________ are formal events that are generally performed in front of an audience of organizational members.
- Rituals
- Stories
- Ceremonies
- Language
- Symbols
Ceremonies are formal events, generally performed in front of an audience of organizational members. Some types of ceremonies revolve around celebrations for meeting quality goals, reaching a certain level of profitability, or launching a new product.
Ceremonies: Formal events, generally performed in front of an audience of organizational members.
________ are the taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that are so ingrained that employees simply act on them rather than questioning the validity of their behavior in a given situation.
- Espoused values
- Stories
- Basic underlying assumptions
- Rituals
- Observable artifacts
Basic underlying assumptions are the taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that are so ingrained that employees simply act on them rather than questioning the validity of their behavior in a given situation.
Basic Underlying Assumptions: The ingrained beliefs and philosophies of employees.
________ represent the deepest and least observable part of a culture.
- Espoused values
- Stories
- Basic underlying assumptions
- Rituals
- Observable artifacts
Basic underlying assumptions are the taken-for-granted beliefs and philosophies that are so ingrained that employees simply act on them rather than questioning the validity of their behavior in a given situation. These assumptions represent the deepest and least observable part of a culture and may not be consciously apparent, even to organizational veterans.
Basic Underlying Assumptions: The ingrained beliefs and philosophies of employees.
Magnus's company holds meetings every Monday morning. Magnus is responsible for sharing an anecdote, an account, or a legend about the company for every first Monday of the month to keep everyone reminded of where they work and what is important. Magnus is responsibility for sharing
- symbols.
- stories.
- espoused values.
- ceremonies.
- language.
Stories consist of anecdotes, accounts, legends, and myths that are passed down from cohort to cohort within an organization. Telling stories can be a major mechanism through which leaders and employees describe what the company values or finds important.
Stories: Anecdotes, accounts, legends, and myths passed down from cohort to cohort within an organization.
Ingrid is a department manager at Workboots, Inc. Ingrid starts every Monday morning with a 60-minute department meeting where each member in the department gets five minutes to report progress; share stories of success and failure; and seek general input, advice, and information. What Ingrid does every Monday morning can be described as a(n)
- ritual.
- story.
- espoused value.
- ceremony.
- symbol.
Rituals are the daily or weekly planned routines that occur in an organization.
Rituals: The daily or weekly planned routines that occur in an organization.
________ is(are) the degree to which group members think and act alike, and ________ represent(s) how friendly employees are to one another.
- Espoused values; basic underlying assumptions
- Solidarity; sociability
- Basic underlying assumptions; observable artifacts
- Sociability; solidarity
- Observable artifacts; espoused values
Solidarity is the degree to which group members think and act alike, and sociability represents how friendly employees are to one another.
Sensory Ability: Capabilities associated with vision and hearing.
At Spinner Bearings, Inc., employees are distant and disconnected from one another. Based on this, the organizational culture at Spinner Bearings can be described as
- diversified.
- fragmented.
- individualized.
- safety oriented.
- service oriented.
Organizations that are low on both dimensions (solidarity and sociability) have a fragmented culture in which employees are distant and disconnected from one another.
Fragmented Culture: An organizational culture type in which employees are distant and disconnected from one another.
In organizations with fragmented cultures, there is ________ sociability and ________ solidarity.
- low; low
- moderate; high
- high; moderate
- high; high
- moderate; moderate
Organizations that are low on both dimensions (solidarity and sociability) have a fragmented culture in which employees are distant and disconnected from one another.
Fragmented Culture: An organizational culture type in which employees are distant and disconnected from one another.
At Delta Diamonds, Inc., managers start every week with a two-hour meeting, focusing on the company's goals for that week and how employees can achieve the goals. This routine describes
- a ritual.
- a story.
- the company's values.
- the company's language.
- a symbol.
Rituals are the daily or weekly planned routines that occur in an organization.
Rituals: The daily or weekly planned routines that occur in an organization.
Jamie is about to go to work for Potpourri, a store that sells various bed and bath accessories. Though technically a chain, Potpourri currently has just three stores, all within an hour of each other in the Midwestern United States. The type of organizational culture Jamie is likely to encounter at Potpourri is one in which employees
- have very little connection to one another.
- are free spirits, each of them his or her own little island.
- tend to share a lot of opinions, including a dislike for each other.
- enjoy friendly relations, but differ on many things, including work-related matters.
- get along well and share many of the same views, including admiration for the company founder.
Potpourri is a small, new organization, and thus is not likely to be a fragmented (employees have very little connection to one another) or mercenary (employees tend to share a lot of opinions, including a dislike for each other) culture. Small organizations generally start out as communal cultures oriented around the owner and founder. As companies grow, they tend to move toward a networked culture (employees are free spirits, each of them his or her own little island; employees enjoy friendly relations, but differ on many things, including work-related matters), because solidarity is harder to foster when groups get really large.
Organizational Culture: The shared social knowledge within an organization regarding the rules, norms, and values that shape the attitudes and behaviors of its employees.
Which of the following is an example of a mercenary culture?
- Crazy Imported Foods, where the employees brainstorm new product ideas every Monday at a local winery
- Tactical Flashlights, Inc., where product designers operate independently and do not share ideas due to chronic mistrust
- Fun Phone Apps, where the two founders, who are best friends, work in their shared apartment to develop smartphone apps
- Mildred's Creative Preschool, where the teachers nurture and support each other but structure their lesson plans in their own ways
- Bob's Used Exotic Cars, where the salespeople all try to sell as many cars as they can each month but compete for customers in an aggressive, cutthroat fashion
One popular general typology divides organizational culture along two dimensions: solidarity and sociability. Solidarity is the degree to which group members think and act alike, and sociability represents how friendly employees are to one another. Organizations that have cultures in which employees think alike but aren't friendly to one another can be considered mercenary cultures.
Mercenary Culture: An organizational culture type in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another.
In organizations with communal cultures, there is ________ sociability and ________ solidarity.
- low; low
- moderate; high
- moderate; low
- high; high
- low; moderate
Organizations with friendly employees who all think alike are communal cultures.
Communal Culture: An organizational culture type in which employees are friendly to one another and all think alike.
Organizations that have cultures in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another can be considered ________ cultures.
- diversified
- mercenary
- disconnected
- fractured
- individualized
Organizations that have cultures in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another can be considered mercenary cultures.
Mercenary Culture: An organizational culture type in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another.
The environment at National Studio, Inc., is very political. Its employees often think alike but are generally unfriendly to each other. The culture at this company is best described as
- collective.
- networked.
- communal.
- mercenary.
- fragmented.
Organizations that have cultures in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another can be considered mercenary cultures. These types of organizations are likely to be very political, "what's in it for me" environments.
Mercenary Culture: An organizational culture type in which employees think alike but are not friendly to one another.