Question 1

The general environment affects organisations both directly and indirectly and it includes social, economic, legal-political, international, and technological factors that influence all organisations about equally.

Accepted Answer

False

Question 2

If BHP Group provides gold for Gold Corporation, then Gold Corporation is considered a customer of BHP Group.

Accepted Answer

Gold Corporation purchasing gold from BHP Group establishes a buyer-seller relationship, making Gold Corporation a customer of BHP Group.

Question 3

BHP Group, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals, Newcrest Mining, South32 and Evolution Minings are the biggest mining companies in Australia. These companies are competitors of each other.

Accepted Answer

These companies are indeed some of the largest mining companies in Australia and operate in similar sectors, often competing for resources, projects, and market share in various commodities such as iron ore, gold, and other minerals.

Question 4

The external environment creates uncertainty for organisation managers, who must respond by designing the organisation to adapt to the environment or influence the environment.

Accepted Answer

The external environment, which includes factors such as economic conditions, competition, and regulatory changes, creates uncertainty for organization managers. They must respond by either designing the organization to be adaptable to these external changes or by attempting to influence the environment to favor their organization. This involves strategic planning, innovation, and sometimes lobbying efforts to shape regulations and standards.

Question 5

Environmental characteristics that influence uncertainty depends upon the number of factors that affect the organisation and the extent to which those factors change. In effect, when external factors change rapidly, the organisation experiences very high uncertainty.

Accepted Answer

The level of uncertainty an organization faces is indeed influenced by the number and rate of change of external factors. Rapid changes in these factors increase the complexity and unpredictability of the environment, leading to higher uncertainty.

Question 6

There are two basic strategies for coping with high environmental uncertainty: adapting the organisation to the changes in the environment and influencing the environment to make it more compatible with organisational needs.

Accepted Answer

These strategies reflect a proactive and reactive approach to managing environmental uncertainty, where adapting involves changing internal processes or structures to better align with external changes, and influencing involves actions aimed at shaping or controlling external factors to better suit the organization's needs.

Question 7

Boundary spanners play two significant roles in an organisation: they detect and process information about changes in the environment, and they represent the organisation's interest to the environment.

Accepted Answer

Boundary spanners act as a bridge between the organization and its external environment, both gathering and disseminating information, and representing the organization's interests externally.

Question 8

The internal culture of an organisation must fit the needs of the external environment and its strategies. When this fit occurs, highly committed employees create a high-performance organisation that is tough to beat.

Accepted Answer

A strong alignment between an organization's internal culture and its external environment and strategies ensures that employees are highly committed and motivated, leading to a high-performance organization that can effectively compete and succeed in its market.

Question 9

The fundamental values that characterise organisational culture can be understood through the visible manifestations of symbols, stories, heroes, slogans and ceremonies.

Accepted Answer

These visible elements, such as symbols, stories, heroes, slogans, and ceremonies, are expressions of an organization's culture and help in understanding its underlying values and norms.

Question 10

The 'achievement culture' emerges when an organisation values competitiveness, personal initiative and achievement .

Accepted Answer

The 'achievement culture' in an organization indeed focuses on values such as competitiveness, personal initiative, and achievement, encouraging employees to strive for personal success and contribute to the organization's goals.

Question 11

A cultural leader defines and articulates important values that are tied to a clear and compelling mission.

Accepted Answer

A cultural leader plays a crucial role in defining, articulating, and embodying the core values and mission of an organization or community, ensuring that these principles are clearly communicated and integrated into its culture.

Question 12

An organisation's general environment is made up of the following factors except:

Accepted Answer

Competitors are considered part of an organization's task environment rather than its general environment. The general environment includes broader forces that affect all businesses in an industry or geographic region, such as sociocultural factors, the international environment, the natural environment, and economic factors.

Question 13

Pidoo's Ventures recently opened stores in Italy and the UK, and plans to expand its operations to South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt . This is an example of Pidoo's ventures focusing of the ____________ dimensions of the general environment.

Accepted Answer

Opening stores in multiple countries and planning to expand to even more indicates a focus on the international dimension of the general environment, as it involves operating across national borders and adapting to various international markets.

Question 14

The strategies used by managers to adapt to strategic issues include:

Accepted Answer

Boundary-spanning roles involve interacting with external stakeholders to gather information and adapt to strategic issues, making it a strategy used by managers.

Question 15

RMG Group is using business intelligence, Big Data analytics and other activities to get as much information as possible about their rivals to promote organisational competitive. This activity is related to which growing area of boundary spanning?

Accepted Answer

Competitive intelligence involves gathering and analyzing information about competitors, which is exactly what RMG Group is doing by using business intelligence and Big Data analytics to understand their rivals better. This helps in making informed decisions to enhance their competitive edge.

Question 16

The deep-level of the corporate culture consists of:

Accepted Answer

The deep level of corporate culture is characterized by expressed values, underlying assumptions, and deep beliefs. These elements are not immediately visible but fundamentally shape an organization's culture and behaviors.

Question 17

When the marketing department of Alpha Electronics emphasises that 'We're happy when you're happy' in their advertising, they are:

Accepted Answer

The answer of When the marketing department of Alpha Electronics...

Question 18

Organisations pay careful attention to both cultural values and business performance to create a high-performance culture that:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Organisations pay careful attention to both cultural...

Question 19

One of the ways through which a cultural leader can influence organisational culture is by?

Accepted Answer

Articulating a vision for organizational culture that employees can believe in is a key way for a cultural leader to influence organizational culture.

Question 20

An organisation that focuses primarily on bottom-line results and pays little attention to organisational values belongs to which quadrant in the text?

Accepted Answer

Quadrant A is typically associated with organizations that prioritize bottom-line results over organizational values.

Quiz 3: The Environment and Corporate Culture