Single correct option
Directions: The passage below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
The idea that a company's culture can be captured in a values poster — Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork — misunderstands what culture actually is. Culture is not what an organization claims to value; it is what the organization's incentives, promotions and unwritten tolerances actually reward. A firm that fires people who miss quarterly targets, however they achieved the prior quarter's numbers, will develop a culture of short-term number-chasing no matter what its poster says, and a firm that promotes people who cut corners without consequence will develop a culture that tolerates corner-cutting, regardless of any stated commitment to integrity.
The idea that a company's culture can be captured in a values poster — Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork — misunderstands what culture actually is. Culture is not what an organization claims to value; it is what the organization's incentives, promotions and unwritten tolerances actually reward. A firm that fires people who miss quarterly targets, however they achieved the prior quarter's numbers, will develop a culture of short-term number-chasing no matter what its poster says, and a firm that promotes people who cut corners without consequence will develop a culture that tolerates corner-cutting, regardless of any stated commitment to integrity.
- A. Company values posters are a waste of money that most organizations would be better off eliminating entirely.
- B. A company's actual culture is shaped by what its incentive and promotion systems reward, not by its stated values.
- C. Employees who chase short-term targets are ultimately responsible for a company's poor culture.
- D. Organizations should replace values posters with more detailed employee handbooks describing expected behaviour.
Show answer and solution
Answer: (B) A company's actual culture is shaped by what its incentive and promotion systems reward, not by its stated values.
The passage's thesis is explicit: real culture tracks what incentives and promotions actually reward, not stated values — matching option B precisely. Option A draws a policy conclusion (eliminate posters) never stated; C misplaces blame onto employees rather than the incentive system; D proposes a solution the passage never suggests.
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