Managerial Effectiveness – II (MB122): April 2007:Suggested Answers

Suggested Answers
Managerial Effectiveness – II (MB122): April 2007

1. Answer : (b)
Reason : Effective management starts at personal level and then moves on to the personnel level.
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2. Answer : (b)
Reason : The basic activities that a manager should perform are as follows:
• Planning
• Organizing
• Directing
• Coordinating
• Controlling
Hence the option (b) is the correct answer.
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3. Answer : (c)
Reason : The underlying principle of management planning is that, the future situation will be different from
present situation.
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4. Answer : (b)
Reason : The aims of planning are:
To achieve the objectives of the organization.
To motivate the employees to attain high objectives.
To maintain uniformity in team work.
To serve as a yardstick to measure the attainment of goals.
Hence the option (b) is the correct answer.
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5. Answer : (a)
Reason : E-stress or techno stress is a physical and physiological reaction to the changing technological
environment.
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6. Answer : (b)
Reason : Stress in individuals is defined as anything that disrupts the normal person’s physical or mental wellbeing.
Stress can be positive or negative. Negative stress is called distress
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7. Answer : (e)
Reason : Every manager faces ethical issues almost each day at work. Business ethics refers to truth and justice.
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8. Answer : (d)
Reason : According to Peter Drucker the basic principles effective managers follow are that they know how they
spend their time and stay in control of time. They focus on achieving results rather than simply
working with tools and techniques.They concentrate on one activity at a time to produce effective
results. They take decisions after a systematic analysis of facts and information.
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9. Answer : (d)
Reason : In instinctive style of decision making process, do managers look beyond facts to take a decision.
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10. Answer : (b)
Reason : An effective manager has the responsibility of organizing skills which include not only achieving the
objectives of organization, but also preparing a list of activities that need to be performed, dividing
work into units according to the functions and delegating the work along with coordination with
various teams and groups.
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11. Answer : (c)
Reason : Effective mangers extremely conscious of what they do and do not do. They look for opportunities and
strengths. They turn their weakness into strength as per the adaptation required.
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12. Answer : (d)
Reason : Effective managers use their experience and knowledge to avoid performing tasks that were
unproductive in the past. They perform each activity carefully yet quickly and deal with the unforeseen
situations. They set targets and accordingly plan. But as per the situation given there was no mention of
succession planning.
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13. Answer : (b)
Reason : Feedback gives an opportunity for the employees to clarify misunderstandings, gaining support and
involving the commitment of the people. It constructs a way to express views and opinion and seek for
clarity.
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14. Answer : (e)
Reason : The factors that influence the ethical behavior of a manager are individual characteristics,
organizational culture, structural variables and issue intensity.
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15. Answer : (e)
Reason : With good mission statement a manager cannot contribute in maintaining human relations.
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16. Answer : (b)
Reason : Resistance stage involves resisting and reacting to the situation. In this situation, the body prepares to
either escape from the situation or to survive in it. She too tried to either adapt to the situation or leave
the job due her inability to perform
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17. Answer : (d)
Reason : People need to plan and organize activities to have control over their lives. They should plan in
accordance with their strengths and weakness and also follow it up to reduce the effects of burnout.
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18. Answer : (b)
Reason : Individuals doing all the work by themselves add to their stress. They should learn to delegate routine
work to others and ask them for report submission to be aware of the status of work.
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19. Answer : (a)
Reason : Yoga is for stress reliever and rejuvenates the organs to release stress. But body building is not one of
the benefits of yoga.
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20. Answer : (e)
Reason : I. Continual sense of urgency and II. Has an excessive competitive drive are the characteristic of Type
A personality.
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21. Answer : (b)
Reason : Any organization requires contribution by manager in three basic areas. They are
• Direct results
• Establishing values
• Developing tomorrow’s managers.
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22. Answer : (d)
Reason : The negative emotions are :
• intention
• incompetence
• infidelity
• insensitivity
• intrusiveness
• institutional
• inevitability
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23. Answer : (d)
Reason : Goleman and Cary Chernis have developed guidelines for conducting training program or developing
emotional intelligence in organizations, which have been grouped into distinct stages. Participation is
not one of the stages.
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24. Answer : (c)
Reason : The ability to outsource various activities effectively is not a branch of emotional intelligence but is
related to operations management. All other options are the four branches of emotional intelligence
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25. Answer : (c)
Reason : The “People Care Index” will not evaluates the financial satisfaction the employees derives from the
job.
Hence, (c) is correct answer.
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26. Answer : (b)
Reason : Cognition is the mental process of learning, which includes aspects like awareness, perception,
interpretation, and judgment.
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27. Answer : (e)
Reason : The statement “It defined emotional centre of brain as neocortex and the intellectual centre as
subcortex” is false. Rather, as per Goleman’s emotional intelligence model, the emotional centre of the
brain is the subcortex, which is the lower part of the brain and the intellectual centre is the neocortex,
which is the upper part of the brain.
All other options are true with regard to Goleman’s emotional intelligence model.
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28. Answer : (c)
Reason : advantages of laughter are :
• It reduces tension and relaxes facial muscles
• It releases the endorphins or feel-good hormones in the brain which fight against pain and stress
• It improves blood circulation
• It minimizes blood pressure
• It reduces the respiratory problems of a person
• It strengthen the body’s immunity by raising levels of disease- fighting cells
• It helps develop an optimistic attitude.
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29. Answer : (e)
Reason : Learning emotional intelligence is a difficult task as emotional ineffectiveness of a person has its roots
in habits acquired in childhood and these habits over a period of time become deeply entrenched.
All other options are true about learning of emotional intelligence
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30. Answer : (c)
Reason : High morale is a positive emotion. All other options are problems faced by an organization due to
negative emotions.
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31. Answer : (c)
Reason : Awareness about organization belongs to social competence.
All other options belong to personal competence component of emotional intelligence.
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32. Answer : (d)
Reason : A charismatic leader has the ability to convey a strong sense of purpose and vision and is aware of the
requirements of others.
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33. Answer : (e)
Reason : Individual consideration is the ability to coach, advise, and teach people and to help the newcomers in
the organization and also includes the skill to listen actively.
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34. Answer : (a)
Reason : Peacekeepers try to avoid a conflict with a superior fearing that it may be considered as an attempt to
seize power from that person and may cause the end of their relationship with him/her.
In organizations, peacemakers are afraid of getting into a conflict with a subordinate as they think that
their behavior may be seen as an act of misusing their power, and may result in a strained relationship
with that person.
The leader who is a peacekeeper may find it difficult to get the work done by subordinates in case they
do not like to do it.
In organizations, peacekeepers are generally disliked by both the superiors and subordinates as they are
considered undependable. Therefore statements (I), (III) and (IV) are not true.
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35. Answer : (b)
Reason : Courage is the ability to do what is good for the organization and workforce even in the face of
difficulties.
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36. Answer : (d)
Reason : When there are two divergent ideas, it can lead to a creative process which brings to light the positive
and negative points of both the ideas. This can ultimately result in a compromise solution, which brings
out the better of the two. Therefore statement (III) is not true.
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37. Answer : (b)
Reason : Statements (I) and (III) are true. Statement (II) and (IV) are not true since it is often difficult to deal
with change in the organizations and involves both rational and non-rational situations.
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38. Answer : (b)
Reason : Effective leaders understand fully well that they and their bosses have different backgrounds. They
maintain a good relationship by providing information on what is happening. Hence statements (I) and
(III) are true.
Statements (II) and (IV) are not true since leaders realize that the responsibility of maintaining the
relationship is not only that of the superior and that wisdom and maturity are not the prerogative of the
bosses and effective leaders understand their boss’s goals, the pressures on him/her, his/her strengths
and weaknesses and his/her working style.
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39. Answer : (d)
Reason : Statement (III) is not true since leaders acquire information and tangible resources. Statements (I) and
(II) are true.
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40. Answer : (e)
Reason : All statements are correct. The questions that have to be clearly understood by leaders are as follows
Where they themselves are headed?
What they intend to do?
Whose involvement is crucial to reach the intended goal?
Which individuals could prove an obstacle to them in fulfilling their leadership responsibilities?
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41. Answer : (c)
Reason : There are no organizational charts or job descriptions to clarify lateral relationships.
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42. Answer : (e)
Reason : Kaizen is a culture and a form of management that focuses on creativity and innovation at all levels.
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43. Answer : (c)
Reason : Statement (III) is not correct since they have to become less sensitive to conflicts and develop skills to
handle them. The remaining statements are correct.
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44. Answer : (b)
Reason : Intellectual stimulation is the ability to make others in the organization use logic and facts in order to
evolve new ways to solve problems and also includes the ability to help others think differently.
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45. Answer : (c)
Reason : Peacemakers are those who are able to identify when a tension goes beyond a limit.
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46. Answer : (a)
Reason : Dependability is the ability to work independently, assuming responsibility for actions done and also for
mistakes committed, and the ability to keep promises.
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47. Answer : (c)
Reason : The mediatory skills required by leaders to arrive at a win-win solution in conflict situations are such
as open-mindedness, flexibility and resilience, the capacity to demonstrate empathy, credibility and
integrity, a sense of timing, patience and the willingness to hear all sides without interruption.
Statement (III) is not correct because leaders should have the ability to depersonalize situations.
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48. Answer : (e)
Reason : Leaders should not attempt to guess the motives of the other party instead they should be objectives.
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49. Answer : (b)
Reason : Assertive communication is the ability of a person to stand up for his/her rights without affecting the
rights of the other person
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50. Answer : (d)
Reason : Analytical skill not an essential skill required by leaders for managing conflict. Assertive
communication, active listening, problem-solving and negotiation are the essential skills required by
leaders for managing conflict. .
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51. Answer : (b)
Reason : Suggestions for improving emotional intelligence at a personal level are
I. Do not try to find reasons in others and circumstances for your emotional disturbances instead, it
is better to identify the emotion that you have in various situations, i.e. lable your emotions,
II. Make use of your knowledge of emotions in taking decisions.
III. When you feel angry, instead of suppressing it try to convert it into fruitful action and
IV. Understand and acknowledge the emotions and feelings of others by showing appropriate
emotions.
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52. Answer : (a)
Reason : Emotions are called a feeling and its distinctive thoughts, psychological and biological states and range
or propensities to act
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53. Answer : (e)
Reason : The ways by which leaders can motivate people to take reasonably higher levels of risks are as follows:
Frank discussion on the chances of success.
Making roles and responsibilities clearer.
Spreading risk across the team and organization.
Supporting the initiatives irrespective of the chances of success.
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54. Answer : (d)
Reason : The people in the life position I am ok, you are not ok develop suspicion and aversion toward others,
will not take the responsibility for any faults instead, blame others for all problems
III. Such people always try to prove that only they can do a job well and others cannot.
IV. These managers may not be willing to delegate authority and will be of the view that very close
supervision is required to get work done by subordinates.
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55. Answer : (a)
Reason : Statement (I) is not true since the best work can be obtained not just by paying higher wages, but also
by cultivating passion among the employees. The remaining statements are true.
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56. Answer : (d)
Reason : Statement (III) is not true because leaders do not show their frail side to others and pretend to be
always strong. The other statements are true.
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57. Answer : (b)
Reason : The lack of honesty in the workplace often results in the formation of a pessimistic, doubting and
discouraged workforce.
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58. Answer : (e)
Reason : All the statements are true. Leaders can motivate by cultivating an environment in the organization in
which work is considered inspiring and satisfying. Leaders should have a clear understanding of the
situation in question and also an insight into the nature of human beings. Leaders should have a clear
set of goals and expectations, which involves a direction to employees.
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59. Answer : (d)
Reason : Statement (I) is not true because charismatics are captivated by new ideas and are good at moving from
big ideas to the specifics of implementation. They are enthusiastic about new ideas. Hence statements
(II), (III) and (IV) are true.
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60. Answer : (e)
Reason : Persuasion fails when the focus is more on the content of the message rather than on the way it is
presented. Failure to persuade is often caused by the ineffective presentation of facts.
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61. Answer : (b)
Reason : Statements (I) and (III) are not true because the employees perceptions and attitudes, and interaction
with the leaders of other organizations are used for analyzing the past experiences for evolving a
leadership vision. The remaining statements (II) and (IV) are true.
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62. Answer : (a)
Reason : The parent is a huge collection of recordings in brain of unquestioned or imposed external events
perceived by a person in his early years
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63. Answer : (d)
Reason: A leader with a vision focuses on the emotional resources of the organization like its ambitions,
principles, promises, etc., while a manager focuses more on the material resources like technology, raw
materials, human resources, etc.
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64. Answer : (e)
Reason : Vision should be communicated and shared frequently and not occasionally.
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65. Answer : (c)
Reason : For developing leadership skills, a leader has to considered some questions. They are
How do I increase the value of my organization?
Am I able to instill trust among the people in the organization?
Am I able to communicate effectively?
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66. Answer : (a)
Reason : Leadership audit is the first step in a leadership development plan.
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67. Answer : (e)
Reason : In organizations, leaders have to influence all the members to carry out the tasks of the organization.
They have a vision about the organization. They motivate, persuade, and usually get work done in the
way they want it done because of a certain set of characteristics they exhibit. They are able to focus on
the value of their people and empower them.
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68. Answer : (b)
Reason: In the organizational context, interpersonal skills refer to a person’s ability to interact effectively with
other members of the organization like subordinates, peers and superiors
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69. Answer : (c)
Reason: Statements (I) and (III) are true.
An employee with good interpersonal skills would essentially have the qualities:
- Ability to treat everyone in the organization with respect.
- Ability to resolve conflicts.
- Good negotiation skills.
- Ability to manage behavior in personal interactions.
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70. Answer : (a)
Reason: The essential qualities of an employee with good interpersonal skills
- Ability to get along with others
- Readiness to accept feedback
- Ability to learn from mistakes
- Ability to listen to others
- Ability to influence the behavior of others positively.
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71. Answer : (e)
Reason : Managers need to have good interpersonal skills if they are to be successful. The essential interpersonal
competencies required for managers.
- Self awareness.
- Communication skills.
- Motivation.
- Control.
- Acknowledging the interests of subordinates.
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72. Answer : (d)
Reason : The managers have to be aware of their own qualities- their strengths and weaknesses. Some of the
weaknesses that mangers often exhibit are:
- The incapacity to understand the viewpoint of others.
- Inability to motivate the employees.
- Difficulty in making decisions in critical situations
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73. Answer : (c)
Reason : It is important for the managers to know if they are losing control over certain situations. In such cases,
it is important for them to step back a little, contemplate the situation, and see if they have behaved in
an extreme manner. Then they need to do a rethink on their leadership and interpersonal abilities
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74. Answer : (b)
Reason : Motivation encompasses optimism and determination. Determination is another important aspect of
motivation. The managers should exhibit determination and be able to guide the organization towards
its goals, whatever be the situation.
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75. Answer : (d)
Reason : The way the managers communicate with peers will be different from the way they communicate with
subordinates. This is because; subordinates may hesitate to seek clarification or to dispute any opinion
given by the manager. This may lead to miscommunication in some cases.
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76. Answer : (c)
Reason : Many people are nervous about interacting directly with others, especially in formal communication.
This kind of nervousness can be overcome to some extent through practice.
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77. Answer : (b)
Reason : It is extremely important for managers to have good interpersonal skills as they spend a good part of
their time interacting with others be it suppliers, customers, supervisors, peers, or subordinates. In
order to develop these skills, they have to acquire the skills necessary for improving their interactions
with others and become skilled at understanding the behavior of others.
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78. Answer : (b)
Reason : Job interview questions related to Interpersonal skills:
- Can u describe an accident when you demonstrated that you have the ability to get along well
with your colleagues
- What do you think are the most important factors that make you a prized co-worker in the
organization in which you are currently working
- What kind of approach would you use is you had to work closely with a co-worker whom you
detest
- How do you evaluate your relationship with your subordinates? How would they describe their
relationship with you
- When you join a new organization, what initiatives do you take to develop relationship with your
co-workers
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79. Answer : (d)
Reason : If a manager makes a mistake, they should be ready to take the responsibility for it rather than try to
put the blame on someone. Similarly, if a co-worker points out mistakes in the way in which they are
performing a certain task, they should acknowledge his/her suggestion cheerfully. This kind of
behavior shows the maturity on their path.
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80. Answer : (b)
Reason : While developing a new product, the team members involved in the project may have conflicting views
about the design of such other aspects. Such conflicts should be encouraged but should not be allowed
to go beyond a limit.
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81. Answer : (d)
Reason : Statements (I) and (III) are true.
Some of the situations where the accommodating approach can be used:
- When a person is sure that he/she is wrong.
- When the person wants to reduce the extent of loss in a losing situation.
- When the issue is not as important to the person as it is to the other party.
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82. Answer : (c)
Reason : While trying to avoid conflict or accommodate the demand of another person, interpersonal skills are
not very critical. It is better to convey the feelings about an incident rather then accuse a person
directly. Instead of saying “You are never on target” it is better to start with “I am disappointed
because”.
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83. Answer : (a)
Reason : In interpersonal communication, if one person is talking and other person is not listening to what is
being said, then all the communication attempts of the first person would go waste. The context is an
example for the factor poor listening.
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84. Answer : (c)
Reason : A transaction is a unit of intercourse and transactional analysis is the analysis of communication
between individuals.
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85. Answer : (b)
Reason : According to TA human beings have three ego states-the parent, adult and child.
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86. Answer: (d)
Reason: The interactions between human beings consist of various transactions. Each transaction has two
constituents- a stimulus and a response.
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87. Answer : (b)
Reason : It is important to note that it is not just verbal communication that determines the ego state of a person.
Factors like facial expression, tone of voices, gestures etc.
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88. Answer : (c)
Reason : Statement (IV) is not true because studying the customers, distributors, etc. is used for learning about
the present situation for evolving a leadership vision. The remaining statements are true.
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89. Answer : (c)
Reason : The process of creativity involves looking for solutions and ideas in the external environment.
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90. Answer : (d)
Reason : The process of creativity involves looking for solutions and ideas in the external environment.
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91. Answer : (b)
Reason : A manager solving a problem looks for various creative ideas in the environment and then analyzes the
resources available to the organization to act on the idea. This process produces an innovative solution.
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92. Answer : (a)
Reason : Innovation involves a series of activities. It involves discovering new ideas, selecting the most suitable
one, mapping out a plan to put the idea into practice, obtaining feedback on the implementation.
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93. Answer : (a)
Reason : Exploring: This stage involves identifying possible courses of action for a given problem or a situation.
This is the most important stage in the creative process.
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94. Answer : (b)
Reason : Inventing: This stage involves searching for a variety of tools, techniques, and methods that might help
in out-of-box thinking.
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95. Answer : (c)
Reason : Common barriers are:
a. Fear
b. Anxiety
c. Pessimism
d. Stress
e. Environment.
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96. Answer : (a)
Reason : Dialectical techniques: These techniques involve in working back on a solution that has been selected
for implementation.
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97. Answer : (a)
Reason : Checklist technique: In this technique, participants are asked a number of questions to obtain
modifications to preliminary solutions that they have found for certain problems.
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98. Answer : (e)
Reason : Synectics is the process of joining different and irrelevant elements to solve a situation or problem.
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99. Answer : (b)
Reason : Synectics is a group technique, in which highly trained people from diverse fields collectively work on
a specific situation. In synectics, several mechanisms are used to enhance creativity. When the problem
is clearly defined to the group, brainstorming, one of the mechanisms in synectics is used to generate
solutions.
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100. Answer : (a)
Reason : Black hat is the most valuable hat. The black hat thinking is logical.
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