Exam 16: Organizational Culture

Barbara is the lead editor for a small, city newspaper. One of her advertising sales representatives, Mathew, is pulling in a lot of restaurant clients. Barbara realizes that Mathew is quite knowledgeable about food and speaks quite elegantly while describing different dishes. She has offered Mathew an opportunity to write a weekly restaurant review. Mathew is very happy with his new job role. Which aspect of creating a positive organization is being utilized by Barbara?

Alessio's boss doesn't care whether Alessio works at home, at the office, or from his beach house. All he cares about is that the project is completed on time, on budget, and with exemplary quality. Which characteristic of organizational culture best describes this aspect of Alessio's job?

The lack of frequent face-to-face contact in ________ organizations makes establishing a common set of norms very difficult.

You are new to an organization and do not really know what to expect about the socialization process. You are a recent M.B.A. and have an undergraduate degree in computer science. Your new firm is a software development company with an emphasis in the health care industry. Your hiring process includes campus interviews, a day-long trip for an interview at the company, an offer phone call and letter, and some promotional material sent via the mail. When you arrive for your first day at work, you spend half a day in an orientation session that is conducted by the human resources department, where you complete paperwork and receive a company handbook. Then you spend the rest of the day with your supervisor, who gives you a tour, introduces you to your coworkers, and explains your first project. After that, you begin working and getting to know the others in the company. You find that in most respects, your experience fits your expectations, but in some ways you are surprised by realities that you hadn't expected. None of these surprises is too difficult to accept, so you eventually begin to feel at home and happy with your new job. The information that you receive during the interviewing and hiring process is a part of the ________ stage of employee socialization.

Culture is most likely to be a liability when ________.

In the socialization process, the period of learning that occurs before a new employee joins an organization is termed the encounter stage.

Which of the following act(s) as a common denominator to unite members of a given culture or subculture?

Material symbols convey to employees the degree of egalitarianism that is desired by top management.

Describe the significant characteristics of a strong culture.

A strong culture creates an internal climate of high behavioral control.

An organizational culture most likely to shape high ethical standards among its members is one that ________.

________ is a process that helps new employees adapt to the prevailing organizational culture.

Janice works for a pet store where everyone is committed to the happiness of the animals. Often employees, bosses and hourly workers alike, come into the store "off the clock" and spend time training the animals. Everyone loves the store, the animals, and their jobs. This attitude of her coworkers inspires Janice to do her best. Based on this information, we can say that Janice is experiencing the effects of ________.

The management of ethical behavior is one area where national culture can rub up against corporate culture. Discuss some differences in how individualist and collectivist cultures might view the difference in the management of ethical behavior in relation to corporate culture.

Attention to detail indicates the degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them.

Which of the following is not a message conveyed by material symbols?

________ typically contain(s) a narrative of events about the organization's founders, rule breaking, or reactions to past mistakes.

Phil is new at JPS Corp., but after a week he already knows that the founder of the corporation started the business in his garage with only $4,000 and one client. This information was most likely transmitted to Phil by way of ________.

One of the main ways that culture is created and maintained within an organization is for the founder to only hire and keep employees who think and feel the same as he/she does. Discuss both the pros and cons of this idea and offer an opinion as to why this system can be effective.

Nunya employees are allowed to dress informally. This is an example of a ________ through which organizational culture is transmitted.