Deck 19: Cultural Approach to Organizations

Question 1

Geertz considers the study of culture a(n):

A) experimental science.
B) soft science.
C) hard science.
D) implausible science.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Researchers who "map out" social discourse are called:

A) ethnographers.
B) geographers.
C) cultographers.
D) None of the answers is correct.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Pacanowsky argues that culture is not something an organization has, but is something an organization:

A) fears.
B) strives for.
C) is.
D) pretends to have.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Discussing communication consulting, Linda Smircich:

A) raises ethical concerns because top corporate officers hire consultants to help extend control over employees.
B) raises pragmatic concerns about the cost and time involved in the ethnographic approach.
C) suggests that most organizations have similar bureaucratic rules and procedures.
D) suggests that consultants fail to consider the power of metaphors, stories, and rituals.

Question 5

The intertwined layers of common meaning that underlie what a particular people say and do are referred to as:

A) analogical background.
B) thick description.
C) ethnographic metaphor.
D) frequency distribution.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a type of narrative that Pacanowsky claims dramatizes organizational life?

A) resistant stories
B) personal stories
C) collegial stories
D) corporate stories

Question 7

A(n) ________ helps to clarify what is unknown or confusing by equating it with an image that is more familiar or vivid.

A) ritual
B) story
C) anecdote
D) metaphor

Question 8

Geertz would regard the quest to alter culture as:

A) appropriate if carefully planned and monitored.
B) the most important role of management.
C) easily achieved in the corporate world because of top-down control.
D) None of the answers is correct.

Question 9

Actions by which members constitute and reveal their culture to themselves and others is what Greetz called ________.

A) cultural bonding
B) cultural exhibition
C) cultural identity
D) cultural performance

Question 10

Pacanowsky and Geertz agree that some ________ are "texts" that articulate multiple aspects of cultural life.

A) anecdotes
B) rituals
C) stories
D) metaphors

Question 11

Collegial stories are positive or negative anecdotes told about others in an organization.

Question 12

Stories repeated over and over provide a convenient window through which to view corporate webs of significance.

Question 13

Geertz admits that the concept of culture as systems of shared meaning is somewhat vague and difficult to grasp.

Question 14

Geertz believes that an effective manager can manufacture a culture to suit the management's needs.

Question 15

According to Geertz, close-knit societies have subcultures and countercultures within their boundaries.

Question 16

While some aspects of corporate culture are long-lasting and difficult to control, shared meanings are relatively easy to dispel.

Question 17

The use of culture as a root metaphor was stimulated by Western fascination with the economic success of Japanese corporations.

Question 18

Geertz maintained that the way to understand a culture is to observe it as a stranger in a foreign land.

Question 19

Central to the research method of the cultural approach to organizations is content analysis, which requires exhaustive frequency counts of the various activities of workers.

Question 20

Corporate stories are tales told by employees that put them in a favorable light.

Question 21

According to Pacanowsky, ________ is not just another piece of a puzzle; it is the puzzle.

Question 22

The job of a(n) ________ is to sort out the symbolic meanings of people's actions within their culture.

Question 23

While ________ stories emphasize the ideology of management and their policies, ________ stories are those that employees tell about themselves.

Question 24

Define and describe corporate culture. How and why does an ethnographer study it?

Question 25

Using Linda Smircich's commentary on research ethics as a springboard, discuss the clash between pragmatists and ethnographers of corporate culture. How do their research goals differ? Where do critical theorists stand in this debate? How about you?

Question 26

Discuss the culture of an organization or a corporation that you know well. Pay particular attention to metaphors, stories, and rituals.

Question 27

Most employees join a company long after they've been socialized into the values of the larger society. Does this mean they are not susceptible to the unique elements of a particular organization? Explain.

Question 28

Following Pacanowsky's lead, write a fictional account of a real organizational culture. Be creative, but also be sure that your story communicates authentic features of the culture you choose.

Question 29

Are corporations really cultures? How can we compare an organization with an entire society?

Question 30

What does the study of corporate culture have to do with communication theory?

Question 31

Discuss the drawbacks of the cultural approach to organizations.

Question 32

Is it possible to shift a culture from within or, as the interactional perspective suggested regarding family systems, is the assistance of an outside person needed to help reframe a culture?