Deck 7: Od Intervention Strategies

Question 1

As organizations are made up of subsystems,an OD practitioner can consider independently the subelements of the organization.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Stream analysis is primarily useful as a method to negotiate a contract between the client and the practitioner.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

After problem areas are diagnosed,a strategy for change can be determined.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to one leading OD practitioner,OD is not the technology of what is done but it is a philosophy of how the change is brought about.

Question 5

Though OD is a dynamic discipline,the boundaries between what is and what is not an OD intervention are clear to OD practitioners.

Question 6

The diagnostic phase in an OD program leads to _____.

A)a change in technology
B)survey feedback
C)a change in people and structure
D)intervention strategies
E)questionnaires and surveys

Question 7

Strategies for structural change are designed to _____.

A)motivate employees through team building
B)redefine the way jobs are designed to enable jobs to accommodate new machinery
C)review and improve interpersonal relationships between organization members
D)improve the framework that relates elements of the organization to one another
E)answers a and c

Question 8

One way to categorize intervention techniques is in terms of the system to be changed.

Question 9

Second-order consequences is a term applied when the client and the OD practitioner make a change in their initial intervention strategy.

Question 10

Stream analysis is a method that can be used in planning the implementation and analysis of behavioral,structural,and technical changes.

Question 11

The structural approach to change places emphasis on the human assets.The approach is toward accomplishing organization goals so that people's talents are being more fully used.

Question 12

The process used to carry out the change strategy,and not the specific intervention,determines if the strategy is an OD one.

Question 13

OD practitioners historically favored a balance between technical,structural,and behavioral interventions.

Question 14

It is common for practitioners to rely upon one intervention technique in an OD program.This helps prevent the organization's members from being confused with multiple intervention techniques.

Question 15

The consideration of primarily overt and not covert elements is essential in any successful change program.

Question 16

Intervention strategies involve the planning for specific means by which change goals can be attained.

Question 17

Stream analysis uses timing,interrelationships,and interventions to plan the implementation of interventions.

Question 18

A technical approach to change involves the framework that relates elements of the organization to one another.

Question 19

The major document used in stream analysis is an employee questionnaire.

Question 20

Three basic approaches to organization change are behavioral,structural,and functional.

Question 21

Stream analysis can be useful in a change program as it _____.

A)helps keep track of progress once the change program is underway
B)uses PERT and Gantt charts which already exist in most organizations
C)presents a time schedule that is easy to get upper management's approval for
D)relies on the data gathering stage of an OD program
E)all of the above

Question 22

Classifications of OD interventions include _____.

A)organization and team
B)society
C)individual and intergroup
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 23

Often the most effective approach in selecting an appropriate strategy is _____.

A)choosing the one that will optimize profits
B)the educational level of employees
C)the integrative use of several strategies
D)disregarding second-order consequences
E)select one specific strategy and stay with it until the change has been accomplished.

Question 24

Intervention strategies can best be described as _____.

A)implementing techniques that have been shown to best bring about change
B)implementing methods that organization questionnaires have shown to be requested by members
C)formulating surveys and questionnaires to determine the extent of problems
D)planned and directed means to improve the functioning of the client system
E)successful when they have considered behavioral consequences

Question 25

OD in the past has most often been associated with _____ change strategies;however,there are some who believe OD is more effective when the change strategies are balanced.

A)technical
B)structural
C)survey feedback
D)behavioral
E)none of the above

Question 26

The selection of any given technique _____.

A)is usually a trade-off between advantages and disadvantages
B)requires that the technique be oriented from all of the following change strategies: behavioral,structural,and technical
C)involves considerations such as the results and the acceptance of the technique
D)all of the above
E)answers b and c

Question 27

In selecting an appropriate intervention,the practitioner and client should consider if _____.

A)the costs outweigh the benefits
B)the techniques will be acceptable to the client system
C)there are any potential negative consequences
D)all of the above
E)answers b and c

Question 28

The technical approach to change _____.

A)is human behavior oriented since new equipment is installed making it easier and faster for employees to do their work
B)planning oriented
C)behavioral oriented
D)usually used to implement behavioral changes
E)is associated with helping employees do their work through improvements in machinery

Question 29

The "iceberg" analogy of change proposes that _____.

A)intervention strategies should address both visible and hidden aspects of an organization
B)some members have behaviors and ideas that are frozen or unchangeable
C)the observable elements of an organization can be changed
D)the hidden elements of an organization cannot be changed as they are too deeply rooted in the organization's culture
E)answers c and d

Question 30

In addition to analyzing the organization's formal structure,the practitioner must _____.

A)study the overt activity and disregard covert activities
B)interview each of the organization's members
C)consider the interdependence between subsystems
D)disregard overt and covert subsystems as they are usually incidental to structure
E)none of the above

Question 31

OD intervention techniques can be categorized by focusing on organizational levels such as _____.

A)practitioner
B)group and intergroup
C)subunits
D)overt elements within lower levels of an organization
E)answers b and c

Question 32

In considering the specific intervention to use in a change program,it is best to direct attention to _____.

A)the total organizational system as it is composed of many subelements
B)team or group
C)intergroup
D)individual or interpersonal
E)all of the above

Question 33

The factor to determine if a change strategy is an OD strategy is _____.

A)the credentials of the practitioner
B)the process used to carry out the strategy
C)if the strategy was developed after the diagnostic stage
D)if structural,technical,and behavioral strategies are all equally used
E)answers c and d

Question 34

Indirect or deferred consequences that result from immediate change actions are _____.

A)not predictable and should be eliminated
B)the same thing as overt organization components
C)second-order consequences that need to be considered in the selection of a change strategy
D)not predictable and should be ignored as there is not much that can be done to control them
E)none of the above

Question 35

Stream analysis considers the number and complexities of which variable?

A)time to begin and end the intervention
B)the type of intervention
C)the interrelationships of the interventions
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 36

Stream analysis is useful from the perspective of helping to _____.

A)keep the organization operating as effectively as possible during the change
B)design the change program and to schedule time appropriately
C)show the consequences of changes on other interventions
D)keep track of the change program by top management
E)all of the above

Question 37

Structural change strategies _____.

A)introduce new machinery and automation to the job
B)modify elements such as authority and span of control of the organization
C)are normally highly successful as they improve the morale and motivation of members
D)attempt to improve the level of morale,motivation,and commitment of members
E)all of the above

Question 38

Stream analysis begins with _____.

A)computerizing a system to attain as much relevant information as possible
B)surveys and feedback sessions
C)the practitioner planning an intervention strategy for the client system
D)the client and the practitioner identifying key behavioral,structural,and technical interventions that need to be implemented
E)all of the above

Question 39

Increasingly,OD practitioners _____.

A)use technological change strategies as they lead to increases in productivity
B)find several intervention strategies that they are more successful and comfortable with
C)place emphasis upon behavioral change strategies
D)practice primarily behavioral and structural including managerial change strategies
E)take an integrated approach to change

Question 40

The strategy which places emphasis on employees and better uses their talents is a _____.

A)behavioral strategy
B)technical strategy
C)structural strategy
D)diagnostic strategy
E)sociotechnical strategy

Question 41

Explain how stream analysis can be used in planning the implementation of change strategies.

Question 42

What is meant by a balanced or integrative approach to organization change?