The Environment and Corporate Culture test bank

TRUE/FALSE

1. While Blockbuster has closed hundreds of stores and is likely to file for bankruptcy, Netflix expanded its customer base to over 13 million.

2. Factors external to the organizations have been primarily the focus of management as a discipline.

3. The general environment and the task environment are the two layers of an organization's external environment.

4. The outer layer, the general environment, is widely dispersed and affects organizations directly.

5. Customers and competitors are two important sectors of the economic dimension of a firm's general environment.

6. Current employees, management, and especially corporate culture are part of an organization's internal environment.

7. The international dimension of the external environment represents events originating in foreign countries as well as opportunities for U.S. companies in other countries.

8. In recent years, the most dramatic change in the international environment is the shift of economic power to Germany and France.

9. The technological dimension of the external environment includes scientific and technological advancements in a specific industry as well as in society at large.

10. The sociocultural dimension of the general environment includes societal norms and values.

11. The international dimension includes scientific and technological advancements in a specific industry as well as in society at large.

12. According to Spotlight on Skills in Chapter 2, the Chinese concept of guanxi is a supportive, mutually beneficial connection between two people.

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13. According to Spotlight on Skills in Chapter 2, one of the rules of doing business in China is remembering that relationships are short-term.

14. Economic problems in other parts of the world have a tremendous impact on U.S. companies.

15. The economic dimension of the general environment represents the demographic characteristics.

16. The economic dimension of the general environment includes consumer purchasing power.

17. An example of part of the legal-political dimension of the general environment is a government's report on the decline of unemployment rate.

18. President Clinton's signing of the telecommunications bill in 1996 deregulating the industry is an example of the legal-political dimension of the general environment.

19. The task environmental dimension includes all elements that occur naturally on earth, including plants, animals, rocks, and natural resources such as air, water, and climate.

20. Customers are the people and organizations in the environment who acquire goods or services from the organization.

21. Recently, there has been strong concern about climate change such as global warming caused by greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide.

22. McDonalds, Burger King, and Checkers are competitors since all three sell fast food to individuals.

23. The raw materials that organizations use to produce its outputs are provided by customers.

24. Other organizations in the same industry or type of business that provide goods or services to the same set of customers are referred to as suppliers.

25. The labor market is made up by people in the environment who can be hired to work for an organization.

26. If Johnson Lumber provides trees for Westvaco Paper Manufacturing, then Johnson Lumber is considered a supplier for Westvaco.

27. Organizations must manage environmental uncertainty to be effective.

28. An organization experiences high uncertainty when internal factors gradually change over time.

29. A merger is an effort to spot trends that enable managers to predict future events.

30. Given the increasing environmental uncertainty, managers in partnering organizations are shifting from a partnership orientation to an adversarial orientation.

31. A joint venture involves a strategic alliance or program by two or more organizations.

32. Due to the stable environment and lack of technological change, mergers and joint ventures rarely occur in the U.S.

33. The internal environment within which managers work includes corporate culture, sociocultural aspects, and customers.

34. Culture can be defined as the ability to speak different languages.

35. Physical symbols are associated with the surface level of organizational culture.

36. Symbols, stories, heroes, slogans, and ceremonies combine to create an organization's culture.

37. The set of key values, beliefs, and norms, that are shared by members of an organization are combined to create the symbols of an organization.

38. A symbol is a figure that exemplifies the deeds, character, and attributes of a corporate culture.

39. A narrative based on rumors within the organization that can lead to destructive results if not carefully controlled by management is called an organizational story.

40. A phrase or sentence that succinctly expresses a key corporate value is called a story.

41. The mythical sales representative at Robinson Jewelers who delivered a wedding ring directly to the church because the ring had been ordered late is an example of a hero.

42. A slogan is a phrase or sentence that succinctly expresses a key corporate value.

43. A ceremony is a planned activity at a special event that is conducted for the benefit of an audience.

44. In adaptive cultures, managers are concerned with customers and processes that bring about useful change.

45. The achievement culture emerges in an environment that requires fast response and high-risk decision-making.

46. An achievement culture is found in an environment that is dynamic and requires high-risk decision-making.

47. The involvement culture is suited to organizations that are concerned with serving specific customers in the external environment but without the intense need for flexibility and rapid change.

48. A results-oriented culture that values competitiveness, aggressiveness, personal initiative, and willingness to work long and hard to achieve results is called the achievement culture.

49. The bureaucratic culture has an external focus and a consistency orientation for a dynamic environment.

50. Corporate culture plays a key role in creating an organizational climate that enables learning and innovative responses to threats from the external environment, challenging new opportunities, or organizational crises.

51. When an organization pays little attention to either cultural values or business results, it is unlikely to survive for long.

52. When an organization pays little attention to cultural values and instead focuses on business results, success will be difficult to sustain in the long run.

53. Success will be difficult to sustain in the long run when an organization puts emphasis on both cultural values and business results.

54. In a high performance culture, organizations put high emphasis on both culture and solid business performance as drivers of organizational success.

55. A cultural leader defines and uses signals and symbols to influence corporate culture.

56. The cultural leader articulates a vision for the organizational culture that employees can believe in and that generates excitement.

57. Employees of an organization are considered part of the general environment.

58. In China, business tends to be more personal.

59. It is expected that the Hispanic population in the United States will shrink slightly over the next 30 years.

60. Over the last four years, the weakened U.S. economy has had a devastating impact on small business.

61. In 2010, Canada was the country with the highest environmental performance index score.

62. The most likely competitor for an automobile manufacturer would be a company in a different but related industry, such as a steel manufacturer.

63. Labor market forces affecting organizations right now include the growing need for computer-literate knowledge workers and the necessity for continuous investment in human resources through recruitment, education, and training.

64. To be successful, companies should only involve top-level executives in boundary-spanning activities.

65. As managers are increasingly shifting to a partnering orientation as opposed to one that is adversarial in nature, the use of information sharing has increased.

66. Cultural values in organizations are rarely observed, but are rather deeply embedded to the extent that members are not consciously aware of them.

67. In determining what cultural values are important for the organization, managers should consider the external environment as well as the company’s strategy and goals.

68. In today’s business environment, most companies operate in a stable and rigid environment.

69. Quadrant C represents organizations that are focused primarily on bottom-line results and pay little attention to organizational values.

70. Companies in Quadrant D put high emphasis on both culture and solid business performance as drivers of organizational success.

71. Quadrant A organizations represent the high-performance culture, which is based on solid organizational mission and purpose, and adaptive values that guide decisions and business practices.

CASE

Scenario - Nikki Williams

Nikki Williams was working as the sales manager for Industrial Instruments. Some of the sales executives were showing signs of burnout. They were losing interest in their jobs and were no longer motivated to gain new accounts. The reward system focused on old reliable accounts, but Nikki was now under pressure to expand the customer base. Nikki had recently been to a seminar on corporate value systems. She recognized that the company's CEO wanted to change the way employees thought about the firm and the way they related to one another. She further recognized that a lasting solution to her problem required a fundamental shift in perception.

1. To affect the value system, Nikki will be working primarily with

a.	the legal-political dimension.
b.	the sociocultural dimension.
c.	the internal cultural dimension.
d.	the economic dimension.
e.	the external dimension.

2. Nikki could use the following to affect the corporate culture:

a.	structured symbolic logic.
b.	stories about political heroes.
c.	stories about company officers, stressing a value.
d.	stories about economic depression.
e.	all of these.

3. Nikki could hold _______, which are planned activities at special events to provide examples of company values.

a.	ceremonies
b.	slogans
c.	symbols
d.	pictures of heroes
e.	none of these

4. Industrial Instruments operates in an environment that requires fast response and high-risk decision making. Which type of culture may be appropriate here?

a.	Consistency
b.	Adaptability
c.	Clan
d.	Achievement
e.	Involvement

Scenario - Melissa Hill

Melissa Hill, sales manager for One-Hit-Wonder Record Company, was trying to create a new strategy to turn around the declining record sales the company was facing. Melissa needed to find a way to find out what the customers really wanted, since One-Hit-Wonder didn't have accurate information like the competitors did. It was imperative that she find the correct strategy and information because the company was in financial trouble. The company's President wanted all employees to help find information and work as a team to develop better relationships that might help the company. He also stated that he wanted the company to remain an independent company. Melissa realized that through hard work and team efforts, the company could get back on its feet as soon as they got reliable information.

5. Melissa will be working primarily with

a.	the legal-political dimension.
b.	the labor market.
c.	the internal cultural dimension.
d.	pressure groups.
e.	the sociocultural dimension.

6. The problem Melissa faced was

a.	culture gap.
b.	structural instability.
c.	environmental uncertainty.
d.	company transformation.
e.	legal problems.

7. Which of the following would be the best way for One-Hit-Wonder to decrease its uncertainty?

a.	To create boundary-spanning roles
b.	To eliminate interorganizational partnerships
c.	To merge with another company
d.	To create a joint venture
e.	None of these

8. Which of the following best describes One-Hit-Wonder's culture?

a.	Clan culture
b.	Achievement culture
c.	Consistency culture
d.	Adaptability culture
e.	None of these

COMPLETION

1. The external ____________________ includes all elements existing outside the boundary of the organization that have the potential to affect the organization.

2. The ____________________ is the outer layer that is widely dispersed and affects organizations indirectly.

3. A(n) ____________________ includes the elements within the organization's boundaries.

4. The ____________________ environment includes the sectors that conduct day-to-day transactions within the organization.

5. An example of ____________________ dimension is that Dixon Ticonderoga Co. is in trouble because of increased competition especially from low-cost pencil companies in China.

6. The ____________________ environment represents an ever-changing and uneven playing field compared with domestic environment.

7. The ____________________ dimension of the general environment includes scientific and technological advancements in a specific industry and in society.

8. The ____________________ dimension of the general environment represents the demographic characteristics as well as the norms, customs, and values of the general population.

9. Lying at the heart of Chinese culture, ____________________ is a supportive, mutually beneficial connection between two people.

10. The general economic health of the country or region in which the organization operates is represented by the ____________________ dimension.

11. The ____________________ dimension includes government regulations at the local, state, and federal levels.

12. An interest group that works within the legal-political framework to influence companies to behave in socially responsible ways, is called a(n) ____________________.

13. Included in a(n) ____________________ environment are sectors that have a direct working relationship with the organization, among customers, competitors, suppliers, and the labor market.

14. The ____________________ of the general environment includes all elements that occur naturally on earth.

15. Managers today are concerned because technologically speaking, the ____________________ has given more power to customers and enabled them to directly impact an organization.

16. ____________________ are organizations in the same industry that provide goods or services to the same set of customers.

17. People and organizations that provide raw materials the organization uses to produce its output are called ____________________.

18. The ____________________ represents people in the environment who can be hired to work for the organization.

19. Not having sufficient information about environmental factors to understand and predict environmental needs and changes is called ____________________.

20. When environmental factors change rapidly, the organization experiences ____________________ uncertainty.

21. ____________________, ____________________, and ____________________ are three types of strategies that organizations can use to adapt to environmental changes.

22. A(n) ____________________ is when two or more organizations combine to make one organization.

23. A(n) ____________________ involves a strategic alliance or program by two or more organizations.

24. ____________________ can be defined as the set of key values, beliefs, understandings, and norms shared by members of an organization.

25. An object, act, or event that conveys meaning to others is known as a(n) ____________________.

ANS: symbol

26. A(n) ____________________ is a narrative based on true events that is repeated frequently and shared among organizational employees.

27. The deeds of ____________________ are extraordinary, but not so extraordinary that other employees cannot perform the same deeds.

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28. A slogan is a phrase or a sentence that concisely communicates a key corporate ____________________.

29. Adaptability culture emerges in an environment that requires ____________________ response and ____________________ decision making.

30. A culture that is a results-oriented, that values competitiveness, aggressiveness, personal initiative, and willingness to work long and hard to achieve results is called ____________________.

31. The ____________________ culture places high value on HR, and the organization may be characterized by a caring, family-like atmosphere.

32. Organizations with internal focuses and consistency orientations for a stable environment should create a(n) ____________________ culture.

33. ____________________ plays a key role in creating an organizational climate that enables learning and innovative responses to threats from the external environment, challenging new opportunities, or organizational crises.

34. A primary way in which managers shape cultural norms and values to build a high-performance culture is through ____________________.

35. A(n) ____________________ defines and uses signals and symbols to influence corporate culture.

SHORT ANSWER

1. List the six dimensions of the general environment.

2. List three visible artifacts of an organization's culture.

3. List two reasons why ceremonies are held in an organization.

4. Name one of the two dimensions that the categories of culture are based on.

5. Name one of the two dimensions that organizations with high-performance cultures emphasize.

ESSAY

1. Define the organizational task environment. List the four things this environment includes that could influence an organization.

2. Name the six dimensions of the general environment and describe each dimension.

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3. Briefly describe the task environment and its four primary sectors.

4. What are the three basic strategies for dealing with increased uncertainty with respect to customers, competitors, suppliers, or government regulations?

5. Based on the model in the text, discuss the relationship between external environmental characteristics and uncertainty.

6. Discuss the different levels of culture.

7. List the four categories of culture and describe what kind of environments each fit best in.

8. Briefly discuss the two key areas that cultural leaders influence culture.