IIA IIA Certifications IIA-CIA-PART3 Questions & Answers

• Question 781:

  Leadership situations vary with regard to the degree to which the leader can determine what subordinates will do, how the subordinates will do it, and what the results will be. Accordingto Fiedler's contingency theory, a leader with a relationship- oriented management style will be most effective when exerting:

  A. Great control.

  B. Moderate control.

  C. Little control.

  D. Great or little control.

  Correct Answer: B

  A relationship-oriented manager is employee centered. His or her self-esteem is strongly affected by personal interactions with subordinates. Fiedler indicated that such a manager is most effective when not faced with the extremes of high or low control situations. High control follows from strong position power, a structured task, and good leader- member relations. A low-control situation has just the opposite characteristics. Ina high-control environment, a concern for personal relations may be unimportant. In a low-control situation, therelationship orientedleader may be unable to provide the needed task structuring. Thus, themoderate controlsituation is best. An example is an assembly-line situation (a structured task) in which leader-member relations are poor.

• Question 782:

  Which of the following is true regarding the most recent traitist approach to leadership?

  A. The most recent traitist approach to leadership attempts to identify traits possessed by leaders.

  B. The most recent traitist approach to leadership has produced such a long list of leadership traits that, in effect, the approach identifies nothing.

  C. The most recent traitist approach to leadership is based on scholarship, dependability, and social participation.

  D. The most recent traitist approach to leadership is based on social skills, judgment, maturity, and emotional control.

  Correct Answer: D

  The most recent traitist approach is based on the emotional intelligence of leaders, that is, their social skills and judgment, maturity, and emotional control. These abilities can be learned, especially when a manager or employee understands that immaturity, erratic behavior, and uncontrolled negative emotions have a bad effect on the workplace.

• Question 783:

  Which of the following leadership types is best known as an agent of change?

  A. Participative leader.

  B. Traitist leader.

  C. Transformational leader.

  D. Free-rein leader.

  Correct Answer: C

  A transformational leader is an agent of change who attempts to inspire the members of the organization to aspire to, and to achieve, more than they thought was possible. Transformational leadership emphasizes vision, development of the individual, empowerment of the worker, and the challenging of traditional assumptions. The transformational leader normally has charisma, is motivational, provides intellectual stimulation to workers, and gives individualized consideration.

• Question 784:

  According to the contingency theory of leadership, a manager will be most effective when the manager:

  A. Consistently initiates structure.

  B. Adapts style to specific circumstances.

  C. Is task oriented.

  D. Is relationship oriented.

  Correct Answer: B

  Fred E. Fiedler's contingency theory of management holds that no single style of directing is best for all occasions. A successful director (leader) must, for each situation, balance his or her formal authority, the task structure, and the leader's relationships with the pertinent group members.

• Question 785:

  Management literature describes generic influence tactics that may be used to influence superiors, peers, or subordinates. Which of the following is the most commonly used influence tactic?

  A. An upward appeal.

  B. Exchange.

  C. Rational persuasion.

  D. Pressure.

  Correct Answer: C

  The most commonly used influence tactics are consultation, rational persuasion, and inspirational appeals. The least commonly used are pressure tactics, upward appeals, and exchange tactics. Rational persuasion tries to convince others by reliance on a detailed plan, supporting evidence, and reason. Rational persuasion is the method used most often by employees of participative managers.

• Question 786:

  Behavior modification is the management of environmental factors to encourage desirable behavior and to discourage undesirable behavior. Environmental factors include antecedents that:

  A. Reward each occurrence of a behavior.

  B. Ignore a behavior.

  C. Withdraw an unpleasant condition when a desired behavior occurs.

  D. Encourage a given behavior.

  Correct Answer: D

  Antecedents are cues that encourage but do not cause a given behavior. Managing antecedents involves eliminating barriers to good performance and replacing them with helpful aids. Barriers include unattainable objectives, poor training, confusing rules, andconflicting directions from management. Aids include challenging but attainable objectives, clear instructions, realistic plans, constructive suggestions, and acceptable work rules.

• Question 787:

  Modern management theory devotes considerable attention to employee empowerment. Done appropriately, employee empowerment:

  A. Increases managerial power.

  B. Means lack of control.

  C. Is independent of compensation.

  D. Does not require full employee participation in decision making.

  Correct Answer: A

  Modern management theory emphasizes employee empowerment. The question is not whether employees should be empowered, but the circumstances in which it should occur. The paradox isthat managers who appropriately surrender power by empowering employees actually gain power. They have an increased ability to achieve desired results.

• Question 788:

  The use of power in an organization may be defined as the ability to influence employees to do what they would not ordinarily do. The exercise of this power:

  A. Affects decisions, behavior, and situations.

  B. Tends to be accepted by employees only when it is based on legitimate power.

  C. Is most likely to be accepted by employees when a manager's source of power is informal.

  D. Requires the authority to manage.

  Correct Answer: A

  The exercise of power affects the decisions made by employees, for example, as the result of advice offered by someone with expert power. It also affects behavior, for example, as the result of a warning from someone with coercive power. Moreover, the exercise of power affects situations, for example, a change in the nature or type of resources used in operations effected by someone with any base of power.

• Question 789:

  Management literature describes generic influence tactics used to change the behavior of others in the workplace. According to the relevant research.

  A. Male managers are significantly more likely than female managers to use pressure tactics.

  B. Female managers are significantly more likely that male managers to use consultation.

  C. Influence tactics tend to be used laterally and downward, but not upward.

  D. Influence tactics tend to vary with the leadership styles of superiors.

  Correct Answer: D

  Upward influence methods used by employees of authoritarian managers are most likely to consist of ingratiating tactics and upward appeals. Rational persuasion is the method used most often by employees of participative managers.

• Question 790:

  Which of the following strengthens and increases acceptable behavior by termination or withdrawal of undesirable consequences?

  A. Positive reinforcement.

  B. Negative reinforcement.

  C. Reward.

  D. Punishment.

  Correct Answer: B

  Negative reinforcement removes an existing unpleasant condition when the desired behavior occurs. In contrast, positive reinforcement rewards the desired behavior. For example, a crying child negatively reinforces a parent's behavior when (s)he stops crying after receiving what (s)he wants.