Professor Dawn Sime

OL342 Organizational Behavior

Midterm Essay Exam
Due October 2, 2013
Instructions:
1. You can use this Word Doc to complete the test.
2. Answer all questions. Provide substantive information from the chapter that supports
your answers. Use examples, explanations, and proper terminology and meanings.
3. Cite Chapter and page
4. Do not hand-write your exam
5. Each question is worth 25 points, total 100 points.
Questions:
Chapter 2
1. There are outcomes associated with organizational culture.
What are the five main outcomes associated with organizational culture?
Describe each of the five outcomes in detail.
Explain how each of the five outcomes would correlate to your start-up
companys culture.
The five main outcomes associated with organizational culture are the following
1.Organizational culture is clearly related to measures of organizational effectiveness.
This reinforces the conclusion that an organization culture can be a source of
competitive advantage.
2.Employees are more satisfied and committed to organizational with clan cultures.
These results suggest that employees prefer to work in organizations that value
flexibility over stability and control and those that are more concerned with satisfying
employees needs than customer or shareholders desires.
3.Building characteristics associated with clan, adhocracy and market cultures into the
organization can increase innovation and quality.
4.An organization financial performance (i.e., growth in profit and growth in revenue) is
not very strongly related to organizational culture. Managers should not expect to
increase financial performance by trying to change their organizations culture.
5. Companies with market cultures tend to have more positive organizational outcomes.
Managers are encouraged to consider how they might make their cultures more marketoriented.
(Chapter two, page 41)
Each of the five outcomes correlates to my start-up companys culture effectively. As
stated in our textbook organizational culture can be a driver of employee attitudes and
organizational effectiveness and performance. (Chapter 2 page 41) If I were in the real
life situation of putting together my own start up company I would aim to achieve all of
the 5 outcomes when building my own organizational culture.

Chapter 4
1. Diversity represents the multitude of individual differences and similarities
that exist among people.
Using the Four Layers of Diversity, Figure 4-3, select from each of the four
layers the dimensions that you would use in your start-up company.
Explain WHY these dimensions would fit your company culture.
Explain HOW you would measure each of the dimensions.
The four layers of diversity from the center of the diversity wheel is personality.
Personality is at the center because it represents a stable set of characteristics that is
responsible for a persons identity.
The next layer of diversity wheel consists of a set of internal dimensions referred to as
the primary dimensions of diversity. These dimensions for the most part are not within
our control but strongly influences attitudes, expectations and assumptions about
others, which ultimately influences our own behavior. These dimensions consist of age,
race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, and ethnicity.
Followed by the next layer external influences, which are referred to as secondary
dimensions of diversity. These dimensions symbolize individual differences that have a
greater ability to influence and control. Being marital status, parental status,
appearance, work experience, educational background, religion, recreational habits,
personal habits, income, and geographic location.
The final outside layer of the diversity wheel is the organizational dimension such as
seniority, job title and function, work location, division department unit group, work
content/field, functional level/ classification, management status and union affiliation.

Chapter 5
1. Legal/Ethical Challenge, page 143: Companies Shift Smoking Bans to Smoker
Ban101
Read the scenario.
How Should Employers Deal with the Smoking Problem?
o Answer questions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
o Discuss what the pros and cons would be for your start-up company.
Employers should deal with the smoking problem only if the issue has surfaced the
table with a great concern.

Chapter 14
1. Shared leadership entails a simultaneous, ongoing, mutual influence process
in which individuals share responsibility for leading regardless of formal roles
and titles.
You are developing a start-up company. Each of your members roles is
equally important to the success of the company.
Using the Shared Leadership Table 14-3, review the Key Questions. Select
the answer ITEMS that best correlate to your company.
Explain WHY the ITEMS correlate to your start-up company.
Explain HOW you would measure each of the ITEMS.
What task characteristics call for shared leadership?
-Tasks that require a great deal of creativity call for shared leadership. When it comes to
a task that requires a great deal of creativity in correlation to my start-up company
shared leadership will drive new ways to innovate as well as get the task done
creatively and effectively.
What is the role of the leader in developing shared leadership?
-Designing the team including clarifying purpose, securing resources, articulating vision,
selecting members, and defining team processes. Correlating to my start-up company
the role of the leader in developing shared leadership is crucial and extremely valuable
to the company. The leader must be trust worthy, an individual, patient, personable and
most importantly driven.
How can organizational systems facilitate the development of shared leadership?
-Training and development systems can be used to prepare both designated leaders
and team members to engage in shared leadership. Cultural systems can be used to
articulate and to demonstrate the value of shared leadership.
What vertical and shared leadership behaviors are important to team outcomes?
-Directive leadership can provide task-focused directions. Transformational leadership
can stimulate commitment to a team vision, emotional engagement and fulfillment of
higher-order needs.
What are the ongoing responsibilities of the vertical leader?
-The vertical leader needs to be able to step in and fill voids in the team. The vertical
leader needs to continue to emphasize the importance of the shared leadership
approach, given the task characteristics facing the team.

Chapter 14 in our textbook page 387