Deck 13: Leadership, People and Culture

Question 1

Pfeffer's practices that characterise most successful people-oriented organisations do NOT include:

A)security of employment
B)extensive training is provided
C)high compensation compared to performance
D)reduced status distinctions across levels of the organisation

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A leader might go about changing culture by:

A)delegating the task of role modelling deep into the organisation
B)reacting to critical incidents by finding a culprit
C)using the recruitment and promotion system to place people with commitment to established culture
D)using the induction system to impress the culture on new people as they join

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin conclude that the role of the board of directors in the leadership of the organisation is:

A)overstated in traditional strategic analysis and implementation
B)understated in traditional strategic analysis and implementation
C)ignored in traditional strategic analysis and implementation
D)irrelevant in traditional strategic analysis and implementation

Answer 3

B

Question 4

With respect to communicating organisation strategy and implementation needs,we attempt to address the following issues:

A)what and when to communicate and what channels to use
B)what,when and who to communicate
C)what,when and why to communicate
D)what and how to communicate and what channels to use

Question 5

Hilmer argued that the board's role is to:

A)ensure that management achieves industry average returns on capital employed
B)ensure that all customers are treated fairly
C)ensure that management strives for above-average,risk-adjusted performance
D)ensure that employee-employer relations are professional

Question 6

People in an organisation might be assessed in terms of their 'fit' with a proposed strategy:

A)by a survey of what they think,how well they are prepared and understand requirements
B)by a resource or competency audit to change the attitudes of people to the strategy
C)both of the above
D)none of the above

Question 7

The main elements of culture include:

A)rites of passage,rules,symbols,stories and beliefs,strategies and structures,values and morals
B)fact and fiction,value and merit,routings,rituals,rules,symbols,illusion and reality
C)rules,symbols,stories and myths,systems and structures,values and beliefs,routines,rituals
D)illusion and reality,structure and strategy,routines,symbols,morals and ethics,ritual magic

Question 8

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest one of the issues arising from assuming that value statements reflect the culture of the organisation is that:

A)the list of values is not the real value of the organisation
B)the list of values is not different or unique in some way,especially from competitors
C)the list of values represents only a fraction of the complete culture of the organisation
D)all of the above

Question 9

Which of the following is not a reason why cultures change or are not static?

A)New technologies develop.
B)New competitors emerge.
C)Organisations expand their product range and new markets emerge.
D)Organisations embrace groupthink,narrow external fields of vision,and hang on to existing markets.

Question 10

Kotter's list of leadership attributes and processes does not include:

A)setting a direction for the organisation
B)developing a strategic orientation for the organisation
C)aligning people with the direction
D)motivating people to carry out the direction

Question 11

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin define culture as the underlying ___,___ and ___ that affect how the ___ of the organisation should be conducted - '___ we ___ around here':

A)cost,benefits,relationships,business,what,do to achieve goals
B)values,beliefs,patterns of behaviour,operations,how,do things
C)hopes,fears,desires,affairs,who,admire
D)opinions,good,bad,activities,what,value

Question 12

The board of directors is:

A)a club for top managers
B)voted in by the employees
C)a form of scrutiny of the organisation imposed by the government
D)voted in by the shareholders

Question 13

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin define management as the ability to:

A)implement existing policies and procedures through other efficient and effective people
B)efficiently and effectively implement existing policies and procedures through other people
C)approve policies and procedures for implementation by other existing people
D)efficiently and effectively implement properly approved processes through other people

Question 14

Sonnenfelt argues that an important aspect for selection should be that board members are:

A)ready to unquestionably cooperate with the management
B)prepared to maintain harmony with management
C)prepared to stand up to management and ask tough questions
D)prepared to avoid situations of conflict with management

Question 15

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest that there are various types of boards,including:

A)stakeholder control,managerial control,normative control,control by exception,strategic control,review and approve
B)stockholder control,positive control,tactical control,control by exception
C)analysis of variances,bottom-line driven,top-down approval,normally controlled,normative
D)advise and consent control,managerial control,objective control,culturally sensitive,financial control

Question 16

Hubbard,Galvin and Rice's definition of leadership does NOT include the ability to:

A)motivate others to buy into the leader's vision
B)develop a vision of the future for the organisation
C)get a vision of the future for the organisation implemented
D)articulate a vision of the history of the organisation

Question 17

Something that indicates indirectly the aspects of an organisation's culture is a:

A)rule
B)ritual
C)symbol
D)value

Question 18

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest that the common requirements of leadership are:

A)articulate the vision and culture,passion and commitment,actions are important,be in touch,develop rewards
B)tell stories,make important decisions,touch people,impose penalties,hide emotions
C)commitment to a cause,self-importance,be a soft touch,develop stories,settle scores
D)power and authority,symbolic actions,common touch,penalise failure,reward stories

Question 19

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin suggest that leadership style will vary when:

A)the organisation lacks the time and resources to make the change
B)change is being forced from within
C)change is being forced from the outside
D)the environment is simultaneously stable and turbulent

Question 20

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin assert that one of the key roles for the board is to:

A)approve remuneration packages for all employees
B)appoint and review the performance of the CEO
C)analyse and implement major investment decisions
D)conduct regular audit of all activities

Question 21

Values statements will often reflect ethical considerations.

Question 22

People selection on the basis of values fit with organisational culture is not a reliable predictor of job performance.

Question 23

When people only see their leaders for brief periods of time,these brief meetings are not very important to them.

Question 24

According to Goffee and Jones,smart people do not object to being led.

Question 25

Here is Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream values statement.Critique the statement based on the three issues that Hubbard et al.suggest should show in order to reflect the culture of the organisation.
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
-We strive to minimise our negative impact on the environment.
-We strive to show a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our company and for the communities in which they live.
-We seek and support nonviolent ways to achieve peace and justice.We believe government resources are more productively used in meeting human needs than in building and maintaining weapons systems.
-We strive to create economic opportunities for those who have been denied and to advance new models of economic justice that are sustainable and replicable.
-We support sustainable and safe methods of food production that reduce environmental degradation,maintain the productivity of the land over time and support the economic viability of family farms and rural communities.

Question 26

Cognition theory assumes that cognition represents the world as the person sees it and that action is preceded by understanding.

Question 27

From a strategic perspective,both leadership and management tasks are equally important.

Question 28

Much of the cultures of organisations is implicit,embedded in the ways of operating.

Question 29

'Leaders are born,not made.' Discuss the validity of this statement.

Question 30

Communication - or lack of it - is frequently raised as a problem in implementation failure.What are the four steps proposed by Conger for effective persuasion communication?

Question 31

Finkelstein suggests that leaders fail because they overreact to environmental challenges.

Question 32

Assess how 'top management teams' can function effectively.

Question 33

It is clear that attitudes,as much as abilities,are a desirable basis for choosing the 'right' people.

Question 34

Sustainability is not an element of implementation,but a criterion for:

A)decision-making about board choices
B)decision-making about implementation choices
C)decision-making about leadership choices
D)decision-making about strategy choices

Question 35

In major organisations,women remain very much a majority in senior leadership positions.

Question 36

There are four levels of leadership.

Question 37

The UK Cadbury report on the role of directors recommended that roles of the board chair and CEO should be merged.

Question 38

Hubbard,Rice and Galvin argue that various issues agreed by boards regarding performance do not include:

A)boards should act only for the shareholders
B)performance,not conformance,is the key
C)boards should measure organisational performance over the long term,not the short term
D)board performance should be assessed

Question 39

Hubbard et al.'s concept of 'captain-coach' is inconsistent with the idea of 'Management by Walking Around'.

Question 40

Sustainability is an element of implementation,but not a criterion for decision-making about implementation choices.

Question 41

Many organisations have developed their own codes of conduct to cover ethical behaviour.What are some of the common points they include in these codes?

Question 42

'It is unrealistic and unnecessary for boards to assess their own performance.' Comment.

Question 43

Hubbard,et al.says 'But including sustainability as a criterion for evaluation should lead to lesser weight being given to economic outcomes and more to social and environmental outcomes.' Give an example of what it might mean for a CFO's decision-making.