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Page 1
1.
Critical approaches to organizational communication pose difficult and important
questions about
A)
creating horizontal communication.
B)
increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
C)
the nature of power and control.
D)
promoting managerial sense making.
2.
In French and Raven's types of social power, which type of power is based on the
perception that certain behaviors will lead to punishments?
A)
Reward
B)
Coercive
C)
Legitimate
D)
Referent
3.
Our basic, often unexamined assumptions about how things are or ought to be stem
from our
A)
hegemony.
B)
work-life narratives.
C)
theoretical constructs.
D)
ideology.
4.
Which of the following concepts refers to the process of employees at all levels
willingly adopting and enforcing the legitimate power of the organization, society, or
system of capitalism?
A)
Progressive capitalism
B)
Manufactured consent
C)
Hidden power
D)
Hegemony
5.
Which of the following systems of control was established to replace bureaucracy but is
often more stringent and less forgiving than bureaucratic controls?
A)
Concertive control
B)
Manufactured consent
C)
Network control
D)
Critical control
Page 2
6.
Critical organizational theory views power as
A)
transparent and worthy of critique.
B)
impossible to interrogate.
C)
hidden but pervasive.
D)
a sinister force.
7.
Jeremy Bentham's panopticon is a design for an ideal
A)
organization.
B)
computer system.
C)
highway system.
D)
prison.
8.
Critical theory first emerged in response to unfair working conditions during which of
the following eras of history?
A)
The Renaissance
B)
The Victorian period
C)
Post–Industrial Revolution
D)
Post-9/11
9.
What type of narrative often reveals the beliefs and values of a culture and tells the
stories of legendary heroes, of good and evil, and of origins and exits?
A)
Myths
B)
Ethnographies
C)
Metaphors
D)
Work-life narratives
10.
A significant number of U.S. employees cite work as a growing source of
A)
creativity.
B)
stress.
C)
achievement.
D)
security.
11.
Which economic strategy occurred between the Industrial Revolution and the early
1970s and is characterized by corporate and individual growth in economic well-being?
A)
Marxism
B)
Communism
C)
Taylorism
D)
Progressive capitalism
Page 3
12.
Which of the following concepts demonstrates the process of "forgetting" that socially
constructed meanings have actually been socially constructed?
A)
Hegemony
B)
Reification
C)
Ideology
D)
Progressive capitalism
13.
An organizational myth about which of the following individuals suggests that anyone
can "make it" in the workplace, regardless of his or her background?
A)
Karl Marx
B)
Donald Trump
C)
Horatio Alger
D)
Michel Foucault
14.
The old social contract idealized
A)
individual commitment.
B)
hard work.
C)
loyalty.
D)
All of the options are correct.
15.
Even when individuals are given the chance to be creative and to self-organize, they
often reproduce systems where they police themselves through things such as arbitrary
rules and burdensome systems of accountability. Which of the following concepts best
illustrates this process?
A)
Concertive control
B)
Progressive capitalism
C)
Critical organizational theorizing
D)
Manufactured consent
16.
Borrowing heavily from French philosopher Michel Foucault, many critical scholars
now view power as operating primarily in and through
A)
dialogue.
B)
bureaucracy.
C)
discourse.
D)
discipline.
Page 4
17.
The Internet has become a valuable tool for organizing grassroots campaigns against
corporate domination. The Internet is an example of what Ganesh, Zoller, and Cheney
would call
A)
global transformation.
B)
resistance.
C)
critical organizational theorizing.
D)
employee dissent.
18.
Which of the following is not a critical mode of being?
A)
Being filled with care
B)
Being filled with thought
C)
Being filled with good humor
D)
Being filled with community
19.
When individuals distance themselves from organizational power, they are said to be
engaging in
A)
ideologies.
B)
resistance.
C)
power plays.
D)
storytelling.
20.
Although individuals often uphold democratic principles when it comes to systems of
government, they are more than willing to leave those democratic ideals at the door
when it comes to the workplace. Which of the following functions of ideology helps
explain this point?
A)
Ideology naturalizes the present through reification.
B)
Ideology functions as a form of control.
C)
Ideology denies system contradictions.
D)
Ideology represents individual interests to be universal.
21.
Which of the following concepts do critical scholars believe has the most potential to
lead to increased exploitation of vulnerable populations?
A)
Progressive capitalism
B)
Organizational power
C)
Unchecked globalization
D)
Hegemony
Page 5
22.
Mentors and charismatic leaders are most likely to embody which of the following types
of power?
A)
Expert
B)
Legitimate
C)
Reward
D)
Referent
23.
Which of the following concepts is not one of the four functions of ideology?
A)
Representing sectional interests as universal
B)
Reification
C)
Making power transparent
D)
Control
24.
Most people think of a "real" job as one that involves
A)
earning good wages.
B)
producing something tangible.
C)
doing something that makes a difference.
D)
working somewhere long enough to get a raise.
25.
Which of the following organizations is known for the "LUV story" that they have
created?
A)
Bank of America
B)
Hallmark Greeting Cards
C)
Southwest Airlines
D)
Google
26.
Ideologies are always neutral.
A)
True
B)
False
27.
Over time, myths, stories, and metaphors can come to define appropriate behavior and
may suspend employees' critical thinking.
A)
True
B)
False
28.
Resistance operates only through small-scale efforts.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 6
29.
Critical theorists gather interpretive data but refuse to comment on issues of race, class,
and gender to create a neutral speaking ground.
A)
True
B)
False
30.
Critical theorists believe that employees must practice more personal responsibility in
order to avoid workplace accidents.
A)
True
B)
False
31.
Critical approaches are often praised as taking a pro-profit approach.
A)
True
B)
False
32.
Critical theorizing actively questions the status quo.
A)
True
B)
False
33.
The concept of concertive control makes it increasingly difficult to hold on to the idea
that organizational elites (i.e., managers) shape organizational processes and practices to
support their own interests at the expense of other employees.
A)
True
B)
False
34.
In 2009, the global economy began shrinking for the first time since World War II.
A)
True
B)
False
35.
Jeremy Bentham's panopticon was developed to reduce the need for the surveillance of
individuals.
A)
True
B)
False
36.
Legitimate power is often characterized by one's ability to withhold benefits and
rewards from another individual.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 7
37.
Mentors and charismatic leaders possess referent power.
A)
True
B)
False
38.
Because critical theory focuses on power, the topic of discourse is not as important to
this perspective.
A)
True
B)
False
39.
Workplace safety has become an increasingly important topic for organizational
communication theorists who use critical theory.
A)
True
B)
False
40.
The Internet has become a very valuable tool for mobilizing grassroots organizers in
search of critiquing the status quo.
A)
True
B)
False
41.
Define power and provide an example to explain your definition. Why is the study of
power so central to critical approaches?
42.
How is legitimate power determined? Provide an example of someone who has
legitimate power.
43.
Explain the roots of critical theory, paying particular attention to the ideas of Karl Marx.
How have these ideas been appropriated in the service of systems of government?
44.
Describe the concept of progressive capitalism, and provide an example of how this
concept works. Are we currently in a period of progressive capitalism?
45.
What does it mean to take a pro-profit approach, and why are critical approaches
critiqued for not taking one?
46.
Explain the process of concertive control, and construct an example of the self-policing
that individuals do.
Page 8
47.
Connect the concepts of ideology and hegemony using an example about our current
economic conditions.
48.
Chapter 6 argues that many organizational members and employees have realized that
the old social contract associated with work and job security no longer holds true. What
is the old social contract, and how does it differ from the new social contract?
49.
Define discourse according to Foucault.
50.
What are knowledge management (KM) systems, and what challenges do they bring to
contemporary workplaces?
51.
The concept of power is central to critical theory. French and Raven further clarified
this focus by outlining five types of power. Identify and define these five types of
power, providing a detailed example of each type.
52.
Chapter 6 calls attention to organizational stories. Outline a successful organizational
story, and explain its importance to critical organizational theory—especially the
concepts of power and ideology.
53.
Considering that power is such a key part of critical theory, develop an essay that
explains the reactions to power. What is resistance, and how is it relevant to the study of
organizational communication? Be sure to include specific definitions and examples to
demonstrate your points.
Answer Key
1.
C
2.
B
3.
D
4.
B
5.
A
6.
C
7.
D
8.
B
9.
A
10.
B
11.
D
12.
B
13.
C
14.
D
15.
A
16.
C
17.
A
18.
D
19.
B
20.
C
21.
C
22.
D
23.
C
24.
A
25.
C
26.
B
27.
A
28.
B
29.
B
30.
B
31.
B
32.
A
33.
A
34.
A
35.
B
36.
B
37.
A
38.
B
39.
A
40.
A
41.
42.
43.
44.
Page 10
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
