45) In adaptive corporate cultures
A) the prevailing view is that the best way to look out for the interests of employees is to change
core values and cultural norms in whatever ways are needed to fit the changing requirements of
an evolving strategy.
B) company personnel are amenable to changing policies and operating practices as long as the
core elements of the company’s strategic vision and strategy remain intact.
C) members are willing to embrace a proactive approach to trying new ideas, altering operating
practices, and changing pieces of the strategy provided it doesn’t imperil their job security, entail
cuts in compensation, or require different work practices.
D) there’s a spirit of doing what’s necessary to ensure long-term organizational success provided
that core values and business principles are not compromised and provided top management
undertakes the changes in a manner that exhibits genuine concern for the legitimate interests of
stakeholders.
E) there is little need for policies and procedures because group members willingly accept
experimentation and innovation.
46) Which of the following statements about adaptive corporate cultures is NOT true?
A) The hallmark of adaptive corporate cultures is willingness on the part of organizational
members to accept change and take on the challenge of introducing and executing new strategies.
B) The standout cultural traits are a “can-do” spirit, pride in doing things right, no-excuses
accountability, and a pervasive results-oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to
meet or beat stretch objectives.
C) Company personnel share a feeling of confidence that the organization can deal with
whatever threats and opportunities come down the pike; they are receptive to risk taking,
experimentation, innovation, and changing strategies and practices.
D) Adaptive cultures are exceptionally well-suited to companies with fast-changing strategies
and market environments.
E) For an adaptive culture to remain intact over time, top management must orchestrate
organizational changes in a manner that (1) demonstrates genuine care for the well-being of all
key constituencies and (2) tries to satisfy all their legitimate interests simultaneously.
47) A counterproductive cultural trait of an organization is NOT evidenced by
A) a politicized internal environment and empire-building managers who jealously guard their
turf
B) hostility to change and a wariness of people who champion new ways of doing things
C) an aversion to looking outside the company for best practices, new managerial approaches,
and innovative ideas
D) an aversion to incentive compensation and overemphasis on working in teams
E) overzealous pursuit of wealth and status on the part of key executives
48) Unhealthy company cultures typically have such characteristics as
A) tight budget controls, overly strict enforcement of long-standing policies and procedures, and
high ethical standards.
B) a preference for conservative strategies, an aversion to incentive compensation, and excessive
emphasis on profitability.
C) a politicized internal environment, hostility to change and an aversion to looking outside the
company for best practices, new managerial approaches, and innovative ideas.
D) overemphasis on employee empowerment, a complacent approach to building competencies
and capabilities, no coherent business philosophy, and excessively bureaucratic policies and
procedures.
E) an emphasis on innovation, a strong preference for hiring managers from outside the
company, and few core values and traditions.
49) A healthy company culture may be identified as
A) insular and inwardly-focused.
B) change-resistant.
C) unethical and greed-driven.
D) politicized.
E) hyper-adaptive.
50) A distinctive characteristic of a healthy corporate culture is
A) the presence of counterproductive cultural traits that adversely impact the work climate and
company performance.
B) a preoccupation with risk management and capitalizing on related market opportunities.
C) a decision-making effort that is subject to pressure from many different cliques.
D) ethical behavior that is driven by subcultures.
E) a strong fixation on attending to what customers are saying and how their needs and
expectations are to be met.
51) Companies with change-resistant cultures are
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.
52) Characteristics of an unhealthy, politicized internal corporate environment DO NOT include
A) political infighting that consumes a great deal of organizational energy
B) continuous empire-building that is a common practice as managers pursue their own agendas
C) building of autonomous fiefdoms that pervades the work climate
D) overabundance of political maneuvering that takes away from efforts to execute strategy
E) taking of positions on issues
53) What defines an insular, inwardly focused culture?
A) The firm never underestimates rivals because of their proven track record in defending
challenges.
B) The firm believes they have all the answers because of their past great market success and is
thus overconfident.
C) The firm’s unflinching belief in the company’s superiority breeds a champion’s attitude and
thus they thrive on doing better by adapting to fresh thinking from outside the company.
D) The firm values their customers’ opinions and fully understands their needs and expectations.
E) The firm has a commitment to hiring young people who can offer fresh thinking and new
perspectives.
54) Actions that would NOT help to rectify a company’s unethical and greed-driven culture
encompass
A) requiring all company personnel to attend culture-training programs to better understand the
new culture-related actions and behaviors that are expected.
B) promoting individuals who have stepped forward to spearhead the shift to a different culture
and who can serve as role models for the desired cultural behavior.
C) dismissing executives that exude an “ends-justify-the-means” mentality in pursuing
overambitious operating and financial targets.
D) adopting accounting principles that make the company’s financial performance appear better
than it really is.
E) hiring frontline employees who display high-performance behaviors and a passion for making
the company successful.
55) When are multiple subcultures MOST problematic?
A) when they are compatible with the overarching corporate culture and are supportive of
strategy-execution
B) when they don’t clash and coordinating efforts to craft and execute strategy within each
subculture is relatively easy
C) when they foster teamwork and support a collaborative approach to strategy execution
D) when they embrace conflicting business philosophies that are inconsistent with superior
strategy execution
E) when they guide management in coming up with consistent approaches to executing company
strategies
56) When should a culture be changed as rapidly as can be managed?
A) Never, because the actions and behaviors needed to execute the new strategy successfully are
well entrenched, and thus are not changeable
B) Only rarely, because it is natural for company personnel to cling to existing practices and to
be wary of new approaches
C) When a company decides on any innovations to its products or services
D) When a strong culture is unhealthy or otherwise out of sync with the actions and behaviors
needed to execute the strategy successfully
E) When the case for cultural reform is not credible, symbolic, nor substantive
57) Changing a problem culture
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.
58) The single most visible factor that distinguishes successful culture-change efforts from failed
attempts is
A) forceful management actions to empower employees to adopt new operating practices.
B) competent leadership at the top.
C) de-layering the management hierarchy.
D) developing a new value statement that inspires company personnel to put forth their best
efforts to achieve performance targets.
E) convincing employees that top management is genuinely committed to high ethical standards
and the exercise of corporate social responsibility.
59) The place for management to begin in trying to change a problem culture is
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.
60) Companies with multinational operations and/or newly acquired businesses typically have
A) strong cultures.
B) multiple cultures (or subcultures) rather than a single culture.
C) weak cultures.
D) adaptive cultures.
E) low-performance cultures.
61) When trying to change a problem culture, management should undertake such steps as
A) selecting a team of key employees to lead the culture change effort and design a plan for
cultural change.
B) identifying facets of the present culture that are supportive of good strategy execution and
which ones are not and then specifying what new actions, behaviors, and work practices are
needed in the new culture to improve performance.
C) drawing up an action plan to change the present culture and then persuading company
personnel why this plan of action is good and will be successful.
D) conducting an employee survey to determine the organization’s cultural norms and what
company personnel like and dislike about the current culture.
E) employing a consultant with expertise in culture change and following his or her advice on
how to proceed.
62) In moving to alter a problem culture, management should do all of the following EXCEPT
A) identify which aspects of the present culture are supportive of good strategy execution and
which ones are not.
B) specify what new actions, behaviors, and work practices should be prominent in the “new”
culture.
C) talk openly about the problems of the present culture and how new behaviors will improve
performance.
D) employ visible, forceful actions—both substantive and symbolic—to ingrain a new set of
behaviors, practices, and cultural norms.
E) avoid cross-unit cooperation.
63) A step management can take that is INAPPROPRIATE to change a problem culture is
A) identifying which aspects of the present culture are supportive of good strategy execution and
which ones are not.
B) specifying what new actions, behaviors, and work practices should be prominent in the “new”
culture.
C) appointing a team of key managers and employees to design a plan for cultural change and
then lead the internal effort to change the culture.
D) talking openly about the problems of the present culture and how new behaviors will improve
performance.
E) employing visible, forceful actions—both substantive and symbolic—to ingrain a new set of
behaviors, practices and cultural norms.
64) The menu of actions management can take to change problem culture does NOT include
which of the following?
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
65) Managers can alter a problem culture if they
A) identify aspects of the present culture that pose problems.
B) revise policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change and replace senior
executives who are resisting and obstructing needed organizational and cultural changes.
C) empower employees to adopt whatever new work practices they believe will be an
improvement.
D) make a concerted effort to turn the company’s core competencies into distinctive
competencies.
E) shift from decentralized to centralized decision-making so as to give senior executives more
authority and control in driving cultural change.