the skills involved in making choices in an organization.
Answer: A
Feedback for correct answer: Conceptual skills refer to the capability to understand complex
issues and underlying causes and to solve problems with broad implications.
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: Why Study Organizational Behavior?
AACSB: Analytic skills
6. Which of the following statements is an example of a manager’s conceptual skills?
a) The ability to empathize with one’s team members and colleagues.
b) The ability to motivate employees to work effectively in a team.
c) The ability to connect and interact with team members.
d) The ability to visualize problems and its implications in a broader perspective.
Answer: D
Feedback for correct answer: Conceptual skills refer to the capability to understand complex
issues and underlying causes and to solve problems with broad implications.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Why Study Organizational Behavior?
AACSB: Analytic skills
7. Which of the following is an example of the planning management function?
a) Dealing with employee behavior issues
b) Determining how tasks are to be grouped
c) Devising and establishing strategies for achieving goals
d) Monitoring tasks on a regular basis
Answer: C
Feedback for correct answer: From a conventional perspective, planning focuses on how
managers set goals and design strategies to achieve them.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Organizational Behavior and Management
AACSB: Dynamics of the global economy
8. Which of the following is an example of the organizing management function?
a) Dealing with employee behavior issues
b) Determining how tasks are to be grouped
c) Devising and establishing strategies for achieving goals
d) Monitoring tasks on a regular basis
Answer: B
Feedback for correct answer: From a conventional perspective, organizing is arranging human
and other organizational resources in order to achieve planned goals and strategies.
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Organizational Behavior and Management
AACSB: Dynamics of the global economy
9. In which of the following scenarios is the supervisor performing the planning management
function?
a) Tracy, the marketing chief of a leading piston manufacturer, formulates objectives and targets
for the marketing department to achieve over the next financial quarter.
b) Robert, a senior project manager in a software company, motivates and encourages his team
members to improve the quality of the project they are working on.
c) Harold, a quality supervisor at a phone manufacturing facility, gives regular feedback to
workers on the defects found in the components produced and information on how to prevent
them.
d) Patricia, the supervisor at a cheese processing plant, decides the work hours for all the
employees on the production floor for the next two months.
Answer: A
Feedback for correct answer: From a conventional perspective, planning focuses on how
managers set goals and design strategies to achieve them. Typically the focus is on how
managers plan to improve productivity and profits.
Level of Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: Organizational Behavior and Management
AACSB: Reflective thinking skills
10. In which of the following scenarios is the supervisor performing the organizing management
function?
a) Tracy, the marketing chief of a leading piston manufacturer, formulates objectives and targets
for the marketing department to achieve over the next financial quarter.
b) Robert, a senior project manager in a software company, motivates and encourages his team
members to improve the quality of the project they are working on.
c) Harold, a quality supervisor at a phone manufacturing facility, gives regular feedback to
workers on the defects found in the components produced and information on how to prevent
them.
d) Patricia, the supervisor at a cheese processing plant, decides the work hours for all the
employees on the production floor for the next two months.
Answer: D
Feedback for correct answer: From a conventional perspective, organizing is arranging human
and other organizational resources in order to achieve planned goals and strategies. Basic
organizing issues include concepts such as centralization (how much authority people at different
organizational levels have), specialization (dividing large, complex tasks into a series of simpler
tasks), and standardization (achieving coordination across organizational members).
Level of Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: Organizational Behavior and Management
AACSB: Reflective thinking skills