Chapter 02: The Environment and Corporate Culture

As the manager of the credit division of a large national bank, Francis relies on computer programs that look at many facets of a customer's past financial performance data to predict the level of risk and the likelihood of default on any loan made to that client. In this regard, Francis relies on _____. joint ventures competitive intelligence boundary spanning activities big data analytics

Big data analytics refers to searching and examining massive, complex sets of data to uncover hidden patterns and correlations and make better decisions. See Section 2-2: The Organization-Environment Relationship.

Protection of the natural environment is emerging as a critical policy focus around the world. According to the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, which of the following countries, relative to the others listed here, has the lowest score? Denmark United Kingdom United States China

China's score is 50.74; the United States' score is 71.19; the United Kingdom's score is 79.89; and Denmark's score is 81.60. See Section 2-1: The External Environment.

A cultural leader within an organization would employ any of the following EXCEPT _____. focus on overcommunicating rather than on "walking the talk" use signals and symbols to influence corporate culture ensure work procedures and reward systems match and reinforce values overcommunicate to ensure employees understand culture values

focus on overcommunicating rather than on "walking the talk"--Actions speak louder than words, so cultural leaders "walk their talk." See Section 2-6: Shaping Corporate Culture for Innovative Response.

Which of the following statements about organizational culture is NOT true? Culture is a pattern of shared values and assumptions about how things are done within the organization. Culture guides how people within the organization interact with one another. Despite the many and varied ways organizational culture has been studied, it cannot truly be defined. The concept of culture helps managers understand the hidden, complex aspects of organizational life.

-Despite the many and varied ways organizational culture has been studied, it cannot truly be defined. -Organizational culture has been defined and studied in many and varied ways and can be defined as the set of key values, beliefs, understandings, and norms shared by members of an organization. See Section 2-3: The Internal Environment: Corporate Culture.

Which of the following examples most clearly represents organizational culture? Creative Toys used Door Interiors to redecorate its corporate offices. All the employees who work at the Greene Distribution Center live in the city of Greene. When a disagreement arises among employees in the marketing department, the manager calls a meeting among all those involved to work out a resolution. At Plains Biomedica, a large pharmaceuticals company, the manager of the accounting department and the manager of the sales department are siblings.

-When a disagreement arises among employees in the marketing department, the manager calls a meeting among all those involved to work out a resolution. -How people get things done is influenced by the culture. Culture is a pattern of shared values and assumptions about how things are done and guides how people within the organization interact with one another. See Section 2-3: The Internal Environment: Corporate Culture.

Which of the following aspects of the internal environment does the textbook suggest is extremely important to an organization's competitive advantage? Production technology Organization structure Physical facilities Corporate culture

Corporate culture - The internal environment within which managers work includes corporate culture, production technology, organization structure, and physical facilities. Of these, corporate culture surfaces as being extremely important to competitive advantage. See Section 2-3: The Internal Environment: Corporate Culture.

Labor market forces affecting organizations right now include all of the following EXCEPT _____. the effects of international trading blocs, automation, outsourcing, and shifting facility locations on labor dislocations the growing need for computer-literate knowledge workers the set of key values, beliefs, understandings, and norms shared by members of an organization the necessity for continuous investment in human resources through recruitment, education, and training to meet the competitive demands of the borderless world

The set of key values, beliefs, understandings, and norms shared by members of an organization makes up an organization's culture, part of the internal environment. Labor market forces affecting organizations right now include (1) the growing need for computer-literate knowledge workers; (2) the necessity for continuous investment in human resources through recruitment, education, and training to meet the competitive demands of the borderless world; and (3) the effects of international trading blocs, automation, outsourcing, and shifting facility locations on labor dislocations. See Section 2-1: The External Environment.

A manager, without realizing it, makes decisions based on the idea that people are essentially lazy and do sloppy work whenever they can get away with it. This is an example of _____. a symbol an underlying assumption a visible artifact neither an artifact nor an embedded value

Underlying assumptions- and beliefs subconsciously guide behavior and decisions. Visible artifacts include physical symbols and slogans. See Section 2-3: The Internal Environment: Corporate Culture

Culture can be analyzed based on _____. patterns of behavior and symbols visible artifacts and values/beliefs language and stories visible artifacts and organizational ceremonies

Visible artifacts are all the aspects of culture that one can see, hear, and observe by watching members of the organization. At a deeper, less obvious level are values and beliefs. See Section 2-3: The Internal Environment: Corporate Culture.

Nike and Adidas are global companies with net profits in recent years over $1 billion. Their primary products are sports shoes and apparel. They fall within each other's task environment as _____. labor market competitors suppliers customers

competitors- Customers, labor market, competitors, and suppliers are all part of the task environment, but organizations in the same industry or type of business that provide goods or services to the same set of customers are competitors. See Section 2-1: The External Environment.