66) What is a substantive culture-changing action that a company’s managers would refrain from
undertaking to alter a problem culture?
A) 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
B) Appointing outsiders with the desired cultural attributes to high-profile positions
C) Screening all candidates for new positions carefully, and hiring only those who appear to fit
in with the new culture
D) Urging company personnel to search outside the company for work practices and operating
approaches that may be an improvement over what the company is presently doing, and paying
sizable bonuses to those employees who identify practices that the company ends up adopting
E) Designing compensation incentives that boost the pay of teams and individuals who display
the desired cultural behaviors and hitting change-resisters in the pocketbook
67) Changing a problem culture to create better alignment with strategy generally does NOT
involve
A) replacing old-culture managers with new-breed managers.
B) designing compensation incentives that boost the pay of teams and individuals who display
the desired cultural behaviors and hit change-resisters in the pocketbook.
C) altering the company’s financial objectives.
D) using company gatherings and ceremonial occasions to praise individuals and groups that
display the desired new cultural traits and behaviors.
E) both symbolic and substantive actions by executives to implant new cultural behaviors.
68) What is an INEFFECTIVE management action to remodel a corporate culture?
A) to cite reasons why and how certain behavioral norms and work practices in the current
culture pose obstacles to good execution of new strategic initiatives
B) to explain how new behaviors and work practices that are to be introduced and have important
roles in the new culture will be more advantageous and produce better results
C) to call upon first-level supervisors and rank-and-file employees to identify cultural barriers to
good strategy execution and then to lead the cultural change effort
D) to grant pay raises to individuals who step out front, lead the adoption of the desired work
practices, display the new-style behaviors, and achieve pace-setting results
E) to revise strategy-supportive policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural
change
69) The most important symbolic actions are those that top executives take to
A) lead by example.
B) lead by influence.
C) follow by example.
D) follow the majority.
E) lead to the contrary.
70) Symbolic culture changing actions include all of the following EXCEPT
A) leading by example.
B) reinforcing and celebrating culture-change successes.
C) praising individuals and groups that exemplify the new desired behavior.
D) ensuring top executives’ actions match their rhetoric.
E) revising policies and procedures in ways that will help drive cultural change.
71) Changing a problem culture
A) means eliminating unhealthy or dysfunctional traits as fast as possible.
B) is always a short-term exercise.
C) requires a determined effort by a limited number of employees.
D) is usually easier than it is to instill a strategy-supportive culture from scratch in a brand-new
organization.
E) takes less time than changing a healthy culture.
72) Leading the drive for good strategy execution and operating excellence calls upon senior
executives to
A) be very personable, effective communicators, and skilled in the empowerment of company
personnel.
B) personally lead the implementation process and drive the pace of progress.
C) delegate little to subordinates and, instead, personally exert a strong, highly visible influence
on the company’s approaches to strategy execution.
D) be creative in establishing policies and procedures that will instill high standards of operating
excellence.
E) be charismatic, decisive decision-makers, and make inspiring speeches at company events.
73) 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
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.
74) What actions did recruiting managers at Goldman Sachs NOT take to change the bank’s
culture and push for good strategy execution and operating excellence?
A) Goldman recruiters learned the obstacles in the path of good execution, and cleared the way
for progress by seeking buy-in from C-Level executives to institute changes in the bank’s culture
B) Goldman instituted more employee-friendly work schedules and policies, more
accommodating of work-life balance
C) Goldman liberalized its parental leave policies, provided greater flexibility in work schedules,
and enacted protections for interns and junior bankers designed to limit their working hours
D) Goldman weeded out managers who were consistently in the ranks of the lowest performers
(the bottom 10 percent) and who were not enthusiastic about the strategy or how it is being
executed
E) Goldman overhauled its performance review and promotion systems as well as its recruiting
practices and policies regarding diversity
75) When management is leading the drive for good strategy execution and operating excellence,
it calls for all of the following actions on their part EXCEPT
A) staying on top of what is happening.
B) monitoring progress closely.
C) putting constructive pressure on the organization to execute the strategy with excellence.
D) establishing a must-be-invented-here mindset.
E) empowering rank-and-file employees to act on their own initiative.
76) What technique can be utilized by leaders to stay informed on how well the strategy
execution process is progressing?
A) managing by walking around
B) managing bothersome work activities
C) multibusiness warning actions
D) managers being well-advised
E) multibusiness walking ahead
77) Managerial practices that are DETRIMENTAL to lead the effort to foster a results-oriented,
high-performance culture are
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.
78) The leadership challenges that top executives face in making corrective adjustments when
things are not going well include
A) knowing when to replace poorly performing workers and when to do a better job of coaching
them to do the right things.
B) being able to discern whether to emphasize adjustments that will promote better achievement
of strategic performance targets or whether to emphasize adjustments that will promote better
achievement of financial performance targets.
C) undertaking a thorough analysis of the situation, exercising good business judgment in
deciding what actions to take, and then ensuring good implementation of the corrective actions
that are initiated.
D) having the analytical skills to separate the problems due to a bad strategy from the problems
due to bad strategy execution.
E) deciding whether the company would be better off making adjustments that curtail the
achievement of strategic objectives or that curtail the achievement of financial objectives or that
curtail the achievement of some of both.
79) Leadership actions or managerial practices that perpetuate an unhealthy or problem culture
normally DO NOT
A) use empowerment to help create a motivated workforce.
B) treat employees as indentured servants.
C) procrastinate in setting objectives and only occasionally communicating expectations for
reaching targets.
D) ignore individual, group, and company successes.
E) follow a “must-be-invented-here” mindset.
80) Leadership actions or managerial practices NOT normally taken to foster a results-oriented,
high-performance culture include
A) treating employees as individuals with no regard for their rank or contributions.
B) building morale and fostering pride.
C) setting stretch objectives and clearly communicating expectations for reaching targets.
D) using motivational techniques and compensation incentives to inspire employees.
E) using the tools of benchmarking, best practices, business process reengineering, TQM, and
Six Sigma to focus attention on continuous improvement.
81) The task of top executives in making corrective adjustments includes
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.
82) The character of a company’s culture is a NOT a product of
A) core values and beliefs espoused by executives.
B) standards of what is ethically acceptable and what is not.
C) organizational learning from past errant behavior on the part of executives and employees.
D) its traditions and the stories that get told over and over.
E) the “chemistry” and the “personality” that permeate the work environment.
83) The hallmarks of a weak-culture company DO NOT include
A) a lack of widely shared and strongly held values, principles, and behavioral norms.
B) a lack of cultural mechanisms for aligning, constraining, and regulating the actions, decisions,
and behaviors of company personnel.
C) a work climate where there is no strong employee allegiance to what the company stands for
or to operating the business in well-defined ways.
D) an environment where many employees’ view their company as just a place to work and their
job as just a way to make a living.
E) a “can-do” spirit, where people take 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.
84) Successfully leading the effort to instill a spirit of high achievement into a company’s culture
and put constructive pressure on the organization to achieve good results
A) entails such actions as treating employees with dignity and respect, celebrating individual,
group, and company successes, and setting stretch objectives.
B) hinges on the extent to which top management emphasizes a positive rather than a negative
reward system.
C) requires that top executives make operating excellence the company’s only core value.
D) calls for top executives to stress the adoption of best practices, push for continuous product
innovation, and provide employees with a stream of suggestions for improving company
operations.
E) hinges on the degree to which lower-level managers and supervisors are good practitioners of
MBWA.
85) The purpose of managing by walking around or MBWA is to
A) learn more about company operations and see how activities are really being done.
B) be visible and accessible to employees.
C) give employees a chance to make suggestions for improvement.
D) gather information about what strategy to follow and to learn what competitors are doing.
E) gather information about what is happening from people at different organizational levels and
learn firsthand how well the strategy execution process is proceeding.
86) The process of making corrective adjustments in strategy execution
A) is a typical cultural mechanism for aligning, constraining, and regulating the actions,
decisions, and behaviors of company personnel.
B) exemplifies a results-oriented work climate where people go the extra mile to meet or beat
stretch objectives.
C) features a ceremony honoring individuals who believe so strongly in their ideas that they take
it on themselves to hurdle the bureaucracy, maneuver their projects through the system, and turn
them into improved services, new products, or even new businesses.
D) varies according to the situation.
E) enables companies to indoctrinate new hires rapidly into widely shared and strongly held
values, principles, and behavioral norms.
87) Success in making corrective actions does NOT depend on
A) recognizing that unsatisfactory performance may be due as much or more to flawed strategy
as to weak strategy execution.
B) good implementation of the corrective actions that are initiated.
C) the exercise of good business judgment in deciding what actions to take.
D) a thorough analysis of the situation.
E) an action plan for executing strategy that enables managers to foresee all the problems that
will arise.