CSM Leadership & Organizational Behavior 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A strategic manager notices that a high-performing team becomes complacent after a major success. Which leadership action best addresses this?
- Publicly praise the team and maintain current goals
- Introduce stretch goals and new challenges to re-engage motivation (Correct answer)
- Replace underperforming members to signal higher standards
- Reduce oversight so the team self-directs its next phase
Correct answer: Introduce stretch goals and new challenges to re-engage motivation
Stretch goals re-energize complacent high performers by restoring a sense of purpose and challenge.
Question 2: According to Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, which of the following is a hygiene factor rather than a motivator?
- Recognition for achievement
- Opportunities for growth
- Company policy and administration (Correct answer)
- The work itself
Correct answer: Company policy and administration
Hygiene factors like company policy prevent dissatisfaction but do not actively motivate employees.
Question 3: A CEO delegates full authority for a product launch to a VP but then overrides key decisions publicly. Which leadership failure does this illustrate?
- Micromanagement through formal authority (Correct answer)
- Accountability without authority
- Authority without accountability
- Span of control violation
Correct answer: Micromanagement through formal authority
Publicly overriding a delegate's decisions while formally claiming delegation is a form of micromanagement.
Question 4: In organizational behavior, 'role ambiguity' most directly leads to which outcome?
- Increased creativity and innovation
- Higher stress and reduced job satisfaction (Correct answer)
- Stronger peer collaboration
- Clearer performance metrics
Correct answer: Higher stress and reduced job satisfaction
Role ambiguity creates uncertainty about expectations, which elevates employee stress and lowers satisfaction.
Question 5: Which conflict resolution style is most appropriate when a strategic issue is critical and time is short?
- Collaborating
- Avoiding
- Compromising
- Competing (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Competing
The competing style is assertive and quick, making it appropriate for urgent, high-stakes decisions.
Question 6: A leader using the 'coaching' style in Situational Leadership II is working with an employee who has which profile?
- High competence, high commitment
- Low competence, low commitment
- Some competence, variable commitment (Correct answer)
- High competence, variable commitment
Correct answer: Some competence, variable commitment
The coaching style addresses employees with developing skills but inconsistent motivation through direction and dialogue.
Question 7: Organizational culture is BEST described as:
- The formal hierarchy and reporting structure of an organization
- Shared values, beliefs, and norms that guide member behavior (Correct answer)
- The written policies and procedures in the employee handbook
- The compensation and benefits framework offered to employees
Correct answer: Shared values, beliefs, and norms that guide member behavior
Organizational culture encompasses the unwritten shared values and norms that shape how members think and act.
CSM Leadership & Organizational Behavior 2
A strategic manager notices that a high-performing team becomes complacent after a major success.
Which leadership action best addresses this?