Deck 9: Understanding Organizational Culture

Question 1

Individual behavior influences organizational culture, and organizational culture:

A) Builds effective teams
B) Influences individual behavior
C) Promotes positive communication practices
D) Becomes compatible with team culture

Answer 1

Influences individual behavior

Question 2

Organizational culture contributes to:

A) The way people interact
B) How things get done
C) What kinds of feelings are evoked in observers
D) All of the above

Answer 2

All of the above

Question 3

In an organization with a healthy culture, patients and families are likely to experience all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Staff working together respectfully and effectively
B) Timely and compassionate answers to questions
C) A sense that staff are too busy to help
D) A sense of being welcome

Answer 3

A sense that staff are too busy to help

Question 4

Receptive body language is an example of:

A) Nonverbal communication
B) Staff behavior in a healthy culture
C) Assertiveness used to build a healthy culture
D) Both A and B

Question 5

A nurse sees a patient wandering in the hall with an IV pole and stops to find out if he needs anything. This nurse is:

A) Giving a positive message to the patient that he is cared about and for
B) Interfering with another nurse's patient assignment
C) Reflecting behavior typical in an organization that has a positive culture
D) Both A and C

Question 6

All of the following statements are common in a culture of blame EXCEPT:

A) "The new nurse never restocks the med cart."
B) "If he had paid attention during the staff meeting, he would know how to use the glucometer."
C) "I need a few more minutes to finish documenting."
D) "The reason the patient didn't get her pain medicine right away is because the nurse took too long with his admission."

Question 7

All of the following statements are common in a culture of bullying EXCEPT:

A) "Jillian, as usual, is not capable of getting out on time."
B) "Can you cover for me while I take my break?"
C) "Stop complaining. Dr. Smith has favorites and that's the way it is."
D) "If you want this job, you'll have to stop being so sensitive."

Question 8

An individual who exhibits bullying behavior may have informal power that arises from:

A) Knowledge
B) Political alignments
C) A capacity to generate revenue
D) All of the above

Question 9

All of the following are used in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) description of a culture of safety EXCEPT:

A) Acceptance of mistakes as a cost of doing business
B) A blame-free environment
C) Encouragement of collaboration across ranks and disciplines
D) Organizational commitment to provide resources necessary for safe care

Question 10

Communication and collaboration are vital to a culture of safety because speaking up and listening leads to:

A) Prevention of errors
B) Identification of problems
C) Opportunities for learning
D) All of the above

Question 11

An open and fair environment that encourages learning and managing behavioral choices is descriptive of:

A) A just culture
B) A facility in which differences exist because of status
C) A hospital department with hierarchal power dynamics
D) None of the above

Question 12

All of the following must take place in order to shift from a toxic to a just culture EXCEPT:

A) Nurses taking on more responsibility
B) Ancillary staff remaining passive
C) Physicians sharing leadership power
D) Effective and respectful communication becoming the norm

Question 13

Differences in status in a just culture are:

A) Based on expertise
B) Not fueled by unhealthy egos
C) Reflected in bullying behaviors
D) Both A and B

Question 14

At-risk and intentional behavior is:

A) The same as reckless behavior
B) Often insidiously developed as a bad habit over time
C) A method nurses use to provide quality and safe care
D) None of the above

Question 15

All of the following statements describe explicit rules in organizational culture EXCEPT:

A) They are visible to staff and visitors.
B) They are not discussed openly.
C) They are designed to ensure safe and quality care.
D) They provide clear expectations about what the culture should be.

Question 16

Counterproductive communication strategies that show up when there is organizational cynicism include:

A) Repression of ideas
B) Ignored requests for help and lack of respect for boundaries
C) Helping others when asked
D) Blaming others

Question 17

In an ideal healthcare organizational culture, which of the following are likely to be common occurrences? Select all that apply.

A) Requests for help
B) Timely response to patient needs and requests
C) Offers to help
D) Gossiping
E) Disrespectful communication
F) Ownership of mistakes
G) Timely and compassionate response to patient needs

Question 18

Which of the following are helpful in culture change efforts? Select all that apply.

A) Keeping leaders informed of potential layoffs
B) Involving everyone in the organization
C) Trust
D) Coming up with a slogan to describe the change
E) Recognizing that some people will not change
F) Support from senior leadership
G) Suppression of resistant employees
H)Engagement of staff

Question 19

In a toxic culture, poor behaviors and lack of effective conflict management are ongoing phenomenon.

Question 20

Because underlying problems such as inadequate staffing or poor behavior may remain hidden in a culture of blame, solving related problems with patient safety is difficult.

Question 21

Covert agreements between staff regarding implicit rules are unlikely to impact patient safety.

Question 22

Making people with less power responsible for equalizing power is an effective way to shift out of a culture of bullying.