Deck 10: Leadership of Culture, Ethics, and Diversity

Question 1

Culture has two important functions in that it creates external unity and helps the organization adapt to the internal environment.

Answer 1

False
Explanation:Culture creates internal unity and helps the organization respond to the external environment.

Question 2

Culture is the aggregate of beliefs,norms,attitudes,values,assumptions,and ways of doing things that is shared by members of an organization and taught to new members.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

All organizations have a culture.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Organizational culture gives identity to an organization.

Question 5

An organization's culture is considered weak when it conducts its business according to clear and explicit set of principles and values.

Question 6

The strength of any culture depends on the degree to which a set of norms and values are widely shared and strongly held throughout the organization.

Question 7

Having the right culture does guarantee that an organization will respond quickly to rapidly changing environmental conditions in the market place.There has to be a management-strategy fit for performance to be optimized.

Question 8

Organizations with strong cultures have an unmistakable profile that sets them apart from average performers.These strong cultural attributes are firm-specific but easily replacated by other organizations.

Question 9

In a strong culture,many issues or problems get resolved along the lines of power.

Question 10

Due to the highly politicized internal environment of a weak culture,unhealthy promotions and other career related practices abound.

Question 11

Employees learn what is valued most in an organization by watching what attitudes and behaviors leaders pay attention to and reward and whether the leaders' own behavior matches the espoused values.

Question 12

Organizational culture can provide internal unity by defining a normative order that serves as a source of consistent behavior inside an organization.

Question 13

Culture is a social control mechanism.

Question 14

In high-performance cultures,emphasis is placed on individual goal setting,and in low-performance cultures,emphasis is place on linkages between reward systems and performance.

Question 15

Apecure Corporation is a company where managers,not employees are expected to know all of the answers to problems and is focused on primarily internal operations,ignoring changing external conditions.This is an example of insular thinking.

Question 16

High-performance cultures are results-oriented and avoid risks.

Question 17

Insular thinking is a common characteristic of high-performance cultures.

Question 18

A strong culture is one that offers a variable values system that encourages employees' freedom of expression through a variety of behaviors.

Question 19

Another name for a culture that quickly adapts to environmental change rather than resists change is the organizational learning culture.

Question 20

Leaders have many different tools at their disposal for changing,modifying or sustaining culture. Some of these actions are substantive while others are simply symbolic.

Question 21

Authentic leadership theory is grounded in moral and ethical foundations of leadership.

Question 22

An organization with a competitive culture operates in a rapidly growing market environment where they focus on introducing their product to the customer.

Question 23

In a high power-distance culture,leaders and followers interact on several levels as equals.

Question 24

Cooperative culture represents a leadership belief in active monitoring of the external environment for emerging opportunities and threats.

Question 25

The competitive culture represents a leadership belief in strong,mutually reinforcing exchanges and linkages between employees and departments.

Question 26

The role of leadership in creating an ethical work environment applies primarily to larger corporations.

Question 27

A cooperative culture is the best organizational culture a company can have.

Question 28

Written statements have the advantage of explicitly stating the company's position on ethical and moral issues,and they serve as benchmarks for judging both company policies and actions and individual conduct.

Question 29

In a bureaucratic culture,policies,beliefs,norms,and practices are all designed with one goal in mind - to encourage cooperation,teamwork,power sharing and camaraderie among employees.

Question 30

The United States and Japan are said to have individualistic cultures.

Question 31

In an adaptive culture,management thinking is based on the belief that organizational success is influenced more by events outside the organization than by internal factors.

Question 32

A code of ethics signals a strong ethical environment even if an ethical corporate culture and top management support are lacking.

Question 33

An ethics ombudsperson is responsible for making sure the organization includes all ethnic groups of people at all levels within the management hierarchy.

Question 34

Creative solutions to problems are more likely to be reached in diverse work groups than homogeneous groups.

Question 35

A feminine culture,such as Sweden and Denmark,emphasizes developing and nurturing personal relationships and a high quality of life.

Question 36

Because industrialized countries share similar national values,it would be appropriate for the United States to use the same rewards systems for companies in Canada and Mexico.

Question 37

Top management of Mallon Corporation wants to communicate that it is committed to creating a new culture.The strongest means of doing this is to replace old-culture members who are unwilling to change with a "new breed" of employees.

Question 38

Authentic leaders have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their values,with the courage to tell their followers the hard truths.

Question 39

A society with high uncertainty avoidance contains a majority of people who do not tolerate risk,avoid the unknown,and are comfortable when the future is relatively predictable and certain.

Question 40

Four distinct generations comprise today's workforce - the Traditionalists,the Baby Boomers,the Modernists,and the Generation Xers.

Question 41

Which of the following is a function of culture?

A)It keeps diversity from becoming extreme.
B)It results in strategic alignment.
C)It helps the organization adapt to the external environment.
D)It moves the organization from a long-term to a short-term orientation.

Question 42

Which of the following is a characteristic of a high-performance culture?

A)Insular thinking.
B)Highly politicized environment.
C)Results oriented.
D)Low expectations.

Question 43

________ is the aggregate of beliefs,norms,attitudes,values,assumptions,and ways of doing things that is shared by members of an organization and taught to new members.

A)Ethics
B)Diversity
C)Individualism
D)Culture

Question 44

Training and education are said to be the cornerstone of any successful diversity initiative.

Question 45

All of the following are substantive leadership actions for shaping culture EXCEPT:

A)setting new HR criteria for recruiting, selecting, promoting and firing employees.
B)aligning reward/incentive system with new performance measurements.
C)being visible and serving as a role model.
D)arranging the work environment to match the culture.

Question 46

____ leadership actions are explicit and highly visible and are indicative of management's commitment to new strategic initiatives and the associated cultural changes.

A)Symbolic
B)Substantive
C)Traditional
D)Values-based

Question 47

A weak culture is likely to exhibit which of the following?

A)A high degree of fit between strategy and culture.
B)It is a results-oriented culture.
C)The internal environment is highly politicized.
D)High performance.

Question 48

The strength of any culture depends on:

A)the leader's relationship with his or her followers.
B)the degree to which a set of norms and values are widely shared and strongly held throughout the organization.
C)how diverse the organization is.
D)how much the organization embraces change.

Question 49

An essential challenge of a new culture implantation is to smoothly and quickly incorporate new behaviors into one's cultural orientation,also known as:

A)cultural retooling.
B)culture creation.
C)an adaptive culture.
D)a cooperative culture.

Question 50

Insular thinking is an attribute of a(n)____ culture.

A)low-performance
B)high-performance
C)bureaucratic
D)adaptive

Question 51

Abaco Corporation uses social events to reinforce examples of its values,sees employees as their top asset,have a strong link between performance and rewards and constructively encourages excellence.What type of culture do they have?

A)Strong.
B)Weak.
C)Hierarchical.
D)National.

Question 52

Which of the following statements regarding culture is true?

A)Not every organization has a culture.
B)A strong, unique culture is recognized as a source of competitive advantage.
C)Culture is the inclusion of all groups at all levels of an organization.
D)Culture is the belief that one's own group or subculture is naturally superior to other groups.

Question 53

For organizations to embrace and value diversity,the concept itself must be embedded in the culture of the organization and led from the top.

Question 54

Organizations with a pro-diversity culture makes every effort to remove diversity blockers or obstacles,such as company policies and practices that result in unintended consequences such as stereotypes and prejudices.

Question 55

All of the following are symbolic leadership actions for shaping culture EXCEPT:

A)creating a strategy-culture fit.
B)celebrating achievements.
C)being visible.
D)leaders serving as role models.

Question 56

In this global environment,understanding cultural differences and learning to deal effectively with partners from different cultures will be critical.This may partially explain why the number of foreign-born managers being appointed to lead U.S.companies is increasing.

Question 57

Diversity can bring about negative outcomes if not effectively managed.

Question 58

Diversity training is most likely to be successful when it is an on-going activity.

Question 59

The best companies look beyond diversity compliance,with its focus on simply managing the numbers,to diversity institutionalization with its focus on results.

Question 60

Diversity,like culture,will evolve naturally in an organization if left unchecked.

Question 61

____ people are comfortable with and accepting of the unknown,and tolerate risk and unpredictability.

A)High-uncertainty-avoidance
B)High-power-distance
C)Low-uncertainty-avoidance
D)Low-power-distance

Question 62

In a high power-distance culture:

A)leaders and their followers interact on several levels as equals.
B)emphasis is on assertiveness and a competitive drive for money.
C)leaders and their followers rarely interact as equals.
D)emphasis is on developing and nurturing personal relationships.

Question 63

_________  are valuable for the signals they send about the kinds of behavior and expectations leaders wish to encourage and promote.

A)Substantive actions
B)Ethics
C)Symbolic actions
D)Whistle-blowers

Question 64

An employee's disclosure of illegal or unethical practices on the part of the organization is called:

A)ethical disclosure.
B)whistle blowing.
C)moral reasoning.
D)individualism.

Question 65

___________ cultures are usually known for their flexibility and innovativeness often showing greater individual autonomy and tolerance for failure.

A)Competitive
B)Bureaucratic
C)Adaptive
D)Cooperative

Question 66

You have been hired as CEO of Lugar Industries and have been asked to change the organizational culture.Because your company operates in a quickly changing environment,you need to have a culture which encourages employees to respond quickly to changes,to take risks,innovate,and have the authority to make quick decisions to take advantage of opportunities and to avoid risks.Based on these conditions,you,as CEO,want a(n)____ culture.

A)adaptive
B)cooperative
C)bureaucratic
D)competitive

Question 67

The United States has a culture where the majority of the population tolerate risk and are relatively comfortable with uncertainty and unpredictability.Which of Hofstede's dimensions of national culture does this describe?

A)A low-uncertainty avoidance.
B)A long-term orientation.
C)A bureaucratic culture.
D)A low-power-distance culture.

Question 68

In a(n)____ culture,management thinking is based on the belief that organizational success is influenced more by events outside the organization than by internal factors.

A)cooperative
B)adaptive
C)competitive
D)bureaucratic

Question 69

_________ is the belief that one's own group or subculture is naturally superior to other groups and cultures.

A)The glass ceiling
B)Individualism
C)A strong culture
D)Ethnocentrism

Question 70

Organizations with ____ cultures emphasize strict adherence to set rules,are highly structured and efficiency driven.

A)competitive
B)adaptive
C)bureaucratic
D)cooperative

Question 71

The _________ culture usually has intense rivalries internally and with outside competitors,high performance standards and tough internal reviews,all of which are used to weed out the weak and reward the strong.

A)cooperative
B)competitive
C)bureaucratic
D)adaptive

Question 72

All of the following countries have collectivistic cultures EXCEPT:

A)Japan.
B)Mexico.
C)Great Britain.
D)Greece.

Question 73

Though there is no one best organizational culture,the ideal culture is:

A)a culture that naturally evolves.
B)a culture that supports the organization's mission and strategy.
C)a culture that everyone can live with.
D)a culture dictated by top management.

Question 74

 Which of the following actions is a substantive action?

A)Modeling expected behavior.
B)Celebrating accomplishments.
C)Being visible.
D)Scrapping policies that impede the new strategy.

Question 75

A single person entrusted with the responsibility of acting as the organization's conscience is called a(n)____.

A)ombudsperson
B)mentor
C)whistle blower
D)leader

Question 76

The strongest sign that management is truly committed to creating a new culture is by:

A)celebrating achievements.
B)replacing employees who are unwilling to change with a "new breed" of employees.
C)interacting face-to-face with rank-and-file.
D)recruiting as many diverse employees as possible.

Question 77

____ culture represents a leadership belief in strong,mutually reinforcing exchanges and linkages between employees and departments.

A)Cooperative
B)Adaptive
C)Competitive
D)Bureaucratic

Question 78

In the __________ culture,policies,beliefs,norms and practices are all designed to encourage teamwork,power sharing,and camaraderie among employees.

A)adaptive 
B)cooperative
C)competitive
D)bureaucratic

Question 79

Faced with increasing global and domestic competition,many leaders are shifting away from __________ cultures because of the need for greater flexibility and adaptation.

A)cooperative
B)adaptive
C)competitive
D)bureaucratic

Question 80

_______  is (are)the standards of right and wrong that influence behavior,the guidelines for judging conduct and decision making.

A)Culture
B)Ethics
C)Diversity
D)Collectivism