Latest leadership Organizational Behavior 100% VERIFIED SOLUTIONS

Which of the following statements regarding leadership is true? A) All managers are leaders. B) Formal rights ensure good leadership. C) Formal appointment is essential in creating leaders. D) All leaders are hierarchically superior to followers. E) Nonsanctioned leadership is as important as formal influence. - ANSWER Answer: E Explanation: E) The source of a leader's influence may be formal, such as that provided by managerial rank in an organization. But not all leaders are managers, nor, for that matter, are all managers leaders. Just because an organization provides its managers with certain formal rights is no assurance they will lead effectively. Nonsanctioned leadership—the ability to influence that arises outside the formal structure of the organization—is often as important as or more important than formal influence. 1) Leadership is best defined as ________. A) the ability to merely project one's abilities in the lack of actual accomplishments B) the ability to reduce the dependence of team members on each other C) the ability to induce the team members to focus on individual goals rather than collective goals D) the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals E) the ability to use factors like training and experience to reduce dependence on formal leadership - ANSWER Answer: D Explanation: D) Leadership can be defined as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals. Leaders can emerge from within a group as well as by formal appointment. 3) Which of the following is a desirable feature of leadership? A) one-directional influence from the leader to the follower B) coercive power and authority C) lack of freedom D) passivity of followers E) coexistence of leaders and managers - ANSWER Answer: E Explanation: E) Organizations need strong leadership and strong management for optimal effectiveness. We need leaders today to challenge the status quo, create visions of the future, and inspire organizational members to want to achieve the visions. We also need managers to formulate detailed plans, create efficient organizational structures, and oversee day-to-day operations. 4) Trait theories of leadership focus on ________. A) the special relationship that leaders establish with a small group of their followers B) the personal qualities and characteristics that differentiate leaders from nonleaders C) the way the leader makes decisions D) the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task E) the match between the leader's style and the degree to which the situation gives the leader control - ANSWER Answer: B Explanation: B) Trait theories of leadership focus on personal qualities and characteristics. The search for personality, social, physical, or intellectual attributes that differentiate leaders from nonleaders goes back to the earliest stages of leadership research. 5) Which of the following Big Five personality traits has been identified as the most important trait in effective leaders? A) conscientiousness B) openness C) extraversion D) agreeableness E) emotional stability - ANSWER Answer: C Explanation: C) A comprehensive review of leadership literature, when organized around the Big Five, has found extraversion to be the most important trait of effective leaders but more strongly related to leader emergence than to leader effectiveness. Conscientiousness and openness to experience also showed strong relationships to leadership, though not quite as strong as extraversion. 6) Emotional intelligence (EI) is critical to effective leadership because one of its core components is ________, which reflects the consideration that leaders must be able to express. A) conscientiousness B) empathy C) optimism D) introversion E) perfectionism - ANSWER Answer: B Explanation: B) A core component of EI is empathy. Empathetic leaders can sense others' needs, listen to what followers say (and don't say), and read the reactions of others. The caring part of empathy, especially for the people with whom you work, is what inspires people to stay with a leader when the going gets rough. 7) Trait theories most accurately predict ________. A) distinguishing features of an effective leader B) differences between an effective and an ineffective leader C) success of a leader D) roles to be played by the leader E) emergence of a leader - ANSWER Answer: E Explanation: E) Traits are more accurate in predicting the emergence of leaders and the appearance of leadership than actually distinguishing between effective and ineffective leaders. 12) The Ohio State Studies narrowed the independent dimensions of leader behavior to two that substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees: consideration and ________. A) employee-orientation B) empathy C) constructing vision D) initiating structure E) charisma - ANSWER Answer: D Explanation: D) Seeking to identify independent dimensions of leader behavior, the Ohio State Studies determined that two dimensions accounted for most effective leadership behavior: initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure is the extent to which leaders are likely to define and structure their roles and those of their employees in the search for goal attainment. Consideration is the extent to which a leader's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings. 13) In the context of behavioral dimensions of leadership identified in the Ohio State Studies, initiating structure refers to the extent to which ________. A) a person's job relationships are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees' ideas, and regard for their feelings B) a leader engages in participative management C) a leader is accepting of and respects individual differences among various team members D) a leader is likely to define and organize his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment E) a leader initiates efforts to communicate personally with employees - ANSWER Answer: D