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True False
2-2
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
6. When investors bid up stock prices, companies have less capital to fuel their strategies.
True False
7. While the stock market can impact a firm, it has no effect on the behavior of individual managers.
True False
8. Firms that develop strategies that do not include technological advances run the risk of becoming
obsolescent.
True False
9. U.S. government policies both impose strategic constraints and provide opportunities for
organizations.
True False
10. Regulatory agencies set rules but are typically weak institutions since they do not have the power to
investigate company practices or to take legal action to ensure compliance with the law.
True False
11. Social metrics are measures of various characteristics of the people who make up groups or other
social units.
True False
12. Immigration is a factor that significantly influences the U.S. population and labor force.
True False
2-3
13. Population growth is unrelated to the size and composition of the labor force.
True False
14. A more diverse workforce presents managers with challenges as well as opportunities.
True False
15. Family leave, flexible working hours, and child care assistance have been introduced as a result of
the evolving societal trends.
True False
16. Michael Porter's model for competitive analysis is one example of analyzing the competitive
environment for adapting to and even influencing the nature of competition.
True False
17. According to Michael Porter's model, the competitive environment includes rivalry among current
competitors and the impact of new entrants, substitute and complementary products, suppliers,
and customers.
True False
18. As a first step in understanding their competitive environment, organizations must analyze how the
competitors compete.
True False
19. A barrier to entry is a condition that prevents customers from using a firm's products or services.
True False
2-4
20. Cost is often a major barrier to entry into the marketplace.
True False
21. Organizations are at a disadvantage if they become overly dependent on any powerful supplier.
True False
22. Needing to learn a new software program as a result of changing suppliers is an example of a
switching cost.
True False
23. Strategic maneuvering is the managing of the network of facilities and people that obtain materials
from outside the organization, transform them into products, and distribute them to customers.
True False
24. The goal of supply chain management is having the right product in the right quantity at the right
place at the right cost.
True False
25. The Internet has empowered customers by providing an easy source of information.
True False
26. Environmental uncertainty refers to the lack of information needed to understand or predict the
future.
True False
2-5
27. Environmental scanning means searching for and sorting through information about the
environment.
True False
28. Cognitive intelligence is the information that helps managers determine how to compete better.
True False
29. Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company in a given area and
then comparing one's processes to theirs.
True False
30. Organizations that are defenders are more likely to engage in strategic maneuvering than are
prospectors.
True False
31. April, a manager in a call center, encourages her employees to solve customers' problems without
her approval of the particular situation. In this case, April is trying to empower her employees.
True False
32. In an organization, buffering refers to leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the
environment.
True False
2-6
33. In a dynamic environment, bureaucratic organizations are more efficient than organic
organizations.
True False
34. A strong organization culture is one in which everyone understands and believes in the firm's goals,
priorities, and practices.
True False
35. Stories told by employees almost never have any connection to the true culture of the
organization.
True False
Multiple Choice Questions
36. Organizations are systems, which means that they are affected by and in turn affect their
external environments.
A. input
B. output
C. open
D. closed
E. social
2-7
37. Liz, a new manager at a company, has been asked to focus on the competitive environment of the
organization. Which of the following is a factor Liz should focus on?
A. Government legislation
B. Culture
C. Demographics
D. Buyers
E. Technology
38. The immediate environment surrounding a firm is known as its:
A. macroenvironment.
B. demographic environment.
C. competitive environment.
D. internal environment.
E. economic environment.
39. lead to new products, advanced production facilities, and better ways of managing and
communicating.
A. Demographic shifts
B. Societal preferences
C. Political changes
D. Technological advances
E. Economic turbulences
2-8
40. Advances in genetic and bioengineering are expected to produce food products that will be
available year-round even in unsuitable Northern climates. This provides grocers an opportunity to
reduce shipping costs and provide fresher products to customers. These advances are an example
of changes in the environment.
A. technological
B. economic
C. political
D. demographic
E. biophysical
41. Using bribery as a business tactic may result in fines for U.S. firms. Which of the following types of
environmental forces at work does this reflect?
A. Competitive
B. Economic
C. Legal
D. Technological
E. Demographic
42. are specific government organizations in a firm's more immediate task environment.
A. Open systems
B. Regulators C.
Prospectors D.
Stakeholders E.
Defenders
2-9
43. are measures of various characteristics of the people who make up groups or other social
units.
A. Psychographics
B. Demographics
C. Domain selections
D. Lifestyle analytics
E. Group dynamics
44. trends regarding how people think and behave have major implications for management of
the labor force, corporate social actions, and strategic decisions about products and markets.
A. Psychological
B. Political
C. Economic
D. Technological
E. Societal
45. Which of the following is an element of Michael Porter's model for analyzing the competitive
environment of an organization?
A. Substitutes
B. Cost strategy
C. Societal trends
D. Regulatory forces
E. Demographics
2-10
46. A firm's current competition, suppliers, customers, and the threat of new entrants or of substitutes
are all elements in the .
A. task environment
B. Peter's model for organizational excellence
C. microenvironment
D. Porter's model for competitive environment
E. supply chain management
47. Venus was a low-cost airline that was functional in the 1980s. Industry analysts state that although
Venus was able to provide all the services the customers wanted, it was thrown out of business
because of aggressive pricing from larger airline firms. Which of the following aspects of the
competitive environment does this scenario illustrate?
A. Customers
B. Rivals
C. Regulators
D. The economy
E. Social trends
48. Conditions that may prevent new firms from entering an industry are referred to as .
A. barriers to entry
B. strategic maneuvers
C. unfair trade practices
D. industry regulators
E. entry inhibitors
2-11
49. Hospitals and universities are very expensive to run not only due to the capital equipment that is
required for each but also due to the personnel such as specialized medical doctors and
researchers. The cost of these types of institutions is an example of .
A. a barrier to entry
B. environmental uncertainty
C. unfair competition
D. high switching costs
E. strategic maneuvering
50. A(n) is a potential threat; customers use it as an alternative, buying less of one kind of product
but more of another.
A. new entrant
B. substitute
C. ensemble
D. divestiture
E. complement
51. If many factors prevent new companies from entering an industry, the:
A. threat of new entrants is more serious.
B. threat of competitive rivalry is high.
C. threat to established firms is less serious.
D. new companies can easily compete with the established ones.
E. industry is said to have just a few barriers to entry.
2-12
52. Which of the following is an example of a potential substitute product?
A. Hand sanitizer for soaps
B. Ink cartridges for printers
C. Mops for detergent
D. iTunes for iPods
E. Furniture for apartments
53. Organizations must acquire a variety of resources in order to produce a product or service of value.
These resources may include materials, equipment, financing, or even employees. The sources that
provide these various resources are referred to as .
A. warehouse clubs
B. regulators
C. retailers
D. suppliers
E. prospectors
54. are fixed costs buyers face if they change suppliers.
A. Changing costs
B. Switching costs
C. Renewable costs
D. Exchange costs
E. Sunk costs
2-13
55. Laredo Bank & Trust uses the janitorial services of ProKleen, which provides necessary cleaning
supplies, personnel training, and maintenance services. The other available janitorial services do not
provide maintenance services. In this case, if Laredo decides to terminate ProKleen's services and
shift to some other agency, it is likely to create .
A. high employment costs
B. redemption costs
C. favorable quality status
D. complementary products
E. high switching costs
56. refers to management of the network of facilities and people that obtain materials from the
outside, transform them into products, and distribute the products to customers.
A. Inventory management
B. Strategic maneuvering
C. Human resource management
D. Customer service
E. Supply chain management
57. A customer who purchases raw materials or wholesale products before selling them to other parties
is known as a(n) .
A. final purchaser
B. intermediate consumer
C. final customer
D. first-tier supplier
E. preliminary customer
2-14
58. The main difference between a final consumer and an intermediate consumer is that:
A. the final consumer purchases finished products, whereas an intermediate consumer only buys
raw materials.
B. intermediate consumers buy raw materials and sell finished products to final consumers, whereas
final consumers use the finished products.
C. final consumers make more purchases than the intermediate consumers.
D. unlike final consumers, intermediate consumers provide monetary benefits to organizations by
purchasing their products.
E. final consumers tend to have more bargaining power than intermediate consumers.
59. Giving consumers what they want or need, the way they want it, the first time is known as .
A. planned merchandise
B. planned obsolescence
C. customer service
D. cause marketing
E. operations management
60. Environmental refers to the degree of discontinuous change that occurs within the industry.
A. complexity
B. dysfunction
C. contracting
D. cooptation
E. dynamism
2-15
61. Ranier Outdoor Clothing managers engage in an annual organizational assessment, trying to
predict industry changes as well as possible opportunities and threats. They look at issues such as
who their competitors are, current entry barriers, and what substitutes exist for their products. This
assessment is called .
A. scenario development
B. forecasting
C. benchmarking
D. environmental scanning
62. An outcome of environmental scanning is , the information necessary to decide how best to
manage in the competitive environment managers have identified.
A. corporate governance
B. strategic vision
C. competitive intelligence
D. corporate espionage
E. competitive dissertation
63. refers to a narrative that describes a particular set of future conditions for a business.
A. Benchmarking
B. A scenario
C. Strategic maneuvering
D. A divestiture
E. Strategic vision
2-16
64. create alternative combinations of different factors into a total picture of the environment and
a firm.
A. Scenarios
B. Forecasts
C. Benchmarks
D. Competitive intelligences
E. Strategic maneuvers
65. Which of the following combinations can result in a best-case scenario?
A. Many competitors, high threat with few entry barriers, and few customers
B. Many competitors, high threat with few entry barriers, and many customers
C. Few entry barriers, many substitutes, many customers
D. High industry growth, low threat with many entry barriers, and customers with low bargaining
power
E. Low industry growth, high threat with few entry barriers, and suppliers with low bargaining power
66. The method for predicting how variables will change in the future is known as .
A. budgeting
B. buffering
C. forecasting
D. benchmarking
E. scanning
2-17
67. Which of the following is true about using forecasts?
A. Multiple forecasts are best, and their predictions can be averaged.
B. Forecasts become more accurate while predicting further into the future.
C. Forecasts are useless when the future will look radically different from the past.
D. The more complex the forecast, the more accurate are the predictions.
E. The accuracy of forecasts does not vary from one application to another.
68. refers to the process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies with those of
other companies.
A. Scenario planning
B. Forecasting
C. Benchmarking
D. Environmental scanning
E. Strategic maneuvering
69. To improve customer service in its overseas call center, Jansen Electronics decided to investigate
the call center practices of competing companies. The team discovered that a smaller company,
Gorilla Devices Inc., seemed to have outstanding customer service. The team then determined
differences between the organizations and developed a plan to incorporate the best elements of
Gorilla into Jansen. This illustrates .
A. environmental dynamism
B. benchmarking
C. strategic maneuvering
D. cooperative action
E. forecasting
2-18
70. Domain selection, diversification, mergers/acquisitions, and divestiture are all examples of .
A. illegal boundary management
B. maneuvering the competition
D. independent strategies
E. portfolio maneuvering
71. occurs when a firm invests in different types of businesses or products or when it expands
geographically to reduce its dependence on a single market or technology.
A. Domain selection
B. Diversification
C. Acquisition
D. Divestiture
E. Empowerment
72. The entrance by a company into another market or industry for which it has an existing expertise is
called .
A. benchmarking
B. strategic positioning
C. outsourcing
D. domain selection
E. cooptation
2-19
73. One firm buying another is called a(n) .
A. merger
B. acquisition
C. divestiture
D. prospective
E. defender
74. Valley Organic Meats recently announced that it was selling off its pork division in order to realign
itself more competitively in the marketing of its other products. Which of the following strategic
maneuvers is illustrated in this scenario?
A. Diversification
B. An acquisition
C. A merger
D. Divestiture
E. Domain selection
75. Two general types of proactive strategies for influencing an organization's environment are
A. dependent strategies and independent strategies.

B. independent action and cooperative action.
C. cooperative strategies and strategic maneuvering.
D. strategic maneuvering and dependent strategies.
E. independent action and strategic maneuvering.
2-20
76. strategies are used by an organization acting on its own to change some aspect of its current
environment.
A. Flexible
B. Buffering
C. Independent
D. Smoothing
E. Cooperative
77. Purple Lotus and GreenBolt are two leading e-commerce companies. Recently, Purple Lotus
engaged in an online price war with GreenBolt in order to gain greater market share. This is an
example of on the part of Purple Lotus.
A. cooptation
B. voluntary action
C. competitive pacification
D. competitive aggression
E. environmental scanning
78. Dan's FroYo is a company that sells different varieties of frozen yogurt. When Dan's FroYo spends
its own money to promote the frozen yogurt industry as a whole, the company is practicing .
A. competitive aggression
B. competitive pacification
C. public relations
D. voluntary cooptation
E. comparative action
2-21
79. When a brand advertises its products as being superior to that of its competitors, it is
demonstrating .
C. benchmarking
D. political action
E. cooptation
80. When two or more companies work together to manage their external environment, they are using
A. monopolistic strategies
B. strategic maneuvering
C. cooperative strategies
D. dependent strategies
E. competitive strategies
81. Quartermaine University has just formed a board of trustees and invited 25 of its wealthiest alumni
to join. In this example, Quartermaine University is demonstrating .
A. contraction
B. cooptation
C. coalition
D. political action
E. voluntary action
2-22
82. Western Allied Heath and Grant Pharmaceuticals are two pharmaceutical companies that have
joined forces with one another to lobby against a controversial Medicare reform. This action is
referred to as .
A. contraction
B. coalition
C. cooptation
D. domain selection
E. benchmarking
83. The process of sharing power with employees is called .
A. empowerment
B. downgrading C.
benchmarking D.
vertical synergy E.
power building
2-23
84. Candace recently got promoted to a managerial role in a bureaucratic organization. The industry
had been changing dramatically, and Candace suggested that the management team encourage
employees to develop confidence by giving them some control and authority in order to create a
more flexible, adaptable organization. Here, Candace is suggesting the use of with
employees.
A. smoothing
B. benchmarking
C. empowerment
D. cooptation
E. coalition
85. Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs is known as .
A. cooptation
B. smoothing
C. flexible processing
D. empowering
E. buffering
2-24
86. Alyssa owns Carver Gifts, a handmade greeting cards store. She is projecting that the economy will
rebound this fall. She ordered additional holiday gift merchandise in February in anticipation of
possible surge in sales during the holiday season. In this case, which of the following methods is
Alyssa using to be sure she has enough gifts for those extra holiday customers?
A. Just-in-time inventory management
B. Smoothing
C. Benchmarking
D. Buffering
E. Diversification
87. Leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the environment is called .
A. buffering
B. smoothing
D. empowerment
E. coalition
88. Methods for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment are known as .
A. flexible processes
B. smoothing effects
C. buffering techniques
D. benchmarking tools
E. environmental scanners
2-25
89. NBIC (National Bicycle Industrial Company) of Japan specializes in mass customization in order to
cater to the changing demands of its customers. Customers can choose the frame and other parts
of the bicycle and it is made according to their order. This is one example of how NBIC uses .
A. cooptation
B. flexible processes
C. smoothing techniques
D. benchmarking
E. diversification
90. The set of important assumptions about an organization and its goals and practices that members
of the company share is called organization .
A. culture
B. design
C. climate
D. layout
E. structure
2-26
91. Purple Technology is a communication and information technology corporation. The company
makes it a point to stress to its employees that innovation is its core strength. The employees even
get an hour a day to brainstorm and come up with out-of-the-box ideas. This highlights the
of the company.
A. cooperative strategies
B. external environment
C. organization culture
D. competitive pacification
E. domain selection
92. Which of the following can be a useful clue about an organization's culture?
A. The way employees interact with each other
B. Information printed in the media about stock prices
C. The macroenvironment
D. The personality characteristics of employees
E. The industrial environment
93. Which of the following statements about organizational culture is true?
A. Corporate mission statements are always a true expression of a firm's culture.
B. Who is hired and fired and why indicate the firm's real value and are a clue to the culture.
C. A firm with a strong culture will have different people holding different values.
D. A culture that was advantageous in a prior era continues to be so in a new environment.
E. It is unnecessary to consider culture when considering a merger.
2-27
94. According to the competing values model, if an organization's culture is internally oriented and
flexible and tends to be based on the values and norms associated with affiliation, it could be best
described as a(n) .
A. group culture
B. hierarchical culture
C. rational culture
D. adhocracy
E. closed system
95. According to the competing values model, if an organization's culture is externally oriented and
focused on control with its primary objectives as productivity, planning, and efficiency, it could be
best described as a(n) culture.
A. group
B. hierarchical
C. rational
D. adhocracy
E. values-oriented
96. The attitude and behavior patterns that shape people's experience of an organization is called an
organizational .
A. culture
B. climate
C. environment
D. strategy
E. adhocracy
2-28
Scenario A. Connie's Collectibles is a small retail store that specializes in antique jewelry. In
analyzing the environment, Connie has uncovered the following interesting findings:
1. Connie has recently purchased more inventory than in the past. The people from whom she buys
are selling off more jewelry because their children are not interested in this type of jewelry and they
would prefer to liquidate their jewelry to help them with their daily expenses since they no longer
wear most of it.
2. Connie discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district. As she considers
remodeling the shop, she realized that she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the
governing laws.
3. Connie's buyer-customer base seems to be changing. The tastes of the younger generation near
her shop are shifting to modern jewelry, so the customer base to which she sells is shrinking.
4. Connie has been told that she should consider selling her inventory via the Internet, but she does
not own (or understand how to use) a computer.
5. In reading a survey of regional business, Connie discovered that there are no other antique
jewelry stores within a 200-mile radius of hers.
97. In Scenario A, which of the following elements of the macroenvironment was part of Connie's
findings?
A. Sustainability
B. Psychology
C. Corporate governance
D. Sociology
E. Technology
2-29
98. When Connie read the survey of regional businesses, she was investigating .
A. the competitive environment
B. the macroenvironment
C. a closed environment
D. the internal environment
E. the social environment
99. Findings about changing customer preferences and others who sell antique jewelry are associated
with the:
A. competitive environment as described by Porter.
B. macroenvironmental economic trends.
C. macroenvironmental political trends.
D. amount of rivalry in Connie's internal environment.
E. barriers to entry in Connie's competitive environment.
100. Which of the following elements of the macroenvironment is most closely associated with the
findings about the historical preservation district?
A. Laws and regulations
B. The economy
C. Demographics
D. Technology
E. The natural environment
2-30
Scenario B. Jack and a fellow investor are investigating the possibility of starting a new casino in
Black Hawk, a small town in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. It has been Jack's lifelong dream. Jack
has won a lottery and is trying to decide if this is what he wants to do with the prize money. He
decides to do an analysis of the competitive environment. After his analysis, he discovers several
important issues. First, it will cost most of Jack's lottery winnings to finance a casino in Black Hawk.
Second, it will be difficult to attract new customers because they have so many choices available to
them in Black Hawk and the surrounding small towns. Finally, the competition in the casino industry
is considered fierce by industry analysts and this is frightening to someone, like Jack, who has never
worked in the casino industry.
101. Which of the following factors would have Jack considered while analyzing the competitive
environment?
A. Technology
B. Substitutes
C. Legal factors
D. Economic factors
E. Demographics
102. The information that Jack has collected in his competitive analysis can be referred to as .
A. corporate espionage
B. competitive intelligence
C. domain selection
D. strategic vision
E. mission statement
2-31
103. From Scenario B, based on Jack's analysis of the competitive environment, it can be inferred that:
A. the customers will face switching costs.
B. there are no competitors.
C. there are many substitutes.
D. there are no barriers to entry.
E. the threat of new entrants is high.
104. Which of the following factors is indicated by the fact that it will require a large capital investment
to start a new casino?
A. High bargaining power of customers
B. Low threat of new entrants
C. High threat of new entrants
D. Many substitute products
E. Low bargaining power of customers
Scenario C. Smash Marketing is a consulting firm located in the Midwest. Mr. William "Bill" Smash
started the firm as a young man in the early 1950s. The firm has grown, but with growth, it has
never forgotten the vision of Mr. Smash: to be creative in all that the firm does while delighting the
client. Each year the Smash Award for Advertising Creativity is given to the employee who most
exemplifies Mr. Smash's vision. New employees are told of the organization's greatest
accomplishments and are taken on a tour of the "Wall of Memories," where pictures of the
company taken over the years are hung. One is even included to remind everyone of the disastrous
fire that the company not only survived but also built upon to strengthen the sense of teamwork,
which is clearly evident throughout the firm. Managers at the firm tend to be more like mentors
and facilitators. In fact, there is a long tradition of employee participation in decision making, and
all employees consider themselves to be part of the "Smash Family."
2-32
105. The stories about Bill Smash and his vision influencing the employees of the organization are all
clues to understanding the .
A. organization culture
B. company's macroenvironment
C. organization's competitive environment
D. collective competitive intelligence
E. organizational structure
106. The culture at Smash Marketing can be best described as a culture.
A. group
B. hierarchical
C. rational
D. bureaucratic
E. rigid
107. Based on the information in Scenario C, which of the following is likely to be the dominant attribute
of Smash Marketing?
A. Rules and regulations
B. Cohesiveness
C. Competitiveness
D. Risk taking
E. Entrepreneurship
2-33
Scenario D. Margarita works for a small company that deals with processed and canned tomatoes
and other vegetables. She reports to the CFO. It is her job to predict the costs of raw materials for
the next five years. She uses various research sources, including the news, to learn who the
competitors are and what they have been doing. In fact, she subscribes to an analyst e-newsletter
that tells her about crop availability and weather conditions all around the globe. Every month she
develops a spreadsheet for her boss indicating the likely costs of vegetables given the type of
weather conditions expected in each area of the world and thus the availability of particular crops.
She is also involved in a team that is investigating how to cut canning costs. They have recently met
with Good Cans, a company that manufactures and cans tennis balls. Good Cans is considered the
top company in the canning industry, especially in canning process knowledge. Margarita's team is
comparing their processes to those of Good Cans to see how they might improve.
108. When predicting the costs for her company, Margarita is engaging in .
A. forecasting
C. environmental scanning
D. benchmarking
E. scenario development
109. The information Margarita is using to compete in a better way is called .
A. mission statement
C. best-case scenario
D. organizational database
E. knowledge document
2-34
110. The spreadsheet that Margarita uses gives her a chance to examine different projections, which is a
form of .
A. divestiture
C. domain selection
D. benchmarking
111. Which of the following is Margarita and her team using when they learn from Good Cans about its
canning process?
A. Forecasting
C. Domain selection
D. Benchmarking
E. Scenario development
Essay Questions
2-35
112. List the elements of a firm's macroenvironment and illustrate how each affects the firm.
113. Explain how a company can work societal trends to its advantage.
114. Explain how technology can help an organization.
2-36
115. Discuss how immigration patterns influence the management of the U.S. labor force.
116. Explain how sustainability and natural environment affect the management of an organization.
117. Describe the five forces in Michael Porter's model of the competitive environment.
2-37
118. List actions and attitudes that result in excellent customer service.
119. As environmental uncertainties increase, managers must develop techniques and methods for
collecting, sorting through, and interpreting information about the environment. Discuss four of
these methods, explaining when and why each would be used.
120. Differentiate between unattractive and attractive competitive environments, using Porter's model of
the competitive environment.
2-38
121. Briefly describe the three categories of options managers and companies have when responding to
their environment.
122. Summarize the different approaches of strategic maneuvering that organizations can take to
change the environment they are in.
123. Explain two general types of proactive responses that managers and organizations can take to
change the environment.
2-39
124. Contrast bureaucratic and organic organizations.
125. What are the clues to understanding an organization's culture? List the characteristics of a strong
culture.
126. Describe the culture of an organization that you have either worked in or studied about. Which of
the four types of organizational culture described in the chapter does the organization illustrate?
Justify your answer.
2-40
Chapter 02 The External and Internal Environments Answer Key
True / False Questions
1. Organizations are open systems that affect and are affected by their external environments.
TRUE
Organizations are open systems—that is, they are affected by and in turn affect their external
environments. For example, they take in inputs from their environment and use them to create
products and services that are outputs to their environment.
AACSB: Analytic
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Learning Objective: 02-01 Describe how environmental forces influence organizations and how organizations can influence their
environments.
Level of Difficulty: 1 Easy
Topic: Introduction
2. The external environment includes all relevant forces outside an organization's boundaries.
TRUE
The term external environment means more than an organization's clients or customers. The
external environment includes all relevant forces outside the organization's boundaries.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-41
environments.
Topic: Introduction
3. Inputs are the goods and services organizations take in and use to create products or services.
TRUE
Inputs are the goods and services organizations take in and use to create products or services.
Outputs are the products and services organizations create.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
environments.
Topic: Introduction
4. A firm's competitive environment includes new entrants, substitutes, and rivals.
TRUE
An organization exists in its competitive environment, which is composed of the firm and its
rivals, suppliers, customers (buyers), new entrants, and substitute or complementary products.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
environments.
Topic: Introduction
2-42
5. An organization's macroenvironment includes its customers and suppliers.
FALSE
An organization exists in its competitive environment. At the more general level is the
macroenvironment, which includes legal, political, economic, technological, demographic, and
social and natural factors that generally affect all organizations.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
environments.
Level of Difficulty: 2 Medium
Topic: Introduction
6. When investors bid up stock prices, companies have less capital to fuel their strategies.
FALSE
An important economic influence on a company is the stock market. When investors bid up
stock prices, they are paying more to own shares in companies, which means the companies
have more capital to fuel their strategies.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Learning Objective: 02-03 Explain why managers and organizations should attend to economic and social developments.
Topic: The Macroenvironment
2-43
7. While the stock market can impact a firm, it has no effect on the behavior of individual
managers.
FALSE
The stock market can have a profound effect on the behavior of individual managers. In publicly
held companies, managers throughout the organization may feel required to meet the stock
market's earnings expectations.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
8. Firms that develop strategies that do not include technological advances run the risk of
becoming obsolescent.
TRUE
Today a company cannot succeed without incorporating into its strategy the astonishing
technologies that exist and continue to evolve. Technological advances create new products,
advanced production techniques, and better ways of managing and communicating.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-44
9. U.S. government policies both impose strategic constraints and provide opportunities for
organizations.
TRUE
U.S. government policies impose strategic constraints on organizations but may also provide
opportunities. The government can affect business opportunities through tax laws, economic
policies, and international trade rulings. An example of restraint on business action is the U.S.
government's standards regarding bribery.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
10. Regulatory agencies set rules but are typically weak institutions since they do not have the
power to investigate company practices or to take legal action to ensure compliance with the
law.
FALSE
Regulators are specific government organizations in a firm's more immediate task environment.
Regulatory agencies have the power to investigate company practices and take legal action to
ensure compliance with laws.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-45
11. Social metrics are measures of various characteristics of the people who make up groups or
other social units.
FALSE
Demographics are measures of various characteristics of the people who make up groups or
other social units. Work groups, organizations, countries, markets, and societies can be
described statistically by referring to demographic measures such as their members' age,
gender, family size, income, education, occupation, and so forth.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
12. Immigration is a factor that significantly influences the U.S. population and labor force.
FALSE
A factor that significantly influences the U.S. population and labor force is immigration.
Immigrants represent over 15 percent of the U.S. workforce, although they are a stronger
presence in the West (almost 24 percent of the workforce) than in the Midwest (less than 8
percent).
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-46
13. Population growth is unrelated to the size and composition of the labor force.
FALSE
Managers must consider workforce demographics in formulating their human resources

strategies. Population growth influences the size and composition of the labor force.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
14. A more diverse workforce presents managers with challenges as well as opportunities.
TRUE
A more diverse workforce has many advantages, but managers have to make certain they
provide equality for women and minorities with respect to employment, advancement,
opportunities, and compensation.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Learning Objective: 02-03 Explain why managers and organizations should attend to economic and social developments
2-47
15. Family leave, flexible working hours, and child care assistance have been introduced as a result
of the evolving societal trends.
TRUE
Societal trends regarding how people think and behave have major implications for
management of the labor force, corporate social actions, and strategic decisions about products
and markets. For example, today more women are having children and then returning to the
workforce. As a result companies have introduced more supportive policies, including family
leave, flexible working hours, and child care assistance.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
16. Michael Porter's model for competitive analysis is one example of analyzing the competitive
environment for adapting to and even influencing the nature of competition.
TRUE
In strategic decision making, Michael Porter's model is an excellent method to help managers
analyze the competitive environment and adapt to or influence the nature of their competition.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Learning Objective: 02-04 Identify elements of the competitive environment.
Topic: The Competitive Environment
2-48
17. According to Michael Porter's model, the competitive environment includes rivalry among
current competitors and the impact of new entrants, substitute and complementary products,
suppliers, and customers.
TRUE
Michael Porter's model says that the competitive environment includes rivalry among current
and customers. According to Porter, successful managers do more than simply react to the
environment; they act in ways that actually shape or change the organization's environment.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
18. As a first step in understanding their competitive environment, organizations must analyze how
the competitors compete.
FALSE
As a first step in understanding the competitive environment, organizations must identify their
competitors. Once competitors have been identified, the next step is to analyze how they
compete.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-49
19. A barrier to entry is a condition that prevents customers from using a firm's products or
services.
FALSE
Barriers to entry are conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. Some
major barriers to entry are government policy, capital requirements, brand identification, cost
disadvantages, and distribution channels.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
20. Cost is often a major barrier to entry into the marketplace.
TRUE
Barriers to entry are conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. Some
major barriers to entry are government policy, capital requirements, brand identification, cost
disadvantages, and distribution channels.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Learning Objective: 02-04 Identify elements of the competitive environment
2-50
21. Organizations are at a disadvantage if they become overly dependent on any powerful supplier.
TRUE
Organizations are at a disadvantage if they become overly dependent on any powerful supplier.
A supplier is powerful if the buyer has few other sources of supply or if the supplier has many
other buyers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
22. Needing to learn a new software program as a result of changing suppliers is an example of a
switching cost.
TRUE
Dependence on suppliers results from high switching costs—the fixed costs buyers face if they
change suppliers. For example, once a buyer learns how to operate a supplier's equipment, such
as computer software, the buyer faces both economic and psychological costs in changing to a
new supplier.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-51
23. Strategic maneuvering is the managing of the network of facilities and people that obtain
materials from outside the organization, transform them into products, and distribute them to
customers.
FALSE
Supply chain management is the managing of the entire network of facilities and people that
obtain raw materials from outside the organization, transform them into products, and distribute
them to customers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
24. The goal of supply chain management is having the right product in the right quantity at the
right place at the right cost.
TRUE
Today the goal of effective supply chain management is to have the right product in the right
quantity available at the right place at the right cost. In recent years, supply chain management
has become an increasingly important contributor to a company's competitiveness and
profitability.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-52
25. The Internet has empowered customers by providing an easy source of information.
TRUE
The Internet has empowered customers. It provides an easy source of information, both about
product features and about pricing.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
26. Environmental uncertainty refers to the lack of information needed to understand or predict the
future.
TRUE
Environmental uncertainty refers to the lack of information needed to understand or predict the
future.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Learning Objective: 02-05 Summarize how organizations respond to environmental uncertainty.
Topic: Environmental Analysis
2-53
27. Environmental scanning means searching for and sorting through information about the
environment.
TRUE
Environmental scanning means both searching out information that is unavailable to most
people and sorting through that information to interpret what is important and what is not.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
28. Cognitive intelligence is the information that helps managers determine how to compete better.
FALSE
Competitive intelligence is the information that helps managers determine how to compete
better. Using environmental scanning, managers develop competitive intelligence, the
information necessary to decide how best to manage in the competitive environment they have
identified.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-54
29. Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company in a given area
and then comparing one's processes to theirs.
TRUE
Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company in a given area,

say, product development or customer service, and then comparing your processes to theirs. To
accomplish this, a benchmarking team would collect information on its own company's
operations and those of the other firm to determine gaps.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
30. Organizations that are defenders are more likely to engage in strategic maneuvering than are
prospectors.
FALSE
Organizations engage in strategic maneuvering when they move into different environments.
Some companies, called prospectors, are more likely than others to engage in strategic
maneuvering. Defenders, in contrast, stay within a more limited, stable product domain.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Topic: Responding to the Environment
2-55
31. April, a manager in a call center, encourages her employees to solve customers' problems
without her approval of the particular situation. In this case, April is trying to empower her
employees.
TRUE
The process of sharing power with employees, thereby enhancing their confidence in their ability
to perform their jobs and their belief that they are influential contributors to the organization is
called empowerment.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
Level of Difficulty: 3 Hard
32. In an organization, buffering refers to leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the
environment.
FALSE
In an organization, smoothing refers to leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the

environment. Buffering creates supplies of excess resources to meet unpredictable needs.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-56
33. In a dynamic environment, bureaucratic organizations are more efficient than organic
organizations.
FALSE
While bureaucratic organizations may be efficient and controlled if the environment is stable,
they tend to be slow-moving and plodding in a dynamic environment in which products,
technologies, customers, or competitors are changing over time. In these cases, more organic
structures give organizations the flexibility to adjust to change.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
34. A strong organization culture is one in which everyone understands and believes in the firm's
goals, priorities, and practices.
TRUE
Cultures can be strong or weak; strong cultures can have great influence on how people think
and behave. A strong culture is one in which everyone understands and believes in the firm's
goals, priorities, and practices.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Learning Objective: 02-07 Discuss how an organization's culture and climate affect its response to its external environment.
Topic: The Internal Environment of Organizations: Culture and Climate
2-57
35. Stories told by employees almost never have any connection to the true culture of the
organization.
FALSE
The stories people tell carry a lot of information about the company's culture. Every company
has its myths, legends, and true stories about important past decisions and actions that convey
the company's main values.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Multiple Choice Questions
2-58
36. Organizations are systems, which means that they are affected by and in turn affect their
external environments.
A. input
B. output
C. open
D. closed
E. social
Organizations are open systems; that is, they are affected by and in turn affect their external
environments. For example, they take in inputs from their environment and use them to create
products and services that are outputs to their environment.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
environments.
Topic: Introduction
2-59
37. Liz, a new manager at a company, has been asked to focus on the competitive environment of
the organization. Which of the following is a factor Liz should focus on?
A. Government legislation
B. Culture
C. Demographics
D. Buyers
E. Technology
The competitive environment is composed of the firm and its rivals, suppliers, customers
(buyers), new entrants, and substitute or complementary products. At the more general level is
the macroenvironment, which includes legal, political, economic, technological, demographic,
and social and natural factors that generally affect all organizations.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
environments.
Topic: Introduction
2-60
38. The immediate environment surrounding a firm is known as its:
A. macroenvironment.
B. demographic environment.
C. competitive environment.
D. internal environment.
E. economic environment.
Competitive environment is the immediate environment surrounding a firm; it includes suppliers,

customers, rivals, and the like.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
environments.
Topic: Introduction
2-61
39. lead to new products, advanced production facilities, and better ways of managing and
communicating.
A. Demographic shifts
B. Societal preferences
C. Political changes
D. Technological advances
E. Economic turbulences
Technological advances create new products, advanced production techniques, and better ways
of managing and communicating. In addition, as technology evolves, new industries, markets,
and competitive niches develop.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-62
40. Advances in genetic and bioengineering are expected to produce food products that will be
available year-round even in unsuitable Northern climates. This provides grocers an opportunity
to reduce shipping costs and provide fresher products to customers. These advances are an
example of changes in the environment.
A. technological
B. economic
C. political
D. demographic
E. biophysical
Technological advances create new products, advanced production techniques, and better ways
of managing and communicating. In addition, as technology evolves, new industries, markets,
and competitive niches develop.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-63
41. Using bribery as a business tactic may result in fines for U.S. firms. Which of the following types
of environmental forces at work does this reflect?
A. Competitive
B. Economic
C. Legal
D. Technological
E. Demographic
An example of laws and regulations in the macroenvironment is the U.S. government's
standards regarding bribery. In some countries, bribes and kickbacks are common and expected
ways of doing business, but for U.S. firms they are illegal practices.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-64
42. are specific government organizations in a firm's more immediate task environment.
A. Open systems
B. Regulators C.
Prospectors D.
Stakeholders E.
Defenders
Regulators are specific government organizations in a firm's more immediate task environment.
Regulatory agencies have the power to investigate company practices and take legal action to
ensure compliance with laws. The Securities and Exchange Commission is a regulatory agency.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-65
43. are measures of various characteristics of the people who make up groups or other social
units.
A. Psychographics
B. Demographics
C. Domain selections
D. Lifestyle analytics
E. Group dynamics
Demographics are measures of various characteristics of the people who make up groups or
other social units. Work groups, organizations, countries, markets, and societies can be
described statistically by referring to demographic measures such as their members' age,
gender, family size, income, education, occupation, and so forth.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-66
44. trends regarding how people think and behave have major implications for management
of the labor force, corporate social actions, and strategic decisions about products and markets.
A. Psychological
B. Political
C. Economic
D. Technological
E. Societal
Societal trends regarding how people think and behave have major implications for
management of the labor force, corporate social actions, and strategic decisions about products
and markets. How companies respond to societal trends may affect their reputation in the
marketplace.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-67
45. Which of the following is an element of Michael Porter's model for analyzing the competitive
environment of an organization?
A. Substitutes
B. Cost strategy
C. Societal trends
D. Regulatory forces
E. Demographics
According to Michael Porter's model, the competitive environment of an organization includes
rivalry among current competitors and the impact of new entrants, substitute and
complementary products, suppliers, and customers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-68
46. A firm's current competition, suppliers, customers, and the threat of new entrants or of
substitutes are all elements in the .
A. task environment
B. Peter's model for organizational excellence
C. microenvironment
D. Porter's model for competitive environment
E. supply chain management
Michael Porter's model of the competitive environment includes rivalry among current
and customers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-69
47. Venus was a low-cost airline that was functional in the 1980s. Industry analysts state that
although Venus was able to provide all the services the customers wanted, it was thrown out of
business because of aggressive pricing from larger airline firms. Which of the following aspects
of the competitive environment does this scenario illustrate?
A. Customers
B. Rivals
C. Regulators
D. The economy
E. Social trends
The competitive environment includes rivalry among current competitors and the impact of new
entrants, substitute and complementary products, suppliers, and customers. In this scenario, the
larger airlines constitute the rivals of Venus. The competitive environment is composed in part of
rival firms such as the larger airlines in this example.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-70
48. Conditions that may prevent new firms from entering an industry are referred to as .
A. barriers to entry
B. strategic maneuvers
C. unfair trade practices
D. industry regulators
E. entry inhibitors
Barriers to entry are conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. Patents
are an example of a barrier to entry.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-71
49. Hospitals and universities are very expensive to run not only due to the capital equipment that is
required for each but also due to the personnel such as specialized medical doctors and
researchers. The cost of these types of institutions is an example of .
A. a barrier to entry
B. environmental uncertainty
C. unfair competition
D. high switching costs
Barriers to entry are conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry. In this
case, the industries are medicine and education, and the equipment and personnel are
extremely expensive and perhaps scarce, leading to barriers to entry.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-72
50. A(n) is a potential threat; customers use it as an alternative, buying less of one kind of
product but more of another.
A. new entrant
B. substitute
C. ensemble
D. divestiture
E. complement
A substitute is a potential threat; customers use it as an alternative, buying less of one kind of
product but more of another. A complement is a potential opportunity because customers buy
more of a given product if they also demand more of the complementary product.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-73
51. If many factors prevent new companies from entering an industry, the:
A. threat of new entrants is more serious.
B. threat of competitive rivalry is high.
C. threat to established firms is less serious.
D. new companies can easily compete with the established ones.
E. industry is said to have just a few barriers to entry.
If many factors prevent new companies from entering an industry, the threat to established firms
is less serious. If there are few such barriers to entry, the threat of new entrants is more serious.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
52. Which of the following is an example of a potential substitute product?
A. Hand sanitizer for soaps
B. Ink cartridges for printers
C. Mops for detergent
D. iTunes for iPods
E. Furniture for apartments
A substitute is a potential threat; customers use it as an alternative, buying less of one kind of
product but more of another. Hand sanitizer is a substitute for soap, where customers can use it
as an alternative. The remaining choices are examples of complements.
AACSB: Analytic
2-74
Blooms: Apply
53. Organizations must acquire a variety of resources in order to produce a product or service of
value. These resources may include materials, equipment, financing, or even employees. The
sources that provide these various resources are referred to as .
A. warehouse clubs
B. regulators
C. retailers
D. suppliers
E. prospectors
Organizations must acquire resources (inputs) from their environment and convert them into
products or services (outputs) to sell. Suppliers provide resources needed for production in the
form of people (trade schools and universities), raw materials (producers, wholesalers, and
distributors), information (researchers and consulting firms), and financial capital (banks).
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-75
54. are fixed costs buyers face if they change suppliers.
A. Changing costs
B. Switching costs
C. Renewable costs
D. Exchange costs
E. Sunk costs
Dependence on suppliers can result from high switching costs—the fixed costs buyers face if
they change suppliers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-76
55. Laredo Bank & Trust uses the janitorial services of ProKleen, which provides necessary cleaning
supplies, personnel training, and maintenance services. The other available janitorial services do
not provide maintenance services. In this case, if Laredo decides to terminate ProKleen's services
and shift to some other agency, it is likely to create .
A. high employment costs
B. redemption costs
C. favorable quality status
D. complementary products
E. high switching costs
Switching costs are fixed costs buyers face if they change suppliers. In this case, if the bank
terminates ProKleen and hires a new agency, it would result in high switching costs, since it will
have to spend additionally on maintenance.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-77
56. refers to management of the network of facilities and people that obtain materials from
the outside, transform them into products, and distribute the products to customers.
A. Inventory management
C. Human resource management
D. Customer service
E. Supply chain management
Supply chain management refers to managing the entire network of facilities and people that
obtain raw materials from outside the organization, transform them into products, and distribute
them to customers. In recent years, supply chain management has become an increasingly
important contributor to a company's competitiveness and profitability.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-78
57. A customer who purchases raw materials or wholesale products before selling them to other
parties is known as a(n) .
A. final purchaser
B. intermediate consumer
C. final customer
D. first-tier supplier
E. preliminary customer
Intermediate consumers buy raw materials or wholesale products and then sell to final
consumers, as when Sony buys components from IBM and uses them to make PS3 consoles.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-79
58. The main difference between a final consumer and an intermediate consumer is that:
A. the final consumer purchases finished products, whereas an intermediate consumer only
buys raw materials.
B. intermediate consumers buy raw materials and sell finished products to final consumers,
whereas final consumers use the finished products.
C. final consumers make more purchases than the intermediate consumers.
D. unlike final consumers, intermediate consumers provide monetary benefits to organizations

by purchasing their products.
E. final consumers tend to have more bargaining power than intermediate consumers.
Intermediate consumers buy raw materials or wholesale products and then sell to final
consumers, as when Sony buys components from IBM and uses them to make PS3 consoles. A
final consumer is a customer who purchases products in their finished form.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-80
59. Giving consumers what they want or need, the way they want it, the first time is known as .
A. planned merchandise
B. planned obsolescence
C. customer service
D. cause marketing
E. operations management
Customer service means giving customers what they want or need, the way they want it, the first
time. This usually depends on the speed and dependability with which an organization can
deliver its products.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-81
60. Environmental refers to the degree of discontinuous change that occurs within the
industry.
A. complexity
B. dysfunction
C. contracting
D. cooptation
E. dynamism
Environmental dynamism refers to the degree of discontinuous change that occurs within the
industry. High-growth industries with products and technologies that change rapidly tend to be
more uncertain than stable industries where change is less dramatic and more predictable.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-82
61. Ranier Outdoor Clothing managers engage in an annual organizational assessment, trying to
predict industry changes as well as possible opportunities and threats. They look at issues such
as who their competitors are, current entry barriers, and what substitutes exist for their products.
This assessment is called .
A. scenario development
B. forecasting
C. benchmarking
D. environmental scanning
Environmental scanning means both searching out information that is unavailable to most
people and sorting through that information to interpret what is important and what is not.
Managers ask questions such as these: "Who are our current competitors?" "Are there few or
many entry barriers to our industry?" and "What substitutes exist for our product or service?"
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-83
62. An outcome of environmental scanning is , the information necessary to decide how best
to manage in the competitive environment managers have identified.
A. corporate governance
B. strategic vision
C. competitive intelligence
D. corporate espionage
E. competitive dissertation
Answers to environmental scanning questions help managers develop competitive intelligence,
the information necessary to decide how best to manage in the competitive environment they
have identified.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-84
63. refers to a narrative that describes a particular set of future conditions for a business.
A. Benchmarking
B. A scenario
C. Strategic maneuvering
D. A divestiture
E. Strategic vision
As managers attempt to determine the effect of environmental forces on their organizations,
they frequently develop scenarios of the future. A scenario is a narrative that describes a
particular set of future conditions.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-85
64. create alternative combinations of different factors into a total picture of the environment
and a firm.
A. Scenarios
B. Forecasts
C. Benchmarks
D. Competitive intelligences
E. Strategic maneuvers
As managers attempt to determine the effect of environmental forces on their organizations,
they frequently develop scenarios of the future. Scenarios create alternative combinations of
different factors into a total picture of the environment and the firm.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-86
65. Which of the following combinations can result in a best-case scenario?
A. Many competitors, high threat with few entry barriers, and few customers
B. Many competitors, high threat with few entry barriers, and many customers
C. Few entry barriers, many substitutes, many customers
D. High industry growth, low threat with many entry barriers, and customers with low
bargaining power
E. Low industry growth, high threat with few entry barriers, and suppliers with low bargaining
power
High industry growth, many barriers to entry, and a situation where customers have low
bargaining power are all events that are favorable to a firm and therefore can be considered as
a best-case scenario.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-87
66. The method for predicting how variables will change in the future is known as .
A. budgeting
B. buffering
C. forecasting
D. benchmarking
E. scanning
Forecasting is used to predict exactly how some variable or variables will change in the future.
For example, in making capital investments, firms may try to forecast how interest rates will
change.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
67. Which of the following is true about using forecasts?
A. Multiple forecasts are best, and their predictions can be averaged.
B. Forecasts become more accurate while predicting further into the future.
C. Forecasts are useless when the future will look radically different from the past.
D. The more complex the forecast, the more accurate are the predictions.
E. The accuracy of forecasts does not vary from one application to another.
Forecasting is a method for predicting how will change in the future. The best advice for using
forecasts includes using multiple forecasts and averaging their predictions.
AACSB: Analytic
2-88
Blooms: Understand
68. refers to the process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies with those
of other companies.
A. Scenario planning
B. Forecasting
C. Benchmarking
D. Environmental scanning
E. Strategic maneuvering
Benchmarking refers to the process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies
with those of other companies. To accomplish this, a benchmarking team would collect
information on its own company's operations and those of the other firm to determine gaps.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-89
69. To improve customer service in its overseas call center, Jansen Electronics decided to investigate
the call center practices of competing companies. The team discovered that a smaller company,
Gorilla Devices Inc., seemed to have outstanding customer service. The team then determined
differences between the organizations and developed a plan to incorporate the best elements of
Gorilla into Jansen. This illustrates .
A. environmental dynamism
B. benchmarking
D. cooperative action
E. forecasting
Benchmarking refers to the process of comparing an organization's practices and technologies
with those of other companies. To accomplish this, a benchmarking team would collect
information on its own company's operations and those of the other firm to determine gaps.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-90
70. Domain selection, diversification, mergers/acquisitions, and divestiture are all examples of .
A. illegal boundary management
B. maneuvering the competition
D. independent strategies
E. portfolio maneuvering
Strategic maneuvering is an organization's conscious efforts to change the boundaries of its task
environment. Managers can use several strategic maneuvers, including domain selection,
diversification, merger and acquisition, and divestiture.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-91
71. occurs when a firm invests in different types of businesses or products or when it expands
geographically to reduce its dependence on a single market or technology.
A. Domain selection
B. Diversification
C. Acquisition
D. Divestiture
E. Empowerment
Diversification occurs when a firm invests in different types of businesses or products or when it
expands geographically to reduce its dependence on a single market or technology. Apple
successfully diversified its product line when it added the iPod, iTouch, iPad, and iPhone to its
offerings of personal computers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-92
72. The entrance by a company into another market or industry for which it has an existing expertise
is called .
A. benchmarking
B. strategic positioning
C. outsourcing
D. domain selection
E. cooptation
Domain selection is the entrance by a company with an existing expertise into another suitable
market or industry. For example, the market may have limited competition or regulation, ample
suppliers and customers, or high growth.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-93
73. One firm buying another is called a(n) .
A. merger
B. acquisition
C. divestiture
D. prospective
E. defender
An acquisition is one firm buying another. Acquisitions can offer greater efficiency from
combined operations or can give companies relatively quick access to new markets or industries.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-94
74. Valley Organic Meats recently announced that it was selling off its pork division in order to
realign itself more competitively in the marketing of its other products. Which of the following
strategic maneuvers is illustrated in this scenario?
A. Diversification
B. An acquisition
C. A merger
D. Divestiture
E. Domain selection
Divestiture occurs when a firm sells one or more of its businesses. In the given scenario, Valley
Organic Meats selling one or more businesses, such as its pork division, is an example of
divestiture.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-95
75. Two general types of proactive strategies for influencing an organization's environment are
A. dependent strategies and independent strategies.

B. independent action and cooperative action.
C. cooperative strategies and strategic maneuvering.
D. strategic maneuvering and dependent strategies. E.
independent action and strategic maneuvering.
Managers and organizations can develop proactive responses aimed at changing the
environment. Two general types of proactive responses are independent action and cooperative
action.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-96
76. strategies are used by an organization acting on its own to change some aspect of its
current environment.
A. Flexible
B. Buffering
C. Independent
D. Smoothing
E. Cooperative
Two general types of proactive responses are independent action and cooperative action. A
company uses independent strategies when it acts on its own to change some aspect of its
current environment.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-97
77. Purple Lotus and GreenBolt are two leading e-commerce companies. Recently, Purple Lotus
engaged in an online price war with GreenBolt in order to gain greater market share. This is an
example of on the part of Purple Lotus.
A. cooptation
B. voluntary action
C. competitive pacification
D. competitive aggression
E. environmental scanning
Competitive aggression is exploiting a distinctive competence (such as Walmart being the
world's largest retailer and offering aggressive pricing) or improving internal efficiency for
competitive advantage. Examples include aggressive pricing and comparative advertising.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-98
78. Dan's FroYo is a company that sells different varieties of frozen yogurt. When Dan's FroYo
spends its own money to promote the frozen yogurt industry as a whole, the company is
practicing .
C. public relations
D. voluntary cooptation
E. comparative action
Competitive pacification is an independent action to improve relations with competitors, such as
FroYo's promotion of the frozen yogurt industry as a whole.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-99
79. When a brand advertises its products as being superior to that of its competitors, it is
demonstrating .
C. benchmarking
D. political action
E. cooptation
Competitive aggression is exploiting a distinctive competence or improving internal efficiency

for competitive advantage. Aggressive pricing and comparative advertising are examples of
competitive aggression.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-
100
80. When two or more companies work together to manage their external environment, they are
using .
A. monopolistic strategies
C. cooperative strategies
D. dependent strategies
E. competitive strategies
In some situations, two or more organizations work together to influence the environment. This
is referred to as cooperative strategy. These strategies include cooptation, coalition, and
contraction.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-100
81. Quartermaine University has just formed a board of trustees and invited 25 of its wealthiest
alumni to join. In this example, Quartermaine University is demonstrating .
A. contraction
B. cooptation
C. coalition
D. political action
E. voluntary action
Cooptation is absorbing new elements into the organization's leadership structure to avert
threats to its stability or existence. An example of cooptation might occur when universities
invite wealthy alumni to join their boards of directors.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-101
82. Western Allied Heath and Grant Pharmaceuticals are two pharmaceutical companies that have
joined forces with one another to lobby against a controversial Medicare reform. This action is
referred to as .
A. contraction
B. coalition
C. cooptation
D. domain selection
E. benchmarking
A coalition is two or more groups that coalesce and act jointly with respect to some set of issues
for some period of time. An example of coalition formation might be when local businesses
band together to curb the rise of employee health care costs and when organizations in the
same industry form industry associations and special interest groups.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-102
83. The process of sharing power with employees is called .
A. empowerment
B. downgrading
C. benchmarking
D. vertical synergy
E. power building
Empowerment is the process of sharing power with employees, thereby enhancing their
confidence in their ability to perform their jobs and their belief that they are influential
contributors to the organization.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-103
84. Candace recently got promoted to a managerial role in a bureaucratic organization. The
industry had been changing dramatically, and Candace suggested that the management team
encourage employees to develop confidence by giving them some control and authority in
order to create a more flexible, adaptable organization. Here, Candace is suggesting the use of
with employees.
A. smoothing
B. benchmarking
C. empowerment
D. cooptation
E. coalition
Empowerment is the process of sharing power with employees, thereby enhancing their
confidence in their ability to perform their jobs and their belief that they are influential
contributors to the organization.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-104
85. Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs is known as .
A. cooptation
B. smoothing
D. empowering
E. buffering
To help organizations compete, they can create buffers on both the input and output
boundaries with the environment. Buffering creates supplies of excess resources to meet
unpredictable needs.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-105
86. Alyssa owns Carver Gifts, a handmade greeting cards store. She is projecting that the economy
will rebound this fall. She ordered additional holiday gift merchandise in February in anticipation
of possible surge in sales during the holiday season. In this case, which of the following methods
is Alyssa using to be sure she has enough gifts for those extra holiday customers?
A. Just-in-time inventory management
B. Smoothing
C. Benchmarking
D. Buffering
E. Diversification
Buffering is creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs. In Alyssa's case,
she has accumulated additional inventory to sell during the holiday season because demand is
unpredictable.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-106
87. Leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the environment is called .
A. buffering
B. smoothing
D. empowerment
E. coalition
Smoothing refers to the process of leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the
environment. For example, during winter months in the north, when automobile sales drop off, it
is not uncommon for dealers to cut the price of their in-stock vehicles to increase demand.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-107
88. Methods for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment are known as .
A. flexible processes
B. smoothing effects
C. buffering techniques
D. benchmarking tools
E. environmental scanners
Flexible processes are methods for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment.
For example, firms increasingly try to customize their goods and services to meet the varied and
changing demands of customers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-108
89. NBIC (National Bicycle Industrial Company) of Japan specializes in mass customization in order
to cater to the changing demands of its customers. Customers can choose the frame and other
parts of the bicycle and it is made according to their order. This is one example of how NBIC
uses .
A. cooptation
B. flexible processes
C. smoothing techniques
D. benchmarking
E. diversification
Flexible processes are methods for adapting the technical core to changes in the environment.
For example, firms increasingly try to customize their goods and services to meet the varied and
changing demands of customers.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-109
90. The set of important assumptions about an organization and its goals and practices that
members of the company share is called organization .
A. culture
B. design
C. climate
D. layout
E. structure
Organization culture is the set of important assumptions about an organization and its goals
and practices that members of the company share. It is a system of shared values about what is
important and beliefs about how the world works.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
Learning Objective: 02-06 Define elements of an organization's culture.
2-110
91. Purple Technology is a communication and information technology corporation. The company
makes it a point to stress to its employees that innovation is its core strength. The employees
even get an hour a day to brainstorm and come up with out-of-the-box ideas. This highlights
the of the company.
A. cooperative strategies
B. external environment
C. organization culture
D. competitive pacification
E. domain selection
The organization culture is the set of important assumptions about the organization and its
goals and the practices that members of the company share. It is a system of shared values
about what is important and beliefs about how the world works. In this way, a company's culture
provides a framework that organizes and directs people's behavior on the job.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-111
92. Which of the following can be a useful clue about an organization's culture?
A. The way employees interact with each other
B. Information printed in the media about stock prices
C. The macroenvironment
D. The personality characteristics of employees
E. The industrial environment
The culture of an organization may be difficult for an observer to define easily, yet it can often
be sensed almost immediately. The ways people dress and behave or the ways they interact with
each other and with customers are clues to an organization culture.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-112
93. Which of the following statements about organizational culture is true?
A. Corporate mission statements are always a true expression of a firm's culture.
B. Who is hired and fired and why indicate the firm's real value and are a clue to the culture.
C. A firm with a strong culture will have different people holding different values.
D. A culture that was advantageous in a prior era continues to be so in a new environment.
E. It is unnecessary to consider culture when considering a merger.
For diagnosing a culture, status symbols can give an individual a feel for how rigid the hierarchy
is and for the nature of relationships between lower and higher levels. Who is hired and fired—
and why—and the activities that are rewarded indicate the firm's real values.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-113
94. According to the competing values model, if an organization's culture is internally oriented and
flexible and tends to be based on the values and norms associated with affiliation, it could be
best described as a(n) .
A. group culture
B. hierarchical culture
C. rational culture
D. adhocracy
E. closed system
A group culture is internally oriented and flexible, and it is based on values and norms
associated with affiliation. Compliance flows from trust, tradition, and long-term commitment.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-114
95. According to the competing values model, if an organization's culture is externally oriented and
focused on control with its primary objectives as productivity, planning, and efficiency, it could
be best described as a(n) culture.
A. group
B. hierarchical
C. rational
D. adhocracy
E. values-oriented
The rational culture is externally oriented and focused on control. Its primary objectives are
productivity, planning, and efficiency, with members being motivated by rewards.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Remember
2-115
96. The attitude and behavior patterns that shape people's experience of an organization is called
an organizational .
A. culture
B. climate
C. environment
D. strategy
E. adhocracy
Organizational climate consists of the patterns of attitudes and behavior that shape people's
experience of an organization. In contrast to a culture's deeply held beliefs, values, and so on, an
organization's climate can be measured more readily.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-116
Scenario A. Connie's Collectibles is a small retail store that specializes in antique jewelry. In
analyzing the environment, Connie has uncovered the following interesting findings:
1. Connie has recently purchased more inventory than in the past. The people from whom she
buys are selling off more jewelry because their children are not interested in this type of jewelry
and they would prefer to liquidate their jewelry to help them with their daily expenses since they
no longer wear most of it.
2. Connie discovered that her business is in a historical preservation district. As she considers
remodeling the shop, she realized that she must pay attention to the guidelines set forth in the
governing laws.
3. Connie's buyer-customer base seems to be changing. The tastes of the younger generation
near her shop are shifting to modern jewelry, so the customer base to which she sells is
shrinking.
4. Connie has been told that she should consider selling her inventory via the Internet, but she
does not own (or understand how to use) a computer.
5. In reading a survey of regional business, Connie discovered that there are no other antique
jewelry stores within a 200-mile radius of hers.
2-117
97. In Scenario A, which of the following elements of the macroenvironment was part of Connie's
findings?
A. Sustainability
B. Psychology
C. Corporate governance
D. Sociology
E. Technology
The macroenvironment includes legal and political, economic, technological, demographic,
social, and natural factors that generally affect all organizations. The only one of these
categories mentioned in the question is technology, illustrated by selling on the Internet.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
environments.
Topic: Introduction
2-118
98. When Connie read the survey of regional businesses, she was investigating .
A. the competitive environment
B. the macroenvironment
C. a closed environment
D. the internal environment
E. the social environment
The competitive environment is composed of current competitors, suppliers, customers (buyers),
new entrants, and substitute or complementary products.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
environments.
Topic: Introduction
2-119
99. Findings about changing customer preferences and others who sell antique jewelry are
associated with the:
A. competitive environment as described by Porter.
B. macroenvironmental economic trends.
C. macroenvironmental political trends.
D. amount of rivalry in Connie's internal environment.
E. barriers to entry in Connie's competitive environment.
The competitive environment as described by Porter includes both suppliers (those selling the
jewelry) and customers (those buying the jewelry). The competitive environment also includes
new entrants, substitutes and complements, as well as rival firms.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-120
100. Which of the following elements of the macroenvironment is most closely associated with the
findings about the historical preservation district?
A. Laws and regulations
B. The economy
C. Demographics
D. Technology
E. The natural environment
The macroenvironment is the general environment, including governments, economic

conditions, and other fundamental factors that generally affects all organizations. Laws and
regulations are part of the macroenvironment and affect Connie by dictating how she can
renovate her shop based on the prevailing rules of the historical preservation district her shop is
in.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
Learning Objective: 02-02 Distinguish between the macroenvironment and the competitive environment.
Scenario B. Jack and a fellow investor are investigating the possibility of starting a new casino in
Black Hawk, a small town in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. It has been Jack's lifelong dream.
Jack has won a lottery and is trying to decide if this is what he wants to do with the prize money.
He decides to do an analysis of the competitive environment. After his analysis, he discovers
several important issues. First, it will cost most of Jack's lottery winnings to finance a casino in
Black Hawk. Second, it will be difficult to attract new customers because they have so many
choices available to them in Black Hawk and the surrounding small towns. Finally, the
competition in the casino industry is considered fierce by industry analysts and this is frightening
to someone, like Jack, who has never worked in the casino industry.
2-121
101. Which of the following factors would have Jack considered while analyzing the competitive
environment?
A. Technology
B. Substitutes
C. Legal factors
D. Economic factors
E. Demographics
The competitive environment as described by Michael Porter includes suppliers, customers, new
entrants, substitutes and complements, as well as rival firms.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
102. The information that Jack has collected in his competitive analysis can be referred to as .
A. corporate espionage
C. domain selection
D. strategic vision
E. mission statement
Competitive intelligence is the information necessary to decide how best to manage in the
competitive environment managers have identified.
AACSB: Analytic
2-122
Blooms: Understand
103. From Scenario B, based on Jack's analysis of the competitive environment, it can be inferred
that:
A. the customers will face switching costs.
B. there are no competitors.
C. there are many substitutes.
D. there are no barriers to entry.
E. the threat of new entrants is high.
The competitive environment includes rivalry among current competitors and the impact of new
entrants, substitute and complementary products, suppliers, and customers. Based on Jack's
analysis of the competitive environment, it can be inferred that there are many substitutes.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-123
104. Which of the following factors is indicated by the fact that it will require a large capital
investment to start a new casino?
A. High bargaining power of customers
B. Low threat of new entrants
C. High threat of new entrants
D. Many substitute products
E. Low bargaining power of customers
New entrants into an industry compete with established companies. The high cost of entering
the casino industry forms a barrier to entry that diminishes the threat of new entrants.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
Scenario C. Smash Marketing is a consulting firm located in the Midwest. Mr. William "Bill"
Smash started the firm as a young man in the early 1950s. The firm has grown, but with growth,
it has never forgotten the vision of Mr. Smash: to be creative in all that the firm does while
delighting the client. Each year the Smash Award for Advertising Creativity is given to the
employee who most exemplifies Mr. Smash's vision. New employees are told of the
organization's greatest accomplishments and are taken on a tour of the "Wall of Memories,"
where pictures of the company taken over the years are hung. One is even included to remind
everyone of the disastrous fire that the company not only survived but also built upon to
strengthen the sense of teamwork, which is clearly evident throughout the firm. Managers at the
firm tend to be more like mentors and facilitators. In fact, there is a long tradition of employee
participation in decision making, and all employees consider themselves to be part of the
"Smash Family."
2-124
105. The stories about Bill Smash and his vision influencing the employees of the organization are all
clues to understanding the .
A. organization culture
B. company's macroenvironment
C. organization's competitive environment
D. collective competitive intelligence
E. organizational structure
Organization culture refers to the set of important assumptions about the organization and its
goals and practices that members of the company share. The scenario explains the organization
culture of the company.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-125
106. The culture at Smash Marketing can be best described as a culture.
A. group
B. hierarchical
C. rational
D. bureaucratic
E. rigid
A group culture is internally oriented and flexible. It tends to be based on the values and norms
associated with affiliation. It has a dominant attribute of participation, teamwork, and a sense of
family, all of which are mentioned in the scenario.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-126
107. Based on the information in Scenario C, which of the following is likely to be the dominant
attribute of Smash Marketing?
A. Rules and regulations
B. Cohesiveness
C. Competitiveness
D. Risk taking
E. Entrepreneurship
In a group culture, like the one at Smash Marketing, there are loyalty, tradition, and
interpersonal cohesion. A group culture is internally oriented and flexible. It tends to be based
on the values and norms associated with affiliation. An organizational member's compliance
with organizational directives flows from trust, tradition, and long-term commitment.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-127
Scenario D. Margarita works for a small company that deals with processed and canned
tomatoes and other vegetables. She reports to the CFO. It is her job to predict the costs of raw
materials for the next five years. She uses various research sources, including the news, to learn
who the competitors are and what they have been doing. In fact, she subscribes to an analyst e-
newsletter that tells her about crop availability and weather conditions all around the globe.
Every month she develops a spreadsheet for her boss indicating the likely costs of vegetables
given the type of weather conditions expected in each area of the world and thus the availability
of particular crops. She is also involved in a team that is investigating how to cut canning costs.
They have recently met with Good Cans, a company that manufactures and cans tennis balls.
Good Cans is considered the top company in the canning industry, especially in canning process
knowledge. Margarita's team is comparing their processes to those of Good Cans to see how
they might improve.
108. When predicting the costs for her company, Margarita is engaging in .
A. forecasting
C. environmental scanning
D. benchmarking
Forecasting is a method for predicting how variables will change the future. In this scenario,
Margarita is trying to determine costs in the future.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-128
109. The information Margarita is using to compete in a better way is called .
A. mission statement
C. best-case scenario
D. organizational database
E. knowledge document
Competitive intelligence is information that helps managers determine how to compete better.
In this scenario, Margarita is collecting information about crops so she can find the best value
for the company.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-129
110. The spreadsheet that Margarita uses gives her a chance to examine different projections, which
is a form of .
A. divestiture
C. domain selection
D. benchmarking
Scenario development creates alternative combinations of different factors (such as the weather
and harvest of various crops) into a total picture of the environment and the firm. It is a narrative
that describes a particular set of future conditions.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
Learning Objective: 02-05 Summarize how organizations respond to environmental uncertainty
2-130
111. Which of the following is Margarita and her team using when they learn from Good Cans about
its canning process?
A. Forecasting
C. Domain selection
D. Benchmarking
E. Scenario development
Benchmarking means identifying the best-in-class performance by a company (Good Cans) in a
given area (canning) and then comparing one's processes to theirs. Margarita is comparing her
company's process of canning to that of Good Cans.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
Essay Questions
112. List the elements of a firm's macroenvironment and illustrate how each affects the firm.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-131
113. Explain how a company can work societal trends to its advantage.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
114. Explain how technology can help an organization.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
115. Discuss how immigration patterns influence the management of the U.S. labor force.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
2-132
Blooms: Understand
116. Explain how sustainability and natural environment affect the management of an organization.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
117. Describe the five forces in Michael Porter's model of the competitive environment.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-133
118. List actions and attitudes that result in excellent customer service.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
119. As environmental uncertainties increase, managers must develop techniques and methods for
collecting, sorting through, and interpreting information about the environment. Discuss four of
these methods, explaining when and why each would be used.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
120. Differentiate between unattractive and attractive competitive environments, using Porter's
model of the competitive environment.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-134
121. Briefly describe the three categories of options managers and companies have when responding
to their environment.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
122. Summarize the different approaches of strategic maneuvering that organizations can take to
change the environment they are in.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-135
123. Explain two general types of proactive responses that managers and organizations can take to
change the environment.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
124. Contrast bureaucratic and organic organizations.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
125. What are the clues to understanding an organization's culture? List the characteristics of a
strong culture.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Understand
2-136
126. Describe the culture of an organization that you have either worked in or studied about. Which
of the four types of organizational culture described in the chapter does the organization
illustrate? Justify your answer.
Answers will vary.
AACSB: Analytic
Blooms: Apply
2-137
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Pour qu’il me pose, au point où nous en sommes, une telle
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— Si, un instant.
Il reprend :
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S’il m’ouvrait les bras, je m’y jetterais, et cet homme que je croyais
haïr, j’ai un besoin désespéré qu’il m’aime. Cependant il s’est levé ;
d’un geste, il m’invite au silence. Un chant, dans la nuit, est monté
venant de la villa Suzanne dont où aperçoit les fenêtres éclairées et
ouvertes.
— Écoute, me dit-il. Tu n’entends pas ? On dirait que c’est elle.
Je suis ému ; je voudrais qu’il n’eût pas ce visage tiré et pâli, je
suis plein de rêves généreux ; alors pourquoi l’instinct de défense
est-il le plus fort, pourquoi ai-je répondu :
— Je ne crois pas… non…
D’ailleurs, comment pourrait-il s’y tromper ? Est-il deux voix ici,
en est-il tant dans le monde qui aient ce pouvoir mystérieux sur le
cœur des hommes ?
— J’en aurai la certitude, dit-il en me quittant.
Il est parti et j’attends anxieux. La voix qui chantait s’est tue. Une
demi-heure s’écoule, et Olive, avec son petit air sournois, vient me
dire :
— Est-ce qu’il faut mettre le couvert ? Monsieur Paul est avec
quelqu’un dans la salle à manger. Je ne sais si je peux entrer…
— Attends.
Quelques instants plus tard, Paul revient. Il n’est plus las,
accablé ; une ardeur nouvelle est en lui ; il parle vite, animé.
— Tiens, ta mère n’est pas là… je voulais lui dire… On mangera
un peu plus tard parce que j’étais en bas, avec Javotte, dans la salle
à manger. En te quittant, je lui ai fait porter un mot… Je n’en pouvais
plus… Elle est venue et la magicienne a opéré. Quels lendemains je
me prépare ! Cela m’effraye… Mais ce soir je suis heureux… Elle
m’a pris dans ses bras ; elle m’a dit ces choses qui vous ôtent le mal
comme avec la main… elle ne voulait plus me quitter… elle a ouvert
sa jaquette et l’a refermée sur moi pour me retenir plus longtemps.
Cachée par la couverture qui me recouvre, ma main, à travers
l’étoffe du gilet, enfonce ses ongles dans ma poitrine. Elle l’a pris
dans ses bras, elle l’a enfermé dans sa jaquette. Ah ! que cela fait
mal !
Amant naïf, ignorais-tu à ce point les petites félonies de l’amour ?
N’avais-tu pas prévu ce qui t’arrive ?… Oui, je l’avais prévu. Ne lui
disais-je pas : « Songez-y, si vous alliez maintenant faire entendre à
Paul que, lui aussi, vous l’aimez, songez au mal que vous pourriez
nous faire à l’un et à l’autre, à notre affreuse jalousie, songez que
vous commettriez là, surtout vis-à-vis de moi, une action vilaine et
lâche, parce que je suis faible, parce que je suis blessé, parce que je
suis malade… » Je lui parlais ainsi et je revois, dans un
éblouissement, la façon victorieuse dont elle m’ôta le doute. Depuis,
je souffrais encore de ce que Paul rôdait autour d’elle ; j’étais jaloux
du désir qu’elle mettait en lui ; je regardais ses entreprises menacer
mon bonheur ; n’importe ! je la croyais toute à moi… Un homme de
sang-froid devant ce geste de femme coquette, ne saurait
comprendre mon désespoir, ni la fièvre, ni la folie des heures qui
suivirent ; quiconque recevrait ma confidence me dirait qu’il y a
disproportion entre une peine si véhémente et une faute si vénielle ;
mais personne ne recevra ma confidence, puisque je la fais à tout le
monde et que le lecteur, qui surprend dans un livre le cri d’une
douleur éprouvée, s’imagine « que cela n’est pas arrivé ». D’ailleurs,
quand il lira ces lignes, ce qu’il pensera, je ne le saurai pas, ce qu’il
pourrait me dire, je ne pourrai pas, je ne pourrai plus l’entendre…
On nous appelle pour le dîner ; il faut descendre, cacher ma
torture. Pourquoi, par quelle cruauté Paul m’a-t-il dit cela ? Cruauté
inconsciente, sans doute. Il ne sait pas ; il ne peut pas savoir… mais
il saura ; je vais parler ; le silence me tue. A table, je ne puis manger,
et son appétit me révolte. Un instant, il a surpris mon regard sur lui ;
n’a-t-il pas compris ? Et toute la soirée au coin du feu, n’a-t-il pas lu
en moi ? Alors pourquoi me taire plus longtemps ? Quand il m’a dit
bonsoir, je ne pouvais me décider à le quitter, et nous nous sommes
regardés comme si nous avions quelque chose de décisif à nous
dire. Comment mon trouble aurait-il pu lui échapper ? Dans ma
chambre, je l’attends. Il va venir. Nous allons parler. Quoi qu’il arrive,
il en sortira du soulagement pour moi. Il a ouvert sa porte. Il vient.
Non ; il demande de l’eau chaude. Alors, alors quelle nuit je vais
passer !… Ma mère à son tour me quitte. Je suis au lit, la fenêtre
ouverte. Demain, je verrai Javotte ; je lui ferai porter un mot. Elle
sera là vers deux heures. Elle me dira des paroles qui me rendront
soumis et crédule. Peu importe qu’elle mente, pourvu que je cesse
de souffrir, pourvu que je la croie. Mais jusque-là, j’ai dix-sept heures
à attendre, dix-sept heures à sentir s’exaspérer ce mal qui est en
moi, cette chose douloureuse et vivante que je porte, qui se soulève
et suffoque dans ma poitrine comme un torturé dans son cachot.
Encore dix-sept heures ! Comment calmer ce délire ? Si je réunis les
mains, je sens entre chaque doigt le choc intérieur du sang qui
passe tumultueux. Chacune de mes veines est un pouls. Si je me
tourne sur le côté droit, j’entends battre mon oreille droite d’une
façon insoutenable ; si je me tourne sur le côté gauche, c’est mon
oreille gauche qui bat ; si je touche mes tempes, ce sont mes
tempes ; si je reste étendu sur le dos, mon cœur saute et heurte mes
côtes avec un bruit accéléré de galop. Et ce cerveau incendié que
rien ne peut éteindre ! Qui m’ôtera ce cerveau dément et ce cœur
insensé ?…
J’ai appuyé mes mains sur le marbre de la table de nuit sans
calmer leur fièvre ; j’ai bu, sans me désaltérer, le contenu de la
carafe. Ma peau brûlante ne me laisse pas dans ce lit une place
tolérable. Elle l’a pris dans ses bras ; elle a refermé sur lui sa
jaquette par un geste d’amoureuse possession. Ah ! mauvaise,
mauvaise, pourquoi as-tu fait cela ?
Que lui importais-je, moi qui vivais retiré, blessé, ne voyant
personne ? Pourquoi est-elle venue me chercher au fond de ma
solitude ? Qu’avait-elle besoin d’un triomphe de plus ? Moi qui avais
fini par croire en elle, moi qui lui suis plus soumis que son ombre,
plus fidèle que son chien, qui lui appartiens mieux que le sang de
ses veines… Pourquoi, pourquoi a-t-elle fait cela ?
J’entends dans la cuisine un tabouret qui trébuche. C’est le chat
qui se lèche. A chacun de ses mouvements, le tabouret, boiteux,
heurte le dallage avec un petit bruit qui, à la longue, agace l’oreille.
Plusieurs fois Paul s’en est plaint, et on a cloué sur le pied le plus
court une rondelle de liège qui a dû se détacher. Mais Paul ne
s’éveille point. Autrement je le connais ; il se lèverait, il irait faire taire
ce bruit à l’aide d’un petit tampon de papier. Non, il ne s’éveille point.
Il dort d’un cœur tranquille, lui !…
La nuit est d’une fraîcheur de source ; mais elle ne m’apaise pas.
A tous les points où je porte mes pensées, quelque chose qui m’a
précédé se démasque et je retrouve l’image de la trahison ; si loin
qu’aille mon esprit, partout la douleur et la jalousie sont là qui
m’attendent. Est-ce que ce supplice ne va pas cesser ? Je souffre
tellement que, parfois, je prends ma tête entre mes mains et que je
la berce doucement pour la consoler ; je souffre tellement que je
voudrais m’écrier :
— Ah ! me mère, quand tu m’entendis sangloter à trois ans, parce
que ma première petite amie, qui en avait cinq, n’était pas venue, un
après-midi, jouer avec moi, si tu as compris quel cœur misérable et
lâche s’éveillait déjà dans ma poitrine d’enfant, ah ! par pitié, que ne
m’as-tu, sur l’heure, ôté la vie que tu m’avais donnée !…
XIX
LA DÉRAISON
C’est le matin. Les bonnes sont à la messe. Ma mère, assise

devant le guéridon, vérifie un compte pendant que, dans mon lit, je
feins de lire les journaux, comme d’habitude. Un instant, s’étant
tournée vers moi, elle se lève très émue, car elle a vu que je
pleurais.
— Qu’est-ce que tu as, André ? Qu’est-ce que tu as ? Pourquoi
pleures-tu ?
— Je n’ai rien… Je n’ai rien…
Mais aussitôt elle a deviné :
— C’est elle qui te torture ; c’est pour elle que tu pleures. Tu
souffres !… Ah ! mon pauvre enfant !…
Je ne peux que répondre en hochant la tête :
— Oui… oui… oui…
Elle s’est approchée de moi. Les sanglots m’étouffent. Il y a si
longtemps que je voulais pleurer au cou de quelqu’un ! Elle
m’interroge doucement :
— Tu l’aimes donc tant que ça ?
Je fais signe de la tête : « Oui… oui… tant que ça. »
Après un silence, avec un peu d’hésitation, elle prononce :
— Si tu l’aimes à ce point, épouse-la.
J’ai répondu :
— S’il le faut, j’irai jusque-là.
Alors, il se passe cette chose inattendue que j’aurais dû prévoir
sans doute. J’ai parlé pour être plaint, pour être consolé, tout à ma
douleur, et sans songer à sa douleur à elle. Elle s’est un peu
reculée. Son visage, tout à l’heure si ému, s’est refermé. Tout en elle
se contracte, et elle s’écrie avec amertume :
— Ah ! menteur ! menteur !… Quand tu me disais : « Ma pauvre
maman, je veux te consacrer ce qui me reste de vie ; je veux te faire
une vieillesse heureuse. » Comme tu mentais, comme tu mentais !
J’aurais dû prévoir cette explosion. Si elle m’a suggéré :
« épouse-la », c’était pour m’éprouver, pour connaître mon degré de
démence, je le comprends trop tard. Son cri instinctif est le seul que
je devais attendre de cet être si spontané, si simple, si naturel ; car,
au fond d’une amie, d’une sœur, d’une mère, il y a toujours une
femme.
Jusqu’ici, elle voyait bien que j’épuisais mes forces dans une
aventure sans issue ; mais comment aurait-elle pu croire que je
serais si fou ? Elle cherchait à se rassurer ; et voilà que j’ai parlé.
Alors elle se révolte ; elle perd un peu la tête.
Elle s’est dirigée vers la porte, comprenant que nous n’avons
plus rien à nous dire. Comme elle va se retirer, elle se rencontre
avec Paul et elle demeure.
— Je venais voir, dit-il, si je n’ai pas oublié ici un bâton de cire à
cacheter… Je ne peux pas mettre la main dessus…
Il la regarde et ajoute :
— Qu’est-ce que vous avez ? Vous avez l’air agité ?
— Demandez-le à André : il vous le dira.
Nos petits drames intimes s’accompagnent souvent de petits
détails ridicules. Paul a la figure bridée par un appareil en
mousseline qui sert à donner le pli à la moustache et qui le gêne
pour parler.
— Qu’est-ce qu’il y a ?… Que se passe-t-il ?
— Il y a que j’aime Javotte…
D’une main nerveuse, il a retiré son appareil à moustache. Il est
affreusement pâle et, une seconde, il m’apparaît défiguré par la
haine. Puis ses traits se replacent et il me dit posément :
— Tu t’es monté la tête. Tu as pris au sérieux des propos qu’elle
tient à tout le monde.
— Et toi ?
— Oh ! moi, je ne te souhaite pas d’être dans ma peau en ce
moment.
— Écoute, Paul, écoute-moi… Je ne pouvais plus vivre ainsi.
Cessons de nous déchirer… Je ne veux pas te disputer plus
longtemps une femme que tu aimes… Si tu l’aimes assez pour
l’épouser, je te la laisse ; je m’en irai finir ailleurs… Sinon, laisse-la-
moi… laisse-la-moi… Je ne te la prendrai pas longtemps.
J’attends une parole qui me révèle son cœur, l’étendue de son
amour pour elle ou de sa pitié pour moi, quelque chose, un mot
humain, il me dit :
— Mais tu es fou !… Qui te parle de l’épouser ?… Toujours tes
exagérations !… Quand on souffre, ce n’est pas une raison pour
vouloir souffrir toute sa vie… Merci, ce n’est pas avec tout ce que je
sais, tout ce que je découvre… Non, je ne suis pas encore résolu
comme toi au suicide… Merci bien… J’ai le cœur assez détraqué
comme ça…
— Alors laisse-la-moi.
— Tu es fou… Tu déraisonnes… Tu t’es monté la tête… Elle ne
t’aime pas… Elle est venue ici comme elle va chez tous les malades.
Ah ! voilà le danger de cette amitié facile, imprudente. Je le lui ai dit
souvent : « Prenez garde, vous allez affoler ce garçon qui manque
de distractions, qui ne voit que vous, que vos moindres paroles
exaltent…
— Assez, cela suffit. Je vais lui écrire. Elle sera là après le
déjeuner ; c’est elle qui parlera, qui se prononcera entre nous…
— Elle s’expliquera… si elle s’explique. J’irai la chercher… car,
moi aussi, je tiens à éclaircir cette situation… Ah ! je ne sais pas
comment tu t’y es pris pour bouleverser tout le monde, mais tu y as
singulièrement réussi…
Il me parle avec une colère froide. Il a aux yeux un reflet de cette
haine qui le défigurait tout à l’heure. On sent qu’il voudrait trouver un
mot qui me blessât. Il ne voit en moi qu’un envieux qui a gâté son
bonheur. Ma mère, qui nous a écoutés, muette, s’écrie :
— Quant à moi, je ne verrai pas cette chose ! Je ne verrai pas
cette chose !…
Elle quitte ma chambre. Paul la suit en déclarant :
— Il est fou… Il déraisonne… Il est à enfermer…
Voilà ce que j’ai fait. Auparavant, les mêmes éléments de
discorde étaient dans cette maison, mais le silence maintenait la
cohésion. Le drame couvait sourdement à l’intérieur de nous : mais
au-dessus, en surface, c’était l’équivoque, c’était la paix encore ; ma
mère m’embrassait, Paul me tendait la main. J’ai détruit le silence ;
j’ai tout détruit.
La matinée se passe. Aucun bruit ne s’entend dans cette maison
où l’on sent que, derrière chaque porte, il y a quelqu’un qui souffre.
Le temps s’écoule, et ce cœur qui bat toujours comme un marteau
de forge !… J’ai parlé ; il le fallait ! Je respire mieux. Je ne pouvais
plus ruser, plus feindre. Je la veux à moi avec tous les périls que
comporte ma folie. Quand je l’aurai, je saurai bien la garder… Mon
bonheur, si court qu’il soit, durera bien autant que moi-même. Je
suis sourd à la raison. Je m’exalte. Elle sera là ; je l’imagine étendue
à mon côté, défaite, lasse, épuisée ; ainsi elle arrivera à me
ressembler ; mais, elle, c’est l’excès du plaisir et de la volupté qui
mettra sur sa pâleur l’image de la mort…
Alors elle s’endormira et je la regarderai dormir ; puis l’ombre de
la nuit me dérobera ses traits et je me tiendrai de remuer, de tousser
pour ne pas l’éveiller. Je verrai passer avec une lenteur infinie les
heures qui me sépareront du jour ; mais le matin, je sentirai se
dissiper magiquement le poids de l’insomnie ; je ne saurai plus si le
jour est maussade, s’il fait froid, s’il fait sombre parce que, au creux
tiède de son bras, reposera ma tête et qu’elle me dira, de sa voix la
plus douce : « Mon amour, es-tu bien ? »
A midi, Olive vient me demander si elle doit me servir dans mon
lit :
— Non, merci, je ne déjeunerai pas.
— Alors, personne ne déjeune, aujourd’hui ? En bas, c’est la
même chose.
Elle s’en va, sans bruit. La maison est toujours muette ; le
marteau de forge de mon cœur résonne seul dans le silence de la
chambre ; et le temps passe encore. Vers deux heures, j’entends
des pas, des voix, la voix de Javotte dans l’escalier. Voilà, le moment
est venu ; mon sort va se décider.
Elle entre, suivie de Paul très pâle, elle s’approche de mon lit,
souriante ; mais il est visible qu’elle fait un effort pour sourire.
— Eh bien ! il paraît que vous n’êtes pas raisonnable, que vous
vous rendez plus malade. Mon Dieu ! Qu’est-ce que tout cela veut
dire ?
Le moment est venu ! Le moment est venu ! Ces mots sonnent à
mon oreille et me grisent. Je lui dis :
— Javotte, il faut parler… Vivre dans l’équivoque n’était plus
possible. Vous êtes entre nous deux. Si vous aimez l’un de nous,
parlez !
J’attends sa réponse. Mon tourment va cesser. Elle regarde
Paul ; elle le plaint sans doute. Mais la vérité s’impose ; il est trop
tard pour se taire. Elle dit :
— Calmez-vous… Vous avez la fièvre ; vos mains sont brûlantes.
Je ne pourrai vous répondre que lorsque vous serez tout à fait
calme.
— Je suis calme ; ne craignez rien.
— Alors, si vous êtes calme, songez à vous. Ici tout le monde est
bouleversé, et c’est moi la coupable. Ah ! il est des instants où je me
déteste, où je me fais horreur… Moi qui aurais voulu ne voir que des
heureux autour de moi ; c’est affreux !…
Que signifient ces paroles ? Pourquoi ne parle-t-elle pas ?
J’éprouve une sensation de vide, de déroute, de panique. Pourtant,
je fais encore une tentative :
— Javotte, vous ne vous rendez pas compte de la situation. Il y a
quelqu’un ici que vous voulez ménager. C’est trop tard. Au point où
nous en sommes, quel qu’il soit, c’est un mot de vérité que nous
attendons de vous.
Elle baisse la tête. Dans ses yeux une première larme apparaît ;
elle ne répond pas. Paul, qui marche vers la glace, déclare :
— Ah ! je peux dire que j’ai connu aujourd’hui ce que la douleur
humaine…
Il dit cela en levant les bras. Ses bras retombent ; la phrase reste
en l’air, inachevée. Il a fait un vain effort pour se hausser à un ton
pathétique qui ne lui va pas. J’entends bien qu’il peut éprouver, lui
aussi, des sentiments exaltés ; mais il les porte avec cet air
emprunté qu’on a sous des vêtements trop amples, qui ne sont pas
à votre taille. Javotte se tait toujours. C’est bien ; j’ai perdu. Il ne faut
pas être faible. Je me raidis :
— Allons ! cette pénible scène va finir. Rappelez-vous seulement
qu’un jour la pensée m’est venue, le soupçon m’a effleuré que par je
ne sais quelle coquetterie perverse vous aviez entrepris de vous
faire aimer et de Paul et de moi, que vous aviez joué le même jeu
avec chacun de nous, rappelez-vous ce que je vous ai dit : « Si cela
était, voyez, je suis sans force, mais j’ai un si frénétique désir de ne
pas souffrir que je quitterais Val-Roland et que je ne vous reverrais
plus. » Maintenant, je vous pose une dernière fois la question : Si
c’est Paul que vous aimez, dites-le sans crainte. Je ne veux ni
ménagements, ni pitié, il faut choisir.
Alors ce sont des pleurs, des paroles de femme :
— Vous me torturez… vous me torturez… Vous voyez bien que
je ne peux pas vous répondre !…
Elle sanglote. A Paul qui s’est rapproché d’elle, elle dit à voix
basse :
— Un mouchoir ; donnez-moi un mouchoir…
Il sort pour aller le chercher. On entend dans le couloir une fuite
de jupes. C’est Olive, sans doute, surprise aux écoutes. Un instant
se passe. Nous n’avons pas échangé une parole. Paul revient avec
un mouchoir qu’il a pris le soin de parfumer. Si elle défaille, il est prêt
à la retenir dans ses bras ; c’est pourquoi lui-même fleure l’eau de
Cologne dont il vient d’inonder ses joues au vaporisateur. La gravité
des circonstances ne l’empêche pas d’être attentif à ces menus
avantages.
Javotte tamponne ses yeux. Elle répète entre deux sanglots :
— Je suis la seule coupable. C’est de ma faute…
Paul met la main sur son épaule, se penche et la console :
— Ma petite amie ; ne pleurez pas… Ne pleurez pas, ma petite
amie… Ce n’est pas de votre faute.
Son attitude m’irrite. Il insiste sur ces mots comme pour rejeter la
faute sur moi. Je lui dis :
— C’est bon. Ne la touche pas… je te prie de ne pas la toucher…
Il ne m’écoute pas.
— Entends-tu ce que je te dis, je te défends… je te défends de la
toucher…
En cette journée de dimanche, des gens passent sous ma
fenêtre, qui peuvent nous entendre, s’arrêter, intrigués par l’éclat de
ma voix ; je n’en ai nul souci. Je me sens prêt à toutes les violences.
En moi, un instinct mauvais, longtemps contenu, veut se libérer. Je
suis comme un homme monté au faîte de sa maison et qui entend
son chien, enfermé dans la cave, qui hurle pour sortir.
Cependant Javotte sanglote, étrangère à ce qui se passe autour
d’elle ; Paul, dont la main n’a pas quitté son épaule, répète :
— Remettez-vous, ma petite amie ; ne pleurez plus…
Alors, d’un prompt mouvement vers eux, j’atteins cette main, la
saisis avec force et la rejette dans le vide. Il s’est écarté d’un pas, le
visage, comme ce matin, convulsé par la haine.
— J’en ai assez, tu sais, Gilbert ! Si tu es toqué, je ne le suis pas !
Moi, dressé sur mon lit, les cheveux et les traits en désordre,
plein de fureur, hors de moi ; lui correct, fleurant l’eau de Cologne,
bien peigné, ses manchettes dépassant la manche d’un centimètre,
nous nous défions. Javotte s’est levée.
— Vous n’allez pas vous battre pour moi. Ah ! je n’en vaux pas la
peine !…
Nous nous taisons un instant : Paul s’est reculé vers la porte
contre laquelle il s’appuie, très pâle, sans me regarder. Il est plus
que pâle, il est livide. D’une main crispée, il contient son cœur
délicat. Je sais qu’il suffit parfois d’une émotion trop vive pour qu’il
étouffe. Son geste m’a ému. Je sens, par degrés, fléchir ma colère ;
je songe seulement que c’est mon ami et que nous sommes
malheureux.
Comme Javotte restée debout attend que je parle, je lui dis :
— Alors ! c’est bien… laissez-moi… laissez-moi seul !
Elle proteste :
— Mais je ne veux pas vous quitter ainsi !… Écoutez-moi, Gilbert.
Croyez-moi ; malgré toutes les apparences, je ne veux que votre
bien ; et vous, ne songez qu’à vous, qu’à votre mère, à votre santé.
Voyez l’état où vous êtes et qui peut vous être funeste. Redevenez
raisonnable : soignez-vous et quand vous serez plus calme…
Chacune de ses paroles surprend et choque l’oreille comme ces
pièces fausses qui n’ont pas de son. Toutes, l’une après l’autre, me
font mal. Je pense : « En ce moment, tu peux encore la voir,
l’entendre ; mais tout à l’heure, quand elle serra partie, tu ne la
reverras plus. »
Ainsi, il a suffi d’une petite question répétée pour la déshabiller
de ses mensonges. Elle m’apparaît dans sa vérité banale. Tout ce
qui s’agitait de fiévreux en moi est désarmé. Dans les crises comme
celles-ci, il vient un moment où l’on ne sent plus rien. Je n’aurais pas
cru que je pourrais être si calme. Je suis seulement à bout de forces.
— Maintenant, allez-vous-en… allez-vous-en…
Paul l’entraîne :
— Oui, venez ; cela vaudra mieux.
Je la regarde partir et je demeure assommé. Voilà ce qu’il me
reste du dernier présent que me fit la vie !…
Du couloir m’arrive encore l’éclat d’une voix nerveuse, une voix
de femme excédée répondant à Paul :
— Ah ! laissez-moi !
Il se fait un silence. Elle descend l’escalier tandis que Paul, sans
insister, rentre dans sa chambre.
XX
LA SAGESSE
Le lendemain, j’ai fait remettre à Paul ce billet :
Mon cher Paul, je te demande pendant quelques jours de ne

pas entrer dans ma chambre. Ce n’est pas que mes sentiments
profonds aient changé à ton égard. Ils sont les mêmes. Ce qui
nous divise n’a pu altérer qu’en surface l’affection que je te
porte. Mais j’ai besoin d’être seul. Je suis sûr que tu
comprendras mes raisons. Mettons un peu de silence sur ce qui
s’est passé et nous retrouverons bientôt entière notre fraternité
d’autrefois.
André.
Voici la réponse de Paul :
Je comprends parfaitement tes sentiments ; je les partage.

Je n’entrerai pas dans ta chambre. Je ferai en sorte que tu ne
m’entendes pas ; nous réfléchirons chacun de notre côté. J’ai
déjà commencé depuis hier, et je puis te dire que je suis certain
d’une chose, c’est que notre affection sortira intacte de ce
passage difficile.
Paul.
Les jours suivants, dans la solitude de ma chambre où ma mère,

elle-même, ne pénètre qu’avec la plus grande discrétion, je pense :
Vois ce qui t’attendrait si tu allais jusqu’au bout de ta folie.
Épuisé, sans force pour la joie et pour la douleur, tu es là sur ton lit
gardé par Javotte ; tu es couché, elle est debout. Tour à tour brûlant
et glacé par la fièvre, il te faut le repos ; il lui faut le mouvement. Le
silence te convient ; elle a besoin de bruit. Les émotions te tuent ;
elles la font vivre. Tu es une ombre derrière une vitre ; elle est un
jardin capiteux. Tout vous sépare ; chaque heure qui te dépouille
l’enrichit, car tout vient à elle et tout te quitte. L’empêcheras-tu d’être
jeune, ardente, pleine de fougue, d’aimer les fêtes qui te sont
interdites, le jeu de pelote, les courses de taureaux ? Que feras-tu,
quand, privée d’y aller, elle tambourinera, maussade, la vitre ? Tu te
lèveras pour l’accompagner. Raidi par l’effort, je te vois pâle et crispé
dans la voiture qui vous emporte. Sur les gradins, tu as auprès de toi
son visage éblouissant, dont frémissent les narines. Elle est joyeuse,
redressée, dilatée, admirée ; tu es replié, muet, penché, un foulard
autour du cou et si vêtu en plein été que tu donnes chaud à tous
ceux qui t’entourent. Empêcheras-tu qu’elle soit un objet de désir
quand tu es un objet de pitié, qu’elle aime le changement, les
excursions, les réunions nombreuses, quand tes forces te
permettent à peine de goûter le commerce intime d’un ami ?
Peut-on demander à un être ainsi constitué de se consacrer à un
malade, d’assister à son déclin, à sa décrépitude de chaque
instant ? Si elle l’aime, c’est la plus triste chose du monde ; si elle ne
l’aime pas… Et comment m’aimerait-elle ? Quand je lui ai dit de
choisir entre Paul et moi, quand je l’ai mise en demeure de se
prononcer, elle s’en est tirée par des paroles de femme et par des
larmes ; mais elle n’a pas répondu. Comment m’aimerait-elle ? Je
me souviens de cette jolie mercière que je voyais, autrefois, de mes
fenêtres, si éprise d’un mari bossu. Je ne pouvais comprendre qu’on
pût aimer un être difforme. Encore un être difforme peut plaire par sa
bonne humeur, sa force amoureuse. Mais un malade, quoi de plus
attristant ?
Non, je vois très clairement ce que serait mon sort, si j’allais
jusqu’au bout de mon égarement, à supposer que l’imprévu, la
nouveauté, son désir du changement et ce qu’elle apercevrait de
romanesque dans l’aventure l’amenassent à consentir. Devant la
réalité si décevante, elle ne se résignerait ni ne se révolterait ; elle
suivrait tout simplement son instinct qui la porte vers le plaisir. Elle
n’est point méchante ; elle ne chercherait pas à me faire souffrir.
Quand elle me verrait trop faible pour la suivre, elle me dirait :
« Reste tranquille. Repose-toi. Je sors. » Et moi, je songerais à son
corps si tentant et si mal défendu, qui est là nu sous la robe,
convoité par les hommes qui passent et qu’à chaque instant je
risque de perdre. Je serais là, cloué sur mon lit, attendant son retour.
Je songerais : « Elle t’appartient ; elle est ta femme et elle est moins
à toi que lorsque Paul te la disputait. » Et le soir, quand elle rentrerait
amollie, détendue, éteinte, elle me retrouverait à la même place. Je
considérerais son visage pâli, son air absent, la fatigue répandue sur
toute sa personne, étranglé par la peur d’en deviner la cause,
pendant que, sans même s’excuser d’être en retard, sans me rendre
le moindre compte de ces heures passées loin de moi, elle se
laisserait tomber de lassitude, sur une chaise, avec un grand soupir.
Voyons, l’aimes-tu assez pour accepter ce sort ? Ce que tu
éprouves pour elle, est-ce le noble, le pur amour, celui qui se sacrifie
dans un sourire et d’une main légère accorde le pardon ? Si tu te
taisais, serait-ce par grandeur ou par lâcheté ? As-tu connu avec elle
cette partie lumineuse, éternelle et divine de l’amour ? — Non, j’ai
connu le poison, le mauvais tourment, le désir seul, plus humain
peut-être, que les obstacles alimentent, qu’exalte la jalousie, que ne
tue pas la trahison elle-même. Car sa trahison lui a-t-elle fait perdre
son attrait sur mes sens ? Si j’envisage peu à peu la possibilité de
renoncer à elle, c’est que je suis plus sage que fou, c’est que le
penchant naturel de mon être, en dehors de cette crise passagère
qu’il traverse, m’incline vers la raison, c’est que mon tempérament,
le caractère secret de mon individu m’y portent, c’est que je sens
obscurément, mais d’une façon profonde, que je suis organisé pour
me vaincre. Il faut le faire ; la vérité est là et non ailleurs. Je me dois
à cette noble femme qui m’a élevé, qui m’a suivi, qui, par ses soins,
me dispute à chaque minute au mal qui me détruit. Elle est l’abri ;
Javotte est le péril. Tout ce qui m’attend d’amer, tout ce qui doit me
venir de blessures et de larmes est dans celle-ci ; tout ce que je
peux souhaiter d’apaisant, de consolant, la courageuse résignation,
la fin adoucie et sereine de mes jours sont dans celle-là. Quel
funeste souffle voudrait m’entraîner hors de mon sillon ? Ma destinée
est ici ou là. N’est-il pas en mon pouvoir encore d’être l’arbitre ?
Mais comme l’austérité du devoir m’effraie ! Je me vois, ayant
opté. C’est fini. La vie n’aura plus de sourires pour moi. Le dimanche
qui ouvre la porte de ta semaine ne m’apportera rien… Est-ce
possible ?… Alors, devant moi, il n’y aura plus rien, plus rien que la
mort ?…
Ne te plains pas. A quoi bon ? Dis-toi ceci, qu’il dépend de toi
d’être fort. Sois-le, et tu cesseras de souffrir. Ce qui t’attend, qu’en
sais-tu ? Le malheur se fatigue de persécuter les forts, tandis que le
faible appelle ses coups. Celui qui se laisse abattre, qui gémit, qui se
lamente, ne sort d’une épreuve que pour tomber dans une autre. Il
semble que l’infortune joue avec lui, prenne plaisir à ses plaintes.
Mais que l’orage, d’aventure, éclate sur un vaillant capable de lui
tenir tête, il en va tout autrement. Le malheur, ayant épuisé ses
armes, se lasse de poursuivre qui lui résiste, le patient, le résolu,
l’impassible qui ne lui offre aucune prise. Le jeu cesse d’intéresser
cette puissance mauvaise qui cherche ailleurs une autre victime.
Je me dis encore :
Les premiers pas dans la voie de la sagesse sont les plus
difficiles. L’obstacle à surmonter te paraît grand parce que ton
courage est petit. Enfant, une table que ta tête n’atteignait pas, un
livre que ta main ne pouvait couvrir étaient immenses à tes yeux.
Puis, quand s’est haussée ta taille, quand ta main s’est développée,
ces choses, étant demeurées les mêmes, t’ont paru réduites.
Pareillement, à mesure que l’énergie, la volonté croîtront en toi, tu
verras se rapetisser l’obstacle ; tu reconnaîtras que cet amour n’était
pas la raison suprême de ta vie, qu’il n’en a été que l’accident.
Je me répète chaque jour ces choses. Elles me font du bien.
Un matin, Paul est entré dans ma chambre :

— Peux-tu me recevoir ?
— Entre. J’allais justement te faire prier de venir. J’ai à te parler.
Je ne sais pas si de ton côté tu as pris une détermination ; mais pour
ma part, j’en ai prise une : je renonce à Javotte.
Il m’a dit :
— Moi aussi. J’ai réfléchi ; je suis presque tranquille ; c’est moins
dur que je ne pensais. Depuis quelques jours, ça va mieux ; il me
semble qu’on m’a ôté un poids sur la poitrine. Aussi je suis bien
résolu à ne plus la revoir… Si tu veux, nous ne parlerons plus de
cette morte.
Il ajoute :
— Maintenant, mon petit, je crois que nous pouvons nous
embrasser.
Ma mère, qui n’assistait pas à notre entretien, est entrée dans la
chambre. Elle nous a vus réconciliés. Elle a compris. Une émotion
qu’elle ne peut contenir bouleverse son fin visage.
— Ah ! dit-elle, je savais bien que tu serais fort, que tu serais
courageux et brave, que tu écouterais la raison. Je n’ai pas douté de
toi. Dès le lendemain de cette scène, j’ai eu confiance. Je savais que
seul avec toi-même, tu te retrouverais, tu mesurerais mieux jusqu’où
t’aurait conduit cette malheureuse passion. Enfin, c’est fini. Tu
l’oublieras. Nous partirons. Tu es sauvé. Ah ! je suis bien
heureuse !…
Cependant, celle contre qui nous avons pris ces fermes
résolutions commence à s’inquiéter de notre silence. Elle est passée
plusieurs fois sous ma fenêtre. De ma chaise longue, je l’ai aperçue ;
j’ai eu la force de ne pas bouger. Je me souviens de lui avoir dit un
jour qu’elle portait le béret basque : « Ce béret vous va très bien ».
Elle ne l’avait pas remis ; mais ces jours-ci, en passant sous ma
fenêtre, elle l’avait.
Enfin, cette lettre m’est parvenue :
Mardi, 5 heures.
Mon ami,
Ce que j’éprouve est insoutenable, et, ne me sentant pas

l’énergie nécessaire pour rester ce soir dans cet état d’âme,
avant de voir arriver la nuit et sa sombre influence, je ne puis
m’empêcher de jeter vers vous ce cri de détresse. Je souffre ! je
souffre ! je souffre !
Ah ! comment donner à mes paroles un son capable de vous
émouvoir ? Quoi que je fasse, cette lettre ne vous dira pas à
quelles douleurs mon âme est en proie… Écoutez-moi, je sais
les ménagements qu’exige votre état ; je ne songe pas à vous
imposer la fatigue de venir jusque chez moi, je vous demande
seulement, je vous supplie de venir à la villa Suzanne qui est en
face de vous. Mon amie, Mme Toledo, se met à notre
disposition. Vous ne pouvez pas me refuser cette entrevue.
Dites-moi que vous viendrez, et ce jour-là du moins la vérité se
fera jour. Car je veux que vous sachiez par moi-même que ma
conscience ne me reproche rien. Une raison plus forte que ma
volonté et devant laquelle j’ai dû m’incliner justifiait mon attitude
vis-à-vis de vous, mais au prix de quel sacrifice !
Vous qui avez souffert, vous, mon ami, comprendrez peut-
être la sincérité de mon cri.
Vous sentir là, en face, à deux pas de moi, dans l’ignorance
de certaines choses et ne pouvoir rien dire ! C’est plus qu’il n’en
faut pour ma pauvre tête égarée après d’atroces nuits sans
sommeil.
Soyez humain en ne me refusant pas la faculté de vous
parler sans retard devant mon amie qui a été la confidente et le

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in a Competitive World Bateman 11th

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Test Bank for Management: Leading & Collaborating in a

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the evolving societal trends.

Multiple Choice Questions

38. The immediate environment surrounding a firm is known as its:

environmental forces at work does this reflect?

B. Peter's model for organizational excellence

D. Porter's model for competitive environment

E. supply chain management

competitive environment does this scenario illustrate?

C. unfair trade practices

D. high switching costs

but more of another.

A. threat of new entrants is more serious.

B. threat of competitive rivalry is high.

C. threat to established firms is less serious.

D. new companies can easily compete with the established ones.

E. industry is said to have just a few barriers to entry.

A. Hand sanitizer for soaps

B. Ink cartridges for printers

C. Mops for detergent

D. iTunes for iPods

E. Furniture for apartments

provide these various resources are referred to as .

54. are fixed costs buyers face if they change suppliers.

A. high employment costs

C. favorable quality status

E. high switching costs

C. Human resource management

E. Supply chain management

final consumers use the finished products.

C. final consumers make more purchases than the intermediate consumers.

D. unlike final consumers, intermediate consumers provide monetary benefits to organizations by

purchasing their products.

manage in the competitive environment managers have identified.

65. Which of the following combinations can result in a best-case scenario?

C. Few entry barriers, many substitutes, many customers

A. Multiple forecasts are best, and their predictions can be averaged.

A. illegal boundary management

B. maneuvering the competition

geographically to reduce its dependence on a single market or technology.

maneuvers is illustrated in this scenario?

A. dependent strategies and independent strategies.

C. cooperative strategies and strategic maneuvering.

D. strategic maneuvering and dependent strategies.

E. independent action and strategic maneuvering.

example of on the part of Purple Lotus.

to join. In this example, Quartermaine University is demonstrating .

83. The process of sharing power with employees is called .

85. Creating supplies of excess resources in case of unpredictable needs is known as .

A. Just-in-time inventory management

87. Leveling normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the environment is called .

of the company share is called organization .

A. The way employees interact with each other

B. Information printed in the media about stock prices