CONFIDENTIAL BM/OCT 2007/MGT534/532

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

FINAL EXAMINATION

COURSE : ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

COURSE CODE : MGT534/532
EXAMINATION : OCTOBER 2007
TIME : 3 HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1. This question paper consists of two (2) parts : PART A (3 Questions)

PART B (5 Questions)

2. Answer ALL questions from PART A and three (3) questions from PART B in the Answer
Booklet. Start each answer on a new page.

3. Do not bring any material into the examination room unless permission is given by the
invigilator.

4. Please check to make sure that this examination pack consists of:

i) the Question Paper

ii) an Answer Booklet - provided by the Faculty

DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

This examination paper consists of 4 printed pages
© Hak Cipta Universiti Teknologi MARA CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL 2 BM/OCT 2007/MGT534/532

PART A

John Williams has been a supervisor for inventory control for Xenex Corporation for almost
nine years. He has had this job since about six months after graduating from college. When
he took the job, Xenex was much smaller, but the job was a real challenge for a young and
inexperienced person like him. However John is competent in his job and is very persistent
in his responsibilities. In fact his job has grown in complexity and John now currently
supervises 22 subordinates.

Don Martinez, John's boss, is the manager of material control. Don has held the job for
about five years. When Don was selected for the position, John was a little disappointed
that he was not promoted to it because he has always been a good performer ever since
joining Xenex. However, Xenex's Director of Manufacturing told John that he was young and
needed more experience.

Overall, John considered Don to be a fairly good manager. Nonetheless, John felt that Don
seems to have neglected him during the past few years. John does not have any problem
with his pay. In fact he continues to receive good pay increases yearly. However he is
beginning to find his job more boring by the day. His job no longer offers any new
challenges for him. John just turned 31 and had decided that it's time to move up or go
elsewhere. In the most recent performance appraisal exercise, John tried to talk about his
personal career development and his desire for a promotion but Don seemed unresponsive.

John has decided that he must be aggressive. He has done a good job and don't want to
stay in his present job forever. John believed that he has been overlooked and ignored for
promotion and don't intend to let that continue. John proceeded to fix an appointment to
discuss this matter with Don. John intend to justify to Don that he is qualified and deserving
a promotion. If the company is unwilling to meet John's needs, John is prepared to leave.

(Adapted from Organizational Behavior: A Strategic Approach, Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2006)

QUESTION 1

Discuss John's personality using the Big Five Model of Personality.

(10 marks)

QUESTION 2

Describe John's behavior from the aspect of locus of control and relate his locus of control to
his work values.
(15 marks)

QUESTION 3

With the use of Herzberg Two Factor Theory, explain John's job motivation.
(15 marks)

© Hak Cipta Universiti Teknologi MARA CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL 3 BM/OCT 2007/MGT534/532

PARTB

QUESTION 1

a) Describe three (3) behavioral and three (3) physiological symptoms that can be
observed in employees should they experienced too much stress.
(10 marks)

b) How does stress at work affect job performance and effectiveness of employees?
Should managers help their employees to avoid stressful situations at work?

(10 marks)

QUESTION 2

With the aid of a diagram, discuss five (5) interpersonal conflict management styles.

(20 marks)

QUESTION 3

Encik Johan Wawasan is an experienced branch manager in one of the branches of RHB
Bank. The Board of Directors looks highly on him and has requested his help to turnaround
one of RHB problematic branch. Within one month of taking over the problematic branch,
Encik Johan managed to identify several major problems that required his immediate
attention. One obvious major problem was the branch employees, whether junior or senior,
who lack direction and commitment in their work. How can Encik Johan apply the use of
either Path-Goal or Vroom-Yetton Leadership Theory to manage his employees in the
problematic branch effectively?
(20 marks)

QUESTION 4

a) Discuss any five (5) organizational and team environmental elements that influence
a team's effectiveness.
(10 marks)

b) Explain three (3) advantages and three (3) disadvantages of group decision
making.
(10 marks)

© Hak Cipta Universiti Teknologi MARA CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL 4 BM/OCT 2007/MGT534/532

QUESTION 5

As a manager, one has to effectively deal with desirable and undesirable behaviors of
employees to maximize the performance of the employees. Using an appropriate Learning
Theory, discuss how it can be applied to manage both desirable and undesirable behaviors
of employees.
(20 marks)

END OF QUESTION PAPER

© Hak Cipta Universiti Teknologi MARA CONFIDENTIAL