Deck 18: Creating and Leading Change

Question 1

The "tyranny of the or" refers to the belief that only one goal and not another can be attained.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: The tyranny of the or is the belief that things must be either A or B and cannot be both, such as believing that only one goal and not another can be attained.

Question 2

OD is most often a narrow improvement in technology or operations.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: Organization development (OD) is defined as being systemwide. That means OD is not a narrow improvement in technology or operations but a broader approach to changing organization, units, or people.

Question 3

According to Collins and Porras, in a successful organization, long-term thinking and investment come at the expense of demand for short-term results.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: The genius of the and, known more academically as organizational ambidexterity, refers to being able to achieve multiple objectives at the same time. One example given by Collins and Porras is balancing long-term thinking and a demand for short-term results.

Question 4

Change-specific reasons for resistance include self-interest and self-reliance.

Question 5

Organizational ambidexterity refers to being able to achieve multiple objectives at the same time.

Question 6

Striving for world-class excellence, though a lofty goal, helps companies survive and succeed in today's intensely competitive business world.

Question 7

Most people care more about the organization's best interests than their own, and this helps the implementation of change.

Question 8

Continually striving to improve is equivalent to becoming world class.

Question 9

The basic types of OD techniques include strategic interventions, technostructural interventions, HR management interventions, and human process interventions.

Question 10

The key to successful change is people.

Question 11

Shared responsibility for change in organizations is often lost with growth and over time.

Question 12

Organizational development refers to the training that is available to improve employee acceptance of organizational change.

Question 13

Becoming world class is a goal that is applicable only to the private sector.

Question 14

Pursuing both purpose beyond profit and pragmatic pursuit of profit, as recommended by Collins and Porras, is an example of "the genius of the and."

Question 15

General reasons for resistance to change are inertia, timing, surprise, and peer pressure.

Question 16

The essential characteristic of great companies, according to Collins and Porras, is their relentless focus on beating the competition.

Question 17

Individuals must be able to cope with change because their job performance, the rewards they receive, and their career success depends on it.

Question 18

A critical characteristic of success for the great companies studied in "Built to Last" by Collins and Porras was a surprisingly consistent set of values followed by all of them.

Question 19

Most people are ambivalent about change; they neither embrace nor resist it.

Question 20

Organizational development supports human potential.

Question 21

A guiding coalition for leading change is typically composed of outside business leaders and consultants.

Question 22

Refreezing begins with establishing a vision of where the company is heading.

Question 23

Lots of happy talk from senior management helps to avoid complacency.

Question 24

A crucial responsibility for change leaders is to create a sense of normalcy.

Question 25

In the moving stage of motivating people to change, management realizes that its current practices are no longer appropriate and the company must break out of its present mold by doing things differently.

Question 26

Reactive change means anticipating and preparing for an uncertain future.

Question 27

Too many visible resources can lead to complacency.

Question 28

Employees may be able to predict the failure of a change more accurately than management can.

Question 29

The learning cycle has three repeating components: explore, assemble, and act.

Question 30

Coercion can be a risky method of dealing with resistance to change if it leaves people angry at the change initiators.

Question 31

Asking for and listening to others' information and opinions and reflecting honestly on your successes and failures are part of lifelong learning.

Question 32

In managing resistance to change due to adjustment problems, negotiation and rewards work best.

Question 33

Total organization change involves introducing and sustaining multiple policies, practices, and procedures across multiple units and levels.

Question 34

One way to accomplish unfreezing is to communicate the negative consequences of the old ways by comparing the organization's performance with that of its competitors'.

Question 35

One source of complacency is organizational structures that focus employees on narrow functional goals.

Question 36

Examples of ways you can shape your own future include developing marketable skills and seeking positions that stretch you.

Question 37

Force-field analysis involves identifying what specifically prevents people from changing as well as what specifically will drive people toward change.

Question 38

Adapters try to change the structure of their industries, creating a future competitive landscape of their own design.

Question 39

Refreezing is not always the best third step in motivating people to change if it creates new behaviors that are rigid.

Question 40

A performance gap can occur when performance is good but someone realizes that it could be better.

Question 41

Which of the following change-specific reasons for resistance is likely to occur when people think a change will cause them to lose something of value?

A) Misunderstanding.
B) Management tactics.
C) Self-interest.
D) Surprise.
E) Different assessments.

Question 42

Which step of motivating people to change begins with establishing a vision of where the company is heading?

A) Freezing.
B) Moving.
C) Refreezing.
D) Unfreezing.
E) Leading.

Question 43

Which of the following was identified by Collins and Porras as a "built-to-last" company?

A) Google.
B) Visa.
C) Sony.
D) Apple.
E) Exxon-Mobile.

Question 44

According to Collins and Porras, the essential characteristics of the "built-to-last" companies included

A) Being driven by incremental goals.
B) Focusing on beating the competition.
C) A current strategy that they believe in deeply.
D) Continuous change.
E) Focusing on profits.

Question 45

As a new project manager of a call center, you've noted that the quality of customer service at the center is quite varied. In your estimation, the current service is not what it should or could be. By making this comparison, you've

A) Begun a service initiative.
B) Uncovered a performance gap.
C) Performed a force-field analysis.
D) Discovered a reactive need for change.
E) Identified adapters.

Question 46

Realizing that current practices are inappropriate and that new behavior must be enacted is a required stage for managing resistance called

A) Freezing.
B) Thawing.
C) Melting.
D) Solidifying.
E) Unfreezing.

Question 47

The ability to achieve multiple objectives at the same time is known as the

A) "Benefit of the also."
B) "Tyranny of the or."
C) "Call of the now."
D) "Genius of the and."
E) "Perfection of the two."

Question 48

Which of the following is true about resistance to change?

A) Though common in personal relationships, resistance to change is unusual in the workplace.
B) All people resist, except those whose jobs will be made easier.
C) Managers usually overestimate the amount of resistance they will encounter.
D) People at all levels of their organizations, from entry-level to executives, resist change.
E) Resistance is more common in start-ups and very small organizations.

Question 49

To be world class as an organization includes

A) Striving for controlled improvement.
B) Using the best and latest knowledge and ideas.
C) Having infectious core values.
D) Focusing on competition instead of profits.
E) Operating at industry standards.

Question 50

Which of the following types of resistance to change is likely to result when employees do not see the change's advantage over current practices?

A) Surprise.
B) Timing.
C) Inertia.
D) Misunderstanding.
E) Self-interest.

Question 51

When people have less or incorrect information about an organizational change or its implementation, they are likely to resist the change due to

A) Self-interest.
B) Surprise.
C) Different assessments.
D) Peer pressure.
E) Inertia.

Question 52

The systemwide application of behavioral science to organizational effectiveness is referred to as

A) Organization development.
B) Organization strategy.
C) Organization systems.
D) Organization behavior.
E) Leadership.

Question 53

Which of the following statements about organization development (OD) is accurate?

A) OD is typically a narrow improvement in technology or operations.
B) OD is not directly concerned with economic or technical aspects of the organization.
C) OD sometimes creates barriers to human potential.
D) OD aims to increase profitability of the firm.
E) OD is the main way that leaders are developed.

Question 54

Many individuals and companies are plagued by the _________, the belief that multiple objectives are mutually exclusive.

A) "problem of the if"
B) "tyranny of the or"
C) "timing of the when"
D) "weakness of the and"
E) "threat of the what"

Question 55

When an employee realizes that she really doesn't disagree with a proposed change but simply hates the way she heard the news, she is most likely resisting change because of

A) Different assessments.
B) Timing.
C) Misunderstanding.
D) Management tactics.
E) Surprise.

Question 56

The belief that things must be either A or B and cannot be both and that only one goal and not another can be attained is referred to as

A) Force-field analysis.
B) The "tyranny of the or."
C) Pragmatic reflex.
D) The "genius of the and."
E) Management myopia.

Question 57

Strategic, technostructural, human resources management, and human process are types of

A) Force-field analyses.
B) Performance gaps.
C) OD interventions.
D) Innovation freezing.
E) Shapers.

Question 58

Organizational _________ refers to being able to achieve multiple objectives at the same time.

A) strategy
B) development
C) ambidexterity
D) behavior
E) multitasking

Question 59

The three basic stages of motivating people to change within an organization are

A) Unfreezing, moving, and refreezing.
B) Mobilizing, moving, and stabilizing.
C) Planning, instituting, and evaluating.
D) Storming, norming, and performing.
E) Isolating, transferring, and implementing.
Motivating people to change often requires three basic stages, shown in Figure 18.2: unfreezing, moving to institute the change, and refreezing.

Question 60

Even after MP3 players became an accepted technology, some people still resisted using them because they were comfortable with their old ways of listening to music. The reason for this type of resistance to change might be

A) Surprise.
B) Peer pressure.
C) Differing assessments.
D) Inertia.
E) Timing.

Question 61

In return for participation and cooperation in instituting a major organizational change, Marietta Textiles employees received two extra days of paid vacation. This is an example of which method of dealing with employee resistance to change?

A) Education and communication.
B) Facilitation and support.
C) Negotiation and rewards.
D) Manipulation and cooptation.
E) Coercion.

Question 62

Being a leader and creating the future you want depend on

A) Significant investment.
B) Reactive change.
C) Serving articulated needs.
D) Intense attention to control.
E) Proactive change.

Question 63

When managers apply punishment or the threat of punishment to those who resist change, it is called

A) Negotiation.
B) Coercion.
C) Manipulation.
D) Cooptation.
E) Force.

Question 64

The process of ________ involves determining the idealized, expected state of affairs after a change is implemented.

A) communicating the change vision
B) consolidating gains and producing more change
C) generating short-term wins
D) developing a vision and strategy
E) anchoring new approaches in the culture

Question 65

When companies constantly introduce new change efforts, and these change fads come and go, employees become ________; management should ensure that all change efforts are worth undertaking.

A) irrational
B) cynical
C) spiteful
D) lazy
E) perfectionists

Question 66

Which of the following is an approach to managing resistance to change?

A) Evaluation and communication.
B) Participation and structure.
C) Promotion and support.
D) Vision and communication.
E) Coercion.
According to Table 18.2, coercion is one approach to managing resistance to change.

Question 67

Gaining leadership from top management and gradual support over time from managers and supervisors occurs in which activity of leading change?

A) Establishing a sense of urgency.
B) Creating a guiding coalition.
C) Communicating the change vision.
D) Empowering broad-based action.
E) Generating short-term wins.

Question 68

Identifying the forces that prevent people from changing and those that will drive people toward change is called

A) A force-field analysis.
B) Unfreezing.
C) Organizational ambidexterity.
D) Reactive change.
E) A performance gap study.

Question 69

Introducing and sustaining multiple policies, practices, and procedures across multiple units and levels is called

A) Total organization change.
B) Proactive change.
C) Reactive change.
D) Sustainable change.
E) Multifaceted change.

Question 70

In the context of leading change, highlighting positive results and developing new change agents is part of

A) Generating short-term wins.
B) Consolidating gains.
C) Anchoring new approaches in the culture.
D) Unfreezing behavior.
E) Empowering broad-based action.

Question 71

______ requires using every possible channel and opportunity to talk up and reinforce the vision and required new behaviors.

A) Generating short-term wins
B) Establishing a sense of urgency
C) Creating a guiding coalition
D) Communicating the change vision
E) Empowering broad-based action

Question 72

Which of the following is a common reason for complacency?

A) The absence of visible resources.
B) High overall performance standards.
C) Insufficient performance feedback from internal sources.
D) The presence of a major and visible crisis.
E) Human nature.
According to Figure 18.4, human nature, with its capacity for denial especially if people are already busy or stressed, can be a cause of complacency.

Question 73

Which of the following statements regarding multiple organizational changes is accurate?

A) There is a complete answer to every organization problem that can be implemented on its own; multiple changes only muddy the waters.
B) There is no successful single-shot method for organization change.
C) Organization change is simple.
D) Organization change requires finding a "silver bullet" solution.
E) It is preferable to implement single, small changes; those have a chance of lasting.

Question 74

Identifying crises and opportunities occurs in which activity of leading change?

A) Establishing a sense of urgency.
B) Generating short-term wins.
C) Communicating the change vision.
D) Anchoring new approaches in the culture.
E) Developing a vision and strategy.

Question 75

Salespeople at a department store were resisting a change in customer service standards. In response, managers asked for advice from sales leaders on each of the shifts. Then these same salespeople were asked to assist managers in disseminating information and training other clerks regarding the new standards. The department store used which method of managing resistance to change?

A) Education and communication.
B) Facilitation and support.
C) Negotiation and rewards.
D) Manipulation and cooptation.
E) Coercion.

Question 76

Strengthening new behaviors that support a change is known as

A) Solidifying.
B) Freezing.
C) Stabilizing.
D) Enforcing.
E) Refreezing.

Question 77

In managing resistance to organizational changes, facilitation and support refer to

A) Gaining employee participation and ideas about the change.
B) Giving a resisting individual a role in the change process.
C) Using force to make people comply with the change.
D) Making the change as easy as possible for employees.
E) Offering concrete incentives for cooperation.

Question 78

Urgency is driven by

A) The absence of a major and visible crisis.
B) Low overall performance standards.
C) Compelling business reasons for change.
D) Too much happy talk from senior management.
E) Too many visible resources.

Question 79

Reactive change

A) Is incremental.
B) Is problem-driven.
C) Is based on a lack of sufficient performance feedback.
D) Generates short-term wins.
E) Focuses on the long-term strategy.

Question 80

In the process of motivating change, moving refers to

A) Management realization that its current practices are no longer appropriate.
B) The strengthening of the new behaviors that support the change.
C) Instituting the change, which begins with establishing a vision.
D) The process of identifying performance gaps.
E) The process of employees communicating a problem.