Strategy - Week 3

Question 1

3 building blocks of Schein’s model of organizational culture

Answer 1

artefacts
espoused values and beliefs
underlying assumptions / beliefs

Question 2

what are artefacts in Schein’s model

Answer 2

the surface of culture, things that are visible

includes language, gestures, activities of employees within an organization

Question 3

what are espoused values in Schein’s model

Answer 3

values that are subconsciously hidden within an organization

These are principles or goals that we feel have intrinsic worth, often at the back of our minds

(work ethic over everything in investment banking)

Question 4

what are underlying assumptions in Schein’s model

Answer 4

these are things that we believe to be the truth but often take for granted

(i.e. people are good at heart)

Question 5

T/F: The bottom layers of the chart often explain the upper levels, yet we only see the top levels on a day to day basis

Answer 5

True, the lower layers of the Schein model explain the top layers

Question 5

define culture as a strategic resource

Answer 5

arrays of activities and orientations that are key to making and sustaining capabilities, and to effective positioning

Question 6

define culture as related to change

Answer 6

a potential source of inertia…

Question 7

three types of inertia

Answer 7

pragmatic
normative
cognitive

Question 8

pragmatic inertia

Answer 8

resistance to change due to self interest

(whether that is personal interest or the self interest of the organization as a whole)

Question 9

if someone uses fear of failure for the organization as a reason against change, what category of inertia does it belong to

Answer 9

pragmatic

since it relates to the self interest of the person or the organization

Question 10

what is inertia in an organization

Answer 10

resistance to change

Question 11

normative inertia

Answer 11

moral resistance or concerns about appropriateness

not doing something because it’s “not who we are”

Question 12

cognitive inertia

Answer 12

resistance to change based on sense and understanding

“what am I going to do if this change is approved?” OR “the outcome will be uncertain if we enact this change”

Question 13

4 responses to change

Answer 13

active resistance
passive resistance
enthusiastic support
compliance

Question 14

define compliance as a response to change

Answer 14

where people do what they’re told but don’t make an effort to actively solve new problems as they come up

Question 15

define passive resistance as a response to change

Answer 15

where people subtly want the change to fail, like not doing the extra things that are asked of them OR not pointing out things that are going wrong with the change

Question 16

define enthusiastic support as a response to change

Answer 16

best outcome … where people are 100% supporting this change and are stepping up to make it succeed

Question 17

define active resistance as a response to change

Answer 17

where people make an effort to stop change and go back to the “old ways” of doing things

Question 18

how can a leader effectively disrupt and make change

Answer 18

undermining existing assumptions and beliefs

question moral associations and social norms

subverting existing controls and sanctions

Question 19

how can a leader effectively build momentum and make change

Answer 19

build coalition, build spaces for communication and support, advocate a sense of urgency

Question 20

Name the three surrounding principles of entrenchment (in the context of change)

Answer 20

enabling and policing: rewarding adoption
valourizing and demonizing: publicizing success
normalizing and routining: creating new best practices