Group Theory and Group Skills Exams
Chapter 5: Leadership
1. Based on the etymology of the words, ______are people who “handle” and maintain the status quo.
a. Leaders
b. Heroes
c. Managers
d. Manufacturers
2. The motto “Leaders are born, not made” corresponds to the ______theory of leadership.
a. Charisma
b. Machiavellian
c. Influence
d. Trait
3. The finding that many highly intelligent people do not become leaders is a problem with the
a. Trait theory of leadership
b. Charisma theory of leadership
c. Distributed-actions theory of leadership
d. Role position approach to leadership
4. In the study of traits leadership, the largest predictor of leadership success is
a. Being in the right place at the right time
b. Prior success in leadership roles
c. Having organizational skills
d. Being tall
5. Which of the following is NOT a problem with the trait theory of leadership?
a. Not all great leaders are charismatic
b. Great leaders are identified as such after they have become great leaders
c. An unlimited number of traits may need to be identified
d. Different traits may be needed at different times
6. Charismatic leaders
a. Are determined by current events
b. Have little ideological commitment
c. Inspire confidence in their followers
d. Pay attention to the common people
7. Machiavellian leaders believe that
a. People are easy to manipulate
b. Power should be exercised for the common good
c. Most people are psychopathological
d. Unless you have a sense of mission, you cannot be an effective leader
8. According to Christie and Geis (1970), Machiavellian leaders are characterized by the following characteristics except one. Which one?
a. Little emotional investment in interpersonal relationships
b. Lack of concern for conventional morality
c. Little ideological commitment
d. Distorted perception of reality
9. Which is NOT an objection to the trait theory of leadership?
a. Leadership is determined by social forces
b. Leaders are an integral part of a social system
c. Leaders are born with the charisma needed for the job
d. Leadership is a relationship between leaders and followers
10. Based on Lewin, Lippitt, and White (1939)’s study on leadership styles, we know that the frequency of aggressive acts is higher under ______leaders than under ______leaders.
a. Democratic and autocratic; laissez-faire
b. Democratic and laissez-faire; autocratic
c. Autocratic and laissez-faire; democratic
d. Autocratic and Machiavellian; democratic
3. Laissez-faire and Machiavellian; autocratic
11. In studies of the style theory of leadership, member satisfaction is more strongly associated with
a. Autocratic
b. Democratic
c. Laissez-faire
d. Reciprocity
12. Group productivity is best promoted by
a. A person-oriented leadership style where consensus in decision making is
actively encouraged
b. A group structure with well-defined roles and responsibilities
c. An interaction-oriented leadership style with emphasis on group cohesiveness
d. An autocratic leadership style
13. An important shortcoming of the style theory to studying leadership is that
a. Leadership styles are identified after they have been proven to work
b. Different conditions demand different leadership styles
c. It ignores the possibility of more than three leadership styles
d. It is not concerned with the trainability of optimal leadership styles
14. The most effective style of leadership is one which leaders
a. Show concern for group members while clearly defining roles and
expectations
b. Shows that they are in charge and make decisions accordingly
c. Allows important decisions to be made by the democratic processes
d. Follows the advice of the experts
15. According to the influence theory of leadership, the relationship between leaders and their followers is based on
a. Reciprocity
b. Dominance
c. Position
d. Coercion
16. According to the influence theory of leadership, the people who emerge as a
leader is the member who
a. Listens most carefully
b. Talks the most
c. Gets others to contribute
d. Gets the members to do what they want them to do
17. The influence theory of leadership suggest that leadership is based on
a. Domination of the leader over the members
b. Mutual Influence between the leader and members
c. Leaders following what the members want
d. All of the above
18. According to the role position approach to leadership, a leader is someone who
a. Exerts more influence on other group members than they exert over him/her
b. Has a position of authority
c. Initiates group structure with well-defined roles for all group members
d. Is born with the traits appropriate to a certain historic situation
19. A problem with the role position approach to leadership is that it fails to explain
a. The relationship between roles among members
b. The reciprocal nature of power in small groups
c. Nonleadership behaviors of leaders
d. Why authority is important in effective groups
20. The distributed-actions theory of leadership claims that
a. Interaction-process analysis is always present in effective groups
b. There is a strong negative correlation between participation and leadership
c. Any group member can become a leader if their actions help the group
d. The task-leadership role and the social-emotional leadership role must be
fulfilled by the same person
21. According to the distributed-actions theory of leadership, to provide leadership it is important to
a. Determine what behaviors are asked for in what situation
b. Use your influence to get the group to do the work you want done
c. Provide interaction-process analysis
d. Let the group do whatever it feels is right
22. A combination of relationship-leadership actions and goal-leadership actions is essential according to the
a. Autocratic, laissez-faire and democratic styles theory of leadership
b. Trait theory of leadership proposed by Wiggam
c. Situational theory of leadership proposed by Benjamin Franklin
d. Distributed-actions theory of leadership
23. In distributed-actions theory of leadership, a group member who does ______is
providing goal leadership; while a member who does _____ is providing
relationship leadership
a. Facilitating participation; summarizing
b. Summarizing; facilitating participation
c. Summarizing; directing the group’s efforts
d. Relieving tension; encouraging members to participate
24. In distributed-actions theory of leadership, reasons for dividing responsibility among group members includes all EXCEPT
a. To utilize the expertise of all the members
b. To get commitment to the group from the members
c. To prevent relationship problems among members
d. To encourage competition for dominance among members
25. According to the interaction-process theory put forward by Bales and Burke,
a. Group members focused on task behaviors will create some tension among group members less committed to the task
b. Social emotional leadership is provided by group members committed to task
achievement
c. Negative emotions are expressed twice as often as positive emotions
d. The same group members engage in social-emotional and task-oriented
behaviors to achieve personal balance
26. According to Bales, a group member assuming a task-leadership role will likely
a. Alleviate frustration, show solidarity
b. Synchronize task and relationship functions
c. Give suggestions and directions
d. Withdraw when disagreement arises
27. According to Bales, a group member assuming a relationship-leadership role will likely
a. Alleviate frustration, show solidarity
b. Synchronize task and relationship functions
c. Give suggestions and directions
d. Withdraw when disagreements arise
28. The interaction-process theory suggest that the task and social-emotional leadership roles are
a. Assumed by the leader of the group
b. In conflict with each other
c. Synchronized with each other
d. Unrelated to each other
29. Based on Bales’ observations, problem solving groups move through the following stages:
a. Orientation, control, evaluation
b. Orientation, evaluation, control
c. Evaluation, control, solution
d. Evaluation, solution, control
30. Fiedler’s studies on maintenance oriented and task oriented leaders shows that
a. Task oriented leaders are more effective
b. Maintenance oriented leaders are more effective
c. Group effectiveness and leadership behavior are not consistently related
d. Leadership behavior does not have much impact on group effectiveness
31. Fiedler’s approach to the effectiveness of maintenance-oriented and task- oriented leaders is an example for
a. Trait theory approach to leadership
b. Situational theories of leadership
c. Influence theory of leadership
d. Organizational leadership approach
32. Fiedler determined that maintenance-oriented leaders are effective if the task is
a. Clearly structured, the leader has high authority and power and is on very
good terms with the group members
b. Ambiguous, the leader has high authority and power, and is on poor terms with
group members
c. Moderately clear, the leader has high authority and power, and the leader is on
poor terms with group members
d. Moderately clear, the leader has moderate authority and power, and the
relationship between the leader and the group members is moderately
good.
33. In organizational leadership, in order to increase productivity, leaders need to do all of the following except one. Which one?
a. Manage the status quo to keep the production secure
b. Have a dream of the future organization, and share it with group members
c. Exemplify the values the leader believes in
d. Recognize and celebrate accomplishment
34. Organizational leadership involves
a. Leading by example
b. Managing the status quo
c. Encouraging competition among group members
d. Identifying the traits of good group members
35. An organizational leader should challenge the status quo because
a. That enables them to establish their power and influence in the organization
b. It keeps group members on edge and working their best
c. An organization must move ahead or be left behind
d. Job satisfaction is related to change
36. Organizational leaders should create a mutual vision because
a. It enables them to control the work of the members
b. Members like to know that the leader has good ideas
c. It’s impossible to lead without a vision
d. Members will not become followers until they accept the vision
37. Organizational leaders should empower individuals by organizing cooperative teams because
a. Leaders do not achieve success by themselves
b. It’s the right thing to do
c. It helps the members think highly of the leader
d. It looks good on the organizational chart
38. Organizational leaders organize member in cooperative groups because it
a. Promotes good working relations among them
b. Increases member’s confidence in success
c. Makes the members think highly of the leader
d. a and b
e. b and c
f. All of the above
39. Organizational leaders encourage the heart by
a. Giving rousing and encouraging speeches
b. Celebrating individual and joint accomplishments
c. Letting others know how good the organization is
d. Getting rid of members who do not perform up to standard
TRUE OR FALSE
- Trait theories of leadership assume that great leaders share certain personal attributes.
- A general conclusion one can draw from trait theory studies is that certain personality traits guarantee leadership position.
- A potential problem with the trait theory approach to leadership is that not all people with leadership traits become leaders.
- Charismatic leaders are able to inspire their followers and make them feel secure.
- Charismatic leaders tend to be Machiavellian.
- Machiavellian leaders believe that people are weak and gullible.
- Whereas charismatic leaders have a strong sense of mission, belief, Machiavellian leaders have little ideological commitment.
- Machiavellian leaders tend to be psychopathological, and as a result, lose touch with reality.
- Laissez-faire leaders tend to determine policies through ample group discussions and decisions.
- Lewin, Lippitt and White (1939) found that laissez-faire leaders are just as much disliked as autocratic leaders.
- The influence theory assumes interdependence between leaders and followers.
- According to the influence theory, leadership is based on domination.
- One problem with the role theory of leadership is that people are not always appointed to a job on the basis of leadership ability.
- According to the distributed-actions theory of leadership, the relationship-leadership functions should be evenly distributed among the group members, and the goal leadership actions should be assumed by the group leader.
- Distributed-action leadership is specific to the situation.
- According to distributed-action leadership theory, unequal patterns of participation are acceptable.
- According to the interaction process analysis theory, group members strongly committed to task behaviors tend to create relief among group members less committed because they take responsibility for the work.
- According to the interaction process analysis theory, the group leader has to engage in both task and socio-emotional behaviors.
- In Fiedler’s research he found that task oriented leaders are effective when they are on good terms with the group members, the task is clearly structured, and the leader has high authority.
- A problem with Fiedler’s situational theory of leadership is that it ignores several situational factors relevant to determining leader effectiveness.
- Good organizational leaders actively seek out accomplishments of group members to celebrate.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
- Briefly discuss how leaders are different from managers
- Briefly describe the trait theory approach to leadership, and discuss four problems with it
- Compare and contrast charismatic and Machiavellian leaders
- Discuss the three basic assumptions Machiavellian leaders hold of other people
- Discuss the leadership style approach to studying leader effectiveness, and list two shortcomings of this approach
- Discuss Lewin, Lippitt, and White (1939) study on leadership styles (autocratic, laissez-faire and democratic), explaining what these styles mean, and how they affect group member behavior
- Compare and contrast the style approach to leadership and Fiedler’s situational theory of leadership
- Describe the influence theory of leadership
- Define the role-position approach to leadership, and discuss two problems with the approach
- Discuss the two basic actions that need to be taken in the distributed-actions theory of leadership
- Explain the advantages of having leadership distributed among all group members in the distributed-actions theory of leadership
- Discuss the basic idea behind Burke and Bales’ interaction-process theory (task and socio-emotional leadership)
- Describe Fiedler’s situational theory of leadership and provide one point of criticism
- List the five principles of organizational leadership
Chapter 5: Leadership