Deck 10: Impression Management by Organizations

Question 1

The corporate image deals primarily with how a firm

A) meets its obligations of social responsibility.
B) is perceived by outsiders.
C) is valued by the financial community.
D) meets its obligations to shareholders.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The major goal of managing the corporate image is to ensure that the stakeholders

A) develop and maintain a favorable view of the company.
B) invest in the company.
C) are not strongly influenced by word-of-mouth accusations of the company.
D) respond favorably to advertising and public relations about the company.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Corporate reputation focuses on the corporation's image as perceived by

A) customers.
B) financial regulators.
C) employees.
D) all of the stakeholders.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When the home furnishings store Ikea set about to build a corporate image, the first step was to

A) seduce the shopper.
B) surprise on value.
C) create the story.
D) inspire the staff.

Question 5

A widely-used Internet-based approach to enhancing an online reputation is

A) to have a high ranking on major search engines.
B) order employees to write positive comments about the company on social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.
C) place positive ads about the company online.
D) attempt to become the homepage for as many people as possible.

Question 6

A company uses the impression management technique of basking in reflected glory when it

A) places a photo of its founder on products or in advertising.
B) links itself to a well-known celebrity.
C) engages in acts of social responsibility.
D) donates large amounts of money to charity.

Question 7

Sponsored research is used to enhance a company's reputation by

A) hiring a second party to research the value of its products or services.
B) donating money for scientific research into diseases.
C) establishing a scholarship program for future researchers.
D) conducting research itself on the value of its products and services.

Question 8

A concern about sponsored research for enhancing a corporation's image is that the

A) researchers do not obtain a share of the profits resulting from the enhanced image.
B) researchers do not know much about impression management.
C) research results are usually too harsh on the sponsoring company.
D) research results reported may not be entirely objective.

Question 9

Research suggests that assuming that a company's message is grounded in reality, a positive company reputation

A) has no effect on market capitalization.
B) can enhance the company's market capitalization.
C) will usually lower the company's market capitalization.
D) keeps the company's market capitalization at book value.

Question 10

The purpose of spin is to

A) make a company or person look good by lying about something that took place.
B) create an entirely new social identity for a company or person.
C) present a dizzying amount of facts about a negative happening.
D) place a favorable face on a negative situation or person.

Question 11

CEO Bruce initiates a program of canceling the company contribution to employee health insurance. Employees are outraged, so Bruce attempts to place spin on the situation by stating publicly,

A) "Our employees tend to be overpaid anyway."
B) "Employees should be responsible for their own health."
C) "We hated to eliminate this expense but we need to lower our costs for the company to survive."
D) "Don't forget that I now pay for own health insurance also."

Question 12

Into which category of impression management does spin best fit?

A) self-protection techniques
B) supplication
C) enhancement of the image of others
D) ingratiation

Question 13

Corporate social responsibility is tied directly to impression management because

A) corporate social responsibility is another name for public relations.
B) being socially responsible will often enhance a company's reputation.
C) a company perceived to be green will usually enjoy high profits.
D) corporate social responsibility is a form of self-protection.

Question 14

Corporate social responsibility refers to the idea that companies have obligations to society that

A) create a positive spin about the company.
B) focus on profitability and a fair return to shareholders.
C) are prescribed by law or contract.
D) go beyond those prescribed by law or contract.

Question 15

A company that displays high corporate social performance creates a good impression by

A) paying its employees relatively well.
B) setting limits on executive compensation.
C) being a good citizen in the community.
D) donating at least an average amount to charity.

Question 16

Which one of the following would most likely not be classified as a social responsibility initiative?

A) executives traveling by bus rather than by airplane on business trips
B) community redevelopment projects
C) work-life programs
D) compassionate downsizing

Question 17

With respect to social responsibility, a recommended way of dealing with whistle blowers is to

A) create a comfortable climate for legitimate whistle blowing.
B) create a blog on the Web for whistle-blowing complaints.
C) establish a bonus pool of money for whistle blowers.
D) publicize company punishments the whistle blowers receive.

Question 18

To minimize the negative impression that downsizing might create it is recommended that a company do all but which one of the following?

A) Provide outplacement services to laid-off employees.
B) Redeploy as many workers as possible into other jobs within the company.
C) Reduce the pay of all workers to avoid the downsizing.
D) Escort employees immediately out the door after announcing a layoff to avoid acts of sabotage.

Question 19

Placing a positive spin on negative events is more likely to work effectively as impression management when a

A) popular culture celebrity appears in ads defending the company.
B) company spokesperson denies that a problem exists.
C) company spokesperson admits that a problem exists.
D) high-level company executive appears on television ads explaining the company's side of the story.

Question 20

A major offensive for managing a company's online reputation is to ensure that

A) swift legal action is taken against people who post online complaints about the company.
B) that company has more positive than negative online mentions.
C) company employees do not make negative comments on blogs or social networking sites.
D) consultants are paid to delete as many negative online mentions as possible.

Question 21

Corporate image or reputation refers to the manner in which company employees perceive the company's activities and its products or services.

Question 22

Word-of-mouth is considered to be a highly influential medium for shaping the corporate image.

Question 23

The annual Fortune of the most admired companies can be considered an index of company reputation.

Question 24

One reason that Ikea has been successful in creating such a positive corporate image is that the company has successfully minimized informal communication about the company.

Question 25

Online mentions about a company, such as on Twitter and Facebook, can be an early- warning system about problems with the company reputation.

Question 26

Sylvia is the marketing manager for a company that makes high-quality paper clips. She gets the famous golfer Tiger Woods to endorse her paper clips in advertisements, thereby using the tactic, basking in reflected glory.

Question 27

Sponsored research may run the risk of creating a positive image through unethical means.

Question 28

The various approaches to corporate image enhancement appear to have a negative impact on the stock of the company engaging in image enhancement.

Question 29

The reason that spin usually contributes to a negative corporate image is that spin usually comes close to total lying.

Question 30

Companies typically use spin to overcome negative publicity, thereby protecting a corporate image.

Question 31

Socially responsible actions tend to create a positive impression even when the executives responsible for the actions were not trying to create such an impression.

Question 32

Corporate social responsibility deals primarily with a business firm's impact on investors, such as those holding the company's stocks and bonds.

Question 33

Expressing a commitment to the environment is no longer particularly effective in developing a positive corporate reputation because so many other companies have "gone green."

Question 34

Protecting the environment has become a widespread initiative for demonstrating corporate social responsibility.

Question 35

Helping employees balance the demands of work and personal life is considered to be a socially responsible initiative.

Question 36

A community redevelopment project would be considered a social responsibility initiative, and therefore a way of enhancing the corporate image.

Question 37

An effective way of enhancing the corporate image is to take swift and decisive action about whistleblowers.

Question 38

Large-scale downsizings usually enhance a company's image because the public knows that the company is placing profits before social responsibility.

Question 39

Developing a positive corporate image or reputation typically encompasses a one-time effort or a brief public-relations campaign.

Question 40

Sponsored research can backfire as a corporate impression-management tactic because the evidence in support of the product or service might appear contrived and subjective.