One of the main ways of learning about social influence in organizations is to use questionnaires in which people are asked to describe the behaviors of their supervisors. If a consistent pattern emerges with respect to the way subordinates describe supervisors, some very strong clues are provided as to the nature of that person’s influence style. Questionnaires similar to this one are used for this purpose. Completing this exercise will give you an idea of the types of social influence favored by your supervisor.

Questions for Discussion

1. With respect to which dimensions did your supervisor score highest and lowest? Are these consistent with what you would have predicted in advance?
2. Does your supervisor behave in ways consistent with the dimension along which you gave him or her the highest score? In other words, does he or she fit the description given in the text?
3. How do you think your own subordinates would answer the various questions with respect to yourself?
4. Which of the eight forms of social influence do you think are most common and least common, and why?

Transcribed Image Text:

Directions Indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements as it describes your immediate supervisor. Answer by using the following scale: 1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree For each statement select the number corresponding to the most appropriate response; then, score your responses. My supervisor can: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. -Recommend that I receive a raise. -Assign me to jobs I dislike. -See that I get the promotion I desire. -Make my life at work completely unbearable. Make decisions about how things are done. -Provide useful advice on how to do my job better. _Comprehend the importance of doing things a certain way. Make me want to look up to him or her. -Share with me the benefit of his or her vast job knowledge. Get me to admire what he or she stands for. Find out things that nobody else knows. Explain things so logically that I want to do them. Have access to vital data about the company. Share a clear vision of what the future holds for the company. Come up with the facts needed to make a convincing case about something. -Put me in a trance when he or she communicates to me.