SET 1

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

END-OF-SEMESTER EXAMINATION
SEMESTER 1, 2007/2008 SESSION

KULLIYYAH OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

Program : KENGG/KICT/KOS/KIRKHS Level of Study : 1 - 4

Time : 9.00 a.m. – 12.00 noon Date : 11.11.2007

Duration : 3 Hr(s) 0 Min(s)

Course Code : MGT 1050 Section(s) : 1-6

Course Title : Introduction to Management for Non-ENM

(This Examination Paper Consists of 14 printed Pages Including a Cover Page with 3 Parts)

INSTRUCTION (S) TO CANDIDATES:

DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU ARE ASKED TO DO SO

1. PART A: MULTIPLE CHOICES QUESTIONS (TOTAL: 50 MARKS)

Choose one best answer. Use the answer sheet provided.

2. PART B: SHORT ESSAY QUESTIONS (TOTAL: 30 MARKS)

Choose ANY TWO out of these four questions. Answer in the booklet provided.

3. PART C: CASE STUDY (TOTAL: 20 MARKS)

Answer ALL questions. Answer in the booklet provided.

Any form of cheating or attempt to cheat is a serious offence which may lead to
dismissal.

APPROVED BY:

PROF. DR. MOHD ISMAIL SAYYED AHMAD

Covering Head, Department of Business Administration
Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences
 SET 1

PART A: MULTIPLE CHOICES QUESTIONS (TOTAL: 50 MARKS)

Choose one best answer. Use the answer sheet provided.

1. The specific reason for the importance of effective communication for managers is that
_______________.
a. all written communication stays within the organization
b. all verbal communications require face-to-face interaction
c. every organization uses communications to some extent
d. everything a manager does involves communicating

2. When employees are required to communicate any job-related grievance first to their
immediate manager, to follow their job description, or to comply with company policies,
communication is being used to _______________.
a. control
b. motivate
c. provide a release for emotional expression
d. provide information

3. An example of nonverbal communication is ______________.

a. a letter on the notice board
b. a student with a hand raised
c. a pamphlet distributed in your mailbox
d. a written note

4. Communication problems are least likely to occur in organizations if the managers use
__________.
a. body language
b. feedback loop
c. verbal intonation
d. filtering

5. Organizational communication that is not defined by the organization’s structural

hierarchy is called ____________ communication.
a. theoretical
b. hypothetical
c. informal
d. formal

6. If a company is concerned with high member satisfaction, which of the following

communication networks is best?
a. chain network
b. horizontal network
c. wheel network
d. all-channel network
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7. Today’s managers need to do the following with the organization’s knowledge resources
except:
a. learn from employees
b. make it easy for employees to communicate and share their knowledge
c. protect it from employees
d. share their knowledge with employees

8. Job analysis is concerned with which of the following human resource planning aspects?
a. deciding how well someone is performing his or her job
b. what behaviors are necessary to perform a job
c. hiring someone to do a job
d. estimating pay on job level in an organization

9. The beginning point for any human resource planning process is the examination of the
current human resource status by making a _____________.
a. strategic plan
b. human resource inventory
c. product evaluation
d. analysis of customer demands

10. In human resource management, the selection process is _______________.

a. determining who is best for a job
b. not related to performance in the job
c. pure deduction
d. determining how to best train employees

11. A(n) __________ that includes both positive and negative aspects about the job and the
company provides higher job satisfaction and lower turnover.
a. structured interview
b. unstructured interview
c. realistic job preview
d. assessment center

12. _______________ is a process of setting standards and measuring employees’

performance to arrive at those standards.
a. Time and motion study
b. Benchmarking
c. Legal influence arrangements
d. A performance management system

13. A written statement of what a job holder does, how it is done, and why it is done is
known as _____________.
a. job preview
b. process departmentalization
c. goal-oriented job definition
d. job description
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14. Recruitment encompasses the process of _____________.

a. hiring employees from competitors
b. locating, identifying, and attracting potential employees
c. measuring the pressure in the local labor market
d. hiring from outside the organization

15. Mariam is not happy in her current employment. Her job requires that she attempt to sell
some products that she feels are inferior to other products in her product line. Mariam has
a quota that requires that she sell both high- and low-quality products before she can
receive her commission. In her opinion, the lower quality products are overpriced.
Although Mariam sells both products, she is torn between her beliefs and the actions she
must take. This inconsistency or incompatibility is known as ________ .
a. cognitive dissonance
b. negative feedback
c. management by objectives
d. difficult objectives

16. ________ is the tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal
factors such as ability or effort while putting the blame for personal failure on external
factors such as luck.
a. Assumed similarity
b. Fundamental attribution error
c. Stereotyping
d. Self-serving bias

17. The degree to which an employee identifies with his or her job or actively participates in
it refers to the employee's ________.
a. organizational commitment
b. job involvement
c. perceived organizational support
d. productivity

18. What is a key point of Holland's theory on personality types?

a. People in job environments compatible with their personality types should be more
satisfied.
b. Organizations should not bother to look into the personality aspects of their current and
potential employees.
c. There are no intrinsic differences in personality among individuals.
d. All jobs are relatively the same for all personality types.

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19. Though clearly capable, Ahmad does not seem to like himself. His personality test results
indicate an unwillingness to take risks in job selection, and he seems very vulnerable to
evaluations from other people. Together, these findings indicate that Ahmad is quite
likely ________.
a. high in cognitive dissonance
b. high in Machiavellianism
c. low in self-esteem
d. low in self-monitoring

20. By using ________, we form an impression about a person based on a single

characteristic, such as intelligence or appearance.
a. assumed similarity
b. stereotyping
c. the halo effect
d. emotional intelligence

21. ________ is a personality trait that measures an individual's ability to adjust his or her
behavior to external situational factors.
a. Self-monitoring
b. Locus of control
c. Risk taking
d. Machiavellianism

22. Bringing together organizational members from marketing, accounting, human resources,
and finance to work on a task would be an example of a _______________ team.
a. cross-functional
b. temporary
c. specific
d. functional

23. Which of the following is not a conflict-management option?

a. avoidance
b. contradiction
c. accommodation
d. compromise

24. Which of the following is a potential way to limit the free rider effect?
a. be able to identify individual responsibility
b. reward groups collectively, not individually
c. never allow an outsider into a group once it is formed
d. provide merit pay that is proportional to group effectiveness

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25. An individual confronted by different role expectations has just encountered role
_____________.
a. ambiguity
b. conflict
c. identification
d. purpose

26. Which of the following personality traits tends to have a negative impact on group
productivity and morale?
a. sociability
b. self-reliance
c. independence
d. dominance

27. The __________ stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the
group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct
member behavior.
a. storming
b. forming
c. performing
d. norming

28. An individual who wants to buy a home in a neighborhood with a low crime rate is
satisfying which need?
a. Esteem
b. Safety
c. Self-actualization
d. Physiological

29. At times, employees would compare their pay and work conditions to the pay and work
conditions of friends and relatives who work in similar jobs in other companies. This
process falls under ________ theory.
a. expectancy
b. equity
c. goal-setting
d. reinforcement

30. Sales personnel of ABC Berhad believe that no matter how hard they work they will
never be able to meet their sales quotas (targets) set by the management. They perceive
the ________ of their success to be low.
a. expectancy
b. performance-reward linkage
c. instrumentality
d. valence

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31. According to Herzberg, when ________ are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied, but
they will also not necessarily be satisfied.
a. affiliation needs
b. achievement needs
c. power needs
d. hygiene factors

32. According to McClelland, an individual who would enjoy taking on the challenge of
personally redesigning the workflow of a manufacturing line to improve employee
productivity would probably be rated high on which of the following?
a. Need for achievement
b. Need for impact
c. Need for power
d. Need for affiliation

33. Goal setting works best when the goals are ________.
a. infinite
b. not challenging
c. indefinite
d. specific

34. The job characteristics model (JCM) identifies ________ as the degree to which a job has
substantial impact on the lives or work of other people.
a. skill variety
b. autonomy
c. task significance
d. task identity

35. ________ is the degree to which a job provides substantial freedom, independence, and
discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and determining the procedures to be
used in carrying it out.
a. Autonomy
b. Skill variety
c. Task significance
d. Task identity

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36. Carrie has read all of the latest popular management texts on leadership and strongly feels
that it has improved her ability to manage and perform her job. At home, Carrie was
thinking about the new CEO her firm had hired. In her speech the previous day, the new
CEO had discussed her experience in the industry and her education. Carrie thought that
the new CEO would do a great job given these characteristics, coupled with how well-
spoken she was and the fact that she just looked like a CEO. Carrie realized that she had
been judging the new CEO in a manner consistent with the ___________ theories of
leadership that were popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
a. trait
b. behavioral
c. contingency
d. situational

37. Which of the following describes the leadership style in which a leader tends to centralize
authority, dictate work methods, make unilateral decisions, and limit employee
participation?
a. cultural style
b. autocratic style
c. democratic style
d. laissez-faire style

For questions 38-41, refer to the scenario below

Jack Jones and Jill Smith are both managers at a medium-sized medical supply firm. Jack
emphasizes to his people that the work must be done, regardless of circumstances, and
encourages his employees to meet their sales quotas. He is generally liked, but because sales
are unstructured, sometimes his employees resent his rather autocratic approach. Jill has tried
hard to build a good rapport with her employees and knows each of their families. She
encourages her employees to work hard, but to be certain to take time for themselves and
their families.

38. Fiedler’s contingency model would classify Jack as ______________ oriented.

a. employee
b. organization
c. task
d. relationship

39. Fiedler’s contingency model would classify Jill as ______________ oriented.

a. employee
b. organization
c. task
d. relationship

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40. Which of the following would be assumed by Fiedler’s contingency model about the
leadership styles of Jack and Jill?
a. The leadership styles can be adjusted to fit the situation.
b. The leadership styles are fixed, regardless of the situation.
c. The leadership styles can be changed with appropriate training.
d. Jack’s style is well suited for unstructured tasks.

41. Fiedler would expect that the best leadership style was a function of _______________.
a. leader-member relations, task structure, and position power
b. formal authority, production process, and personality of employees
c. chain of command, relationships, and power
d. type of organization, personality of leader, and education of employees

42. William Short, a production manager at Steward Mills, believes in giving consideration to
the needs of subordinates, displaying concern for their welfare, and encouraging two-way
communications. This form of leader behavior is called a/an __________ style of
leadership.
a. Telling
b. Delegating
c. Selling
d. Participating

43. As the owner and proprietor of the neighborhood ice cream store nears retirement age, he
wishes to spend less time at the store and more time vacationing and spending time with
family and friends. In order to keep the store doing well, the owner must develop the
situation to be able to use which of the following leadership styles?
a. Telling
b. Delegating
c. Selling
d. Participating

44. Managers can’t really know whether their work units are working properly until they’ve
evaluated what activities have been done ______________.
a. with those that remain
b. and have compared actual performance to a desired standard
c. and plan further activities.
d. and organize future activities.

45. Market control relies upon _____________.

a. market forces to set standards used in the control system
b. government regulators to set standards that guarantee fair competition
c. establishing and maintaining dominant market share
d. traditions and beliefs

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46. Under clan control, employee behaviors are regulated by _________________.

a. procedures
b. shared values and norms
c. brainwashing
d. strict hierarchical mechanisms

47. What common source of information for measuring performance has the disadvantages of
being subject to personal biases, time consuming, and obtrusive?
a. questionnaire surveys
b. personal observations
c. statistical reports
d. written reports

48. What is defined as the acceptable parameters of variance between actual performance and
the standard?
a. basic corrective action
b. performance
c. productivity
d. range of variation

49. What is the most desirable type of control that prevents anticipated problems?
a. feedforward control
b. concurrent control
c. feedback control
d. fast-forward control

50. ________________ is the search for the best practices among competitors or non-
competitors that lead to their superior performance.
a. Factoring
b. Correlating
c. Situating
d. Benchmarking

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 SET 1

PART B: SHORT ESSAY QUESTIONS (TOTAL 30 MARKS)

Choose ANY TWO out of these four questions. Answer in the booklet provided.

QUESTION 1

(a) Discuss any four of the barriers to effective communication that managers face.
Include a specific example of each barrier to support your answer.
(10 marks)

(b) Describe two ways to overcome these barriers and be more effective communicators.

(5 marks)

QUESTION 2

(a) What do you understand by the term “organizational behavior” and why it is an
important aspect of management?
(5 marks)

(b) Briefly explain any two (2) of the following terms:

i. locus of control
ii. emotional intelligence
iii. stereotyping
(4 marks)

(c) Managers can attempt to shape employee behavior using one or more of the following
ways:
i. positive reinforcement
ii. negative reinforcement
iii. punishment
iv. extinction

Explain, using examples, ANY THREE (3) of the abovementioned ways.

(6 marks)
QUESTION 3

(a) The study of management often includes a number of theories of motivation. Some of
them are:
i. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
ii. Herzberg’s Two-Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) Theory
iii. Expectancy Theory
iv. Equity Theory

Elaborate on any two (2) of the above theories, using examples where necessary.

(10 marks)

(b) Explain the concept of Theory X and Theory Y managers. Which type of manager (X
or Y) would you rather be, and why?
(5 marks)
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QUESTION 4

(a) List and briefly discuss five sources in which leader power has been identified.
Include specific examples of each source of power to support your answer.

(5 marks)
(b) Differentiate between transactional and transformational leaders.

(5 marks)
(c) Briefly discuss five important traits of a Muslim leader.
(5 marks)

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 SET 1

PART C: CASE STUDY (TOTAL 20 MARKS)

Answer ALL questions below.

THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY ACCOUNTING TEAM

For the past five years, Rob has been working at McKay, Sanderson and Smith Associates, a
midsized accounting firm in Boston, and specializes in commercial accounting and audits.
Rob’s particular specialty is accounting practices for shipping companies, ranging from small
fishing fleets to a couple of the big firms with ships along the East Coast.

About 18 months ago, McKay, Sanderson and Smith Associates became part of a larger
merger involving two other accounting firms. These firms have offices in Miami, Seattle and
Los Angeles. Although the other two accounting firms were much larger than McKay, all
three firms agreed to avoid centralizing the business around one office in Los Angeles.
Instead the new firm – called Goldberg, Choo and McKay Associates – would rely on teams
across the country to “leverage synergies of our collective knowledge” (an often-cited
statement from the managing partner soon after the merger.

The merger affected Rob a year ago when his boss (a senior partner and vice president of the
merger firm) announced that Rob would be working more closely with three people from the
other two firms to become the firm’s new shipping industry accounting team. The other team
members were Elias in Miami, Susan in Seattle and Brad in Los Angeles. Rob has met Elias
briefly at a meeting in New York City during the merger, but has never met Susan or Brad
although he knew they were shipping accounting professionals at the other firms.

Initially, the shipping team activities involved e-mailing each other about new contracts and
prospective clients. Later, they were asked to submit joint monthly reports on accounting
statements and issues. Normally Rob submitted his own monthly reports that summarized
activities involving his own clients. Coordinating the monthly report with three other people
took much more time, particularly because different accounting documentation procedures
across the three firms were still being resolved. It took numerous e-mail messages and a few
telephone calls to work out a reasonable monthly report style.

During this frustrating process, it became apparent – to Rob at least – that this ‘team’
business was costing him more time than it was worth. Moreover, Brad in Los Angeles did
not have a clue about how to communicate with the rest of the team. Brad rarely replied to e-
mails. Instead, he often used the telephone voice mail system, which resulted in lots of
telephone exchange. Brad arrives at work at 9:30am in Los Angeles (and is often late), which
is early afternoon in Boston. Rob typically has a flexible work schedule from 7:30am until
3:30pm so that he can pick up his children at school and take them to their sports trainings
and music lessons. Therefore, Brad and Rob have a window of less than three hours to share
information.

The biggest nuisance with the shipping specialist accounting team started two weeks ago
when the firm asked the team to develop a new strategy for attracting more shipping firm
businesses. This new strategic plan is a messy business. Somehow, the four members of the
team have to share their thoughts on various approaches, agree on a new plan and write a
unified submission to the managing partner. Already the project is taking most of Rob’s time
just writing and responding to e-mail and talking in conference calls (which none of them did
much before the team formed).
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Susan and Brad have already had two or three misunderstandings via e-mail about their
different perspectives on delicate matters in the strategic plan. The worst of these
disagreements required a conference call with all of the team members to resolve. Except for
the basic matters, it seems that they don’t understand each other, let alone agree on key
issues. Rob has come to the conclusion that he would never want Brad to work in his Boston
office. Although Elias and Rob seem to agree on most points, the overall team can’t form a
common vision or strategy. Rob doesn’t know how Elias, Susan or Brad feels but he would
be quite happy to work somewhere that did not require any of these long-distance team
headaches.

QUESTIONS:

1. What type of team was formed here? Evaluate whether it was necessary to form a
team.
(8 marks)

2. Which stage of group development would you say this team is currently at? Provide
evidence from the case to substantiate your answer.
(4 marks)

3. Assuming that these four people must continue to work as a team, recommend ways
to improve the team’s effectiveness.
(8 marks)

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