Chapter 13: Organizational Culture

A group of people within an organization whose values, norms, and behaviors directly oppose those of the organization's dominant culture is referred to as a(n) ______.

counterculture

Basing individual rewards on organizational performance goals and reinforcing the goals through weekly contests is an example of using ______ to change or strengthen organizational culture.

culturally consistent rewards

The values and assumptions shared within an organization are its ______.

organizational culture

Forming successful relationships with people in the company who can "show you the ropes" is part of ______.

organizational socialization

The process by which individuals learn the values, expected behaviors, and social knowledge needed for their roles in the organization is ______.

organizational socialization

Which of the following help explain why the strength of a culture depends on a stable workforce? (Choose every correct answer.)

-Corporate directories usually do not include organizational metaphors. -Organizational stories typically are not written down. -Procedure manuals generally do not contain organizational rituals.

Which of the following would be considered artifacts of an organization? (Choose every correct answer.)

-How employees address each other -Stories about the company's founders -Physical layout of the offices

Which strategy for merging organizational cultures is in place when employees at the acquired company willingly embrace the culture values of the company it is being acquired by?

Assimilation

What are the components of ASA theory? (Choose every correct answer.)

Attraction Attrition Selection

Team Orientation

Collaboration, people-oriented

Aggressiveness

Competitive, low emphasis on social responsibility

Which stage of the organizational socialization process starts when the employee commences work with the company?

Encounter

Innovation

Experimenting, opportunity seeking, risk taking

preemployment socialization

Form employment relationship expectations

Which statement best describes the organizational socialization process?

It is a process of adjustment and learning.

During the organizational socialization process, new employees can be expected to learn which of the following? (Choose every correct answer.)

Organizational values Expected behaviors Social knowledge

Stability

Predictability, rule-oriented, security

The repetitive, programmed routines of daily organizational life reflect which element of organizational culture?

Rituals

The way visitors are greeted, how employees communicate with each other, and whether employees typically bring lunch or go out to lunch together are all examples of which element of an organization's culture?

Rituals

Companies are more effective when they have strong culture due to which of the following cultural functions? (Choose every correct answer.)

Sense making Social glue Control system

Which statement best describes values?

Stable, evaluative beliefs that guide our preferences for outcomes or courses of action

On her first day on the job, Elana was told by a coworker, "You're the fifth person to sit at that desk in the last two years. Your predecessor quit because they scheduled a staff meeting on the same day she was getting married, and they told her she was expected to be there because the meeting was early enough that she could still make the wedding." Which of the following is being used to transmit organizational culture?

Stories

Role management

Strengthen new relationships and practice role behaviors

When you walk into the reception room at the car rental company, the first thing you notice are photographs of the "Employee of the Month." These photographs represent which type of artifact that represents the organizational culture?

Symbols

The observable symbols and signs of an organization's culture are called its ______.

artifacts

Encounter

Test expectations against realities

Which of the following is true of the relationship between an organization's dominant values and its employees' ethical practices?

The ethical values that are dominant in an organization will be reflected in the behavior of its employees.

Why does an organization's culture last for a long time after it is formed in the early stages by the actions of founders and leaders? (Choose every correct answer.)

The founders' activities are retold as organizational stories to reinforce the culture. They are often visionaries who are powerful role models.

True or False: A company's corporate culture defines what is important and unimportant in an organization and points people toward the "right way" of doing things.

True

True or False: Organizations must change their cultures to adapt to the external environment or they will not survive.

True

An organization with employees who are receptive to internal change and continue to adjust to a changing environment has a(n) ______.

adaptive culture

One reason why founders and early leaders leave a strong imprint on an organization's culture is that they ______.

are powerful role models and visionaries

Changing ______, such as reward systems and the workplace layout, can alter or strengthen the corporate culture.

artifacts

The most appropriate strategy for merging corporate cultures when the acquired company has a weak culture and the acquiring company is strong and aligned with the external environment is ______.

assimilation

The Ritz Carlton Hotel keeps records of all customer requests, such as the guest's preferred newspaper, the type of pillow used, room service orders, and minibar purchases. All of this information is entered into the computer's database and used to provide better service for returning guests. In doing this, the Ritz Carlton displays the organizational culture dimension of ______.

attention to detail

The element of ASA theory that is represented by individuals whose personal values are incongruent with those of the organization will either choose to leave the organization or be forced out is referred to as ______.

attrition

An audit that diagnoses cultural relations between merging companies to determine the potential for conflict is known as a ______ audit.

bicultural

Before Abels Enterprises acquired a new firm, it sent a team to the new firm for a period of several months to study the company's culture and management practices. This is an example of a(n) ______ audit.

bicultural

Artifacts can change or strengthen organizational culture because they ______.

can be used to adjust shared values and assumptions

The values and assumptions shared most consistently and widely by the organization's members is its ______.

dominant culture

Values that are publicly stated because organization leaders want people to believe they steer the organization's choices and actions are ______ values.

espoused

A large oil and gas company states publicly that it is a "green" company despite several oil spills and refinery explosions due to poor maintenance. This is an example of a(n) ______.

espoused value that differs from an enacted value

According to organizational culture experts, it is generally ______ to change an organization's culture.

extremely difficult

An important function of a strong organizational culture is that it ______.

is the social glue that bonds people together

Having a stable workforce with low turnover is important to maintaining a strong organizational culture because ______.

it takes time for employees to completely comprehend and integrate it into their daily work lives

A corporate slogan is one way organizations use organizational _____ to express corporate culture and values.

language

Starbucks refers to its workers as "partners." Target calls its customers "guests" and its employees "team members." These are examples of how ______ is/are used to express organizational culture.

language

The ethical practices of a company's employees ______.

often reflect the dominant values of the organization

An adaptive culture is one that sees things from a(n) ______ perspective.

open systems

The use of open spaces instead of offices with closed doors is a way of using ______ to shape organizational culture.

physical structure

At Apecs Electronics, your position in the company determines the size of your office and even how many windows your office has. This demonstrates how ______ can be used to transmit organizational culture.

physical structures

The stages of organizational socialization are ______.

preemployment socialization, encounter, and role management

An interview that provides both negative and positive information about the job and the work context is called a ______ job preview.

realistic

Tomas felt the exchange in his job interview was very helpful because the interviewer included both positive and negative information about the job, the company, and the working conditions. Tomas experienced a(n) ______.

realistic job preview

After a few weeks on the job, Bob was discouraged. "I hate my new job," he confessed. "This job isn't at all what I thought it was going to be." This is an example of ______.

reality shock

The stress that results when employees perceive discrepancies between their preemployment expectations and on-the-job experience is ______.

reality shock

An example of a culturally consistent reward for completing a project early in a team-based organization would be to ______.

reward the entire team equally

Employees at Kiri's company like to tell the legend of a former janitor at the company who suggested a small improvement to the manufacturing process. People say the change saved the company millions of dollars a year, and the janitor was rewarded with a bonus amounting to 10 percent of the company's savings. This is an example of how ______ express the organization's culture that every worker counts.

stories

A large IT firm has an enacted value that project work be completed on time. The software engineering department operates on very different rules than the other departments. Employees in this department do not have a fixed work schedule and are allowed to dress business casual; however, it is understood that projects must be done on time. This would best describe a ______ within this organization.

subculture

Organizational legends and stories are important to corporate culture because they ______.

transmit and reinforce corporate values

Stable, evaluative beliefs that guide our preferences are ______.

values