Exam 13: Power and Politics

Power tactics that emphasize formal power are personal and inspirational appeals, rational persuasion, and consultation.

Which of the following statements is true?

The two general groupings into which power may be categorized are ________.

Which of the following is an organizational factor that increases illegitimate political behavior?

Recently, Curtis Gibson had an interview for the position of a senior manager at a transit service. At the interview, the interviewer made a passing remark about how policies can make or break the best economy in the world. Immediately, Curtis launched into a discussion of how true the interviewer was, substantiating his claim with stories from real economies around the world. Similarly, when the interviewer suggested that Curtis work the earlier shift because, if selected, he would have to commute a significant bit to reach work, Curtis vehemently agreed, saying, "You couldn't be more right." Which of the following impression management techniques is Curtis using?

What power tactics can employees use to translate their power bases into specific actions and how does each one work?

When the production manager at CalTrack was asked to provide reasons for the delay in the last batch of stock to be produced for the month, he clearly stated that this was the result of one of his front-level managers taking two days off and that the fault was not his. The manager is using buffing as a defensive behavior here.

Which of the following power tactics involves increasing the target's support by involving him or her in decision making?

What is impression management? Who is more likely to engage in impression management?

Which of the following types of power can be categorized as personal power?

When the audience does not care about the outcomes, using a combination of ________ can help lessen negative reactions to the feeling that one is dictating outcomes.

Will Cears works at Mesner Corp. as a middle-level manager. Will recognizes that his firm is plagued by organizational politics. Since he is not good at playing games, he frequently engages in defensive behaviors in order to protect himself and his interests. Will is frustrated because he believes that he has little control over his environment and his environment is uncomfortable to him. He has had some success at establishing a sense of control for himself by appearing to be cooperative and supportive to his colleagues. However, he continues to hold his reservations against politicking and does not engage in it. This is an example of ________ in order to avoid action, blame, or change.

Which of the following is a self-focused impression management technique?

Will Paten is the manager of a team of twelve people in the marketing division of Palmer Inc. Will, who has been working in the company for eleven years, is held in high regard and liked by all his colleagues and subordinates. However, Aaron and Abby, two of his subordinates, are noted for frequently flouting his rules and directives. They continue behaving in this manner even after Will had categorically requested them to refrain from upsetting the momentum of the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain Aaron and Abby's continued noncompliance with Will's requests?

Joanna Mills has recently been promoted to the position of a project manager at Palmer Inc., a software development firm. As a project manager, she now has the authority to delegate work, provide supervision and feedback, and monitor employee performance. Ever since her promotion, she has been preparing herself to guide her subordinates in different project activities. However, she feels that the employees do not proactively approach her for help. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this situation?

For a power situation to exist, one person or group needs to have control over resources the other person or group values.

The power tactic of using flattery and creating goodwill before making a request is known as ________.

Which of the following is a defensive behavior that is used to avoid change?

Discuss the effectiveness of various influence tactics.

Placing the blame for a negative outcome on external factors that are not entirely blameworthy is known as ________.