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"severe income disparity and chronic fiscal imbalances" As economic growth has languished and sputtered, and as people's belief that anyone could grab hold of an opportunity and have a decent shot at prosperity has wavered, social discontent over growing income gaps has increased. The bottom line is that business leaders need to recognize how societal attitudes in the economic context also may create constraints as they make decisions and manage their businesses.
According to the World Economic Forum, two significant post-recession risks facing business leaders and policy makers over the next decade are ___________.
symbolic The symbolic view of management holds that much of an organization's success or failure is due to external forces outside managers' control.
According to the ___________________ view of management, performance is influenced by factors such as the economy, customers, governmental policies, competitors' actions, and industry conditions.
autocracy An autocracy is a government by one, and it would not be a characteristic of an innovative culture.
According to research, an innovative culture would most likely be characterized by all of the following EXCEPT ________. A. autocracy B. risk-taking C. playfulness/humor D. freedom E. idea time
risk-taking According to Swedish researcher Goran Ekvall, an innovative culture would be characterized by the following: challenge and involvement; freedom; trust and openness; idea time; playfulness/humor; conflict resolution; debates; risk-taking.
An innovative business culture most likely involves ________.
symbols and language Material symbols convey to employees who is important and the behaviors that are expected and appropriate. Many organizations and units within organizations use language as a way to identify and unite members of a culture. By learning this language, members attest to their acceptance of the culture and their willingness to help preserve it.
Employees learn organizational culture through ________.
the degree of change and complexity in an organization's environment Correct. If the components in an organization's environment change frequently, it's a dynamic environment. If change is minimal, it's a stable one. The other dimension of uncertainty describes the degree of environmental complexity, which looks at the number of components in an organization's environment and the extent of the knowledge that the organization has about those components.
Environmental uncertainty refers to_____________.
employee empowerment In spiritual organizations, managers trust employees to make thoughtful and conscientious decisions.
In spiritual organizations, managers give employees a certain degree of autonomy and responsibility for making decisions within the scope of their jobs. Which cultural characteristic does this represent?
the organization's culture and is called internal constraint In reality, managers are neither all-powerful nor helpless. But their decisions and actions are constrained; external constraints come from the organization's environment and internal constraints come from the organization's culture.
Managers face constraints in their ability to control their organizations; one constraint is based on __________________.
Organizational culture Organizational culture is an internal constraint, not an external constraint that is part of the company's environment. External environmental components include the economic component; the demographic component; the political/legal component; the sociocultural component; the technological component; and the global component.
Of the following components, all of them might act as constraints to managers in the external environment EXCEPT for the_________ component. A. technological B. organizational cultural C. demographic D. political/legal E. sociocultural
strategic plans Although strategic plans are important to the successful operation of a company they do not comprise organizational culture. Organizational culture is described as the shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act and that distinguish the organization from other organizations.
Organizational culture comprises all of the following factors EXCEPT __________.
strong customer service skills Although delivering consistent, high-quality customer service is crucial to a company, it is not the hallmark of workplace spirituality. Organizations with a spiritual culture recognize that people have a mind and a spirit, seek to find meaning and purpose in their work, and desire to connect with other human beings and be part of a community.
Organizations with a spiritual culture recognize that people have the following characteristics EXCEPT ________.
Hispanic-Americans Hispanic-Americans continue to be the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population; however, they do not constitute a demographic categorization used in describing post-World War II generations. The categorizations are: Baby Boomers, Gen Y, Millennials, and Post-Millennials.
The following are all demographic categorizations used in describing the post-World War II generations, EXCEPT ________.
Material artifacts and symbols Material artifacts and symbols include an organization's facilities, how employees dress, the kinds of automobiles provided to top executives, the availability of corporate aircraft, and the size of offices.
The layout of an organization's facilities, how employees dress, the kinds of automobiles provided to top executives, and office sizes are examples of which aspect of the organization's culture?
socialization Socialization is a process that helps new employees learn the organization's way of doing things.
The process through which employees learn about and adapt to the organization's culture is known as ___________.
Managers are directly responsible for an organization's success or failure. In the omnipotent view, someone has to be held accountable when organizations perform poorly regardless of the reasons, and that "someone" is the manager. Of course, when things go well, managers also get the creditlong dash—even if they had little to do with achieving the positive outcomes.
Which of the following most accurately describes the omnipotent view of management within the organization?
sociocultural Correct. This component is concerned with societal and cultural factors, such as values, attitudes, trends, conditions, lifestyles, beliefs, tastes, and patterns of behavior.
Before introducing a new product to the market, a food products company conducts market research to identify the lifestyles, patterns of behavior, and attitudes of consumers in the target market. This market research targets the ___________ component of the external environment.
external Constraints based on the company's environment are referred to as external constraints; those based on the company's culture are referred to as internal constraints.
Managers face constraints in their ability to control their organizations; the constraint based on the company's environment is referred to as a(n) __________________ constraint.
Freedom, trust, and debates
Which of the following are most likely characteristics of an innovative business culture?
Population characteristics such as family composition, education level, and geographic location
Which of the following factors would likely be considered part of the demographic environment?
Socialization Correct. Organizations help employees adapt to the culture through socialization, a process that helps new employees learn the organization's way of doing things.
Which of the following is primarily used by firms to help employees adapt to the organizational culture?
Strong cultures are associated with high organizational performance. Strong organizational cultures are associated with high performance, because if values are clear and widely accepted, employees know what they're supposed to do and what's expected of them, so they can act quickly to take care of problems.
Which statement about organizational culture is most likely true?
Geographic mobility and economic uncertainty create a lack of community.
Which statement best explains the importance of workplace spirituality in today's society?