Joanna Mills has recently been promoted to the position of a ...

[xroflmao]

Joanna Mills has recently been promoted to the position of a project manager at Palmer Inc, a software development firm.
 
  As a project manager, she now has the authority to delegate work, provide supervision and feedback, and monitor employee performance. Ever since her promotion, she has been preparing herself to guide her subordinates in different project activities. However, she feels that the employees do not proactively approach her for help. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this situation?
  A) Joanna has several years of experience in working on software programs.
  B) The sole criterion for Joanna's promotion was her effectiveness in meeting individual targets.
  C) Employees identify with Joanna because she successfully rose from the position of a programmer to that of a manager.
  D) The managers who promoted her believed that her approachable nature would be a key factor in improving team performance.
  E) The company follows a 360-degree performance evaluation system.

Question 2

Will Paten is the manager of a team of twelve people in the marketing division of Palmer Inc Will, who has been working in the company for eleven years, is held in high regard and liked by all his colleagues and subordinates.
 
  However, Aaron and Abby, two of his subordinates, are noted for frequently flouting his rules and directives. They continue behaving in this manner even after Will had categorically requested them to refrain from upsetting the momentum of the team. Which of the following, if true, would best explain Aaron and Abby's continued noncompliance with Will's requests?
  A) The promotions and bonuses of the team members depend heavily on Will's performance ratings.
  B) The company had provided Will with additional duties, and he was left with little time to ensure that his team members performed well.
  C) Will believes that since the job demands in marketing are ambiguous and ever-changing, a supportive approach to leadership would suffice.
  D) Will is uncomfortable exercising coercive measures to control employees.
  E) Will is considered an expert at analyzing market trends and making accurate projections about demand and revenue.

[joanwhite]

Answer to Question 1

B
Explanation: B) The fact that Joanna has several years of experience in working on software programs does not explain why her team members do not approach her for help. The fact that the sole criterion for Joanna's promotion was her effectiveness in meeting individual targets does explain why her team members do not proactively approach her for help. While the promotion provided her with legitimate power, she does not enjoy referent power, which would encourage team members to reach out to her for help. The fact that the employees identify with Joanna because she successfully rose from the position of a programmer to that of a manager does not explain the current situation. The fact that the managers who promoted her believed that her approachable nature would be a key factor in improving team performance does not explain why her team does not approach her for help. The fact that the company follows a 360-degree performance evaluation system does not explain why her team does not approach her for help.

Answer to Question 2

D
Explanation: D) The fact that promotions and bonuses of the team members depend heavily on Will's performance ratings does not explain Aaron and Abby's noncompliance with his requests. The fact that the company had provided Will with additional duties and he was left with little time to ensure that his team members performed well does not adequately explain Aaron and Abby's behavior especially since other team members were working well. The fact that Will believes that a supportive approach to leadership would suffice when faced with ambiguous job demands is false and does not explain Aaron and Abby's behavior. The fact that Will is uncomfortable exercising coercive measures to control employees does explain Aaron and Abby's behavior. Will has the right to exercise legitimate, coercive, and reward powers, but his personality is such that he is not at ease forcing people to follow his command. The fact that Will is considered an expert at analyzing market trends and making accurate projections about demand and revenue does not explain Aaron and Abby's behavior toward him.