Deck 11: Organizational Change

Question 1

 Based on the results of SWOT analysis, the corporate strategy department of an organization made some changes to the organizational structure in an attempt to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the organizational activities. This scenario is an example of _____ change.

A) organic
B) reactive
C) planned
D) transformative

Answer 1

C

Question 2

 A process in which change is initiated based on some anticipatory event or opportunity on the horizon is known as _____ change.

A) planned
B) organic
C) incremental
D) proactive

Answer 2

D

Question 3

 Which of the following is a most cited reason why organizations initiate change?

A) To satisfy customers
B) To motivate employees
C) To improve performance
D) To avoid monotony

Answer 3

C

Question 4

 Walmart introduced electronic scanning of uniform product codes at the point of sale years ahead of most of its competitors. This is an example of both _____ change.

A) reactive and transformative
B) proactive and transformative
C) proactive and incremental
D) reactive and incremental

Question 5

 Inertia refers to the

A) inability of organizations to change as rapidly as the environment.
B) process by which change emerges from individuals as they innovate.
C) ability to send massive amounts of data in increasingly unique formats.
D) process where change efforts are planned from top-down directives.

Question 6

 Which of the following creates the spark needed to begin the change process?

A) Innovation
B) Differentiation
C) Dissatisfaction
D) Inertia

Question 7

 In a company meeting, Peter, the CEO, is pointing to disappointing sales results and to the ways competitors in the industry are gaining competitive advantages. Peter is in what stage of the change process?

A) Creating dissatisfaction
B) Communicating a change model
C) Developing an implementation process
D) Creating a desirable model

Question 8

 To motivate change, managers should create effective models that are

A) sophisticated and assessable.
B) desirable, feasible, and relevant.
C) complicated and implementable.
D) clear, structured, and expensive.

Question 9

 According to Kotter, which of the following should leaders do first while implementing change?

A) Develop a vision.
B) Institutionalize changes in the culture.
C) Establish a sense of urgency.
D) Plan for and create short-term wins.

Question 10

 GudGadgets is a leading manufacturing company. It used a particular raw material as the base for manufacturing most of its products. Due to some recent events, the government banned the overall supply of that raw material. As a result, the company had to switch to another raw material. This called for a change in the machines and other processes involved in manufacturing its products. The company stopped the production of some established products and introduced new products to remain competitive. This scenario is an example of _____ change.

A) transformative
B) organic
C) incremental
D) planned

Question 11

 Innovative products having attributes that appear to satisfy only a small subset of the market and often do not initially appear to be very compelling or valuable are referred to as

A) sustainable technologies.
B) core competencies.
C) disruptive technologies.
D) value propositions.

Question 12

 In the formula D × M × P > Rc + Cc, what does Rc represent?

A) Root cause
B) Ritualized combatants
C) Resistance to change
D) Running cases

Question 13

 Color Cosmetics, whose target market comprises only female customers, has now introduced a new range of products for the male population. It came up with new strategies and advertisements to reach the new target market. It did so to maintain a competitive advantage in the industry. Which of the following strategies did the company apply to compete more effectively?

A) Globalization
B) Environmental scanning
C) Organizational change
D) Strategic review process

Question 14

 A process in which small improvements or changes are made to processes and approaches on an ongoing basis is known as _____ change.

A) transformative
B) reactive
C) organic
D) incremental

Question 15

 Which of the following statements best describes sustainable technologies?

A) They focus on developing overall scale economies and global efficiency instead of catering to local tastes.
B) They improve the performance of established products, along the dimensions of performance that mainstream customers in major markets have historically valued.
C) They are the processes that organizations go through to better achieve their purpose by adapting themselves according to internal phenomena.
D) They are the innovative forces that usually appear in market peripheries and have attributes that only a small portion of the population currently value.

Question 16

 The management of an organization realized that their employees' performance kept deteriorating and many employees decided to quit due to unknown reasons. After probing, they realized that their competitors were offering a better compensation which attracted most of the employees. Therefore, the management made reasonable changes to the compensation system that enabled good performers to receive more incentives and recognition. Identify the change that has been implemented.

A) Organic change
B) Reactive change
C) Transformative change
D) Incremental change

Question 17

 Which of the following statements about globalization is true?

A) Customization becomes easy as global competitors seek production efficiencies.
B) Globalization has led to rivals coming from afar into home markets.
C) It is not necessary for firms to customize their products to expand globally.
D) Globalization hasn't changed the dynamics of the workforce.

Question 18

 Which of the following is the first step involved in the change process?

A) Communicating change model
B) Creating dissatisfaction
C) Developing an implementation process
D) Creating a desirable model

Question 19

 A production team at TriCo Inc. came up with a way to reorganize its work station so as to greatly reduce the setup time required for new production runs. Within a year, other production teams throughout the company had reorganized their work stations to match. The efficiencies gained were the result of _____ change.

A) organic
B) transformative
C) planned
D) reactive

Question 20

 Which of the following helps change leaders build dissatisfaction?

A) Creating proper alignment between an organization and its strategy
B) Improving experimentation while simultaneously reinforcing efficiency and cost effectiveness
C) Reducing the involvement of pivotal individuals in the process and concealing the vision for change
D) Engaging in benchmarking or internal and external performance/opportunity gap analyses

Question 21

 Which of the following individuals is the best example of a successful change leader?

A) A change leader who offers rewards in terms of increased pay and promotion to those employees who support the change process
B) A change leader who communicates the positive results of the change process to the employees and hides the negative ones
C) A change leader who engages and listens to employees and motivates them by showing concern and sharing credit
D) A change leader who pays all attention to the structural and procedural changes needed for the transformation

Question 22

 Juan is an employee at a company where the CEO is pushing for drastic change in processes. Juan just finished creating computer programming that streamlined the old processes, for which he was expecting a raise and promotion. The proposed new changes make all of his recent work null and void. Juan is resisting change. The change leader needs to

A) discourage employees from venting any frustration or concern.
B) assign Juan to a task force.
C) assure employees that there is a path for success that will be facilitated through training and development opportunities.
D) assure employees that they will get credit for past achievements.

Question 23

 Juli is an employee at a company where the CEO is pushing for drastic change in production processes. Juli is not sure she has the skills required for the new processes and is resisting change. The change leader needs to

A) discourage employees from venting any frustration or concern.
B) assign Juli to a task force.
C) assure employees that there is a path for success that will be facilitated through training and development opportunities.
D) assure employees that they will get credit for past achievements.

Question 24

 Thomas, a top executive of an organization, is responsible for managing the transformational change process that the organization is about to undergo soon. Which of the following should Thomas do in order to combat the employees' resistance to change and to create a sustainable change?

A) He should keep the reasons for change confidential.
B) He should set up a bonus plan to reward employees for the change.
C) He should fire employees who complain about the change process.
D) He should engage employees in the change process.

Question 25

 Which of the following firms is most likely to have the greatest employee resistance to change?

A) A firm undergoing a change process that creates an uncertain environment causing a sense of fear among employees
B) A firm undergoing a change process that would result in employees getting increased pay or promotions
C) A firm undergoing a change process that does not require any reevaluation of roles, priorities, and processes
D) A firm in the process of change where change leaders communicate the reasons for change to employees

Question 26

 Which of the following is a characteristic of successful change leaders?

A) Firmly continuing with existing power bases and norms
B) Personal initiative to move within boundaries
C) Sense of humor about themselves and the situation
D) Ability to keep the reasons for change strictly confidential

Question 27

 According to the formula that makes up the change equation, the combination of dissatisfaction with the status quo, new model for the organization, and process for change must be

A) equal to the resistance to change and cost of change that employees experience.
B) greater than the resistance to change and cost of change that employees experience.
C) greater than the resistance to change and lesser than the cost of change that employees experience.
D) lesser than the resistance to change and cost of change that employees experience.

Question 28

 Leaders must not allow employees affected by change to vent their frustrations or concerns.

Question 29

 Outline the key aspects of organizational change.

Question 30

 Organic change is a process where change is initiated in response to some known external threat or opportunity.

Question 31

 Inertia refers to the ability of organizations to change as rapidly as the environment.

Question 32

 Define organizational change and briefly explain how change can be driven by external factors.

Question 33

 One result of globalization is the increasing need for organizations to tailor their products and services to local preferences.

Question 34

 Dissatisfaction provides the energy necessary for breaking organizational inertia.

Question 35

 In communicating the model for change, leaders need to appeal to both logic and emotions.

Question 36

 Discuss the factors causing resistance to organizational change.

Question 37

 Organizations that focus on both sustainable and disruptive technologies often make bad decisions concerning disruptive innovations.

Question 38

 Briefly describe the change process.

Question 39

 In the change process, _____ refer to the manner in which employees work together and set priorities about what is important.

A) resources
B) values
C) assets
D) models

Question 40

 List the characteristics of successful change leaders.