1) a Senior Executive in a Pharmaceutical Company Holds an Employee Meeting to Discuss

CHAPTER 33-1

Multiple Choice Questions

1) A senior executive in a pharmaceutical company holds an employee meeting to discuss its quarterly sales. Sales have decreased from the previous quarter and incentives have been put in place to encourage employees to perform better. These incentives include pay increases, promotions, and time off. In offering these incentives, the type of power the senior executive is demonstrating ______power.

a. legitimate

b. referent

c. expert

d. reward

Answer: d

Rational for correct answer:

1. Incorrect: Legitimate power is based on someone’s official or formal position and the perception that this person has the right to exert influence and expect compliance.
2. Incorrect: Referent power is based on personal attractive qualities.
3. Incorrect: Expert power is based on the perceived extent of a person’s knowledge or expertise.
4. Correct: Reward power is based on the ability of the person in the senior position to provide rewards, such as pay increases, promotions, special privileges, and other benefits.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment

Integrated Nursing Process: Evaluation

Objective: 1—Define power and politics and describe differing perspectives on their use in organizations

2) Politics can be defined as

a. tactical activities a person takes to influence the decisions or actions of others.

b. the ability to exert actions that directly or indirectly cause change in the behaviour of others.

c. a person’s ability to apply punishment or withhold rewards.

d. a person’s formal position and the perception that the person has a right to exert influence.

Answer: a

Rational for correct answer:

1. Correct: Politics is defined as the tactical activities a person takes to influence the decisions or actions of others.
2. Incorrect: This is the definition of power.
3. Incorrect: This is the definition of reward power.
4. Incorrect: This is the definition of legitimate power.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment

Integrated Nursing Process: Evaluation

Objective: 1—Define power and politics and describe differing perspectives on their use in organizations

3) The three groups of people that affect power relations in an organization are the ______groups.

a. naïve, cynics, and in between

b. politicians, cynics, and in between

c. unions, management, and cynics

d. management, cynics, and politicians

Answer: a

Rational for correct answer:

1. Correct: According to Kotter (1985), those who are naïve (believing that power and influence don’t exist at all in organizations and that all is harmonious), those who are cynics (believing that organizations are rife with power struggles), and those who hold a middle view (in between these two extremes) all affect power relations in organizations.
2. Incorrect: Incorrect.
3. Incorrect: Incorrect.
4. Incorrect: Incorrect.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment
Integrated Nursing Process: Evaluation
Objective: 2—Analyze power relationships in the workplace and the sources of power of the actors or units/departments of an organization

4) According to Kanter, the key source of power for productivity and accomplishment in the workplace is ______.

a. the individual

b. a person’s position and power built into the position

c. the person’s ability to communicate

d. the person’s adaptability to change

Answer: b

Rational for correct answer:

1. Incorrect: The key source of power for productivity and accomplishment in the workplace is a person’s position and the power that is built into that position.
2. Correct: The key source of power for productivity and accomplishment in the workplace is a person’s position and the power that is built into that position.
3. Incorrect: The key source of power for productivity and accomplishment in the workplace is a person’s position and the power that is built into that position.
4. Incorrect: The key source of power for productivity and accomplishment in the workplace is a person’s position and the power that is built into that position.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment
Integrated Nursing Process: Evaluation
Objective: 2—Analyze power relationships in the workplace and the sources of power of the actors or units/departments of an organization

5) Positive perceptions of power in the workplace include ______.

a. dominance over others

b. the contribution to order and effectiveness

c. differing cultural views

d. differing psychological and behavioural consequences

Answer: b

Rational for correct answer:

1. Incorrect: This is a negative consequence/perception of power in the workplace.
2. Correct: Positive perceptions of power in the workplace include the contribution to order and effectiveness.
3. Incorrect: This is a negative consequence/perception of power in the workplace.
4. Incorrect: This is a negative consequence/perception of power in the workplace.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, health promotion and maintenance
Integrated Nursing Process: Evaluation
Objective: 3—Debate the positive and negative perceptions of power and politics in the workplace

6) Negative perceptions of politics in the workplace include ______.

a. competing interests and goals

b. diverse interests can be sorted out in a just way

c. association between power and reward

d. organizational structure

Answer: a

Rational for correct answer:

1. Correct: Mintzberg’s (1983) negative view of politics in the workplace describes politics as 1) behaviour outside of the legitimate systems of influence, and often in opposition to them; 2) behaviour designed to benefit the individual or group, ostensibly at the expense of the organization at large; and 3) behaviour that is divisive or conflictive in nature, pitting individuals or groups against the organization or against each other.
2. Incorrect: This is not a description of politics in the workplace.
3. Incorrect: This is not a description of politics in the workplace.
4. Incorrect: This is not a description of politics in the workplace.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 3—Debate the positive and negative perceptions of power and politics in the workplace

7) Which of the following workplace scenarios empowers employees?

a. There are many rules inherent in the job.

b. There is little publicity about job activities.

c. There is a high level of contact with senior officials.

d. There is little opportunity for advancement of subordinates.

Answer: c

Rational for correct answer:

1. Incorrect: This would limit the empowerment of employees.
2. Incorrect: This would limit the empowerment of employees.
3. Correct: Workplace scenarios in which employees are more likely to feel empowered include workplaces where there is flexibility around the use of people; where there is interpersonal contact in the job; where there is contact with senior officials; where there is an opportunity to participate in programs, conferences, and meetings; where there is participation in problem-solving task forces; and where there are advancement prospects for subordinates (see Table 3.1, p. 74, in your textbook). Options
4. Incorrect: This would limit the empowerment of employees.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity
Integrated Nursing Process: Implementation
Objective: 4—Discuss how an organization may be structured to empower employees

8) When developing the strategic plan for an organization, the types of power that might be articulated by organizations to empower employees would be ______.

a. reward, expert, and referent power

b. public, reward, and expert power

c. politics, expert, and reward power

d. salary, expert, and referent power

Answer: a

Rational for correct answer:

1. Correct: Correct.
2. Incorrect: Public is not type of power.
3. Incorrect: Politics is not a type of power.
4. Incorrect: Salary is not a type of power.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 4—Discuss how an organization may be structured to empower employees

9) A board of directors and senior physician in a tertiary care centre are described as being ______.

a. powerless in hospital decision-making

b. oppressed in the hospital decision-making process

c. influential in hospital decision-making

d. support staff to those who make decisions in hospitals

Answer: c

Rational for correct answer:

1. Incorrect: Incorrect.
2. Incorrect: Incorrect.
3. Correct: Members of the board of directors and senior physicians in a tertiary care centre fall under the system of authority, which gives formal power and legitimate authority to the holder of an official position. As such, they are influential in the decision-making process.
4. Incorrect: Incorrect.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 5—Describe the groups in organizations who can exert power and ways in which power can operate

10) Which system of influence in an organization involves a sense of mission and shared goals, traditions, socialization, and loyalty?

a. the system of ideology

b. the system of authority

c. the system of expertise

d. the system of politics

Answer: a

Rational for correct answer:

1. Correct: The system of ideology refers to a system of beliefs about the organization that integrates personal and institutional goals, so that this ideology has an influence on the way members think and act.
2. Incorrect: The system of authority refers to the formal power that accrues to the holder of an official position.
3. Incorrect: The system of expertise arises in organizations that rely on professionals for the complex work required in the organization.
4. Incorrect: The system of politics arises in organizations because employees have delegated power that gives them the discretion to make decisions at some level.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 5—Describe the groups in organizations who can exert power and ways in which power can operate

11) The local member of the legislative assembly has made a promise to decrease the wait times for surgery in the hospital in his riding. There has not been an evaluation of the methodology he has proposed. In fact, the proposed plan will cause budgetary problems for other areas of the hospital. This is an example of a ______.

a. political action

b. political ploy

c. political game

d. political pattern

Answer: c

Rational for correct answer:

1. Incorrect: This terms does not describe this kind of political manoeuvre.
2. Incorrect: This terms does not describe this kind of political manoeuvre.
3. Correct: Political games are patterns of behaviours engaged in by political actors who attempt to achieve their own ends, rather than the overall good of the whole organization.
4. Incorrect: This terms does not describe this kind of political manoeuvre.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 6—Discuss how politics plays out in organizations and the strategies and games that can be used in health care organizations

12) A ______strategy is when a group of people are threatened or forced to change their behaviour through assertiveness, sanctions, or blocking through non-cooperation.

a. push

b. pull

c. persuasion

d. preventive

Answer: a

Rational for correct answer:

1. Correct: Push strategies threaten or force others to change behaviour through assertiveness, sanctions, or blocking through non-cooperation.
2. Incorrect: Pull strategies use positive motivation to influence behaviour through recognition, benefits, or the satisfaction of needs and goals.
3. Incorrect: Persuasion strategies appeal to logical reasoning or convincing others about behaviour in relation to goals.
4. Incorrect: Preventive strategies are intended to prevent an issue from arising and may involve focusing attention elsewhere, avoiding a topic, or leaving it off an agenda.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 6—Discuss how politics plays out in organizations and the strategies and games that can be used in health care organizations

13) During an interview about her career, the local Director of Nursing identified situations where power and politics were used in her career. One of situations she identified might have been ______.

a. provision of patient care

b. leadership changes

c. educational opportunities

d. operating room efficiencies

Answer: b

Rational for correct answer:

1. Incorrect: While it is possible that power and politics could be at work in these specific situations, leadership changes have been identified as an area where power and politics will always be used.
2. Correct: Situations in which politics and power may be at work in an organization include strategic planning processes, budgeting processes, capital planning processes, periods of constrained resources in health care (e.g., downsizing), leadership change, implementation of changes in work (e.g., reorganization, re-engineering), and any process involving allocation of resources.
3. Incorrect: While it is possible that power and politics could be at work in these specific situations, leadership changes have been identified as an area where power and politics will always be used.
4. Incorrect: While it is possible that power and politics could be at work in these specific situations, leadership changes have been identified as an area where power and politics will always be used.

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 7—Identify the types of situations in health care organizations that give rise to use of power and politics

Short Answer Questions

14) Provide an example of each of the following.

a)Reward power

b)Coercive power

c)Expert power

Answer: Correct answers should include:

a)Reward power—Ability of person in senior position to provide rewards (pay increases, promotions, privileges, etc.)

b)Coercive power—Power to apply punishment or withhold rewards (termination)

c)Expert power—Perceived extent of a person’s knowledge or expertise

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment
Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 1—Define power and politics and describe differing perspectives on their use in organizations

15) Match each of terms in column A with the correct corresponding statement from column B.

Column A / Column B
personal attribute / anger
personal behaviour / can accrue power
personal actions / sphere of influence
control over resources / person who allocates office space
ability to cope / successful marketing
formal position / being articulate

Answer:

personal attribute—being articulate

personal behaviour—anger

personal actions—successful marketing

control over resources—person who allocates office space

ability to cope—can accrue power

formal position—sphere of influence

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity

Integrated Nursing Process: Implementation, Evaluation

Objective: 2—Analyze power relationships in the workplace and the sources of power of the actors or units/departments of an organization

16) Discuss three positive and three negative perceptions of power in the workplace.

Answer: Points to include in correct answer:

• Negative perceptions

• dominance over others
• hold-over from pre-democratic periods where leader was cruel tyrant
• social inequality, abuse and rule by elites
• westerners showed a negative association between power and cooperation
• differing cultural views of power may lead to differing psychological and behavioural consequences in the workplace

• Positive perceptions

• contribute to order and effectiveness
• Westerners showed positive association between power and reward

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity

Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation

Objective: 3—Debate the positive and negative perceptions of power and politics in the workplace

17) For each of the following tasks, indicate where the corresponding factor is high or low. An example is provided.

Factor / Generates power when the factor is _____. / Generates powerlessness when the factor is _____.
Task variety / high / low
Number of rules inherent to the job
Number of established routines
Contact with senior officials
Interpersonal contact in the job

Answer:

Factor / Generates power when the factor is _____. / Generates powerlessness when the factor is _____.
Task variety / high / low
Number of rules inherent to the job / low / high
Number of established routines / low / high
Contact with senior officials / high / low
Interpersonal contact in the job / high / low

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity

Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation

Objective: 4—Discuss how an organization may be structured to empower employees

18) Explain each of the following:

a)Internal coalition

b)The system of authority

c)The system of ideology

d)The system of expertise

e)The system of politics

Answer:

Correct answer for A should include:

• top management
• operators
• line managers
• analysts
• support staff

Correct answer for B should include:

• formal power that accrues to the holder of an official position (e.g., CEO)
• they establish and design the hierarchy or chain of authority

Correct answer for C should include:

• beliefs about the organization that integrates personal and institutional goals
• involves a sense of mission and shared goals, traditions, identification, socialization, and loyalty

Correct answer for D should include:

• rely on professionals for the complex work required in organization
• relies on less bureaucratic form of organization

Correct answer for E should include:

• employees have delegated power that gives them discretion to make decisions at some level
• discretion in work makes the use of political power possible

Client need per NCLEX: safe and effective care environment, psychological integrity

Integrated Nursing Process: Planning, Implementation, Evaluation
Objective: 5—Describe the groups in organizations and the strategies and games that can be used in health care organizations

19) Provide an example of each of the following:

a)Push strategies

b)Pull strategies

c)Persuasion strategies

d)Preventive strategies

e)Preparatory strategies

Answer:

Correct answers should include:

a)Push strategies—threaten or force others to change behaviour through assertiveness, sanctions, or blocking through non-cooperation

b)Pull strategies—positive motivation to influence behaviour through recognition, benefits, or the satisfaction of needs and goals