Key Exam Questions Key Topics That May Appear in the Exam: Normative commitment Organizational commitment Withdrawal behavior Psychological contracts Learning Objectives What are some examples of psychological withdrawal? Of physical withdrawal? How do the different forms of withdrawal relate to each other? What are the four primary responses to negative events at work? What are the three types of organizational commitment, and how do they differ? What is organizational commitment? What is withdrawal behavior? How are the two connected? What workplace trends are affecting organizational commitment in today’s organizations?

How can organizations foster a sense of commitment among employees?

Over the past year, three of the star salesmen at Family Resorts International's corporate office have been lured away to competitors. On top of that, Karina, the general manager of the sales department, has noticed that most employees come in, do their jobs, and leave. Family Resorts offers a good salary, benefits, and tuition reimbursement, as well as a number of development and training programs. Most employees seem contented enough, but Karina would like to do something to increase the level of engagement among her staff. What do you think Karina should do?

initiate one or more fun, bonding activities for the staff, such as weekly themed parties and weekend retreats

have fun weekly contests where teams and individuals compete for prizes, bonuses, and other monetary incentives

investigate the causes of low commitment by asking employees to complete an anonymous survey detailing their feelings

update and expand the kinds of development programs they offer, perhaps adding seminars that focus on technological skills

organize a volunteer program, where staff can work to help kids from disadvantaged backgrounds prepare for professional careers

Mohammed's company recently began offering a series of free leadership seminars aimed at helping lower-level employees enter a management track. It has been very successful, and Mohammed's department manager remarks to his colleague that he has seen a marked increase in ________ among the employees who have taken it.

employee retention

affective commitment

perceptions of support

normative commitment

continuance commitment

________ is strongly correlated with lower levels of psychological and physical withdrawal.

Organizational commitment

Financial commitment

Perception of support

Active socialization

Educational support

Many companies pay all or part of an employee's tuition for master's degree programs. If an employee has taken advantage of this, it can increase the employee's level of ________ commitment.

normative

affective

continuance

psychological

educational

An effective way for organizations to foster affective commitment is through improving salary and benefits packages.

What are some examples of psychological withdrawal? Of physical withdrawal? How do the different forms of withdrawal relate to each other?

At first, Caihong loved her job as an assistant editor at Bradbury Publishers. It was her dream job, made even better by the fact that her boss, Forrest, had a warm, inspiring personality and placed a lot of trust in his employees. He also had a goofy, witty personality that made everyone laugh. Caihong looked forward to work and felt personally committed to helping Forrest achieve his goals for the department. However, Forrest retired a few months ago, and his replacement, Bryan, is his complete opposite-a bottom-line-focused, unpleasant, demanding boss who is always questioning Caihong's and her team's abilities and decisions. Caihong never misses a day and still likes the actual work she does, but she has begun to find ways to avoid having to interact with Bryan. Which of the following has Caihong most likely started engaging in?

checking her friends' Instagram pages and chatting with friends on Facebook

updating her CV and combing through online job sites during her work breaks

going over to the marketing department to chat with her friends Ellie and Salman

fantasizing about quitting her job and going off to teach English in a foreign country

taking longer than usual breaks and making excuses for missing department meetings

Priya is sitting at her desk. On her computer screen are several documents for a project that she is supposed to have finished by 2:00 p.m. She is staring at the screen and has her hand on her mouse, but she is thinking about the after-work party she has been invited to. Her colleague Damien walks by and snaps his fingers. Earth to Priya! he says. Priya is engaged in

exit.

satisficing.

looking busy.

daydreaming.

moonlighting.

Which model of withdrawal has received the most scientific support?

individualistic model

compensatory forms model

independent forms model

autonomous model

progression model

Josie, Ignacio, Myra, Randall, and Dinesh work in the human resources department at an educational software company. In the next two weeks, one of them will quit. Based on their behavior, who do you think will be the one to leave?

Josie, who spends a lot of time in the break room chatting with her friends at the company

Ignacio, who often gets caught just zoning out at his desk when there are deadlines to meet

Dinesh, who always arrives late and leaves early and has been out sick four times in the last six weeks

Randall, who always volunteers to leave in the middle of the day to get supplies and then is gone for hours

Myra, who spends more time and focus on her freelance design projects at work than on her actual assignments

Which model of withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviors are positively correlated-for example, the tendency to daydream or socialize leads to the tendency to come in late or take long breaks, which leads to the tendency to be absent or quit?

independent forms

compensatory forms

progression

normative

nominal

The ________ model of withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviors negatively correlate with one another-that doing one means you are less likely to do another.

independent forms

compensatory forms

progression

normative

nominal

According to the ________ model of withdrawal, various withdrawal behaviors are uncorrelated with one another, occur for different reasons, and fulfill different needs on the part of employees.

independent forms

compensatory forms

progression

normative

nominal

The most serious form of physical withdrawal is

absenteeism.

tardiness.

long breaks.

quitting.

missing meetings.

________ reflects the tendency to arrive at work late or leave work early.

Daydreaming

Tardiness

Socializing

Moonlighting

Cyberloafing

Missing meetings is a form of ________ withdrawal.

psychological

physical

cultural

community

social

Which of the following is a form of physical withdrawal?

daydreaming

moonlighting

tardiness

socializing

cyberloafing

________ is a form of withdrawal in which employees appear to be working but are actually distracted by random thoughts or concerns.

Moonlighting

Cyberloafing

Socializing

Satisficing

Daydreaming

Which of the following is a psychological withdrawal behavior?

tardiness

missing meetings

long breaks

moonlighting

absenteeism

The most widespread form of psychological withdrawal among white-collar employees is ________, using Internet, e-mail, and instant messaging access for their personal enjoyment rather than work duties.

moonlighting

cyberloafing

satisficing

socializing

daydreaming

When employees engage in ________, they use work time and resources to complete something other than their job duties, such as assignments for another job.

daydreaming

moonlighting

social loafing

satisficing

cyberloafing

________ is an intentional desire on the part of employees to appear like they are working, even when they are not performing work tasks.

Looking busy

Moonlighting

Daydreaming

Socializing

Cyberloafing

________ refers to conversations about nonwork topics that go on in cubicles and offices, in the mailroom, or at vending machines.

Satisficing

Moonlighting

Daydreaming

Socializing

Cyberloafing

The progression model of withdrawal behavior has received the most scientific support.

The compensatory forms model of withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviors are positively correlated.

The most serious form of physical withdrawal is absenteeism.

When employees engage in moonlighting, they use work time and resources to complete something other than their job duties, such as assignments for another job.

What are the four primary responses to negative events at work?

Loyalty is defined as an active, constructive response to a negative work event in which individuals attempt to improve the situation.

Tariq and Noelle work in the sales department at CTI Telecommunications. Tariq is the star salesman of the department and makes it his mission to motivate the rest of the team when sales numbers are down or when there are problems interacting with other departments. Meanwhile, Noelle consistently ranks in the middle or near the bottom in terms of sales, and she often gets distracted by calls from her teenage son. She also spends more time than she should socializing with friends in other departments. However, everyone, including the bosses, loves Noelle because of her True-blue loyalty to the company and her team. What else is most likely True of Noelle?

Because she is so well-liked, her suggestions for improvements to the company or team culture are taken very seriously.

She will do minor office tasks, like going out to get supplies, but she does them grudgingly and after a lot of complaining.

She functions better as part of a team than as an individual worker, but sometimes her lack of stepping up annoys her co-workers.

She volunteers to do the mundane tasks others avoid, and she does things like buying birthday cards for co-workers and organizing parties.

She gets easily discouraged by negative events at work, such as team disagreements or in-fighting, and it affects her work performance.

Thalia works in the accounting department at a major department store. Though she does her job reasonably well, she is often late to work and frequently calls in sick. She's cordial with other employees and her boss but is not given to socializing. Thalia is a(n)

citizen.

apathetic.

lone wolf.

seat-warmer.

daydreamer.

Bryce continually breaks off from his assigned tasks to check sports news or check his friends' Facebook updates. He is engaging in

cyberloafing, which is a type of psychological withdrawal.

psychological withdrawal, which is a type of daydreaming.

cyberloafing, which is a type of antisocial behavior.

socializing, which is a type of psychological withdrawal.

psychological absenteeism, which is a type of negative organizational behavior.

Tonya is a new hire at The Eagleton Eye, a local weekly publication. She does not like her job and is not committed to the organization. She hardly exerts even the effort that is required to keep her job. Tonya is staying with the paper because she does not want to be unemployed. Tonya is a(n)

star.

citizen.

lone wolf.

apathetic.

dog.

Apathetics tend to respond to negative events with ________ because they are low performers who lack marketable skills and who do not have a high enough level of organizational commitment needed to engage in acts of citizenship.

loyalty

exit

influence

voice

neglect

________ possess low levels of both organizational commitment and task performance.

Stars

Citizens

Lone wolves

Apathetics

Dogs

________ merely exert the minimum level of effort needed to keep their jobs.

Apathetics

Citizens

Dogs

Stars

Lone wolves

The talented employees who display high level of task performance but never seem to want to get involved in important decisions about the future of the company are most likely to be

citizens.

dogs.

apathetic.

lone wolves.

stars.

Lone wolves are likely to respond to negative events with

loyalty.

exit.

neglect.

voice.

ignorance.

________ possess low levels of organizational commitment but high levels of task performance and are motivated to achieve work goals for themselves, not necessarily for their company.

Stars

Citizens

Dogs

Apathetics

Lone wolves

Employees in the category of apathetics demonstrate passive, destructive behavior. They exert the minimum level of effort required to keep their jobs.

Employees categorized as citizens demonstrate the highest levels of organizational commitment and behave in an active, constructive manner.

Employees falling under the category of lone wolves tend to respond to negative events with voice because they have the desire to improve the status quo and the credibility needed to inspire change.

What are the three types of organizational commitment, and how do they differ?

Hung and Suzanne's company has instituted a new volunteering program where more experienced employees mentor the youngest employees, many of whom are fresh from college or internships. Hung signs up, but Suzanne does not. A few months later, how does Hung likely feel about having become a volunteer?

She feels resentful, since she is essentially working for free.

She feels more engaged in the company and in her primary role.

She likes it but finds the extra time commitment a major problem.

She enjoys it, but her colleagues think she is kissing up to the management.

She likes it but feels her mentees take advantage of her time, becoming a distraction.

Omar and Sari work as designers at Hologram Marketing. Recently, Sari's husband got a new job in a city fifty miles away, and they have decided to move there. Sari already has a new job lined up that pays about the same as her current one and has a better benefits package, but she is sad about leaving because she has made so many close friends during her fifteen years at Hologram. Omar is relatively new to the company, having just completed his design degree a few months ago. He completed an internship while in school, but Hologram was the first agency to make him a job offer. Sari tells him she has considered turning down the job offer in the new city and commuting to Hologram instead. She then asks Omar how he feels about working at Hologram. How would Omar most likely respond?

I'm just thrilled to have any job, even if it's not my ideal in the long run. The job market is terrible right now.

Even though the pay isn't what I hoped for, I can apply for a raise in six months. Most companies make you wait a year.

You should take the new job. I like it here, but the salary's not all that great. If I got a better offer, I'd leave in a heartbeat.

It's a great offer, but I'd never leave unless I had to. Even though I haven't been here as long as you, I felt welcomed right away.

I think if you decide to take that other job, I will probably leave as well. Hologram is great, but I'm sure there's something else out there for me.

When Faisal and Tad ask Sofia her thoughts on the matter, she notes that Margo had no bonds to CI. She was relatively new and had not invested any time there. Sofia says, Crossroads gave me an opportunity and invested so much in mentoring me, preparing me for the position, and showing me the ropes. There is no way that I could desert them by leaving for another company. Sofia is exhibiting ________ commitment.

continuance

intuitive

evaluative

normative

affective

When Faisal asks Tad how he feels about Margo's leaving and about his own reasons for staying with the company, Tad replies that for him, it is the company's relaxed atmosphere and his best friends at Crossroads that keeps him working there. Tad is exhibiting ________ commitment.

continuance

affective

evaluative

normative

associative

Sofia, Faisal, and Tad are coworkers at Crossroads, Inc. All three have worked at Crossroads for five years now. One day while eating lunch together, Sofia remarks that she heard their colleague Margo recently quit and went to work for a competitor. Each of the three has a different opinion about Margo's leaving, and they all have their own reasons for continuing to stay at Crossroads. Faisal remarks that it is not worthwhile for him to leave like Margo because he has put in the time and hard work for a promotion. If he left for another company, he would not likely get this opportunity again soon. Faisal is exhibiting ________ commitment.

continuance

affective

obligation-based

normative

skill-based

Hector works as an assistant coach for the Boise Geysers in the U.S. Basketball Association. Recently, he was offered the position of head coaching duties with the Boulder Mountain Goats. Though their offer was very attractive, and it would have been a huge career move for Hector, he declined the offer. He felt it was with Geysers that he had learned and developed as a coach and that staying with the team was the right thing to do. This is an example of ________ commitment.

continuance

intuitive

evaluative

normative

affective

Normative commitment from employees can result from all of these except

the personal work principles of employees.

organizational socialization.

the creation of a feeling that the employee is in the organization's debt.

an increase in the organization's charitable activities.

implementation of a matrix structure in the organization.

________ commitment exists when there is a sense that staying at a firm is the right or moral thing to do.

Normative

Evaluative

Social

Continuance

Affective

The factors that increase normative commitment include

salary and other monetary benefits.

availability of employment opportunities.

a sense that the organization has invested in the employee.

links to the local community.

organizational culture.

Lamar works for the United Bank at Madison. He feels overworked and dislikes his job, but he cannot quit because he needs the job to repay his college loans. What type of commitment does Lamar have?

continuance commitment

normative commitment

affective commitment

cognitive commitment

intuitive commitment

Which of the following is one of the three types of organizational commitment that focuses on personal and family issues more than the other two commitment types?

evaluative commitment

continuance commitment

associative commitment

affective commitment

normative commitment

Which of the following terms refers to the work and nonwork forces that bind us to our current employer?

normative impact

affective influence

industry regulations

embeddedness

social influence

Sanjita is rather quiet at her workplace. Her only friend at work, Marisol, quit the company a month ago. The ________ model suggests that Sanjita is more likely to quit her job because Marisol is no longer working in the same organization.

social identity

continuance

progression

embedded

social influence

Since Ginny's company switched management, they have stopped doing many of the fun, team-building activities they used to do, and the workplace culture has changed for the worse. A few weeks ago, Ginny's friend Surya quit, and now Ginny and her coworker Tom are thinking of quitting too. This shows the power of ________ in affecting employee attitudes.

erosion

continuance

social identity

social influence

negative influence

The ________ model suggests that employees who have direct linkages with leavers will themselves become more likely to leave.

social influence

affective

continuance

decay

social identity

The ________ model suggests that employees with fewer bonds will be most likely to quit the organization.

social influence

social impact

erosion

decay

continuity

Employees who feel a sense of ________ commitment tend to engage in more interpersonal and organizational citizenship behaviors, such as helping, sportsmanship, and boosterism.

normative

evaluative

affective

proactive

continuance

The term focus of commitment can refer to each of the following, except

supervisors.

the company's top management.

salary.

specific coworkers.

industry regulations.

Which of the following terms refers to the various people, places, and things that can inspire a desire to remain a member of an organization?

focus of influence

focus of commitment

focus of attention

focus of performance

focus of dominance

Maddie has been working as the creative head at Juno Designs for the past 25 years. Although she likes her job, she has begun to feel like she is in a creative slump and has been considering leaving to start her own company. Maddie will be eligible for retirement in five years. After discussing it with her husband, she decides that leaving now would be a mistake. After she retires, she will reconsider the idea of starting her own company. This is an example of ________ commitment.

continuance

affective

ethical

normative

associative

A desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of obligation is called ________ commitment.

continuance

affective

associative

normative

evaluative

________ commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization because of an awareness of the costs associated with leaving it.

Continuance

Affective

Associative

Normative

Situational

Chloe loves her job, admires her boss, and believes in the goals and vision of the company she works for. She cannot imagine looking for or finding a better job. Chloe most likely is demonstrating

a high level of organizational commitment.

a normative level of organizational commitment.

high job performance.

low job performance.

withdrawal behaviors.

The desire to remain a member of an organization due to emotional attachment to, and involvement with, that organization is called ________ commitment.

continuance

affective

evaluative

normative

associative

Which of the following is one of the three types of organizational commitment?

reactive commitment

associative commitment

normative commitment

proactive commitment

distributive commitment

Affective commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the right or moral thing to do.

Embeddedness summarizes employees' links to their organization and community, their sense of fit with that organization and community, and what they would have to sacrifice for a job change.

Continuance commitment tends to create more of a passive form of loyalty than affective commitment.

The social influence model of withdrawal behavior suggests that employees with fewer bonds will be most likely to quit the organization.

Employees who feel a sense of continuance commitment identify with the organization, accept that organization's goals and values, and are more willing to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization.

Affective commitment is defined as a desire to remain a member of an organization due to an emotional attachment to, and involvement with, that organization.

What is organizational commitment? What is withdrawal behavior? How are the two connected?

Lucy has a good job she likes, and she is always striving to please her boss. This behavior is a result of

self-maintenance.

employee attrition.

normative commitment.

organizational satisfaction.

organizational commitment.

The set of actions that employees perform to avoid the work situation that may eventually culminate in the employee quitting the organization are referred to as ________ behavior.

productivity

commitment

performance

withdrawal

citizenship

Which of the following terms refers to the desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of the organization?

organizational efficacy

organizational control

organizational efficiency

organizational commitment

organizational effectiveness

Organizational commitment is the desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of the organization.

What workplace trends are affecting organizational commitment in today's organizations?

Jaseem likes his job in the bookkeeping department at German Trucking, Inc., but mainly considers it a way to make good money while he pursues his musical career. He is never absent and rarely late, and he gives work his full attention while he is there, but he does not socialize much with the other employees. Jaseem's attitude indicates that he has a(n) ________ contract with his employer.

opportunistic

psychological

transactional

relational

normative

Wythe Pharmaceuticals recently merged with a large multinational company, Valence Group. The new management made many changes. They decided to move the bulk of manufacturing overseas and cut the marketing department in half. They also restructured the research and development branch. The result was massive reorganization at every level, along with major downsizing that affected almost 20 percent of the Wythe workforce. Due to the downsizing, Hugh and Deanna lost their jobs, but their colleague Eloise was able to keep hers. Which statement about the friends is most likely True two months later?

Hugh and Deanna experienced a marked increase in depression, even though both quickly found new jobs.

Eloise experienced a lower level of affective commitment, but her level of normative commitment stayed about the same.

Because Eloise had to take on new job duties as a result of the changes, her level of organizational commitment increased.

Hugh and Deanna, in new jobs, experienced less work-related stress overall than Eloise, who felt depressed by the changes.

Eloise, as one of the survivors, was happier overall, while Hugh and Deanna were still dealing with the psychological fallout.

Ian and Ubed are engineers at Seedling Laboratories. Ubed comments that during a conversation with his neighbor Nick the other day, Nick expressed a common stereotype about foreign employees. What did Nick say?

that most immigrants in the United States are in service-related jobs or in blue-collar positions

that less than a quarter of the scientists and mathematicians in the U.S. are foreign-born

that many of the most educated employees, particularly in STEM, come from abroad

that fewer Americans are working as expatriates in foreign countries than in the past

that because of globalism, being an expatriate is less stressful than most people think

Tom and Zorah are having a discussion about the representation of minorities in the workforce. Tom thinks that, in general, all minority groups are equally represented, but Zorah corrects him. What does Zorah point out to Tom?

Representation is about the same as it was in the 1970s and 1980s.

The workforce is still much more dominated by men than by women.

The percentage of minority employees peaked a few years ago and is now declining.

The percentage of minority employees peaked in the early 2000s and has plateaued since then.

While minorities are better represented, Asians still only make up about 5 percent of the workforce.

contracts are based on a broader set of open-ended and subjective obligations than contracts.

Transactional; continuance

Relational; transactional

Normative; relational

Progression; continuance

Continuance; psychological

NewDay Investments is cutting its workforce in large numbers because of the current recession. The employees who still have their jobs are angered and depressed by the layoffs. They have lost the trust they had in management and are not sure if their futures are secure. They are facing the ________ syndrome.

outsourcing

survivor

decay

erosion

progression

________ psychological contracts are based on a narrow set of specific monetary obligations.

Normative

Relational

Transactional

Continuance

Progression

________ contracts reflect employees' beliefs about what they owe the organization and what the organization owes them.

Cultural

Transactional

Psychological

Normative

Relational

The ________ syndrome is characterized by anger, depression, fear, distrust, and guilt that affects the employees who remain with an organization after a downsizing.

employee

survivor

stress

erosion

decay

________ adjustment, the extent to which expatriates have difficulty socializing and interacting with members of the host culture, can affect the level of organizational commitment in global organizations.

Interaction

Cultural

Work

Psychological

Relational

Psychological contracts reflect employees' beliefs about what they owe the organization and what the organization owes them.

Research suggests that the continued participation of Baby Boomers in the workforce will subtract a significant amount from the U.S. economic output.

Survivor syndrome refers to the anger, depression, fear, distrust, and guilt of the employees who remain after an organization downsizes.

Which of the following is True of absenteeism?

Long attendance streaks tend to be self-perpetuating.

Employees with good attendance records rarely take sick days

Employees are more likely to be absent on Mondays and Fridays.

An employee who is frequently absent will usually end up quitting.

Up to 65 percent of employees have lied about their reasons for absence.