MGT 291 EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS ALL CORRECT
How do individuals cope with stress? - Answer- Problem-focused coping: Tackling the
source of stress directly (e.g., prioritizing tasks, seeking help, creating a plan).
Emotion-focused coping: Managing emotional reactions to stress (e.g., venting, seeking
social support, practicing mindfulness).
Behavioral vs. Cognitive
Behavioral coping: Taking physical actions, like working harder, asking for
reassignment, exercising, or avoiding the stressor.
Cognitive coping: Changing how you think about the stressor, like reframing it as a
challenge, downplaying its seriousness, or focusing on positives
How does stress affect job performance and organizational commitment? - Answer- if
you are stressed at work it will lower performance and commitment however aa low
stress job will improver you commitment and performance
What steps can organizations take to manage employee stress? - Answer-
Organizations can manage employee stress by taking steps that reduce stressors,
improve coping, and support well-being. First, they can reduce hindrance stressors by
clarifying roles, streamlining procedures, managing workloads, and ensuring fair
policies. Second, they can promote challenge stressors in a healthy way, such as
providing employees with meaningful tasks, responsibility, and opportunities for growth
while balancing demands. Third, they can offer resources for coping, including training,
time-management workshops, wellness programs, employee assistance programs
(EAPs), and stress-management coaching. Finally, organizations can foster a
supportive culture by encouraging open communication, providing social support from
leaders and coworkers, and promoting work-life balance through flexible scheduling or
remote options. Together, these steps reduce strain, enhance resilience, and help
employees remain productive and engaged.
What are the four main types of stressors? - Answer- Work Hindrance Stressors -
demands that block goal achievement, like role conflict, role ambiguity, or daily hassles.
Work Challenge Stressors - demands that, while stressful, can promote growth and
achievement, like time pressure, complex tasks, or responsibility.
Nonwork Hindrance Stressors - strains outside of work that hinder well-being, like
financial issues, family conflict, or role overload at home.
,Nonwork Challenge Stressors - nonwork demands that, though demanding, can be
fulfilling, like family responsibilities, personal goals, or volunteer commitments.
What is the definition of Organizational Behavior (OB)? - Answer- Organziational
Behavior is a field of study devoted to understanding, explaining and improving the
attitudes and behaviors of individuals and organziations in a group
What are the two primary outcomes in studies of (OB)? - Answer- Job Performance and
Organizational Commitment
What factors affect the two primary OB outcomes? - Answer- 1. Individual Mechanisms
These are the psychological forces directly shaping performance and commitment:
Job Satisfaction - whether employees feel positive about their work and workplace.
Stress - high stress generally reduces performance and commitment if unmanaged.
Motivation - the energy and persistence employees put into tasks.
Trust, Justice, & Ethics - whether employees believe they are treated fairly and ethically.
Learning & Decision-Making - how employees gain knowledge and make choices on the
job.
2. Individual Characteristics
Personal traits that employees bring with them:
Personality (e.g., conscientiousness is strongly tied to performance).
Cultural Values (influence commitment and motivation).
Ability (cognitive, emotional, and physical abilities impact job performance).
3. Group Mechanisms
The social environment and leadership context:
Team Characteristics & Processes - cooperation, communication, and cohesion within
teams.
Leadership Style & Behavior - supportive, transformational leaders tend to boost both
performance and commitment.
4. Organizational Mechanisms
Broader structural and cultural context:
Organizational Culture - values and norms that shape "how things are done."
Organizational Structure - hierarchy, decision-making systems, and role clarity.
What is the role of theory in the scientific method? - Answer- Theory helps provide us
an explanation.
Theory - Answer- A theory is a collection of assertions, both verbal and symbolic, that
specifics how and whyvariables are related, as well as the conditions in which they
should (and should not) be related.Theories about organizational behavior are built from
a combination of interview, observations,research reviews and reflection. Theories from
the beginning point for the scientific method andinspire hypotheses that can be tested
with data
Organizational behavior (OB) - Answer- is a field of study devoted to understanding,
explaining,
, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in
organizations.
Human Resource management - Answer- implements OB into real life finds real
applicaitons in the workforce like the development of learning and job peformance how
the 2 go hand and hand
Strategic management - Answer- strategic management focuses on tactics that actually
impact a corporations profitability - might study between a firms diverisyt in rveenue and
its profitbaility
socially complex resources - Answer- like culture and teamwork these are socially
complex because
inmitable - Answer- diifcult to imitate impacta a resource's value
method of experienc - Answer- people hoding firmly to their belief due to their own
personal experience
method of intuition - Answer- people hold firmly to some beleif because it just stands to
reason as it seems obviius or self evident
method of auhority - Answer- people hold belief bc some respected official or agency
says so
theory - Answer- defined as a collection of assertions verbal and symbolic they specify
how and why variables are related as well as the conditions in
Theory turned into hypothesis
Hypothesis are written predictions that specify relationships between variables
analytics - Answer- the use of data to make decisions
meta - analysis - Answer- takes all the correlations in the available in a study of a
relationship and find the weighted average
hypothesis - Answer- are written predictions that specify relationships between variables
numerous small decisions - Answer- people making many small decisions every day
that are invisible to competitors
evidence based management - Answer- a perspective that argues scientific findings
should form the foundation for management education -- just like medical educatuin
looking at the dollar amoiunt included and spent on hr and its effects
what is job pefromance - Answer- behaviors from an employee that contribute either
positively or negatively to an organization's goal accomplishment
ANSWERS ALL CORRECT
How do individuals cope with stress? - Answer- Problem-focused coping: Tackling the
source of stress directly (e.g., prioritizing tasks, seeking help, creating a plan).
Emotion-focused coping: Managing emotional reactions to stress (e.g., venting, seeking
social support, practicing mindfulness).
Behavioral vs. Cognitive
Behavioral coping: Taking physical actions, like working harder, asking for
reassignment, exercising, or avoiding the stressor.
Cognitive coping: Changing how you think about the stressor, like reframing it as a
challenge, downplaying its seriousness, or focusing on positives
How does stress affect job performance and organizational commitment? - Answer- if
you are stressed at work it will lower performance and commitment however aa low
stress job will improver you commitment and performance
What steps can organizations take to manage employee stress? - Answer-
Organizations can manage employee stress by taking steps that reduce stressors,
improve coping, and support well-being. First, they can reduce hindrance stressors by
clarifying roles, streamlining procedures, managing workloads, and ensuring fair
policies. Second, they can promote challenge stressors in a healthy way, such as
providing employees with meaningful tasks, responsibility, and opportunities for growth
while balancing demands. Third, they can offer resources for coping, including training,
time-management workshops, wellness programs, employee assistance programs
(EAPs), and stress-management coaching. Finally, organizations can foster a
supportive culture by encouraging open communication, providing social support from
leaders and coworkers, and promoting work-life balance through flexible scheduling or
remote options. Together, these steps reduce strain, enhance resilience, and help
employees remain productive and engaged.
What are the four main types of stressors? - Answer- Work Hindrance Stressors -
demands that block goal achievement, like role conflict, role ambiguity, or daily hassles.
Work Challenge Stressors - demands that, while stressful, can promote growth and
achievement, like time pressure, complex tasks, or responsibility.
Nonwork Hindrance Stressors - strains outside of work that hinder well-being, like
financial issues, family conflict, or role overload at home.
,Nonwork Challenge Stressors - nonwork demands that, though demanding, can be
fulfilling, like family responsibilities, personal goals, or volunteer commitments.
What is the definition of Organizational Behavior (OB)? - Answer- Organziational
Behavior is a field of study devoted to understanding, explaining and improving the
attitudes and behaviors of individuals and organziations in a group
What are the two primary outcomes in studies of (OB)? - Answer- Job Performance and
Organizational Commitment
What factors affect the two primary OB outcomes? - Answer- 1. Individual Mechanisms
These are the psychological forces directly shaping performance and commitment:
Job Satisfaction - whether employees feel positive about their work and workplace.
Stress - high stress generally reduces performance and commitment if unmanaged.
Motivation - the energy and persistence employees put into tasks.
Trust, Justice, & Ethics - whether employees believe they are treated fairly and ethically.
Learning & Decision-Making - how employees gain knowledge and make choices on the
job.
2. Individual Characteristics
Personal traits that employees bring with them:
Personality (e.g., conscientiousness is strongly tied to performance).
Cultural Values (influence commitment and motivation).
Ability (cognitive, emotional, and physical abilities impact job performance).
3. Group Mechanisms
The social environment and leadership context:
Team Characteristics & Processes - cooperation, communication, and cohesion within
teams.
Leadership Style & Behavior - supportive, transformational leaders tend to boost both
performance and commitment.
4. Organizational Mechanisms
Broader structural and cultural context:
Organizational Culture - values and norms that shape "how things are done."
Organizational Structure - hierarchy, decision-making systems, and role clarity.
What is the role of theory in the scientific method? - Answer- Theory helps provide us
an explanation.
Theory - Answer- A theory is a collection of assertions, both verbal and symbolic, that
specifics how and whyvariables are related, as well as the conditions in which they
should (and should not) be related.Theories about organizational behavior are built from
a combination of interview, observations,research reviews and reflection. Theories from
the beginning point for the scientific method andinspire hypotheses that can be tested
with data
Organizational behavior (OB) - Answer- is a field of study devoted to understanding,
explaining,
, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in
organizations.
Human Resource management - Answer- implements OB into real life finds real
applicaitons in the workforce like the development of learning and job peformance how
the 2 go hand and hand
Strategic management - Answer- strategic management focuses on tactics that actually
impact a corporations profitability - might study between a firms diverisyt in rveenue and
its profitbaility
socially complex resources - Answer- like culture and teamwork these are socially
complex because
inmitable - Answer- diifcult to imitate impacta a resource's value
method of experienc - Answer- people hoding firmly to their belief due to their own
personal experience
method of intuition - Answer- people hold firmly to some beleif because it just stands to
reason as it seems obviius or self evident
method of auhority - Answer- people hold belief bc some respected official or agency
says so
theory - Answer- defined as a collection of assertions verbal and symbolic they specify
how and why variables are related as well as the conditions in
Theory turned into hypothesis
Hypothesis are written predictions that specify relationships between variables
analytics - Answer- the use of data to make decisions
meta - analysis - Answer- takes all the correlations in the available in a study of a
relationship and find the weighted average
hypothesis - Answer- are written predictions that specify relationships between variables
numerous small decisions - Answer- people making many small decisions every day
that are invisible to competitors
evidence based management - Answer- a perspective that argues scientific findings
should form the foundation for management education -- just like medical educatuin
looking at the dollar amoiunt included and spent on hr and its effects
what is job pefromance - Answer- behaviors from an employee that contribute either
positively or negatively to an organization's goal accomplishment
