Deck 16: Organizational Culture

Question 1

An example of a rite of enhancement is a/an:

A)job transfer
B)kick off banquet for the introduction of a new product
C)employee of the month award
D)retirement party

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The big "blue bag" that IKEA sells for less than $1 rather than use plastic bags serves as an _____ for IKEA's cultural stance of protecting the planet.

A)assumption
B)adaptation
C)anticipatory reflection of socialization
D)artifact

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The key to understanding culture through artifacts lies in:

A)identifying the visible portion of culture
B)identifying the most important artifact of culture which is symbols
C)figuring out what they mean
D)the awareness of how values are communicated through culture

Answer 3

C

Question 4

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

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

Question 5

Organizational culture is most rooted in which of the following fields of study?

A)social psychology
B)political science
C)sociology
D)anthropology

Question 6

A corporate logo is:

A)a ritual
B)a symbol
C)usually an indication of what the organization produces as a product or provides as a service
D)a rite of integration

Question 7

QuikTrip has enjoyed enormous success in large part due to the emphasis the organization puts into developing a strong culture. Which of the following responses best reflects activities QuikTrip has implemented in developing its culture?

A)Expends time and energy to find employees that fit the culture which is why it takes about 10 applicants to find 1 top notch employee
B)Each employee goes through the same 2 week training program
C)QuikTrip will open a new store location when it feels it has an employee who is ready for a managerial role
D)All the above

Question 8

The comment from a long-service employee to a recent hire, "That's the way we do it here," is an example of a:

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

Question 9

The most visible and accessible level of culture is:

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

Question 10

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 the organization is known as:

A)socialization
B)corporate culture
C)psychological contract
D)value system

Question 11

Which of the following stories are examples of the reinforcement of organizational values?

A)Stories about whether lower level employees as reflected by the CEO from QuikTrip rise to the top.
B)Stories about how a company deals with crisis as reflected by AIG's payout of millions in bonuses to the unit that led to the need for the government bailout.
C)Stories about how status considerations work when rules are broken as reflected by the CEO (Tom Watson) of IBM being confronted by a security guard because he was not wearing an ID badge.
D)All of these

Question 12

Everyday organizational practices that are repeated over and over defines:

A)culture
B)a rite
C)a ritual
D)a symbol

Question 13

Which of the following include the three levels of culture identified by Edgar Schein?

A)artifacts, values, and symbols
B)basic assumptions, awareness, and values
C)values, ceremonies and rites, and artifacts
D)artifacts, values, and basic assumptions

Question 14

When a corporate president is the first employee 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 15

The employees of Stillwater Designs know that if monthly sales are higher than sales in the same month of the previous year that Steve Irby (founder and CEO) will hold a cookout for the employees the following Friday.This would be a result of the CEO's use of:

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

Question 16

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 17

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

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

Question 18

When Southwestern Bell emphasizes the importance of management training by kicking off classes using a high-ranking executive and has a graduation ceremony when classes are completed, they have utilized:

A)a rite of renewal and a rite of passage
B)a rite of enhancement and a rite of passage
C)a rite of integration and a rite of enhancement
D)a rite of passage and a rite of integration

Question 19

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

A)shared norms and values
B)symbolism
C)employee socialization
D)pervasiveness and endurance

Question 20

When the president of your college or university awards scholarships at a banquet to high-achieving students, this is an example of:

A)personal enactment
B)a ritual
C)a symbol
D)a ceremony

Question 21

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 22

CEO Tony Hsieh of Zappos says happiness is composed of pleasure, passion, and purpose in life. He also says that the best companies focus on combining profit, passion, and purpose by thinking about how they can make customers, employees, and investors happier. Zappos reflects its passion about culture by doing which of the following?

A)Offers to pay new employees for their time in training plus a bonus of $2000 to quit after their first week
B)Require all new employees to attend a 7 week outward bound experience
C)Provides a foot rock climbing wall in its corporate office
D)Both B & C

Question 23

The "upside down triangle" used by Nordstroms characterizes what artifact of organization culture?

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

Question 24

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 and focusing their attention away from the organization's environment

Question 25

An adaptive organizational culture is one that:

A)changes its environment
B)encourages confidence and risk taking among employees
C)responds to, rather than carefully anticipates, changing needs of customers
D)values an orderly management process more highly then leadership initiatives

Question 26

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

A)the fit perspective
B)the strong perspective
C)the adaptation perspective
D)the social creation perspective

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a basic function of corporate culture?

A)control mechanism for shaping behavior
B)the building of strong corporate mentality and unquestioned employee support
C)a sense-making device for employees
D)enhances employee motivation

Question 28

The competing values framework suggests four type of culture (clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy) based upon flexibility and which of the following set of variables?

A)internal/external
B)complex/simple
C)certain/uncertain
D)changing/stable

Question 29

Assumptions are:

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

Question 30

What perspective of culture would you recommend to a firm that was going to compete globally?

A)the strong perspective
B)the fit perspective
C)the adaptive perspective
D)the public statement of assumptions perspective

Question 31

According to Edgar Schein, the essence of culture is:

A)the interpretation of the artifact
B)values
C)assumptions
D)the intention behind the story

Question 32

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)higher job satisfaction
D)control without bureaucracy

Question 33

The strong culture perspective states that organizations with strong cultures:

A)are more adaptable
B)have less turnover
C)perform better than other organizations
D)tend to less conflicted

Question 34

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 35

The study by Kotter and Heskett reported in your textbook on the test of the strong culture hypothesis concluded:

A)strong cultures were associated with less turnover and more job involvement
B)the effect of culture was moderated by the degree of diversity within the organization and that less diverse, but strong cultures, performed better than weak but diverse cultures
C)strong cultures were moderately associated with positive long-term economic performance
D)strong economic performance leads to strong culture

Question 36

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 BOTH market characteristics and the approach or strategy to the market
C)an organization adapts the strategy of an organization to its culture
D)the lean or flat organization is the most appropriate culture

Question 37

The fit perspective is useful in explaining:

A)long-term performance
B)short-term performance
C)how firms can adapt to environmental change
D)why managers make better decisions

Question 38

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 39

Values reflected in the way individuals actually behave are called:

A)behavioral values
B)enduring values
C)enacted values
D)observable values

Question 40

When 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", he was reflecting Facebook's culture through which of the following artifacts?

A)ceremony and rite
B)symbol
C)ritual
D)story creation

Question 41

An unlikely basis for an organization's culture is:

A)the vision of the corporate founder
B)expectations of leadership
C)the performance evaluation-reward system
D)the location of the organization's manufacturing and distribution facilities

Question 42

Compatibility of individual and organizational value systems is known as:

A)realism
B)competence
C)mutuality
D)congruence

Question 43

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

A)recruitment
B)the interview process
C)organizational socialization
D)organizational revitalization

Question 44

Successful socialization is not all of the organization's responsibility and research suggests that newcomer's will have a more successful socialization when:

A)they are more curious
B)they are more adaptable
C)they have a more proactive personality
D)All of the above

Question 45

Employee performance expectations are normally made known through:

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

Question 46

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 47

"Enron ethics" refers to the:

A)deeply held assumption that the anticipatory socialization process was not based on realism
B)gap between words and deeds
C)buy it now and pay for it later approach
D)belief that morality and leadership are not related

Question 48

Which of the following is most difficult to communicate and understand in socializing new employees?

A)job demands
B)company policies
C)performance expectations
D)values and assumptions
E)effective followership

Question 49

The primary purpose of socialization is the transmission of:

A)core values to new members
B)task demands
C)information associated with the realistic preview
D)information that allow future employees to master the job

Question 50

The two types of congruence important to anticipatory socialization are:

A)leadership style/job demand and individual values/organization values
B)individual ability/job demand and communication skills/team skills
C)leadership style/job demand and communication skills/team skills
D)individual ability/job demand and individual values/organizational values

Question 51

The two key concerns in the anticipatory socialization stage are:

A)realism and encounter
B)encounter and acquisition
C)congruence and acquisition
D)realism and congruence

Question 52

Corporate leaders can greatly influence and shape organizational culture through:

A)delegating crisis management
B)consistently demonstrating corporate values in measuring and 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 53

All of the following are successful indications of socialization except:

A)acceptable employee performance
B)strong intention to stay with firm
C)low levels of distress symptoms
D)interpersonal incompatibility

Question 54

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

A)convergence
B)multitrait/multimethod measurement
C)triangulation
D)combination measurement

Question 55

The focus of the organizational culture inventory is:

A)attitudes
B)behaviors
C)values
D)role demands

Question 56

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)to communicate the importance of trust as an important cultural attribute
D)assessment of individual attributes for future placement and potential

Question 57

Anticipatory socialization takes place through:

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

Question 58

The Walt Disney Company, known for its culture, uses all of the following to remind employees of the image they are trying to protect and the role they occupy except:

A)cast members
B)backstage
C)universities
D)triangulation

Question 59

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 60

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

A)task/people and security/satisfaction
B)behavior and task specifications
C)artifacts and assumptions
D)technical/human and time

Question 61

Deeply held beliefs that guide behavior and tell members of an organization how to perceive and think about things are called values.

Question 62

Symbols of organizational culture are called rituals.

Question 63

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 64

Managers in organizations that consistently communicated concern for workers' well-being and that focused on treating employees fairly reported feeling better about themselves and their role in the organization.

Question 65

Enacted values are what the members say they value.

Question 66

The burning of the policy manual in the parking lot of Continental Airlines reflected:

A)a change in culture at Continental
B)the beginning of a story that reinforces a more service-oriented culture at Continental
C)the symbolic emphasis of walking the talk at Continental
D)all of these

Question 67

Values are the deepest level of culture.

Question 68

The assessing of cultural change can best be done through:

A)observing behavior
B)testing for values change
C)psychoanalysis of assumptions
D)intrinsically studying motivation

Question 69

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

Question 70

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

Question 71

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

Question 72

Changing an organization's culture is difficult because:

A)attitudes are not changeable
B)assumptions are deeply ingrained, even below consciousness
C)norms adjust with changing leader personalities
D)behavior is nonconfrontable

Question 73

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 74

An organization's culture is much like an individual's personality.

Question 75

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

Question 76

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

Question 77

The explanation of how AOL liked to handle weakened competitors, which was to "drive a knife in their heart," revealed:

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

Question 78

Chip Conley, CEO of Joie de Vivre, could see that his company was about to collapse. He went to a bookstore for help and ended up reading Maslow's hierarchy which resulted in Conley identifying two values that became central to the organization's culture. Those two values included:

A)recognition and meaning
B)achievement and respect
C)integrity and teamwork
D)commitment and engagement

Question 79

A retirement dinner would be a good example of a rite of enhancement.

Question 80

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

A)create a clear and simple mission statement
B)develop global career paths
C)prevent cultural differences before they become a source of conflict
D)create matrix minds