SBL Leadership, culture and ethics

ACCA · Strategic Professional · 8 questions

Name: ____________________ Date: ____________

A leader who sets a compelling vision and inspires followers to look beyond their own interests is best described as:
- A Laissez-faire
- B Transactional
- C Custodial
- D Transformational
A manager agrees clear targets with staff, pays a bonus when they are met and takes corrective action when they are not. This is mainly which style?
- A Charismatic
- B Servant
- C Transactional
- D Transformational
In Handy's four cultures, which is based on rules, procedures and clear job descriptions, and is typical of a large bureaucracy?
- A Person culture
- B Role culture
- C Task culture
- D Power culture
In Schein's model of culture, which level is the deepest and the hardest to see or change?
- A Dress code and office layout
- B Artefacts
- C Espoused values
- D Basic underlying assumptions
Which of these is the best example of 'tone at the top' in ethical culture?
- A Staff attend annual ethics training
- B Directors follow the code of conduct themselves and act on breaches
- C A whistleblowing line is available
- D The code of conduct is printed in the annual report
An approach that judges an action by whether it produces the greatest good for the greatest number is called:
- A Virtue ethics
- B Deontology
- C Utilitarianism
- D Relativism
At which level of Kohlberg's moral development does a person follow rules and laws mainly to maintain social order?
- A Instrumental
- B Pre-conventional
- C Post-conventional
- D Conventional
A company has a written code of ethics but promotes only those who hit sales targets, even if they break the code. Which culture issue does this show?
- A Stakeholders have too much power
- B The code of conduct is too long
- C Reward systems send a message that conflicts with the stated values
- D The board is too independent

Answer key

1. D, 2. C, 3. B, 4. D, 5. B, 6. C, 7. D, 8. C

Transformational leaders inspire and motivate with a vision, while transactional leaders rely on rewards and penalties for performance.
The exchange of reward for performance, with correction of deviations, is the core of transactional leadership.
Role culture (Apollo) relies on formal structure and procedures. Power culture centres on one dominant figure.
Basic assumptions are taken for granted beliefs. Artefacts are visible but are the surface level.
Ethical culture is shaped mainly by what the board and senior management do, not only by what documents say.
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist approach that looks at outcomes. Deontology looks at duties and rules.
The conventional level is based on meeting expectations of others and respecting law and order.
People act on what is rewarded. A gap between stated and practised values weakens the ethical culture.