Public Sector Human Behavior Study Guide Questions
Course Introduction
Public Sector Human Behavior examines the psychological, social, and organizational factors influencing individuals and groups within government and public organizations. The course explores how behaviors, attitudes, values, and cultures affect decision-making, leadership, motivation, and performance in the public sector. Students analyze real-world challenges related to ethics, communication, diversity, and change management, while developing strategies for fostering effective teamwork, accountability, and positive organizational outcomes in government and nonprofit environments.
Recommended Textbook
Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 3rd Edition by Robert B. Denhardt
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14 Chapters
487 Verified Questions
487 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Organizational Behavior As a Way of Thinking and Acting
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35 Verified Questions
35 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the evolution of research and understanding about human behavior in an organizational context. Be sure to identify the factors that led to changes in understanding organizational behavior.
Answer: varies
Q2) Which of the following is an effective characteristic of the "How" of management?
A) Planning
B) Managing materials
C) Results focus
D) Coordination
Answer: C
Q3) Which of the following is a "What" of management function?
A) Strategic view
B) Broad perspective
C) Leadership
D) Monitoring
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Knowing and Managing Yourself
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35 Verified Questions
35 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Studies have shown that people are less likely to trust leaders who are self-disclosing.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Bill knows that it is against company policy to report incorrect hours on his timesheet and therefore always reports the correct number of hours he has worked. Based on this, Bill is in the ________ stage of moral development.
A) Unconventional
B) Preconventional
C) Conventional
D) Postconventional
Answer: C
Q3) The human value orientation views people and relationships in a negative manner.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Fostering Creativity
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35 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Weak relationships may foster creativity up to a point, beyond which the number of ties may even constrain creativity at work.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which of the following is true in terms of social and structural connections, under some circumstances?
A) Weak ties can actually facilitate creativity more than strong ties
B) Strong ties promote creativity more than weak ties
C) Strong ties discourage creativity more than weak ties
D) Weak ties discourage creativity due to lack of social strength and support structure
Answer: A
Q3) In matrix analysis, a three-dimensional "idea box" is used to explore new ideas of alternatives.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Managing Stress
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35 Verified Questions
35 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is stress and why does it need to be managed?
Q2) Stress can decrease our reaction time and attention and also can distort cognitive processes.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Yerkes-Dodson law suggests that when:
A) Stress levels are too high, performance will suffer.
B) Stress levels are too low, performance will suffer.
C) Stress levels are too high, performance will increase.
D) Stress levels are too low, performance will increase.
Q4) Which of the following may be considered primarily emotional coping strategies?
A) Withdrawing from others
B) Spending less time with family
C) Sleeping less to work more
D) Setting priorities
Q5) Describe the sources of stress which may be related to home-work connections based on the different stages of life of an individual.
Q6) The word stress is derived from Latin word strictus.
A)True
B)False
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Decision Making
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a part of the focus group process?
A) Planning
B) Recruiting
C) Training
D) Moderating
Q2) Which of the following is not part of the RAPID model?
A) Recommend
B) Arrange
C) Input
D) Decide
Q3) "Groupthink," a mode of thinking that occurs when:
A) People are deeply involved in an otherwise non-cohesive group
B) People get a chance to express their ideas
C) People form a group and think through the steps involved in the decision making process
D) The desire for unanimity offsets people's motivation to appraise alternative courses of action
Q4) Compare and contrast the Organizational Process model and the Governmental Politics model of decision making.
Q5) Compare and contrast programmed decisions and non-programmed decisions.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Motivating Self and Others
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compare Theory X and Theory Y and how they affect the modern workforce from Gen-X and Gen-Y.
Q2) Job satisfaction and overall motivation for employees are only influenced by factors directly related to the work.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Maslow's needs-hierarchy is still relevant in the 21 century. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Be sure to illustrate your discussion with relevant examples.
Q4) McGregor's suggested strategies that can be considered consistent with Theory Y assumptions are:
A) Delegation, job enlargement, and participative management
B) Delegation, job creation and leadership
C) Job creation, leadership and change management
D) Job enlargement, change management and delegation
Q5) People with high self-efficacy tend to:
A) Set reasonable goals and exceed expectations
B) Set high personal goals and to perform well
C) Set achievable goals and share their accomplishments
D) Set high goals and consistently do not achieve them
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Chapter 7: Leadership in Public Organizations
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to Gardner, what type of mind moves beyond self-interest to make decisions based on a sense of social responsibility?
A) Disciplined
B) Ethical
C) Synthesizing
D) Respectful
Q2) One of the traditional approaches to understanding leadership has been:
A) The command approach
B) The trait approach
C) The basic approach
D) The participatory approach
Q3) Explore what part power plays in leadership. Do different styles of leadership access or use power differently?
Q4) Describe the Managerial Grid. What types of leaders are represented in each square of the grid?
Q5) Compare and contrast the different styles of leadership. Develop scenarios where each style might be most appropriate.
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Chapter 8: Power and Organizational Politics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The use of coercive power tends to increase referent power, whereas the use of reward power tends to diminish referent power.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Politics involves efforts both to gain power and to limit or balance the power of others.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Come up with a scenario where a manager in a public organization might face a problem and develop a strategy that the manager should use to solve the problem. Be sure to discuss power in your solution.
Q4) Which of the following is a way in which managers create and maintain power?
A) Doing favors for people
B) Building reputations as experts
C) Reinforcing the perceived dependency of others on managers for rewards, assistance, and protection
D) All of the above
Q5) Discuss how the views about power, workers and organizations have changed and evolved over time.
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Chapter 9: Communicating Effectively With Others
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ refers to the difference between the meaning that was intended by the sender and the meaning that was decoded by the receiver.
A) Misunderstanding
B) Distortion
C) Misrepresentation
D) None of the above
Q2) Personal space is also known as:
A) Tactiles
B) Occulescis
C) Proxemics
D) Kinesics
Q3) Which of the following is a potential pitfall of self-disclosure?
A) Efforts might be seen as inappropriate
B) Efforts might be seen as manipulative
C) People might react defensively
D) All of the above
Q4) With written communication, the emotional state of the receiver may affect the communication.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Working in Groups and Teams
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Sample Questions
Q1) It is crucial to the success of teams that team members respect and trust each other.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Compare and contrast groups and teams. How are they similar? How do they differ?
Q3) Discuss best practices for implementing teams. How can managers assure that implementing a team concept will be effective?
Q4) Which of the following types of teams serves the purpose of breaking down the barriers that exist in a hierarchical organization with a long history of division of labor and division of tasks?
A) Cross-functional teams
B) Self-directed work teams
C) Top management teams
D) Virtual teams
Q5) How many teams members are recommended, according to your textbook?
A) 4
B) 6
C) 7
D) 10
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Chapter 11: Managing Conflict
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35 Verified Questions
35 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the various sources of conflict. Which are easiest to resolve and which are the most difficult?
Q2) Social service organizations with workers with heavy caseloads have unusually high turnover rates. This is an example of which of the following sources of conflict?
A) Personal differences
B) Information deficiencies
C) Role incompatibility
D) Environmental stress
Q3) Until the 1940s, the role of the manager was to eliminate conflict in the workplace, usually by punishing the perceived initiators.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The more we ________ other people, the more ________ we will be of their motives in conflicts.
A) Trust; certain
B) Disappoint; uncertain
C) Trust; uncertain
D) Disappoint; certain
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Chapter 12: Organizational Change
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following types of change involves solving problems or tinkering or fine-tuning ongoing operations?
A) Incremental change
B) Discontinuous change
C) Strategic change
D) Grassroots change
Q2) Appreciative Inquiry focuses on emphasizing the strengths in an organization rather than its weaknesses or "deficits."
A)True
B)False
Q3) The systems approach is seen as a way of ensuring attention to the "big picture."
A)True
B)False
Q4) Incremental change is far more difficult for those in the organization than is discontinuous change.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Representing the Organization on the Outside
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Sample Questions
Q1) The purpose of a ________ network is to prepare for problems that involve a great deal of uncertainty.
A) Service implementation
B) Information diffusion
C) Problem-solving
D) Community-capacity-building
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a guideline that helps in developing more effective relationships with the legislature?
A) Establish trust and build confidence
B) Develop an agency protocol
C) Ensure constant inquiries
D) Understand the legislative process
Q3) Blogs should be used as another avenue for press releases.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Texting and Twitter are examples of:
A) Wikis
B) Micro-blogging
C) RSS
D) Podcasts
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Chapter 14: Managing Behavior in the Public Interest
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Public administrators should see themselves as public ________.
A) Guardians
B) Angels
C) Leaders
D) Entrepreneurs
Q2) In a public setting, our own behavior, and our attempts to influence the behavior of others, must always be reduced to focus on meeting public objectives and community needs.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Productivity improvement, process reengineering, and performance measurement are seen as important tools in designing ________.
A) Democracy
B) Management systems
C) Constitution
D) Goals
Q4) Discuss the main tenets of the "new public service". How do they differ from traditional models?
Q5) Describe the "new public service: and how it has evolved.
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