Deck 16: Organizational Culture

Question 1

The key to understanding culture through artifacts lies in:

A) identifying the visible portion of culture.
B) identifying the most important artifact of culture.
C) figuring out the meaning of the symbols.
D) figuring out how values are communicated through culture.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Southwestern Bell emphasizes the importance of management training by kicking off classes using a high-ranking executive and with a graduation ceremony when classes are completed. This is an example of:

A) a rite of renewal and a rite of passage.
B) a rite of enhancement and a rite of degradation.
C) a rite of integration and a rite of enhancement.
D) a rite of conflict reduction and a rite of integration.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, ended company meetings with a "pumping of his fist in the air and leading employees in a chant of domination." This is an example of a .

A) ceremonies
B) symbols
C) rituals
D) rites

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Relatively elaborate sets of activities that are repeatedly enacted on important occasions are known as .

A) assumptions.
B) rites.
C) rituals.
D) symbols.

Question 5

A company's espoused values can be found in all of the following except:

A) annual reports.
B) monthly financial statements.
C) quarterly employee newsletters.
D) employee handbooks.

Question 6

The "inverted pyramid" organizational chart used by Nordstroms characterizes the

A) ritual
B) rite
C) symbol
D) story

Question 7

An example of a rite of enhancement is a(n):

A) company's annual picnic.
B) kick off banquet for the introduction of a new product.
C) employee of the month award.
D) retirement party.

Question 8

are unwritten messages that clearly indicate "the way we do things around here."

A) Story
B) Ceremony
C) Ritual
D) Symbol

Question 9

The president of a university awards scholarships at a banquet to high-achieving students. This is an example of:

A) a personal enactment.
B) an artifact.
C) a symbol.
D) a ceremony.

Question 10

Which of the following would NOT provide an indication of an organization's culture?

A) Employee dress code
B) Performance expectations of employees
C) Use of job titles
D) Number of products produced

Question 11

The concept of organizational culture has its roots in:

A) social psychology.
B) political science.
C) economic sociology.
D) cultural anthropology.

Question 12

Steve Irby, the founder and CEO of Stillwater Designs, builds trust in his employees by sharing the company's monthly financial results. If monthly sales are higher than the same month in the previous year, Irby holds a cookout for the employees on the following Friday where Irby and the general manager always do the cooking. This is an example of:

A) ceremonies and rites.
B) stories.
C) rituals.
D) personal enactment.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding values?

A) Values are the last and deepest level of culture.
B) Values reflect a person's underlying beliefs.
C) Values are often consciously articulated in a company's mission statement.
D) There may be a difference between espoused and enacted values.

Question 14

The big "blue bag" that IKEA sells for less than $1 to be used instead of plastic bags serves as a(n) IKEA's cultural stance of protecting the planet.

A) assumption
B) ritual
C) value
D) artifact

Question 15

Which of the following artifacts has been argued by researchers to be the most effective way to reinforce values?

A) Stories
B) Rituals
C) Symbols
D) Ceremonies

Question 16

The most visible and accessible level of culture is:

A) values.
B) assumptions.
C) artifacts.
D) socialization processes.

Question 17

A pattern of basic assumptions that are considered valid and that are taught to new members as the way to perceive, think, and feel in an organization is known as:

A) socialization.
B) corporate culture.
C) psychological conditioning.
D) value system.

Question 18

An early fall semester orientation on your campus can be considered a:

A) rite of integration.
B) rite of renewal.
C) rite of enhancement.
D) rite of success.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT an important attribute of organizational culture?

A) Shared norms and values
B) Artifacts
C) Assumptions
D) Pervasiveness and endurance

Question 20

A corporate president is the first one to give blood during a corporate blood drive. This is an example of:

A) ritual.
B) symbolism.
C) rite of integration.
D) personal enactment.

Question 21

Assumptions are:

A) deeply held beliefs that guide behavior of members of an organization.
B) widely known and formally communicated throughout an organization.
C) behavioral tendencies or enacted values of employees.
D) unwritten rules of conduct frequently violated by new employees.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a perspective that helps one understand the effects of culture?

A) The fit perspective
B) The strong-culture perspective
C) The adaptation perspective
D) The social creation perspective

Question 23

The fit perspective of culture argues that:

A) a culture is good only if it fits the industry's or the firm's strategy.
B) a culture is appropriate when it fits the market characteristics.
C) an organization that places emphasis on conservatism performs better than other organizations.
D) a lean or flat organization is the most appropriate culture irrespective of the industry it belongs to.

Question 24

Values reflected in the way individuals actually behave are called:

A) material values.
B) enduring values.
C) enacted values.
D) observable values.

Question 25

Employee performance expectations are normally made known through:

A) communication of role demands.
B) various task demands.
C) the change and acquisition stage of socialization.
D) facilitation of interpersonal demands.

Question 26

Strong cultures facilitate performance in all of the following ways except:

A) providing control without oppressive effects of a bureaucracy.
B) encouraging employee and organizational goal alignment.
C) creating a high level of employee motivation.
D) insulating employees from an organization's environment.

Question 27

According to Edgar Schein, leaders play crucial roles in shaping and reinforcing culture. Which of the following is NOT one of the elements considered important to a leader's management of culture?

A) How leaders hire and fire individuals
B) How leaders react to crisis
C) How leaders allocate rewards
D) How leaders develop strategy

Question 28

The process by which newcomers are transformed from outsiders to participating, effective members of an organization refers to:

A) recruitment.
B) probation.
C) organizational socialization.
D) organizational revitalization.

Question 29

The fit perspective is useful in explaining:

A) the role of employees.
B) short-term performance.
C) how firms can adapt to environmental change.
D) why managers make better decisions.

Question 30

According to the study by Kotter and Heskett on adaptive cultures, the adaptive culture facilitates change to meet the needs of all of the following groups except:

A) employees.
B) suppliers.
C) customers.
D) stockholders.

Question 31

One of the key concerns of anticipatory socialization is:

A) learning interpersonal demands.
B) realistic job previews.
C) creating role ambiguity.
D) performance evaluation.

Question 32

The strong culture perspective states that organizations with strong cultures:

A) are more adaptable.
B) have less turnover.
C) facilitate performance.
D) tend to be bureaucratic.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT likely to be an element or activity of organizational socialization?

A) College major of new employees
B) A new employee's first job assignment
C) Orientation and training of new employees
D) A new employee's performance evaluation during first year

Question 34

An adaptive organizational culture is one that:

A) retains its strategies in spite of changes in the business environment.
B) encourages confidence and risk taking among employees
C) focuses on products or technologies associated with specific work groups.
D) values an orderly management process more highly then leadership initiatives.

Question 35

Which of the following perspectives of culture would recommended to a firm that was going to compete globally?

A) The strong-culture perspective
B) The fit perspective
C) The adaptive perspective
D) The assumptions perspective

Question 36

According to Edgar Schein, the essence of culture is:

A) the interpretations of artifacts.
B) values.
C) assumptions.
D) the intentions behind stories.

Question 37

Strong cultures are thought to facilitate performance for three reasons. Which of the following is NOT one of those reasons?

A) Goal alignment or common goals
B) Higher level of motivation
C) Greater tolerance to change
D) Control without bureaucracy

Question 38

Compatibility of individual and organizational value systems is known as:

A) realism.
B) competence.
C) duality.
D) congruence.

Question 39

Corporate leaders can greatly influence and shape organizational culture through:

A) delegating crisis management and instituting layoffs during crises.
B) reinforcing corporate values in rewarding employee performance.
C) acting quickly when sales decline by displacing employees.
D) paying attention to detail and letting others attend to the big picture.

Question 40

The two types of congruence between an individual and an organization are the congruence between:

A) a leadership style and the demands of a job, and the fit between an individual's values and an organization's values.
B) an individual's abilities and the demands of a job, and the fit between an individual's skills and a team's skills.
C) a leadership style and the demands of a job, and the fit between an individual's skills and a team's skills.
D) an individual's abilities and the demands of a job, and the fit between an individual's values and an organization's values.

Question 41

The focus of Organizational Culture Inventory is:

A) short-term performance of an organization.
B) behaviors that help employees fit into an organization.
C) expectation of managers in an organization.
D) role demands of an organization.

Question 42

Public announcement of corporate wrongdoing on the part of an executive is an example of rite of degradation.

Question 43

Managers in organizations that consistently communicated concern for workers' well­being and that focused on
treating employees fairly feel better about themselves and their role in the organization.

Question 44

The two key concerns in the anticipatory socialization stage are:

A) demand and encounter.
B) encounter and revitalization.
C) change and acquisition.
D) realism and congruence.

Question 45

Enacted values are what the members say they value.

Question 46

Values are the deepest level of culture.

Question 47

A retirement dinner is a good example of rite of enhancement.

Question 48

The first step in the model for cultural change is:

A) changing behavior.
B) testing for values.
C) psychoanalyzing assumptions.
D) intrinsically studying motivation.

Question 49

Symbols of organizational culture are called rituals.

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT a guideline for managers who want to create a global culture?

A) Create clear and simple mission statements
B) Develop global career paths
C) Integrate values that change with time
D) Reward employees who support the global view

Question 51

The underlying dimensions of the Kilmann-Saxton Culture-Gap Survey are:

A) task/role demands of employees and job security/job satisfaction.
B) behavior and task specifications.
C) artifacts and assumptions.
D) technical/human orientation and short-term/long-term time.

Question 52

An organization's culture is much like a societal culture.

Question 53

The use of multiple methods to measure organizational culture is known as:

A) convergence.
B) multitrait measurement.
C) triangulation.
D) combination measurement.

Question 54

An ethical organizational culture can be developed through all of the following except:

A) executive role modeling.
B) disseminating a code of ethics and conduct.
C) rationalizing mistakes.
D) encouraging whistle-blowing.

Question 55

AOL executive, Neil Davis, horrified Time Warner executives by saying "What we like to do to a competitor that is damaged is drive the knife in their heart." This is an example of:

A) a culture clash between AOL and Time Warner.
B) the deepest level of culture for AOL.
C) the adaptive culture practiced by AOL.
D) a culture that provided a strong fit with the industry.

Question 56

Deeply held beliefs that guide behavior and tell members of an organization how to perceive situations and people are called values.

Question 57

Changing an organization's culture is difficult because:

A) attitudes are not changeable.
B) assumptions are unconscious.
C) norms adjust with changing leader personalities.
D) behavior is nonconfrontable.

Question 58

Rituals reinforce the organizational culture by establishing role identities, fixing values, beliefs, and norms.

Question 59

Assumptions are the deepest and most fundamental level of an organization's culture.

Question 60

The primary purpose of socialization is the:

A) transmission of core values to new organization members.
B) identification of employees who do not fit with the cultural values.
C) careful selection of newcomers to reinforce organizational culture.
D) assessment of individual attributes for future placement and potential.

Question 61

How can corporate leaders (the CEO and other top officers) shape, communicate, and reinforce organizational culture?

Question 62

What are basic functions of corporate culture?

Question 63

Corporate training for foreign job assignment should focus on cultural similarities among countries.

Question 64

The fit perspective argues that there can be a wide range of cultures within same industry.

Question 65

Stories that aren't backed by reality can lead to cynicism and mistrust.

Question 66

The strong approach to culture would be the most important perspective for a global competitor.

Question 67

The communication of organizational assumptions is almost impossible, since organization members themselves may not be consciously aware of them.

Question 68

Learning the tasks associated with a job is associated with the encounter stage of organizational socialization.

Question 69

Provide an organizational example of each of the following artifacts: personal enactment, ceremony, story, ritual, and symbol.

Question 70

Value congruence can result in newcomers being more satisfied with their jobs, adjusting more quickly, and having stronger intentions to remain with the firm.

Question 71

One of the reasons most often cited for unethical corporate conduct includes the belief that a behavior is in the
organization's best interest.

Question 72

Some studies have shown that the implementation of formal ethical guidelines actually leads to less ethical behavior among employees.

Question 73

The "fit" perspective argues that a culture is good only if it match's the style of the leader.

Question 74

Briefly discuss the three perspectives or theories regarding the relationship between organizational culture and performance.

Question 75

Organizational socialization typically ends with completion of one's probationary period.

Question 76

Initial efforts to change organizational cultures usually focus on adjusting behavior.

Question 77

Managers in an adaptive organizational culture value an orderly, risk adverse management process more highly than leader initiatives.

Question 78

Executive attentiveness to customer expectations, employee needs, and stockholder concerns can shape organizational culture.

Question 79

An organizational culture that encourages confidence and risk taking among employees, has leadership that produces change, and focuses on the changing needs of customers reflects the "fit" perspective.

Question 80

Studies indicate that for the best results, a supervisor should show high levels of support for newcomers for at least two years.