Deck 14: Sustaining Change, Evaluating, and Ending an Engagement

Question 1

Which recommended practice that can encourage regular maintenance and renewal of change is when routine instances of a group of individuals coming together to share results, perspectives, and opinions about how the change is operating?

A) Periodic team meetings
B) Organization sensing meetings
C) Periodic intergroup meetings
D) Renewal conferences

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which recommended practice that can encourage regular maintenance and renewal of change relates to promotions, compensation, or even simple compliments?

A) Goal-directed performance review
B) Periodic visits from outside consultants
C) Rewards
D) Periodic intergroup meetings

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which reason for a relapse after a change has occurred relates to the fact that without the patience to push through the natural and awkward phases of trial and error and the inevitable initial mistakes, many organizational members claim that the change has failed?

A) motivation to maintain change while change agent is present
B) new state is often more difficult
C) organizational members may be unskilled initially
D) systemic organizational forces may be too powerful to overcome

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which reason to evaluate describes prompting the client and change agent to return to the original objectives of the engagement, to be specific about what outcomes were desired, and to document whether those objectives were achieved?

A) Evaluation provides focus
B) Evaluation results may facilitate support
C) Results provide feedback for change
D) Client and change agent growth

Question 5

Which reason for a relapse after a change has occurred relates to the fact that once observers leave, it is easy to slip back to the previous ways of doing things, which is more comfortable?

A) motivation to maintain change while change agent is present
B) new state is often more difficult
C) organizational members may be unskilled initially
D) systemic organizational forces may be too powerful to overcome

Question 6

Which reason for a relapse after a change has occurred relates to the fact that other organizational members, structures, and processes may provide intractable barriers to change?

A) motivation to maintain change while change agent is present
B) new state is often more difficult
C) organizational members may be unskilled initially
D) systemic organizational forces may be too powerful to overcome

Question 7

A goal such as "improved conflict management" is an example of which barrier to evaluation?

A) Accepted proof
B) Unsure what to evaluate
C) Seen as optional
D) Practitioner training

Question 8

Which practice, used by a change agent to institutionalize change, relates to giving organizational members the opportunity to influence the change as it takes shape?

A) Active participation
B) Persuasive communication
C) Management of internal/external information
D) HRM practices

Question 9

Which reason for a relapse after a change has occurred relates to the fact that energy levels are difficult to maintain?

A) motivation to maintain change while change agent is present
B) new state is often more difficult
C) organizational members may be unskilled initially
D) systemic organizational forces may be too powerful to overcome

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a methodological challenge to evaluating OD efforts?

A) difficulty assessing what constituted an improvement
B) lack of true comparison groups
C) time lags
D) having relevant data

Question 11

Which recommended practice that can encourage regular maintenance and renewal of change is when top leaders hear directly from organizational members about how the change is working?

A) Periodic team meetings
B) Organization sensing meetings
C) Periodic intergroup meetings
D) Renewal conferences

Question 12

Worrying that the situation has actually deteriorated is an example of which of the following barriers to evaluation?

A) Takes resources
B) Fear of the results
C) Takes energy
D) Accepted proof

Question 13

Which recommended practice that can encourage regular maintenance and renewal of change is when a meeting is often held offsite where organizational leaders or members meet to evaluate and discuss the change?

A) Periodic team meetings
B) Organization sensing meetings
C) Goal-directed performance review
D) Renewal conferences

Question 14

Which practice, used by a change agent to institutionalize change, relates to regular updates about the status of the change and motivation to continue it?

A) Active participation
B) Persuasive communication
C) Management of internal/external information
D) HRM practices

Question 15

Which recommended practice that can encourage regular maintenance and renewal of change relates to performance reviews evaluating departments and/or individuals against specific measurable objectives?

A) Periodic team meetings
B) Organization sensing meetings
C) Goal-directed performance review
D) Renewal conferences

Question 16

Which practice, used by a change agent to institutionalize change, could include employee meetings, leadership conferences, retirement parties, and recognition events?

A) HRM practices
B) Diffusion practices
C) Rites and ceremonies
D) Formalization activities

Question 17

Which practice, used by a change agent to institutionalize change, could include revised structure, policies, or practices?

A) HRM practices
B) Diffusion practices
C) Rites and ceremonies
D) Formalization activities

Question 18

Which practice, used by a change agent to institutionalize change, could include survey data, benchmarking metrics, and other sources of data?

A) Active participation
B) Persuasive communication
C) Management of internal/external information
D) HRM practices

Question 19

Which of the following barriers to evaluation includes the time demand?

A) Takes resources
B) Fear of the results
C) Takes energy
D) Accepted proof

Question 20

Which recommended practice that can encourage regular maintenance and renewal of change occurs when a change agent visits the organization to review progress?

A) Goal-directed performance review
B) Periodic visits from outside consultants
C) Rewards
D) Periodic intergroup meetings

Question 21

"The way we do things around here" is one example of ______.

A) organizational change
B) organizational culture
C) organizational climate
D) organizational leadership

Question 22

______ usually concern organizational-level items, such as quality or revenue.

A) Dialogic variables
B) Diagnostic variables
C) Process variables
D) Outcome variables

Question 23

Too much ______ can mean low productivity, frustration, and confusion.

A) routine
B) intervention
C) development
D) change

Question 24

______ plans should be discussed at the ending meeting so it is clear whether and how the change agent may be further involved with the client's organization.

A) Contract extension
B) Subsequent consultation
C) Postconsultation transition
D) Ending maintenance

Question 25

Which reason to evaluate describes a mutual learning experience?

A) Evaluation provides focus
B) Evaluation results may facilitate support
C) Results provide feedback for change
D) Client and change agent growth

Question 26

Too much ______ is dangerous to adaptation.

A) routine
B) intervention
C) development
D) change

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a process variable?

A) motivation
B) conflict resolution
C) group trust
D) customer satisfaction

Question 28

Which step of the evaluation process is when the practitioner determines if data will be a series of interviews with specific individuals or an organizationwide survey, for example?

A) Client and change agent meet to review original objectives
B) Practitioner determines form of evaluation
C) Change agent should collect data
D) Client and change agent meet to plan next steps

Question 29

Providing a final written report would be included in which step of the evaluation process?

A) Client and change agent meet to review original objectives
B) Practitioner determines form of evaluation
C) Change agent should collect data
D) Client and change agent meet to plan next steps

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT an outcome variable?

A) decision making
B) productivity
C) customer satisfaction
D) employee turnover

Question 31

______ could include employee selection, performance appraisals, and training and development activities.

A) HRM practices
B) Diffusion practices
C) Management practices
D) Formalization practices

Question 32

All the following are signs that an engagement might need to come to an end EXCEPT

A) the client keeps putting things off.
B) agreements are made and forgotten.
C) the client appears to have a higher emotional stake than the consultant.
D) the consultant appears to have a higher emotional stake than the client.

Question 33

The word ______ can bring up negative connotation because of it being rooted in poor experiences of getting feedback.

A) separation
B) evaluation
C) endings
D) development

Question 34

Which reason to evaluate describes uncovering barriers to change and the results pointing to future possibilities for improvement?

A) Evaluation provides focus
B) Evaluation results may facilitate support
C) Results provide feedback for change
D) Client and change agent growth

Question 35

______ contribute to ______.

A) Process variables; outcome variables
B) Outcome variables; process variables
C) Diagnostic variables; dialogic variables
D) Dialogic variables; diagnostic variables

Question 36

Which step of the evaluation process is when the purpose of evaluation is discussed?

A) Client and change agent meet to review original objectives
B) Practitioner determines form of evaluation
C) Change agent should collect data
D) Client and change agent meet to plan next steps

Question 37

Which reason to evaluate describes clients having increased confidence and change agents having "success stories" in their professional portfolio?

A) Evaluation provides focus
B) Evaluation results may facilitate support
C) Results provide feedback for change
D) Client and change agent growth

Question 38

______ consist of how the intervention may have changed behavioral, people, and task items.

A) Dialogic variables
B) Diagnostic variables
C) Process variables
D) Outcome variables

Question 39

Ideally, engagements are ended by ______.

A) clients
B) consultants
C) mutual agreement
D) leadership

Question 40

______ are when changes are piloted in one area of the organization and then implemented in another.

A) HRM practices
B) Diffusion practices
C) Management practices
D) Formalization practices

Question 41

While evaluation is among the final stages of the OD engagement, it is frequently omitted.

Question 42

What can clients and change agents discuss when they choose to explicitly end the process with an ending feedback meeting?

Question 43

What are ethical challenges of evaluation?

Question 44

Evaluation does not always need to be viewed as an ending of an engagement but rather as a transition to a new beginning.

Question 45

Discuss barriers to evaluation.

Question 46

The end of the OD process is when the ownership of the change remains with the consultant.

Question 47

Discuss ethical issues in the ending phase.

Question 48

Consulting engagements are by definition temporary relationships.

Question 49

Misinterpretation of the data only occurs by the change agent.

Question 50

Separation may be necessary to reduce dependency on the change agent.

Question 51

Sometimes the evaluation portion of OD is seen as "nice to have" but not necessarily a requirement.

Question 52

The final stage in the OD model is concerned with ending engagements, or the process of separating from and exiting the client's environment.

Question 53

If a change agent becomes "native" in the organization, he/she can become dependent on the client.

Question 54

How is the OD engagement itself a topic for evaluation?

Question 55

Too much stability can be harmful, as can too much change.