Question 1

The place for management to begin in trying to change a problem culture is

Accepted Answer

A) identifying facets of the present culture that are obstacles to executing the company's strategy and meeting performance targets. 
B) spending heavily on programs to train employees in the ways and beliefs of the new culture to be implanted. 
C) visibly praising and rewarding people who exhibit traits and behaviors that undermine the existing culture. 
D) writing a new value statement and describing in highly motivating terms the kind of culture that is needed. 
E) instituting incentive compensation programs that generously reward employees for adopting best practices.

Question 2

Apple Inc.'s corporate culture is a product of all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) the shared values and core business principles and beliefs that management preaches and practices. 
B) its standards of what is ethically acceptable and what is not and the stories that get told over and over to illustrate and reinforce the company's shared values, business practices, and traditions. 
C) the company's approach to people management and the "chemistry" and "personality" that permeates its work environment. 
D) the work practices and behaviors that define "how we do things around here." 
E) its lack of mechanisms for aligning, constraining, and regulating the actions, decisions, and behaviors of company personnel.

Question 3

The task of top executives in making corrective adjustments includes

Accepted Answer

A) knowing when to continue with the present corporate culture and when to shift to a different and better corporate culture. 
B) being good at figuring out whether to arrive at decisions quickly or slowly in choosing among the various alternative adjustments. 
C) thoroughly analyzing the situation and exercising good business judgment in deciding what actions to take. 
D) deciding whether to try to fix the problems of poor strategy execution or simply shift to a strategy that is easier to execute correctly. 
E) deciding how to identify the problems that need fixing.

Question 4

Why was Goldman Sachs having trouble recruiting the best and brightest MBAs, finding itself competing for talent with high tech firms like Amazon, Google, and Facebook? What lessons can be learned about how culture impacts the strategy execution effort?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why was Goldman Sachs having trouble recruiting...

Question 5

Companies with change-resistant cultures are

Accepted Answer

A) typically opposed to performance-based incentive compensation and employee empowerment. 
B) prone to be preoccupied with avoiding risks and are unlikely to pursue actions to capture emerging opportunities. 
C) often overly gung ho about looking outside the company for best practices, new managerial approaches, and innovative ideas. 
D) often preoccupied with making sure the company has an aggressive strategic vision that embraces risky business strategies. 
E) typically run by amoral managers who have little regard for high ethical standards.

Question 6

In leading the push for proficient strategy execution and operating excellence, top-level managers need to take the lead on all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) spending time with, listening to, and encouraging people in the organization to act on their own initiative. 
B) delegating authority to middle and lower-level managers and creating a sense of empowerment among employees to move the implementation process forward. 
C) gathering information firsthand and gauging the progress being made. 
D) initiating corrective actions to improve or remove impediments to strategy execution. 
E) holding periodic ceremonies to honor people who excel in displaying the company values and ethical principles.

Question 7

Companies employ various techniques to embed core values and ethical standards EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) incorporating the statement of values and the code of ethics into orientation programs for new employees and training courses for managers and employees. 
B) making the display of core values and ethical principles a factor in evaluating each person's job performance. 
C) encouraging everyone to use their influence in helping enforce observance of core values and ethical standards. 
D) using ceremonial occasions to recognize individuals and groups who display the values and ethical principles. 
E) instituting standard practices and procedures for employees to follow as a foundation for maintaining ethical and cultural norm conflict clashes and behavioral lapses.

Question 8

Managerial practices that are DETRIMENTAL to lead the effort to foster a results-oriented, high-performance culture are

Accepted Answer

A) using empowerment and recognition to help create a fully engaged workforce. 
B) rewarding and making champions out of the people who spearhead new ideas and/or turn in winning performances. 
C) celebrating and recognizing individual, group, and company successes. 
D) treating and celebrating employees as valued partners in the drive for operating excellence and good business performance. 
E) placing a premium on not making mistakes, prompting managers to lean toward safe, conservative options intended to maintain the status quo.

Question 9

Areena is the Diversity Program Manager in Tech Recruiting at Facebook. To nurture an adaptive culture that is sufficiently flexible to respond rapidly to changing business conditions, what are the most important characteristics of prospective employees that Areena needs to take into consideration? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Areena is the Diversity Program Manager in...

Question 10

Why is changing a problem culture one of the toughest management tasks? Explain and justify your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is changing a problem culture one...

Question 11

A corporate culture founded on ethical business principles and socially approved values

Accepted Answer

A) virtually guarantees that a company will be (or soon become)the acknowledged industry leader because of the ethical and socially approved manner in which its business is being conducted. 
B) doesn't necessarily impact a company's long-term strategic success favorably or unfavorably. 
C) does more to detract from a company's chances for strategic success and market leadership than to help it. 
D) is a positive force underlying a company's long-term financial success and reduces the likelihood of lapses in ethical and socially approved behavior that can damage the company's reputation. 
E) is seldom more than window-dressing and is generally regarded by customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and society at large as nothing more than good public relations.

Question 12

What technique can be utilized by leaders to stay informed on how well the strategy execution process is progressing?

Accepted Answer

A) managing by walking around 
B) managing bothersome work activities 
C) multibusiness warning actions 
D) managers being well-advised 
E) multibusiness walking ahead

Question 13

Once values and ethical standards have been formally adopted, a company must

Accepted Answer

A) require every employee to memorize the company's formal statement of core values and code of ethics. 
B) make it unequivocally clear that the company's core values and ethical standards are strictly enforced cultural norms. 
C) rely only on word-of-mouth indoctrination and company tradition to instill values and ethical conduct. 
D) grant compensation increases and promotions only to those managers who are willing to act as evangelists for the company's core values and ethical standards. 
E) hold periodic ceremonies to vilify employees that do not live up to the company's core values or who are found guilty of violating the company's code of ethics.

Question 14

A company's value statement and code of ethics

Accepted Answer

A) help to mold the culture and communicate what kinds of actions and behaviors are expected of all company personnel. 
B) help prevent it from coming across to customers and the general public as greedy. 
C) serve the valuable purpose of making its suppliers hesitant to engage in business practices that are unethical. 
D) are the most important factors determining its reputation with customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and society at large. 
E) should always be made a prominent and visible part of the company's strategic intent and strategy.

Question 15

The characterization of these companies' corporate cultures are all correct EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A) W) L. Gore's culture promotes multidiscipline teams to organize around opportunities and in the process leaders emerge. 
B) Walmart's culture encourages the zealous pursuit of low costs and frugal operating practices. 
C) Nordstrom's corporate culture is centered on delivering exceptional service to customers. 
D) Apple's employee-centric culture fosters openness and sharing of company-developed technology. 
E) Epic Systems' corporate culture is based on the slogan "Do good. Have fun. Make money."

Question 16

What is the major benefit of closely aligning the corporate culture with the requirements for proficient strategy execution?

Accepted Answer

A) A good strategy-culture alignment that makes it possible to establish a much bolder strategic vision and strategic intent. 
B) A good strategy-culture alignment that enhances a company's cost competitiveness. 
C) A tight strategy-culture fit that steers company personnel into displaying behaviors and adopting operating practices that promote good strategy execution. 
D) A tight strategy-culture alignment that enhances the creation of core competencies and distinctive competencies. 
E) A tight strategy-culture alignment that makes it easier to change a company's culture over time-as a company's strategy evolves, the culture automatically evolves too.

Question 17

The menu of actions management can take to change problem culture does NOT include which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) making a compelling case for why the company's new strategic direction and culture-remodeling efforts are in the organization's best interests and why company personnel should wholeheartedly join the effort to doing things somewhat differently 
B) replacing senior executives who are strongly identified with the old culture and who may be stonewalling needed organizational and cultural changes 
C) promoting individuals who are known to possess the desired cultural traits, who have stepped forward to advocate for the shift to a different culture, and who can serve as role models for the desired cultural behavior 
D) revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change 
E) shifting from decentralized to centralized decision-making so as to give senior executives more authority and control in driving the cultural change

Question 18

What are the two things involved in the leadership challenge to consistently achieve good strategy execution?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the two things involved in...

Question 19

When a company's culture is out of sync with what is needed for strategic success and good strategy execution

Accepted Answer

A) the strategy has to be changed as rapidly as possible to regain harmony with cultural norms. 
B) company personnel need to cling to familiar practices, be wary of change, and blame top management for any shortfalls in performance. 
C) management needs to go on the offensive to reinterpret the culture and explain to company personnel why there really is good overall cultural fit with the strategy. 
D) any unhealthy or dysfunctional cultural traits must be changed as fast as possible and management needs to be aggressively striving to ingrain new behaviors and work practices that will enable first-rate strategy execution. 
E) management must sanction any company personnel who refuse to participate in an all-out effort to create a different portfolio of competencies and capabilities that will permit the strategy to be changed in ways that will fit the culture.

Question 20

Changing a problem culture

Accepted Answer

A) is one of the toughest managerial tasks because of the heavy anchor of ingrained behaviors and ways of doing things. 
B) is best done by instituting an aggressive program to train employees in the ways and beliefs of the new culture to be implanted. 
C) is best done by selecting a team of key employees to lead the culture change effort. 
D) requires writing a new statement of core values, having a series of lengthy meetings with employees to explain the new culture and the reasons why cultural change is needed, and then having both employees and shareholders vote to ratify and adopt the new culture. 
E) can be done quickly only if managers tie incentive compensation to exhibiting the desired new cultural behaviors and if managers visibly praise people who exhibit the desired new cultural traits.

Exam 12: Corporate Culture and Leadership