Exam 2: Organizational Culture and the Organizational Environment

Giving employees the discretion to make day-to-day decisions on job-related activities is instrumental in creating in a customer-responsive culture.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of having a strong organizational culture?

The omnipotent view of management means ________.

Dimensions of Culture (Scenario) Todd works for SeaLan Tech, a small environmental consulting firm that has just been purchased by Zerex, Inc., a large biomedical research organization. The work environment at SeaLan had always been friendly and cooperative; people worked in teams and were encouraged to take risks. However, after meeting with the management of the new parent company, Todd believes there are considerable differences between the organizational cultures of Zerex and SeaLan. He is concerned that the new company will eliminate SeaLan's old culture, and he does not like the prospects. -If you asked Todd to define the term organizational culture,he would probably say it is ________.

Manifestations of Culture (Scenario) Jacob is vice-president of human resources at Z-Mart, a large chain of department stores with 120 locations across Canada. He is developing a short orientation video to help new employees learn about the organization's culture. The video will begin with the story of Z-Mart's founder, Ziggy Zigwig, and how he started the company with one small store in Hamilton in 1960 and eventually built it into a national chain based on a simple philosophy: "cheaper is better." Today, Ziggy's founding values continue to guide employees and managers as they continually look for ways to reduce prices and pass the savings along to customers. Next, the video will discuss the daily Z-Mart chant, and how each morning the store managers lead all the employees in a rousing store anthem that ends with everyone shouting, "CHEAPER IS BETTER!" The chant usually takes place in the comfortable employee lounges located at the back of every store. Finally, the video will explain some of the key terminology used at Z-Mart. For example, all sales clerks are called "associates," managers are called "partners," and a price reduction is affectionately called a "ziggy" as a nod to the company's founder! -The part of the orientation video that introduces Ziggy and describes his founding philosophy is an example of a(n)________.

The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision in their work relates to which dimension of organizational culture?

Focusing on Contemporary Lifestyles at Mario's Morsels (Scenario) Mario Milano finished closing his busy upscale restaurant after another very late night. He had just sent the last of his exhausted employees home and sank gratefully into the deep easy chair in the small back office. He felt that he had been running on empty for the last four months since the restaurant reviews had come out and rated Morsels as the best new restaurant in town. He could feel his fatigue and noticed that his loyal employees felt the same. In fact he had heard some of them discussing how they had been running ragged with not enough time off or even a chance to enjoy the work. With several of his kitchen staff dealing also with families, the situation was becoming untenable. Mario pulled out a business magazine that had caught his eye earlier with the word "spirituality" on the cover. Brought up in a strongly religious home he understood the concept. But what did spirituality have to do with any workplace? He was intrigued and decided to read though focusing on the cultural characteristics of an organization that related to spirituality. -Mario recognized that he wanted to provide a workplace where ________ is based on meaningful work taking place in the context of the restaurant community.

Google has often been cited as a model for employee satisfaction.Google takes extensive care to ensure employees have the best available conditions to perform,ranging from free snack bars,free massages,innovation rooms,spas-on-site,and many more such measures.Which dimension of organizational culture is Google said to emphasize through such measures?

he External Environment (Scenario) DigiTech Corporation is a manufacturer of handheld language translation devices. There are many forces in the external environment that influence DigiTech, and its managers are monitoring them closely. One factor is the upcoming federal election. If elected, the leading political candidate has promised to cut corporate taxes to help stimulate the economy. Another factor is the emergence of new competitors with products similar to DigiTech's best-selling model: the Speak-Easy. Advances in the processing speed of computer chips have shortened product development cycles and made it easier for new companies to enter the market. Unfortunately, the recent increase in competition has led to supplier shortages of key components such as microphones and micro-speakers and has left DigiTech scrambling to find new sources! -The politician's promise to lower corporate taxes could affect which factor in DigiTech's external environment?

A good example of an organizational ________ is Mary Kay Cosmetics' annual award ceremony for its sales representatives.

Managing Stakeholder Relationships (Scenario) Natasha has been hired by Virtual Screen Corporation, a manufacturer of custom window coverings and retractable screen doors. Virtual Screen has recently been having problems with some of their major stakeholders. Some suppliers have been shipping poor quality materials, and customer complaints are increasing. Natasha has been hired to help resolve the current issues and to develop a plan for managing other stakeholder problems in the future. -Natasha determines that managing stakeholder relationships can lead to ________.

In a short essay,describe how and why organizations support spirituality as parts of organizational culture.What are the five cultural characteristics of a spiritual organization?

The ________ component of an organization's external environment is concerned with trends in population characteristics such as age,race,gender,education level,geographic location,income,and family composition.

Strong cultures ________.

________ has been described as the shared values,principles,traditions,and ways of doing things that influence the way an organization's members act.

Managers try to minimize ________ because it is a threat to an organization's effectiveness.

Business leaders recognize that there is a growing social discontent over ________.

In which of the following environments do managers in an organization have the greatest influence on organizational outcomes?

A degree of playfulness and a sense of humour are often characteristics of innovative cultures.

For most organizations,the most rapidly changing factor has been ________ conditions.