Exam Questions | Chapter 16 Organizational Culture
Table of Contents
Exam Questions Chapter 1
Exam Questions Chapter 2
Exam Questions Chapter 3
Exam Questions Chapter 4
Exam Questions Chapter 5
Exam Questions Chapter 6
Exam Questions Chapter 7
Exam Questions Chapter 8
Exam Questions Chapter 9
Exam Questions Chapter 10
Exam Questions Chapter 11
Exam Questions Chapter 12
Exam Questions Chapter 13
Exam Questions Chapter 14
Exam Questions Chapter 15
Exam Questions Chapter 16
Key Exam Questions
Key Topics That May Appear in the Exam:
Dominant culture
Organizational culture
Understanding and adaptation
Safety culture
Networked cultures
Espoused values
Person-organization fit
Culture strength
Subcultures
Countercultures
Social support
Learning Objectives
What general and specific types can be used to describe an organization’s culture?
What is organizational culture, and what are its components?
What is person-organization fit, and how does it affect job performance and organizational commitment?
What makes a culture strong, and is it always good for an organization to have a strong culture?
What steps can organizations take to make sure that newcomers will fit with their culture?
How do organizations maintain their culture and how do they change it?
ASA in the ASA framework, a process that can help keep culture of the organization strong, stands for
anticipation-socialization-articulation.
attraction-selection-attrition.
attrition-selection-attraction.
attribution-submission-anticipation.
assertion-supplementation-apprehension.
Mergers often result in the creation of the strong culture that managers hope will appear when they make the decision to merge.
The anticipatory stage of socialization begins the day an employee starts work.
Socialization happens in five relatively distinct stages.
The socialization process ends once the employee stops needing outside help to handle the job.
Attraction and selection processes do not always align employees' personalities with organizational culture.
Which of the following hold(s) that potential employees will be attracted to organizations whose cultures match their own personality, organizations will weed out the potential misfits, and the remaining misfits will leave due to being unhappy or ineffective?
reality shock
creativity culture
weak socialization
the encounter stage
the ASA framework
Cheryl, a supervisor with more than a dozen subordinates, is concerned about whether Carlos, a new employee, is fitting in properly with the department and the company as a whole. The best way for her to make that determination is to observe the
kinds of things he talks about with other employees.
language he uses in company e-mails.
way he dresses at the office.
place he sits at lunch.
websites he visits.
________ is the primary process by which employees learn the knowledge that enables them to understand and adapt to the organization's culture.
Socialization
Communal culture
Networked culture
Culture framework
Customer service training
Which of the following is an example of the anticipatory stage of socialization?
Participating in Friday afternoon karaoke sessions at BuzzwebNews cures Max of his fear of singing in public.
After three months at Al's Auto Repair, Benjamin is no longer confused by the technical jargon his co-workers use.
On her first day at Cakewalk Corporation, Jezebel is introduced to her new co-workers, and they take her out to lunch.
During orientation training at Green Grocery Goods, Simone asks her fellow new hires about where they used to work.
Miranda is unhappy at her current job and asks her friend Saul about the culture at Streaming Music Solutions, where he works.
Which of the following is a process that begins before an employee starts work and does not end until an employee leaves the organization?
adaptation
socialization
indoctrination
self-assessment
performance evaluation
Jean-Claude is thrilled to have been hired at The Reality Network as an assistant producer. He has always wanted to work in television, and the reality show he gets to work on, Find Your Voice, is one he has followed closely for years as a fan. The show's host, Terrence, is someone he admires and respects, based on how kindly and gently he treats the guests on the show. Once he arrives on set to start work, however, Jean-Claude is dismayed to learn that Terrence is an egotistical, rude, and selfish person. His on-screen persona is the complete opposite of his True self. After only two weeks on the job, Jean-Claude quits, disillusioned. Which of the following best describes what Jean-Claude experienced?
reality shock
subculture shock
anticipatory anxiety
organizational instability
understanding and adaptation
The three stages of socialization are
anticipatory, encounter, and understanding and adaptation.
assessment, understanding, and acceptance and adaptation.
anticipatory, acceptance, and adaptation.
learning, comprehending, and accepting.
encountering, resisting, and accepting.
Which of the following represents the first stage in the socialization process?
emotional
anticipatory
self-realization
self-assessment
ASA framework
Esmerelda, who is currently employed at Hotel Management Partners, is looking for a new job. In the process of doing so, she comes across the website of Lucrative Property Rentals and finds that the values and culture of this other company match with her own personal values. She also learns about the various activities that take place at Lucrative Property Rentals on a yearly basis and the company's various achievements. From this example, it is clear that Esmerelda is in the ________ stage of the socialization process with regard to Lucrative Property Rentals.
anticipatory
encounter
understanding
adaptation
attrition
Which stage of socialization begins on the day an employee starts work?
encounter
communal
self-critical
countercultural
ASA framework
In her final semester of college, Serena interviews at VisionMasters, Inc. Before the interview, she collects information from VisionMasters' website and from employees she knows. Serena gets additional information during the interview process from the managers. Serena is in which stage of the socialization process?
encounter
attrition
anticipatory
adaptation and understanding
selection
Umberto has recently been hired by Petabyte Partners Data Storage. Today is his first day. Umberto can be described as being in which stage of the socialization process?
encounter
attrition
anticipatory
adaptation and understanding
selection
A couple of days after starting her new job as a logistics manager at Recycled Steel Products, Florence is heard commenting that Working at Recycled Steel Products is not nearly what I expected it to be. This is an example of ________, which occurs in the ________ stage of the socialization process.
counterculture; encounter
reverse adaptation; attrition
culture shock; anticipatory
reality shock; encounter
reverse adaptation; understanding
The goal of an organization's socialization efforts should be to minimize ________ as much as possible.
mentoring
diversity
reality shock
espoused values
newcomer orientation
Which of the following is the final stage of the socialization process?
encounter
attrition
anticipatory
understanding and adaptation
selection
During which stage of socialization do newcomers come to learn the content areas of socialization and internalize the norms and expected behaviors of the organization?
encounter
attrition
anticipatory
understanding and adaptation
selection
In which stage of socialization do employees adopt the goals and values of the organization, recognize what the organization has been through, and converse with others in the organization using technical language and specific terms that only insiders would comprehend?
encounter
attrition
anticipatory
understanding and adaptation
selection
In practice, there are two major ways to change a culture. They are
ASA framework and socialization.
changes in leadership and mergers or acquisitions.
ASA framework and changes in leadership.
socialization and mergers or acquisitions.
mergers and ASA framework.
Who among the following represent probably the biggest driver of culture?
middle managers
front-line employees
top executives
first-line managers
stockholders
Most merged companies operate under a ________ for an extended period of time.
strong culture
weak culture
subculture
differentiated culture
counterculture
What general and specific types can be used to describe an organization's culture?
A culture that attempts to help the greater social good is a ________ culture.
sustainability
customer service
safety
diversity
communal
County Medical Center has a good track record of treating patients well and discharging them in a timely manner. Then, in the span of one week, twelve patients suffer post-surgical bacterial infections that are resistant to drug treatment. Shortly afterward, the surgical and patient recovery teams gather to discuss the problem. One cardiac surgeon, Yvette, mentions that she read in a medical journal about a simple but effective method of reducing such infections. It involves encouraging and enforcing hand washing before all new patient contact. The key is to post reminders in every patient room and nurse station. There is also a smart phone app that will beep once every five minutes as a backup reminder. The hospital staff agrees to implement the protocol, and six months later the rate of infection has dropped by more than 50 percent. The hospital is striving to create a ________ culture.
safety
diversity
fragmented
sustainability
customer service
To encourage innovation at the organization, MicroTrac allows its engineers to spend 20 percent of their working time pursuing projects that they are passionate about. This describes a(n) ________ culture.
service
creativity
disruptive
fragmented
individualized
Which of the following culture types reduces treatment errors in medical settings?
creativity culture
service culture
safety culture
diversity culture
communal culture
Manufacturing and medical companies primarily desire to create a ________ culture.
safety
complex
mercenary
individualized
customer service
Organizations that have successfully created a ________ culture have been shown to change employee attitudes and behaviors toward customers.
service
mercenary
safety
fragmented
creativity
Organizations with friendly employees who all think alike are ________ cultures.
creative
communal
diversified
sustainable
service-oriented
________ cultures are those where all employees are friendly to one another, but everyone thinks differently and does his or her own thing.
Communal
Mercenary
Networked
Fragmented
Complex
The environment at National Studio, Inc., is very political. Its employees often think alike but are generally unfriendly to each other. The culture at this company is best described as
collective.
networked.
communal.
mercenary.
fragmented.
Organizations that have cultures in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another can be considered ________ cultures.
diversified
mercenary
disconnected
fractured
individualized
In organizations with communal cultures, there is ________ sociability and ________ solidarity.
low; low
moderate; high
moderate; low
high; high
low; moderate
Which of the following is an example of a mercenary culture?
Crazy Imported Foods, where the employees brainstorm new product ideas every Monday at a local winery
Tactical Flashlights, Inc., where product designers operate independently and do not share ideas due to chronic mistrust
Fun Phone Apps, where the two founders, who are best friends, work in their shared apartment to develop smartphone apps
Mildred's Creative Preschool, where the teachers nurture and support each other but structure their lesson plans in their own ways
Bob's Used Exotic Cars, where the salespeople all try to sell as many cars as they can each month but compete for customers in an aggressive, cutthroat fashion
Which of the following organizations exemplifies communal culture?
Jimmy's Chicken Shack, where the wait staff all try to provide excellent customer service but steal each other's customers whenever possible
Digital FX Studios, a small start-up where the owner and three FX artists collaborate as a group on all projects and talk openly and kindly with each other
Jeremiad Press, where most employees fraternize daily after work at a local pool hall but spend their time at the office developing their own editorial projects
Web Development Productions, where programmers are empowered to solve software problems in their own unique ways but often undercut each other in order to get ahead
National Warehouse Distributors, where the physical demands of the job result in high turnover and mean employees rarely have the opportunity to interact with each other
In organizations with networked cultures, we tend to find ________ sociability and ________ solidarity.
low; low
low; moderate
high; low
moderate; high
moderate; low
Jamie is about to go to work for Potpourri, a store that sells various bed and bath accessories. Though technically a chain, Potpourri currently has just three stores, all within an hour of each other in the Midwestern United States. The type of organizational culture Jamie is likely to encounter at Potpourri is one in which employees
have very little connection to one another.
are free spirits, each of them his or her own little island.
tend to share a lot of opinions, including a dislike for each other.
enjoy friendly relations, but differ on many things, including work-related matters.
get along well and share many of the same views, including admiration for the company founder.
In organizations with fragmented cultures, there is ________ sociability and ________ solidarity.
low; low
moderate; high
high; moderate
high; high
moderate; moderate
At Spinner Bearings, Inc., employees are distant and disconnected from one another. Based on this, the organizational culture at Spinner Bearings can be described as
diversified.
fragmented.
individualized.
safety oriented.
service oriented.
________ is(are) the degree to which group members think and act alike, and ________ represent(s) how friendly employees are to one another.
Espoused values; basic underlying assumptions
Solidarity; sociability
Basic underlying assumptions; observable artifacts
Sociability; solidarity
Observable artifacts; espoused values
In organizations with mercenary cultures, we tend to find ________ sociability and ________ solidarity.
moderate; low
low; high
high; low
high; moderate
moderate; moderate
Creativity cultures affect the quality, but not the quantity, of creative ideas within an organization.
Organizations that have mercenary cultures are likely to be very political.
What is organizational culture, and what are its components?
Ingrid is a department manager at Workboots, Inc. Ingrid starts every Monday morning with a 60-minute department meeting where each member in the department gets five minutes to report progress; share stories of success and failure; and seek general input, advice, and information. What Ingrid does every Monday morning can be described as a(n)
ritual.
story.
espoused value.
ceremony.
symbol.
At Workboots Inc., Ingrid has been the design department manager for five years. Ingrid has created a skull with a victory flag on its forehead as her department's corporate logo representing the victory or die trying motto for her group. Ingrid's logo can be described as a(n)
ritual.
story.
espoused value.
ceremony.
symbol.
Magnus's company holds meetings every Monday morning. Magnus is responsible for sharing an anecdote, an account, or a legend about the company for every first Monday of the month to keep everyone reminded of where they work and what is important. Magnus is responsibility for sharing
symbols.
stories.
espoused values.
ceremonies.
language.
________ represent the deepest and least observable part of a culture.
Espoused values
Stories
Basic underlying assumptions
Rituals
Observable artifacts
________ are the taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that are so ingrained that employees simply act on them rather than questioning the validity of their behavior in a given situation.
Espoused values
Stories
Basic underlying assumptions
Rituals
Observable artifacts
Walker International recently published its vision statement, which is an example of
observable artifacts.
stories.
basic underlying assumptions.
rituals.
espoused values.
The published mission statement in any organization is an example of
espoused values.
stories.
basic underlying assumptions.
rituals.
observable artifacts.
Which of the following are the beliefs, philosophies, and norms that a company explicitly states?
rituals
stories
ceremonies
espoused values
observable artifacts
Every year, 7 Days, a large retail chain, organizes a large annual function in which it gives an Employee of the Year award to a deserving employee, along with a $5,000 cash prize and an opportunity to launch the retail chain's new product. This is an example of which of the following components of organizational culture?
stories
symbols
espoused values
basic underlying assumptions
ceremonies
________ are formal events that are generally performed in front of an audience of organizational members.
Rituals
Stories
Ceremonies
Language
Symbols
At Delta Diamonds, Inc., managers start every week with a two-hour meeting, focusing on the company's goals for that week and how employees can achieve the goals. This routine describes
a ritual.
a story.
the company's values.
the company's language.
a symbol.
At Rolce Technologies, the core design team of 10 employees has daily stand-up meetings. All the core design team members gather standing up for a rapid-fire update on current projects. These stand-up meetings are representative of which of the following components of the organization's culture?
rituals
solidarity
espoused values
physical structures
enacted values
________ are the daily or weekly planned routines that occur in an organization.
Rituals
Stories
Values
Representations
Symbols
________ consist of anecdotes, accounts, legends, and myths that are passed down from cohort to cohort within an organization.
Rituals
Stories
Values
Structures
Symbols
Which of the following is an example of the observable artifacts category of espoused values?
the apocryphal story told by the founder of Delicious Delicacies about how she was fired from her first three catering jobs
the open floor plan of DailyScoop.com's office that seats employees across from one another at long tables with no dividers
the weekly bagel breakfast Integrated Robotics hosts in its conference room that encourages employees from different departments to mingle
the annual field trip Island Surf Products takes to a nearby beach where all employees are required to spend the day picking up trash and beautifying the area
the sustainability message that Outdoor Footwear prints on each of its shoe boxes that celebrates the amount of post-consumer recycled content in its products
________ is(are) the jargon, slang, and slogans used within the walls of an organization.
Rituals
Beliefs
Values
Language
Symbols
Nike's swoosh is an example of a
language.
belief.
value.
ritual.
symbol.
At the annual holiday party, ABC Airlines gives awards to employees to recognize examples of going above and beyond to serve customers. Almost all the employees who possibly can, attend. This is an example of
a story.
a ritual.
a symbol.
a ceremony.
an unobservable artifact.
When Mathilda first walked into the glass-enclosed lobby of Data Mining Solutions' headquarters, she observed an enormous three-dimensional recreation of the company's logo-a bright red question mark-hanging from the ceiling. As she was taken on a tour of the building, the same red question mark appeared painted along the hallways, in decals placed on all street-facing windows, and as a screen saver on the company computers. Such corporate branding is an example of which type of observable artifact?
rituals
stories
symbols
language
physical structures
During her stay at the Renaissance Hotel, Ginny noticed that all the staff wore the same color and style of clothes. Which of the following layers of organizational culture would such a dress code represent?
espoused values
enacted values
observable artifacts
mnemonics
basic underlying assumptions
Which of the following supply the primary means of transmitting an organization's culture to its workforce?
underlying assumptions
observable artifacts
espoused values
competitive responses
norms
Rose works in the human resources department of Spartan, makers of athletic clothing, shoes, and accessories. Celebrity athletes are regularly spotted wearing Spartan gear, but the company's slogan-For the Athlete in All of Us-is designed to appeal to the ordinary buyers who account for a large portion of revenues. Rose has been assigned to train a group of new employees, and she intends to begin with an information talk that includes a story about the company. Given this information, the best choice for Rose would be an account of
Spartan's emerging understanding of its market and the corporate values it needs to uphold in order to maintain its position-knowledge it has gained by interviewing hundreds of ordinary people and athletes of all kinds.
the challenges one of the company's leading executives overcame in order to live up to the company slogan, training relentlessly for weeks and months and going on to compete in the Boston Marathon.
the time when a local store manager had a problem keeping up with inventory and, after attempting to solve it on his own, took the issue to company headquarters and got the help he needed.
a wounded Iraq War veteran who got a job as a cashier at a local Spartan store and who, despite having a prosthetic arm, competed in the company's annual Spartan Games.
how the company's founder and CEO turned a struggling, unprofitable firm into one of the most prominent competitors in the athletic-wear market.
The physical layout of workspaces, dress codes, and the level of technology used are all examples of ________ that are represented by the organization's culture.
core values
cultural diversity
personal dynamics
observable artifacts
operational capacity
Rigby has gotten his dream job working with one of the most prominent tech companies in Silicon Valley, and he is determined to make a good showing from the first day. The best way for him to do that is to
learn as much as possible about his own specialty, as well as the particular technical needs of the company, and take extra classes if he discovers anything lacking in his skill set.
conduct extensive online research using a wide variety of business sources, such as Standard & Poor's, and social media, to get a detailed portrait of the company.
make a point of staying late and going in to the office on weekends, both to get noticed by management and to talk with other people who work extra hours.
observe his coworkers from the start, figure out who is most successful and plugged in, get to know them, and not be shy about asking questions.
talk to people who have left the company and find out how their work experience was, including whatever negatives views they might have.
________ are the manifestations of an organizational culture that everyone can see or talk about.
Core values
Structural traits
Communal cultures
Networked cultures
Observable artifacts
The three major components to any organizational culture are
observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions.
observable artifacts, hidden artifacts, and semi-public artifacts.
internal values, espoused values, and external values.
symbols, physical structures, and ceremonies.
language, stories, and rituals.
The shared social knowledge within an organization regarding the rules, norms, and values that shape the attitudes and behaviors of its employees refers to organizational
study.
culture.
growth.
definition.
dynamics.
Marie, the department manager at Verve, Inc., starts every Monday morning with a 60-minute department meeting where each member in the department gets five minutes to report progress; share stories of success and failure; and seek general input, advice, and information. Jeremy is responsible for sharing an anecdote, an account, or a legend about the company for every first Monday of the month to keep everyone reminded of where they work and what is important. What Marie and Jeremy are doing are parts of the observable artifacts component of culture.
Marie is the department manager at Verve, Inc. Marie has created the workplace for her department in a totally open forum. There are no walls or cubicles, and everyone-including Marie-is in one open room. The workspace of Marie's department with no walls or cubicles represents the observable artifact known as a symbol.
Which of the following exemplifies the observable artifact category of physical structures?
the elaborate, marble-floored conference room where Bull and Bear Wealth Management Partners conducts meetings with its top clients
the annual holiday party thrown by Party Planner Professionals that also serves as a hands-on demonstration of the coming year's product line
the label on every can of Primal Urge Dog Food that is emblazoned with the words: We love dogs, and we put that love into all of our products
the group meeting held every Monday morning at Coastal Coffee Roasters where the CEO has every employee sample a cup of that week's featured roast
the HR supervisor for Double-Dipped Donuts who tells all new employees how the founder came up with the name of the company after accidentally glazing the same donuts twice
When a company holds to its espoused values over time, regardless of the situations it operates in, the values become less believable to employees.
Physical structures say a lot about a culture.
Employees transfer knowledge about a company's culture to other employees through explicit communication, simple observation, and other less obvious means.
What is person-organization fit, and how does it affect job performance and organizational commitment?
When employees feel they fit with their organization's culture, they are much more likely to develop an emotional attachment to the company.
Job satisfaction is higher and stress is lower when there is a good person-organization fit.
________ is the degree to which an individual's personality and values match the culture of an organization.
Reality shock
Culture strength
Communal culture
Integration framework
Person-organization fit
Ron works for Advanced Family Medical Systems, often known simply as AdFaMS, and has earned the nickname Mr. AdFaMS because of his dedication to the company. Ron says it is not hard to be dedicated to a company he believes in as much as AdFaMS. However, Ron is not perfect. Which of the following is most likely the problem with Ron?
He lacks a general willingness to help others.
He places a low level of trust in his managers.
He has problems with excessive work-related stress.
His emotional attachment to the company is minimal.
His job performance is lower than that of most other employees.
Corinne is looking forward to starting her new job at Flash Forward, a social-networking platform. Everything she has read suggests the company promotes a healthy work/life balance and supports causes that are important to her, such as sustainability and combating climate change. Walking to her desk on her first day, she sees posters in the hallway outlining the company values of people over profit and work to live, not live to work. She smiles because that is how she feels about things, too. After a week on the job she finds herself eager to get to work each day and tackle new challenges, something she has never felt about a job before. Her co-workers are friendly and supportive, the management team seems genuinely concerned about morale and job satisfaction, and she learns the company gives all employees one week off per year with pay to perform charitable work of their choosing. All this makes Corinne proud to be a Flash Forward employee. Corinne is experiencing a high degree of
subculture.
reality shock.
person-organization fit.
anticipatory socialization.
basic underlying assumptions.
What makes a culture strong, and is it always good for an organization to have a strong culture?
The presence of ________ and ________within an organization indicate a strong culture.
high consensus; high intensity
low consensus; high intensity
high consensus; low intensity
low consensus; low intensity
moderate consensus; moderate intensity
________ exist(s) when the overall organizational culture is supplemented by another culture governing a more specific set of employees.
Subcultures
Socialization
Fragmentation
Service cultures
Encounter stages
Which of the following is a disadvantage of a strong culture?
It differentiates the organization from others.
It allows employees to identify themselves in the organization.
It attracts and retains similar kinds of employees.
It creates stability within the organization.
It facilitates the desired behaviors among employees.
Robin, a former sales manager, has been out of the workforce for more than a decade and is thrilled when she lands a job at Yoyodyne Technology Systems. For her first day at work, she dresses in a conservative business suit and digs her old briefcase out of the closet. When she arrives at the office, she is shocked to see people dressed in jeans and sweatshirts, with some not even wearing shoes. Instead of working in a cubicle as she had for years, she is seated at a long, open table with numerous other employees where everyone wears headphones as they work. She finds that she has trouble keeping up with department communications because she still relies on e-mail instead of inter-office social networks. The casual office atmosphere is distracting and the level of familiarity her co-workers demonstrate with each other is foreign to her. After a few weeks, Robin gives her notice because she realizes she will never fit in at such an organization. This situation is indicative of
bullying.
a weak culture.
a strong culture.
a counterculture.
a lack of self-confidence.
Which of the following is an advantage of a strong culture?
It makes merging with another organization more simple.
It allows employees to identify themselves with the organization.
It can be too much of a good thing if it creates extreme behaviors.
It makes adapting to the environment less difficult.
It attracts and retains similar kinds of employees.
Eco-Adventure Gear is a well-respected apparel company. For over 50 years it has produced high-quality, durable products at a relatively high price point. Customers are willing to pay a premium for its wares because of the company's commitment to quality and its history of providing effective customer service. The company's headquarters are located at the base of a mountain range, and once a month the CEO closes the office for two days and leads the staff on a rock climbing trip. Since the company attracts outdoorsy types, nearly all the employees join in on these voluntary trips. Employees are proud to say they work at Eco-Adventure and rarely quit. Eco-Adventure Gear is demonstrating the advantages associated with which type of culture?
weak
ritual
strong
physical
observable
With a lineup that includes some of the most well-known brands in the laundry, home care, and related departments, RWB Home Products is among the largest and most well-known companies in its industry. Founded in the late 1800s, it is a venerable and distinguished organization. RWB is often described as being almost synonymous with America itself (the initials stand for Red, White, and Blue), yet unlike America, it is noted for a lack of diversity among its workforce. Certainly there is diversity in terms of ethnicity and background, but diversity of opinion is lacking. You can always spot the RWB employees in a crowd, one industry journal commented, because they dress, talk, and even walk the same way. Most likely RWB Home Products is a company
that is likely to experience a great deal of change in the near future.
whose identity is hard to distinguish from that of its competitors.
in which employees feel a sense of rootlessness and alienation.
where new employees might find it difficult to adapt.
that would be a good candidate for a merger.
The values of the marketing department culture at Clean Toothpaste Manufacturing, Inc., do not match with those of the overall organization, and the department consistently challenges the values of Clean Toothpaste and lobbies for change. The marketing department's culture can be described as a(n)
counterculture.
diverse culture.
fragmented culture.
individualized culture.
customer service culture.
Which of the following organizations has a strong culture?
Blue Blood Investments, whose youthful sales team clashes with upper management over the best way to implement new product rollouts
Global Package Delivery Systems, whose drivers dress the same, drive the same types of trucks, follow the most efficient routes, and rarely deviate from established delivery protocols
Sandi's Sunglass Shack, whose retail clerks purposefully receive little training and are hired based on their personality and ability to come up with creative ways of selling the company's products
Healthy Heart Snacks, whose purchasing department is predominantly vegan and frequently pushes to eliminate animal products from the company's catalog even though they are the best sellers
Action Video Cameras, whose product development team is led by Vance, a well-known adventurer and maverick designer who sets up a satellite office for his team three miles from the main campus
As a college senior, Mason researched many companies before deciding on those he wanted to apply to. He searched particularly for those where the company's values were in agreement with his personal values, and he didn't apply to those where they weren't. Recruiters for the companies he did apply to recommended hiring him partly because they saw Mason's values as a good fit with the company's values. When he made his selection, Mason was sure he would enjoy working for the company because it seemed like a perfect fit for him. Mason's job search reflects the attraction-selection-attrition framework.
When the values of subcultures do not match those of the larger organization, the subcultures are known as fragmented cultures.
Subcultures unite a smaller subset of the organization's employees.
Strong cultures are always good cultures as they guide their employees toward the most successful organizational outcomes.
What steps can organizations take to make sure that newcomers will fit with their culture?
Formal mentoring programs have always existed in companies, but their use is increasing.
One of the main disadvantages of realistic job previews is that they are very expensive.
Realistic job previews occur during which stage of socialization?
encounter
attrition
anticipatory
adaptation
understanding
Which of the following involve(s) making sure a potential employee has an accurate picture of what working for an organization is going to be like by providing both the positive and the negative aspects of the job?
mentoring
reality shock
off-the-job training
realistic job previews
countercultures
Which of the following is an example of a realistic job preview?
Horatio, who is looking to get hired as a salesman at Custom T-Shirts, researches the company online before he submits his application.
Astrid, who has been unemployed for three months, cold calls local companies to see if they would consider giving her an unpaid internship.
Ole, who works in sales at Nordic Wood Stoves, is paired up with a senior sales executive who can offer support when Ole feels he needs help.
Beatrix, who has been offered a job at Exquisite Stationers, talks with the human resource manager about the company's corporate culture and potential challenges she will face.
Javier, who is considering a marketing position at Rejuvenate, Inc., plays a game of pickup basketball one weekend with the marketing manager and the rest of the marketing team.
________ is the process by which a junior-level employee develops a deep and long-lasting relationship with a more senior-level employee within the organization.
Mentoring
Promotion
ASA framework
Socialization
Orientation
Which of the following tactics is designed to encourage adaptation to the organization's culture?
using no examples of what an employee is supposed to be like
allowing newcomers to interact with current employees while they are being oriented
allowing organizational membership regardless of whether or not any specific requirements have been met
orienting new employees in a solitary setting to avoid overwhelming them with both new tasks and new people
constantly reminding newcomers that they are now part of a group and that this new group helps define who they are
Ulrich finishes college with a degree in computer science. One of his favorite aspects of the discipline is that it is a fairly solitary endeavor. In school he got to work on projects by himself with little social interaction, and that is just how he likes it. After accepting a position as a programmer at VitalTech Resources, he is surprised to learn that he is required to s make a weekly progress report in front of the sales and marketing departments. The mere prospect makes him lightheaded and sweaty. He confesses his misgivings to his supervisor, who pairs him up with a more experienced programmer, Alison. She has been making these kinds of reports for years, and tells him not to worry. With Alison's help, Ulrich is able to feel more confident about making his presentation. He falters a few times during his first attempt, but Alison coaches him on ways to improve, and he is eventually able to confidently deliver a ten-minute report to a room full of thirty people. The arrangement between Alison and Ulrich is an example of
mentoring.
acclimation.
diversity culture.
newcomer orientation.
a realistic job preview.
Which of the following is a tactic designed to discourage adaptation to the organization's culture?
providing role models for newcomers
orienting new employees along with a group of other new employees
providing hurdles that are required to be met prior to organizational membership
putting newcomers through orientation apart from current organizational members
allowing anyone to become a member of the organization without meeting specific requirements
Constance, Daisy, Petunia, and Anna are four friends working at four different organizations. In Petunia's firm, Social Network Development, employees are both distant and disconnected from one another, whereas in Daisy's company, Solar Singularity, it is quite the opposite-employees are friendly, and they all think alike. Constance works for Credit Protection Services, where employees think alike but are not friendly to one another. Constance's firm, Credit Protection Services, can be described as having a ________ culture.
communal
mercenary
networked
fragmented
collective
Daisy, Petunia, Constance, and Anna are four friends working at four different organizations. In Petunia's firm, Social Network Development, employees are both distant and disconnected from one another, whereas in Daisy's company, Solar Singularity, it is quite the opposite-employees are friendly, and they all think alike. Constance works for Credit Protection Services, where employees think alike but are not friendly to one another. Finally, Anna is employed at Living Trust Wealth Management, where employees are friendly, but they think differently and do their own thing. Daisy's firm, Solar Singularity, can be described as having a(n) ________ culture.
communal
mercenary
networked
fragmented
individualistic
Petunia, Daisy, Constance, and Anna are four friends working at four different organizations. In Petunia's firm, Social Network Development, employees are both distant and disconnected from one another, whereas in Daisy's company, Solar Singularity, it is quite the opposite-employees are friendly, and they all think alike. Constance works for Credit Protection Services, where employees think alike but are not friendly to one another. Finally, Anna is employed at Living Trust Wealth Management, where employees are friendly, but they think differently and do their own thing. Petunia's firm, Social Network Development, can be described as having which of the following culture types?
communal
mercenary
networked
fragmented
collective
Quest, Inc., has a sign hanging in every employee's cubicle that reads: Together we are greater than any one of us. This is an example of a(n)
ritual.
espoused value.
enacted value.
basic underlying assumption.
physical structure.
Which of the following statements about organizational culture is True?
In a high consensus culture, employees disagree about the way things are supposed to happen.
In a high intensity culture, employees' behaviors are inconsistent with expectations.
Subcultures are less likely to exist in large organizations than in small firms.
Strong cultures are not always good for the organization.
Countercultures reinforce the values of an organization.
Which of the following statements about the encounter stage of socialization is True?
The encounter stage of socialization takes place prior to an employee spending even one second on the job.
New employees compare the information they acquired as outsiders with what the organization is really like now that they are insiders.
Newcomers come to learn the content areas of socialization and internalize the norms and expected behaviors of the organization.
The encounter stage involves the adoption of the spoken and unspoken goals and values of the organization.
The encounter stage of socialization is the last stage in the socialization process.
Constance, Petunia, Daisy, and Anna are four friends working at four different organizations. In Petunia's firm, Social Network Development, employees are both distant and disconnected from one another, whereas in Daisy's company, Solar Singularity, it is quite the opposite-employees are friendly, and they all think alike. Constance works for Credit Protection Services, where employees think alike but are not friendly to one another. Finally, Anna is employed at Living Trust Wealth Management, where employees are friendly, but they think differently and do their own thing. Anna's firm, Living Trust Wealth Management, can be described as having which culture type?
communal
mercenary
networked
fragmented
complex