Title: Culture and Diversity
Course: Question Banks

Q: Corporate culture is rooted in
- the strategic vision, which is why it easily changes when strategy changes.
- the personality of the founder, and it cannot change as long as the founder runs the company.
- an organization's goals, strategies, structure, and approaches to labor, customers, investors, and the greater community.
A: an organization's goals, strategies, structure, and approaches to labor, customers, investors, and the greater community.

Q: According to a 2012 Reuters article with the headline “Prostitute scandal challenges U.S. Secret Service's proud culture,” “U.S. Secret Service agents are...drilled almost from Day One on the need for probity, discretion and solid morals.” But thirteen agents were caught hiring prostitutes and partying in Mexico. What most likely went wrong?
- These were just rogue agents that did not represent the culture of the Secret Service.
- When corporate culture isn’t spelled out in written values, it’s impossible to enforce standards and acceptable codes of behavior.
- When corporate culture is not intentional, the culture winds up being disjointed or even antagonistic.
A: When corporate culture is not intentional, the culture winds up being disjointed or even antagonistic.

Q: Amazon competes with low prices, selection, quick deliveries, and easy returns. Employees know they succeed through efficiency improvements in any part of the process. Customers rely on Amazon for prices, selection, and easy service. What does this illustrate about the relationship between Amazon’s culture and brand?
- The culture and the brand do not interact.
- The culture and the brand conflict.
- The culture and the brand reinforce each other.
A: The culture and the brand reinforce each other.

Q: Mergers can be difficult because of cultural differences between firms. In 2008, Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch, a stockbroker. Their cultures and pay packages were starkly different. After the merger, in 2009, leading brokers of Merrill began departing for friendlier waters. Some went to Morgan Stanley, and some became independent brokers. The rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, called the departures a “cause for concern,” adding that “if brokerage attrition picks up, the acquisition becomes less valuable." Divided cultures in one firm can be
- a competitive advantage.
- an opportunity to change the culture.
- a competitive disadvantage.
A: a competitive disadvantage.

Q: Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational manufacturer of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its credo, on a stone at the entrance to headquarters, says that stockholders come fourth, after customers, employees, and communities. The credo is
- a cultural artifact.
- a deep-seated assumption.
- a statement of values.
A: a statement of values.

Q: In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” On Wall Street, New York’s financial district, The Wealth of Nations is the unspoken gospel. Every employee expects to share in any profit he creates, and incentive plans are set up to reinforce this. Wall Street has
- a cultural artifact of free markets.
- a statement of values.
- a deep-seated assumption about free markets and how people behave.
A: a deep-seated assumption about free markets and how people behave.

Q: In the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP), companies can be scored on seven dimensions that reflect their culture. These include
- detail-oriented, aggressive, and supportive.
- detail-oriented, aggressive, and emphasis on rewards.
- detail-oriented, aggressive, and people-oriented.
A: detail-oriented, aggressive, and people-oriented.

Q: Google’s industry, online search, is competitive, and customers can switch easily if another search tool, like Microsoft’s Bing, better serves their needs. Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google, says, “We think that company culture and ________ can’t be separated. You have to have the culture, and you need to get it right.”
- detail-orientation
- team-orientation
- innovation
A: innovation

Q: Apple and Microsoft are competitors in selling computer operating systems, the MAC OS and Windows. Yet they have very different cultures and values. Apple is known for design and attention to detail. Microsoft is aggressive, launching products before they are finished. Both cultures reflect
- their strategies.
- their industries.
- their founders.
A: their founders.

Q: The banking industry is heavily regulated to prevent crises like the Great Recession of 2008. At the same time, it can be very competitive, with bankers each trying to win deals. A company in this industry may have two cultures, one to enforce regulations and another to make the sales or investment decisions. The employees working on regulations need to be
- innovative.
- outcome-oriented.
- detail-oriented.
A: detail-oriented.

Q: GE’s SVP of Global Operations, Shane Fitzsimons, wrote a 2016 article for Fast Company magazine, stating what kind of person GE wants to hire. For example, he writes, “the kind of person who succeeds at GE is humble.” The article shows GE’s approach to ________ candidates.
- training
- onboarding
- recruiting
A: recruiting

Q: Companies make choices in their HR processes that can help maintain the culture. The processes include
- recruiting, hiring, and promoting.
- recruiting, training, and promoting.
- recruiting, hiring, and training.
A: recruiting, hiring, and training.

Q: A firm’s statement of values requires a lot of pruning. There are many acceptable values, but to be effective, the list must be short. Executives choose the most important values. Therefore, the clue to ________ is in what is chosen.
- goals
- objectives
- culture
A: culture

Q: Some of the visible clues to a company’s culture are
- the physical location, cafeteria menus, and plaques and awards.
- how employees dress, plaques and awards, and the physical location.
- how employees dress, snack areas and candy jars, and plaques and awards.
A: how employees dress, snack areas and candy jars, and plaques and awards.

Q: Bob Cratchett is an accountant with Marly and Co., a prosperous lender in London. Marly and Co. has survived some severe downturns in the market and has been a stable employer. Bob wears heavy wool suits at work in the winter and works at a standing desk. The ________ is a clue to the culture at Marly and Co.
- events and rituals
- physical layout and decor
- employees’ dress
A: employees’ dress

Q: To deliberately initiate culture change at company is an uphill struggle. Most employees tend to return to familiar ways of doing business. To succeed, executives need to
- create a sense of urgency, model the desired change, and lay off all employees who aren’t enthusiastic about the change.
- model the desired change over a period of at least six months and replace any senior executive who is not fully committed.
- create a sense of urgency, model the changes that they want, and show commitment to the new culture.
A: create a sense of urgency, model the changes that they want, and show commitment to the new culture.

Q: General Motors had long-running problems with Chevy Cobalt ignition switches. The switches could disable the emergency airbags, causing accidental deaths. The GM culture discouraged anyone from stepping up and addressing the problem. Mary Barra, the new CEO, made a public commitment to change. After an investigation, two senior managers left the company in 2014. By ________, GM was better able to move forward.
- role modeling
- creating a crisis
- changing leaders
A: changing leaders

Q: According to Robert Half Management Resources, most change efforts fail because of
- inadequate training programs.
- leaders who resist change.
- inadequate communication.
A: inadequate communication.

Q: Home Depot’s return to a customer service culture included recognitions, bonuses, and buttons for employees’ orange aprons. HD advanced a culture change by
- using more external communications.
- creating greater incentives for management.
- changing reward systems and corporate symbols.
A: changing reward systems and corporate symbols.

Q: Diversity as a strategy hopes to gain, for example, from more problem-solving approaches or more connections. In this context, diversity includes
- race, age, national origin, religion, and hair color..
- race, age, national origin, religion, and music preference..
- personality, cognitive style, education, and social background.
A: personality, cognitive style, education, and social background.

Q: Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell responded to a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, with this argument: “Amazon was created by Jeff Bezos, whose adoptive father was born in Cuba. Google was co-founded by Sergey Brin, who was born in Russia. Would we be a better country if they had not been admitted? Of equal importance, what are the chances that if Steve Jobs had lived his life in Syria he would have created Apple? Or Jeff Bezos in Cuba? Or Sergey Brin in Russia?” He argued that
- diversity should only include geniuses.
- America should come first in negotiations with other countries.
- diversity is America’s strength.
A: diversity is America’s strength.

Q: A ________ workforce may offer more creative approaches or solutions to problems.
- well-trained
- consistent
- diverse
A: diverse

Q: Goldman Sachs is a white-shoe investment bank. The firm does well by maintaining close connections throughout the business, investment, and political worlds and staying well-informed. Hank Paulsen, a former CEO, became the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and managed the Treasury during the Great Recession of 2008-2009. To maintain its connections, Goldman hires people
- who are people-oriented.
- who have worked in government.
- of varied backgrounds.
A: of varied backgrounds.

Q: The investment portfolio staff earn millions in profits by anticipating near-term market movements. The programmers tend to come in late and work late. Their goals are saving thousands of dollars through cost reductions. Differences in ________ can create friction over decisions that make little sense to the other group.
- communication styles
- opinion
- work styles
A: work styles

Q: Studies show financial advantages to diversity in senior management. But the promotion process tends to suppress expressed differences. To be seriously considered for promotion to a top-level management position in many U.S. companies, individuals must assimilate to the company’s culture. Companies can manage this through
- strict merit-based promotion.
- cross-cultural training.
- employee training and diversity-oriented company policies.
A: employee training and diversity-oriented company policies.