Welcome to the NJSACOP Command and Leadership Program
Practical Testing Module.
Please place your program in Slide Show Mode in order to begin. There is a navigation bar at the bottom of each
page that will take you through the entire module. Simply place your cursor over the process you want to
follow and left click from your mouse.
To start your tour, left click on CONTENTS PAGE, located at the bottom right of this page. If you wish to end your
tour now, simply left click on END.
On behalf of the entire Command & Leadership Staff, we hope this Practical Tutorial, aids you in a complete grasp
of the program concepts and process.
CONTENTS PAGE END
END
AREA IVTHE ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM
Lesson #31Ethical Dimension of Leadership
Lesson #30Leading Change
Lesson #29Organizational Culture
Lesson #28Organizational Environment
TESTING CONTENTS:Simply place your cursor over the Chapter Number in Green and Left click to begin that chapter. If you wish to enter another Chapter or Area, simply hit
the Escape Key, close this Chapter, and return to the main folder.
These practical exercises are designed to test your ability to IDENTIFY the sources of:
Environmental Uncertainty and/or
Organizational Dependency.
Let's get started.
TO THE QUESTIONS CONTENTS PAGE END
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following brief situations and then select from the included list, a concept which helps to account for the
Environmental Uncertainty and/or Organizational Dependency.
Simply place your curser on the answer you want to select and left click with your mouse. This will take you to a response page
indicating that you have made the correct or incorrect selection. At the bottom of each page is a navigation tool bar that will aid you in
working your way through the entire practice testing module.
CHAPTER #28Organizational Environment
TO THE QUESTIONS CONTENTS PAGE END
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #1 Question #1
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
A. Environmental Uncertainty
B. Organizational Dependency
C. I have No Idea
As a Patrol commander, you are extremely upset with having only 60% of your day shift available for
assignment. At 0700 hours, The Chief's Office requested four (4) officers for a special detail and 6 more were
tagged at the last minute by the training unit for blood born pathogen training.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
A. Environmental Uncertainty
As a Patrol commander, you are extremely upset with having only 60% of your day shift available for
assignment. At 0700 hours, The Chief's Office requested four (4) officers for a special detail and 6 more were
tagged at the last minute by the training unit for blood born pathogen training.
A. CORRECT. Environmental uncertainty concerns the lack of information about environmental factors and the difficulty of
predicting external changes. This morning's requirement to send 4 officer on a special detail and an additional 6 for training caught you completely by surprise. As a result of these taskings, your planned duty assignments have been adversely affected. Only 60% of your
personnel arepresent for assignment.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Organizational Dependency
As a Patrol commander, you are extremely upset with having only 60% of your day shift available for
assignment. At 0700 hours, The Chief's Office requested four (4) officers for a special detail and 6 more were
tagged at the last minute by the training unit for blood born pathogen training.
B. INCORRECT. Organizational dependency exists when the environment is the source of scarce and valued resources essential to
the organization's mission. In this situation, the factor having an impact upon your unit is not environmental organizational
dependency. Even though you are dependent on officers as a resource, they are not
in your environment; they are inside your organization.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. I have No Idea
As a Patrol commander, you are extremely upset with having only 60% of your day shift available for
assignment. At 0700 hours, The Chief's Office requested four (4) officers for a special detail and 6 more were
tagged at the last minute by the training unit for blood born pathogen training.
C. ONLY YOU KNOW, but if this is true, review the lessongoal and reading assignment; then, try again.
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #1 Question #2
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
A. Environmental Uncertainty
B. Organizational Dependency
C. I have No Idea
As a Range Master, you are concerned about how tomake the upcoming live-fire exercise a meaningful event.
At the quarterly qualification two months ago, the department Budget officer announced a cut in the training ammunition allocations. For you, this meant only 30 live rounds, per officer, per day, for the three day exercise.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
A. Environmental Uncertainty
As a Range Master, you are concerned about how tomake the upcoming live-fire exercise a meaningful event.
At the quarterly qualification two months ago, the department Budget officer announced a cut in the training ammunition allocations. For you, this meant only 30 live rounds, per officer, per day, for the three day exercise.
A. INCORRECT. Environmental uncertainty concerns the lack ofinformation about environmental factors and the difficulty of
predicting external changes. In this situation the factor having an impact upon your unit is not environmental uncertainty, since you
knew about the cut in ammunition for two months.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Organizational Dependency
As a Range Master, you are concerned about how tomake the upcoming live-fire exercise a meaningful event.
At the quarterly qualification two months ago, the department Budget officer announced a cut in the training ammunition allocations. For you, this meant only 30 live rounds, per officer, per day, for the three day exercise.
B. CORRECT. Organizational dependency exists when the environment is a source of scarce and valued resources essential to the organization's mission. You are dependent on the department for
ammunition and the Budget officer has cut back the amount of ammunition you have for training. This reduction in ammunition
(resource) will require you to tailor your training differently to maximize the benefit of the few rounds you have.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. I have No Idea
As a Range Master, you are concerned about how tomake the upcoming live-fire exercise a meaningful event.
At the quarterly qualification two months ago, the department Budget officer announced a cut in the training ammunition allocations. For you, this meant only 30 live rounds, per officer, per day, for the three day exercise.
C. ONLY YOU KNOW, but if this is true, review the lessongoal and reading assignment; then, try again.
INSTRUCTIONS: This series of questions will test your ability to ANALYZE how organizational leaders cope with their task
environments.
MATCH the environmental coping strategies being used in each of the following scenarios with the appropriate label listed below. Do this by
selecting the letter (A-G) corresponding to the coping strategy you feel is
represented by the scenario. There may be more than one correct answer for each question.
Simply place your curser on the answer you want to select and left click with your mouse. This will take you to a response page
indicating that you have made the correct or incorrect selection. At the bottom of each page is a navigation tool bar that will aid you in
working your way through the entire practice testing module.
CHAPTER #28Part #2
Organizational Environment
TO THE QUESTIONS CONTENTS PAGE END
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #1
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
A. CORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the environment. This
approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and
maintain a good reputation for their organizations results in the organization gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. If you focused on the data "he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the junk yard", and saw this as an attempt to "gain prestige" or "maintain a positive social image," then you could view this action as an
attempt to acquire prestige. There are three correct answers to this scenario.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
B. CORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or
person being co-opted. In this case, if you saw your motor sergeant developing a good working relationship with the owner of the junk
yard as an attempt to enlarge the boundaries of your organization so as to include the junk yard, then this is an example of co-opting.
There are three correct answers to this scenario.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
C. INCORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your unit fromsources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between you and your external environment. Buffers reduce the impact of
your greatest source of tactical uncertainty your external environment. Your sergeant is not buffering.
TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
D. CORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to acquire necessary resources. Instead of relying exclusively on the repair parts supply system, your sergeant is hoping to use the junk
yard as an alternative source of parts for your unit.
There are three correct answers to this scenario.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
E. INCORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs environmental
fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to influence the task environment to
reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, a maintenance organization able to anticipate a
period of heavy demand for its services can publicize this fact (daily bulletin, fliers, division maintenance meeting), thereby encouraging users to schedule
their services well in advance, thus smoothing out the demand. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
F. INCORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the organization to deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations rather than trying to deal directly with
the environment. For example, the maintenance Sergeant may request additional personnel to deal with a heavy demand period or work his people
longer hours; the U.S. Post Office hires temporary help during the holiday season to deal with the tremendous amount of mail typical of this period.
TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
Your vehicle maintenance sergeant knew the supply system was often slow in providing needed parts for your
vehiclesTherefore, he developed a good working relationship with the owner of the local junk yard, a place where he could
legally get needed parts from wrecked vehicles.
G. INCORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short
supply, the budget officer's task is to distribute through out the department what resources there are. The leader is left to react to
the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach. TRY AGAIN.
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #2
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
A. INCORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the environment. This approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Gaining
prestige is analogous to the principle behind the acquisition of referent power (lesson 21). That is, it is the least costly means by
which to gain power. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and maintain a good reputation for their organizations results in the
organization gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
B. INCORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or
person being co-opted. For example, always including your department's vehicle maintenance agreement in your unit's
functions may increase the likelihood of quick, quality support in the future. TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
C. CORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your unit fromsources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between
you and the external environment. Buffers reduce the impact of your greatest source of tactical uncertainty—the external environment. In
this case, Sergeant Wiggins acts as a buffer between you and any environmental uncertainty concerning the Prosecutor's Office.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
D. INCORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to
acquire necessary resources. For example, rather than relying exclusively on
the repair parts supply system, an organizational leader might develop a relationship with the owner of the junk yard so that
another source of parts is available to the unit. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
E. INCORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs
environmental fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to
influence the task environment to reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, a
maintenance organization able to anticipate a period of heavy demand for its services can publicize this fact (daily bulletin, fliers,
division maintenance meeting), thereby encouraging users to schedule their services well in advance, thus smoothing out the
demand. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
F. INCORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the organization
to deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations rather than trying to deal directly with the environment. For example, the vehicle
maintenance Sergeant may request additional personnel to deal with a heavy demand period or work his people longer hours; the U.S. Post Office hires temporary help during the holiday season to deal with the
tremendous amount of mail typical of this period. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
You give Sergeant Wiggins, the additional duty of Prosecutor's Office Liaison. As part of her duties, you require her to meet with the Assistant Prosecutor on a monthly basis to keep abreast of all the latest change
coming down in legal matters.
G. INCORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short
supply, the budget officer's task is to distribute through out the department what resources there are. The leader is left to react to
the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach. TRY AGAIN.
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #3
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
A. INCORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the environment. This approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Gaining
prestige is analogous to theprinciple behind the acquisition of referent power (lesson 21). That
is, it is the least costly means by which to gain power. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and maintain a good reputation for their
organizations results in the organization gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
B. INCORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or
person being co-opted. For example, always including your department's vehicle maintenance Sergeant in your unit's functions may increase the likelihood of quick, quality support in the future.
TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
C. CORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your Dept. from sources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between you and the external environment. Bufferers
reduce the impact of your greatest source of tactical uncertainty-- the external environment. In this case, the Chief is demonstrating one of these buffering strategies by directing his intelligence commander to gain information on local gangs, thereby reducing uncertainty as to
their activities.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
D. INCORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to
acquire necessary resources. For example, rather than relying exclusively on
the repair parts supply system, an organizational leader might develop a relationship with the owner of the junk yard so that another
source of parts is available to the unit. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
E. INCORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs
environmental fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to
influence the task environment to reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, a
maintenance organization able to anticipate a period of heavy demand for its services can publicize this fact (daily bulletin, fliers,
division maintenance meeting), thereby encouraging users to schedule their services well in advance, thus smoothing out the
demand. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
F. INCORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the organization
to deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations rather than trying to deal directly with the environment. For example, the maintenance
Sergeant may request additional personnel to deal with a heavy demand period or work his people longer hours; the U.S. Post Office
hires temporary help during the holiday season to deal with the tremendous amount of mail typical of this period. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
Your Chief told the intelligence commander to infiltrate local gangs in order to obtain information on their
activities.
G. INCORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short
supply,the Budget officer's task is to distribute through out the department
what resources there are. The leader is left to react to the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach.
TRY AGAIN.
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #4
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
A. INCORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the environment. This approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Gaining
prestige is analogous to theprinciple behind the acquisition of referent power (lesson 21). That
is, it is the least costly means by which to gain power. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and maintain a good reputation for their
organizations results in the organization gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
B. INCORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or
person being co-opted. For example, always including your Department's vehicle maintenance Sergeant in your unit's functions may increase the likelihood of quick, quality support in the future.
TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
C. INCORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your unit fromsources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between
you and the external environment. Buffers reduce the impact of your greatest source of tactical uncertainty-- the external environment.
TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
D. INCORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to
acquire necessary resources. For example, rather than relying exclusively on
the repair parts supply system, an organizational leader might develop a relationship with the owner of the junk yard so that another
source of parts is available to the unit. TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
E. CORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs
environmental fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to
influence the task environment to reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, a
maintenance organization able to anticipate a period of heavy demand for its services can publicize this fact (daily bulletin, fliers,
division maintenance meeting), thereby encouraging users to schedule their services well in advance, thus smoothing out the
demand. Here the Training Officer is proactively dealing with the cyclical nature of training requirements.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
F. INCORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the organization
to deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations rather than trying to deal directly with the environment. For example, the maintenance
Sergeant may request additional personnel to deal with a heavy demand period or work his people longer hours; the U.S. Post Office
hires temporary help during the holiday season to deal with the tremendous amount of mail typical of this period. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
As the Department Training Officer, you attempt to program major training requirements throughout the calendar year rather than all at once in certain key
months.
G. INCORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short
supply, the Budget officer's task is to distribute throughout the department what resources there are. The leader is left to react to
the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach. TRY AGAIN.
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #5
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time the medical support provided by the
volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to support your
specific needs. Having a goodE.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's
E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time
the medical support provided by the volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to
support your specific needs. Having a good E.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
A. INCORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the environment. This approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Gaining
prestige is analogous to the principle behind the acquisition of referent power (lesson 21). That is, it is the least costly means by
which to gain power. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and maintain a good reputation for their organizations results in the
organization gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time
the medical support provided by the volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to
support your specific needs. Having a good E.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
B. CORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or person being co-opted. In this case, you were taking a potential source of uncertainty and dependency (the volunteer ambulance
squad), that was normally outside the boundaries of your organization, and co-opting it. By taking your own E.M.T. with you,
you have, in a sense enlarged the boundaries of your organization so as to include the E.M.T.s, thereby increasing your control over this important asset. There are two correct responses to this scenario.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time
the medical support provided by the volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to
support your specific needs. Having a good E.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
C. INCORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your unit from sources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between you and the external environment. Buffers reduce
the impact of your greatest source of tactical uncertainty--the external environment. TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time
the medical support provided by the volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to
support your specific needs. Having a good E.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
D. CORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to
acquire necessary resources. For example, rather than relying exclusively on the repair parts supply system, an organizational
leader might develop a relationship with the owner of the junk yard so that another source of parts is available to the unit. You might view taking along your own E.M.T.s as maintaining an alternative
resource. There are two correct responses to this scenario.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time
the medical support provided by the volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to
support your specific needs. Having a good E.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
E. INCORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs
environmental fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to
influence the task environment to reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, a
maintenance organization able to anticipate a period of heavy demand for its services can publicize this fact (daily bulletin, fliers,
division maintenance meeting), thereby encouraging users to schedule their services well in advance, thus smoothing out the
demand. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time
the medical support provided by the volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to
support your specific needs. Having a good E.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
F. INCORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the organization
to deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations rather than trying to deal directly with the environment. For example, the maintenance
Sergeant may request additional personnel to deal with a heavy demand period or work his people longer hours; the U.S. Post Office
hires temporary help during the holiday season to deal with the tremendous amount of mail typical of this period. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
As an experienced Range Master, you were making final arrangements to prepare your department for its annual firearms qualification. The last time
the medical support provided by the volunteer ambulance squad to the range was dismal. They rarely showed up on time and were often unprepared to
support your specific needs. Having a good E.M.T. on the range was important to you, so this year you made arrangements with your Chief to utilize your own department's E.M.T. trained law enforcement personnel.
G. INCORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short
supply, the Budget officer's task is to distribute throughout the department what resources there are. The leader is left to react to
the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach. TRY AGAIN.
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #6
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy
more autonomy.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher
headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy more autonomy.
A. CORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the
environment. This approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Gaining prestige is analogous to the principle behind the acquisition of referent power
(lesson 21). That is, it is the least costly means by which to gain power. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and maintain a good reputation for their organizations results in the organization
gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. In this case, the platoon commander feels that if we are able to
establish a good reputation, we can, in effect, reduce the uncertainty surrounding outside agencies interfering with our business.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher
headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy more autonomy.
B. INCORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or
person being co-opted. For example, always including your department's maintenance Sergeant in your unit's functions may increase the likelihood of quick, quality support in the future. TRY
AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher
headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy more autonomy.
C. INCORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your unit from sources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between you and the external environment. Buffers reduce
the impact of your greatest source of tactical uncertainty--the external environment. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher
headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy more autonomy.
D. INCORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to
acquire necessary resources. For example, rather than relying exclusively on the repair parts supply system, an organizational
leader might develop a relationship with the owner of the junk yard so that another source of parts is available to the unit. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher
headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy more autonomy.
E. INCORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs
environmental fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to
influence the task environment to reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, a
maintenance organization able to anticipate a period of heavy demand for its services can
publicize this fact (daily bulletin, fliers, division maintenance meeting), thereby encouraging users to schedule their services well
in advance, thus smoothing out the demand. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher
headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy more autonomy.
F. INCORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the organization
to deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations rather than trying to deal directly with the environment. For example, the maintenance
Sergeant may request additional personnel to deal with a heavy demand period or work his people longer hours; the U.S. Post Office
hires temporary help during the holiday season to deal with the tremendous amount of mail typical of this period. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
Your new Platoon commander's goal is to improve the reputation of the platoon by doing better than any other platoons in the Patrol Division on all required tasks. He went on to explain that if we do everything well, higher
headquarters will stay off our backs and allow us to do other things we want. In other words, we will all enjoy more autonomy.
G. INCORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short
supply, the Budget officer's task is to distribute throughout the department what resources there are. The leader is left to react to
the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach. TRY AGAIN.
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #7
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are
also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own
mechanics to work longer hours.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due
to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own mechanics to work longer hours.
A. INCORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the environment. This approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Gaining
prestige is analogous to the principle behind the acquisition of referent power (lesson 21). That is, it is the least costly means by
which to gain power. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and maintain a good reputation for their organizations results in the
organization gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due
to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own mechanics to work longer hours.
B. INCORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or
person being co-opted. For example, always including your department's maintenance Sergeant in your unit's functions may increase the likelihood of quick, quality support in the future. TRY
AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due
to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own mechanics to work longer hours.
C. INCORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your unit from sources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between you and the external environment. Buffers reduce
the impact of your greatest source of tactical uncertainty-- the external environment.
TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due
to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own mechanics to work longer hours.
D. INCORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to
acquire necessary resources. For example, rather than relying exclusively on the repair parts supply system, an organizational
leader might develop a relationship with the owner of the junk yard so that another source of parts is available to the unit.
TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due
to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own mechanics to work longer hours.
E. INCORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs
environmental fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to
influence the task environment to reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, in this
case, the vehiclemaintenance sergeant could have attempted to smooth out his
anticipated high demand by scheduling all of the services early on in the period, rather than crashing his resources at the end by
pulling all-nighters. TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due
to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own mechanics to work longer hours.
F. CORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the organization to
deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations, rather than trying to deal directly with the environment. Here, the maintenance Sergeant
has requested additional personnel to deal with a heavy demand period as well as scheduling his mechanics to work longer hours. Another example involves the U.S. Post Office adapting by hiring
temporary help during holiday seasons to deal with the tremendous increase in the volume of mail during these periods. The postal
service also attempts to smooth out these increased loads by buying advertising spots on radio and television encouraging holiday card
and gift senders to "mail early to avoid delays."
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
The vehicle maintenance Sergeant anticipates a high demand for organizational level services on 4 wheel drive vehicles in the next week, due
to a snow front moving this way. In addition, semi-annual services on all vehicles are also due. The Sergeant has requested additional mechanics for these services and is scheduling his own mechanics to work longer hours.
G. INCORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short
supply, the Budget officer's task is to distribute throughout the department what resources there are. The leader is left to react to
the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach. TRY AGAIN.
A. Acquiring Prestige B. Co-Opting C. Buffering
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #2 Question #8
NEXT TEST CONTENTS PAGE END
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources E. Smoothing Out
G. Rationing F. Adaptation
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
A. Acquiring Prestige
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
A. INCORRECT. Acquiring prestige is a strategy used by organizational leaders to reduce their relative lack of power vis-a-vis the environment. This approach is based on maintaining a positive social image with key elements in the task environment. Gaining
prestige is analogous to the principle behind the acquisition of referent power (lesson 21). That is, it is the least costly means by
which to gain power. Organizational leaders' ability to establish and maintain a good reputation for their organizations results in the
organization gaining a form of power over other elements in their environment. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
B. Co-Opting
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
B. INCORRECT. Co-opting is a strategy used by the leader to enlarge the organization's boundaries so as to incorporate uncertain
environmental elements--move them under the control of the organizational leader. Through co-opting, the leader attempts to increase the certainty of future support from the organization or
person being co-opted. For example, always including your department's maintenance Sergeant in your unit's functions may increase the likelihood of quick, quality support in the future. TRY
AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
C. Buffering
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
C. INCORRECT. Buffering is a strategy used by the leader to reduce uncertainty originating in the external environment. The organization
is "buffered" by surrounding it with specialized agencies or components to absorb the uncertainty. In a tactical sense, you buffer
your unit from sources of uncertainty by placing something or someone between you and the external environment. Buffers reduce
the impact of your greatest source of tactical uncertainty--the external environment. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
D. Maintaining Alternative Resources
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
D. INCORRECT. Maintaining alternative resources is a proactive leader strategy used to minimize the power of the environment.
Organizational leaders can reduce their dependency on single sources in their environment by maintaining a variety of options to
acquire necessary resources. For example, rather than relying exclusively on the repair parts supply system, an organizational
leader might develop a relationship with the owner of the junk yard so that another source of parts is available to the unit.
TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
E. Smoothing Out
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
E. INCORRECT. Smoothing out is a leader strategy to reduce the erratic nature of the environment. Whereas buffering absorbs
environmental fluctuations, smoothing out involves attempts to reduce fluctuations in the environment. The leader attempts to
influence the task environment to reduce the uncertainty associated with periods of either high and low demand. For example, a
maintenance organization able to anticipate a period of heavy demand for its services can publicize this fact (daily bulletin, fliers,
division maintenance meeting), thereby encouraging users to schedule their services well in advance, thus smoothing out the
demand. TRY AGAIN.
PLEASE TRY AGAIN NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
F. Adaptation
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
F. INCORRECT. Adaptation is a leader strategy used when buffering or smoothing out isn't possible. The leader adjusts the
organization to deal with anticipated environmental fluctuations, rather than trying to deal directly with the environment. For example, a maintenance Sergeant may request additional
personnel to deal with a heavy demand period or work his people longer hours. In this case, you are not making any adjustments to
the organization to deal with the anticipated shortages in range time. All you are doing is deciding who gets what. Perhaps the
requesting departments will use adaptation to deal with the shortages and will shoot day and night to make the most of the
training time. TRY AGAIN.
BACK TO THIS QUESTION NEXT TEST ENDCONTENTS PAGE
G. Rationing
It is summer time and other police departments have asked to qualify at your range. You cannot meet all their
requests for training time. As the training officer you divide the available time among the requesting
departments.
G. CORRECT. Rationing is a strategy used by the leader when all else fails or other strategies are not possible. It is making the best of
a bad situation; typical of emergency situations. When training resources (training areas, fuel, ammunition, people, etc.) are in short supply, the Budget officer's task is to distribute fairly to subordinate
units what resources there are. The leader is left to react to the environment rather than being able to take a proactive approach. In
this case, you cannot meet the requirement for range times. As a result you must fairly distribute to the departments what resources
are available.
Chapter #28Organizational Environment Practical Exercise
Part 3
INSTRUCTIONS: In this part of the practical exercise you will be given a short case study with which to practice the lesson goal. You will need pencil and paper for this part. After reading the case, you will need to apply the lesson goal. Use the tool bar at the bottom of the
pages to scroll back to the case study as needed.
With your pencil and paper write down the:Areas of Interest
The Analyze step The Explain step,
And the Select step
Good luck. Remember, you get out of this what you put into it, so give it a good effort. It is important to understand how to apply the
lesson goal to an actual case.
READ THE CASE STUDY CONTENTS PAGE END
A. O. I.s CONTENTS PAGE END
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
You just arrived in your platoon. As the new platoon commander,you were anxious to make a good first impression on the members of
your platoon. The main question on all of your platoon Sergeants minds, however, concerned the standards that were to be used in the
Chief's inspection this coming Thursday. You heard that the new Chief had mentioned modifying some of the standards that had been used in the past, but you'd seen nothing in writing. The rumor mill
was going wild with ideas, but you really wanted the "straight poop". When you talked to your platoon Sergeants, they got into an
emotionally charged argument, with each having their own ideas of how to proceed. You'd mentioned to the Patrol Captain an idea of
publishing your own standards for the platoon, but he had said he'd rather wait on the standards from the Chief. The Captain understood your frustration, and was successful in postponing the inspection until Friday, ensuring in hopes that the standards would have filtered their
way down to the Bureau.
Write down a list of your AREAS OF INTEREST.
When you are finished. Left click on A.O.I.s.
A. O. I.s CONTENTS PAGE ENDREAD THE CASE STUDY
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
The following is a short list of AOI's.
1. Your platoon has a Chief's inspection on Friday.
2. Your platoon Sergeants are arguing.
3. You had no standards for the inspection, and your platoonSergeants needed them quickly.
LEFT CLICK ON ANALYZE WHEN YOU ARE READY TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STEP.
ANALYZE CONTENTS PAGE ENDREAD THE CASE STUDY
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
Using the course guide, write down an ANALYZE step.
When you are finished. Left click on ANALYZE.
ANALYZE CONTENTS PAGE ENDREAD THE CASE STUDY
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
Issues of Environmental Uncertainty.What inspection requirements would be coming down from the chain
of command? When would they come?
Issues of Organizational Dependency.How much time will I have to respond before the inspection?
How are we dealing?I am not doing anything. The Capt. used Acquiring Prestige to
convince the Chief to move the inspection back one day.
LEFT CLICK ON EXPLAIN WHEN YOU ARE READY TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STEP.
EXPLAIN CONTENTS PAGE ENDREAD THE CASE STUDY
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
Write down an EXPLAIN step based on the lesson goal in the course guide.
When you are finished. Left click on EXPLAIN.
EXPLAIN CONTENTS PAGE ENDREAD THE CASE STUDY
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
Because of the uncertain nature of the environment (specifically, when
I would get the inspection standards from the chain of command) the platoon Sergeants are arguing about how to proceed with the
preparation for the inspection. This is AOI 2.
LEFT CLICK ON SELECT WHEN YOU ARE READY TO MOVE TO THE NEXT STEP.
SELECT CONTENTS PAGE ENDREAD THE CASE STUDY
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
Write down the correct SELECT step for this case.
When you are finished. Left click on SELECT.
SELECT CONTENTS PAGE ENDREAD THE CASE STUDY
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
ENDYOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED CHAPTER #28.
Organizational EnvironmentChapter #28 Part #3 Question #1
In this case many of the coping strategies may be used. Following are some examples.
Buffering: by making the standards harder than expected, and thenrelaxing those standards if the department standards allowed.
(or) Rationing by passing validated information to the platoon sergeants as it becomes available and telling them to make the best of a bad
situation.(or)
Adaptation by telling the platoon sergeants to work on other issues now to free up time for room preparation when the new standards
are known.
Welcome to the END of the Practice Exam for Chapter #28.
If you wish to discontinue your work until another time, simply hit the Escape Key on
your keyboard then end the Program.
If you wish to continue, click on the CONTENTS PAGE at the bottom right of your screen and pick another chapter to work on.
CONTENTS PAGE