Chapter 14 Organizational Culture Test B

Chapter 14 - Organizational Culture
Chapter 14
Organizational Culture
True / False Questions
1. Organizational culture consists of the values and assumptions shared within an organization
which also dictates the correct way of thinking about and acting on problems and
opportunities facing the organization.
True False
2. Organizational culture defines what is important and unimportant in the company and,
consequently, directs everyone in the organization toward the "right way" of doing things.
True False
3. Values represent an important invisible part of an organization's culture.

True False
4. Shared mental models are part of an organization's culture.

True False
5. Values represent the deepest part of an organization's culture.

True False
6. Espoused values are values proclamations.

True False
7. Organizational culture consists of shared enacted values, but not espoused values.
True False
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8. The most accurate way to determine an organization's culture is by interviewing senior

executives about their perceptions of that culture.
True False
9. The organizational cultures of most companies can be identified as mercenaries, fortresses

or communes.
True False
10. Researchers have estimated that most corporate cultures emphasize one of three universal
values.
True False
11. Most organizational culture models oversimplify the diversity of cultural values in
organizations.
True False
12. An organizations' culture is usually quite fuzzy and difficult to define using simple models
and surveys.
True False
13. Popular organizational culture models falsely presume that organizations can be identified
within discrete categories.
True False
14. Subcultures are groups of employees whose values are opposed to the organization's
dominant values.
True False
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15. Organizational countercultures further strengthen the organization's dominant culture.

True False
16. Organizational countercultures can potentially create conflict and dissension among
employees.
True False
17. Organizational countercultures can potentially help the organization maintain its ethical
conduct.
True False
18. An organizational counterculture is a type of subculture.

True False
19. Artifacts of organizational culture may include the building's design, the way people are
greeted and the food served in the company's cafeteria.
True False
20. Artifacts refer mainly to the paintings and other tangible objects that appear throughout
the organization.
True False
21. Organizational culture is not directly observable, but it may be loosely interpreted through
visible artifacts.
True False
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22. Researchers have found that an organization's culture may be identified very easily and
quickly by looking at one or two observable artifacts.
True False
23. Organizational stories support organizational culture by providing social prescriptions of

the ways things should or should not be done around the organization.
True False
24. In order to be effective, organizational stories must describe real people and recount true
past events.
True False
25. Organizational stories are most effective at communicating corporate culture when they
describe real people and seem to represent true past events.
True False
26. Rituals represent the organization's deliberate and usually dramatic displays of its
dominant culture.
True False
27. Ceremonies are more formal artifacts than rituals.

True False
28. A ritual would include how visitors are greeted as they enter the company's offices.
True False
29. Language reflects an organization's dominant values but not the values of its subcultures.
True False
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30. The organization's physical structure and use of space often communicate its dominant
cultural values.
True False
31. Office space and paintings hung on walls can be artifacts that symbolize the organization's
culture.
True False
32. Organizational culture is a deeply embedded form of social control that influences the
thoughts and actions of organizational members.
True False
33. A strong corporate culture bonds employees together and makes them feel part of the
organization.
True False
34. The stronger the corporate culture, the more difficult it is for employees to bond together.
True False
35. One problem with a strong organizational culture is that it increases conflict among
employees within the company and makes it more difficult for them to understand each other.
True False
36. A strong organizational culture exists when most employees understand and accept the
dominant values.
True False
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37. A strong corporate culture exists when employees are forced to abide by a particular set of
organizational values whether or not they believe in those values.
True False
38. Companies with strong corporate cultures invariably have much higher performance than
companies with weak cultures.
True False
39. A strong organizational culture improves the firm's effectiveness only if the cultural values
are aligned with its external environment.
True False
40. In corporate cults, the culture is so strong that it focuses employees on one mental model
so much that they may fail to see issues from different perspectives.
True False
41. Organizations with very strong cultures may become dysfunctional because they suppress
dissenting subcultural values.
True False
42. Most organizational behavior writers suggest that organizations are more effective when
they become corporate cults.
True False
43. Corporate cults are preferred, because they help suppress subcultures within
organizations.
True False
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44. Organizations with adaptive cultures are unable to maintain a stable value system and,
consequently, tend to perform poorly in the long run.
True False
45. Adaptive cultures focus employees on the changing needs of customers and other
stakeholders and support initiative and leadership to keep pace with these changes.
True False
46. An adaptive organizational culture is one where employees pay attention to organizational
goals, not the processes to achieve those goals.
True False
47. An organization's culture can either support or undermine ethical conduct among
employees.
True False
48. One of the first steps in a bicultural audit is to identify the other organization's corporate
culture through artifacts.
True False
49. Two companies should not merge if a bicultural audit determines that they have
substantially different cultures.
True False
50. Compared to other strategies for merging two organizations, assimilation is most likely to
result in a culture clash.
True False
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51. The assimilation strategy of merging corporate cultures should be applied when the
acquired firm has a weak culture and is willing to embrace the acquiring company's culture.
True False
52. The integration strategy for combining corporate cultures usually creates conflict as
employees from the acquired firm resist the cultural intrusions.
True False
53. The separation strategy is most appropriate when the merging companies are unrelated
industries.
True False
54. Organizational culture can sometimes be reshaped by applying transformational

leadership and organizational change practices.
True False
55. Most studies have found that reward systems have little or no effect on strengthening
corporate culture.
True False
56. The attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory explains why companies are able to attract
and select people who fit the culture, but later on have difficulty forcing them out.
True False
57. The attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory may explain why people who don't fit the
culture are often weeded out.
True False
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58. According to the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, alignment with the company's
culture is often a factor when deciding which applicant to hire.
True False
59. Companies strengthen corporate culture by selecting applicants whose values are
compatible with the company's dominant values.
True False
60. Employees are more likely to quit if values incongruence is sufficiently low.
True False
61. New employees learn corporate culture through the process of organizational
socialization.
True False
62. Organizational socialization is the process of meeting other employees and spending more
time with them throughout the work day.
True False
63. Organizational socialization is a process of both learning and adjustment.

True False
64. Organizational socialization begins on the first day of employment and continues
throughout one's career within the company.
True False
65. Organizational socialization does not occur until a person becomes a member of the
organization.
True False
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66. Nearly all of the socialization adjustment process occurs during and after the first day of
work.
True False
67. Reality shock occurs when you perceive a discrepancy between your pre-employment
expectations and on-the-job reality.
True False
68. Reality shock occurs on or before the first day of work then quickly subsides.
True False
69. During the role management stage of organizational socialization, employees are
newcomers who test their pre-employment expectations with the perceived realities.
True False
70. Realistic job previews improve organizational socialization by ensuring that applicants
develop more accurate pre-employment expectations.
True False
71. Co-workers are important organizational socialization agents.

True False
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Multiple Choice Questions
72. Organizational culture is best described as the basic pattern of shared:

A. assumptions, beliefs and belongings that subconsciously guide employee thoughts and
actions.
B. behaviors that employees enact to demonstrate their support for corporate goals.
C. decisions routinely occurring throughout the organization that support corporate strategies.
D. assumptions, beliefs and values that subconsciously guide employee thoughts and actions.
E. rituals and ceremonies that employees enact to consummate their relationship with the
organization.
73. Organizational culture includes:

A. three universal values.
B. artifacts, values, and beliefs.
C. values, assumptions, and audits.
D. behaviors, beliefs, and budgets.
E. None of these statements is accurate.
74. The assumptions, beliefs and values that subconsciously guide employee thoughts and
actions are called:
A. organizational culture.
B. organizational structure.
C. organizational socialization.
D. organizational politics.
E. transformational leadership.
75. The deepest element of organizational culture is:

A. values.
B. artifacts.
C. language.
D. beliefs.
E. assumptions.
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76. Which of the following are the observable indicators of organizational culture?
A. Assumptions
B. Artifacts
C. Values
D. Beliefs
E. Mental models
77. The hidden elements of an organization's culture include:

A. Physical structures
B. Language used in the organization
C. Employee beliefs and values
D. All of the above
E. Only 'B' and 'C'
78. How do mental models relate to the concept of organizational culture?

A. Mental models represent the assumptions within an organization's culture.
B. Mental models represent the artifacts of organizational culture.
C. Mental models are mainly used to decipher an organization's culture.
D. Mental models represent the values within an organization's culture.
E. Mental models do not have anything to do with organizational culture.
79. Which of these statements about shared assumptions is FALSE?

A. Shared assumptions are unconscious taken-for granted perceptions or beliefs.
B. Shared assumptions are so deeply embedded they probably cannot be discovered by
surveying employees.
C. Shared assumptions include shared enacted values.
D. Shared assumptions are revealed through corporate value statements.
E. All of the above are correct.
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80. The best way to determine an organization's shared assumptions is to:

A. interview executives.
B. look for evidence of its corporate value statements.
C. determine what the organization's enacted values are.
D. read public relations statements produced by the organization.
E. ask customers to evaluate the company's effectiveness.
81. The themes shared most widely by employees represent:

A. the organization's dominant culture.
B. the organization's deculturation process.
C. the organization's counterculture.
D. artifacts held mainly by senior executives in the organization.
E. organizational rituals.
82. Organizations that tolerate or encourage subcultures with dissenting values:

A. usually go quickly out of business.
B. usually build stronger cultures to counteract those dissenting values.
C. may eventually use those dissenting values to build a new set of dominant values in the
future.
D. do not have any corporate culture.
E. Both 'A' and 'D'.
83. Which of these statements about organizational subcultures is FALSE?

A. Some subcultures support the organization's dominant culture.
B. Subcultures spawn emerging values that the company may eventually adopt.
C. Organizations should subdue subcultures that oppose the firm's dominant values.
D. Subcultures potentially maintain the organization's standards of performance and ethical
behavior.
E. Some subcultures directly oppose the organization's core values.
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84. Which of the following is a spawning ground for emerging corporate culture values?
A. Subcultures
B. Bicultural audits
C. Artifacts
D. The actions of the company's founder
E. None of the above
85. One advantage of countercultures is that they:

A. Rarely exist in real organizations.
B. Maintain surveillance over and critique of the company's dominant culture.
C. Prevent organizations from developing a corporate culture.
D. Ensure that corporate mergers occur without any culture clashes.
E. Countercultures never make organizations more effective.
86. The observable symbols and signs of an organization's values, beliefs and assumptions are
called:
B. mental models.
C. artifacts.
D. values.
E. socialization.
87. What is the significance of artifacts in organizational culture?

A. Artifacts are the same as organizational culture.
B. Artifacts are the leftover parts of the organization that cannot fit into its culture.
C. Artifacts represent the directly observable symbols and signs of an organization's culture.
D. Artifacts are the observable indicators that the organization does not have a culture.
E. Artifacts mainly reflect the subcultures that conflict with an organization's dominant
culture.
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88. The best way to measure an organization's culture is to:

A. Interview executives.
B. Look for evidence of its espoused values.
C. Conduct a careful analysis of many organizational artifacts.
D. Read public relations statements produced by the organization.
E. Do none of the above.
89. To develop the most accurate estimate of an organization's culture, we should:

A. survey employees.
B. observe workplace behavior.
C. investigate physical elements in the workplace.
D. survey employees and observe behavior, but NOT investigate physical workplace
elements.
E. Answers A, B and C only.
90. Which of these statements about organizational stories is FALSE?

A. Organizational stories are most effective at communicating organizational culture when
employees believe the stories are true.
B. Stories communicate organizational culture if they describe positive events, whereas they
undermine organizational culture if they describe negative events.
C. Organizational stories provide human realism to individual performance standards.
D. Stories are most effective at communicating organization culture when they describe real
events with real people.
E. Organizational stories are prescriptive—they advise people what to do or not to do.
91. Organizational stories are most effective at communicating organizational culture:

A. never; organizational stories always misrepresent the organization's true culture.
B. Only when they are told by senior executives to the public.
C. When they describe real people and are assumed to be true.
D. When they are descriptive rather than prescriptive.
E. When they are both 'C' and 'D'.
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92. Which of the following would be considered an artifact of an organization's culture?

A. The shape, size and location of corporate headquarters.
B. How visitors are greeted when they first enter a company building.
C. The stories told by employees to newcomers about the founder's experiences when he or
she started the company.
D. The unique metaphors and special vocabularies that employees use to share meaning.
E. All of the above.
93. Rituals are:

A. programmed routines of daily organizational life that dramatize the organization's culture.
B. deliberate attempts to communicate the corporate culture to new employees.
C. events that suggest the organization's culture is about to change.
D. physical structures that convey the dominant values of an organization's culture.
E. games that people play to defy the dominant culture and, instead, support countercultural
beliefs and values.
94. Which of the following are programmed routines of daily organizational life that
dramatize the organization's culture?
A. Ceremonies.
B. Language.
C. Assumptions.
D. Beliefs.
E. Rituals.
95. At meetings of a major consumer products firm, employees habitually stand up when the
most senior executive at the meeting enters the room. This practice represents:
A. Evidence that the meeting has employees who hold countercultural values.
B. Evidence that the company has an adaptive culture.
C. A ritual that probably symbolizes the organization's dominant culture.
D. A form of deculturation that eventually undermines the organization's dominant culture.
E. Evidence that the company's espoused values differs from its enacted values.
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96. Whenever an advertising firm lands a new contract, the successful team rings a loud bell
and breaks out a bottle of champagne. In organizational culture, this practice would be
considered:
A. unethical.
B. a ceremony.
C. a mental model.
D. a symptom of a culture that is out of touch with its external environment.
E. irrelevant to the meaning or study of organizational culture.
97. Which of the following is an artifact rather than an element of organizational culture?
A. Values
B. Language
C. Assumptions
D. Beliefs
E. Both language and assumptions are artifacts.
98. The building in which employees work:

A. Often reflects the organization's culture.
B. Has no known effect on an organization's culture.
C. Is a possible artifact of organizational culture.
D. Can potentially influence the organization's culture.
E. Answers A, C and D only.
99. Organizational culture does which of the following?

A. It is a powerful form of social control that influences employee decisions and behavior.
B. It is the social glue that bonds employees together and makes them feel part of the
organization.
C. It helps employees understand what goes on and why things happen in the company.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
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100. A strong corporate culture potentially increases organizational performance by:

A. controlling employee decisions and behavior.
B. ensuring that employees do not identify with the organization.
C. ensuring that no one holds countercultural values.
D. ensuring that employees can quickly adopt new values when necessary.
E. doing all of these things.
101. Organizational culture serves what purpose in organizations?

A. It is a form of social control.
B. It bonds employees together and makes them feel part of the organizational experience.
C. It helps employees to understand organizational events.
D. All of these.
E. None of these.
102. Companies with strong organizational cultures are more effective than companies with
weak cultures:
A. All of the time.
B. If the cultural values emphasize customer service rather cost efficiency.
C. If the cultural values are compatible with the organizational environment.
D. If there is high turnover among production employees.
E. Never; companies with weak cultures are almost always more effective than those with
strong cultures.
103. Which of these statements about the strength of organizational culture and organizational
performance is TRUE?
A. Organizations with stronger cultures tend to perform better than those with weak cultures
when the culture content fits the external environment.
B. There is no relationship between an organization's cultural strength and its performance.
C. Organizations with stronger cultures tend to perform better only when they acquire other
organizations with distinct cultures.
D. Organizations with stronger cultures almost always perform poorly compared to those with
weak cultures.
E. Organizations with stronger cultures perform poorly if they have subcultures.
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104. What tends to happen when an organization's culture is misaligned with its external
environment?
A. The corporate culture gets stronger.
B. The organization's subcultures weaken.
C. The organization has more difficulty anticipating and responding to stakeholder needs.
D. The organization is unable to develop subcultures.
E. All of these occur.
105. As an organization's culture gets stronger, it:

A. Becomes more misaligned with its external environment.
B. Becomes more effective in the marketplace.
C. Makes employees less committed to the organization.
D. Causes various subcultures in the organization to also become stronger.
E. Makes it more difficult for decision makers to identify problems or opportunities outside
the mental model of that culture.
106. Organizations with an adaptive corporate culture:

A. are unlikely to survive in the long run.
B. are focused outwardly on customers and other stakeholders outside the organization rather
than inwardly.
C. tend to be less ethical than organizations with non-adaptive cultures.
D. have no artifacts to keep their culture in place.
E. are focused inward to employee needs.
107. Which of the following is a characteristic of an adaptive corporate culture?

A. Employees hold a common mental model that the organization's success depends on their
personal wellbeing.
B. Employees seek out opportunities rather than wait for them to arrive.
C. Employees tend to be more reactive.
D. Employees tend to take the view that any activity beyond their job description is not their
job.
E. All of the above are characteristic of adaptive cultures.
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108. Employees at SuperTech Services seek out opportunities rather than wait for them to
arrive. They also have a strong sense of responsibility for the organization's performance.
SuperTech likely has:
A. a weak organizational culture.
B. a strong counterculture.
C. relatively few artifacts representing the organization's culture.
D. a culture that is misaligned with its external environment.
E. an adaptive culture.
109. If an organization has an adaptive culture, it likely has:

A. employees with a strong sense of ownership over the company's success.
B. a culture that emphasizes dozens of values at the same time.
C. an external focus on the needs of customers and other stakeholders.
D. all of these are characteristics of adaptive cultures.
E. employees with a strong sense of ownership AND an external focus on stakeholder needs.
110. Most employees at United FiberTech support the idea that the company's success
depends on their willingness to continually change and improve customer service. United
FiberTech probably has:
A. an adaptive culture.
B. many countercultures.
C. more subcultures than employees.
D. an unethical culture.
E. no corporate culture.
111. What is the relationship between organizational culture and business ethics?
A. Companies with a strong organizational culture are more likely to have employees with
higher ethical standards of behavior.
B. When companies have a weak organizational culture, employees are more likely to rely on
their ethical values to make decisions.
C. An organization's culture may strengthen ethical values.
D. Organizational culture can be a source of ethical problems.
E. An organization's culture may strengthen ethical values AND can be a source of ethical
problems.
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112. The main purpose of a bicultural audit is to:

A. Determine whether your company's organizational culture is sufficiently strong.
B. Estimate the number of dominant and subcultural values that exist in an organization.
C. Find out whether people from different countries have the same corporate cultures.
D. Identify and diagnose differences in the corporate cultures of merging organizations.
E. Teach new employees the organization's dominant cultural values.
113. One of the first steps in a merger to minimize cultural clashes is to:
A. Significantly reduce the strength of the culture in both organizations.
B. Conduct a bicultural audit.
C. Significantly increase the strength of the culture in both organizations.
D. Replace the chief executives in both organizations before merger negotiations begin.
E. Do both 'A' and 'B'.
114. In a merger, the process of diagnosing cultural relations between the companies and
determining the extent to which cultural clashes will likely occur is called:
A. organizational socialization.
B. deculturation.
C. knowledge management.
D. bicultural audit.
115. _______ occurs when employees at the acquired company willingly embrace the cultural
values of the acquiring organization.
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
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116. In which strategy does the acquiring company impose its culture and business practices
on the acquired organization?
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
117. A deculturation strategy of merging two corporate cultures should be applied:

A. never, because deculturation destroys both cultures.
B. When both firms operate successfully in different industries.
C. When employees in the acquired firm want to hold on to their firm's culture even though it
does not fit the external environment.
D. When both firms have weak cultures.
E. Whenever one firm has more power over another firm in a merger.
118. Which strategy for merging two distinct cultures is most effective when the two
companies have relatively weak cultures with overlapping values?
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
119. Which strategy for merging two distinct cultures is most effective when the two
companies are in unrelated industries and have cultures that seem to work well for them?
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
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120. When merging two organizations, a separation strategy is most commonly applied
when:
A. Both companies have relatively weak cultures that are generally ineffective.
B. One company has an effective culture and employees at the other company would embrace
that culture if applied to them.
C. The two organizations operate in distinct industries.
D. The acquired firm's culture doesn't work, whereas the culture of the acquiring firm does
work.
E. A bicultural audit reveals that both companies have very similar cultures.
121. How do founders and corporate leaders affect corporate culture?

A. Transformational leaders develop or change the organization's culture.
B. Founders and corporate leaders develop the systems and structures that support their
personal values.
C. Founders and corporate leaders are often visionaries whose energetic style provides a
powerful role model for others to follow.
D. Founders and corporate leaders strengthen or change corporate culture by communicating
and enacting their vision of the future.
122. A stable workforce helps to maintain a strong corporate culture because:

A. Corporate culture is embedded in the minds of employees and therefore weakens with high
turnover.
B. Employees cannot adopt the firm's cultural values until they have at least five years of
seniority.
C. Only long-time employees who worked directly with the company founder can convey the
firm's dominant values.
D. Junior employees are affected by rewards and job security, not by the company's cultural
values.
123. According to the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, job applicants:

A. are attracted to coworkers with similar values and assumptions.
B. avoid employment in companies whose values seem incompatible with their own values.
C. do not typically pay much heed to organizational values when applying for work.
D. avoid other applicants if they are competing for the same jobs.
E. are attracted to companies who are likely to provide them with the greatest rewards.
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124. Which of the following statements is consistent with the attraction-selection-attrition

(ASA) theory?
A. Job applicants who later become organizational members tend to be attracted to co-workers
who share their values and assumptions.
B. Organizations have a natural tendency to attract, select and retain people with values that
are consistent with the organization's own culture.
C. Attraction, selection and attrition are part of the natural life-cycle of organizational
members.
D. Employees get attached to organizations that meet their reward expectations.
E. Attraction followed by selection inevitably lead to attrition in the future.
125. Employees are organizationally socialized:

A. beginning with the role management stage of organizational socialization.
B. long before the first day of work.
C. beginning with the company's orientation program on the first day of work.
D. only when they enter management positions.
E. beginning with the encounter stages of organizational socialization.
126. Organizational socialization is best described as a process of:

A. cooperation and stability.
B. power and restructuring.
C. negotiation and concession-making.
D. learning and adjustment.
127. In the context of organizational socialization, the adjustment process is better for:
A. those who rebel against and reject the company's dominant values.
B. employees who experience significant levels of reality shock.
C. newcomers with diverse work experience.
D. people who are able to avoid the encounter stage of socialization.
E. individuals who retain their personal identity.
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128. The pre-employment stage of organizational socialization would be more effective if:
A. employers avoided forming a psychological contract.
B. employers and job applicants gave and received accurate information about each other.
C. employers and applicants experienced reality shock when meeting each other for the first
time.
D. job applicants distorted their resume in order to be offered employment.
E. all of these conditions existed.
129. Which of the following happens during the pre-employment stage of organizational
socialization?
A. Conflicts are resolved between work and nonwork activities.
B. Employees form expectations (a psychological contract) about working at that
organization.
C. Reality shock is experienced.
D. All of these occur.
E. None of these occur.
130. The process of organizational socialization begins:

A. as soon as the person is hired by the organization.
B. within the employee's first week on the job.
C. long before the first day of work for the organization.
D. when the employee finally reconciles pre-employment expectations with organizational
reality.
E. when the employee receives his or her first performance appraisal.
131. The three stages of organizational socialization, in order, are:

A. prehire, pre-employment, post-hire.
B. newcomer, insider, outsider.
C. student, employee, retiree.
D. pre-employment, encounter, role management.
E. anticipation, encounter, disillusionment.
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132. During what stage of socialization do people FIRST learn about the organization and
job?
A. Role management
B. Encounter
C. Pre-employment
D. Reality shock
E. Disillusionment
133. When should organizations use reality shock?

A. When they want employees to develop better expectations of future work experiences.
B. When they want to ensure that employees develop a stronger loyalty to the organization.
C. When they want to help newcomers develop a stronger bond with coworkers and the
organization.
D. Under all of these conditions.
E. Never; companies should minimize reality shock.
134. Reality shock is:

A. based on expectancy theory.
B. an element in the model of individual behavior.
C. common in lateral career development.
D. a unique feature of an adaptive culture.
E. a perceived discrepancy between employee expectations and reality.
135. Reality shock among new employees typically occurs when:

A. newcomers experience information overload as they enter the workplace.
B. employers are unable or unwilling to live up to their promises.
C. newcomers develop exaggerated expectations about the job.
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136. Resolving conflicts between work and nonwork mainly occurs during what stage of
socialization?
A. Role management
B. Encounter
C. Pre-employment
D. Reality shock
E. Disillusionment
137. Which of the following statements about realistic job previews (RJP's) is most accurate?
A. many companies overpromise and often exaggerate positive features of the job and neglect
to mention the undesirable elements.
B. RJPs minimize reality shock by helping applicants develop more accurate pre-employment
expectations.
C. RJP's are one potentially way to improve the socialization process.
D. All of these statements are accurate.
E. Answers B and C only.
138. Most employees would say that ______ helped them adjust to their new job most.
A. family support.
B. market levels of compensation.
C. socialization agents.
D. a strong corporate culture.
139. All of the following could be considered socialization agents EXCEPT:

A. family members.
B. co-workers.
C. friends who work for the company.
D. employment agency representatives.
E. Both A and D.
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Essay Questions
140. A major consulting firm is offering a special service whereby it is able to determine the
organization's dominant culture and some of its subcultures. The firm says that it does this by
statistically analyzing the words and phrases in the company's annual reports, news releases
and public speeches made by the company's senior executives. The consultancy claims that
this is an effective way of identifying the organization's culture because it does not collect any
information from inside the organization and, consequently, doesn't take time from any
employees. Discuss the merits and limitations of this consultancy's ability to determine an
organization's culture.
141. Superb Consultants have submitted a proposal to analyze the cultural values of your
organization. The proposal states that Superb has developed a revolutionary new survey to tap
the company's true culture that takes just ten minutes to complete and the consultants say
results can be based on a small sample of employees. Discuss the merits and limitations of
this proposal.
142. Discuss the accuracy of the following statement: "Organizations are more effective when
they operate without subcultures and countercultures."
14-28
143. A large transportation manufacturer is considering a proposal to acquire a company in a

related industry. During due diligence, senior executives intend to conduct a bicultural audit.
They already have good information that their own company is aggressive, risk-taking and
entrepreneurial. Assuming that these executives will personally analyze the other firm's
culture, briefly describe the bicultural audit process and what these senior executives should
examine.
144. Your friend is thinking about applying for a technical or managerial job opportunity at a
large computer network firm. However, past experience has made your friend aware that it is
important to ensure that the company's dominant values are aligned with his or her own.
Identify three (3) different types of artifacts that your friend should consider when
deciphering the culture of the computer network firm. Your friend is a job applicant, so your
answer should relate to the experience of being recruited into an organization.
145. Senior executives in your organization want to strengthen teamwork as part of the
company's culture. They have asked you to identify ways to communicate and reinforce this
cultural value using artifacts as the primary means of communication. Describe three different
types of artifacts that might be altered so they communicate this corporate value.
14-29
146. Comment on and explain the accuracy of the following statement: "Organizations with
strong corporate cultures are more effective than organizations with weak corporate cultures."
147. The president of Advanced Systems Corp. wants the company to have a strong
organizational culture around a specific set of values. As a vice-president, you are concerned
that the president may be trying to strengthen the culture too much thereby creating a
corporate cult. Describe three potential problems with having an organizational culture that is
too strong.
148. The president of CJD Consulting would like to change his organization's culture to
reflect new realities in the external environment. He has heard positive things about adaptive
cultures and would like to know more about them. What would you say to the president to
explain adaptable cultures? Be sure to describe the four characteristics of this type of culture
in your answer.
14-30
149. Identify four (4) conditions or events that potentially weaken an organization's dominant
culture.
150. Using attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, describe how a company would

maintain and perpetuate their culture.
151. Many organizations think that they integrate organizational cultures when merging or
acquiring other companies. Explain what does integrating organizational cultures means?
Under what conditions is this strategy most likely to succeed?
14-31
Chapter 14 Organizational Culture Answer Key
True / False Questions
1. (p. 416) Organizational culture consists of the values and assumptions shared within an
organization which also dictates the correct way of thinking about and acting on problems and
opportunities facing the organization.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
2. (p. 416) Organizational culture defines what is important and unimportant in the company
and, consequently, directs everyone in the organization toward the "right way" of doing
things.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
3. (p. 416) Values represent an important invisible part of an organization's culture.

TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
4. (p. 416) Shared mental models are part of an organization's culture.

TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-32
5. (p. 416) Values represent the deepest part of an organization's culture.

FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
6. (p. 416-417) Espoused values are values proclamations.

TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
7. (p. 417) Organizational culture consists of shared enacted values, but not espoused values.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
8. (p. 417) The most accurate way to determine an organization's culture is by interviewing
senior executives about their perceptions of that culture.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
9. (p. 417) The organizational cultures of most companies can be identified as mercenaries,
fortresses or communes.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-33
10. (p. 418) Researchers have estimated that most corporate cultures emphasize one of three
universal values.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
11. (p. 418-419) Most organizational culture models oversimplify the diversity of cultural values
in organizations.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
12. (p. 419) An organizations' culture is usually quite fuzzy and difficult to define using simple
models and surveys.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
13. (p. 419) Popular organizational culture models falsely presume that organizations can be
identified within discrete categories.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-34
14. (p. 419) Subcultures are groups of employees whose values are opposed to the organization's
dominant values.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
15. (p. 419) Organizational countercultures further strengthen the organization's dominant
culture.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
16. (p. 420) Organizational countercultures can potentially create conflict and dissension among
employees.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
17. (p. 420) Organizational countercultures can potentially help the organization maintain its
ethical conduct.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-35
18. (p. 420) An organizational counterculture is a type of subculture.

TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
19. (p. 420) Artifacts of organizational culture may include the building's design, the way people
are greeted and the food served in the company's cafeteria.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
20. (p. 420) Artifacts refer mainly to the paintings and other tangible objects that appear
throughout the organization.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
21. (p. 420) Organizational culture is not directly observable, but it may be loosely interpreted
through visible artifacts.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-36
22. (p. 420) Researchers have found that an organization's culture may be identified very easily
and quickly by looking at one or two observable artifacts.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
23. (p. 421) Organizational stories support organizational culture by providing social
prescriptions of the ways things should or should not be done around the organization.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
24. (p. 421) In order to be effective, organizational stories must describe real people and recount
true past events.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
25. (p. 421) Organizational stories are most effective at communicating corporate culture when
they describe real people and seem to represent true past events.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-37
26. (p. 421-422) Rituals represent the organization's deliberate and usually dramatic displays of its
dominant culture.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
27. (p. 421-422) Ceremonies are more formal artifacts than rituals.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
28. (p. 422) A ritual would include how visitors are greeted as they enter the company's offices.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
29. (p. 422) Language reflects an organization's dominant values but not the values of its
subcultures.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
30. (p. 422) The organization's physical structure and use of space often communicate its
dominant cultural values.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-38
31. (p. 422) Office space and paintings hung on walls can be artifacts that symbolize the
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
32. (p. 424) Organizational culture is a deeply embedded form of social control that influences
the thoughts and actions of organizational members.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
33. (p. 424) A strong corporate culture bonds employees together and makes them feel part of the
organization.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
34. (p. 424) The stronger the corporate culture, the more difficult it is for employees to bond
together.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-39
35. (p. 424) One problem with a strong organizational culture is that it increases conflict among
employees within the company and makes it more difficult for them to understand each other.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
36. (p. 424) A strong organizational culture exists when most employees understand and accept
the dominant values.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
37. (p. 424) A strong corporate culture exists when employees are forced to abide by a particular
set of organizational values whether or not they believe in those values.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
38. (p. 424) Companies with strong corporate cultures invariably have much higher performance
than companies with weak cultures.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
14-40
39. (p. 425) A strong organizational culture improves the firm's effectiveness only if the cultural
values are aligned with its external environment.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
40. (p. 425) In corporate cults, the culture is so strong that it focuses employees on one mental
model so much that they may fail to see issues from different perspectives.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
41. (p. 425) Organizations with very strong cultures may become dysfunctional because they
suppress dissenting subcultural values.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
42. (p. 425) Most organizational behavior writers suggest that organizations are more effective
when they become corporate cults.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-41
43. (p. 425) Corporate cults are preferred, because they help suppress subcultures within
organizations.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
44. (p. 425) Organizations with adaptive cultures are unable to maintain a stable value system
and, consequently, tend to perform poorly in the long run.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
45. (p. 425) Adaptive cultures focus employees on the changing needs of customers and other
stakeholders and support initiative and leadership to keep pace with these changes.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
46. (p. 425) An adaptive organizational culture is one where employees pay attention to
organizational goals, not the processes to achieve those goals.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
14-42
47. (p. 426) An organization's culture can either support or undermine ethical conduct among
employees.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
48. (p. 427) One of the first steps in a bicultural audit is to identify the other organization's
corporate culture through artifacts.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
49. (p. 427) Two companies should not merge if a bicultural audit determines that they have
substantially different cultures.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
50. (p. 427) Compared to other strategies for merging two organizations, assimilation is most
likely to result in a culture clash.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-43
51. (p. 427) The assimilation strategy of merging corporate cultures should be applied when the
acquired firm has a weak culture and is willing to embrace the acquiring company's culture.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
52. (p. 428) The integration strategy for combining corporate cultures usually creates conflict as
employees from the acquired firm resist the cultural intrusions.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
53. (p. 428) The separation strategy is most appropriate when the merging companies are
unrelated industries.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
54. (p. 430) Organizational culture can sometimes be reshaped by applying transformational
leadership and organizational change practices.
TRUE
AACSB: 2
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
14-44
55. (p. 430) Most studies have found that reward systems have little or no effect on strengthening
corporate culture.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
56. (p. 431) The attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory explains why companies are able to
attract and select people who fit the culture, but later on have difficulty forcing them out.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
57. (p. 431-432) The attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory may explain why people who
don't fit the culture are often weeded out.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
58. (p. 432) According to the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, alignment with the
company's culture is often a factor when deciding which applicant to hire.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-45
59. (p. 432) Companies strengthen corporate culture by selecting applicants whose values are
compatible with the company's dominant values.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
60. (p. 432) Employees are more likely to quit if values incongruence is sufficiently low.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
61. (p. 432) New employees learn corporate culture through the process of organizational
socialization.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
62. (p. 432) Organizational socialization is the process of meeting other employees and spending
more time with them throughout the work day.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
63. (p. 432) Organizational socialization is a process of both learning and adjustment.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-46
64. (p. 433) Organizational socialization begins on the first day of employment and continues
throughout one's career within the company.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
65. (p. 433) Organizational socialization does not occur until a person becomes a member of the
organization.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
66. (p. 433) Nearly all of the socialization adjustment process occurs during and after the first
day of work.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
67. (p. 434) Reality shock occurs when you perceive a discrepancy between your pre-
employment expectations and on-the-job reality.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-47
68. (p. 434) Reality shock occurs on or before the first day of work then quickly subsides.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
69. (p. 434) During the role management stage of organizational socialization, employees are
newcomers who test their pre-employment expectations with the perceived realities.
FALSE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
70. (p. 435) Realistic job previews improve organizational socialization by ensuring that
applicants develop more accurate pre-employment expectations.
TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
71. (p. 436) Co-workers are important organizational socialization agents.

TRUE
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-48
Multiple Choice Questions
72. (p. 416) Organizational culture is best described as the basic pattern of shared:
A. assumptions, beliefs and belongings that subconsciously guide employee thoughts and
actions.
B. behaviors that employees enact to demonstrate their support for corporate goals.
C. decisions routinely occurring throughout the organization that support corporate strategies.
D. assumptions, beliefs and values that subconsciously guide employee thoughts and actions.
E. rituals and ceremonies that employees enact to consummate their relationship with the
organization.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
73. (p. 416) Organizational culture includes:

A. three universal values.
B. artifacts, values, and beliefs.
C. values, assumptions, and audits.
D. behaviors, beliefs, and budgets.
E. None of these statements is accurate.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
74. (p. 416) The assumptions, beliefs and values that subconsciously guide employee thoughts
and actions are called:
B. organizational structure.
C. organizational socialization.
D. organizational politics.
E. transformational leadership.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-49
75. (p. 417) The deepest element of organizational culture is:

A. values.
B. artifacts.
C. language.
D. beliefs.
E. assumptions.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
76. (p. 417) Which of the following are the observable indicators of organizational culture?
A. Assumptions
B. Artifacts
C. Values
D. Beliefs
E. Mental models
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
77. (p. 417) The hidden elements of an organization's culture include:

A. Physical structures
B. Language used in the organization
C. Employee beliefs and values
D. All of the above
E. Only 'B' and 'C'
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-50
78. (p. 417) How do mental models relate to the concept of organizational culture?
A. Mental models represent the assumptions within an organization's culture.
B. Mental models represent the artifacts of organizational culture.
C. Mental models are mainly used to decipher an organization's culture.
D. Mental models represent the values within an organization's culture.
E. Mental models do not have anything to do with organizational culture.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
79. (p. 416-417) Which of these statements about shared assumptions is FALSE?
A. Shared assumptions are unconscious taken-for granted perceptions or beliefs.
B. Shared assumptions are so deeply embedded they probably cannot be discovered by
surveying employees.
C. Shared assumptions include shared enacted values.
D. Shared assumptions are revealed through corporate value statements.
E. All of the above are correct.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
80. (p. 417) The best way to determine an organization's shared assumptions is to:
A. interview executives.
B. look for evidence of its corporate value statements.
C. determine what the organization's enacted values are.
D. read public relations statements produced by the organization.
E. ask customers to evaluate the company's effectiveness.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-51
81. (p. 418) The themes shared most widely by employees represent:
A. the organization's dominant culture.
B. the organization's deculturation process.
C. the organization's counterculture.
D. artifacts held mainly by senior executives in the organization.
E. organizational rituals.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
82. (p. 419) Organizations that tolerate or encourage subcultures with dissenting values:
A. usually go quickly out of business.
B. usually build stronger cultures to counteract those dissenting values.
C. may eventually use those dissenting values to build a new set of dominant values in the
future.
D. do not have any corporate culture.
E. Both 'A' and 'D'.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
83. (p. 419) Which of these statements about organizational subcultures is FALSE?
A. Some subcultures support the organization's dominant culture.
B. Subcultures spawn emerging values that the company may eventually adopt.
C. Organizations should subdue subcultures that oppose the firm's dominant values.
D. Subcultures potentially maintain the organization's standards of performance and ethical
behavior.
E. Some subcultures directly oppose the organization's core values.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-52
84. (p. 420) Which of the following is a spawning ground for emerging corporate culture
values?
A. Subcultures
B. Bicultural audits
C. Artifacts
D. The actions of the company's founder
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
85. (p. 420) One advantage of countercultures is that they:

A. Rarely exist in real organizations.
B. Maintain surveillance over and critique of the company's dominant culture.
C. Prevent organizations from developing a corporate culture.
D. Ensure that corporate mergers occur without any culture clashes.
E. Countercultures never make organizations more effective.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
86. (p. 420) The observable symbols and signs of an organization's values, beliefs and
assumptions are called:
B. mental models.
C. artifacts.
D. values.
E. socialization.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-53
87. (p. 420) What is the significance of artifacts in organizational culture?

A. Artifacts are the same as organizational culture.
B. Artifacts are the leftover parts of the organization that cannot fit into its culture.
C. Artifacts represent the directly observable symbols and signs of an organization's culture.
D. Artifacts are the observable indicators that the organization does not have a culture.
E. Artifacts mainly reflect the subcultures that conflict with an organization's dominant
culture.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
88. (p. 420) The best way to measure an organization's culture is to:
A. Interview executives.
B. Look for evidence of its espoused values.
C. Conduct a careful analysis of many organizational artifacts.
D. Read public relations statements produced by the organization.
E. Do none of the above.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
89. (p. 420) To develop the most accurate estimate of an organization's culture, we should:
A. survey employees.
B. observe workplace behavior.
C. investigate physical elements in the workplace.
D. survey employees and observe behavior, but NOT investigate physical workplace
elements.
E. Answers A, B and C only.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-54
90. (p. 421) Which of these statements about organizational stories is FALSE?
A. Organizational stories are most effective at communicating organizational culture when
employees believe the stories are true.
B. Stories communicate organizational culture if they describe positive events, whereas they
undermine organizational culture if they describe negative events.
C. Organizational stories provide human realism to individual performance standards.
D. Stories are most effective at communicating organization culture when they describe real
events with real people.
E. Organizational stories are prescriptive—they advise people what to do or not to do.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
91. (p. 421) Organizational stories are most effective at communicating organizational culture:
A. never; organizational stories always misrepresent the organization's true culture.
B. Only when they are told by senior executives to the public.
C. When they describe real people and are assumed to be true.
D. When they are descriptive rather than prescriptive.
E. When they are both 'C' and 'D'.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
92. (p. 420) Which of the following would be considered an artifact of an organization's culture?
A. The shape, size and location of corporate headquarters.
B. How visitors are greeted when they first enter a company building.
C. The stories told by employees to newcomers about the founder's experiences when he or
she started the company.
D. The unique metaphors and special vocabularies that employees use to share meaning.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-55
93. (p. 421) Rituals are:

A. programmed routines of daily organizational life that dramatize the organization's culture.
B. deliberate attempts to communicate the corporate culture to new employees.
C. events that suggest the organization's culture is about to change.
D. physical structures that convey the dominant values of an organization's culture.
E. games that people play to defy the dominant culture and, instead, support countercultural
beliefs and values.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
94. (p. 421) Which of the following are programmed routines of daily organizational life that
dramatize the organization's culture?
A. Ceremonies.
B. Language.
C. Assumptions.
D. Beliefs.
E. Rituals.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
95. (p. 421) At meetings of a major consumer products firm, employees habitually stand up
when the most senior executive at the meeting enters the room. This practice represents:
A. Evidence that the meeting has employees who hold countercultural values.
B. Evidence that the company has an adaptive culture.
C. A ritual that probably symbolizes the organization's dominant culture.
D. A form of deculturation that eventually undermines the organization's dominant culture.
E. Evidence that the company's espoused values differs from its enacted values.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Difficult
14-56
96. (p. 422) Whenever an advertising firm lands a new contract, the successful team rings a loud
bell and breaks out a bottle of champagne. In organizational culture, this practice would be
considered:
A. unethical.
B. a ceremony.
C. a mental model.
D. a symptom of a culture that is out of touch with its external environment.
E. irrelevant to the meaning or study of organizational culture.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
97. (p. 422) Which of the following is an artifact rather than an element of organizational
culture?
A. Values
B. Language
C. Assumptions
D. Beliefs
E. Both language and assumptions are artifacts.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
98. (p. 422) The building in which employees work:

A. Often reflects the organization's culture.
B. Has no known effect on an organization's culture.
C. Is a possible artifact of organizational culture.
D. Can potentially influence the organization's culture.
E. Answers A, C and D only.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-57
99. (p. 424) Organizational culture does which of the following?

A. It is a powerful form of social control that influences employee decisions and behavior.
B. It is the social glue that bonds employees together and makes them feel part of the
organization.
C. It helps employees understand what goes on and why things happen in the company.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
100. (p. 424) A strong corporate culture potentially increases organizational performance by:
A. controlling employee decisions and behavior.
B. ensuring that employees do not identify with the organization.
C. ensuring that no one holds countercultural values.
D. ensuring that employees can quickly adopt new values when necessary.
E. doing all of these things.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
101. (p. 424) Organizational culture serves what purpose in organizations?

A. It is a form of social control.
B. It bonds employees together and makes them feel part of the organizational experience.
C. It helps employees to understand organizational events.
D. All of these.
E. None of these.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-58
102. (p. 425) Companies with strong organizational cultures are more effective than companies
with weak cultures:
A. All of the time.
B. If the cultural values emphasize customer service rather cost efficiency.
C. If the cultural values are compatible with the organizational environment.
D. If there is high turnover among production employees.
E. Never; companies with weak cultures are almost always more effective than those with
strong cultures.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
103. (p. 425) Which of these statements about the strength of organizational culture and
organizational performance is TRUE?
A. Organizations with stronger cultures tend to perform better than those with weak cultures
when the culture content fits the external environment.
B. There is no relationship between an organization's cultural strength and its performance.
C. Organizations with stronger cultures tend to perform better only when they acquire other
organizations with distinct cultures.
D. Organizations with stronger cultures almost always perform poorly compared to those with
weak cultures.
E. Organizations with stronger cultures perform poorly if they have subcultures.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
104. (p. 425) What tends to happen when an organization's culture is misaligned with its external
environment?
A. The corporate culture gets stronger.
B. The organization's subcultures weaken.
C. The organization has more difficulty anticipating and responding to stakeholder needs.
D. The organization is unable to develop subcultures.
E. All of these occur.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-59
105. (p. 426) As an organization's culture gets stronger, it:

A. Becomes more misaligned with its external environment.
B. Becomes more effective in the marketplace.
C. Makes employees less committed to the organization.
D. Causes various subcultures in the organization to also become stronger.
E. Makes it more difficult for decision makers to identify problems or opportunities outside
the mental model of that culture.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
106. (p. 425) Organizations with an adaptive corporate culture:

A. are unlikely to survive in the long run.
B. are focused outwardly on customers and other stakeholders outside the organization rather
than inwardly.
C. tend to be less ethical than organizations with non-adaptive cultures.
D. have no artifacts to keep their culture in place.
E. are focused inward to employee needs.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
107. (p. 425) Which of the following is a characteristic of an adaptive corporate culture?
A. Employees hold a common mental model that the organization's success depends on their
personal wellbeing.
B. Employees seek out opportunities rather than wait for them to arrive.
C. Employees tend to be more reactive.
D. Employees tend to take the view that any activity beyond their job description is not their
job.
E. All of the above are characteristic of adaptive cultures.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-60
108. (p. 396) Employees at SuperTech Services seek out opportunities rather than wait for them
to arrive. They also have a strong sense of responsibility for the organization's performance.
SuperTech likely has:
A. a weak organizational culture.
B. a strong counterculture.
C. relatively few artifacts representing the organization's culture.
D. a culture that is misaligned with its external environment.
E. an adaptive culture.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
109. (p. 426) If an organization has an adaptive culture, it likely has:

A. employees with a strong sense of ownership over the company's success.
B. a culture that emphasizes dozens of values at the same time.
C. an external focus on the needs of customers and other stakeholders.
D. all of these are characteristics of adaptive cultures.
E. employees with a strong sense of ownership AND an external focus on stakeholder needs.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
110. (p. 425) Most employees at United FiberTech support the idea that the company's success
depends on their willingness to continually change and improve customer service. United
FiberTech probably has:
A. an adaptive culture.
B. many countercultures.
C. more subcultures than employees.
D. an unethical culture.
E. no corporate culture.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-61
111. (p. 426) What is the relationship between organizational culture and business ethics?
A. Companies with a strong organizational culture are more likely to have employees with
higher ethical standards of behavior.
B. When companies have a weak organizational culture, employees are more likely to rely on
their ethical values to make decisions.
C. An organization's culture may strengthen ethical values.
D. Organizational culture can be a source of ethical problems.
E. An organization's culture may strengthen ethical values AND can be a source of ethical
problems.
AACSB: 3, 2
BT: Comprehension
112. (p. 427) The main purpose of a bicultural audit is to:

A. Determine whether your company's organizational culture is sufficiently strong.
B. Estimate the number of dominant and subcultural values that exist in an organization.
C. Find out whether people from different countries have the same corporate cultures.
D. Identify and diagnose differences in the corporate cultures of merging organizations.
E. Teach new employees the organization's dominant cultural values.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
113. (p. 427) One of the first steps in a merger to minimize cultural clashes is to:
A. Significantly reduce the strength of the culture in both organizations.
B. Conduct a bicultural audit.
C. Significantly increase the strength of the culture in both organizations.
D. Replace the chief executives in both organizations before merger negotiations begin.
E. Do both 'A' and 'B'.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-62
114. (p. 427) In a merger, the process of diagnosing cultural relations between the companies and
determining the extent to which cultural clashes will likely occur is called:
A. organizational socialization.
B. deculturation.
C. knowledge management.
D. bicultural audit.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
115. (p. 427) _______ occurs when employees at the acquired company willingly embrace the
cultural values of the acquiring organization.
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
116. (p. 428) In which strategy does the acquiring company impose its culture and business
practices on the acquired organization?
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-63
117. (p. 428) A deculturation strategy of merging two corporate cultures should be applied:
A. never, because deculturation destroys both cultures.
B. When both firms operate successfully in different industries.
C. When employees in the acquired firm want to hold on to their firm's culture even though it
does not fit the external environment.
D. When both firms have weak cultures.
E. Whenever one firm has more power over another firm in a merger.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
118. (p. 428) Which strategy for merging two distinct cultures is most effective when the two
companies have relatively weak cultures with overlapping values?
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
119. (p. 428) Which strategy for merging two distinct cultures is most effective when the two
companies are in unrelated industries and have cultures that seem to work well for them?
A. Deculturation
B. Assimilation
C. Separation
D. Integration
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-64
120. (p. 428) When merging two organizations, a separation strategy is most commonly applied
when:
A. Both companies have relatively weak cultures that are generally ineffective.
B. One company has an effective culture and employees at the other company would embrace
that culture if applied to them.
C. The two organizations operate in distinct industries.
D. The acquired firm's culture doesn't work, whereas the culture of the acquiring firm does
work.
E. A bicultural audit reveals that both companies have very similar cultures.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
121. (p. 429) How do founders and corporate leaders affect corporate culture?
A. Transformational leaders develop or change the organization's culture.
B. Founders and corporate leaders develop the systems and structures that support their
personal values.
C. Founders and corporate leaders are often visionaries whose energetic style provides a
powerful role model for others to follow.
D. Founders and corporate leaders strengthen or change corporate culture by communicating
and enacting their vision of the future.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-65
122. (p. 429) A stable workforce helps to maintain a strong corporate culture because:
A. Corporate culture is embedded in the minds of employees and therefore weakens with high
turnover.
B. Employees cannot adopt the firm's cultural values until they have at least five years of
seniority.
C. Only long-time employees who worked directly with the company founder can convey the
firm's dominant values.
D. Junior employees are affected by rewards and job security, not by the company's cultural
values.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
123. (p. 431) According to the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, job applicants:
A. are attracted to coworkers with similar values and assumptions.
B. avoid employment in companies whose values seem incompatible with their own values.
C. do not typically pay much heed to organizational values when applying for work.
D. avoid other applicants if they are competing for the same jobs.
E. are attracted to companies who are likely to provide them with the greatest rewards.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
124. (p. 432) Which of the following statements is consistent with the attraction-selection-
attrition (ASA) theory?
A. Job applicants who later become organizational members tend to be attracted to co-workers
who share their values and assumptions.
B. Organizations have a natural tendency to attract, select and retain people with values that
are consistent with the organization's own culture.
C. Attraction, selection and attrition are part of the natural life-cycle of organizational
members.
D. Employees get attached to organizations that meet their reward expectations.
E. Attraction followed by selection inevitably lead to attrition in the future.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
14-66
125. (p. 433) Employees are organizationally socialized:

A. beginning with the role management stage of organizational socialization.
B. long before the first day of work.
C. beginning with the company's orientation program on the first day of work.
D. only when they enter management positions.
E. beginning with the encounter stages of organizational socialization.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
126. (p. 433) Organizational socialization is best described as a process of:

A. cooperation and stability.
B. power and restructuring.
C. negotiation and concession-making.
D. learning and adjustment.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
127. (p. 433) In the context of organizational socialization, the adjustment process is better for:
A. those who rebel against and reject the company's dominant values.
B. employees who experience significant levels of reality shock.
C. newcomers with diverse work experience.
D. people who are able to avoid the encounter stage of socialization.
E. individuals who retain their personal identity.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
14-67
128. (p. 433) The pre-employment stage of organizational socialization would be more effective
if:
A. employers avoided forming a psychological contract.
B. employers and job applicants gave and received accurate information about each other.
C. employers and applicants experienced reality shock when meeting each other for the first
time.
D. job applicants distorted their resume in order to be offered employment.
E. all of these conditions existed.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
129. (p. 433) Which of the following happens during the pre-employment stage of organizational
socialization?
A. Conflicts are resolved between work and nonwork activities.
B. Employees form expectations (a psychological contract) about working at that
organization.
C. Reality shock is experienced.
D. All of these occur.
E. None of these occur.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
130. (p. 433) The process of organizational socialization begins:

A. as soon as the person is hired by the organization.
B. within the employee's first week on the job.
C. long before the first day of work for the organization.
D. when the employee finally reconciles pre-employment expectations with organizational
reality.
E. when the employee receives his or her first performance appraisal.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-68
131. (p. 434) The three stages of organizational socialization, in order, are:
A. prehire, pre-employment, post-hire.
B. newcomer, insider, outsider.
C. student, employee, retiree.
D. pre-employment, encounter, role management.
E. anticipation, encounter, disillusionment.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
132. (p. 434) During what stage of socialization do people FIRST learn about the organization
and job?
A. Role management
B. Encounter
C. Pre-employment
D. Reality shock
E. Disillusionment
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
133. (p. 434) When should organizations use reality shock?

A. When they want employees to develop better expectations of future work experiences.
B. When they want to ensure that employees develop a stronger loyalty to the organization.
C. When they want to help newcomers develop a stronger bond with coworkers and the
organization.
D. Under all of these conditions.
E. Never; companies should minimize reality shock.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-69
134. (p. 434) Reality shock is:

A. based on expectancy theory.
B. an element in the model of individual behavior.
C. common in lateral career development.
D. a unique feature of an adaptive culture.
E. a perceived discrepancy between employee expectations and reality.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
135. (p. 434) Reality shock among new employees typically occurs when:
A. newcomers experience information overload as they enter the workplace.
B. employers are unable or unwilling to live up to their promises.
C. newcomers develop exaggerated expectations about the job.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
136. (p. 435) Resolving conflicts between work and nonwork mainly occurs during what stage of
socialization?
A. Role management
B. Encounter
C. Pre-employment
D. Reality shock
E. Disillusionment
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-70
137. (p. 435-436) Which of the following statements about realistic job previews (RJP's) is most
accurate?
A. many companies overpromise and often exaggerate positive features of the job and neglect
to mention the undesirable elements.
B. RJPs minimize reality shock by helping applicants develop more accurate pre-employment
expectations.
C. RJP's are one potentially way to improve the socialization process.
D. All of these statements are accurate.
E. Answers B and C only.
AACSB: 3
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
138. (p. 435-436) Most employees would say that ______ helped them adjust to their new job
most.
A. family support.
B. market levels of compensation.
C. socialization agents.
D. a strong corporate culture.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
139. (p. 435-436) All of the following could be considered socialization agents EXCEPT:
A. family members.
B. co-workers.
C. friends who work for the company.
D. employment agency representatives.
E. Both A and D.
AACSB: 3
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
14-71
Essay Questions
140. (p. 416) A major consulting firm is offering a special service whereby it is able to determine
the organization's dominant culture and some of its subcultures. The firm says that it does this
by statistically analyzing the words and phrases in the company's annual reports, news
releases and public speeches made by the company's senior executives. The consultancy
claims that this is an effective way of identifying the organization's culture because it does not
collect any information from inside the organization and, consequently, doesn't take time from
any employees. Discuss the merits and limitations of this consultancy's ability to determine an
Understanding an organization's culture requires painstaking assessment of many artifacts

because they are subtle and often ambiguous. Consequently, we should be skeptical about
claims that a consultancy can assess an organization's culture quickly through an analysis of
public statements. Moreover, public statements are more likely to express an organization's
espoused values — the values people say they believe in — rather than its enacted values —
the values that actually guide individual decisions and behavior in the workplace. To
effectively analyze an organization's culture, consultants need to investigate subtle artifacts,
ranging from daily rituals to the physical workspace.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
141. (p. 417) Superb Consultants have submitted a proposal to analyze the cultural values of
your organization. The proposal states that Superb has developed a revolutionary new survey
to tap the company's true culture that takes just ten minutes to complete and the consultants
say results can be based on a small sample of employees. Discuss the merits and limitations of
this proposal.
Understanding an organization's culture requires painstaking assessment of many artifacts

because they are subtle and often ambiguous. Consequently, we should be skeptical about
claims that a consultant can assess an organization's culture quickly through a survey.
Moreover, a survey is more likely to determine an organization's espoused values -- the values
people say they believe in -- rather than its enacted values -- the values that actually guide
individual decisions and behavior in the workplace. To effectively analyze an organization's
culture, consultants need to investigate subtle artifacts, ranging from daily rituals to the
physical work space.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-72
142. (p. 419-420) Discuss the accuracy of the following statement: "Organizations are more
effective when they operate without subcultures and countercultures."
This statement is generally FALSE. Subcultures, particularly countercultures, potentially

create conflict and dissension among employees, but they also serve two important functions.
First, they maintain the organization's standards of performance and ethical behavior.
Employees who hold countercultural values are an important source of surveillance and
critique over the dominant order. They encourage constructive controversy and more creative
thinking about how the organization should interact with its environment. Subcultures prevent
employees from blindly following one set of values and thereby help the organization to abide
by society's ethical values.
Second, corporate subcultures are the spawning grounds for emerging values that keep the
firm aligned with the needs of customers, suppliers, society and other stakeholders.
Companies eventually need to replace their dominant values with ones that are more
appropriate for the changing environment. If subcultures are suppressed, the organization may
take longer to discover and adopt values aligned with the emerging environment.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-73
143. (p. 420-427) A large transportation manufacturer is considering a proposal to acquire a

company in a related industry. During due diligence, senior executives intend to conduct a
bicultural audit. They already have good information that their own company is aggressive,
risk-taking and entrepreneurial. Assuming that these executives will personally analyze the
other firm's culture, briefly describe the bicultural audit process and what these senior
executives should examine.
14-74
A bicultural audit diagnoses cultural relations between the companies and determines the
extent to which cultural clashes will likely occur. The process begins with interviews,
questionnaires, focus groups and observation of cultural artifacts to identify cultural
differences between the merging companies. Next, the audit data are analyzed to determine
which differences between the two firms will result in conflict and which cultural values
provide common ground on which to build a cultural foundation in the merged organization.
The final stage of the bicultural audit involves identifying strategies and preparing action
plans to bridge the two organizations' cultures.
As mentioned, a bicultural audit includes carefully examining artifacts of each organization.

In this question, students have been advised that the acquiring company's culture is known, so
they should focus on what executives should look for in the acquiring company. The textbook
describes four broad categories of corporate culture artifacts. Students can describe these in
the context of the bicultural audit.
Organizational stories. Corporate culture can be deciphered from stories about past corporate
incidents (good or bad ones). To apply this strategy, senior executives need to learn through
interviews about critical events in the other firm's past, particularly heroic or bizarre events
that capture attention and reflect effective (or ineffective — with negative consequences)
events in the organization.
Rituals and ceremonies. Executives should pay attention to the programmed routines of daily
organizational life (rituals) because they dramatize the organization's culture. For example,
they should note how people (not just themselves) are greeted as visitors, how employees
interact, how meetings begin, how decisions are made, and so on. The executives may not
have the opportunity to observe ceremonies — planned activities conducted specifically for
the benefit of an audience — but they can ask employees about them. For example, they
might ask about events that celebrate a new product launch, employee awards and the like.
Organizational language. Language transmits and sustains shared values through metaphors
and other special vocabularies that represent the employees' perspectives of reality. Senior
executives should listen closely in their interviews with employees as well as when employees
at the other firm talk with each other. For example, they might listen for language that reflects
risk-taking and entrepreneurship rather than careful, bureaucratic decision making.
Physical structures and space. The size, shape, location and age of buildings may symbolize
the organization's culture. For example, a tall building with closed offices and senior
executive offices on the top floor often reflects a hierarchical, bureaucratic organization.
Along with the physical structure, executives should look at artifacts inside the building, such
as paintings, office space, cafeteria food, and so on.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-75
144. (p. 420) Your friend is thinking about applying for a technical or managerial job opportunity
at a large computer network firm. However, past experience has made your friend aware that
it is important to ensure that the company's dominant values are aligned with his or her own.
Identify three (3) different types of artifacts that your friend should consider when
deciphering the culture of the computer network firm. Your friend is a job applicant, so your
answer should relate to the experience of being recruited into an organization.
The textbook describes four distinct types of artifacts for deciphering organizational culture.
Students should briefly describe any three to answer this question. However, their answer
should specifically identify ways to apply these strategies.
Organizational stories. Corporate culture can be deciphered from stories about past corporate
incidents (good or bad ones). To apply this strategy, job applicants need to learn about critical
events in the company's past, particularly heroic or bizarre events that capture attention and
reflect effective (or ineffective — with negative consequences) events in the organization. For
example, your friend might ask for past copies of the company newsletter. Some stories are
found there. The friend might also ask during the interviews about the founder and other
stories.
Rituals and ceremonies. Your friend should pay attention to the programmed routines of daily
organizational life (rituals) because they dramatize the organization's culture. For example, he
or she should note how people are greeted as visitors, how employees interact, how meetings
begin, how decisions are made, and so on. The friend may not have the opportunity to observe
ceremonies — planned activities conducted specifically for the benefit of an audience — but
he or she can ask employees about them. For example, your friend might ask about events that
celebrate a new product launch, employee awards and the like.
and other special vocabularies that represent the employees' perspectives of reality. Your
friend should listen closely in interviews as well as when employees at the firm talk with each
other. For example, he or she might hear employees address a manager in a formal way,
suggesting a status-oriented culture.
the organization's culture. For example, a tall building with closed offices and senior
executive offices on the top floor often reflects a hierarchical, bureaucratic organization.
Along with the physical structure, your friend should look at artifacts inside the building, such
as paintings, office space, cafeteria food, and so on.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-76
145. (p. 420) Senior executives in your organization want to strengthen teamwork as part of the
company's culture. They have asked you to identify ways to communicate and reinforce this
cultural value using artifacts as the primary means of communication. Describe three different
types of artifacts that might be altered so they communicate this corporate value.
Some students might answer this by describing the ways to strengthen corporate culture (e.g.
actions of founders, reward systems, selecting employees, etc.). Although that information is
not completely incorrect (e.g. rewards are artifacts), the question specifically asks students to
identify three different types of artifacts to change. Thus, the best answer discusses any three
of the four broad categories of artifacts described earlier in the chapter.
Organizational stories. Corporate culture can be communicated by stories about past corporate
incidents (good or bad ones). To apply this strategy, job applicants need to learn about critical
events in the company's past, particularly heroic or bizarre events that capture attention and
reflect effective (or ineffective — with negative consequences) events in the organization. For
example, the company newsletter might feature an incident in which an employee solved a
client's problem only after pulling together several people in the organization. This would
illustrate through a story the value of teamwork.
Rituals and ceremonies. Rituals are the programmed routines of daily organizational life that
dramatize the organization's culture. This can communicate a teamwork culture through
everyday activities, such as having group information sessions or having employees work
together on many activities. Ceremonies are planned activities conducted specifically for the
benefit of an audience. Teamwork might be communicated by having team spirit awards or by
having special events that celebrate the value of teams in the company.
and other special vocabularies that represent the employees' perspectives of reality. Senior
executives can communicate teamwork values by encouraging language that supports this
value. They might consistently use phrases that assume teamwork as a norm throughout the
firm.
the organization's culture. For example, a low-rise, open-space building communicates and
supports teamwork more than a tall office tower with closed offices.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-77
146. (p. 423-424) Comment on and explain the accuracy of the following statement:
"Organizations with strong corporate cultures are more effective than organizations with weak
corporate cultures."
The accuracy of this statement depends on the situation. Students should briefly define what
we mean by "strong" corporate culture. Specifically, they should state that the strength of an
organization's culture refers to how many people accept the firm's dominant values; how
strongly, deeply and intensely they believe in these values; and how long these values have
dominated in the organization.
Next, students should explain that strong cultures are potentially effective because they
provide a form of social control, create common bonds among employees and make it easier
for employees to make sense of organizational events. However, strong cultures are only
effective if the following conditions exist.
First, the firm's dominant values must be compatible with the external environment. When an
organization's culture does not fit its environment, employees have difficulty responding to
and anticipating the needs of the company's stakeholders.
Second, the benefits of a strong corporate culture can diminish if it becomes so strong that
employees are unable to break out of the dominant mental model. In other words, the stronger
the culture, the more it blinds people to other perspectives.
Third, the benefits of a strong corporate culture can diminish if it becomes so strong that
dissenting values are suppressed. These dissenting values provide the foundation for more
appropriate values in the long term and they help the organization to maintain ethical
standards.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-78
147. (p. 424) The president of Advanced Systems Corp. wants the company to have a strong
organizational culture around a specific set of values. As a vice-president, you are concerned
that the president may be trying to strengthen the culture too much thereby creating a
corporate cult. Describe three potential problems with having an organizational culture that is
too strong.
Organizations with strong cultures are potentially more effective than those with weak
cultures. However, strong cultures can create problems under four conditions. Students may
identify any three of these for this question.
First, a strong culture is ineffective if the values, beliefs and assumptions are incompatible
with the external environment. For example, an organization with a strong technological
efficiency culture will be more effective if this helps the organization to adapt better to the
external environment and satisfy the needs of dominant stakeholders. In contrast, cultural
values that are incompatible with the external environment will steer the organization away
from the direction it should be headed and encourage employees to engage in behaviors that
are dysfunctional in the long term.
Second, a company's culture might be so strong that employees blindly focus on the mental
model shaped by that culture. Mental models produce a set of assumptions on which we base
our decisions and actions. When an organization's culture intensely emphasizes customer
service, for example, employees tend to see problems as customer service problems even
though some are really problems about efficiency or technology. Thus, strong cultures might
cause decision makers to overlook or incorrectly define subtle misalignments between the
organization's activities and the changing environment.
Third, the stronger the culture, the more it suppresses dissenting values. In the long term, this
prevents organizations from nurturing new cultural values that might emerge into dominant
values as the environment changes. For this reason, corporate leaders need to recognize that
healthy organizations have subcultures with dissenting values that may produce dominant
values in the future.
Lastly, some companies have a strong culture, but they do not have an adaptive culture. An
adaptive culture focuses employees on the changing needs of customers and other
stakeholders and supports initiative and leadership to keep pace with these changes. Without
an adaptive culture, employees are resistant to change and, consequently, will not adapt to a
changing environment.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Easy
14-79
148. (p. 425) The president of CJD Consulting would like to change his organization's culture to
reflect new realities in the external environment. He has heard positive things about adaptive
cultures and would like to know more about them. What would you say to the president to
explain adaptable cultures? Be sure to describe the four characteristics of this type of culture
in your answer.
Students might begin by defining what adaptive cultures are, in general terms, then describe
the four specific characteristics mentioned in the text. Adaptive cultures have employees that
focus on the changing needs of customers and other stakeholders, as well as support initiatives
to keep pace with those changes.
First. Adaptive cultures have an external focus. The employees hold a common mental model
that the organization's success depends on continuous change that supports all stakeholders.
Second. Employees pay as much attention to organizations processes as they do

organizational goals. This means they are committed to continuously finding ways to improve
internal processes.
Third. Employees in organizations with adaptive cultures have a strong sense of ownership.
They feel personally responsible for the organization's performance, and willingly accept that
responsibility
Fourth. Adaptive cultures are proactive and quick to respond to changes in their environment.
Employees will seek out opportunities. They also act quickly to learn through discovery.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
14-80
149. (p. 430-432) Identify four (4) conditions or events that potentially weaken an organization's
dominant culture.
Students should answer this by applying the opposite of the four strategies for strengthening
organizational culture described in the textbook. A possible answer is presented below.
a. Organizational culture is weakened whenever top management acts inconsistently. This

occurs when senior managers lack transformational leadership skills — they do not espouse a
single vision and do not walk the talk — or there is high turnover of senior management.
Under these conditions, employees receive mixed signals about the values and beliefs that
they should hold.
b. Introduce culturally inconsistent rewards. If the existing culture emphasizes efficiency, then
shift the reward system so that employees who strive for efficiency (rather than, say, customer
service) are not rewarded as well.
c. Failing to align artifacts with the organization's culture can weaken the culture.
Organizations have to manage artifacts carefully, because it is artifacts which keep the culture
in place. Artifacts also send signals and clues to stakeholders about what the shared values
and assumptions are in a given organization. Altering artifacts without considering the effects
on the overall culture can potential harm or change the overall culture.
d. An organization's culture is weakened when it does not carefully select and socialize new
employees. Hiring people whose own beliefs and values are different from the corporate
culture will likely lead to countercultural groups that overshadow the dominant values.
Alternatively, these new employees may experience role conflict and leave the company more
quickly. This would also hamper the company's ability to strengthen its culture. The lack of
socialization of newcomers would lengthen the time required for them to understand and
accept the dominant values.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14-81
150. (p. 432) Using attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, describe how a company would
maintain and perpetuate their culture.
This answer requires students to describe how each of the three parts of the theory contributes
to maintaining an organization's culture.
Attraction. All organizations communicate their cultures (values) via artifacts which are
visible to others in the community. These provide information to prospective job applicants
about the organization's values. The resulting information leads applicants to a form of self-
selection when they avoid companies that seem to have values which are incompatible with
their own. Conversely, this same process encourages those who share the same values with
the company to apply for jobs. The attraction component of the theory ensures the established
culture is maintained.
Selection. Even during the employment selection stage, companies factor-in the person's "fit"
with the established culture. This focus on values congruence has the effect of weeding out
those who hold differing values found in the established organizational culture. Rather than
providing a mix of values, this practice tends to homogenize and perpetuate an organization's
established culture.
Attrition. If individuals are hired who do not share the values of the dominant culture, and
value incongruence becomes is high enough, those employees will be motivated to seek out
alternate employment elsewhere in order to minimize internal role conflict. This attrition
process contributes to perpetuating a workforce that comprises mostly of individuals who
share the same values as those found in the company's culture.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
14-82
151. (p. 428) Many organizations think that they integrate organizational cultures when merging
or acquiring other companies. Explain what does integrating organizational cultures means?
Under what conditions is this strategy most likely to succeed?
The integration strategy involves combining the two cultures into a new composite culture
that preserves the best features of the previous cultures. It is slow and potentially risky,
because there are many forces preserving the existing cultures. Integration is most effective
when the two companies have relatively weak cultures or when their cultures include several
overlapping values. Integration also works best when people realize that their existing culture
is ineffective and they are therefore motivated to adopt a new set of dominant values.
AACSB: 1, 3, 6
BT: Comprehension
14-83

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Chapter 14 - Organizational Culture

True / False Questions

3. Values represent an important invisible part of an organization's culture.

4. Shared mental models are part of an organization's culture.

5. Values represent the deepest part of an organization's culture.

6. Espoused values are values proclamations.

8. The most accurate way to determine an organization's culture is by interviewing senior

9. The organizational cultures of most companies can be identified as mercenaries, fortresses

15. Organizational countercultures further strengthen the organization's dominant culture.

18. An organizational counterculture is a type of subculture.

23. Organizational stories support organizational culture by providing social prescriptions of

27. Ceremonies are more formal artifacts than rituals.

54. Organizational culture can sometimes be reshaped by applying transformational

63. Organizational socialization is a process of both learning and adjustment.

71. Co-workers are important organizational socialization agents.

72. Organizational culture is best described as the basic pattern of shared:

73. Organizational culture includes:

75. The deepest element of organizational culture is:

77. The hidden elements of an organization's culture include:

78. How do mental models relate to the concept of organizational culture?

79. Which of these statements about shared assumptions is FALSE?

80. The best way to determine an organization's shared assumptions is to:

81. The themes shared most widely by employees represent:

82. Organizations that tolerate or encourage subcultures with dissenting values:

83. Which of these statements about organizational subcultures is FALSE?

85. One advantage of countercultures is that they:

87. What is the significance of artifacts in organizational culture?

88. The best way to measure an organization's culture is to:

89. To develop the most accurate estimate of an organization's culture, we should:

90. Which of these statements about organizational stories is FALSE?

91. Organizational stories are most effective at communicating organizational culture:

92. Which of the following would be considered an artifact of an organization's culture?

93. Rituals are:

98. The building in which employees work:

99. Organizational culture does which of the following?

100. A strong corporate culture potentially increases organizational performance by:

101. Organizational culture serves what purpose in organizations?

105. As an organization's culture gets stronger, it:

106. Organizations with an adaptive corporate culture:

107. Which of the following is a characteristic of an adaptive corporate culture?

109. If an organization has an adaptive culture, it likely has:

112. The main purpose of a bicultural audit is to:

117. A deculturation strategy of merging two corporate cultures should be applied:

121. How do founders and corporate leaders affect corporate culture?

122. A stable workforce helps to maintain a strong corporate culture because:

123. According to the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, job applicants:

124. Which of the following statements is consistent with the attraction-selection-attrition

125. Employees are organizationally socialized:

126. Organizational socialization is best described as a process of:

130. The process of organizational socialization begins:

131. The three stages of organizational socialization, in order, are:

133. When should organizations use reality shock?

134. Reality shock is:

135. Reality shock among new employees typically occurs when:

139. All of the following could be considered socialization agents EXCEPT:

143. A large transportation manufacturer is considering a proposal to acquire a company in a

150. Using attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) theory, describe how a company would

Chapter 14 Organizational Culture Answer Key

True / False Questions

3. (p. 416) Values represent an important invisible part of an organization's culture.

4. (p. 416) Shared mental models are part of an organization's culture.

5. (p. 416) Values represent the deepest part of an organization's culture.

6. (p. 416-417) Espoused values are values proclamations.