Org Comm Quiz Questions

Who was known as "the enemy of the working man?"

Frederick Taylor

If workers are allowed to form relationships with other coworkers, which of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is being met?

affiliation

The cultural metaphor derives from the field of ________.

anthropology

The artwork in an organization is an example of which aspect of Schein's model of culture?

artifacts

When a supervisor requests that all employees use the same form to make requests for time off, she is using which aspect of Weick's theory of organizing?

assembly rules

The third level of Schein's model is:

assumptions

______ is the control based on hierarchical structure.

bureaucratic control

If a company holds frequent focus groups with customers in order to identify new services that can help them adapt to a continually changing market, the company is seeking what kind of feedback?

deviation-amplifying feedback

Most scholars agree that organizations are characterized by a multitude of subcultures that may co-exist in harmony, conflict, or indifference to each other. Martin discusses this approach to culture as the ________ perspective.

differentiation

The ultimate goal of the critical model is ________.

emancipation

The manager of a Total Quality Commitment program provides the employee with a broad mission statement "Quality is job one." The employees all come up with different quality standards to guide their performance. According to Weick, this illustrates the process of ________.

enactment

The system property which describes how an individual can select from many different majors to get a bachelor's degree in is called:

equifinality

Getting a year end bonus for doing a good job meets which of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

esteem

Which of the following is a process that is part of the input-throughput-output processes?

exchange

what is a process of the input-throughput-output process

exchange

An "organization" has all of the following critical features except:

existence of social collectivity

According to Edgar Schein, the three levels of culture are always consistent with one another. (t/f)

false

An organization's feedback system is most effective when the organization exhibits codependence. (t/f)

false

Critical scholars typically collect quantitative data through surveys and experiments to answer their research questions. (t/f)

false

Critical theorists tend to focus on the overt and obtrusive forms of power in organizations. (t/f)

false

Deal and Kennedy seek to describe and understand the complex ways in which organizational culture is developed and maintained in their work "Corporate Cultures." (t/f)

false

Fayol's theory of classical management is descriptive rather than prescriptive. (t/f)

false

Jill doesn't talk to anyone at work and is really disconnected from the organizational network. She fulfills the role of bridge. (t/f)

false

Most communication in human relations organizations is task-oriented. (t/f)

false

Most managers today characterize their workers as interchangeable cogs. (t/f)

false

Social interaction is strongly encouraged in a classical organization. (t/f)

false

Taylor believed management and workers were essentially the same. (t/f)

false

The interpretivist approach to culture aims at prescribing and engineering "a strong corporate culture." (t/f)

false

An ethnographer attempting to become immersed in the organizational life of a fast-food restaurant would:

get a job flipping burgers

If a company's managers and employees share the same core value of productivity and performance, it is fulfilling which of Peters and Waterman's themes?

hands-on, value-driven

If Jacob has a job that is exciting and interesting, but he has a tiny office with very little heat, he is likely to feel ________.

happy yet unhappy

The concept of ________ would describe a situation in which the faculty of a university accepts an increase in their teaching load because they feel the administration controls everything no matter what they do.

hegemony

Bill Gates is an example of a ________ at Microsoft, according to Deal and Kennedy's prescription for a strong culture.

hero

The concept which describes how hospitals are made up of a number of departmental subsystems, such as surgical units, which in turn, are composed of smaller work groups and individuals is________.

hierarchical ordering

the concept which describes how hospitals are made up of a number of departmental subsystems such as surgical units is called

hierarchical ordering

Josh feels he must work extra hours to support his team because he feels he owes it to them as a member of the team. Which aspect of Concertive Control Theory is most relevant in this case?

identification

________ refers to our taken-for-granted assumptions about reality.

ideology

A narrative in which information about the culture is slipped into a story that could stand on its own dramatic merit is called a(n):

impressionist tale

An organization with a human relations approach is likely to use a(n) ______ communication style.

informal

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the machine metaphor of organizing?

irreplacability

The goal of ______ is to design tasks that will help satisfy some of the higher-order needs of workers through the provision of motivational job factors.

job enrichment

A person who is not a member of a group, but connects different groups could best be described as a

liaison

_______ believe that remedies for female subordination should come from within the system.

liberal feminists

If a system goal is to increase sales by 10 percent, the system ________ of increased sales calls may help to achieve that goal.

mechanism

The Hawthorne Effect states that:

mere attention to individuals causes changes in behaviors.

Giving people the opportunity to advance within an organization is considered a(n) ________, according to Herzberg.

motivator

If a restaurant supervisor notices that one of his employees is telling customers about yesterday's specials instead of today's specials and then he tells the employee she shouldn't do that, he is providing which type of feedback?

negative

The U.S. auto industry's new focus on building hybrid cars in response to the information it has acquired about customer preferences and rising gas prices is the result of which system property?

negative entropy

The ________ refers to the "stuff" that is flowing through the linkages in the network.

network content

approaches to systems theory open up ideas about how the complex and chaotic nature of organizational systems might lead to the emergence of new and innovative organizational forms and processes.

new science

If Sarah is absolutely bored with her job as a secretary, but she has an office with a beautiful view of the ocean, she is likely to feel ________.

not happy but not unhappy

Systems theory uses the ________ metaphor.

organismic

systems theory uses the _____ metaphor

organismic

Having phone lines that allow an organization to be open to its public represents the concept of:

permeability

having phone lines that allow an organization to be open to its public represents the concept of

permeability

In the ________ frame of reference, the organization consists of many divergent interests.

pluralist

Critical theorists take a ________ frame of reference.

radical

Mumby's analysis of the IBM story revealed how organizational narratives (i.e., stories) can function in power-laden ways in the organization. Mumby uses the ________approach to the study of power.

radical-critical

The approach to power which is concerned with the "deep structures" that produce and reproduce relationships in organizational life is called the ________ approach.

radical-critical

A(n) _______ is a completely and relatively objective account of what was observed in the organization.

realist tale

The concept of ________ suggests that successful organizations and groups need to be as "complicated" as the problems that confront them.

requisite variety

The way in which workers exert counter pressure in the exercise of power and control is known as ________.

resistance

Which of the following is a key component of Deal and Kennedy's strong cultures?

rites and rituals

Which of Fayol's principles of organizational structure proposes that an organization should be arranged in a strict vertical hierarchy?

scalar chain

A manager who thinks workers are passive unless they are motivated by managers would be classified as which type of manager, according to McGregor?

theory X

Taylor argued the best way to do a job could be determined through _______

time and motion studies

The Queen of England has ________ authority based on age-old traditions within British society.

traditional

Case analysis suggests that a richer understanding can be gained by closely studying specific organizations dealing with specific issues.

true

Radical feminists call for the destruction of male-dominated institutions. (t/f)

true

Research finds that in the ways women talk about sexual harassment, they normalize it and suppress further discussion of harassment. (t/f)

true

Simple decision rules and structures can be used in sensemaking when equivocality is low, but more complex communication cycles and systems are needed to make sense of highly uncertain information environments.

true

Weber emphasizes that bureaucracies are relatively closed systems. (t/f)

true

Which of Fayol's principles of organizational structure proposes that activities having similar goals should be placed under a single supervisor?

unity of direction

An organization that has no "brick and mortar" of a physical location exists as a ________.

virtual organization

According to Fayol, remuneration of personnel means:

workers should be rewarded with appropriate salary and benefits.

Critical theorists generally believe which of the following statements?

Critical theorists should explore and uncover imbalances of power.

Which of the following is a characteristic of Schein's definition of culture?

Culture is emergent and developmental.

Which of the following is a mode of production?

Factory owners exploit surplus labor from workers.

The Hawthorne studies that were designed to determine the influence of lighting level on worker productivity were called ________.

The Illumination Studies

Which theorist is most closely associated with the concept of bureaucracy?

Weber

A manager who thinks workers are inherently self-centered would be classified as which type of manager, according to McGregor?

theory X

The manager's responsibility for assigning tasks to employees in order to meet organizational goals represents which element of management, according to Fayol?

commanding

Self-managing teams are most likely to adopt which type of control?

concertive control

If a cultural researcher reads the annual reports of a company over the last 50 years, he believes that cultural performances are ________.

contextual

According to Fayol, which element of management harmonizes the separate activities of an organization into a "single whole"?

coordinating

if a restaurant supervisors notices its worker is giving specials for the day before, what type of feedback would he give him?

corrective

A(n) _____ is the communication system through which cultural values are instituted and reinforced.

cultural network

_____ refers to the amount of emotional and social content that is likely to be transmitted along various communication channels.

social presence

In a sandwich shop, if one worker is responsible for slicing the bread, another is responsible for meats and cheeses, and a third is responsible for vegetables and condiments, the concept of ________ is being implemented.

specialization

________ work to enhance the opportunity for a variety of marginalized voices to be heard within societal dialogue.

standpoint feminists

If an organization focuses what it does best, it is fulfilling which of Peters and Waterman's themes?

sticking to the knitting

Research using the ________ approach to the study of power would observe how an organization uses office space to communicate one's importance in the organization.

symbological

When workers slow their pace down in order to make a job last longer, they are engaging in _______

systematic soldiering

Fayol's principles of organizational attitudes include all of the following except:

tenure stability

The studies that indicated workers develop norms regarding the "proper" level of productivity and exert social pressure on each other to maintain that level were ________.

the Bank Wiring Room Studies

Equivocality refers to:

the unpredictability inherent in an information environment.