ch. 3 Organizational Culture and Environment: (prep)

71. Which of the following is most characteristic of an organization with a strong spiritual culture?

a. Employees are encouraged to express themselves.

92. Compared to the specific environment, which of the following is an accurate statement about the general environment of an organization?

a. It has less impact on the organization's operations.

48. Employees in organizations with strong cultures _______________.

a. are more committed to their organizations

86. United Parcel Service represents which of the following to the U.S. Postal Service?

a. competitor

42. The symbolic view of management is based upon the belief that managers symbolize _________.

a. control and influence

77. Organizations exist to meet the needs of which of the following constituencies?

a. customers

102. Which of the following are the two dimensions of environmental uncertainty?

a. degree of change and degree of complexity

94. Interest rates, inflation rates, and stock market fluctuations are all examples of what factor in an organization's general environment?

a. economic

38. Internal constraints that restrict a manager's decision options _______________.

a. exist within every organization

75. An organization's specific environment ________________.

a. is unique and changes with conditions

57. When employees at Microsoft use terms such as work judo, eating your own dog food, and flat food, they are using organizational __________.

a. languages

87. The general environment factor of economic conditions consists of all of the following except _______________.

a. legislation recently passed by Congress

46. Organizational culture is concerned with how members perceive the organization, not whether they __________.

a. like the organization

36. The __________ view of management is consistent with the stereotypical picture of the take-charge business executive who can overcome any obstacle in carrying out the organization's objectives.

a. omnipotent

34. Which of the following represent the two views of managerial impact on the success or failure of the organization?

a. omnipotent and symbolic

52. A company whose managers focus on results, rather than how results are achieved, most likely possesses a high degree of which of the following?

a. outcome orientation

91. Typically, the general organizational environment includes which of the following?

a. political conditions

67. A company that primarily values a strong sense of purpose through meaningful work has a(n) _________________ organizational culture.

a. spiritual

51. Which of the following dimensions of organizational culture is defined as the degree to which an organization's actions and decisions emphasize maintaining the status quo?

a. stability

60. Organizational _____________ typically contain narratives about significant events or people in the organization.

a. stories

99. Automation represents an example of a(n) __________ general environmental factor.

a. technological

72. Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between spirituality and business profitability?

b. Limited evidence suggests that spirituality may be compatible with profitability.

65. Which of the following is most likely to have a highly ethical organizational culture?

b. a company with high risk tolerance

41. Managers may be able to expand their areas of discretion by _______________.

b. changing and influencing their organization's culture and environment

69. An innovative organizational culture is characterized by all of the following characteristics except _________________.

b. conformity

76. The main forces that make up an organization's specific environment are __________.

b. customers, suppliers, competitors, and pressure groups

73. External environment refers to _________________.

b. factors and forces outside the organization that affect the organization's performance

62. The link between organizational values and managerial behavior is _____________.

b. fairly straightforward

79. Managers seek to ensure a steady __________________.

b. flow of needed inputs at the lowest price available

35. The omnipotent view of management states that ________________.

b. managers are directly responsible for an organization's success or failure

n reality, managers are most accurately viewed as _________.

b. neither helpless nor all powerful

44. The culture of an organization is analogous to the _____________ of an individual.

b. personality

95. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is an example of a __________.

b. political/legal condition

90. Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are examples of what factor in the specific external environment?

b. pressure groups

55. Corporate ___________ are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the values of an organization.

b. rituals

49. Which of the following phrases is associated with the definition of organizational culture?

b. shared meaning

74. According to the textbook, the _______________ environment includes those constituencies that have a direct and immediate impact on managers' decisions and actions and are directly relevant to the achievement of the organization's goals.

b. specific

82. For a company such as Walt Disney World in Florida, a bank would be an example of what kind of factor in their specific environment?

b. supplier

104. Managers try to minimize __________ because it threatens organizational effectiveness.

b. uncertainty

37. Which of the following most accurately reflects the symbolic view of management?

c. External forces are directly responsible for an organization's success or failure.

39. The current dominant assumption in management theory suggests _______________.

c. an emphasis on the view that managers are omnipotent

61. All of the following are mentioned in the textbook as examples of material symbols except ____________.

c. availability of stock options

84. For organizations such as hospitals, which hire nurses, the labor union and the local labor market are examples of which of the following specific environmental factors?

c. both are examples of suppliers

106. Degree of _______________ refers to the number of components in an organization's environment and the extent of the knowledge that the organization has about those components.

c. complexity

68. Conscientious employees with good listening skills are highly valuable for building a(n) _________________ organizational culture.

c. customer-responsive

107. The first step of managing external stakeholder relationships is to identify whom the stakeholders are. The second step is to _________________.

c. determine what particular interests or concerns these stakeholders might have

103. If the components of an organization's environment change frequently, the organization is operating in a __________ environment.

c. dynamic

45. All organizational cultures consist of each of the following except _________.

c. innovation

40. According to the symbolic view, managers have a(n) _____________ effect on substantive organizational outcomes.

c. limited

53. Sony Corporation's focus on product innovation is an example of which of the following dimensions of organizational culture?

c. outcome orientation

50. Which of the following is not considered to be a dimension of organizational culture?

c. purchasing policies

70. Workplace spirituality has become important in the contemporary workplace because it helps to _________________.

c. restore a sense of community

Which of the following represents the most significant ways through which corporate cultures are transmitted to employees?

c. stories, rituals, symbols, and language

97. Which of the following groups includes individuals who were born between the years 1946-1964?

c. the baby boomers

63. In learning an organization's specific language, members are displaying their _________________.

c. willingness to help preserve the culture of the organization

54. Which of the following most accurately reflects the difference between strong cultures and weak cultures?

d. Company values are more deeply held and widely shared in strong cultures than in weak cultures.

98. The members of which of the following groups are behaving in fundamentally different ways that are likely to greatly impact organizations and managers?

d. Generation Y

105. __________ are any constituencies in an organization's external environment that are affected by the organization's decisions and actions.

d. Stakeholders

88. Sociocultural conditions consist of _______________.

d. changing expectations and values within society

89. To a national broadcast network such as NBC, your home DVD player is considered a _____________.

d. competitor

85. Typically, the specific organizational environment includes which of the following?

d. competitors

96. A decrease in contributions from the public to the United Way charity is most likely the result of which of the following general environmental factors?

d. economic

64. An organization's culture affects managers by ______________.

d. establishing what is appropriate and expected behavior

47. Strong cultures _____________.

d. have a greater influence on employees than do weak cultures

93. Which of the following is not a component of an organization's general environment?

d. industry conditions

101. Which of the following best represents a global general environmental factor?

d. international markets

58. Most organizations have ____________ cultures.

d. moderate to strong

80. Each of the following is considered an organizational supplier except providers of __________________.

d. political pressure

59. The original source of an organization's culture usually ________________.

d. reflects the vision or mission of the organization's founder

66. To encourage ethical cultures, managers should _________________.

d. serve as visible role models

100. Which of the following has been the most rapidly changing component in an organization's general environment?

d. technological

78. When you think of an organization's suppliers, you ________________.

d. typically think in terms of organizations that provide materials and equipment

81. The Internet is having an impact on determining whom an organization's competitors are because it has _____________.

d. virtually eliminated geographic boundaries