MBA Leadership 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A leader notices that a high-performing employee is becoming disengaged. According to Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, which action MOST likely addresses the root cause?
- Increasing the employee's base salary
- Providing a larger office or better parking spot
- Offering more challenging projects and recognition for achievement (Correct answer)
- Improving workplace safety and updating the employee handbook
Correct answer: Offering more challenging projects and recognition for achievement
Herzberg's motivators — achievement, recognition, growth, and responsibility — drive true engagement; hygiene factors (salary, working conditions) only prevent dissatisfaction.
Question 2: Which decision-making model helps leaders determine how much participation to grant subordinates based on situational factors such as decision quality and follower acceptance?
- Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Model (Correct answer)
- Bounded Rationality Model
- Garbage Can Model
- Rational Comprehensive Model
Correct answer: Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Model
The Vroom-Yetton-Jago model uses a decision tree with situational criteria to prescribe the appropriate level of follower participation (autocratic to group consensus).
Question 3: A leader deliberately assigns team members to roles that stretch their abilities. This BEST reflects which developmental leadership practice?
- Management by exception
- Stretch assignments (Correct answer)
- Job rotation for compliance
- Task specialization
Correct answer: Stretch assignments
Stretch assignments place followers in roles slightly beyond their current competence, accelerating growth through on-the-job challenge and learning.
Question 4: In global leadership, 'cultural intelligence' (CQ) refers to:
- Fluency in the local language of every country where the firm operates
- The ability to function effectively across different national and organizational cultures (Correct answer)
- Knowledge of international trade law and cross-border tax regulations
- IQ scores adjusted for cultural bias in standardized testing
Correct answer: The ability to function effectively across different national and organizational cultures
Cultural intelligence (CQ) is the capability to relate and work effectively across diverse cultural contexts, encompassing cognitive, motivational, and behavioral dimensions.
Question 5: Which concept describes the tendency for individuals to attribute their own success to personal factors but attribute others' success to situational factors?
- Self-serving bias (Correct answer)
- Fundamental attribution error
- Actor-observer bias
- Confirmation bias
Correct answer: Self-serving bias
Self-serving bias leads people to credit internal factors (skill, effort) for their successes and external factors (luck, environment) for their failures, protecting self-esteem.
Question 6: A board decides to retain a failing CEO because of the large investment already made in their tenure. This BEST illustrates which decision trap?
- Groupthink
- Escalation of commitment (Correct answer)
- Availability heuristic
- Overconfidence bias
Correct answer: Escalation of commitment
Escalation of commitment (sunk cost fallacy) occurs when decision-makers continue investing in a failing course of action because of prior investments, ignoring future prospects.
Question 7: Which leadership approach involves creating compelling narratives to inspire followers, build organizational identity, and communicate strategic vision?
- Management by objectives (MBO)
- Strategic storytelling (Correct answer)
- Transactional reward systems
- Zero-based budgeting
Correct answer: Strategic storytelling
Strategic storytelling leverages narrative to make vision tangible, emotionally resonant, and memorable — a recognized tool in transformational and visionary leadership.
MBA Leadership 5
A leader notices that a high-performing employee is becoming disengaged.
According to Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, which action MOST likely addresses the root cause?