Deck 15: Organizational Change

Question 1

In organizational change, unfreezing may occur by

A) increasing the restraining forces.
B) increasing the driving forces.
C) reducing the urgency to change.
D) removing the driving forces.
E) maintaining the status quo.

Answer 1

increasing the driving forces.

Question 2

Who developed the force field analysis model?

A) Max Weber
B) Henri Fayol
C) Kurt Lewin
D) Fred Fiedler
E) Mary Parker Follett

Answer 2

Kurt Lewin

Question 3

According to the force field model, what occurs when the organization's systems and structures are aligned with the desired behaviors?

A) unfreezing
B) refreezing
C) changing
D) an urgency to change
E) complacency

Answer 3

refreezing

Question 4

What is one contribution of force field analysis to the study of organizational change?

A) It shows how easy it is for organizations to change.
B) It recognizes that most employees embrace change from the outset.
C) It illustrates the complex interplay of external forces on the internal dynamics of organizations.
D) It illustrates that external forces have little impact on the need for organizations to change.
E) It prescribes a method of appreciative inquiry to drive change.

Question 5

What is meant by the term "divine discontent"?

A) It means most employees are never satisfied.
B) It means that most leaders are not happy with organizational changes.
C) It means there is a moral imperative for organizations to change.
D) It means leaders continually urge employees to strive to be better.
E) It means leaders recognize that change is not possible due to the discontent in the workforce.

Question 6

________ is a form of conflict, but change agents sometimes interpret that disagreement as relationship conflict.

A) The status quo
B) The MARS model
C) Fear of the unknown
D) Resistance
E) Organizational culture

Question 7

A productive approach to change is to view it as

A) a necessary evil.
B) something to be passively accepted.
C) relationship conflict.
D) task conflict.
E) procedurally unjust.

Question 8

An employee's readiness to change depends on

A) all four elements of the MARS model.
B) a change agent who applies punishment and other forms of coercion.
C) any one or more elements of the Four-D model.
D) restraining forces being greater than driving forces.
E) the perception that the change outcome will have a negative valence.

Question 9

________ occurs when employees resist change because they believe the new work environment will have high probability of negative outcomes.

A) Negative valence of change
B) Fear of the unknown
C) Not-invented-here syndrome
D) Incongruent team dynamics
E) Incongruent organizational structures

Question 10

Because of ________, employees tend to assume the worst when they are unsure whether the change will have good or bad outcomes.

A) negative valence of change
B) fear of the unknown
C) not-invented-here syndrome
D) incongruent team dynamics
E) incongruent organizational structures

Question 11

People typically resist initiatives that force them to ________ and require them to learn new role patterns.

A) maintain the status quo
B) break routines
C) adopt a not-invented-here syndrome
D) participate in incongruent team dynamics
E) abide by incongruent organizational structures

Question 12

The perception of procedural justice in the change process can be improved by

A) forcing the change on employees.
B) ensuring that there are clear winners and losers due to the process.
C) engaging in constructive conversations.
D) not involving employees in the process.
E) encouraging resistance to change.

Question 13

From a task conflict perspective, what does resistance to change signal?

A) That the arguments for and against change have become personal.
B) That employees resisting change are simply being unreasonable.
C) That employees are not sufficiently prepared for change.
D) That the only way to break down resistance is to force the change through the system.
E) That change cannot be implemented fairly.

Question 14

Which of the following is reflective of the fear of the unknown?

A) Team norms undermine the change.
B) Employees resist change that is initiated outside of their area of expertise.
C) People are creatures of habit.
D) Organizational reward systems are misaligned.
E) The status quo is preferable to the uncertainty of change.

Question 15

Senior executives at a large retail organization want employees to become more customer-friendly. Employees think they are serving customers well enough, and the company is the dominant player in the market. What should the executives do to create an urgency to change in this situation?

A) Stop trying to convince employees that they should change their behavior and use other strategies to gain market share.
B) Keep pushing employees to change, even though they don't see the need to change, and attempt to replace the existing change agent.
C) Introduce punishments for employees who do not become more customer-friendly.
D) Inform employees about the driving forces in the external environment indicating that the company's dominant position will be threatened unless they become more customer-friendly.
E) Introduce a reward-punishment scheme to promote the change in the organization.

Question 16

One problem with the learning strategy for minimizing resistance to change is that

A) it changes people too quickly.
B) it leads to long-term antagonism with the change agent.
C) it creates compliance but not commitment to the change process.
D) employees may not be able to learn the new skills.
E) it attempts to change the drivers instead of reducing the restraining forces.

Question 17

A low level of employee involvement would be necessary when the

A) benefits of change are unknown to the employee.
B) organization is looking for a gradual change.
C) change must occur quickly in the organization.
D) employee interests are compatible with the organization's needs.
E) organization is planning to introduce continuous changes.

Question 18

What is the highest priority and first strategy required for any organizational change?

A) communication
B) employee involvement
C) stress management
D) negotiation
E) coercion

Question 19

Change agents should introduce new rewards and utilize information systems in order to

A) ensure the change is permanent.
B) begin the process of appreciative inquiry.
C) avoid action research.
D) refreeze the desired conditions.
E) unfreeze the organizational change.

Question 20

When communication, training, and involvement do not sufficiently ease employee worries, ________ increases.

A) learning
B) stress
C) coercion
D) negotiation
E) refreezing

Question 21

________ is a form of influence that involves the promise of benefits or resources in exchange for the target person's compliance with the influencer's request.

A) Communication
B) Employee involvement
C) Stress management
D) Negotiation
E) Coercion

Question 22

Which organizational change is mostly compliance with, rather than commitment to, the change effort?

A) communication
B) employee involvement
C) stress management
D) negotiation
E) coercion

Question 23

Firing people is the least desirable way to change organizations. However, dismissals and other forms of ________ are sometimes necessary when speed is essential and other tactics are ineffective.

A) communication
B) employee involvement
C) stress management
D) negotiation
E) coercion

Question 24

Which of the following will not produce lasting change in behavior?

A) refreezing
B) negotiation
C) unfreezing
D) communication
E) coercion

Question 25

If the change process is supposed to encourage efficiency, then ________ should be realigned to motivate and reinforce efficient behavior.

A) rewards
B) negotiations
C) feedback
D) communication
E) priorities

Question 26

Which of the following statements is correct regarding effective change?

A) Coercion is the most effective change strategy and should be tried first.
B) Removing the restraining forces alone will increase the motivation to change.
C) If restraining forces are sufficiently reduced, the need for driving forces is eliminated.
D) Increasing the driving forces alone is the most effective method to effect change.
E) The preferred approach is to both increase the driving forces and reduce the restraining forces.

Question 27

Which of the following is overlooked in the force field analysis model?

A) current conditions
B) driving forces
C) coalitions
D) restraining forces
E) desired conditions

Question 28

Which of the following is true about strategic visions?

A) They could increase or decrease resistance to change.
B) They minimize the link between personal values and change.
C) They could minimize the fear of the unknown.
D) They form the second stage of action research.
E) They lead to negotiations between management and employees.

Question 29

Social networks can initiate ________ change.

A) planned
B) negotiated
C) viral
D) rapid
E) strategic

Question 30

A(n) ________ applies changes to one work unit or section of the organization to test a change process.

A) guiding coalition
B) social network
C) pilot project
D) transformational leader
E) coercive approach

Question 31

Which of the following would improve role perceptions when a pilot project is diffused through the organization?

A) Widely celebrate the project's success.
B) Ensure that the change does not diffuse beyond the pilot project.
C) Provide technical training to implement pilot project practices.
D) Rapidly adopt the pilot project to other organizational units.
E) Communicate how the pilot project practices are relevant for employees own functional areas.

Question 32

Pilot projects should first be targeted to

A) upper management.
B) employees who are most resistant to change.
C) employees who are most ready for change.
D) work units who have been pilot groups in the past.
E) the entire organization.

Question 33

When you widely communicate and celebrate the pilot project's success, you are using which strategy for diffusing change?

A) motivation
B) ability
C) role perception
D) situational factors
E) transformational change

Question 34

The ________ strategy for diffusing change gives employees technical training to implement practices identified in the pilot project.

A) motivation
B) ability
C) role perception
D) situational factors
E) transformational change

Question 35

Pilot projects get diffused when employees have ________, that is, when they understand how the practices in a pilot project apply to them even though they are in a completely different functional area.

A) motivation
B) ability
C) clear role perceptions
D) situational factors
E) transformational change

Question 36

Which of the following statements regarding action research is correct?

A) The effectiveness of the intervention may not be apparent for many years.
B) Most experts recommend rapid change when using action research.
C) It ignores diagnosis and calls for immediate action.
D) It is not problem oriented.
E) It assumes the change agent is internal to the organization.

Question 37

The ________ principle takes the position that the questions we ask and language we use shape different realities.

A) positive
B) constructionist
C) poetic
D) anticipatory
E) simultaneity

Question 38

Engaging in dialog about what should be occurs during which stage of the 4-D model?

A) designing
B) dreaming
C) discovery
D) delivering
E) deciding

Question 39

The direction for an organization is established during which stage of the 4-D model?

A) designing
B) dreaming
C) discovery
D) delivering
E) deciding

Question 40

Which of the following statements regarding future search conferences is correct?

A) They limit participation to a small number of experts.
B) They take a past-oriented approach to problem solving.
C) They generate very low expectations as to actions resulting from the conference.
D) Having a large number of participants limits opportunities to contribute.
E) They ignore strategic implications of emerging trends.

Question 41

Action research usually assumes that the change agent originates outside the system, so the process begins by

A) forming the client-consultant relationship.
B) diagnosing the need for change.
C) introducing interventions.
D) evaluating change.
E) stabilizing change.

Question 42

As part of the ________ stage of action research, the issue becomes how quickly the change should occur.

A) forming the client-consultant relationship
B) diagnosing the need for change
C) introducing interventions
D) evaluating change
E) stabilizing change

Question 43

Acme Corp needed to improve customer service practices among its employees. To achieve this, a team was formed, consisting of a dozen respected employees selected from various departments who operated largely outside of organizational constraints. Acme Corp's customer-first task force mainly applies which approach to organizational change?

A) appreciative inquiry
B) process consultation
C) parallel learning structures
D) sequential interventions
E) top-down approach

Question 44

Which of the following statements is correct regarding change processes across cultures?

A) Eastern cultures see change as linear.
B) Change is universally accepted as a conflict-ridden process.
C) Western assumptions are now adopted by most cultures around the globe.
D) Cross-cultural differences indicate the need for a contingency oriented perspective.
E) The view that change can be interconnected is universally rejected.

Question 45

Different cultures make different assumptions about change. Which of the following is not identified in the text as a way a particular culture might view change?

A) in a linear fashion
B) in a cyclical fashion
C) as unnecessary
D) as interconnected
E) as punctuated by tension

Question 46

Cross-cultural differences suggest that a more ________ perspective is required for organizational change to work effectively in this era of globalization.

A) parallel learning
B) sequential approach
C) contingency-oriented
D) appreciative inquiry
E) direct confrontation

Question 47

Western cultures view change as

A) linear.
B) cyclical.
C) circuitous.
D) harmonious.
E) unnecessary.

Question 48

Which of the following is not an ethical concern relating to organizational change practices?

A) sharing personal information
B) violating individual privacy rights
C) increasing management's power
D) undermining individual's self-esteem
E) gaining competitive advantage

Question 49

Beattie Limited is considering making organizational changes. They have decided to take an action research approach. Management intends on requiring employees to participate in the research, instead of leaving it open to volunteers. What is the ethical concern with requiring participation in this activity?

A) that personal information will be shared
B) that the corporation will be violating individual privacy rights
C) that the result will be an increase in management's power
D) that the corporation will be undermining individual's self-esteem
E) that the corporation will be gaining a competitive advantage

Question 50

The unfreezing process requires that participants disconfirm their existing beliefs, sometimes including their own competence at certain tasks or interpersonal relations, thus creating an ethical dilemma of

A) sharing personal information.
B) violating individual privacy rights.
C) increasing management's power.
D) undermining an individual's self-esteem.
E) gaining competitive advantage.

Question 51

The action research model is built on the idea of collecting information from organizational members, yet this assumes that employees will provide personal information and reveal emotions they would not normally divulge. What is the ethical concern regarding this practice?

A) It can undermine self-esteem.
B) It is culturally insensitive.
C) It can increase management's power.
D) It requires individuals to disconfirm their existing beliefs.
E) It violates the right to privacy.

Question 52

Triple A Office Supplies is about to introduce a new customer service program that will affect all of its 355 sales and service employees. Job duties will be changed and the employee reward system will be altered to fit this new customer focus. Moreover, the company wants to improve the efficiency of work processes, thereby removing some of the comfortable (and often leisurely) routines that employees have followed over the years. Top management is concerned about what types of forces resisting change the company will potentially experience during this change process.

-Which of the following types of resistance to change might be used by employees at Triple A as a deliberate strategy to "prove" that the decision is wrong or that the change agent is incompetent?

A) negative valence of change
B) fear of the unknown
C) not-invented-here syndrome
D) breaking routines
E) incongruent organizational systems

Question 53

Triple A Office Supplies is about to introduce a new customer service program that will affect all of its 355 sales and service employees. Job duties will be changed and the employee reward system will be altered to fit this new customer focus. Moreover, the company wants to improve the efficiency of work processes, thereby removing some of the comfortable (and often leisurely) routines that employees have followed over the years. Top management is concerned about what types of forces resisting change the company will potentially experience during this change process.

-Triple A attempts to assist the change process by putting employees in direct contact with customers. Here, the company is trying to

A) create an urgency for change.
B) use the stress management technique.
C) induce organizational learning.
D) negotiate with the employees.
E) coerce the employees to make a decision.

Question 54

Flathery's Goods wants to introduce a new procedure to improve how customer requests are handled. This change will require employees to break old routines and adopt new role patterns. They decide to adopt two new programs. One asks the employees to learn how to work as teams as the company changes. The other involves forming task forces within the company to help determine new customer service practices

-In asking employees to now work in teams, Flathery's Goods is using ________ to minimize resistance to change.

A) communication
B) learning
C) stress management
D) negotiation
E) coercion

Question 55

Flathery's Goods wants to introduce a new procedure to improve how customer requests are handled. This change will require employees to break old routines and adopt new role patterns. They decide to adopt two new programs. One asks the employees to learn how to work as teams as the company changes. The other involves forming task forces within the company to help determine new customer service practices.

-Flathery's Goods second half of their strategy is the formation of task forces to minimize resistance, or a(n) ________ strategy.

A) communication
B) learning
C) stress management
D) negotiation
E) employee involvement

Question 56

Fashionata, a large retail chain, is experiencing conflict and organizational politics among its managers. The company's customer service ratings are suffering, and managers are pointing to other departments as the cause of the problem. The conflicts and politics are further contributing to the customer service problems. The CEO of this chain has just heard about the appreciative inquiry process and thinks this might be a good technique to use to improve this situation. He needs more information on this process.

-The CEO of Fashionata should know that the four stages of appreciative inquiry, in order, are

A) dreaming, designing, delivering, discovery.
B) dialoguing, innovating, creating, and appreciating.
C) dreaming, discovery, designing, delivering.
D) discovery, dreaming, designing, and delivering.
E) problem identification, envisioning, performing, and evaluating.

Question 57

Fashionata, a large retail chain, is experiencing conflict and organizational politics among its managers. The company's customer service ratings are suffering, and managers are pointing to other departments as the cause of the problem. The conflicts and politics are further contributing to the customer service problems. The CEO of this chain has just heard about the appreciative inquiry process and thinks this might be a good technique to use to improve this situation. He needs more information on this process.

-The CEO will need to know that appreciative inquiry is based on

A) a negative view of the system.
B) determining what is wrong with current employees.
C) directly correcting organizational problems.
D) identifying the positive elements of the organization or work units that are performing well.
E) using negative tension to effect change.

Question 58

Fashionata, a large retail chain, is experiencing conflict and organizational politics among its managers. The company's customer service ratings are suffering, and managers are pointing to other departments as the cause of the problem. The conflicts and politics are further contributing to the customer service problems. The CEO of this chain has just heard about the appreciative inquiry process and thinks this might be a good technique to use to improve this situation. He needs more information on this process

-One reason the CEO's idea of using the 4-D appreciative inquiry approach might be successful is that this approach takes the organization from "what is" to ultimately

A) "what will be."
B) "what should be."
C) "what could be."
D) "what might be."
E) "what cannot be."

Question 59

Explain how companies can create an urgency for change.

Question 60

Describe the role of guiding coalitions and social networks in the change process.

Question 61

How is change diffused from a pilot project to other parts of the organization?

Question 62

The force field analysis model states that stability is achieved when the driving forces for change subside and are replaced by restraining forces.

Question 63

To refreeze the system, an organization's systems and structures must restore old role patterns.

Question 64

If change agents take adopt a conflict-oriented approach to change, the resistance to change will likely be strengthened.

Question 65

The not-invented-here syndrome states that employees deliberately inflate problems with changes that they did not initiate.

Question 66

Lewin's theory posits that the preferred option to effect change is to increase the driving forces and also increase the restraining forces.

Question 67

When organizations are performing well, it is easier to create an urgency for change.

Question 68

Coercion should be the first strategy used to effect organizational change.

Question 69

Transformational leaders act as agents of organizational change by providing a strategic vision.

Question 70

Guiding coalitions work best when they consist of members of the executive team.

Question 71

The change process can be improved through social networks due to their role in communication and influence.

Question 72

Pilot projects diffuse change by applying change to the entire organization.

Question 73

Action research is based on the philosophy that diagnosing the need for change must precede active interventions.

Question 74

Appreciative inquiry adopts the negative view that people will resist change, and thus will need to be coerced if change is to occur.

Question 75

A key element of the large group intervention process is that it takes past-oriented problem focus.

Question 76

Parallel learning structures apply the action research model to produce meaningful organizational change.

Question 77

Using the action research model enables an organization to eliminate the threat of violating individual privacy rights.

Question 78

Force field analysis assumes a linear change structure, which is in conflict with some culture's basic assumptions of change.

Question 79

In the era of globalization, a contingency-oriented approach to organizational change is required for it to be effective.