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OSB611S - Organisational Behaviour - 1st Opp - June 2023 |
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nAmlBIA UnlVERSITY
OFSCIEnCEAno TECHnOLOGY
FACULTY OF COMMERCE, HUMAN SCIENCEAND EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
QUALIFICATION: BACHELOR OF HUMAN RESOURCESMANAGEMENT
QUALIFICATION CODE: 07BHRM
LEVEL: 6
COURSE CODE: OSB611S
COURSE NAME: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
SESSION: JUNE 2023
DURATION: 3 HOURS
PAPER: THEORY
MARKS: 100
EXAMINER(S)
FIRST OPPORTUNITY EXAMINATION PAPER
Mr. Ehrenfried Tjivii Ndjoonduezu
MODERATOR:
Ms. M Sezuni
INSTRUCTIONS
1. The paper consists of Sections A, Band C. Answer ALL the questions.
2. Write clearly and neatly.
3. Number the answers clearly.
PERMISSIBLE MATERIALS
1. Examination paper.
2. Examination script.
THIS QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF 9 PAGES (Including this front page)
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SECTIONA
(20 marks)
Question 1 (Each multiple choice question carries one (1) mark)
Choose the correct answer to the questions that follow by indicating only the applicable letter (i.e. a, b,
c, d, ore) in your answer book.
1.
What refers to a positive feeling about a job, resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics?
a)
job satisfaction
b)
job involvement
c)
job stability
d)
organizational commitment
e)
social investment
2.
In her work in the publishing industry, Wilhelmina seeks out new authors who she
considers promising. In the past two years she has found a number of new writers whose work
she thought was exceptional, and immersed herself in the task of helping them shape their
manuscripts for submission to her managers for publishing. Although she was extremely proud
of the results, none of the authors she worked with were chosen for publication. Wilhelmina
believes that the decision not to publish these authors was based on personal rivalries within
management, rather than the quality of her writers' work. She is extremely frustrated, dreads
coming into work each morning, and is seriously thinking of resigning.
How can Vera's job attitudes best be described?
a)
low job satisfaction and low job involvement
b)
low job satisfaction and high job involvement
c)
high job satisfaction and low job involvement
d)
high job satisfaction and high job involvement
e)
low organizational commitment
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3.
Which of the following is the best method for measuring job satisfaction?
a)
a single global rating system of 1 to 5 (highly satisfied to highly dissatisfied)
b)
the summation of satisfaction of various job facets to reveal an overall score
c)
job satisfaction is too broad of a term and there is no good way to measure it
d)
the single global rating system and the job facets score are equally accurate
e)
the length of time an employee stays on the job and is engaged
4.
Your boss never gives you the benefit of the doubt. When you arrived late from lunch, he
assumed that you had simply taken too much time. He never considered that the elevators we
out and you had to walk up 10 flights of stairs. Your boss is guilty of
a)
self-serving bias
b)
selective perception
c)
fundamental attribution error
d)
inconsistency
e)
stereotyping
5.
Investors bragged about their investing expertise during the stock market rally between
2006 and early 2016. Knowing individuals rely on the self-serving bias to explain failure,
which of the following explanations would an investor be most likely to state after the
market imploded in 2017?
a)
The Namibian Stock Exchange did all they could.
b)
The analysts did not look at the numbers properly.
c)
I really should have seen it coming.
d)
My broker advised me to pull out, but I was blind.
e)
I really should have been diversifying my earnings.
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6.
What is the term used for a general impression about an individual based on a single
characteristic such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance?
a)
contrast effects
b)
personal bias
c)
prejudice
d)
the halo effect
e)
projection
7.
What are the five stages of group development?
a)
generation, implementation, construction, production, termination
b)
introduction, development, production, deterioration, adjournment
c)
initiation, evolution, maturation, degeneration, termination
d)
forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
e)
acting, reacting, enacting, impacting, acting
8.
A temporary task group working under a time-constrained deadline would be expected to
behave in which of the following manners?
a)
forming, then storming, then norming, then performing, and finally adjourning
b)
exhibit long periods of inertia interspersed with brief revolutionary changes
triggered by its members' awareness of looming deadlines
c)
develop plans, assign roles, determine and allocate resources, resolve conflicts,
and set norms
d)
group energy will move rapidly from getting to know and understand each other
to performing the task at hand
e)
a period of activity where tasks are set and the bulk of the project is completed,
followed by a period of inertia where what little work remains is performed
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9.
What term is used for the mutual expectations of what management expects
from workers and what workers expect from management?
a)
group norm
b)
role expectation
c)
role identity
d)
psychological contract
e)
reactive goals
10. The early stages of development of a cross-functional team are time-consuming because
a)
most cross-functional team members are comprised of individuals from similar
backgrounds
b)
members must research the causes of problems which they are assigned to solve
c)
most cross-functional team members have already established trust
d)
members have to learn how to perform new functional tasks
e)
members must learn to work with diversity and complexity
Question 2
True or False (Each question carries one (1) mark)
2.1 Competitive reward structures reinforce the importance of collaboration in work teams.
2.2 "Social loafing" is most likely to occur within a team whenever one team member's
contributions are invisible to the rest of the team.
2.3 Studies show that financial incentives are more motivating in the long-run.
2.4 An employee in a gain sharing plan can receive incentive awards even if the organization
isn't profitable
2.5 An individual's expectations have little effect on perception.
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2.6 The contrast effect suggests a candidate will be more highly evaluated if the previous
interviews were also highly evaluated.
2.7 One person's problem may be considered by another person to be a satisfactory state of
affairs.
2.8 Evidence confirms there is no real difference between men and women when it comes to
emotional reactions.
2.9 Affective events theory demonstrates that employees react emotionally to things that happen
to them at work and that this reaction influences their job performance and satisfaction.
2.10 For most people social activities decrease positive mood.
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Section B
(18]
Question 3
Decision-MakingProcessesat KavangoSteel Inc.
John Kavetu and Jacky Simasiku are both employees of Kavango Steel Incorporated. The company
counts more than 1500 employees and has a presence in almost all Southern African Development
Community (SADC)countries. Kavango Steel Inc. transforms bulk steel into smaller components, ready
to be used in consumer products. Products range from toy parts to food cans. Like most steel companies,
Kavango Steel Inc. is a traditional company characterized by a low level of flexibility and high levels of
bureaucracy. The company has several branches and subsidiaries located all over SADCin order to stay
close to its customers.
The decision-making processes at Kavango Steel Inc. are crucial to the company's operations. Once a
customer (new or existing) approaches the firm, decision making has to happen at a quick pace.
Obviously, decisions with regard to level of customization speed of manufacturing, and prices determine
which of the competing companies gets the order. When making a proposal, a huge number of factors
must be considered. Not only does all internal information have to be considered, but external
information such as competitors' proposals also must be taken into account. If Kavango Steel Inc. takes
too long to deliver a clear proposal, cannot deliver the demanded products fast enough, or bids too high,
competitors will seal the deal.
Although Kavango Steel Inc. has gone through some changes, the bureaucratic structure still has a big
impact on the jobs of both Kavetu and Simasiku. John Kavetu is a manager at a subsidiary in South Africa.
In formulating a proposal or bid for a customer's order, he can be characterized as a very rational person.
Although he takes somewhat longer than his colleagues to do similar work, he has always secured a lot
of customer orders and is therefore considered a very successful manager within the company. However,
Kavango Steel lnc.'s success in recent years has affected his decision making. He now drafts a proposal
faster, but he also considers less information. In some cases, he even takes competitor prices as a
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starting point and simply adapts those a little. Still, the change doesn't seem to harm his performance,
and orders keep coming in.
Jacky Simasiku, located at a branch in Angola, performs the same job as Kavetu. However, Simasiku is
very unsuccessful lately. Of course he makes rational decisions, but he also includes a fair share of
intuition. Although often criticized, Simasiku is not willing to let go of his intuition. He truly believes that
external factors contributed to his bad performance. Subordinates have also started to talk about
Simasiku's possible incompetence. Top management has looked at Kavetu's success and now wonders
whether to impose that style on Jacky.
Questions
3.1 Which biases in decision making can be identified in the performances of both Kavetu and
Simasiku?
(4)
3.2
Is rational decision making better than intuitive decision making? If so,when? (4)
3.3 Solutions to most decisions in organizations are not as obvious and straight forward. In
such cases, organizations make use of bounded rationality model. Discuss? (8)
SECTIONC
Question 4
(62 marks)
4.1 Dean just graduated from University with a degree in marketing. He wants to go into
sales. He believes that if he works hard he can earn a lot of money. He wants to earn
money fast to pay off his study loan. He is single with no dependants. Describe the
type of variable pay program and flexible benefits package that would be the most
desirable for Dean.
(10)
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4.2 Karl is a car sales representative and must put on a smile every day at work with her
clients. Explain the types of emotional labour that are demanded of Karen in order to be
successful, and how she applies her emotions and moods in her job.
{12)
4.3 Describe a workplace example of how people seek consistency among their attitudes
and their behaviour by reducing cognitive dissonance. Then, sort your example into the
three main components of attitudes.
(8)
4.4 Explain how participative management can enhance skill variety, task identity, and autonomy as
described in the Job Characteristics Model {JCM).
{11)
4.5 Describe two types of psychological contracts in work relationships and the type of trust
associated with each
(8)
4.6
Explain how organizations can create team players and provide work related examples.
{11)
4.7 Discussthe main difference between Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the GLOBE
framework?
(4)
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