Exam 2: Organizational Culture and the Organizational Environment

In an organizational culture that values cost cutting and steady but slow growth,managers ________.

In a short essay,describe how creating an ethical,innovative and customer-responsive culture impacts the manager's job.

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 comfortable employee lounges in each store are examples of ________.

The organizational culture has very little influence on the way employees analyze and resolve work-related issues.

Organizational culture is most similar to an individual's ________.

Internal constraints that restrict a manager's decision options arise from ________.

Which of the following is a characteristic of a dynamic environment?

Organizational culture is a perception,not a reality.

Which of the following dimensions of organizational culture refers to the degree to which organizational decisions and actions emphasize maintaining the status quo?

In a short essay,define organizational culture and discuss the three implications of culture presented in the textbook.Give examples of companies that you feel have strong cultures.

The degree to which managers focus on results rather than on how the results are achieved is typical of innovative cultures.

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. -Todd believes that the managers at Zerex are not very concerned about how their decisions affect other people in the organization.This relates to which dimension of organizational culture?

A good example of an organizational story is the process that college/university faculty members go through in their quest for tenure.

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 upcoming federal election and the potential change of government involve which factor in DigiTech's external environment?

Critics of spirituality in the workplace argue that ________.

The symbolic view of management helps to explain the high turnover among college/university and professional sports coaches,who are often fired and replaced when their teams perform poorly.

Most organizations have ________ cultures.

An increasing body of evidence suggests that strong cultures are associated with high organizational performance.

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 managers of high-performing organizations ________.

Strong cultures have a greater influence on employees' behaviours than weak ones.