Deck 13: Leadership,people and culture

Question 1

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin define management as the ability to:

A) implement existing policies and procedures through other efficient and effective people
B) efficiently and effectively implement existing policies and procedures through other people
C) approve policies and procedures for implementation by other existing people
D) efficiently and effectively implement properly approved processes through other people

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Kotter's list of leadership attributes and processes does not include:

A) setting a direction for the organisation
B) developing a strategic orientation for the organisation
C) aligning people with the direction
D) motivating people to carry out the direction

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest that the common requirements of leadership are:

A) articulate the vision and culture, passion and commitment, actions are important, be in touch, develop rewards,
B) tell stories, make important decisions, touch people, impose penalties, hide emotions
C) commitment to a cause, self-importance, be a soft touch, develop stories, settle scores
D) power and authority, symbolic actions, common touch, penalise failure, reward stories

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin define culture as the underlying ___,___ and ___ that affect how the ___ of the organisation should be conducted - '___ we ___ around here':

A) cost, benefits, relationships, business, what, do to achieve goals
B) values, beliefs, patterns of behaviour, operations, how, do things
C) hopes, fears, desires, affairs, who, admire
D) opinions, good, bad, activities, what, value

Question 5

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin conclude that the role of the board of directors in the leadership of the organisation is:

A) overstated in traditional strategic analysis and implementation
B) understated in traditional strategic analysis and implementation
C) ignored in traditional strategic analysis and implementation
D) irrelevant in traditional strategic analysis and implementation

Question 6

Hubbard,Galvin and Rice's definition of leadership does NOT include the ability to:

A) motivate others to buy into the leader's vision
B) develop a vision of the future for the organisation
C) get a vision of the future for the organisation implemented
D) articulate a vision of the history of the organisation

Question 7

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin assert that one of the key roles for the board is to:

A) approve remuneration packages for all employees
B) appoint and review the performance of the CEO
C) analyse and implement major investment decisions
D) conduct regular audit of all activities

Question 8

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest one of the issues arising from assuming that value statements reflect the culture of the organisation is that:

A) the list of values is not the real value of the organisation
B) the list of values is not different or unique in some way, especially from competitors
C) the list of values represents only a fraction of the complete culture of the organisation
D) all of the above

Question 9

The board of directors is:

A) a club for top managers
B) voted in by the employees
C) a form of scrutiny of the organisation imposed by the government
D) voted in by the shareholders

Question 10

People in an organisation might be assessed in terms of their 'fit' with a proposed strategy:

A) by a survey of what they think, how well they are prepared and understand requirements
B) by a resource or competency audit to change the attitudes of people to the strategy
C) both of the above
D) none of the above

Question 11

A leader might go about changing culture by:

A) delegating the task of role modelling deep into the organisation
B) reacting to critical incidents by finding a culprit
C) using the recruitment and promotion system to place people with commitment to established culture
D) using the induction system to impress the culture on new people as they join

Question 12

With respect to communicating organisation strategy and implementation needs,we attempt to address the following issues:

A) what and when to communicate and what channels to use
B) what, when and who to communicate
C) what, when and why to communicate
D) what and how to communicate and what channels to use

Question 13

The main elements of culture include:

A) rites of passage, rules, symbols, stories and beliefs, strategies and structures, values and morals
B) fact and fiction, value and merit, routings, rituals, rules, symbols, illusion and reality
C) rules, symbols, stories and myths, systems and structures, values and beliefs, routines, rituals
D) illusion and reality, structure and strategy, routines, symbols, morals and ethics, ritual magic

Question 14

Pfeffer's practices that characterise most successful people-oriented organisations do NOT include:

A) security of employment
B) extensive training is provided
C) high compensation compared to performance
D) reduced status distinctions across levels of the organisation

Question 15

Sonnenfelt argues that an important aspect for selection should be that board members are:

A) ready to unquestionably cooperate with the management
B) prepared to maintain harmony with management
C) prepared to stand up to management and ask tough questions
D) prepared to avoid situations of conflict with management

Question 16

Sustainability is not an element of implementation,but a criterion for:

A) decision making about board choices
B) decision making about implementation choices
C) decision making about leadership choices
D) decision making about strategy choices

Question 17

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest that leadership style will vary when:

A) the organisation lacks the time and resources to make the change
B) change is being forced from within
C) change is being forced from the outside
D) the environment is simultaneously stable and turbulent

Question 18

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin argue that various issues agreed by boards regarding performance do not include:

A) boards should act only for the shareholders
B) performance, not conformance, is the key
C) boards should measure organisational performance over the long term, not the short term
D) board performance should be assessed

Question 19

Hilmer argued that the board's role is to:

A) ensure that management achieves industry average returns on capital employed
B) ensure that all customers are treated fairly
C) ensure that management strives for above-average, risk-adjusted performance
D) ensure that employee-employer relations are professional

Question 20

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest that there are various types of boards,including:

A) stakeholder control, managerial control, normative control, control by exception, strategic control, review and approve
B) stockholder control, positive control, tactical control, control by exception
C) analysis of variances, bottom-line driven, top-down approval, normally controlled, normative
D) advise and consent control, managerial control, objective control, culturally sensitive, financial control

Question 21

'It is unrealistic and unnecessary for boards to assess their own performance.' Comment.
.

Question 22

Cognition theory assumes that cognition represents the world as the person sees it and that action is preceded by understanding.

Question 23

According to Goffee and Jones,smart people do not object to being led.

Question 24

The UK Cadbury report on the role of directors recommended that roles of the board chair and CEO should be merged.

Question 25

Hubbard et al.'s concept of 'captain-coach' is inconsistent with the idea of 'Management by Walking Around'.

Question 26

'Leaders are born,not made.' Discuss the validity of this statement.

Question 27

In major organisations,women remain very much a majority in senior leadership positions.

Question 28

Assess how 'top management teams' can function effectively.

Question 29

People selection on the basis of values fit with organisational culture is not a reliable predictor of job performance.

Question 30

Sustainability is an element of implementation,but not a criterion for decision making about implementation choices.

Question 31

Finkelstein suggests that leaders fail because they over-react to environmental challenges.

Question 32

There are four levels of leadership.

Question 33

From a strategic perspective,both leadership and management tasks are equally important.