motivational analysis of organizations

VII. The current concern with impression management (business dress codes, status
symbols, effective resume writing, and so on) is:
_____ 25. A waste of time and effort that would be better spent on doing the job
properly. If you develop expertise in the most in-demand specialty within
your line of work, then the “window dressing” should not be necessary.
_____ 26. Critically important to one’s career. Appearances count in the real world.
You simply cannot afford to be less sophisticated in these matters than
your competitors are.
_____ 27. Something you should know about. It probably is of less importance than
job-related know-how, but it is useful for smoothing the way in the work
environment. There is no point in creating poor impressions.
_____ 28. Probably quite important, something you really should work on. But, for
the moment, there are more urgent problems to which you simply must
pay attention.
VIII. All this emphasis on “hidden agendas” and on “the games people play” in
organizational life is:
_____ 29. Blown out of proportion by people who have an interest in “training” you
in how to cope with these things. Business is there to get the job done; if
these games do take place, they should not. It is best to ignore the matter.
_____ 30. Something you should pay close attention to or you could find yourself
sabotaged when promotions or pay raises are due. Office politics are a fact
of life; you have to be able to cope with them.
_____ 31. Something you need to watch for if you are involved in any ad hoc
committees or project teams. The various members each tend to lay claim
to the highest status and, if these status squabbles get out of hand, the
assignment never will be completed on schedule.
_____ 32. Worth knowing about. Such things do tend to happen, although,
fortunately, not to a great degree in your work group. But they are not
nearly as frequent or as serious as the books would have you believe. In
the long run, unless you are honest and play by the rules, you are likely to
end up in trouble. Playing games creates too many enemies.
IX. A crisis has developed at work, and your skills are related—marginally, not
centrally—to its solution. The organization needs everyone who can to pitch in and
help; but there are no sure ways of coping, and some of the proposed measures could
misfire badly. What would it be best to do?
_____ 33. Volunteer to help, especially if you can generate good ideas in a crisis and
you know where to find effective people to help, on an emergency basis,
to make things happen.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 19, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 11