Chapter 14

Rituals are: a. programmed routines of daily organizational life that dramatize the organization's culture. b. more formal artifacts than ceremonies. c. verbal symbols of cultural values that reveal how employees talk to one another, describe customers, express anger, and greet stakeholders. d. physical structures that convey the dominant values of an organization's culture. e. games that people play to defy the dominant culture and, instead, support countercultural beliefs and values.

A

Ceremonies are: a. programmed routines of daily organizational life that dramatize the organization's culture. b. more formal artifacts than ceremonies. c. verbal symbols of cultural values that reveal how employees talk to one another, describe customers, express anger, and greet stakeholders. d. physical structures that convey the dominant values of an organization's culture. e. games that people play to defy the dominant culture and, instead, support countercultural beliefs and values.

B

One of the first steps to minimize a cultural clash in a merger is to: a. significantly reduce the strength of the culture in both the organizations. b. conduct a bicultural audit. c. significantly increase the strength of the culture in both organizations. d. replace the chief executives in both organizations before merger negotiations begin. e. replace the employees with new ones.

B

Which of the following happens during the preemployment stage of organizational socialization? a. Conflicts are resolved between work and nonwork activities. b. Employees form expectations (a psychological contract) about working at that organization. c. Reality shock is experienced. d. Newcomers test how well their preemployment expectations fit reality. e. Applicants strengthen relationships with coworkers and supervisors, practice new role behaviors, and adopt attitudes and values consistent with their new positions and the organization. B

B

Which of the following is an artifact? a. Values b. Language c. Assumptions d. Beliefs e. Corporate cult

B

Which of the following statements is consistent with the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory? a. Job applicants who later become organizational members tend to be attracted to coworkers who share their values and assumptions. b. Organizations have a natural tendency to attract, select, and retain people with values that are consistent with the organization's own culture. c. Attraction, selection, and attrition are part of the natural life-cycle of organizational members. d. Employees get attached to organizations that meet their reward expectations. e. Attraction followed by selection inevitably leads to attrition in the future.

B

Many employees get a reality shock on their first day at work because: a. applicants want employees to develop better expectations of future work experiences. b. applicants want to ensure that employees develop a stronger loyalty to the organization. c. newcomers test how well their preemployment expectations fit reality and many companies fail this test. d. employers ignore the duty to orient new applicants on the first day of work. e. colleagues provide a lot of information regarding various work assignments on the very first day.

C

Organizations that tolerate or encourage subcultures with dissenting values: a. usually go quickly out of business. b. usually build stronger cultures to counteract those dissenting values. c. may eventually use those dissenting values to build a new set of dominant values in the future. d. do not have any corporate culture.

C

The best way to determine an organization's shared assumptions is to: a. interview executives. b. look for evidence of its corporate value statements. c. determine what the organization's enacted values are. d. read public relations statements produced by the organization. e. ask customers to evaluate the company's effectiveness.

C

What is the significance of artifacts in organizational culture? a. Artifacts are the same as organizational culture. b. Artifacts are the residual parts of the organization that cannot fit into its culture. c. Artifacts represent the directly observable symbols and signs of an organization's culture. d. Artifacts are the main observable indicators that the organization does not have a culture. e. Artifacts mainly reflect the subcultures that conflict with an organization's dominant culture.

C

When merging two organizations, a separation strategy is most commonly applied when: a. both companies have relatively weak cultures that are generally ineffective. b. one company has an effective culture and employees at the other company would embrace that culture if applied to them. c. the two organizations operate in distinct industries. d. the acquired firm's culture doesn't work, whereas the culture of the acquiring firm does work. e. a bicultural audit reveals that both companies have very similar cultures.

C

The three stages of organizational socialization, in order, are: a. pre-hire, preemployment, and post-hire. b. newcomer, insider, and outsider. c. student, employee, and retiree. d. preemployment, encounter, and role management. e. anticipation, encounter, and disillusionment.

D

When the acquired firm has a weak culture, it is best to use the _____ merger strategy. a. disambiguation b. separation c. deculturation d. assimilation e. integration

D

Which of the following is true about mental models? a. Mental models usually help to improve organizational effectiveness. b. Mental models are one of the artifacts of organizational culture. c. Mental models are mainly used to decipher an organization's culture. d. Mental models blind employees to new opportunities and unique problems. e. Mental models do not have any relationship with organizational culture.

D

Which of the following organizational culture dimension is characterized by competitiveness and a low emphasis on social responsibility? a. Stability b. Innovation c. Outcome orientation d. Aggressiveness e. Respect for people

D

A(n) _____ is a system whereby newcomers are assigned to coworkers for sources of information and social support. a. two-man rule b. work ownership c. duty segregation d. inspection partnership e. buddy system

E

Reality shock is: a. provided by organizations to ensure that new employees accept the challenges at work. b. an element in the model of individual behavior. c. common in lateral career development. d. a unique feature of an adaptive culture. e. a perceived discrepancy between employee expectations and reality.

E

Which of the following is true about using the strategy of integration for merging different corporate cultures? a. It works best when people realize that their existing cultures are good enough, which motivates them to stick to their dominant values. b. It is the fastest strategy for merging different corporate cultures. c. It is potentially safe because neither party is preserving the existing culture. d. It should be considered when the merging companies have strong cultures and distinct cultures. e. It creates a new composite culture that preserves the best features of the previous cultures.

E

_____ are unconscious, taken-for-granted perceptions or ideal prototypes of behavior that are considered the correct way to think and act toward problems and opportunities. a. Values b. Organizational artifacts c. Languages d. Beliefs e. Shared assumptions

E

Which of the following is a characteristic of an adaptive corporate culture? a. Employees hold a common mental model that the organization's success depends on their personal wellbeing. b. Employees seek out opportunities rather than wait for them to arrive. c. Employees tend to be more reactive. d. Employees tend to take the view that any activity beyond their job description is not their job. e. Employees are more individualistic and do not experiment with new ideas outside their work profiles.

NOT A