Exam 2: Organizational Culture and the Organizational Environment

The mix of people in an organization in terms of differences in characteristics reflects the growing interest in spiritual culture.

In the symbolic view of management,managers are seen as being directly responsible for an organization's success or failure.

Which of the following phrases is associated with the definition of organizational culture?

The shared aspect of culture implies that all employees in an organization approve of the culture.

Given a choice,most managers would prefer to operate in environments that are ________.

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 had noticed that some of his employees seemed to stifle their emotions whenever he questioned whether they were coping with the workload and life in general.He decided that he would encourage all employees to open up about their moods and feelings which would relate to the ________ characteristic of spiritual organizational culture.

A manager's role in the omnipotent view of management is to create meaning out of randomness,confusion,and ambiguity.

In the omnipotent view of management,much of an organization's success or failure is due to forces outside management's control.

Which of the following guidelines should managers follow while building a customer-responsive culture?

Environmental Uncertainty (Scenario) It is safe to say that managers do not have complete control over organizational outcomes; the environment has a significant impact. It is important for managers to learn both what the components of the environment are and how the environment will affect their organizations. -A grocery store that has few components in its environment and minimal need for knowledge about its suppliers or customers is operating under conditions of low ________.

Sony Corporation focuses on which of the following dimensions of organizational culture?

Organizational culture is a system of shared meaning and beliefs held by organizational members.

Which of the following most accurately reflects the symbolic view of management?

Changing Organizational Culture (Scenario) Jenna has been asked by the company president to change the organizational culture to reflect the company's new organizational goals. As executive vice-president, she certainly understands the goals but is really not sure that she understands what to do about the culture. -Jenna was surprised to discover that most organizations have ________ cultures.

When employees at Microsoft use words such as: work judo,eating your own dog food,and flat food,they are using organizational ________.

The process that adapts employees to the organization's culture is called ________.

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. -The organizational culture at SeaLan is best described as ________.

Organizational ________ typically contain(s)a narrative of significant events or people.

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 finds out through her research that managing stakeholder relationships can lead to ________.

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! -Rapid changes in ________ conditions have resulted in shorter product development cycles for DigiTech.