Chapter 8. Organizational Culture, Structure & Design

What is a characteristic of an organic organization?

Few rules and procedures

Which of these would be considered observable artifacts in an organization? (select all that apply)

Decorations Rituals Awards

Activities and ceremonies, planned and unplanned, that celebrate important occasions and accomplishments in an organization's life are known as rites and ______.

Rituals

Very _____ companies tend to be the most centralized in terms of authority.

small

When employees share a narrative about an actual event that created the company's culture, they are relying on _____ to symbolize the company's vision and values.

stories

A _____ is a narrative about the company's history that is repeated by an organization's members in order to emphasize a particular value.

story

If important decisions are made by middle-level and supervisory-level managers and power is delegated throughout the organization, the organization has ______ authority.

decentralized

According to the competing values framework (CVF), organizational _____ varies along two dimensions

effectiveness

The extent to which your personality and values match the climate and culture in an organization is referred to as _____.

person-organization fit

Staff personnel typically: (select all that apply)

provide advice, recommendations, and research to line managers have authority functions

In terms of organizational culture, a _______ is an artifact, act, quality, or event that conveys an organization's most important values to others.

symbol

What are the two types of information that organization charts reveal about organizational structure?

Who specializes in what work Who reports to whom

Functional organizational structures: (select all that apply)

put employees with similar occupational specialties together in formal groups. are common in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions are the three levels of organizational _____.

culture

The number of people reporting directly to a given manager refers to _____.

span of control

Managers can help to change the organization's culture by paying attention to which _____ they use as narratives to symbolize the organization's vision and values to employees.

stories

Which description best fits the adhocracy organizational culture?

Adaptable, creative, and quick to respond to marketplace changes

Organizations can use _____, activities that celebrate important events or achievements for the organization, to change the organization's culture.

rites and rituals

An organization that has authority centralized in a single person, as well as a flat hierarchy, few rules, and low work specialization, is using a _____.

simple structure

A company's _____ is the large-scale action plan that encompasses the company's vision and is used to create the direction for the business.

strategy

In order to implement a particular organizational strategy, managers must determine the right kind of organizational: (select all that apply)

structure culture

What are the four types of organizational culture outlined in the competing values framework (CVF)?

Adhocracy Market Clan Hierarchy

Philosophies, beliefs, and norms that are explicitly stated by the organization reflects its _____ values.

espoused

Line managers typically: (select all that apply)

have decision-making authority have people reporting to them

A clan culture has what three characteristics?

A family-type organization Strives to encourage cohesion through consensus and job satisfaction Encourages collaboration among employees

What is the most accurate description of person-organization fit?

A match between an individual's personality and values and those of the organization

What are two characteristics of decentralized authority?

Power is delegated throughout the organization Important decisions are made by middle level managers

What occurs as a result of the horizontal organizational design?

Teams are used to improve collaboration and work

Espoused values in an organization's culture represent the

explicitly stated values and norms the organization prefers

An organizational structure where people with similar occupational specialties are put together in formal groups is called a _____ structure.

functional

A(n) _____ culture values stability and has an internal focus.

hierarchy

A box-and-lines illustration showing the formal lines of authority and the organization's work specializations is called a(n) ______ chart.

organizational

The competing values framework is a tool companies use to understand _____.

organizational culture

Organizational culture: (select all that apply)

represents beliefs and values shared among workers is passed on to new employees through socialization and mentoring significantly affects work outcomes at all levels of the organization is the social glue that binds members of the organization together helps employees understand why the organization does what it does

Organic organizations tend to have a wide span of control and _____.

fewer rules

What are the three layers of organizational culture?

(1) Observable artifacts (2) Espoused values 3) Basic assumptions.

Research shows that employees have more positive work attitudes in organizations with a(n) _____ culture.

Clan

Which of the following statements are true regarding a market culture? (select all that apply)

Customers, productivity, and profits take precedence over employee development and satisfaction Employees are expected to work hard, react fast, and deliver quality work on time It is driven by competition and a strong desire to deliver results

_____ values represent the values and norms actually exhibited in the organization.

Enacted

Match each way to become more adaptable with its correct description.

Focus on being optimistic:View work or career changes as challenges to be overcome Display a proactive learning orientation:Maintain a desire to learn and improve your career readiness competencies Be more resourceful: Look for solutions to challenges, rather than problems Take ownership and accept responsibility:Avoid holding grudges when you are wrong. Instead - absorb, learn, understand, and move on. Expand your perspective by asking different questions: Try thinking about things such as "what surprised me about that situation?" or "What data might I be ignoring?"

Which of the following are characteristics of a hierarchy culture? (select all that apply)

Formalized, structured work environment Internal focus A variety of control mechanisms that measure efficiency, timeliness, and reliability

hierarchy

Horizontal: Expresses the extent to which the organization focuses its attention and efforts inward on internal dynamics and employees versus outward toward its external environment and customers. Vertical: Expresses the extent to which an organization prefers flexibility and discretion versus stability and control.

What is the BEST example of a mutual-benefit organization?

Labor union

_______ managers have decision-making authority and usually have people reporting to them, whereas _______ positions provide advice, recommendation and research.

Line; staff

Identify the three types of structures categorized as organizational designs with open boundaries. Check all that apply.

Modular Hollow Virtual

Which of the following are outcomes associated with various types of organizational culture? (select all that apply)

More positive organizational outcomes in market cultures Higher customer satisfaction in clan and market cultures More positive work attitudes in clan cultures Higher market share in clan and market cultures Higher financial performance in market and hierarchy cultures

In organizational culture, rites and rituals represent

activities and ceremonies that celebrate important occasions and accomplishments in the organization's life.

A(n) _____ culture values flexibility and has an external focus.

adhocracy

What are two suggestions for improving your adaptability in the workplace?

be proactive in learning situations be more resourceful

A(n) _____ organization is a fluid, highly adaptive organization whose members are linked by information technology and collaborate on common tasks.

boundaryless

When important decisions are made by high-level managers, the organization has ______ authority.

centralized

Rites and rituals, which are activities and _____ used to celebrate important organizational events or achievements, can be leveraged in the process of culture change.

ceremonies

A _____ culture has an internal focus and values flexibility rather than stability and control.

clan

Which of the following represent learning-related tools that can be leveraged to change an organization's culture?

coaching Role modeling Training

In the elements of organizations, ________ unifies employees or members and gives everyone an understanding of the organization's reason for being

common purpose

Organizational design is concerned with which two activities?

creating structures of accountability and responsibility creating a structural design that will help an organization execute its strategies

A system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members is called organizational ______.

culture

In a two-person operation, one may specialize in the outward-facing tasks such as sales while the other specializes in the internal jobs such as research and production. In a large firm, there may be vice presidents for each task such as marketing, finance, and HR. These examples represent different types of _____.

horizontal specialization

The part of an organizational chart that shows different jobs or work assignments is called _____.

horizontal specialization

What are three characteristics of an organization with a simple structure?

low work specialization a flat hierarchy authority in a single person

The type of organizational culture that has a strong external focus and values stability and control is a(n) _____ culture.

market

A type of organizational structure which combines functional and divisional chains of command in a grid so that there are two command structures, vertical and horizontal, is called a _____ structure.

matrix

An organization where authority is centralized, tasks and rules are clearly specified, and employees are closely supervised is called _____.

mechanistic

Top-down structure and rigid rules are characteristics of a(n) _____ organization.

mechanistic

In organizational culture, a story is a(n)

narrative based on true events which is repeated in order to emphasize a particular value.

Symbols in organizational culture represent

objects or actions that convey an organization's most important values to others.

The readily apparent symbols and manifestations of an organization's culture are called its _____.

observable artifacts

A hospital is an example of a nonprofit organization because it is formed to _____.

offer services to clients

The three types of organizational design are:

open boundaries horizontal Traditional

A(n) _____ is a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more people.

organization

According to Barnard's definition, which of the following examples represent organizations? (select all that apply)

the BumbleBee or StarKist tuna companies with their thousands of employees a crew of two people coordinating their activities on a commercial tuna fishing boat

An organization's vertical hierarchy of authority demonstrates: (select all that apply)

the official communication network who talks to whom the organization's chain of command

In a matrix structure:

the organization combines functional and divisional chains of command in a grid

Technology companies prefer an organic environment because _____.

they constantly have to adjust to technological change

One method of changing organizational culture is to provide structured _____ as an in-depth introduction to organizational values.

training

Common purpose, one of the four common elements of organizations proposed by Schein,

unifies members and helps everyone understand the organization's reason for being.

In organizational culture, enacted values represent the

values and norms that are actually exhibited in the organization

The chain of command within a business is also referred to as the organization's _______ hierarchy of authority.

vertical

Flat organizations generally have few levels with _______ spans of control, with one manager overseeing many employees.

wide

Which of the following statements regarding the horizontal design are true? (select all that apply)

workgroups are used to improve collaboration internal boundaries are broken down this design is also called a team-based design