Organizational Management Chapter 3
Which of the following are steps that should be taken to manage organizational culture?
"Walk the talk" and show members of the culture that you are serious about long-term change Craft an inspirational vision of "what can be" for the organizational culture Celebrate and reward members who behave in ways that exemplify the desired culture
A negotiated agreement between an organization and another group to exchange things such as goods, services, information, and patents is called ______.
A contract
Which of the following people is an example of a final customer?
A person who buys a lamp at Target
Competitors may include many types of companies. Which of the following would NOT be considered a competitor of yours?
A regional company that sells to a different customer group or industry
Which of the following is a well-known type of organizational culture? (check all that apply)
Adhocracy Clan Hierarchy
Managers can take several approaches to managing culture. Which of the following is one of these approaches?
Celebrate and reward members who behave in ways that exemplify the desired culture
What are the types of independent actions that organizations can take in order to influence the environment?
Competitive aggression Public relations Voluntary action Legal action Political action
Which of the following is an independent strategy a company can use to influence its environment?
Competitive pacification
Which of the following is NOT one of the three general considerations that helps guide management's response to the environment?
Environmental responses are useless when elements of the environment cause the company problems.
When managers do not have enough information about the environment to understand or predict the future, it is called __________ __________
Environmental uncertainty
Which of the following describes the situation in which a manager does not have enough information about the environment to understand or predict the future?
Environmental uncertainty
True or false: A weak culture is one in which everyone understands and believes in the firm's goals, priorities, and practices.
False
Which of the following are social issues that shape people's attitudes about an organization?
Family leave policies Flexible working hours Natural resource use
How does the stock market affect the behavior of individual managers? (Select all that apply.)
It causes them to focus more on short-term results rather than long-term strategies. It affects their compensation. It puts pressure on them to improve their budgets or sales.
Which of the following is an advantage of technology?
It provides more efficient ways to manage and communicate.
The ______ is characterized by the most general elements in the external environment, such as governments and economic conditions, that can influence strategic decisions.
Macroenvironment
Which of the following are clues to understanding a company's culture?
Mission statements and official goals Stories about past decisions and actions Business practices
Differences in the way company employees interact with each other and with customers and the behavior that is expected by their managers are examples of ______.
Organizational Culture
What are the three general considerations that help guide management's response to the environment? (Check all that apply.)
Organizations should attempt to change appropriate elements of the environment. Organizations should choose responses that focus on pertinent elements of the environment. Companies should choose responses that offer the most benefit at the lowest cost.
Which of the following is NOT one of the common forces inside a firm's boundaries?
Suppliers
Which of the following are part of the macroenvironment of an organization? (Select all that apply.)
Technology Demographics The economy
What is the role of suppliers in an organization?
They provide resources needed for production.
A company might decide to develop scenarios for which of the following purposes?
To identify possible new investments in an economic upturn To have contingency plans in the case of a serious accident To list initiatives it can eliminate if necessary in an economic downturn
Which of the following types of independent actions represents a commitment to various interest groups, causes, and social problems?
Voluntary Action
The combination of one or more companies is called ______.
a merger
When one firm buys another, it is called a(n) ______.
acquisition
In terms of business competition, a substitute is a(n) ______.
alternative to a product
The first level of organizational culture that can be seen consists of visible__________
artifacts
Conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry are known as _________to entry.
barriers
Factors that make it difficult and costly for an organization to enter a particular task environment or industry are called ______.
barriers to entry
Collecting information about your company's operations and those of your competitors in order to determine gaps is called ______.
benchmarking
Identifying the best-in-class performance by a company and then comparing your processes to theirs is called
benchmarking
Creating a supply of excess resources to help an organization prepare for unpredictable needs is called ______.
buffering
When a company uses an employment agency to hire part-time workers during periods of unpredictable needs, the company is ______.
buffering
The information necessary to decide how best to manage in the competitive environment is called ______.
competitive intelligence
When managers secure answers to questions posed during environmental scanning, they develop ______.
competitive intelligence
Organizations that produce goods and services that are similar to another organization's goods and services are known as ______.
competitors
A(n) ___________ is a formal agreement between two or more organizations to exchange goods, services, information, patents, and the like.
contract
Strategies that are used by two or more organizations working together to manage the external environment are called ______ strategies.
cooperative
Two or more organizations that work together to influence the environment are using
cooperative strategies
A company's symbols, rites, and ceremonies are most relevant to determining its ______.
culture
The components of the competitive environment include rivalry among current competitors and the affect of new entrants, substitute and complementary products, suppliers, and ______.
customers
Age, gender, occupation, and income are all considered ______ characteristics.
demographic
Which one of the following is NOT a component of the competitive environment?
demographic groups
Statistical characteristics of a group or population are called ______.
demographics
A firm's investment in different products, businesses, or geographic areas is known as ______.
diversification
Google's decision to develop different types of products such as Google glass, self-driving cars, and smartphones is an example of ______.
diversification
A consumer who buys a good or service from a retailer is a(n) ______ consumer.
final
Guessing future changes in some variable(s) is called
forecasting
Predicting exactly how some variable or variables will change in the future is called ______.
forecasting
A scenario is a narrative that describes a particular set of ______ conditions.
future
Regulators are specific ______ organizations that have the power to investigate company practices to ensure compliance with the law.
government
Strategies used by an organization acting on its own to change some aspect of its current environment are called ______.
independent strategies
All the relevant forces inside a firm's boundaries, such as its managers, employees, and organizational culture, are part of its ______ environment.
internal
Engaging a company in a private litigation is called ______ action.
legal
__________ action occurs when an organization issues a lawsuit against an individual or another organization.
legal
Solan Inc. is externally oriented and focused on control. Its primary objectives are productivity, planning, and efficiency. Organizational members are motivated by the belief that performance that leads to the desired organizational objectives will be rewarded. These characteristics show that Solan Inc. has a(n) ______ organizational culture.
market
The set of important assumptions about the organization and its goals and practices that members of the company share is called ______.
organizational culture
Resources generally provided by suppliers include information, raw materials, financial capital, and ________.
people
Efforts to influence elected representatives to create a more favorable business environment or limit competition are called ______ action.`
political
__________action occurs when an organization lobbies elected officials to achieve a more business friendly environment.
political
Independent action and cooperative action are two general types of ______ responses for the purpose of changing the environment.
proactive
The establishment and maintenance of favorable images of an organization in the minds of those making up the environment is called ______.
public relations
The specific government organizations in a firm's more immediate task environment are known as ______.
regulators
Public __________ involves establishing and maintaining a favorable image in the minds of others in a company's environmet
relations
When companies introduce family-supportive policies, including family leave, flexible working hours, and child care assistance, they are responding to ______.
social values
Changing an organization's environment is a form of
strategic maneuvering
Making a conscious effort to change the boundaries of a business's competitive environment is called ______.
strategic maneuvering
When everyone understands and believes in the firm's goals, priorities, and practices, the organization has a ______ culture.
strong
In a competitive market, a substitute for coffee would be ______.
tea
As ______ evolves, new industries, markets, and competitive niches develop.
technology
An important economic influence is ______.
the stock market
The part of organizational culture that cannot be directly observed but is inferred from the behavior of managers is called the organization's
values
The part of organizational culture that cannot be directly observed but is inferred from the behavior of managers is called the organization's________
values
The underlying qualities and desirable behaviors that are important to the organization are called ______.
values
The components of an organization that can be seen and heard (such as office layout, dress, stories, and written material) are called ______.
visible artifacts
Pledging to donate money to a charitable cause is an example of a business taking
voluntary action
A(n) ______ culture is one where different people hold different values, there is confusion about corporate goals, and the principles that guide decisions are unclear or inconsistent
weak
When managers create a culture that is inconsistent and does not support goals and useful behaviors that will make the company more effective, they have a(n) ______ culture.
weak
Two types of general proactive responses aimed at changing the environment are
Independent action Cooperative action
When a company acts on its own to change some aspect of its current environment, it is using
Independent strategies
