Final Flashcards
In their explanation of what is Corporate Social Responsibility, Clegg et al. depict it as an organization’s ____ to improve the quality of life of its employees, their families, local communities and society at large.
A voluntary commitment.
B legal obligation.
C subconscious efforts.
D rational planning activities.
A voluntary commitment.
Which of the statements below, according to your textbook authors, best aligns with the institutional level of analysis in Corporate Social Responsibility?
A General societal expectations and the framing and implementation of these (e.g., through laws) by the government.
B Organizations must take responsibility for what they do and do not do because they can be held legally accountable for their actions and non-actions.
C The principle of managerial discretion presumes the morality and ethics of individual managers in their relationships with
stakeholders.
D The study of intra- and intergroup conflict and cohesion, leadership, power, norms, interpersonal communication.
A General societal expectations and the framing and implementation of these (e.g., through laws) by the government.
A point of critique that your coursebook authors raise against Milton Friedman’s views on the obligation of businesses is that ____
A his position overstated the self-regulating forces of capitalism.
B his position underestimated the self-regulating forces of capitalism.
C his position overstated the benefits of socialist approaches.
D his position overstated the benefits of oligopolistic approaches.
A his position overstated the self-regulating forces of capitalism.
Clegg et al.’s explanation of the stakeholder model of the firm portrays shareholders as one of several types of stakeholders. What does this model, in essence, imply?
A Similar to the role of shareholders, civil organizations and communities may also have a substantial interest in the activity of an organization.
B The terms shareholders and stakeholders are synonymous and thus can be used interchangeably.
C Shareholders are by definition more important than stakeholders; the latter should merely have peripheral influence but not be of an organization’s concern.
D Stakeholders are shareholders who influence an organization’s actions by acquiring voting rights through stock ownership.
A Similar to the role of shareholders, civil organizations and communities may also have a substantial interest in the activity of an organization.
Clegg et al. (2021) writes that “an organizational code of ethics can be a political tool” (p. 360). Which aspect do the authors emphasize when explaining what this means?
A It shapes employee behaviors in terms that are desired by management.
B It helps employees forge more personal working relationships.
C The political dynamics that surround a code of ethics are inevitable but irrelevant.
D Political activity is essential in generating creative ideas under any circumstances.
A It shapes employee behaviors in terms that are desired by management.
Clegg et al. express a critical view regarding corporate codes of ethics (CCEs). What remedy do they propose?
A Ethics do not exist on paper or in a virtual space but in concrete practices; therefore, organizations should focus on what actors do.
B Stricter legislation is the most effective way to control organizational behavior and the actions of individuals within organizations.
C Market dynamics will eventually take care of companies behaving unethically; therefore, deregulation is an important factor in establishing free markets the produce favorable outcomes.
D Employees should follow more training on business ethics so that they better understand the bigger picture and their role in it.
A Ethics do not exist on paper or in a virtual space but in concrete practices; therefore, organizations should focus on what actors do.
What is ‘degrowth economics’?
A It argues that the pursuit of economic growth causes environmental destruction, inequality, injustice, and suffering. To remedy this, developed nations will have to scale down.
B It argues that the economy is not embedded in nature, and cannot align its processes with nature’s biological, physical and
chemical cycles, and, as such, economists’ relatively simple growth models are the best we can have.
C It aims to move away from the take-make-dispose economy through more recycling and design of products so that they last longer, can be repaired and upgraded, reused or resold.
D It argues that humanity should strive to continue growing economically until it reaches biophysical limits, after which time a new equilibrium forms naturally.
A It argues that the pursuit of economic growth causes environmental destruction, inequality, injustice, and suffering. To remedy this, developed nations will have to scale down.
Your textbook authors position corporate greening at the core of a firm’s strategic CSR agenda. Related to that, they introduce the notion of
a green learning organization. In the latter, building citizenship capabilities is an essential element, which means ___
A that employees should aspire to reduce their ecological footprint predominantly in their personal lives.
B that employees should aspire to reduce their ecological footprint especially in their professional lives.
C that employees should inspire citizens to reduce their ecological footprint in their personal lives.
D that employees should aspire to reduce their ecological footprint both in their professional but also personal lives.
D) that employees should aspire to reduce their ecological footprint both in their professional but also personal lives.
Chester Barnard wrote a book on leadership that had a major impact, The Functions of the Executive (1936). Leadership is required, said
Barnard, to ensure both managerial authority and employee obedience. What did he say about communication?
A Lines of communication should be short and direct whenever possible.
B Communication is separate from decision-making as small elites of senior executives collaborate in isolation to govern their
organization.
C Communication is important but impossible to manage because most of it is informal.
D Communicating is a sophisticated word for telling other people what to do; it helps give people the illusion of being involved in
decision-making
A) Lines of communication should be short and direct whenever possible.
Elton Mayo described what became known as the Hawthorne Effect. In this study, he found that when a group realizes that it is being valued
and observed, then ______
A productivity rises.
B innovation increases.
C employee retention increases.
D none of the above
A) productivity rises.
What was the overarching aim of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon?
A The aim was to produce a self-disciplining subject.
B The aim was to minimize housing costs for inmates.
C The aim was to establish transparency between managers and employees so that everyone can keep an eye on each other.
D The aim was to provide a basis for direct management control
A) The aim was to produce a self-disciplining subject.
The coursebook writes about “Karl Marx’s principles of economic exploitation as a point of departure” (p. 443). In this context, what is being
exploited or who is being exploited?
A Material resources from the natural world.
B Workers, that is, human beings.
C Intellectual capital such as ideas.
D Intangible aspirations that firms seek to monetize.
B Workers, that is, human beings.
Max Weber conceptualized bureaucracy as a form of organizational design. Which of the following statements is LEAST representative of
Weber’s conceptualization of bureaucracy?
A Qualities required for organizational positions are increasingly measured in terms of formal credentials.
B Power relations within an organization structure have a distinct authority configuration, specified by the organization’s rules.
C Power is steeped in the Darwinian tradition of survival of the fittest, and as such, it is fluid, unpredictable, and unstructured.
D There is a sharp boundary between bureaucratic action and particularistic action by personnel, defining the limits of legitimacy.
C Power is steeped in the Darwinian tradition of survival of the fittest, and as such, it is fluid, unpredictable, and unstructured.
By the early twentieth century, Max Weber modeled his ideas on bureaucracy unambiguously on ____
A the military.
B communitarian ideas.
C self-organizing systems (e.g., swarms).
D ethical precepts such as virtue.
A the military.
The coursebook draws on a critique on bureaucracies by Bauman (1989). One of the critique points is that bureaucracy supports unreflexive
routines. What does this term mean in this context?
A When actions are routinized, they become easier to enact, even if they are unethical.
B Even routinized actions are never perfectly consistent, which could lead to issues of inconsistent quality.
C Organizational routines produce physical ailments such as repetitive strain injuries.
D Organizational routines always involve more people than is rationally necessary, which introduces inefficiencies
A When actions are routinized, they become easier to enact, even if they are unethical.
The American sociologist George Ritzer coined the term McDonaldization. McDonald’s is a metaphor for ____
A a highly rationalized and goal-oriented approach to organizational processes.
B enduring global brands that even young children know.
C successful corporate greening strategies of multinational corporations.
D large, complex organizations who managed to put their employees first
A a highly rationalized and goal-oriented approach to organizational processes.
According to Clegg et al., Harry Braverman (1974) was a Marxist who saw managers as central to the realization of surplus value. In
Braverman’s view, managers should be seen in terms of the role that they play as delegates of those who own capital. He argued that to ensure
the efficient extraction of surplus value, managers seek to increase productivity by ____
A de-skilling jobs to make them more controllable.
B investing in diversity and inclusion policies.
C making organizations more playful spaces through office design.
D reducing ‘turf wars’ between different branches, divisions, departments, occupations, and cultures.
A de-skilling jobs to make them more controllable.
SARFIT’s basic premise is that changing organizational circumstances (e.g., size, technologies, environment) require firms to alter their design
periodically. The acronym stands for ____
A Systemic Adjustment to Reestablish Fit.
B Strategic Adjustment to Reinvent Fit.
C Serial Adjustment to Recover Fit.
D Structural Adjustment to Regain Fit
D Structural Adjustment to Regain Fit
The coursebook cites John Child (2002 [1972]) whose concept of strategic choice shows that ___
A size, technology, and environment are the core structural contingencies in organizations.
B size, technology, and environment shape managerial decisions.
C managers in dominant positions make decisions that subsequently shape technologies and structures.
D successful change programs require a decentralized organization
C managers in dominant positions make decisions that subsequently shape technologies and structures.
In management and organization theory, a contingency is ____
A something that managers cannot avoid; they are facts of organizational life that shape organizational designs in particular.
B an emergency that managers can and should avoid through proactive, strategic planning.
C a competitor’s organizational design that organizations should not adopt in order to differentiate themselves in markets.
D a fixed amount of resources that organizations have at their disposal and seek to extract the most value from
A something that managers cannot avoid; they are facts of organizational life that shape organizational designs in particular.
The coursebook introduces the concept of transaction costs which, the authors note, can be divided into three broad categories. One of the
categories is bargaining costs. Which of the examples below most closely depicts what bargaining costs are?
A The costs incurred in drawing up a legal contract for a business transaction.
B The costs incurred in conveying to potential buyers that a product or service is available on the market.
C The costs involved in making sure a business party sticks to the terms of the contract.
D The costs involved in convincing stakeholders to conduct transactions within organizations rather than markets.
A The costs incurred in drawing up a legal contract for a business transaction.
In the context of new institutional theory, organizations’ quest for legitimacy is the driving force in making organizations more ____.
A alike
B different
C competitive
D innovative
A alike.
The term institutional entrepreneurship is gaining increasing attention in academic research, and your coursebook also addresses it. According
to the coursebook authors, an institutional entrepreneur is predominantly interested in ____.
A changing the status quo
B preserving the status quo
C learning from the status quo
D archiving the status quo
A changing the status quo.
Why is the M-form organization called the ‘M-form’?
A “M” stands for “multi” and refers to the multi-divisional form of this organization.
B “M” stands for “market” and refers to the market orientation of this organization.
C “M” stands for “mastery” and refers to employees developing deep knowledge that provides independence.
D “M” stands for “merit” and refers to focusing on tasks that create intrinsic value to an organization without requiring much
supervision or protocol
A ‘M’ stands for ‘multi’ and refers to the multi-divisional form of this organization.
