Chapter 16 - Organizational Culture

Question 1

The shared social knowledge within an organization regarding the rules, norms, and values that shape the attitudes and behaviors of its employees.

Answer 1

Organizational Culture

Question 2

______________ are the manifestations of an organization’s culture that employees can easily see or talk about. They supply the signals that employees interpret to gauge how they should act during the workday.

Answer 2

Observable artifacts

Question 3

_________ can be found throughout an organization, from its corporate logo to the images it places on its website to the uniforms its employees wear.

Answer 3

Symbols

Question 4

_____________ also say a lot about a culture. Is the workplace open? Does top management work in a separate section of the building? Is the setting devoid of anything unique, or can employees express their personalities?

Answer 4

Physical structures

Question 5

__________ reflects the jargon, slang, and slogans used within the walls of an organization.

Answer 5

Language

Question 6

__________ consist of anecdotes, accounts, legends, and myths that are passed down from cohort to cohort within an organization.

Answer 6

Stories

Question 7

__________ are the daily or weekly planned routines that occur in an organization.

Answer 7

Rituals

Question 8

__________ are formal events, generally performed in front of an audience of organizational members.

Answer 8

Ceremonies

Question 9

___________ are the beliefs, philosophies, and norms that a company explicitly states.

Answer 9

Espoused values

Question 10

___________________ are the taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that are so ingrained that employees simply act on them rather than questioning the validity of their behavior in a given situation.

Answer 10

Basic underlying assumptions

Question 11

the degree to which group members think and act alike

Answer 11

Solidarity

Question 12

represents how friendly employees are to one another

Answer 12

Sociability

Question 13

Organizations that are low on both dimensions have a _______________ in which employees are distant and disconnected from one another.

Answer 13

fragmented culture

Question 14

Organizations that have cultures in which employees think alike but aren’t friendly to one another can be considered ______________ .

Answer 14

mercenary cultures

Question 15

Cultures in which all employees are friendly to one another, but everyone thinks differently and does their own thing, are ______________ .

Answer 15

networked cultures

Question 16

Organizations with friendly employees who all think alike are ______________ .

Answer 16

communal cultures

Question 17

Org structure with high sociability and high solidarity

Answer 17

Communal

Question 18

Org structure with high sociability and low solidarity

Answer 18

Networked

Question 19

Org structure with low sociability and high solidarity

Answer 19

Mercenary

Question 20

Org structure with low sociability and low solidarity

Answer 20

Fragmented

Question 21

Many organizations try to create a __________________ focused on service quality.

Answer 21

customer service culture

Question 22

A positive __________ has been shown to reduce accidents and increase safety-based citizenship behaviors.

Answer 22

safety culture

Question 23

There are a number of reasons an organization might want to foster a ____________ .

Answer 23

diversity culture

Question 24

______________ are fostered by the mission and values of many organizations.

Answer 24

Sustainability cultures

Question 25

Given the importance of new ideas and innovation in many industries, it’s understandable that some organizations focus on fostering a ____________ .

Answer 25

creativity culture

Question 26

____________ affect both the quantity and quality of creative ideas within an organization.

Answer 26

Creativity cultures

Question 27

A high level of ____________ exists when employees definitively agree about the way things are supposed to happen within the organization (high consensus) and when their subsequent behaviors are consistent with those expectations (high intensity).

Answer 27

culture strength

Question 28

___________ exist when employees disagree about the way things are supposed to be or what’s expected of them, meaning that there is nothing to unite or direct their attitudes and actions.

Answer 28

Weak cultures

Question 29

Instead, there might be __________ that unite a smaller subset of the organization’s employees.

Answer 29

subcultures

Question 30

However, when their values don’t match those of the larger organization, we call subcultures ______________ . These can sometimes serve a useful purpose by challenging the values of the overall organization or signifying the need for change.

Answer 30

countercultures

Question 31

The ______ framework holds that potential employees will be attracted to organizations whose cultures match their own personality, meaning that some potential job applicants won’t apply due to a perceived lack of fit.

Answer 31

ASA (Attraction-Selection-Attrition)

Question 32

___________ is the primary process by which employees learn the social knowledge that enables them to understand and adapt to the organization’s culture. It’s a process that begins before an employee starts work and doesn’t end until an employee leaves the organization.

Answer 32

Socialization

Question 33

Socialization happens in three relatively distinct stages. The _____________ happens prior to an employee spending even 1 second on the job. It starts the moment a potential employee hears the name of the organization.

Answer 33

anticipatory stage

Question 34

The ___________ begins the day an employee starts work. There are some things about an organization and its culture that can only be learned once a person becomes an organizational insider. During this stage, new employees compare the information they acquired as outsiders during the anticipatory stage with what the organization is really like now that they’re insiders.

Answer 34

encounter stage

Question 35

Problems occur when the two sets of information don’t quite match. This mismatch of information is called ___________ . This is best exemplified by the employee who says something to the effect of “Working at this company is not nearly what I expected it to be.”

Answer 35

reality shock

Question 36

The final stage of socialization is one of ______________________ . During this stage, newcomers come to learn the content areas of socialization and internalize the norms and expected behaviors of the organization.

Answer 36

understanding and adaptation

Question 37

There is perhaps no bigger potential driver of culture than the _____________________ of organizations.

Answer 37

leaders and senior executives

Question 38

________________ is the degree to which a person’s personality and values match the culture of an organization.

Answer 38

Person–organization fit

Question 39

Person–organization fit has a ____________ effect on job performance

Answer 39

weak positive

Question 40

Person–organization fit has a _____________ effect on organizational commitment

Answer 40

strong positive

Question 41

One of the most inexpensive and effective ways of reducing early turnover among new employees is through the use of _______________ . They involve making sure a potential employee has an accurate picture of what working for an organization is going to be like by highlighting both the positive and the negative aspects of the job.

Answer 41

realistic job previews

Question 42

One effective way to start the socialization process is by having new employees attend some form of ________________ session.

Answer 42

newcomer orientation

Question 43

__________ is a process by which a junior-level employee (protégé) develops a deep and long-lasting relationship with a more senior-level employee (mentor) within the organization.

Answer 43

Mentoring