ORCOM Test #2

Question 1

What is organizational culture?

Answer 1

The actions, ways of thinking, practices, stories and artifacts that characterize a particular approach.

Question 2

What are the 3 approaches to organizational culture?

Answer 2

• Practical view
• Interpretive view
• Critical and Postmodern view

Question 3

What does the practical view reflect?

Answer 3

The manager’s desire for practical advice and specific COM strategies to enhance competitiveness.

Question 4

How does the practical view treat cultural elements?

Answer 4

As a tool to build more effective organizations.

Question 5

Who is Jim Collins?

Answer 5

Culture that preserves values and core purposes usually practices “cult like” culture through fervently held ideology, indoctrination, and tightness of fit.

Question 6

What three ways does Jim Collins think culture is shown?

Answer 6

1) Fervently held ideology
2) Indoctrination
3) Tightness of fit

Question 7

What are Peters and Waterman’s 8 common cultural characteristics of successful companies?

Answer 7

• Active decision making
• Close relation to customers
• Autonomy & entrepreneurship
• Productivity through people
• Hands on, value driven
• Stick to knitting
• Simple form
• Simultaneous loose-tight perspectives

Question 8

What does the interpretive view seek to develop?

Answer 8

A richer understanding of how cultures emerge through everyday interactions.

Question 9

What is integration?

Answer 9

• Portrays culture
• No room for ambiguity
• Monologue- no dialogue

Question 10

What is differentiation?

Answer 10

• Highlights differences across units and subcultures.
• Differentiated subcultures can coexist in harmony, conflict and indifference to one another
• Islands of clarity/bunkers

Question 11

What is fragmentation?

Answer 11

• Ambiguity is inevitable
• Cultural elements can be interpreted many ways.
• Clear consensus among org. subculture cannot be attained

Question 12

What is the critical and postmodern view?

Answer 12

• Focuses on the challenges to power relationships and the status quo
• Study by Martin Suggested 3 ways to view it.

Question 13

What are the 3 ways Martin to view critical and postmodern view?

Answer 13

• Integration
• Differentiation
• Fragmentation

Question 14

What is identity?

Answer 14

How individuals position themselves in the world through language and action.

Question 15

What is authenticity?

Answer 15

Being real and honest in how we live and work with others. (being the same in and out of season)

Question 16

What are the 4 ways identity and difference is viewed?

Answer 16

• Org practices and performances
• Essential or fixed aspects of self
• Features of the org that influences members
• Products of social and popular narratives

Question 17

What are the 7 images of identity?

Answer 17

self-doubter, struggler, surfer, storyteller, strategists, stencil, soldier

Question 18

What is the self-doubter?

Answer 18

-Uncertainty and insecurity

Question 19

What is a struggler?

Answer 19

Deals with conflict and contradictions between self and external factors (can be class based and racialized)

Question 20

What is a surfer?

Answer 20

Tossed about by shifting tides and currents. Pressure to create fragmented identities to fit multiple situations.

Question 21

What is a storyteller?

Answer 21

Seeks to build an integrated and meaningful identity by creating a story of self that is coherent across time/space.

Question 22

What is a strategist?

Answer 22

Utilitarian/goal directed in their self-making efforts. Often moves between what feels true/authentic and that one that more closely aligns with a preferred org. self

Question 23

What is a stencil?

Answer 23

Members are understood as copies, outlines, or templates of a standard identity position.

Question 24

What is a soldier?

Answer 24

Identity is stamped by organization the soldier willingly embraces the organization preferred identity.