Deck 2: The Environment and Corporate Culture

Question 1

An example of part of the legal-political dimension of the general environment is a government's report on the decline of unemployment rate.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The most recent U.S. census data show that about one-third of all babies born 2011 were members of minority group.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

There has been strong concern recently about climate change such as global warming caused by greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The outer layer, the general environment, is widely dispersed and affects organizations directly.

Question 5

Organizations must manage environmental uncertainty to be effective.

Question 6

Customers and competitors are two important sectors of the economic dimension of a firm's general environment.

Question 7

Labor market forces affecting organizations right now include the growing need for computer-literate knowledge workers and the necessity for continuous investment in human resources through recruitment, education, and training.

Question 8

The technological dimension of the external environment includes scientific and technological advancements in a specific industry as well as in society at large.

Question 9

The task environmental dimension includes all elements that occur naturally on earth, including plants, animals, rocks, and natural resources such as air, water, and climate.

Question 10

McDonalds, Burger King, and Checkers are competitors since all three sell fast food to individuals.

Question 11

Business tends to be more personal in China.

Question 12

Current employees, management, and especially corporate culture are part of an organization's internal environment.

Question 13

The economic dimension of the general environment includes consumer purchasing power.

Question 14

The raw materials that organizations use to produce its outputs are provided by customers.

Question 15

The international dimension of the external environment represents events originating in foreign countries as well as opportunities for U.S. companies in other countries.

Question 16

The sociocultural dimension of the general environment includes societal norms and values.

Question 17

If Johnson Lumber provides trees for Westvaco Paper Manufacturing, then Johnson Lumber is considered a supplier for Westvaco.

Question 18

Customers are the people and organizations in the environment who acquire goods or services from the organization.

Question 19

The labor market is made up by people in the environment who can be hired to work for an organization.

Question 20

In the 1970s, the Japanese taught the U.S. companies how to boost profits by keeping inventories lean through JIT.

Question 21

Cultural values in organizations are rarely observed.

Question 22

A joint venture involves a strategic alliance or program by two or more organizations.

Question 23

A phrase or sentence that succinctly expresses a key corporate value is called a story.

Question 24

In today's business environment, most companies operate in a stable and rigid environment.

Question 25

Culture can be defined as the ability to speak different languages.

Question 26

A narrative based on events within the organization that is frequently repeated is called an organizational story.

Question 27

A political lobbyist for General Motors fills an essential boundary-spanning role.

Question 28

More organizations are requiring all employees to perform boundary-spanning because environmental shifts can happen quickly.

Question 29

Managers in partnering organizations, given the increasing environmental uncertainty, are shifting from a partnership orientation to an adversarial orientation.

Question 30

In adaptive cultures, managers are concerned with customers and processes that bring about useful change.

Question 31

The mythical sales representative at Robinson Jewelers who delivered a wedding ring directly to the church because the ring had been ordered late is an example of a hero.

Question 32

The set of key values, beliefs, and norms, that are shared by members of an organization are combined to create the symbols of an organization.

Question 33

A results-oriented culture that values competitiveness, aggressiveness, personal initiative, and willingness to work long and hard to achieve results is called the achievement culture.

Question 34

Competitive intelligence professionals are really just in-house snoops who obtain information about rival companies.

Question 35

In determining what cultural values are important for the organization, managers should consider the external
environment as well as the company's strategy and goals.

Question 36

Due to the stable environment and lack of technological change, mergers and joint ventures rarely occur in the U.S.

Question 37

A ceremony is a planned activity at a special event that is conducted for the benefit of an audience.

Question 38

The consistency culture has an external focus and a consistency orientation for a dynamic environment.

Question 39

Physical symbols are associated with the surface level of organizational culture.

Question 40

An achievement culture is found in an environment that is dynamic and requires high-risk decision-making.

Question 41

Which of these is NOT a part of an organization's general environment?

A) Technological
B) Economic
C) Competitors
D) Legal-political
E) Sociocultural

Question 42

isare) included in an organization's task environment.

A) Suppliers
B) Accounting procedures
C) Technology
D) Government
E) Demographic characteristics

Question 43

The cultural leader articulates a vision for the organizational culture that employees can believe in and that generates excitement.

Question 44

Ally's Applesauce is in the process of hiring sixty new workers. The personnel department has a large pool of unskilled labor to draw from due to the high unemployment rate in the local area. Which dimension of the external environment is involved here?

A) Sociocultural
B) Competitors
C) Technological
D) Labor market
E) Legal-political

Question 45

When Miami Herald launches a Spanish-language newspaper, El Nuevo Herald, with articles emphasizing Hispanic, Cuban, and Latin American news and sports, it is responding to changes in environment.

A) sociocultural
B) technological
C) economic
D) supply chain
E) geographic

Question 46

Which of the following rules, according to Spotlight on Skills in Chapter 2, is about forging an emotional bond?

A) Don't skip the small talk.
B) Business is always personal.
C) Remember that relationships are not short-term.
D) Make contact frequently.
E) Be efficient with use of time.

Question 47

includes all elements existing outside the boundary of the organization that have the potential to affect the organization.

A) Organizational environment
B) Internal environment
C) Task environment
D) General environment
E) Technological environment

Question 48

The general environment dimension that includes consumer purchasing power, the unemployment rate, and interest rates is called the:

A) legal-political dimension.
B) sociocultural dimension.
C) technological dimension.
D) economic dimension.
E) task dimension.

Question 49

In a high performance culture, organizations put high emphasis on both culture and solid business performance as drivers of organizational success.

Question 50

GreenTech Candies is a U.S.-based company that manufactures and distributes candy bars and snack foods globally. The company sources most of its cocoa and sugar from South American companies. This business relationship highlights which dimension of the task environment?

A) Customers
B) Competitors
C) Labor market
D) Culture
E) Suppliers

Question 51

Corporate culture plays a key role in creating an organizational climate that enables learning and innovative responses to threats from the external environment, challenging new opportunities, or organizational crises.

Question 52

Scientific and technological advancements in a specific industry as well as in society at large are included in which general environment dimension?

A) Sociocultural dimension
B) Legal-political dimension
C) Economic dimension
D) Technological dimension
E) Corporate culture dimension

Question 53

The of the external environment includes events originating in foreign countries as well as opportunities for American companies in other countries.

A) customer relationships dimension
B) legal-political dimension
C) international dimension
D) sociocultural dimension
E) technological dimension

Question 54

Anyone considering doing business in China, according to Spotlight on Skills in Chapter 2, should keep in mind all of the following rules except .

A) business is always personal
B) don't skip the small talk
C) remember that relationships are not short-term
D) be efficient with use of time
E) make contact frequently

Question 55

The represents people in the environment who can be hired to work for the organization.

A) competitors
B) labor market
C) suppliers
D) customers
E) government

Question 56

Which dimension of the general environment represents the demographic characteristics, norms, customs, and values of the population within which the organization operates?

A) Legal-political dimension
B) Economic dimension
C) Technological dimension
D) Corporate culture dimension
E) Sociocultural dimension

Question 57

Companies in Quadrant D put high emphasis on both culture and solid business performance as drivers of organizational success.

Question 58

Quadrant A represents organizations that are focused primarily on bottom-line results and pay little attention to organizational values.

Question 59

All of these are a part of an organization's task environment except .

A) customers
B) labor markets
C) competitors
D) employers
E) suppliers

Question 60

When an organization pays little attention to cultural values and instead focuses on business results, success will be difficult to sustain in the long run.

Question 61

CellTech, Vtech, and PhoneTech, three large electronics companies, have recently collaborated to develop an innovative new cell phone. This is an example of which managerial trend?

A) Outsourcing
B) Interorganizational partnership
C) Adversarial orientation
D) Merger
E) Boundary spanning

Question 62

Which of the following dimensions of the general environment includes all elements that occur naturally on earth?

A) Sociocultural dimension
B) Technological dimension
C) Economic dimension
D) Natural dimension
E) Environmental dimension

Question 63

In the current external business environment, which of the following is true?

A) Corporate culture defines success.
B) The business environment is static.
C) Companies are more adversarial than ever before.
D) Mergers are declining.
E) Joint ventures are on the rise.

Question 64

Which of the following is NOT a part of adapting the organization to changes in the environment for coping with high environmental uncertainty?

A) Boundary-spanning roles
B) Harvesting/divesting
C) Mergers/joint ventures
D) Interorganizational partnerships
E) All of these are a part of organizational response in adapting the organization to changes in the environment.

Question 65

A government inspection has required your company to upgrade the safety equipment in the manufacturing process of ice creamery. What dimension of the external environment has influenced these upgrades?

A) Technological
B) Legal-political
C) Task
D) Sociocultural
E) Economic

Question 66

In response to pressure from environmental advocates, organizations have become increasingly sensitive to diminishing:

A) natural resources.
B) economic resources.
C) financial resources.
D) human resources.
E) technology resources.

Question 67

Jefferson and Squire is an advertising firm that is viewed as having a fast-paced and posh corporate culture. The company uses bold coloring with expensive accents in all office décor. This exemplifies which level of corporate culture?

A) Visible artifacts
B) Underlying assumptions
C) Expressed values
D) Heroes
E) Ceremonies

Question 68

Which of these means that managers do not have sufficient information about environmental factors to understand and predict environmental needs and changes?

A) Adaptation
B) Risk
C) Uncertainty
D) Knowledge
E) Education

Question 69

environment consists of demographic factors, such as population density.

A) Technological
B) Sociocultural
C) Legal-political
D) Internal
E) Economic

Question 70

The people and organizations in the environment who acquire goods or services from the organization are:

A) competitors.
B) suppliers.
C) customers.
D) employees.
E) potential employees.

Question 71

Roberta is a top-level executive at a banking institution. She spends a significant part of her day meeting with local government officials, every day consumers, and federal banking officials to address key issues in the banking industry. Roberta's role can best be described as .

A) boundary-spanning
B) adaptive
C) interorganizational
D) external
E) internal

Question 72

Integrated Computers, Inc. wants to compile a profile of the customer it will target in its next promotional mailing. What environment would this be found in?

A) Internal environment
B) Task environment
C) Work environment
D) General environment
E) None of these

Question 73

Companies can reduce boundaries and increase collaboration with other organizations by creating:

A) flexible structures.
B) interorganizational partnerships.
C) new company cultures.
D) new supplier connections.
E) none of these.

Question 74

Which of the following roles are assumed by people and/or departments that link and coordinate the organization with key elements in the external environment?

A) Figurehead
B) Liaison
C) Boundary-spanning
D) Disturbance handler
E) Leader

Question 75

The dimension of the general environment includes federal, state, and local government regulations.

A) technological
B) legal-political
C) economic
D) sociocultural
E) international

Question 76

Kristen's Jewelry Shop has just hired a comparative shopper to visit other local jewelry stores to gain product pricing information. What strategy is this describing?

A) Boundary-spanning roles.
B) A flexible structure.
C) Unfair practice.
D) Increase planning and forecasting.
E) Joint venture.

Question 77

Many organizations are adapting to the environment by developing more of an_________ relationship rather than an _________relationship with competitors.

A) adversarial, partnership
B) partnership, adversarial
C) strategic, competitive
D) competitive, strategic
E) none of these

Question 78

is an approach to boundary spanning which results from using sophisticated software to search through large amounts of internal and external data to spot patterns, trends, and relationships that might be significant.

A) Merger intelligence
B) Business intelligence
C) Competitive intelligence
D) Partnership intelligence
E) Environment intelligence

Question 79

is a part of Ford's, the U.S. auto manufacturer, task environment.

A) Inflation rate
B) Chrysler
C) Securities and Exchange Commission SEC), a government regulating agency
D) Amazon.com, an online bookseller
E) Ford's corporate culture

Question 80

Based on the notion that organizations are dealing with a very turbulent and uncertain external environment, more organizations are requiring to perform boundary-spanning activities.

A) top leaders
B) middle managers
C) line managers
D) all employees
E) suppliers