Chapter 4
Social Systems and Organizational Culture
1. Cultures provide workers merely with indirect cues on how to succeed.
2. Any social system engages in exchanges with its environment, receiving input from it and
providing output to it.
3. When a social system is in disequilibrium, its parts are working against one another.
4. For employees to exhibit functional behaviors, they need to receive promises of reward.
5. The psychological contract defines the conditions of an employee’s physical involvement
with the social system exclusively.
6. If an organization honors only the economic contract and not the psychological contract,
employees tend to have lower satisfaction.
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Difficulty: Medium
7. Patterns of decision making can indicate a cultural difference.
8. Although people learn to depend on their culture, it typically gives them a false sense of
stability and security.
9. Discrimination cannot exist without prejudice.
10. People with a strong work ethic have a lower level of commitment to the organization than
other employees.
11. An employee’s work ethic is contingent on factors in the larger social system.
12. Every action that an organization takes involves costs and benefits.
13. Since managers perform many different roles, they must be highly adaptive.
14. The advice that a mentor provides can only accelerate an employee’s development.
15. Employees with the highest number of job contacts outside an organization have the least
role conflict.
16. Tying status to actions that further the company’s goals does little to motivate employees.
17. By recognizing and rewarding high-producing individuals, organizations identify them as
role models to emulate while also reinforcing the organization’s values.
18. Cultures are relatively volatile in nature, changing on almost a daily basis.
19. Subcultures are absent in an organization’s culture.
20. Storytelling is a key means for achieving socialization of employees.
1. Social systems are _____ that interact with their surroundings.
A) closed systems
B) open systems
C) isolated systems
D) virtual systems
2. A system is said to be in social equilibrium when:
A) an action or a change creates unfavorable effects.
B) a series of rapid changes are made in the system.
C) its interdependent parts are in dynamic working balance.
D) some of its parts are working against one another instead of in harmony.
3. A change has a _____ when it is favorable for the system.
A) functional effect
B) neutralizing effect
C) dysfunctional effect
D) bandwagon effect
4. Which of the following statements is true of social equilibrium?
A) A single significant change has no effect on a system’s balance.
B) A system’s working balance is unaffected by constant change.
C) Minor changes permanently disrupt a system’s equilibrium.
D) Several rapid changes may throw a system out of balance.
5. The psychological contract builds upon the concept of _____.
A) exchange theory
B) motivation theory
C) theory X
D) all of the above
6. Which of the following is considered to be evidence of a person’s social culture?
A) The type of car being driven
B) The type of food eaten
C) Clothing styles
D) All of the above
7. Which of the following is a job-related difference that can cause people to align themselves
into groups?
A) Language
B) Physical proximity
C) Ethnicity
D) Socioeconomics
8. Which of the following statements is true of discrimination?
A) It is dependent on prejudice.
B) It is exhibited as an attitude.
C It is generally exhibited as an action.
D) It can be used interchangeably with prejudice.
9. Which of the following statements is true of a work ethic?
A) Industrial productivity in an organization is independent of its work ethic.
B) The proportion of employees with a strong work ethic is constant across sample groups.
C) Unlike older employees, younger employees are highly supportive of the work ethic.
D) People with a strong work ethic tend to like work and derive satisfaction from it.
10. Which of the following factors plays a crucial role in the complex web of manager-
employee role perceptions?
A) The manager’s perception of his or her role
B) The manager’s perception of the employee’s role
C) The employee’s perception of the manager’s role
D) All of the above
11. Which of the following is NOT a good tip for protégés?
A) Select a single mentor.
B) Consult mentors periodically.
C) Share a summary of strengths and weaknesses.
D) Seek feedback from mentors regarding work.
12. Which of the following is NOT typical of mentors?
A) Sharing ideas in a threatening fashion
B) Being respected by peers
C) Enjoying one-on-one development of others
D) Being successful themselves
13. Which of the following statements is true of mentoring programs?
A) Mentors are often the employee’s direct supervisor.
B) Some people are simply more interested in being good mentors.
C) Gender differences have no impact on a mentor-protégé relationship.
D) The common practice is to have one mentor for one protégé.
14. _____ occurs when a person who has more general depth of experience requires assistance
in an area of special expertise, and a newer (and often younger) employee can provide it.
A) Role playing
B) Reverse mentoring
C) Organizational socialization
D) Individualization
15. When roles are inadequately defined or are substantially unknown, _____ exists.
A) role conflict
B) role ambiguity
C) organizational picketing
D) job shadowing
16. A manager resigning from a position instead of being terminated for gross negligence is an
example of the manager’s attempt to prevent:
A) status trauma.
B) status deprivation.
C) status anxiety.
D) status conflict.
17. _____ define the ranks of individuals relative to others in the group.
A) Role perceptions
B) Work ethics
C) Status systems
D) Signature experiences
18. Which of the following statements best describe status symbols?
A) They are a set of assumptions, beliefs, values, and norms shared by an organization’s
members.
B) They refer to clearly defined and dramatic devices that convey a key element of the firm’s
culture and vividly reinforce the values of the organization.
C) They are visible external things that attach to a person or workplace and serve as evidence of
social rank.
D) They are useful in conveying a sense of tradition and enhance cohesion around key values.
19. According to Kurt Lewin, _____ is a function of the interaction between personal
characteristics and the environment around the person.
A) role perception
B) employee behavior
C) status conflict
D) none of the above
20. _____ is the set of assumptions, beliefs, values, and norms shared by an organization’s
members.
A) Organizational design
B) Organizational hierarchy
C) Organizational structure
D) Organizational culture
21. Organizational cultures are important to a firm’s success because:
A) they help determine who will be an informal leader of a group.
B) they are created by key members of the organization.
C) they give a defining vision of what the organization represents.
D) they are the visible external artifacts that serve as evidence of social rank.
22. Which of the following is the defining feature of organizational cultures?
A) Cultures are stable even during crisis and events like mergers.
B) Most organizational cultures are historically known to be explicit.
C) They are seen as symbolic representations of underlying beliefs and values.
D) They seldom depend on the organization’s goals, industry, or the nature of competition.
23. Most cultures evolve directly from _____.
A) competitors
B) top management
C) middle management
D) all of the above
24. _____ is the continuous process of transmitting key elements of an organization’s culture to
its employees.
A) Organizational socialization
B) Individualization
C) Organizational semiotics
D) Mentoring
25. _____ are clearly defined and dramatic devices that convey a key element of the firm’s
culture and vividly reinforce the values of the organization.
A) Mentoring programs
B) Role perceptions
C) Status symbols
D) Signature experiences
26. In the context of communicating and changing culture, which of the following is a method
through which managers can forge a culture and build organizational identity?
A) Storytelling
B) Individualization
C) Reverse mentoring
D) Social loafing
27. _____ occurs when employees successfully exert influence on the social system around
them at work by challenging the culture or deviating from it.
A) Discrimination
B) Socialization
C) Individualization
D) Collaboration
28. In the context of communicating and changing culture, _____ constitutes one of the
extremes in the interaction between individualization and socialization.
A) intervention
B) isolation
C) rebellion
D) discrimination
29. Which of the following is the most effective method for changing organizational culture?
A) Appointing a manager of culture
B) Using stories and myths
C) Rewarding behaviors
D) Communicating top management support
30. Which of the following is a key feature of a fun work place?
A) It is relatively easy to create at work.
B) It means different people have identical views about fun activities.
C) It provides limited personal and organizational payoffs.
D) None of the above.
1. What is the main difference between discrimination and prejudice?
2. What are the steps that can help an organization overcome discriminatory practices?
3. Why has work ethic declined over the years?
4. Explain the various functions that a “role” performs in the social system.
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types of behavior.
Page: 92
Difficulty: Medium
5. Describe role perceptions.
6. Identify at least three corporate advantages of a successful mentoring program.
7. Why is it beneficial for organizations to have more than one mentor for each protégé?
8. What are status symbols and what do they convey?
9. What is the difference between socialization and individualization?
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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Ans: Socialization is the impact of organizational culture on employees. In other words, it is the
acceptance of norms. Individualization is the impact of employees on the organizational culture. .
In other words, it is the deviation from norms.
Page: 103
Difficulty: Medium
10. What are the positive effects of a fun workplace?