Deck 11: Strategic Leadership: Creating a Learning Organization and an Ethical Organization

Question 1

The empowerment perspective that involves trusting people to do the right thing, takes intelligent risks, and act with a sense of ownership is known as

A) the leadership perspective.
B) the top-down approach.
C) the bottom-up approach.
D) the risk-taking model.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Expert power

A) is derived from organizationally conferred decision-making authority.
B) arises from a manager's access, control, and distribution of information that is not freely available to everyone in an organization.
C) is derived from referent power.
D) is derived from the leader's capability and knowledge in a particular field.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

All of the following are components of emotional intelligence (EI) except

A) self-awareness.
B) self-regulation.
C) self-promotion.
D) empathy.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A leader's role in developing a strategic vision includes the following attributes except

A) a clear future direction.
B) a framework for their organization's mission and goals.
C) enhanced employee communication and commitment.
D) power in overcoming resistance to change

Question 5

Effective leadership is like a three-legged stool consisting of all of the following except

A) dedication to maintaining the status quo.
B) nurturing a culture dedicated to excellence and ethical behaviour.
C) determining a direction.
D) designing the organization.

Question 6

Complete the following sentence: "Before there can be meaningful participation, people must share ___________________ about where we are trying to go."

A) a certain perspective
B) certain values and pictures
C) common goals
D) goals and required pre-conditions

Question 7

The bottom-up perspective of empowerment

A) clarifies the organization's values and mission.
B) builds teams to encourage cooperative behaviour.
C) communicates specific plans.
D) encourages employees to ask permission rather than forgiveness.

Question 8

The top-down perspective of empowerment

A) encourages intelligent risk-taking.
B) trusts people to perform.
C) encourages cooperative behaviour.
D) delegates responsibility.

Question 9

Coercive power

A) is the power exercised by use of fear of punishment for errors of omission or commission by employees.
B) is the power of persuasion exercised by a charismatic leader to get compliance from reluctant subordinates.
C) arises from a manager's access, control, and distribution of information that is not freely available to everyone in an organization.
D) is the ability of the leader or manager to confer rewards for positive behaviours or outcomes.

Question 10

In the opening strategy spotlight, Vancity's competitive advantage is attributed to

A) their cost-leadership
B) their lack of social commitment
C) their triple-bottom-line approach
D) their attention to exclusivity

Question 11

All of the following constitute organizational bases of a leader's power except

A) legitimate power.
B) reward power.
C) referent power.
D) coercive power.

Question 12

In terms of nurturing a corporate culture, Canada's Cirque du Soleil was transformed by Guy Laliberte who

A) set a firm direction.
B) pushed himself and his artists to continuously experiment.
C) was poor at rooting out unethical behaviour.
D) maintained the status quo.

Question 13

Refusal to share information, conflicts over resources, conflicts between departments and divisions, and petty interpersonal differences are symptoms of which type of barrier to change?

A) Systemic barriers
B) Political barriers
C) Behavioural barriers
D) Intellectual barriers

Question 14

The source of referent power is

A) a subordinate's identification with the leader.
B) a leader's identification with the subordinates.
C) derived from the fact that the manager can potentially act as a reference when the employee applies for another job.
D) derived from the manager's ability to provide effective incentives to employees.

Question 15

Organizational learning and change typically involve ongoing questioning of an organization's

A) need for employees.
B) head office location.
C) status quo or method of procedure.
D) leadership ability.

Question 16

Leaders play a key role in developing and sustaining an organization's _____________.

A) status quo
B) culture
C) reporting relationships
D) rules and regulations

Question 17

The three broad sets of capabilities that a leader should possess include all of the following except

A) technical skills.
B) cognitive abilities.
C) calculative abilities.
D) emotional intelligence.

Question 18

Which of the following does not explain why organizations are prone to inertia and slow to change?

A) Personal time constraints
B) Political barriers
C) Vested interests in the status quo
D) Organizational investments

Question 19

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a successful learning organization?

A) They create a proactive, creative approach to the unknown.
B) They actively solicit the involvement of employees at all levels.
C) They regularly engage in activities to reinforce the status quo.
D) They enable everyone to use their intelligence and apply their imagination.

Question 20

Which of the following is an important characteristic of a leader?

A) Goal-oriented
B) Satisfied with the status quo
C) Reactive
D) Focused on past performance

Question 21

Which of the following statements about ethics is false?

A) Ethics may be defined as a system of right and wrong.
B) Ethics assists individuals in deciding when an act is moral or immoral.
C) Ethics is not concerned with whether or not an act is socially desirable.
D) Business ethics is the application of ethical standards to commercial enterprises.

Question 22

All of the following statements about ethical organizations are true except

A) the potential benefits of an ethical organization are few but direct.
B) ethical values shape the search for opportunities.
C) organizational ethics define what a company is and what it stands for.
D) ethics provide a common frame of reference that serves as a unifying force.

Question 23

A useful technique that can be used for gathering external information is known as

A) in-sourcing.
B) outsourcing.
C) benchmarking.
D) invoicing.

Question 24

Motorola has institutionalized its culture of dissent by

A) having executives charged.
B) criticizing mistakes and failures.
C) encouraging employees to file a minority report and go above a supervisor's head.
D) encouraging employees to follow orders from their supervisors.

Question 25

Setting a direction is the leadership activity that involves developing a strategic vision of what the organization could become.

Question 26

Key principles involved in the accelerated learning program at General Electric include all of the following except

A) reach consensus about barriers.
B) develop a common language.
C) create an action plan.
D) train individuals rather than teams.

Question 27

Proactive measures to prevent organizational ethics problems include all of the following except

A) instituting a reward system which considers outcomes as its primary criterion.
B) using leaders as role models of ethical behaviour.
C) issuing statements describing the organization's commitment to certain standards of behaviour.
D) using the organization's information systems as a control system.

Question 28

Which is not an example of internal benchmarking at Whole Foods

A) is used by teams to compete against other teams in their stores.
B) is used by teams which compete against their own goals for sales, growth, and productivity.
C) is used by teams to compete against similar teams at different stores and regions.
D) is used by teams to compete for positive customer feedback.

Question 29

Behavioural barriers to change occur because of conflicts between departments, conflicts arising from power relationships, and refusal to share information.

Question 30

The two broad bases of a leader's power are organizational and hierarchical.

Question 31

Leaders play an important role in sustaining an organization's culture, but they are powerless to change it.

Question 32

Functional benchmarking

A) is not very useful for organizations with a divisional organizational structure.
B) endeavours to determine best practices regardless of industry.
C) restricts the search for best practices to competitors.
D) is useful when researching industry-specific standards.

Question 33

A _________________ is a statement describing an organization's commitment to certain standards of ethical behaviour.

A) role model
B) control system
C) corporate credo
D) reward structure

Question 34

Vancouver City Savings and Credit Union is Canada's largest credit union.

Question 35

Designing the organization is the leadership activity that involves building structures, teams, systems, and processes that facilitate the implementation of a leader's vision.

Question 36

An empowerment perspective that delegates responsibility, focuses on accountability, and relies on clearly specified rewards to motivate is known as

A) the leadership perspective.
B) the top-down approach.
C) the bottom-up approach.
D) the accounting model.

Question 37

All of the following are guidelines an organization can use to promote the challenging of the status quo except

A) establishing a "culture of dissent."
B) forcefully creating a sense of urgency.
C) fostering a culture that encourages risk taking.
D) creating a result-based reward system.

Question 38

Systemic barriers to change refer to elements of an organization's design, structure, and reporting relationships that impede the flow of information.

Question 39

Leaders are not expected to accept personal responsibility for ethical behaviour in an organization because ethics is a matter of individual choice.

Question 40

Companies that cultivate cultures of experimentation and curiosity make sure that _________ is not, in essence, a bad thing.

A) success
B) failure
C) dissent
D) risk taking

Question 41

An integrity-based approach to corporate social responsibility is primarily lawyer-driven with the intent of preventing criminal misconduct.

Question 42

Organizational learning works best when an organization's leaders gather information and teach it to employees who are like their students.

Question 43

What are the five key elements of a learning organization? What is the value of a learning organization in today's global marketplace?

Question 44

Coercive power is the power exercised by use of fear of punishment for errors of either omission or commission by employees.

Question 45

To successfully empower employees to achieve organizational goals, leaders must perform the tasks of resource allocation and power brokering.

Question 46

Citibank CEO Walter Wriston believes a firm can "blow the competition away" by figuring out how to harness the collective genius of people in an organization.

Question 47

Inspiring and motivating people with a mission or purpose is a necessary and sufficient condition for developing a learning organization.

Question 48

What is the difference between "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches to empowerment? Discuss how these differences impact the effectiveness of empowerment efforts.

Question 49

Business ethics is the application of ethical standards to commercial enterprise.

Question 50

In the top-down approach to empowerment, leaders clarify the mission, delegate responsibility, and hold people accountable for results.

Question 51

A learning environment in an organization requires organization-wide commitment to change, an action orientation, and applicable tools and methods.

Question 52

Empathy, one of the components of emotional intelligence (EI), refers to one's proficiency in managing relationships and building networks.

Question 53

Ethical behaviour can be reinforced through the use of an appropriate reward and evaluation system.

Question 54

Identify the five components of emotional intelligence (EI). Discuss how each of these factors contributes to the success of a leader or manager.

Question 55

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is generally a better predictor of life success than intelligence quotient (IQ).

Question 56

Briefly discuss the three interdependent activities that are critical for effective leadership.

Question 57

A key function of the leaders in a learning organization is to generate an organization-wide commitment to the status quo.

Question 58

Discuss the reasons why organizations and managers at all levels are prone to inertia and slow to learn, adapt and change.

Question 59

What is the leader's role in establishing an ethical organization?

Question 60

Successful learning organizations have a proactive, creative approach to the unknown.

Question 61

How can corporate credos and codes of conduct be helpful in shaping the moral dimensions of an organization?

Question 62

Discuss the differences between integrity-based and compliance-based approaches to organizational ethics.

Question 63

How can developing and maintaining a high ethical standard benefit an organization? Give examples and describe the effects the examples have had on the organization and/or its stakeholders.

Question 64

Discuss why corporate social responsibility ought to influence managerial thinking and strategic decision making.