TOPIC 10: POWER AND INFLUENCE IN THE WORKPLACE[Type the document title]
Section A: MCQ
Choose the most appropriate answer.
1. / Which of the following statements about power is FALSE?A. / Power exists only when the dependent party is aware that the power holder controls valued resources
B. / Power requires interdependence in the relationship
C. / Power is the capacity to influence, rather than the actual practice of influencing others
D. / Power exists only when one person has something of value for a second person, but the second person has nothing of value for the first person
2. / Power is _____, whereas influence is ______.
A. / Good, bad
B. / Weak, strong
C. / Potential, behaviour
D. / Apparent, hidden
3. / A manager's legitimate power over subordinates exists when:
A. / The organisation grants formal authority over the employees
B. / The manager is able to reward or punish the employees
C. / Employees agree to let the manager have power over them
D. / The organisation grants formal authority AND employees agree to let the manager use this authority
4. / Which of the following is one of the five main sources of power?
A. / Discretion
B. / Visibility
C. / Substitutability
D. / None of the options listed here is correct
5. / Control over information flow is a form of which source of power?
A. / Referent power
B. / Expert power
C. / Coercive power
D. / Legitimate power
6 / Coping with uncertainty is a variation of:
A. / Legitimate power
B. / Expert power
C. / Coercive power
D. / Referent power
7. / Which of the following would potentially increase someone's power through
non-substitutability?
A. / Avoiding documenting unique knowledge about organisational processes
B. / Increasing the number of people affected by your work
C. / Increasing the amount of autonomy granted to you to accomplish your work
D. / Using impression management strategies to increase your popularity with colleagues
8. / Employees have LESS power in the organisation when:
A. / Their work has an immediate impact on organisational effectiveness
B. / Their work can be outsourced
C. / Their work reduces organisational uncertainty
D. / Their work is central to the organisation's goals
9. / By engaging successfully in networking, employees increase their:
A. / Expert power
B. / Centrality
C. / Referent power
D. / Social capital
10. / What types of power do people tend to gain through networking?
A. / Legitimate and referent power
B. / Expert and reward power
C. / Referent and expert power
D. / Legitimate and reward power
11. / Negotiation is an integral part of which influence activity?
A. / Silent authority
B. / Coercive
C. / Exchange
D. / All of the options listed here are correct
12. / Which of the following is considered a 'hard' influence tactic?
A. / Silent authority
B. / Assertiveness
C. / Information control
D. / Upward appeal
13. / Ingratiation includes which of the following?
A. / Flattering your boss
B. / Helping co-workers with their work
C. / Seeking advice from other people
D. / All of the options listed here are correct
14. / ______is part of a larger influence tactic called ______.
A. / Persuasion, upward influence
B. / Ingratiation, impression management
C. / Upward appeal, persuasion
D. / Persuasion, ingratiation
15. / The most appropriate influence strategy:
A. / Is impression management
B. / Depends on the influencer's power base
C. / Is based on legitimate power
D. / Is assertiveness and other hard tactics rather than soft tactics
16. / Organisational politics typically involves:
A. / An unconscious attempt to increase your own power
B. / A conscious attempt to motivate others to work harder for the firm
C. / Attempts to influence others to promote personal objectives
D. / Helping other employees to fulfil their needs through organisational activities
17. / Scholars tend to describe influence tactics as ______, whereas they describe office
politics as ______.
A. / Negative, positive
B. / Based on power sources, based on power contingencies
C. / Behaviours, perceptions
D. / Rare, common
18. / Power is the capacity of a person, team or organisation for:
A. / Changing someone's attitude or behaviour
B. / Interdependence and perception
C. / Influencing others
D. / Both changing someone's attitude or behaviour, and influencing others
19. / Sources of power that originate from the power holder's own characteristics are:
A. / Dependent and interdependent
B. / Legitimate, reward and coercive
C. / Expert and referent
D. / None of the options listed here are correct
20. / Substitutability is:
A. / A source of power
B. / Power over others
C. / A contingency of power
D. / None of the options listed here is correct
21. / Various studies consistently report that many job applicants falsify information on
their resume. This is an example of which influence tactic?
A. / Persuasion
B. / Forming coalitions
C. / Networking
D. / Impression management
22. / Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. / Exchange tactics tend to be more common and effective between supervisors and subordinates in Australia than in most Asian cultures
B. / Ingratiation tends to minimise conflict and support a trusting relationship
C. / A person's position in the organisational hierarchy is a factor when determining the best influence tactic to apply
D. / People with strong expert power would be more successful applying persuasion than any other influence tactic.
23. / The capacity to influence others in organisational settings is known as:
A. / Organisational politics
B. / Impression management
C. / Machiavellianism
D. / Organisational power
24. / Which source of power can employees potentially have over their supervisors?
A. / Legitimate power
B. / Coercive power
C. / Expert power
D. / Employees can potentially have all of these sources of power over their supervisors
25. / Which of the following would potentially increase someone's power through
non-substitutability?
A. / Avoiding documenting unique knowledge about organisational processes
B. / Increasing the number of people affected by your work
C. / Increasing the amount of autonomy granted to you to accomplish your work
D. / Using impression management strategies to increase your popularity with colleagues
Section B: Essays
Question 1
Define referent power. Explain how it differs from reward power.
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Question 2
What is power? Explain the important features of power.
Question 3
How much power does the CEO of a large corporation really have? Identify the potential power bases and contingencies of any CEO with a team of ambitious executives in the background.
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