Deck 4: Developing the Hospitality Culture: Everyone Serves

Question 1

If an organization's leadership is totally and publicly committed to a strategy of service excellence, then service is going to be excellent regardless of what kind of culture the organization has.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

People in open-culture organizations need more time to adapt to changes in customer expectations.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Leaders in successful hospitality organizations stress a difference between top management and line-level employees and do not provide easy two-way communications.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

People in closed-culture organizations respond better to customer needs.

Question 5

Only walking around allows hospitality managers to see whether the quality of guest experiences is up to standard.

Question 6

The expression "culture fills the gaps" means that culture gives guidance to employees in situations not covered by rules, procedures, and training.

Question 7

Giving the executive chef a big office can affect the overall organizational culture.

Question 8

If an organization's culture is strong, it becomes another core competency.

Question 9

Culture is dynamic and constantly changing, unless an organization is centuries old.

Question 10

The stronger the culture, the less reliant the organization needs to be on bureaucratic management controls found in traditional industrial organizations.

Question 11

Culture helps the organization's members know how to relate to the world outside the organization as well as the world inside the organization.

Question 12

An organization's strategy cannot succeed without a supporting culture.

Question 13

If a hospitality organization's culture is strong enough, guests will not be able to affect its cultural norms.

Question 14

When any manager ignores an employee action that impacts the "show" or guest experience, this does not affect other employees.

Question 15

The most important influence on a successful hospitality organization's culture is the front-line employees.

Question 16

Once employees have been trained, hospitality managers need not spend time and energy on reminding their existing employees of the cultural values.

Question 17

Folkways are the habitual ways in which organizational members act or think, without reflecting on them.

Question 18

All Disney World employees are called cast members; this would be an example of communicating the culture by symbols.

Question 19

The way in which the leader designs the organizational systems and procedures tells people in the organization what is valued.

Question 20

Managers must ensure their organizational culture is not affected by the national culture in which their organization is embedded.

Question 21

Leaders must care about what they do, say, and write to ensure the messages they send are what is intended and explicit.

Question 22

All these can serve to communicate the organizational culture: laws, language, stories, legends, heroes, symbols, and rituals.

Question 23

A norm is a subtle but spoken standard of behavior that defines how employees should act toward guests.

Question 24

What role do supervisors and mid-level managers generally take in shaping organizational culture?

A) They are central to defining their own unit's culture.
B) They translate and uphold the top manager's cultural values and beliefs.
C) They empower their staff to consistently improve the culture.
D) They look to outside influences to shape culture

Question 25

Placing the quality assurance function in the hands of a line-level employee is more appropriate than management because they are on the front line of service.

Question 26

A strong culture can even serve as a substitute for such management controls as policies, procedures, and managerial directives.

Question 27

A nation's cultural beliefs affect company culture when the two are in conflict. For example, the American custom of working through lunch would not be tolerated in Europe.

Question 28

Which of the following statements is inaccurate in defining culture?

A) Culture is a way of behaving, thinking, and acting that is learned and shared by the organization's members.
B) Culture is "the way we do things around here."
C) No culture is static and immovable.
D) No culture can be easily copied by others.

Question 29

It is much easier to listen to and connect to a story than sit in a formal classroom training on employee culture.

Question 30

Beliefs, values, and norms are important even though they are not part of the organization's culture.

Question 31

A hospitality organization's norms of appearance and standards of personal grooming are influenced by guest expectations.

Question 32

The likelihood of employees doing whatever they can to create and sustain service excellence is increased by

A) the stronger the link between the organizational culture and its country of origin's culture
B) the more members believe in it
C) the more homogenous its members' beliefs are
D) the more homogenous its members' values are

Question 33

Company advertising helps define an organization's cultural norms for employees.

Question 34

It is against the law to discriminate against someone based on their looks thus norms of appearance are not enforceable.

Question 35

Management by walking around and a commitment to cleanliness by managers not afraid to clean is a great example to employees about their willingness to ensure quality service, thus setting the example for a strong organizational culture.

Question 36

A symbol is a physical object that communicates an unspoken message about an organization's culture.

Question 37

A thriving and positive organizational culture impacts employees more than customers.

Question 38

Folkways and mores can be the basis of an organization's code of ethics and accepted behaviors.

Question 39

A large organization with a strong culture is immune to developing subcultures.

Question 40

Architectural design choices have little impact on organizational culture.

Question 41

Which management expert created the X and Y Theory?

A) Max Weber
B) Edgar Schein
C) Douglas McGregor
D) Scott Gross

Question 42

______ are standards of behavior that define how people are expected to act while part of the organization.

A) Values
B) Norms
C) Ethics
D) Beliefs

Question 43

Leaders in effective hospitality organizations use ______ to recognize and reward the behaviors the culture values.

A) variable compensation
B) Validation
C) Rituals
D) Prizes

Question 44

Guests who ______ become potent assistants to the managers in monitoring, reinforcing, and shaping employee behavior.

A) lecture employees who do things wrong
B) are passive when there is a problem
C) make their expectations plain
D) express complex problems

Question 45

______ are folkways that go beyond being polite.

A) Customs
B) Mores
C) Biases
D) Beliefs

Question 46

Which of the following best exemplifies a folkway?

A) the "ten foot rule" requiring hotel employees to make eye contact and smile at guests within ten feet
B) Ritz-Carlton employees being referred to as "ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen"
C) concierges learning multiple languages to serve international guests
D) front desk clerks always referring to guests by their last name

Question 47

Relating to the outside world refers to how members of the organization

A) interact or interrelate with each other to accomplish their collective mission
B) are supposed to respond to external events
C) should use assumptions on marking decisions about the things they control
D) effectively make use of social media

Question 48

______ define the relationships between causes and effects for the members of an organization.

A) Values
B) Norms
C) Ethics
D) Beliefs

Question 49

______ are preferences for certain behaviors or outcomes over others.

A) Values
B) Norms
C) Ethics
D) Beliefs

Question 50

Culture helps an organization's members deal with which issue that all organizations must resolve?

A) how world cultures are important
B) how the organization's members should relate to one another
C) how values create connectivity in culture
D) how revenue can be produced by strong culture

Question 51

The most important influence on any organizational culture is

A) the behavior of the organization's leader
B) the cultural values of the behind-the-scenes employees
C) what the guest expects
D) managerial instructions to employees

Question 52

The "gaps" in the statement "Culture fills the gaps" refer to gaps in

A) the company manual or rulebook
B) managerial behavior
C) the mission and vision statement
D) service to customers

Question 53

______ in enacting various cultural mechanisms is important as a powerful reinforcer of the culture.

A) Integrity
B) Persistence
C) Conviction
D) Consistency

Question 54

How can "heroes" help reinforce organizational culture?

A) They exemplify organizational best practices that others should emulate.
B) They reward good behavior and discourage bad behavior in their peers.
C) Their behavior elevates the culture to a core competency.
D) They police bad employees and serve as whistle blowers.

Question 55

Theory X managers assume

A) People are motivated solely by extrinsic rewards.
B) People are motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards.
C) People do not need careful direct supervision.
D) People are motivated by emotion.

Question 56

A strong culture allows employees to

A) fix the ambient conditions without managerial guidance
B) respond better to the variability in guest expectations
C) process more information in a shorter time
D) find greater happiness in their job situations

Question 57

Changing a culture often needs

A) new slogans
B) change in leadership
C) a culture committee
D) changing employees

Question 58

The stronger the culture, the more it can

A) serve as a management control
B) influence employee and guest behavior
C) encourage guest co-production
D) enhance revenue

Question 59

Another way of transmitting cultural beliefs, values, and norms are

A) Rumors and gossip
B) Hopes and dreams
C) Stories, legends, and heroes
D) Heroes, failures and tales

Question 60

Folkways and mores are examples of

A) Values
B) Norms
C) Ethics
D) Beliefs

Question 61

Culture helps the organization members deal with two issues that all organizations must resolve. These are

A) how organization members should relate to one another and to the world outside
B) how to identify guest key drivers and employee expectations
C) how to improve the guest-service product and environment
D) how to process more information and meet managerial expectations

Question 62

Which of the following would not be considered a ritual?

A) end of year employee awards banquet
B) review of standards of behavior
C) interview with the president prior to hiring
D) onboarding and training program

Question 63

A professional group cited in the chapter for having strong cultural values is

A) restaurant greeters
B) chefs
C) hotel managers
D) concierges

Question 64

______ is key to aligning subcultures with core company values.

A) Monitoring
B) Communication
C) Repetition
D) Positive reinforcement

Question 65

Bill Marriott Sr. reportedly fired an employee on the spot for insulting a guest. When this story got around the organization, employees quickly learned that Marriott did not tolerate disrespect toward guests. This did NOT demonstrate the influence of ______ on an organization's culture.

A) leadership skills
B) stories and legends
C) laws
D) norms

Question 66

An organization's culture can serve as a competitive advantage if

A) It is popular, it defines the brand, and it cannot be easily influenced by others.
B) It is unique, it defines the brand, and it cannot be easily influenced by others.
C) It is popular, it has value to its members, and it cannot be easily copied by others.
D) It is unique, it has value to its members, and it cannot be easily copied by others.

Question 67

Why is culture more crucial to hospitality organizations than manufacturing organizations?

A) Because the hospitality industry encounters unusual circumstances more frequently.
B) Because the hospitality industry has higher turnover rates.
C) Because hospitality organizations deal with tangible products.
D) It is not more important to hospitality organizations.

Question 68

Organizations that rely more on part-time workers or temporary contractors are ______ to subculture formation.

A) more susceptible
B) less susceptible
C) resistant
D) welcoming

Question 69

Schein suggests that leaders can use all but which of the following mechanisms to define the strength of an organization's culture?

A) what leaders pay attention to, measure, and control
B) how leaders react to critical incidents and organization crises
C) what strategies the organization uses to process cultural information
D) what criteria are used to reward employees