Deck 3: Internal External Environments

Question 1

The international element is a co-element to the legal-political element, in the mega environment of an organisation.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

An organisation's task environment includes demographic trends.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Baldwin Locomotive organisation had to close down because the decision making executive believed steam locomotives would never be replaced by new technology. This is an example of where directors believe in the resource dependence model.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

An organisation's external environment is not 'everything external to the organisation'; rather, it is those forces external to the organisation that:

A) the organisation can identify.
B) have recently changed or are about to change.
C) have the potential to significantly impact the likely success of the organisation.
D) are of particular significance to the industry as a whole.

Question 5

The internal environment of an organisation is often summarily described as the:

A) task environment.
B) organisational culture.
C) mega-environment.
D) organisational state.

Question 6

The mega-environment consists of several major elements. Which of the following is not one of them?

A) Sociocultural
B) Economic
C) Customers and clients
D) Technological

Question 7

A comparison of economic elements of the mega-environment of firms, in a capitalist economy and in a socialist economy, would reveal major differences between the two systems. One major difference is:

A) who owns the means or factors of production.
B) the huge defence expenditures in the socialist system.
C) the availability of consumer goods.
D) interlocking directorates.

Question 8

Which of the following is not part of the legal-political element of the mega-environment?

A) Court decisions
B) Business guidelines
C) Government regulation
D) Trends in legislation

Question 9

Changes in diets, increased concerns about physical fitness and balance in lifestyle, as well as lower consumption of alcoholic beverages, would be information concerning which element of an organisation's mega-environment?

A) Economic
B) Sociocultural
C) Technological
D) Legal-political

Question 10

Which of the following is a true statement concerning the differences between the mega-environment and the task environment?

A) There is not much difference; they are about the same thing.
B) Mega-environment data is easier to collect and analyse.
C) An organisation is less likely to influence its task environment.
D) The mega-environment consists of few, if any, specific other organisations.

Question 11

A recent change in beliefs about the supplier segment of the task environment has involved:

A) increasing the number of suppliers to obtain lower costs and higher quality.
B) eliminating most suppliers by making more and buying less.
C) using fewer suppliers to obtain lower costs and higher quality.
D) writing stricter purchase contracts to increase quality.

Question 12

Which of the following is a true statement?

A) In 2005, baby boomers comprised less than half the labour force.
B) In 2005, baby boomers comprised just over half of the labour force.
C) Baby boomers will continue to dominate the workforce to at least 2010.
D) Baby boomers currently make up 14.7 per cent of the workforce.

Question 13

One of the trends that is likely to happen with globalisation is:

A) migration laws will encourage the migration of workers.
B) workers, especially unskilled ones, will move to countries in hope to find a new and better life.
C) workers, especially better educated ones, will move to countries needing new skills.
D) workforce patterns will remain unchanged.

Question 14

Various aspects of governmental activities are found in both the mega-environment and the task environment. The basic difference is that in the mega-environment the concern is with trends and general activities, while at the task environment level the concern is with:

A) individual political officers and leaders.
B) the court systems as well as the political process.
C) the fact that there is so little information available.
D) specific government department, such as the Department of Labour.

Question 15

In relation to a firm's environment, the state worker's compensation commission, the Department of Labour and the local health department would all best be identified as the:

A) government agencies part of the task environment.
B) sociocultural element of the mega-environment.
C) legal-political part of the mega-environment.
D) internal environment.

Question 16

One of the two views about how organisations interact with their respective environments has two names; the population ecology model and the:

A) process model.
B) resource dependence model.
C) Wilterding model.
D) natural selection model.

Question 17

The resource dependence model of how organisations interact with their environments argues that organisations essentially try to:

A) prevent competitors from using certain essential resources.
B) expand their use of resources, thereby minimising competition.
C) manipulate their environment to reduce dependence.
D) reduce their use of resources in order to minimise costs.

Question 18

In trying to combine the two models about how organisations interact with their respective environments, one comes to the general conclusion that there are several environmental factors which can have a serious impact on the organisations and:

A) there is little that managers can do other than adapt to these factors.
B) managers cannot tell what's going to happen until it happens.
C) with accurate forecasting, managers can control nearly all of these factors in the environment.
D) managers most likely do have options in influencing a number of aspects of the environment.

Question 19

It is suggested that two key concepts be considered in analysing the overall environmental situation, that is, the environmental bounty and the environmental:

A) change.
B) uncertainty.
C) population.
D) resources.

Question 20

If conditions in the environment of an organisation cannot be accurately assessed and predicted, the organisation is said to face environmental:

A) dynamics.
B) uncertainty.
C) stability.
D) bounty.

Question 21

It is suggested that, as environmental uncertainty increases, managers should give:

A) less attention to the environment, as little can be done, and spend more time on increasing the efficiency of the operation.
B) the same attention to the environment, as little can ever be done to influence it anyway.
C) more attention to the environment because meaningful information will be more difficult to discern.
D) None of the given answers is correct

Question 22

In relation to environmental issues, whose role is it to assess the environmental changes?

A) The manager's
B) The stakeholder's
C) The employee's
D) The shareholder's

Question 23

The two major factors which largely determine the degree of environmental uncertainty are:

A) bounty and capacity.
B) adaptation and referral.
C) rank and rate.
D) dynamism and complexity.

Question 24

What characterises a moderately high uncertainty in a homogeneous environmental setting?

A) Elements change rapidly and unpredictably
B) Elements stay the same or change slowly
C) Large number of dissimilar external elements
D) Small number of dissimilar external elements

Question 25

A homogeneous environment is one in which there is a relatively ____________ number of ____________ items:

A) small/similar
B) small/dissimilar
C) large/similar
D) large/dissimilar

Question 26

A heterogeneous environment is one in which there are a relatively ___________ number of ____________ items:

A) small/similar
B) small/dissimilar
C) large/similar
D) large/dissimilar

Question 27

The dynamism of the environment is a measure of its rate and ____________ of change:

A) direction
B) speed
C) predictability
D) complexity

Question 28

The rate of change and the predictability of change in the elements of an organisation's environment measure the environmental:

A) structure.
B) heterogeneousness.
C) interface.
D) dynamism.

Question 29

The expansion of low cost airlines into the Australian air travel industry is an example of:

A) environmental bounty.
B) environmental capacity.
C) destabilising the industry.
D) environmental dynamism.

Question 30

The view that managers can 'manage' certain aspects of the organisation-environment interface is most consistent with the:

A) resource dependence model.
B) environmental bounty theory.
C) environmental dynamism model.
D) population ecology model.

Question 31

Which of the following is not one of the three major options that managers have available in attempting to manage environmental uncertainty and its impact?

A) Shift the domain of operations away from threatening environmental elements.
B) Promote innovation through an entrepreneurial culture.
C) Try to influence environmental favourability.
D) Adapt the organisation to the existing environmental elements.

Question 32

The reason for including the adaptation approach is:

A) the organisation can adjust its productivity output.
B) the organisation can change internal operations to be more compatible.
C) the organisation can respond to the environment more readily.
D) None of the given answers is correct

Question 33

Which of the following was not one of the four activities suggested as part of the adaptation approach for attempting to manage environmental uncertainty?

A) Buffering
B) Rationing
C) Relocating
D) Smoothing

Question 34

Raw materials, in-process and even finished goods inventories are all examples of the ____________ Activity as part of management's adaptation strategy to manage environmental uncertainty.

A) buffering
B) forecasting
C) rationing
D) smoothing

Question 35

Buffering is not often favoured by organisations as an adaptation strategy because:

A) it can be very expensive.
B) some materials are unsuitable for storage.
C) it is difficult to keep large stock.
D) it is very difficult to forecast.

Question 36

Which of the following is an advantage of the rationing approach to adaptation efforts to manage environmental uncertainty?

A) The number of customers requiring service or products is reduced.
B) The organisation can avoid the risk of expansion expense during temporary upswings in demand.
C) A stabilising effect in the market is included.
D) The high demand in a service is responded to.

Question 37

Using public relations, establishing joint ventures and engaging in political activities are all activities which organisations could use to influence their environments. An approach to managing environmental uncertainty is called:

A) shifting the organisation's domain.
B) favourability influence.
C) adaptation.
D) the population ecology model.

Question 38

Boundary spanners can help an organisation favourably and influence its environment in two ways. Firstly, they help provide information about the environment so that the organisation knows what's going on. Secondly, boundary spanners:

A) prevent unauthorised contact with the environment.
B) spread information about the organisation to outsiders.
C) limit the amount of unnecessary information passing between the organisation and its environment.
D) keep 'outsiders' out of the organisation.

Question 39

In an organisation with a strong organisational culture, the employees responsible to uphold the values are:

A) senior management, including the CEO.
B) the majority of employees at the lower level of the organisation.
C) only the CEO models the values.
D) the majority of employees at all levels.

Question 40

A culture of overconfidence may lead to:

A) expansion in the market.
B) loss of position in market.
C) opportunity for management to strengthen the organisation.
D) increased production.

Question 41

Who can carry out political activities to influence legislation and/or the behaviour of regulatory agencies?

A) The relevant minister
B) Employees
C) A single company
D) None of the given answers is correct

Question 42

The executive culture of universities is most closely aligned to the:

A) operator culture because they depend on people's skill and learning ability.
B) engineering culture because they rely on pragmatic perfectionism.
C) executive culture because they depend on sound financial management.
D) None of the given answers is correct

Question 43

The organisational culture in an entrepreneurial organisation tends to have two parts: the view that growth and change are desirable and the view that:

A) hard work is the norm throughout the organisation.
B) the organisation can influence the environment to the organisation's advantage.
C) growth and change should not be undertaken too quickly.
D) bigger is better.

Question 44

The organisation culture continuum has at one end entrepreneurial culture, and at the other end:

A) bureaucratic culture.
B) administrative culture.
C) monopolistic culture.
D) management culture.

Question 45

What are the entrepreneurial characteristics in an organisational culture?

A) Evolutionary change over a long period.
B) Many levels with emphasis on communication through a formal hierarchy.
C) Employment or ownership of needed resources.
D) None of the given answers is correct

Question 46

Which is not one of the ways that leaders can influence cultural change?

A) Introducing new policies and rules.
B) Convince members a crisis is occurring.
C) Communicate a vision outlining a new direction.
D) Motivating others to lead in implementing the vision.

Question 47

Generally organisations interface within two environmental models, the _________ ________and the _____________ _____________ models:

Question 48

To what does the term mega-environment refer? Describe its five major elements.

Question 49

What is the name of the environment which depends on the organisation's products, services and operational localities? Describe the elements of this environment.

Question 50

How could you distinguish between the mega- and task-environments in terms of organisational control and workplace diversity?

Question 51

In what ways are the population ecology model and the resource dependency model similar and different?

Question 52

How do environmental uncertainty and bounty, influence you in deciding whether managers see the environment as an objective reality or a subjective reality?

Question 53

In relation to managing environmental elements, what specific examples show the differences among the adaptation, favourability influence and domain shift approaches?

Question 54

Organisational culture is said to determine a company's success or failure. What would you look for to identify the nature of a company's culture and how the culture is celebrated?

Question 55

How does the organisation opportunity matrix assist in the assessment of a company's culture in desiring a change and having a belief in the capacity to influence its competitive environment?

Question 56

Think of an organisation with which you have regular contact. Would you describe it as an entrepreneurial or administrative organisation? Why?

Question 57

What behaviours and processes can a leader adopt to change the culture of an organisation?

Question 58

The mega-environment is also referred to as the ______________________.

Question 59

The legal-political element of the mega-environment is particularly important to organisations because they are facing an ever-increasing number of ___________ ___________.