MGMT Chapter 12

The two culture-building roles of a company's stated values and ethical standards are to

help create a work climate where company personnel share common and strongly held convictions about how the company's business is to be conducted and to signal employees that they are to display the company's core values in their actions and uphold the company's ethical standards.

A company's stated core values and ethical principles

help create a work climate where company personnel share common and strongly-held convictions about how the company's business is to be conducted and signal employees that they are expected to display the core values in their actions and behaviors and uphold the company's ethical standards.

The place for management to begin in trying to change a problem culture is

identifying facets of the present culture that are obstacles to operating excellence and then selling company personnel on a new set of behaviors and work practices.

When trying to change a problem culture, management should undertake such steps as

identifying which aspects of the present culture are supportive of good strategy execution and which ones are not and then selling the work force on what new actions, behaviors, and work practices are needed to improve performance.

A work environment where the culture is well-matched to the conditions and behaviors requisite for good strategy execution is a valuable managerial ally because

it provides company personnel with clear guidance regarding "how we do things around here" and produces significant peer pressures from co-workers to conform to culturally acceptable norms.

The character of a company's corporate culture is a product of

All of these.

Which of the following is not a technique that companies employ to hammer in and ingrain core values and ethical standards?

Downplaying ethics enforcement procedures

Which one of the following statements about a company's culture is false?

A company's culture, once established, tends to remain stable and entrenched over time.

Which one of the following is not a typical characteristic of a weak company culture?

A complicated value chain and a very diverse set of core competencies—both of which act to create multiple subcultures

Which one of the following is a typical characteristic of a weak company culture?

A lack of values and principles that are consistently preached or widely shared

Which of the following contribute to the emergence and sustainability of a strong culture?

A sincere, long-standing company commitment to operating the business according to established traditions, thereby creating an internal environment that supports decision making and strategies based on cultural norms

Which of the following statements about the match between a company's culture and it strategy is false?

A tight strategy-culture alignment facilitates building core competencies and distinctive competencies that lead to low operating costs and a cost-based competitive advantage.

Which of the following is a benefit of closely aligning the corporate culture with the requirements for proficient strategy execution?

A tight strategy-culture fit steers company personnel into displaying behaviors and adopting operating practices that promote good strategy execution.

The characteristics of a strong culture company include

All of these.

Which of the following is not a common trait of an unhealthy company culture?

An aversion to incentive compensation, failure to recruit the best and brightest employees, subpar support for employee training, overemphasis on working in teams, and low ethical standards

Which one of the following is not an appropriate step management can take to change a problem culture?

Appointing a team of key managers and employees to design a plan for cultural change and then lead the internal effort to change the culture

Which one of the following is not likely to be an effective management action to create a better strategy- culture fit and alter a problem culture

Calling upon first-level supervisors and rank-and-file employees to identify cultural barriers to good strategy execution and then lead the cultural change effort

Which of the following is not a factor in contributing to the emergence and sustainability of a strong culture?

Centralized decision-making, strict enforcement of company policies, and a strong commitment to being the market share leader

Which of the following statements about a strong-culture company is false?

Centralized decision-making, strict enforcement of company policies, diligent pursuit of a distinctive competence, and a bold strategic intent are the hallmarks of a strong-culture company.

Which of the following topics would least likely be contained in a company's code of ethics?

Committing to a no-layoff policy and to adequate funding of employee retirement programs

Which one of the following is not something to look for in identifying a company's culture?

Its resource strengths, core competencies, and competitive capabilities

A company's culture is not manifested in which one of the following?

Its strategic vision, strategic intent, and strategy.

Which of the following is not an example of an unhealthy company culture?

Hyper-adaptive cultures

Which of the following is not an integral part of transforming core values and ethical standards into cultural norms?

Immediately dismissing any employee caught violating the company's code of ethics or disregarding core values

Which of the following is not one of the positive impacts that a company's stated values and ethical standards have on its corporate culture?

Ensuring that the company will be a model corporate citizen

Which one of the following statements about a high performance culture is false?

High performance cultures often have a low regard for high ethical standards, a strong preference for high-risk strategies, and a slow and methodical approach to responding to changes in the market- place.

Which one of the following is not particularly helpful in perpetuating a company's culture?

Maintaining a consistent strategic vision and strategic intent over time.

Which of the following topics would least likely be contained in a company's statement of its core values?

Mandating full compliance with all laws and regulations

Which one of the following statements about a high performance culture is true?

Results-oriented, high performance cultures are permeated with a spirit of achievement and have a good track record in meeting or beating performance targets.

Which one of the following is a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change and replacing senior executives who are strongly identified with the old culture and may be stonewalling needed changes.

The menu of actions management can take to change problem culture does not include which one of the following?

Shifting from decentralized to centralized decision-making so as to give senior executives more authority and control in driving cultural change

Which one of the following is not a fundamental part of a company's culture?

The company's strategic vision, strategic intent, and strategy

Which one of the following statements about a weak company culture is true?

Weak cultures provide little assistance in executing strategy because there are no traditions, values, or behavioral norms that management can use as levers to mobilize commitment to executing the chosen strategy.

Which one of the following is something to look for in identifying a company's culture?

The spirit and character that pervades the work climate and the values, business principles, and ethical standards that management preaches and practices

Which of the following statements about adaptive corporate cultures is false?

The standout cultural traits are a "can-do" spirit, pride in doing things right, no-excuses accountability, and a pervasive results-oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to meet or beat stretch objectives.

Which one of the following is not a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?

Urging company personnel to search outside the company for work practices and operating approaches that may be an improvement over what the company is presently doing

The hallmarks of a high performance corporate culture include

a "can-do" spirit, pride in doing things right, no-excuses accountability, and a pervasive results-oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to meet or beat stretch objectives.

Changing a problem culture to create better alignment with strategy generally does not involve

altering the company's strategic vision and/or its strategic and financial objectives.

Companies,especiallyoneswithmultinationaloperationsand/ornewlyacquiredbusinesses,typically have

multiple cultures (or subcultures) rather than a single culture.

Codes of ethics and statements of core values

serve as cornerstones of the corporate culture at companies where executives are truly committed to practicing the values and ethical standards that have been espoused.

Once established, company cultures can be perpetuated by

systematic indoctrination of new members in the culture's fundamentals, frequent reiteration of core values by senior managers and group members, and regular ceremonies honoring members who display desired cultural behaviors.

A company's corporate culture is best defined and identified by

the character of a company's internal work climate and personality—as shaped by the company's core values, business principles, traditions, ingrained behaviors of "how we do things around here," and style of operating.

When a company's culture is out of sync with what is needed for strategic success and good strategy execution,

the culture has to be changed to accommodate the requirements of good strategy execution as rapidly as can be managed.

The hallmark of a strong-culture company is

the dominating presence of certain deeply-rooted values and operating approaches that "regulate" the conduct of a company's business and the climate of its workplace.

At companies where executives believe in the merits of practicing the values and ethical standards that have been espoused

the stated core values and ethical principles are the cornerstones of the corporate culture.

Frequently, a significant part of a company's culture is captured in

the stories that get told over and over again to illustrate to newcomers the importance of certain values and the depth of commitment that various company personnel have displayed.

In adaptive corporate cultures,

there's a spirit of doing what's necessary to ensure long-term organizational success provided that core values and business principles are not compromised and provided top management undertakes the changes

To deeply ingrain core values and ethical standards, a company must

turn the espoused core values and ethical standards into strictly enforced cultural norms.

In a strong culture company,

values and behavioral norms are like crabgrass—deeply rooted and hard to weed out.

The hallmark of an adaptive corporate culture is

willingness on the part of organizational members to accept change and take on the challenge of introducing and executing new strategies.

A company's values statement and code of ethics

communicate expectations of how employees should conduct themselves in the workplace.

Changing a problem culture

is one of the toughest managerial tasks because of the heavy anchor of ingrained behaviors and ways of doing things.

A company's culture is typically grounded in and shaped by

its core values and the bar it sets for ethical standards.

Companies with change-resistant cultures

are prone to be preoccupied with avoiding risks, are unlikely to pursue bold actions to capture emerging opportunities, etc.

Establishing a workable strategy-cultural fit in multinational and global companies

can be accomplished by grounding the company's strategy in values and operating practices that travel well across country borders and that strike a chord with managers and workers in many different areas of the world, despite varying local customs and traditions.

A company's culture is in part defined and identified by

a company's internal work climate and personality—as shaped by its core values, work practices, traditions, and ingrained behaviors that define "how we do things around here."

Unhealthy company cultures typically have such characteristics as

a politicized internal environment, hostility to change and an aversion to looking outside the company for best practices, new managerial approaches, and innovative ideas.

The single most visible factor that distinguishes successful culture-change efforts from failed attempts is

competent leadership at the top.

A corporate culture founded on ethical business principles and socially approved values

is a positive force underlying a company's long-term success and reduces the likelihood of reputation-damaging behavior on the part of a company's employees.

In moving to alter a problem culture, management should

All of these.