Exam Prep Ch.12 | Understanding Organizational Culture And

Package Title: Neubert 1e Testbank

Course Title: Organizational Behaviour

Chapter Number: 12

Shuffle: No

Multiple Choice

1. _____ refers to the set of shared assumptions, values, and experiences that influence the ways in which individuals, teams, and groups interact with one another and work toward company goals.

a) Organizational structure

b) Organizational hierarchy

c) Organizational paradigm

d) Organizational culture

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture.

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

2. Empower Inc., is a software development firm that firmly believes in common unspoken assumptions along the lines of conventional lines of organizational behaviour. It allows each and every member to pursue his or her self-interests. As a conventional organization, it is more likely to:

a) Solely transcend shareholder interests.

b) Predominantly consider the interests of multiple stakeholders.

c) Primarily focus on the financial bottom line.

d) Exclusively contribute to ecological sustenance.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture.

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB: Reflective thinking skills

Bloom’s: Application

3. With regard to basic assumptions of organizational culture, which of the following is a difference between conventional and sustainable organizations?

a) Conventional organizations primarily focus on community well-being, while sustainable organizations primarily focus on the financial bottom line.

b) Conventional organizations emphasize social and ecological well-being, while sustainable organizations emphasize on monetary accomplishments.

c) Conventional organizations assume that organizational goals transcend individual interests, while sustainable organizations assume that everyone pursues his or her self-interests.

d) Conventional organizations give precedence to shareholder interests, while sustainable organizations consider the interests of multiple stakeholders.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture.

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

4. Which of the following is true of the competing values framework?

a) It places specific emphasis on the need for organizations to embrace predictability and shun adaptability.

b) It consists of a basic framework that categorizes organizational cultures based on two core dimensions.

c) It is a weak tool for understanding the shared values and assumptions that guide organizational behaviour.

d) It consists of a complex mechanism that borders exclusively on the dimensions of external focus.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

5. Which of the following is a dimension of the competing values framework?

a) Predictability versus adaptability

b) Productivity versus sustenance

c) Decentralization versus hierarchy

d) Order versus disarray

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

6. Which of the following is true of organizational cultures that value stability?

a) They largely thrive on change.

b) They discourage predictable meetings.

c) They welcome standards and norms.

d) They are against maintaining a status quo.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

7. An organization that is characterized by members who would not like to maintain the status quo is more likely to value:

a) Rigidity.

b) Adaptability.

c) Stability.

d) Predictability.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key values

AACSB: Reflective thinking skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

8. Which of the following is true of an organizational culture with an internal focus?

a) Members are viewed as a means to meet organizational ends.

b) Organizational goals take primacy over the goals of its members.

c) Organizational goals are met primarily through servile members.

d) Organizational goals are designed to be consistent with members’ strengths.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour

Section Reference: 12.2 Key values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

9. Which of the following is true of a conventional approach to key values that shape an organization’s culture?

a) It places appropriate emphasis on a holistic understanding of flexibility versus predictability.

b) It tends to favour a relatively narrow understanding of internal versus external factors.

c) It tends to highlight the social and ecological aspects of the external environment and group-based social aspects of its internal members.

d) It avoids focusing particularly on the instrumental needs of individuals.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational culture.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

10. In the light of the competing values framework, a sustainable approach tends to:

a) Place appropriate emphasis on a holistic understanding of flexibility versus predictability.

b) Focus especially on the instrumental needs of the external marketplace.

c) Emphasize group-based social aspects of internal members of an organization.

d) Favour a relatively narrow understanding of internal versus external factors.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

11._____ provide tangible evidence of an organization’s values and include the organization’s physical features and formal structure and systems.

a) Cultural categories

b) Social toolboxes

c) Cultural artifacts

d) Social structures

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

12. _____ form the oral history of critical events that have shaped an organization.

a) Cultural artifacts

b) Shared stories

c) Social rituals

d) Cultural beliefs

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

13. _____ are behavioural practices that perpetuate, reinforce, and keep alive a particular value that defines an organization.

a) Relics

b) Artifacts

c) Perceptions

d) Rituals

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

14. Cultural artifacts in sustainable organizations are more likely to:

a) Emphasize symbols of material and individual success.

b) Have been introduced in an emergent bottom-up fashion.

c) Have been developed by managers only at the top of a hierarchical structure.

d) Emphasize stories about financial success exclusively.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

15. According to Max Weber, which of the following tasks ensures that there is orderly deference among organizational members?

a) Being aware of whom to take cues from to carry out everyday operations of the organization

b) Breaking down the overall work of the organization into individual subtasks

c) Placing members alongside people who have similar or complementary jobs to accomplish the overall work of the organization

d) Understanding and ensuring that each member’s subtasks contribute to the whole

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

16. Which of the following is true of conventional organizational behaviour in the context of fundamentals of organizational structure?

a) It tends to focus on experimentation than standardization.

b) It tends to emphasize relational competence.

c) It tends to place greater emphasis on the process of organizing.

d) It tends to focus more on the content of organizing.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

17. With regard to the four fundamentals of organizational structure, sustainable organizational behaviour tends to:

a) Emphasize relational competence more than rational competence.

b) Focus on content of organizing rather than the process.

c) Stress the need to centralize decision-making rather than dignifying community.

d) Believe in standardization of organizing rather than experimentation.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

18. Which of the following is the conventional response to Max Weber’s first fundamental of organization?

a) Specialization

b) Standardization

c) Centralization

d) Dignification

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

19. Which of the following best describes the process of standardization?

a) It refers to the act of introducing voluntary implementation of new ways of performing tasks on a trial basis.

b) It refers to the act of treating everyone with dignity and respect in community.

c) It refers to designing basic work activities to ensure tasks are performed in the best way to accomplish the overall work of the organization.

d) It refers to using suboptimal methods for sub tasks to improve efficiency and maximize productivity.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

20. Lorraine goes shopping for a pair of jeans at Vestis, a large single brand retail store that manufactures its own products. After many trials, she finds that while size 8 of a particular pair of pants fits her, a similarly sized pair of jeans of another style does not. To ensure that the products of the same size should be consistent, on which of the following fundamentals of conventional organization should Vestis Inc. focus?

a) Specialization

b) Sensitization

c) Standardization

d) Dignification

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective Thinking skills

Bloom’s: Application

21. From a conventional point of view, placing too little emphasis on standards leads to:

a) Lack of freedom.

b) Increased suffocation.

c) Lack of legitimacy.

d) Increased frustration.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

22. Which of the following is true of optimal standardization?

a) It ensures coordinated decision making.

b) It focuses on improvement rather than on static adherence to standards.

c) It leads to endless debate and uncertainty.

d) It undermines the perceived legitimacy of an organization.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

23. From a conventional point of view, placing too much emphasis on standardization leads to:

a) Lack of legitimacy.

b) Endless debate.

c) Rudderlessness.

d) Lack of freedom.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

24. _____ is the emphasis on an ongoing voluntary implementation of new ways of performing daily tasks on a trial basis.

a) Standardization

b) Experimentation

c) Specialization

d) Sensitization

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

25. With regard to Max Weber’s first fundamental issue of ensuring that work activities are completed in the best way possible, sustainable organizational behaviour emphasizes on _____.

a) Experimentation

b) Specialization

c) Standardization

d) Sensitization

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

26. From a sustainable point of view, which of the following is a typical consequence of too little experimentation?

a) Organizational chaos

b) Organizational rigidity

c) Lack of accountability

d) Lack of productivity

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

27. _____ refers to grouping standardized organizational tasks into separate jobs.

a) Experimentation

b) Dignification

c) Standardization

d) Specialization

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

28. From a conventional perspective, specialization is optimal when:

a) There is ambiguity in decision-making.

b) Specific tasks of each member are clear.

c) There is repetition of specific tasks.

d) Specific tasks are underperformed.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

29. From a conventional perspective, which of the following is a typical consequence of too little emphasis on specialization?

a) Increased repetition of tasks

b) Low turnover

c) Underperformance

d) Goal displacement

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

30. Flybolt, a leading manufacturer in the automobile industry, introduces an assembly-line production process. The process involves workers performing specific designated tasks to build subcomponents of the product rather than the complete product. With time, workers get so focused exclusively on their tasks that they lose sight of the big picture. This is a typical example of:

a) Excessive specialization.

b) Lack of experimentation.

c) Excessive standardization.

d) Lack of sensitization.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective Thinking skills

Bloom’s: Application

31. Which of the following typically results in a form of goal displacement?

a) Excessive experimentation

b) Lack of standardization

c) Excessive specialization

d) Lack of dignification

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Application

32. Which of the following is the sustainable response to Max Weber’s second fundamental of organization that seeks to ensure that an organization’s members’ subtasks contribute to the whole?

a) Departmentalization

b) Specialization

c) Experimentation

d) Sensitization

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Application

33. Which of the following is true of the sustainable emphasis on sensitization?

a) It tends to value the individual skills of particular team members to increase efficiency.

b) It tends to focus on the specific tasks that need to be performed at a departmental level of analysis.

c) It tends to be at the level of the individual jobholder with regard to specific tasks that need to be performed.

d) It tends to lead to ambiguity in decision-making and a lack of accountability.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

34. Which of the following is a consequence of sustainable sensitization?

a) Complementary skills of a team as a unit are completely undermined.

b) Individual skills of particular team members are overestimated.

c) Job descriptions are focused on the interrelationships among members.

d) Job designs are focused on the specific tasks of each team member.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

35. _____ involves having the decision-making authority of an organization rest with the top of its hierarchy.

a) Delegation

b) Centralization

c) Sensitization

d) Dignification

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

36. According to Max Weber, the third conventional fundamental of organizing from the conventional perspective is _____.

a) Centralization

b) Specialization

c) Sensitization

d) Experimentation

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

37. A(n) _____ refers to a typical pictorial representation of the formal authority relationships within a company’s structure.

a) Relational competence chart

b) Organization chart

c) Relationship matrix

d) Information silo

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

38. _____ is the process of giving authority to a person or group to make decisions in a specified sphere of activity.

a) Span of control

b) Dignification

c) Standardization

d) Delegation

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

39. Which of the following is true of a highly centralized organization?

a) Members lack the larger perspective needed to ensure that their decisions are coordinated as a whole.

b) Each member of the organization has the right to make decisions on the spot.

c) The authority to make decisions rests with members at the top of the organization’s hierarchy.

d) More authority is delegated to other members by top managers.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

40. In the context of centralization, _____ describes the number of members over whom a given manager has authority.

a) Span of control

b) Escalation of commitment

c) Mutual delegation

d) Shared competency

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

41. Which of the following is a disadvantage of highly decentralized organizations?

a) They tend to become dictatorships from which members will try to exit as quickly as they are able to.

b) They tend to be characterized by unstimulating environments leading to increased employee turnover.

c) They tend to be characterized by slow decision-making processes

d) They tend to be characterized by limited upward connectedness.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

42. An optimal level of centralization in an organization:

a) Curtails time for top management to develop overarching plans and strategies.

b) Prevents lower-level managers and frontline workers from handling routine, everyday matters.

c) Leads to vertically balanced decision making at the various levels in the hierarchy.

d) Provides for increased employee turnover and thereby maximizes productivity.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

43. With regard to Max Weber’s third conventional fundamental of organizing, which of the following is a true of the sustainable perspective?

a) It is more concerned about how much authority each member should have.

b) It believes in effective distribution of dignity over authority.

c) It believes that authority is an abundant resource that must be parceled out generously.

d) It believes that dignity is a limited resource that must be parceled out sparingly.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

44. Which of the following is the term that best describes the application of interactional justice to organizing?

a) Dignification

b) Centralization

c) Specialization

d) Participation

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

45. Which of the following is true of an optimal emphasis on sustainable dignification?

a) It increases counterproductive behaviour among organizational members.

b) It leads to a limited form of downward vertical balance among organizational members.

c) It enhances decision making at an appropriate level in an organization.

d) It prevents connectedness between and across organizational levels.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

46. Research suggests that members treat one another with more dignity and respect when:

a) Organizations lack centralized structures to monitor behaviour.

b) Lower-level members feel overwhelmed by responsibility.

c) Top managers develop overarching plans and strategies with their authority.

d) Organizations have a limited form of downward connectedness.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

47. _____ refers to grouping members and resources together to achieve the work of the larger organization.

a) Devolution

b) Departmentalization

c) Delegation

d) Decentralization

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

48. Which of the following dimensions of departmentalization focuses on internal efficiency and external adaptiveness?

a) Balance

b) Membership

c) Focus

d) Inclusiveness

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

49. _____ departmentalization occurs when members are placed into the same department based on having similar technical skills and using similar resources to perform their tasks.

a) Hybrid

b) Divisional

c) Matrix

d) Functional

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

50. Cardeck, an automobile manufacturing firm, is characterized by an organizational structure that has designated departments and sub departments to handle different operations. The production unit has employees with similar technical skills and expertise to deal with product development, while the marketing department exclusively handles promotional sales activities. This is an example of _____ departmentalization.

a) Hybrid

b) Functional

c) Matrix

d) Divisional

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective Thinking skills

Bloom’s: Application

51. Simone Inc. is a cosmetic manufacturing company that has operations in both North America and Asia Pacific. The cultural differences between North America and Asia have led to the upper management organizing the company based on geographic locations rather than specializations. Which of the following types of departmentalization has Simone Inc. adopted?

a) Divisional type

b) Matrix type

c) Functional type

d) Hybrid type

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective Thinking skills

Bloom’s: Application

52. G&K is a computer manufacturing center that has a product-based organizational structure. Its teams are broadly categorized into laptop services, desktop services, and handheld services according to the specific kind of products each of it deals with. Further, it is segregated based on geographic segmentation. This is a typical example of _____ departmentalization.

a) Functional

b) Matrix

c) Divisional

d) Hybrid

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective Thinking skills

Bloom’s: Application

53. Which of the following is true of the functional approach to departmentalization?

a) It enables an organization’s customers to gain a decision-making authority.

b) It leads to a lack of accountability among every functional area relative the organization.

c) It offers economies of scale with increased volume and low organizational costs.

d) It prevents opportunities for in-depth skill development in each area of specialization.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

54. YKJ Corp., a large Japanese electronics manufacturer, has decided to reorganize its departments. Presently, the company is organized into marketing, research and development, and production departments. It has decided to make the departments product specific and organize employees into the video gaming, personal computing, and consumer products departments. Which approach to departmentalization is YKJ currently using and to which approach is it changing?

a) YKJ is currently using the functional approach to departmentalization and is shifting to the divisional approach.

b) YKJ is currently using the divisional approach to departmentalization and is shifting to the functional approach.

c) YKJ is currently using the functional approach to departmentalization and is shifting to the matrix approach.

d) YKJ is currently using the divisional approach to departmentalization and is shifting to the hybrid approach.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective thinking skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

55. Which of the following is an advantage of the divisional approach to departmentalization?

a) It tends to promote accountability.

b) It tends to offer opportunities for in-depth skill development.

c) It offers economies of scale.

d) It leads to increases in volume with lower organizational costs.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

56. _____ departmentalization occurs when an organization uses both functional and divisional structures.

a) Diffused

b) Hybrid

c) Ambivalent

d) Mixed

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

57. Which of the following dimensions of departmentalization deals with whether employees are permanently or temporarily assigned to departments?

a) Balance

b) Inclusiveness

c) Focus

d) Membership

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

58. ______ is the practice of using contracts to transfer some of an organization’s recurring internal activities and decision-making rights to outsiders better equipped to utilize the latest technologies and reduce costs.

a) Downsizing

b) Repatriation

c) Outsourcing

d) Expatriation

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

59. Which of the following is the sustainable counterpart of the conventional fundamental of departmentalization?

a) Delegation

b) Specialization

c) Devolution

d) Participation

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

60. _____ refers to a sustainable approach to organizational behaviour that places emphasis on mutual discernment and gives stakeholders a voice in how an organization is managed and how jobs are performed.

a) Participation

b) Specialization

c) Delegation

d) Standardization

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

61. Diego, a coworker, stated to you that he is very familiar with the formal arrangements and linkages among members and groups that specify work activities and subtasks and that allow them to be completed. Which of the following summarizes his knowledge?

a) Organizational structure

b) Organizational culture

c) Organizational elements

d) Organizational fundamentals

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB:Analytic Skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

62. Which of the following are considered to be some of the basic assumptions of organizational culture?

a) Beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that inform member’s value and actions

b) Set of shared values and experiences that influence the way individuals behave

c) Behavioral practices that reinforce and keep particular values alive

d) Family, educational, organizational, and professional values

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB: Analytic Skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

63. Which of the following applies to a useful tool for helping to understand the shared values and assumptions that guide organizational behaviour?

a) Competing values framework

b) Organizational culture elements

c) Suboptimal standardization

d) Organizational structure values

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational culture.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key Values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

64. As a new accountant, your supervisor told you that the format of the budget statement is the same this year as it has been for the past 10 years. Based on his statement, which of the following describes the organizational culture?

a) Predictable

b) Adaptable

c) Flexible

d) Instable

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational culture.

Section Reference : 12.2 Key Values

AACSB: Communication

Bloom’s: Analysis

65. Which of the following describes some of an organization’s cultural artifacts?

a) Plaques devoted to past accomplishments or symbols of future aspiration

b) Beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that inform members’ value and actions

c) Set of shared values and experiences that influence the way individuals behave

d) Behavioural practices that reinforce and keep particular values alive

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

66. Which of the following applies to ensuring that work activities are completed in the best way, that each member’s subtasks contribute to the whole, that orderly deference among members is followed, and that members work together harmoniously?

a) Fundamentals of organizational structure

b) Fundamentals of organizational culture

c) Fundamentals of organizational artifacts

d) Fundamentals of organizational framework

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

67. Knowing how an organization deals with fundamental structural issues provides insight into its culture. Which of the following explains a difference between conventional and sustainable culture?

a) Conventional OB focuses more on the content of organization, while sustainable OB tends to place greater emphasis on the process.

b) Sustainable OB focuses more on the content of organization, while conventional OB tends to place greater emphasis on the process.

c) Conventional OB emphasizes relational competence, whereas sustainable OB emphasizes rational competence.

d) There is not a difference between conventional OB and sustainable OB with respect to competence.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Reflective thinking skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

68. Which of the following applies to the emphasis on searching for and being receptive to better ways of doing things to take advantage of existing opportunities or adding existing needs?

a) Sensitization from a sustainable OB point of view

b) Sensitization from a conventional OB point of view

c) Specialization from a sustainable OB point of view

d) Specialization from a conventional OB point of view

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

69. Which of the following applies to having the decision-making authority rest with managers at the top of an organization’s hierarchy?

a) Centralization from a conventional perspective

b) Centralization from a sustainable perspective

c) Delegation form a conventional perspective

d) Delegation form a sustainable perspective

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

70. Sustainable artifacts of organizational culture may be subtle at times, but at other times they are very pronounced. Which of the following describes cultural artifacts in sustainable organizations?

a) Cultural artifacts in sustainable organizations are more likely to have been developed by organizational members from a variety of hierarchical levels.

b) Cultural artifacts in sustainable organizations are more likely to have been developed by top managers and introduced in a deliberate top-down fashion.

c) Cultural artifacts in sustainable organizations are more likely to emphasize materialistic symbols like a corner office reserved for top executives.

d) Cultural artifacts in sustainable organizations are more likely to emphasize individual success like a plaque that memorizes top-producing salesperson.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills

Bloom’s: Analysis

Fill In The Blanks

71. Basic assumptions and values of an organization’s culture, as opposed to cultural artifacts, are its _____.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture.

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

72. An organizational culture that views its members as a means to meet organizational ends is characterized by a(n) _____

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key Values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

73. _____ refers to the process of developing uniform practices for organizational members to follow in doing their jobs.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

74. _____ refers to the process of taking standardized organizational tasks and allocating them to separate jobs.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

75. _____ occurs when people get so focused on specific subgoals that they lose sight of more important overarching goals.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

76. From a sustainable organizational behavioural point of view, _____ ensures that each member’s subtasks contribute to the whole.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

77. _____ refers to the formal power given to specific members to arrange resources, assign tasks, and direct the activities of other members to achieve organizational goals.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

78. A(n) _____ occurs when an organization enters fairly stable and complex relationships with a variety of other organizations that provide essential services.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

79. A(n) _____ is one whose members come and go based on organizational requirements and who are networked together through technology that enables them to synchronize their activities.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

80. _____ is a process in which people deliberately learn from one another as they jointly address an issue.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

81. The ____________ of an organization is important in that it can attract, motivate, and help to retain organizational members.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

82. There are many aspects of an organization’s _______________ you won’t find written down or described in detail in the company policy manual or annual report.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the basic assumptions of organizational culture

Section Reference: 12.1 Basic Assumptions

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

83. Some organizations have organizational cultures have an _________ focus, in which the organization is a means to meet employees’ ends.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key Values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

84. In most organizations, the culture is not as easily described by a formal set of ________.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key Values

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

85. ______________ are well-known narrative accounts that form the oral history of critical events that have shaped an organization.

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

86. May also be as simple as the way people address members in conversations; the use of formal titles communicates differences in status and importance, while the use of first names communicates a sense of equality.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

87. Too little ____________________ may result in organizational rigidity, making people feel stifled and complacent, and a failure to take advantage of the most up-to-date knowledge of members can perpetuate systemic shortcomings and injustices.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

88. __________________ can be narrow (which means the tasks a member performs are fairly limited and focused) or broad (which means each member performs a wide range of tasks).

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

89. From a sustainable OB point of view, _______________ ensures that each member’s sub-tasks contribute to the whole.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

90. ________________ refers to the formal power given to specific members—usually managers—to arrange resources, assign tasks, and direct the activities of other members so as to achieve organizational goals.

Difficulty: Easy

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Analytic skills

Bloom’s: Knowledge

Short Answer Questions

91. Describe the competing values framework along the dimensions of external focus versus internal focus.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Recognize the key values that shape organizational behaviour.

Section Reference: 12.2 Key Values

AACSB: Communication skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

92. Explain the differences between conventional and sustainable artifacts of organizational culture.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Discuss cultural artifacts and how they shape an organization’s culture.

Section Reference: 12.3 Cultural Artifacts

AACSB: Communication skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

93. Identify and explain the four fundamental issues that pertain to the formal aspect of organizing in the context of organizational structures.

1. Ensuring that work activities are completed in the best way. This means breaking down the overall work of the organization into individual subtasks and identifying the best way to perform each.

2. Ensuring that each member’s subtasks contribute to the whole. Each member should understand which specific organizational subtasks he or she is responsible for performing.

3. Ensuring orderly deference among organizational members. Members should know from whom to take their cues in the everyday operation of the organization.

4. Ensuring that members work together harmoniously. This can include placing members alongside people who have similar or complementary jobs to accomplish the overall work of the organization.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Communication skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

94. Compare and contrast the conventional idea of specialization versus its sustainable counterpart of sensitization.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Communication skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension

95. Briefly describe the viewpoint of a sustainable approach to departmentalization.

Difficulty: Medium

Learning Objective: Identify the four fundamentals of organizational structure.

Section Reference: 12.4 Organizational Structure

AACSB: Communication skills

Bloom’s: Comprehension