Situational Approach Answer Key 1

Test Bank Situational Approach Multiple Choice 1. It is accurate to say that Situational Leadership II (SLII) is primarily ______. A. descriptive B. prescriptive C. well supported by research D. trait related Ans: B 2. Which of the following statements best describes situational leadership? A. Specific leaders are needed in specific situations. B. Leaders must adapt to the situation, but not to the followers. C. Different situations demand different kinds of leadership. D. Leadership is directive. Ans: C 3. Who focused on leaders matching their styles to the competence and commitment of employees? A. Stogdill B. Hersey and Blanchard C. Blake and McCanse D. Katz Ans: B 4. The situational approach ______. A. is irrelevant in modern day leadership B. focuses on describing not prescribing leadership C. is used widely in leadership training and development D. determined that high-directive and high-supportive behaviors work best in all situations Ans: C 5. The SLII model is divided into two parts: ______. A. leadership attributes and follower skills B. leadership skills and follower development level C. leadership development levels and follower behaviors D. leadership style and follower development level Ans: D 6. Adjusting leadership styles is based on the assumption that ______. A. followers’ skills and motivation vary over time B. leaders have to develop basic skills prior to assessing follower needs C. followers’ skill level stays the same, whereas motivation level varies D. leaders adjust their styles to the behavioral styles of followers Ans: A 7. In the SLII model, leaders evaluate how ______ and ______ followers are to perform a task. A. intentional and committed B. motivated and determined C. competent and committed D. focused and intelligent Ans: C 8. Follower development level in SLII is determined by level of ______. A. competence and commitment B. social judgment and cognitive ability C. sociability and determination D. task and directive behaviors Ans: A 9. In SLII, leaders use different degrees of ______ and ______ to meet the needs of followers. A. motivation and determination B. competence and commitment C. supportive and directive behaviors D. social judgment and cognitive ability Ans: C 10. The situational leadership approach ______. A. is one of the more widely recognized leadership approaches B. integrates leadership skills with follower skills C. integrates leadership behaviors with follower traits D. is not recognized as a legitimate modern day leadership approach Ans: A 11. The situational approach labels leaders’ styles specifically as ______. A. initiating structure and consideration B. high task and low task C. task and relationship D. directive and supportive Ans: D 12. You are president of a large corporation. At a typical monthly meeting, each of your vice presidents gives standard area reports. In the past, these reports have been good, and the VPs seem satisfied about their work. Based on SLII, which leadership style should you exhibit at the next meeting? A. style 1 B. style 2 C. style 3 D. style 4 Ans: D 13. Which leadership style includes a high level of support and also is one in which the leader makes the final decision about goal accomplishment? A. directing B. supporting C. delegating D. coaching Ans: D 14. A leader who gives followers instructions about how and when goals should be achieved and supervises them carefully is using ______. A. directing behaviors B. supporting behaviors C. delegating behaviors D. coaching behaviors Ans: A 15. A leader who gives recognition and social support to followers is using ______. A. directing behaviors B. supporting behaviors C. delegating behaviors D. coaching behaviors Ans: B 16. A leader who lets followers take responsibility for task accomplishment and has less involvement with followers is using ______. A. directing behaviors B. supporting behaviors C. delegating behaviors D. coaching behaviors Ans: C 17. You were recently hired into an organization that you have always wanted to work at, and in addition, your education and experience complement your new position perfectly. According to the situational model, your level of development is ______. A. S2 B. D2 C. S1 D. D4 Ans: D 18. You recently were promoted to a new position and are very excited, but you have little to no experience with numerous aspects of the new position. According to the situational model, your level of development is ______. A. S4 B. D1 C. S1 D. D4 Ans: B 19. You have been employed at your organization for some time and are starting to gain the necessary skills associated with your position but have trouble staying as motivated as you used to be. According to the situational model, your level of development is ______. A. S4 B. D2 C. S1 D. S2 Ans: B 20. As a recent graduate from the top chemistry program in the country, you quickly receive a position with a chemical company and are given a high-salary position. You are nervous and feel that you need more experience or assistance to meet organizational standards. According to the situational model, your level of development is ______. A. S4 B. D2 C. S1 D. D3 Ans: D 21. Low in competence and high in commitment ______. A. D1 B. D2 C. S2 D. S4 Ans: A 22. Some competence but low commitment ______. A. D1 B. D2 C. S2 D. S1 Ans: B 23. The development level in the SLII model is ______. A. the degree to which leaders are capable of adjusting their styles B. the skill with which the followers adjust their styles C. the traits that make up who a follower is D. the degree to which followers have the capability and motivation for task accomplishment Ans: D 24. Followers who have little skill for the task but are very motivated in getting the task done are ______. A. D1 B. D2 C. D3 D. D4 Ans: A 25. Followers who have some ability to complete a task but lack motivation about the task are ______. A. D1 B. D2 C. D3 D. D4 Ans: B 26. Followers who are quite competent to complete tasks but lack the commitment to do so are ______. A. D1 B. D2 C. D3 D. D4 Ans: C 27. Followers who are highly motivated, committed, and motivated to accomplish tasks are ______. A. D1 B. D2 C. D3 D. D4 Ans: D 28. The D4 follower needs which type of leader? A. supportive B. directive C. coaching D. delegating Ans: D 29. The highly competent, highly committed follower benefits from ______. A. a leader who provides a high level of support B. a leader who directs tasks carefully C. a leader who stays out of the day-to-day tasks and provides low levels of support D. a leader who is both a cheerleader and authoritarian Ans: C 30. Which of the following would a leader using the situational approach not ask when determining the nature of the situation? A. What task are the followers being asked to perform? B. How can I best alter the styles of the followers? C. How complex is the task? D. Are the followers sufficiently skilled to accomplish the task? Ans: B 31. If followers are low in competence and high in commitment, a leader should adopt which style? A. low-directive and high-supportive style B. high-directive and high-supportive style C. low-directive and low-supportive style D. high-directive and low-supportive style Ans: D 32. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. The staff you supervise have been working at the society for more than two years and you have given them consistently excellent performance appraisals at the last two annual reviews. You have noticed lately that they have brought new ideas to you for ways to improve customer service and animal care and that they are excited about helping new staff get accustomed to the workplace. Based on the Situational Leadership Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit? A. delegating B. supporting C. coaching D. directing Ans: A 33. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. A staff member you supervise has been working at the society for less than one year. At the 6-month, you discuss with this employee that they seem to have mastered the basic tasks of the job but not the more difficult tasks. You have noticed lately that they seem a bit disillusioned about the job and the process of caring for these animals that seem so sad to be in the facility. Based on the Situational Leadership Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit? A. delegating B. supporting C. coaching D. directing Ans: C 34. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. A staff member you supervise has been working at the society for about one year. At the annual performance evaluation review, you share that you are pleased to see the employee has mastered both the basic and more difficult tasks of the job. You notice, however, that this employee still lacks the confidence and motivation to take on new tasks. Based on the Situational Leadership Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit? A. delegating B. supporting C. coaching D. directing Ans: B 35. You are the executive director of the local animal humane society. You hired a staff member four weeks ago. You notice this new employee cheerfully interacting with other staff and potential adopters and daily attempting to learn new tasks. It is clear this employee needs more time and help learning the correct policies and methods to complete the work, and when you share this information, the employee readily accepts these directions. Based on the Situational Leadership Approach, which leadership style should you exhibit? A. delegating B. supporting C. coaching D. directing Ans: D 36. As the executive director of the local animal humane society, you work with several employees who are at varying levels of experience in working with animal welfare issues and with varying degrees of motivation to continue this important work. Using situational leadership concepts, you should A. adapt your style based on experience and skill level of the staff B. adapt your leadership style based on the motivation level of the staff C. demonstrate a high degree of flexibility in your style to each staff member D. demonstrate little flexibility in your style as you interact only with high-level staff members Ans: C 37. Which of the following would a leader ask when determining the commitment level of a follower? A. What task are the followers being asked to perform? B. How can I best alter the styles of the followers? C. Do the followers have the desire to complete the task? D. How complex is the task? Ans: C 38. Followers can move back and forth along the developmental continuum, therefore leaders should ______. A. use the one leader behavior with which they are most comfortable B. put structures in place to limit this movement C. be flexible in their leadership behavior D. challenge the movement and direct followers to stay where they are Ans: C 39. Which of the following would not be considered a strength of the situational approach? A. emphasizes leadership flexibility B. is a very practical approach C. is considered a credible model for training leaders within organizations D. takes the influence of gender into account during leader-follower situations Ans: D 40. Which best describes the reason situational leadership is so practical for managers to use? A. it assists in relating demographics to leadership B. it is only applicable to lower-level managers C. it is straightforward D. it is specific Ans: C 41. Which of the following is a strength of the situational leadership approach? A. it is descriptive not prescriptive B. commitment of followers is clearly defined C. demographics such as gender and age are accounted for in the empirical research D. it is perceived as a useful model of leadership training and development Ans: D 42. Questionnaires on situational leadership often ask for respondents to look at specific applications of leadership styles within situations, which may result in _____. A. results that are not in favor of situational leadership B. a wide range of responses that are hard to validate C. biased results in favor of situational leadership D. negative perceptions toward organizations Ans: C 43. Because of the lack of research studies associated with situational leadership, there are questions concerning its theoretical basis. Which of the following is not one of these questions? A. Is it certain that this approach does indeed improve performance? B. Can we be sure it is a valid approach? C. Why are there limited doctoral dissertations done on the situational approach? D. Why has there been a lack of published research findings? Ans: C 44. You are leader of a group project for a class. The other group members seem insecure about whether they can complete the project, but it is apparent that they are competent enough to do a good job. In prior meetings you have been coaching them on the project. Based on SLII, which leadership style should you exhibit at the next meeting? A. Style 1 B. Style 2 C. Style 3 D. Style 4 Ans: C 45. You are the leader of a small jazz band composed of four of your peers who have never been in a jazz group before. As the leader of the band, you have been very straightforward about how the band will function. You have clearly described each of the members' roles, and they are starting to catch on to how the group works. What style do you exhibit next? A. Style 1 B. Style 2 C. Style 3 D. Style 4 Ans: B 46. You are the owner of a small catering company and have recently hired a skilled baker to complement your staff. When business is slow, however, you need the baker to help prepare other kinds of foods. Some of the processes (like deboning fish and preparing soup stock) are complicated and require detailed training. What style should you use under these circumstances? A. Style 1 B. Style 2 C. Style 3 D. Style 4 Ans: A 47. You have recently been made a department head of the new regional office. In getting to know your departmental staff, you have noticed that one of your inexperienced employees is not following through on assigned tasks. She is enthused about her new job and wants to get ahead in the organization. Which alternative represents the most effective leadership style? A. discuss the lack of follow-through with her and explore possible ways to solve this problem B. specify what she must do to complete the tasks, but incorporate any suggestions she may have C. define the steps necessary to complete the assigned tasks and monitor her performance frequently D. let her know about the lack of follow-through and give her more time to improve her performance Ans: C 48. A leader who emphasizes communication with followers in both achieving goals as well as meeting social needs would best be described as possessing ______. A. directing style B. delegating style C. supporting style D. coaching style Ans: D 49. Allowing a group of employees to run the daily operations of the organization while the supervisor remains out of the picture unless he is needed to solve problems, listen to concerns, give praise, and provide feedback is best explained with ______. A. directing style B. delegating approach C. supporting approach D. coaching approach Ans: C 50. Once a group has established a plan of action toward achieving its goals, the supervisor allows the group to carry out the plan with little to no involvement. This is an example of ______. A. directing style B. delegating approach C. supporting approach D. coaching approach Ans: B