File: ch05.

rtf, Chapter 5, Ethics as Organizational Culture

Matching

Reference: Matching Key Terms and Definitions a) Strong organizational culture b) Weak organizational culture c) Socialization (or enculturation)

1. Standards and guidelines that are known and widely shared by all. Response: See page 151. Difficulty: Easy

2. Subcultures within divisions or departments that are more likely to guide behavior. Response: See page 152. Difficulty: Easy

3. Process promoted through formal and informal transmission of norms. Response: See page 152 Difficulty: Easy

Reference: Matching Key Terms and Definitions a) Heroes b) Norms c) Rituals d) Myths

4. Symbolically tells employees what the organization wants them to do and how it expects them to do it. Response: See page 182. Difficulty: Easy

5. Standards of behavior that are accepted as appropriate by members of a group. Response: See page 182. Difficulty: Easy

6. Symbolic figures who set standards of performance by modeling certain behaviors. Response: See page 181. Difficulty: Easy

7. Anecdotes about a sequence of events drawn from an organizations history. Response: See page 183. Difficulty: Easy

True/False

8. The US Sentencing Guidelines call for more attention to developing and maintaining the ethical culture of the organization. Response: See page 156. Difficulty: Easy

9. Because common ethical problems exist across virtually all organizations, formal programs designed for ethics work well as one size fits all. Response: See page 192. Difficulty: Easy

10. Companies that look for advice from consultants will do well to find a spray and pray plan. Response: See page 192. Difficulty: Easy

11. Organization cultures vary widely, even within the same industry. Response: See page 151. Difficulty: Easy

12. Organization cultures are maintained through formal systems alone. Response: See page 153. Difficulty: Easy

13. An ethically neutral leader is not clearly unethical, but is perceived to be more self-centered and more focused on the bottom line. Response: See page 163. Difficulty: Medium

14. Research has found that employees working in organizations with an enforced code of ethics report that they engage in less unethical behavior. Response: See page 170 . Difficulty: Easy

15. The more a firm demands unquestioning obedience to authority, the more likely the firm will experience higher levels of unethical conduct among their employees. Response: See page 176. Difficulty: Medium

16. Describing the decision-making process in the language of ethics does not help individuals make more ethical decisions. Response: See page 186. Difficulty: Medium

17. An ethical culture is maintained through alignment between the formal and informal systems. Response: See page 153 Difficulty: Easy

18. A 2006 study found that 82 percent of Americans would prefer to be paid less but work for an ethical company than be paid more and work for an unethical company. Response: See page 155 Difficulty: Medium

19. Unethical leaders can just as negatively affect the culture of a company as ethical leaders can affect the ethical culture.

Response: See page 161 Difficulty: Medium

20. It is sufficient for executive leaders to be ethical persons and make ethical decisions. Employees do as they see. Response: See page 166. Students are likely to say True. The point of this question is that executives must lead on the question of ethics IF their commitment to an ethical culture is to register with employees. Difficulty: Difficult

21. Cognitive moral development tells us that most people are looking outside of themselves for guidance on decision-making. This means that stated organizational policy can be an important source of guidance foe employees in making decisions. Response: See page 171 Difficulty: Difficult

22. Alignment of the goals and rewards of an organization with the organizations values is essential because employees will generally do what is measured and rewarded. Response: See page 174 Difficulty: Moderate

23. Loyalty is paramount in business and employees who question unethical direction or an unethical boss are doomed. Response: See page 176 Difficulty: Moderate

24. Given the less hierarchical organizational structures that are more common place today, it is less important for to have strongly aligned ethical culture to guide employees in their independent decision-making. Response: See page 177 Difficulty: Difficult

Multiple Choice

25. Why did the US Sentencing Commission begin to focus on the ethical culture of the organization in 2004? a) Researchers had just recently introduced the idea of an ethical culture in 2002. b) More and more consultants were discussing ethical culture in their programs. c) Prior to the change, organizations used formal programs as window dressing. d) None of the above Response: See page 156. Difficulty: Medium

26. Weak organizational cultures are: a) desirable if an organization has many subcultures. b) desirable if an organization wants diversity of thought and action. c) desirable if an organization wants behavioral consistency. d) undesirable in all situations. Response: See page 152. Difficulty: Medium

27. The moral person component of ethical leadership: a) Tells employees how the leader expects them to behave. b) Tells employees how the leader is likely to behave. c) Shows that ethics and values are an important part of the leaders message.

d) Demonstrates a reputation for ethical leadership among employees. Response: See page 159. Difficulty: Medium

28. According to the Executive Ethical Leadership Reputation Matrix, ___________ is an executive characterized as a weak moral person and a strong moral manager. a) Unethical leader b) Ethical leader c) Ethically neutral leader d) Hypocritical leader Response: See pages 162-163. Difficulty: Easy

29. According to the Executive Ethical Leadership Reputation Matrix, ___________ is an executive characterized as a strong moral person and a strong moral manager. a) Unethical leader b) Ethical leader c) Ethically neutral leader d) Hypocritical leader Response: See pages 159-160. Difficulty: Easy

30. Which of the following is false? a) Any attempt to change an organizations ethics must consider the entire cultural system. b) A cultural system includes both formal and informal systems. c) An effective culture change may take as long as 1 to 2 years. d) New rules and values must be reinforced via training programs and reward systems. Response: Culture changes are not short-term and may take as much as 6 to 15 years. See page 194.

Difficulty: Medium

Short Answer

31. Briefly describe what is meant by alignment of ethical culture. Provide an example of how an ethical culture might be misaligned. Ans: Students should be able to demonstrate that ethical culture consists of informal and formal systems that must be sending the same message. Therefore, a reward system that focuses strictly on the bottom line and makes no allowances for how a goal is met is misaligned with the organizations ethical culture. Response: An ethical culture consists of both an informal and formal system of communication. If messages from the informal and formal system differ, then the ethical culture of an organization is out of alignment. For example, a CEO may state in speeches to the employees that our company cares about the environment. However, if the reward system focuses strictly on the bottom line and makes no allowances for how goals are met, the ethical culture is misaligned. Difficulty: Difficult

32. Briefly describe and provide examples of three steps involved in changing an organizations culture. Ans: Students should include steps related to diagnosis, implementation, and subsequent evaluation. Response: Changing an organizations culture is a multi-dimensional process that must be taken seriously. The major steps include a detailed diagnosis of the current culture, implementation of the new plan, and evaluation after the plan is in motion. The implementation of the plan is probably the most difficult step because it involves the art of changing the informal systems as well as the informal systems. Difficulty: Difficult