Free Practice Test: DSST Organizational Behavior

This is the most natural part. The test at this level will be on your general understanding of Organization behavior as a field of study. A little reading will go a long way as most of the things here are no-brainers, particularly if you studied business studies at the lower levels; maybe in high school. Always make sure to remember the keywords for precise definitions. For example, you may have to define Organization Behavior, which is merely the study of how people relate/ interact within a group. The important keywords here to remember will include study (because it’s a field of study), people (because it’s concerned with the behavior of people, not pets or pet influencers), interaction or relationship between these people who together are called a group or an organization. The slightly trickier part is the test of your knowledge in fundamental concepts where you may encounter terms like; Individual differences, perception, a whole person, human dignity, holistic concept and a couple more concepts. Knowledge of the origin of Organization Behavior will also be tested here. Your understanding of the scientific approaches used in Organization Behavior that is to; Gather information, generate a hypothesis, test hypothesis, and the conclusion, as well as the research designs used in Organization Behavior such as; experiments, case, and survey. Knowledge of methods used to collect data such as questionnaires will also make it easier to realize the 10% in this bit.

This is another painless section, child’s play even, all you have to do is read well enough, then demonstrate that you understand possible reasons that could affect an employee’s actions. We are talking about the perceptual processes; ability to receive, select, organize then interpret. The employee’s personality, how it affects his/her behavior, as well as the factors that influence their personality, in terms of learned or inherited characteristics, traits, personality attributes, and perception. Attitudes and emotions such as love, surprise, joy, sadness, anger, and fear in terms of their impact or lack thereof on staff behavior. The learning process and how it’s affected by factors such as environment, motivation, mental group, and practice. How motivation powered by needs, drives or incentives positively or otherwise can affect employee behavior. Without forgetting the relationship between employee behavior, work stress, and its components.

This is the wet blanket that we still have to wring and dry, after all, this is an exam, not a trivia. The truth is that it’s not half as boring. You will be expected to demonstrate your knowledge of group dynamics address the stages of group development; the forming, storming, norming and performing. Impact of Group behavior and different levels of conflict at; Interpersonal level, intragroup, intergroup or intrapersonal level and the various methods that can be used to manage conflict. How Leadership and influence from within or outside the organization influence employee behavior, and how employees behave in response to different leadership styles. You will also be tested on your understanding of the impact of power and politics on staff Behavior. A proper understanding of the communication process/model and it’s elements such as the sender/encoder, medium, recipient/decoder and noise can also determine whether or not you scoop the entire 30%.

This section is meant to examine: Your knowledge of procedures, that are undertaken in the organization on a regular basis such as decision making, including the different models of decision making, the steps involved and your ability to demonstrate how employees behave in response to these processes. Your understanding of organizational structure, design and its different elements such as; specialization, departmentalization, centralization/ decentralization, and span of control and how they change or fail to change the behavior of the organization’s members. Knowledge of organizational culture and it’s relationship to employee behavior and the three levels of organizational culture; assumptions, values, and artifacts.

This is the most demanding chunk of the exam. It’s no match for an informed mind though. Read well enough and you will cut through it like a hot knife on butter. Expect to be evaluated on Organization Behavior process and analysis through different models such as S-R model, S-O-B-C, S-O-B-A and S-O-R model. Concepts of change, application and techniques of change and will require thinking about reasons for change such as technology, globalization, market environment, organization growth, and of course how the employees behave in reaction to these changes, as well as the best way to plan for and implement these changes, with minimal resistance and maximum cooperation from the employees.