Deck 14: Leadership and Change

Question 1

Creating change, managing change, implementing change, or clearing up the mess after a period of change are some of the most common themes a modern leader will encounter.
Is it true that modern organizations, on account of the interconnections within the global world economy, are subject to constant change?

Answer 1

True

Question 2

H.G. Wells (1922) stated, 'adapt or perish, now as ever, is Nature's inexorable imperative'. How does this translate best in terms of the implications for organisational change?

A) The observation that 'nothing endures but change' over 2,500 years ago suggests change is a constant feature of human existence.
B) This is because creating change, managing change, implementing change, or clearing up the mess after a period of change are some of the most common themes encountered.
C) That organizations must also adapt or perish in the same way the dinosaurs did.
D) That organizations experience internal change, such as the churn of employees joining and leaving, as the external system changes, the inputs to an organization change.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Is it true that radical change, such as the 'accelerating and unprecedented technological change' experienced during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, had created deep-seated shifts in our understanding and altered permanently our relationship with each other.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

One of the best known models of exactly what a vision 'is' and how to construct one is Kotter's (1996) criterion drawn from his broad change 'framework'. What summarises best stages phases identified when trying to create a unifying vision?

A) 1. Imaginable, 2. Desirable, 3. Fashionable, 4. Unfocused, 5. Flexible, 6. Communicable
B) 1. Imaginable, 2. Desirable, 3. Feasible, 4. Focused, 5. Flexible, 6. Communicable
C) 1. Imaginable, 2. Disastrous, 3. Fashionable, 4. Focused, 5. Flexible, 6. Community
D) 1. Unimaginable, 2. Desirable, 3. Feasible, 4. Focused, 5. Flexible, 6. Communicable

Question 5

Different models have been available for leaders to use when considering what actions need to be taken. Hard Systems methodology (HSM) can be applied to Tame problems which can be hard to solve but tend to have a defined beginning and end.
Senior (2002) uses a HSM model that has three distinct stages to a process which can be best summarised as:

A) 1. Test 2. Pilot 3. 'Big Bang'
B) 1. Diagnostic, 2. Considered, 3. Prioritised
C) 1. Developed, 2. Considered, 3. Prioritized
D) 1. Description, 2. Options, 3. Implementation

Question 6

SSM is associated solely with 'soft and wicked' problems as opposed to HSM which can be used with 'hard and tame' problems.

Question 7

Kübler-Ross (1969) provides a Transition curve that suggested individuals experiencing trauma or loss go through a whole series of emotions as part of a grieving process.
Is it true that the curve offers a useful reminder that people always positively to change?

Question 8

Individuals are likely to indulge in office politics for a wide number of reasons such as the need to preserve status, to undermine rivals, to secure scarce resources, or to block changes considered a disadvantage to a particular agenda.
According to Buchanan and Badham (1999), what best describes some of the tactics that may be used?

A) Cultivating an unfavourable self-impression, developing a base of support and aligning oneself with more powerful others.
B) Controlling access to information, blaming and attacking others.
And aligning oneself with more powerful others.
C) Cultivating an unfavourable self-impression, Blaming and attacking others and maligning oneself with more powerful others.
D) Controlling access to information, developing a base of support and maligning oneself with more powerful others.

Question 9

In HSM, there is usually broad agreement about what needs to change. The disagreement lies in the 'how' this change is to be created. SSM, on the other hand, seeks to understand the purpose of the activity and the interconnectedness of causes, effects, and consequences.
How can the process developed by Checkland and Poulter (2006) be best summarised?

A) CATWOE - Change, Actors, Transvision, Worldview, Options, Environmental Constraints.
B) CATWOE - Change, Actions, Transvision, Worldview, Owners, Environmental Constraints.
C) CATWOE - Customers, Actions, Transformation, worldview, Options, Environmental Constraints.
D) CATWOE - Customers, Actors, Transformation, worldview, Owners, Environmental Constraints.

Question 10

Kurt Lewin was an American psychologist born in Germany who developed a number of ideas to explain how individuals and groups operated in social situations.
Given the three phases: unfreezing, change, and refreezing he identified what best explains the change process he progressed?

A) Change - it is necessary to prepare individuals and the organization for change.
B) Refreezing - individuals will take time to make sense of their new situation and adjustments may be needed.
C) Unfreezing: this means articulating the new vision, breaking down the old structures and processes, and making sure everyone is ready to leave the old status quo behind.
D) Unfreezing: this moves the organization to its new state, need to be
Embedded and confirmed.