CH 12
At companies where executives believe in the merits of practicing the values and ethical standards that have been espoused
The stated core values and ethical principles are the cornerstones of the corporate culture
Which of the following is not one of the important leadership roles that managers have to play in pushing for good strategy execution and operating excellence?
Weeding out managers who are consistently in the ranks of the lowest performers (the bottom 10%)
Which one of the following statements about a company's culture is false?
A company's culture, once established, tends to remain stable and entrenched over time
Which of the following is not a common trait of an unhealthy company culture?
An aversion to incentive compensation, failure to recruit the best and brightest employees, subpar support for employee training, overemphasis on working in teams, and low ethical standards
What separates companies that make a sincere effort to carry their weight in being good corporate citizens from companies that are content to do only what is legally required of them
Are company leaders who believe that making a profit is not good enough and that good corporate citizenship and a display of social responsibility are integral parts of "good corporate performance."
A company's values statement and code of ethics
Communicate expectations of how employees should conduct themselves in the workplace
The leadership challenges that top executives face in making corrective adjustments when things are not going well include
Deciding when adjustments are needed and what adjustments to make
A company's culture is typically grounded in and shaped by
Its core values and the bar it sets for ethical standards
Companies with change-resistant cultures
Are prone to be preoccupied with avoiding risks, are unlikely to pursue bold actions to capture emerging opportunities, are frequently lax when it comes to product innovation and continuous
Which one of the following is a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?
Revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change
Codes of ethics and statements of core values
Serve as cornerstones of the corporate culture at companies where executives are truly committed to practicing the values and ethical standards that have been espoused
Which of the following is most integral to the task of leading the drive for good strategy execution and operating excellence?
Staying on top of how well things are going, putting constructive pressure on the organization to achieve good results,
Strong company cultures are preferable to weak company cultures because
Strong cultures are an ally in executing strategy provided the behavioral norms ingrained in a strong culture are well-matched to the behaviors needed for good strategy execution
Once established, company cultures can be perpetuated by
Systematic indoctrination of new members in the culture's fundamentals, frequent reiteration of core values by senior managers and group members, and regular ceremonies honoring members who display desired cultural behaviors
When a company's culture is out of sync with what is needed for strategic success and good strategy execution,
The culture has to be changed to accommodate the requirements of good strategy execution as rapidly as can be managed
The hallmark of a strong-culture company is
The dominating presence of certain deeply-rooted values and operating approaches that "regulate" the conduct of a company's business and the climate of its workplace
Which one of the following is something to look for in identifying a company's culture
The spirit and character that pervades the work climate and the values, business principles, and ethical standards that management preaches and practices
Which of the following statements about leading the development of better competencies and capabilities is false
Top executives are the ones who craft the strategy and thus they are the ones responsible for strengthening this or that competence or capability to keep the strategy successful
Which one of the following is not a substantive culture-changing action that a company's managers can undertake to alter a problem culture?
Urging company personnel to search outside the company for work practices and operating approaches that may be an improvement
Which of the following statements about adaptive corporate cultures is false?
. The standout cultural traits are a "can-do" spirit, pride
A company's corporate culture is best defined and identified by
The character of a company's internal work climate and personality
Successfully leading the effort to instill a spirit of high achievement into a company's culture and put constructive pressure on the organization to achieve good results
Etails such actions as treating employees with dignity and respect, making champions out of people who turn in winning performances, and setting stretch objectives
Which of the following is not a technique that companies employ to hammer in and ingrain core values and ethical standards?
Downplaying ethics enforcement procedures
The place for management to begin in trying to change a problem culture is
By making a compelling case for why the company requires a different culture that embraces a new set of behaviors and work practices
Which one of the following is not likely to be an effective management action to create a better strategy-culture fit and alter a problem culture
Calling upon first-level supervisors and rank-and-file employees to lead the cultural change effort
Establishing a workable strategy-cultural fit in multinational and global companies
Can be accomplished by grounding the company's strategy in values and operating practices that travel well across country borders
Which of the following is not a factor in contributing to the emergence and sustainability of a strong culture?
Centralized decision-making, strict enforcement of company policies, and a strong commitment to being the market share leader
A company's culture is not manifested in which one of the following?
Its strategic vision, strategic intent, and strategy
In a strong culture company
Values and behavioral norms are like crabgrass
Which one of the following is not a typical characteristic of a weak company culture?
A complicated value chain and a very diverse set of core competencies
Which one of the following is a typical characteristic of a weak company culture?
A lack of values and principles that are consistently preached or widely shared
Unhealthy company cultures typically have such characteristics as
A politicized internal environment, hostility to change and a wariness of people who champion new ways of doing things, and an aversion to looking outside the company for best practices, new managerial approaches, and innovative ideas
Which of the following contribute to the emergence and sustainability of a strong culture?
A sincere, long-standing company commitment to operating the business according to established traditions,
Which of the following corporate cultures is most conducive to long-term organizational success?
A strongly-planted adaptive culture
Which of the following statements about the match between a company's culture and it strategy is false?
A tight strategy-culture alignment facilitates building core competencies and distinctive competencies that lead to low operating costs and a cost-based competitive advantage
Leading the drive for good strategy execution and operating excellence calls upon managers to
Practice MBWA, put constructive pressure on the organization to achieve good results,
To deeply ingrain core values and ethical standards, a company must
Turn the espoused core values and ethical standards into strictly enforced cultural norms
A company's culture is in part defined and identified by
A company's internal work climate and personality
Which of the following is not an example of an unhealthy company culture?
Hyper-adaptive cultures
Which of the following is not an integral part of transforming core values and ethical standards into cultural norms?
mmediately dismissing any employee caught violating the company's code of ethics or disregarding core values
Which one of the following is not a fundamental part of a company's culture?
The company's strategic vision, strategic intent, and strategy
Frequently, a significant part of a company's culture is captured in
The stories that get told over and over again to illustrate to newcomers
A corporate culture founded on ethical business principles and socially approved values
Is a positive force underlying a company's long-term success because how a company conducts its business ultimately affects its reputation with customers, suppliers, and investors
f a company's senior executives are really serious about enforcing ethical behavior, then they should consider doing all but which one of the following?
Not paying any bonuses to company personnel if more than 5 ethical violations are discovered in any one year
In adaptive corporate cultures,
There's a spirit of doing what's necessary to ensure long-term organizational success provided that core values and business principles
Which one of the following statements about a weak company culture is true?
Weak cultures provide little or no assistance in executing strategy because there are no traditions, beliefs, values, common bonds, or behavioral norms that management
Companies, especially ones with multinational operations and/or newly acquired businesses, typically have
Multiple cultures (or subcultures) rather than a single culture
The hallmark of an adaptive corporate culture is
Willingness on the part of organizational members to accept change and take on the challenge of introducing and executing new strategies
Which of the following is a benefit of closely aligning the corporate culture with the requirements for proficient strategy execution?
A tight strategy-culture fit steers company personnel into displaying behaviors and adopting operating practices that promote good strategy execution
The hallmarks of a high performance corporate culture include
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
MBWA refers to
The managerial practice of making regular visits to field operations, talking with many different people at many different levels, and learning first-hand how well
When trying to change a problem culture, management should undertake such steps as
Identifying which aspects of the present culture are supportive of good strategy execution and which ones are not
Changing a problem culture
Is one of the toughest managerial tasks because of the heavy anchor of ingrained behaviors and ways of doing things
The menu of actions management can take to change problem culture does not include which one of the following?
Shifting from decentralized to centralized decision-making so as to give senior executives more authority and control in driving cultural change
Which one of the following statements about a high performance culture is true?
Results-oriented, high performance cultures are permeated with a spirit of achievement
Which of the following is not one of the positive impacts that a company's stated values and ethical standards have on its corporate culture?
Ensuring that the company will be a model corporate citizen
A company's stated core values and ethical principles
Help create a work climate where company personnel share common and strongly-held convictions about how the company's business is to be
Which one of the following statements about a high performance culture is false?
High performance cultures often have a low regard for high ethical standards, a strong preference for high-risk strategies, and a slow and methodical approach to responding to changes in the marketplace
Which of the following topics would least likely be contained in a company's code of ethics?
Committing to a no-layoff policy and to adequate funding of employee retirement programs
The single most visible factor that distinguishes successful culture-change efforts from failed attempts is
Competent leadership at the top
Which one of the following is not an appropriate step management can take to change a problem culture?
. 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
Changing a problem culture to create better alignment with strategy generally does not involve
Altering the company's strategic vision and/or its strategic and financial objectives
Which of the following statements about a strong-culture company is false?
Centralized decision-making, strict enforcement of company policies, diligent pursuit of a distinctive competence, and a bold strategic intent are the hallmarks of a strong-culture company
Which one of the following is not something a manager in a leadership role should do to instill a spirit of high achievement into the culture and thereby promote an organizational climate where good strategy execution and operating excellence can blossom and thrive?
Carefully channeling and controlling the creative efforts and initiatives of company personnel and, in particular, weeding out the ideas and suggestions of people with maverick ideas and out-of-the-ordinary proposals
Which of the following is not a managerial action calculated to promote an organizational climate where good strategy execution and operating excellence can blossom and thrive?
Keeping the reward system positive and striving to eliminate tension, fear, job insecurity, stress, and anxiety from the work environment
Which one of the following is not particularly helpful in perpetuating a company's culture?
Maintaining a consistent strategic vision and strategic intent over time
Which of the following topics would least likely be contained in a company's statement of its core values?
Mandating full compliance with all laws and regulations
Which of the following is not a part of top management's job (especially the CEO) in leading the effort to operate the company's business in an ethically-principled fashion?
Personally writing the company's code of ethics—this ensures that they will walk the talk and be committed to upholding the ethical standards they have prescribed
Strong corporate cultures
Promote good strategy execution where the imbedded cultural norms are a good fit with the strategy and hurt execution when the cultural norms are a poor fit
The task of top executives in making corrective adjustments includes
Deciding when adjustments are needed and what adjustments to make
The purpose of managing by walking around is to
Gather information and opinions about what is happening from diverse sources, learn what is on people's minds, and learn firsthand how well the strategy execution process is proceeding
The two culture-building roles of a company's stated values and ethical standards are to
Help create a work climate where company personnel share common and strongly held convictions about how the company's business is to be
A work environment where the culture is well-matched to the conditions and behaviors requisite for good strategy execution is a valuable managerial ally because
It provides company personnel with clear guidance regarding "how we do things around here"
Which one of the following is not something to look for in identifying a company's culture?
Its resource strengths, core competencies, and competitive capabilities
