MGMT 495 - Chapter 12

The place for management to begin in trying to change a problem culture is A. identifying facets of the present culture that are obstacles to executing the company's strategy and meeting performance targets. B. visibly praising and rewarding people who exhibit traits and behaviors that undermine the existing culture. C. instituting incentive compensation programs that generously reward employees for adopting best practices. D. spending heavily on programs to train employees in the ways and beliefs of the new culture to be implanted. E. writing a new value statement and describing in highly motivating terms the kind of culture that is needed.

A

Which of the following statements about the match between a company's culture and its strategy is NOT true? A. A tight strategy-culture alignment facilitates building core competencies and distinctive competencies that lead to low operating costs and a cost-based competitive advantage. B. When a company's present work climate promotes attitudes and behaviors that are well suited to first-rate strategy execution, its culture functions as a valuable ally in the strategy execution process. C. It is in management's best interest to dedicate considerable effort to embedding a corporate culture that encourages behaviors and work practices conducive to good strategy execution. D. When a company's culture is grounded in many of the needed strategy-executing behaviors, employees feel genuinely better about their jobs and what the company is trying to accomplish; as a consequence, greater numbers of company personnel exert their best efforts to execute the strategy and achieve performance targets. E. A deeply embedded culture tightly matched to the strategy aids the cause of competent strategy execution by steering company personnel to culturally approved behaviors and work practices and thus makes it far simpler to root out operating practices that are a misfit.

A

Which one of the following is NOT an appropriate step management can take to change a problem culture? A. 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 B. employing visible, forceful actions—both substantive and symbolic—to ingrain a new set of behaviors, practices and cultural norms C. specifying what new actions, behaviors, and work practices should be prominent in the "new" culture D. talking openly about the problems of the present culture and how new behaviors will improve performance E. identifying which aspects of the present culture are supportive of good strategy execution and which ones are not

A

A strongly implanted culture provides a huge assist in executing strategy because company managers can use the traditions, beliefs, values, common bonds, or behavioral norms A. to manipulate jobholders into thinking traditions are important. B. as reinforcement for convincing staff that the strategy is sound and molded in tradition. C. as levers to mobilize commitment to executing the chosen strategy. D. as disciplinary measures in making the employees perform better and achieve targets. E. to ensure the staff will embrace the new strategy like they have in the past.

C

Which of the following is NOT a technique that companies employ to embed core values and ethical standards? A. making the display of core values and ethical principles a factor in evaluating each person's job performance B. instituting standard practices and procedures for employees to follow as a foundation for maintaining ethical and cultural norm conflict clashes and behavioral lapses C. using ceremonial occasions to recognize individuals and groups who display the values and ethical principles D. encouraging everyone to use their influence in helping enforce observance of core values and ethical standards E. incorporating the statement of values and the code of ethics into orientation programs for new employees and training courses for managers and employees

B

When are multiple subcultures MOST problematic? A. when they foster teamwork and support a collaborative approach to strategy execution B. when they guide management in coming up with consistent approaches to executing company strategies C. when they don't clash and coordinating efforts to craft and execute strategy within each subculture is relatively easy D. when they are compatible with the overarching corporate culture and are supportive of strategy-execution E. when they embrace conflicting business philosophies that are inconsistent with superior strategy execution

E

In leading the push for proficient strategy execution and operating excellence, top-level managers need to take the lead on all of the following EXCEPT A. holding periodic ceremonies to honor people who excel in displaying the company values and ethical principles. B. initiating corrective actions to improve or remove impediments to strategy execution. C. delegating authority to middle and lower-level managers and creating a sense of empowerment among employees to move the implementation process forward. D. gathering information firsthand and gauging the progress being made. E. spending time with, listening to, and encouraging people in the organization to act on their own initiative.

A

What actions, behaviors, and work practices that are conducive to good strategy implementation support the strategy execution effort? A. using peer pressure to company personnel to perform, enhancing worker productivity and buy-in, and focusing the attention of employees on what is most important B. focusing the attention of employees on what is most important, insisting that official policies and procedures be followed religiously, and using peer pressure to company personnel to perform C. energizing the workforce, ensuring that personnel memorize the company values statement and code of ethics, and achieving competitive advantage D. enhancing worker productivity and buy-in, focusing the attention of employees on what is most important, and ensuring adherence to the company culture E. providing for greater strategic flexibility, using peer pressure to company personnel to perform, and energizing the workforce

A

A company's value statement and code of ethics A. should always be made a prominent and visible part of the company's strategic intent and strategy. B. help to mold the culture and communicate what kinds of actions and behaviors are expected of all company personnel. C. are the most important factors determining its reputation with customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and society at large. D. help prevent it from coming across to customers and the general public as greedy. E. serve the valuable purpose of making its suppliers hesitant to engage in business practices that are unethical.

B

In adaptive corporate cultures A. members are willing to embrace a proactive approach to trying new ideas, altering operating practices, and changing pieces of the strategy provided it doesn't imperil their job security, entail cuts in compensation, or require different work practices. B. 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 in a manner that exhibits genuine concern for the legitimate interests of stakeholders. C. there is little need for policies and procedures because group members willingly accept experimentation and innovation. D. the prevailing view is that the best way to look out for the interests of employees is to change core values and cultural norms in whatever ways are needed to fit the changing requirements of an evolving strategy. E. company personnel are amenable to changing policies and operating practices as long as the core elements of the company's strategic vision and strategy remain intact.

B

Many executives want the work climate at their companies to mirror certain values and ethical standards because they A. are certain that their company's strategic intent and strategy execution efforts will come to naught without those values and standards. B. are committed to improving the company's strategy execution, performance, and reputation. C. want to impress outsiders and create a positive company image. D. want to increase the likelihood that the public will ignore any future lapses in approved behavior. E. desire validation of the company's formal values statement and code of ethics.

B

The leadership challenges that top executives face in making corrective adjustments when things are not going well include A. having the analytical skills to separate the problems due to a bad strategy from the problems due to bad strategy execution. B. knowing when to replace poorly performing workers and when to do a better job of coaching them to do the right things. C. undertaking a thorough analysis of the situation, exercising good business judgment in deciding what actions to take, and then ensuring good implementation of the corrective actions that are initiated. D. being able to discern whether to emphasize adjustments that will promote better achievement of strategic performance targets or whether to emphasize adjustments that will promote better achievement of financial performance targets. E. deciding whether the company would be better off making adjustments that curtail the achievement of strategic objectives or that curtail the achievement of financial objectives or that curtail the achievement of some of both.

C

The process of making corrective adjustments in strategy execution A. enables companies to indoctrinate new hires rapidly into widely shared and strongly held values, principles, and behavioral norms. B. exemplifies a results-oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to meet or beat stretch objectives. C. varies according to the situation. D. features a ceremony honoring individuals who believe so strongly in their ideas that they take it on themselves to hurdle the bureaucracy, maneuver their projects through the system, and turn them into improved services, new products, or even new businesses. E. is a typical cultural mechanism for aligning, constraining, and regulating the actions, decisions, and behaviors of company personnel.

C

The hallmarks of a high-performance corporate culture include A. a deep commitment to pioneering new best practices, a preference for being a fast-follower as opposed to a first-mover or late-mover, and across-the-board bonuses for all personnel when the company meets or beats stretch objectives. B. a strong emphasis on teamwork, strict enforcement of company policies and procedures, and incentive compensation for all employees aligned with a balanced scorecard approach to measuring performance. C. a deep commitment to top-notch quality and superior customer service, dedicated use of TQM and/or Six Sigma quality control programs, and the payment of big performance bonuses and stock options. D. 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. E. a deep commitment to employee training, unusually attractive fringe benefit packages for company personnel, and frequently revised and updated values and ethics statements.

D

A company's stated core values and ethical principles are A. important because of their role in ensuring that company executives will not engage in unethical behavior or behave in a manner that is contrary to the company's core values. B. typically tightly linked to its strategic vision and strategy. C. strictly enforced in strong culture companies and weakly enforced in weak culture companies. D. the best indicators of a company's social responsibility strategy. E. meant to foster a work climate where company personnel share common and strongly held convictions about how the company's business is to be conducted and provide guidance in displaying the core values in their actions and behaviors.

E

All of the following are distinctive characteristics of an unhealthy corporate culture EXCEPT A. ethical behavior that is driven by subcultures. B. a decision-making effort that is subject to pressure from many different cliques. C. the presence of counterproductive cultural traits that adversely impact the work climate and company performance. D. a preoccupation with risk management and capitalizing on related market opportunities. E. a strong fixation on attending to what customers are saying and how their needs and expectations are to be met.

E

What defines an insular, inwardly focused culture? A. The firm never underestimates rivals because of their proven track record in defending challenges. B. The firm values their customers' opinions and fully understands their needs and expectations. C. The firm has a commitment to hiring young people who can offer fresh thinking and new perspectives. D. The firm's unflinching belief in the company's superiority breeds a champion's attitude and thus they thrive on doing better by adapting to fresh thinking from outside the company. E. The firm believes they have all the answers because of their past great market success and is thus overconfident.

E

The hallmarks of a weak-culture company DO NOT include A. a lack of cultural mechanisms for aligning, constraining, and regulating the actions, decisions, and behaviors of company personnel. B. a "can-do" spirit, where people take 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. C. an environment where many employees' view their company as just a place to work and their job as just a way to make a living. D. a lack of widely shared and strongly held values, principles, and behavioral norms. E. a work climate where there is no strong employee allegiance to what the company stands for or to operating the business in well-defined ways.

B

Which of the following is NOT a common trait of an unhealthy company culture? A. hostility to change and a wariness of people who champion new ways of doing things B. an aversion to incentive compensation and overemphasis on working in teams C. overzealous pursuit of wealth and status on the part of key executives D. a politicized internal environment and empire-building managers who jealously guard their turf E. an aversion to looking outside the company for best practices, new managerial approaches, and innovative ideas

B

The characteristics of a strong-culture company include all of the following EXCEPT A. deeply rooted values and operating approaches that "regulate" the conduct of a company's business and the climate of its workplace. B. strong managerial commitment to display company values and principles in their own actions and behavior. C. co-worker peer pressure to challenge cultural norms. D. dedicated efforts on the part of management to communicating values and business principles to organization members and explaining how they relate to the company's business environment. E. ingrained shared values and business principles guide management in making decisions.

C

Which of the following is a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture? A. Identify aspects of the present culture that pose problems. B. Revise policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change and replace senior executives who are resisting and obstructing needed organizational and cultural changes. C. Shift from decentralized to centralized decision-making so as to give senior executives more authority and control in driving cultural change. D. Make a concerted effort to turn the company's core competencies into distinctive competencies. E. Empower employees to adopt whatever new work practices they believe will be an improvement.

B

Which of the following statements about a high-performance culture is true? A. The challenge in creating a high-performance culture is to come up with a strategic vision and strategy that wins enthusiastic support from most all company personnel. B. Results-oriented, high-performance cultures are permeated with a spirit of achievement and have a good track record in meeting or beating performance targets. C. In a high-performance culture, the clear and unyielding expectation is that all company personnel will strictly follow company policies and procedures. D. In high-performance cultures, there's strong managerial commitment to paying big bonuses and granting generous stock options. E. High-performance cultures often have a low regard for high ethical standards (because some disregard for ethics is a normal part of meeting or beating performance targets).

B

When should a culture be changed as rapidly as it can be managed? A. Never, because the actions and behaviors needed to execute the new strategy successfully are well entrenched, and thus are not changeable B. When the case for cultural reform is not credible, symbolic, nor substantive C. Only rarely, because it is natural for company personnel to cling to existing practices and to be wary of new approaches D. When a strong culture is unhealthy or otherwise out of sync with the actions and behaviors needed to execute the strategy successfully E. When a company decides on any innovations to its products or services

D

When trying to change a problem culture, management should undertake such steps as A. conducting an employee survey to determine the organization's cultural norms and what company personnel like and dislike about the current culture. B. employing a consultant with expertise in culture change and following his or her advice on how to proceed. C. drawing up an action plan to change the present culture and then persuading company personnel why this plan of action is good and will be successful. D. selecting a team of key employees to lead the culture change effort and design a plan for cultural change. E. identifying facets of the present culture that are supportive of good strategy execution and which ones are not and then specifying what new actions, behaviors, and work practices are needed in the new culture to improve performance.

E

Which of the following is NOT something to look for in identifying a company's culture? A. the company's approach to people management and the official policies, procedures, and operating practices that paint the white lines for the behavior of company personnel B. the company's revered traditions and oft-repeated stories about "heroic acts" and "how we do things around here" C. the company's defined spirit and character that pervades the work climate D. the company's shared values, business principles, and ethical standards that management preaches and practices E. the company's resource strengths, core competencies, and competitive capabilities

E