978-1285866352 Chapter 12 Solution Manual Part 2

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The learning organization culture is associated with significantly higher levels of organizational citizenship

behavior, knowledge-sharing intention, interpersonal trust, and organizational commitment.

LO 9. Describe the role of leadership in creating a learning organization culture.

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations must transform into active learning

organisms or risk becoming extinct. To succeed, organizations must be proactive and anticipatory, which

requires continuous adaptation and innovation. Thus, the traditional organization model that emphasizes

efficiency and stability is being replaced by a model that is learning and knowledge driven. Leaders play a

critical role in effecting this transformation. Without effective leadership from the top, it is hard to imagine

how the learning organization can succeed. A shared vision and culture of learning are critical to the success

of a learning organization, and this is the domain of the strategic leader. Leaders can play a key role in

organizational learning by encouraging creative thinking, creating a climate in which experimentation and

risk taking are encouraged, providing incentives for learning and innovation, building confidence in

followers’ capacity to learn and adapt and encouraging systems thinking.

D. The Role of Leaders in Creating a Learning Organization Culture

Leaders in learning organizations face a dual challenge to maintain efficient operations and create a flexible and

adaptive organization at the same time.

There are things leaders can do to create conditions conducive to learning and knowledge creation.

See Exhibit 12-5: Fostering a Learning Organizational Culture (Slide 12-24, Discussion Question on 12-25

and Key Terms on 12-26)

 Encourage creative thinking

 Create a climate where risk taking and failure are tolerated

 Provide incentives for learning and innovation

 Build confidence in followers’ capacity to learn and adapt

 Encourage systems thing

o Benchmarking is a process that allows an organization to adopt the best practices of others.

 Institute mechanisms for channeling and nurturing creative ideas for innovation

 Create a shared vision for learning

 Broaden employees’ frame of reference

YOU MAKE THE ETHICAL CALL 12.3

Departmentalization

Answers will vary based on opinion.

WORK APPLICATION 12-6

The workplace should be a place of learning but some critics argue that not all of

them have a culture that encourages learning. Of the eight recommendations for

fostering a learning organizational culture in Exhibit 12.5, how many would you

say are true of your current or past workplace?

Self-Assessment 12-2

Personality and Crisis and the Learning Organization Crisis

If you want students to complete the Self-Assessment exercises throughout the

book, you may want to tell students and spend a little time talking about them.

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LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ANSWERS

The chapter summary is organized to answer the learning objectives for Chapter 12. They are also found at the end

of the chapter and can be used as short answer questions on exams.

These learning outcomes are included in the test bank in the conceptual section.

1. Explain why crisis leadership competency is an important consideration when hiring new leaders.

Crises are inevitable. It is not a question of “if” a crisis will happen, but “when.” A crisis can inflict severe

damage to an organization if not properly managed. In a crisis, stock prices plummet and operating costs

2. What are the benefits of having a crisis management plan in advance of a crisis?

Pre-crisis planning buys you time. You are ready when a crisis strikes. Having a crisis management plan in

place can: (a) reduce the duration of a crisis, (b) enhance or retain a corporation’s image and reputation, (c)

3. Briefly describe the three stages of a crisis management plan.

The three-stage crisis management plan consists of pre-crisis planning, leading during a crisis, and adapting

after a crisis. Pre-crisis planning addresses two key questions: (1) do we have a crisis response team and who

is on it? And (2) what is our crisis plan of action? Having a standing crisis response team increases an

the pre-crisis plan. Adapting after a crisis is about lessons learned. Most forward-looking organizations do a

4. Describe the role of top management during a crisis.

When there is a crisis, employees will look to the CEO or other top management personnel on how to cope with

the situation. During a crisis, top management should: (1) stay engaged and lead from the front, (2) focus on

5. Describe the five-step process for crisis risk assessment.

The five-step process for risk assessment consists of: (1) risk identification, (2) risk assessment and ranking, (3)

risk reduction strategies, (4) crisis prevention and simulations, and (5) crisis management. In step 1 (risk

identification), crisis team members begin by identifying the worst-case scenarios that could have severe

6. Describe the importance of effective communication during a crisis.

Four questions that often emerge after a crisis are: (1) What happened? (2) How did it happen? (3) What’s

being done to address the crisis? and (4) What has been done to ensure it never happens again? Providing

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7. Describe the key characteristics of a learning organization.

The learning organization describes a work environment where: (a) work patterns, structures, and routines are

8. Distinguish between the traditional and the learning organization.

The following table highlights some of the differences between the traditional and the learning organization:

Traditional (efficiency driven) Learning (innovation driven)

 Stable environment



Changing environment

 Vertical bureaucratic structure



Flat adaptive structure



9. Describe the role of leadership in creating a learning organization culture.

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations must transform into active learning organisms

or risk becoming extinct. To succeed, organizations must be proactive and anticipatory, which requires

continuous adaptation and innovation. Thus, the traditional organization model that emphasizes efficiency and

REVIEW QUESTION ANSWERS

These review questions are included in the test bank in the conceptual section.

1. In planning for a crisis, the leader has to focus on five integrated tasks. Identify these tasks.

In planning for a crisis, the leader has to focus on five integrated tasks:

1. Formulates an overarching vision of crisis management for the crisis team.

2. How has social media affected the way crises are managed in our society today?

The Internet allows millions to analyze and critique virtually every aspect of an organization’s response to a

crisis. Technologies such as e-mail, Web pages, and social networking sites are weapons for affected

3. Describe the significance of having a diversified crisis response team.

Crisis response teams should involve a good mix of representatives from all parts of the organization. Diversity

4. Pre-crisis planning is about asking and answering three critical questions. What are they?

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5. The best indicator of an organization’s readiness to respond to a crisis is how it rates in five areas of

assessment. What are these five areas?

The best gauge to determine an organization’s readiness to respond to a crisis is how it rates according to the

following five factors:

1. Quality of strategic crisis plan

6. Briefly explain what a crisis management plan of action entails.

Developing a crisis plan of action involves imagining the worst possible scenarios that could happen to the

organization and the impact on employees, customers, and other stakeholders. To be well prepared, the crisis

plan must incorporate as many potential emergency situations as possible. The crisis leader and his team

7. One of the characteristics of a learning organization’s culture is that learning is a multilevel

organization-wide process. What exactly do we mean by this statement?

Organizational learning is a multilevel organization-wide process because it incorporates individual, group, and

organizational levels of analysis. It involves multiple learning processes (experimentation, analysis, intuition,

serendipity, or integration). There is a recognition that learning should flow forward (from those at the bottom

8. Explain or illustrate how a leader can foster a learning organizational culture by creating a climate

where risk taking and failure are tolerated.

Learning organizations understand that new insights emerge when there is an investigation into why expected

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

Applications may also be used as class discussion questions or written assignments to develop communication skills.

These communication questions are included in the test bank in the application section.

1. Describe why a senior leader’s physical presence is critical during a crisis.

An organization’s degree of preparedness for a potential crisis depends upon senior leaders and other

2. What are the benefits of creating a comprehensive crisis response plan before a crisis happens?

Having a crisis management plan in place can: (a) reduce the duration of a crisis, (b) enhance or retain a

3. What advice would you give to a leader who wants to improve his or her organization’s communications

function so that is is more effective during a crisis?

4. How important to an organization is internal (employee) communication during a crisis?

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significant short- and long-term benefits. In the short term, well-informed employees will assist the organization

in presenting the facts to the outside world. Also, employees, even those of the lower levels of the organization,

5. What message does it send when the organizational culture encourages employees to view

mistakes/problems as opportunities for improvement rather than reasons to blame or punish those

involved?

Creating a culture that rewards those who succeed, as well as occasionally rewarding those who fail, sends a

message that the organization encourages risk-taking. If employees realize that mistakes or problems are viewed

CONCEPT APPLICATION ANSWERS

There are similar questions in the test bank in the application section.

Concept Application 12-1 Rules of Effective Crisis Communications

e 1. Avoid conflicting messages.

f or g 2. Show a plan for how you will avoid a repeat in the future. Or Don’t make excuses for yourself or the

leader.

Concept Application 12-2 Differentiating between the traditional and learning Organization

b 11. Learning

CASE ANSWERS

Merck CEO Ken Frazier: First African-American Leading a Major Pharmaceutical Company

1. In what way(s) has Ken Frazier demonstrated his effectiveness as the leader of a learning and knowledge-

based organization?

Ken Frazier’s focus on innovation, a learning culture and collaboration amongst its employees globally is

2. Given our discussion on the distinction between a traditional and learning organization, what type of

organization is Merck? Support your answer.

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3. Mr. Frazier has maintained that the pillar of Merck’s strategy will remain innovation. Suggest some

ideas he can institute to enhance innovation.

He increased investment in R&D research. His company launched “Career Maps.” Under this program,

employees have increased visibility into key competencies and skills for roles across the company. The

competencies within Career Maps are linked to learning resources, empowering employees to focus their

4. Describe the strategy that Ken Frazier has articulated for moving Merck forward?

Mr. Frazier has maintained that he intends to continue on the strategy” that Mr. Clark (his predecessor)

established. This strategy emphasized product innovation, new market development, process and systems re-

5. Drug research is a high-risk and time-consuming process. What evidence is there to support this

assertion?

As revealed in the case, only 1 out of every 5000-10,000 compounds screened becomes an approved drug. It

6. What specific personality and leadership traits does Ken Frazier possess that align with leading a

learning and knowledge-driven organization like Merck?

Mr. Frazier has strong interpersonal skills. Those who know him say he is warm, friendly, open and caring. He

Cumulative Case Questions

7. What is CEO Frazier’s source of power? Also, what type of power and influencing tactics has he been

using, and is it the appropriate power type? If not, which power type should he be using (Chapter 5)?

As CEO of Merck, Frazier has employed both sources of power—position power and personal power. Out of

the seven types of power (legitimate, reward, coercive, connection, information, expert, and referent), Frazier

8. Chapter 6 discusses communication, coaching and mentoring as ways to develop the leadership skills of

underlings by senior leaders. Research the relationship between Ken Frazier and his predecessor. Based

on your findings, is Mr. Frazier a beneficiary of effective mentoring and coaching?

Ken Frazier was highly recommended by Mr. Clark, the much respected outgoing CEO. His mentorship of Mr.

9. Strategic leadership is about having a vision that aligns with future environmental trends and working

with and through others to realize it (Chapter 11). What evidences is there that Ken Frazier is an

effective strategic leader?

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CASE EXERCISE AND ROLE-PLAY

Assign the exercise ahead of class time so students can prepare their list of questions. Place students into groups of 4

to 6 members and decide which group will play the role of the crisis management team, which group will play the

role of the media, and which group will observe the role-play. Give the groups ample time to select no more than

three questions, to decide the members from the crisis management team that should be at the news conference and

what role they will be playing, and for the crisis management team to develop opening remarks addressing the crisis.

Have the observers judge the crisis management team’s performance during the news conference by using the

guidelines for effective crisis communication as a tool. After all three groups take turns playing each role, have the

class vote for the crisis management team that did the best job addressing the news media with its opening remarks

and responding to questions. Conclude the exercise by critiquing each team’s performance in the crisis management

team role and the role of the media.

VIDEO CASE ANSWERS

Managing in Turbulent Times at Second City Theater

13. Many students of the Second City Training Center are businesspeople looking to gain skills for the

corporate context. What skills from the world of improvisational comedy would be valuable to a business

manager?

Just like managers of an organization, improvisational actors need to be confident and effective without a script.

From classes at the Training Center, businesspeople would learn effective presentation skills including thought

14. What do you think would be the challenges of a manager in a learning organization? Why?

The learning organization unleashes the creativity and ideas of its employees. It is up to the manager to help

direct these creative energies towards meeting the company’s goals and towards efforts that are effective and

productive. They must do this while creating an environment supportive of ideas and teamwork, managing

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DEVELOPING YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS 12-1 IDEAS

Handling a Crisis

Total Time (20–45 minutes)

To keep the exercise to 20 minutes, skip procedure 3.

Recommended approximate time for a 45-minute period:

8:00 Procedure 1 5 minutes

8:05 Procedure 2 15 minutes

8:20 Procedure 3 20 minutes

8:40 Conclusion 3 minutes

8:43 Apply It 2 minutes

8:45

DEVELOPING YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS 12-2 IDEAS

The Learning Organization

Total Time (25–40 minutes)

To keep the exercise to 25 minutes, skip procedure 2.

Recommended approximate time for a 30-minute period:

8:00 Procedure 1 12 minutes

8:12 Procedure 2 15 minutes

8:27 Conclusion 1 minute

8:28 Apply It 2 minutes

8:30