Deck 16: Organizational Change, development, and Innovation

Question 1

To achieve and maintain seamless change,hyper-turbulent environments need to have the qualities of a ________ organization.

A)divisional
B)multi-national
C)learning
D)hierarchical
E)mechanistic

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which organizational development technique is mainly about achieving small gains over a long period of time?

A)Team building
B)Grid OD
C)Survey feedback
D)Total Quality Management
E)Reengineering

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Unfreezing

A)is an organizational development technique pioneered by the U.S.Navy.
B)is the first step in the organizational change process.
C)is the most effective organizational development technique.
D)consistently prevents the diffusion of change efforts.
E)is required to ensure that new attitudes or behaviours become an enduring part of the organization.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which statement about environmental change,organizational change,and organizational effectiveness is true?

A)Organizations that exhibit the most change are most effective,regardless of their environment.
B)Organizations that exhibit the least change are most effective,regardless of their environment.
C)Dynamic environments require a fairly high degree of organizational change if the organization is to be effective.
D)Stable environments require a fairly high degree of organizational change if the organization is to be effective.
E)All organizations should exhibit the same degree of change to be effective,regardless of environment.

Question 5

TQM is a ________ strategy while many traditional management methods are ________ strategies.

A)reactive,reactive
B)reactive,proactive
C)proactive,reactive
D)proactive,proactive
E)protective,productive

Question 6

A change agent is

A)an expert in diagnosing and changing organizations by applying behavioural science knowledge.
B)any strategy or tactic that provokes change in an organization.
C)a person who resists organizational change.
D)the first person in a work group to "unfreeze" and convince his or her colleagues to do the same.
E)an outside consultant hired to diagnose and correct problems in organizational structures.

Question 7

Almost any organizational change effort must consider changes in ________ to be effective.

A)people
B)technology
C)structure
D)basic goals and strategies
E)process

Question 8

Those people within an organization who resist change tend to have a character including all of the following except

A)cognitively rigid.
B)seeking routine.
C)have a short term focus.
D)self-efficacious.
E)None of the above

Question 9

Which of the following is considered to be a "quality guru"?

A)W.Edwards Deming
B)Kun-Hee Lee
C)Perkin Elmer
D)Bill Gates
E)Ray Kroc

Question 10

Organizations in a ________ environment must generally exhibit more change to be effective than those operating in a more ________ environment.

A)dynamic; stable
B)dynamic; hostile
C)stable; dynamic
D)stable; open
E)open; hostile

Question 11

The diffusion of an innovation may be difficult to accomplish because

A)it lacks the support and commitment of top management.
B)the setting of the pilot project may differ significantly from other units in the organization.
C)union resistance.
D)management reward systems tend to concentrate on traditional performance measures.
E)All of the above

Question 12

Recent research is showing that some organizations experience constant,unpredictable,non-linear change.These environments are called

A)difficult.
B)hyper-turbulent.
C)chaotic.
D)unmanageable.
E)All of the above

Question 13

What is the data gathered by statistical process control tools about?

A)The steps of a particular task
B)The structure of problems
C)Performance output and variations
D)Feedback from organizational members about quality problems
E)The rate of diffusion of a particular innovation

Question 14

Which of the following is not generally an organizational change component of TQM?

A)Team building techniques
B)Incentive pay systems
C)Customer focus
D)Enhanced supplier and customer communications
E)Group skills training

Question 15

Which of the following statements concerning organizational development is false?

A)OD is a planned effort to change organizations.
B)OD recognizes that all organizational change affects members and is implemented with their cooperation.
C)OD had its roots in the disciplines of engineering and accounting.
D)OD uses the knowledge of behavioural science to foster a culture of organizational self-examination.
E)OD techniques generally have a positive impact on productivity and job satisfaction.

Question 16

Which organizational development technique makes extensive use of questionnaires or interviews as an integral part of its activities?

A)Grid Organization Development
B)Team building
C)Survey feedback
D)Quality circles
E)Statistical process control

Question 17

Which of the following is not a value assumption held by most OD change agents?

A)Organizational members should self-actualize.
B)Most people must be manipulated to increase their contribution to the achievement of organizational goals.
C)The open expression of feelings in organizations is desirable.
D)The level of trust and cooperation in most organizations should be increased.
E)Organizational effectiveness should be enhanced to the greatest degree possible.

Question 18

Diagnosis

A)should be the last step in the process of organizational change.
B)means the same thing as "evaluation" of organizational change.
C)indicates organizational problems and suggests reasonable changes.
D)is a method of team building.
E)is an internal process which does not involve external stakeholders such as customers.

Question 19

Because of your great knowledge of TQM,you have been asked to help coordinate your company's TQM efforts.One of the TQM project teams has come to you with a problem.They would like to clarify the relationship between each of the facets of the problem and how the facets relate to each other.Which tool should you teach them to use?

A)Flowchart
B)Pareto analysis
C)Fishbone diagram
D)Statistical process control tools
E)Survey feedback

Question 20

Acme Limited had quality teams for three years,but they gradually lapsed into disuse and were finally abandoned.This is a problem of

A)diffusion.
B)evaluation.
C)unfreezing.
D)institutionalization.
E)reengineering.

Question 21

Which factor does not stimulate the diffusion of an innovation?

A)Relative advantage
B)Trialability
C)Complexity
D)Observability of consequences
E)Compatibility

Question 22

Reengineering examines and changes ________ in order to streamline the organization.

A)survey feedback
B)debt structure
C)organizational processes
D)total quality
E)statistical process controls

Question 23

Who should feed back the results of organizational surveys to employees?

A)The company president
B)Change agents
C)External consultants
D)Local managers
E)Human resource managers

Question 24

Although ________ may help promote idea generation,________ may be better for idea implementation.

A)diffusion; freedom and autonomy
B)idea champions; gatekeepers
C)extrinsic rewards; intrinsic rewards
D)organic structures; more mechanistic structures
E)mechanistic structures; more organic structures

Question 25

Compared to team building,survey feedback places ________ emphasis on the collection of valid data and ________ emphasis on the interpersonal processes of specific work teams.

A)more; more
B)more; less
C)less; more
D)less; less
E)more; the same

Question 26

Research and development teams that have been together ________ engage in the most effective communication.

A)a long period of time
B)a medium period of time
C)a short period of time
D)a long or short period of time
E)since the members were very young in age

Question 27

The text defined creativity as

A)creating something completely new.
B)any change that occurs in an organization.
C)the production of novel but potentially useful ideas.
D)developing and implementing new ideas.
E)the radical redesign of organizational processes.

Question 28

Idea champions

A)specialize in thinking up a large volume of creative ideas.
B)import technical information into their organizations.
C)help guide innovative ideas towards implementation.
D)are change agents in large scale OD efforts.
E)reduce the diffusion of innovations.

Question 29

As an idea champion,Alice

A)opposes innovation.
B)heads a quality circle.
C)could not be an intrapreneur.
D)promotes a particular innovation.
E)wins awards for her creative ideas.

Question 30

Louis is a gatekeeper in his organization.This means that he

A)communicates technical information to his peers.
B)resists change in the organization.
C)heads a quality circle.
D)frequently has disputes with idea champions.
E)prevents the diffusion of innovations.

Question 31

Although ________ will not motivate creativity,it can stimulate innovation.

A)naive genius
B)attention to detail
C)intrinsic reward
D)extrinsic reward
E)improvisation

Question 32

Although creativity is not particularly responsive to ________,it is susceptible to ________.

A)extrinsic motivation; training
B)intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation
C)training; transformational leadership
D)flattery; monetary reward
E)improvisation; need for social approval

Question 33

The text defined innovation as

A)any change that occurs in an organization.
B)the production of novel but potentially useful ideas.
C)creating something completely new.
D)developing and implementing new ideas.
E)the radical redesign of organizational processes.

Question 34

Which variable does not differentiate between more and less creative individuals?

A)Intelligence
B)Creativity-related skills
C)Intrinsic motivation for the task at hand
D)Technical understanding of the domain
E)Need for social approval

Question 35

Research into OD efforts

A)shows that quality circles are invariably successful.
B)is among the most rigorous research in organizational behaviour.
C)shows that many have a positive impact on productivity.
D)occurs in almost every OD intervention.
E)suggests that OD works better for blue collar workers than managers.

Question 36

The usual sequence of innovation is:

A)implementation,diffusion,and evaluation.
B)generation,diffusion,and implementation.
C)generation,implementation,and diffusion.
D)generation,evaluation,and implementation.
E)generation,implementation,and evaluation.

Question 37

Which of the following is not an example of a process innovation?

A)A manufacturing firm adopts a new technology.
B)A paint company markets a new nonfading paint.
C)A mortgage company creates a completely new management structure.
D)An insurance firm implements a radical job enrichment program.
E)An airline implements a new service quality program.

Question 38

A survey of research scientists described in the book found that ________ were most often mentioned as leading to creativity.

A)extrinsic rewards
B)feedback and recognition
C)freedom and autonomy
D)intrinsic rewards
E)constructive criticism and support

Question 39

What is an example of a creativity-relevant skill?

A)Transformational leadership
B)Tolerance for ambiguity
C)Extrinsic motivation
D)Intelligence
E)Diffusion

Question 40

Gatekeepers

A)import technical information into their organizations.
B)oppose innovations advocated by idea champions.
C)perform poorly as boundary spanners.
D)serve as devil's advocates against ideas that are creative but impractical.
E)resist change in the organization.

Question 41

What effect does the perception of threat have on change?

A)Motivator for change
B)Extreme inertia
C)Motivator for change and extreme inertia
D)Resistance and extreme inertia
E)Motivator for change and resistance

Question 42

What is the main reason reported for the failure of organizational change programs?

A)The failure to use an experienced change agent.
B)The failure to conduct a proper diagnosis.
C)The failure to change the organization's culture.
D)The failure to change the organization's structure.
E)The failure to refreeze the change.

Question 43

What can cause organizations to unfreeze,scan the environment,and be motivated to change?

A)Perception of threat
B)Perception of inertia
C)Perception of resistance
D)Perception of threat and inertia
E)Perception of threat and resistance

Question 44

When is inertia most likely to occur?

A)When there is a lack of resources
B)When routines and processes are not modified
C)When routines and processes are modified
D)When there is a lack of resources and routines and processes are not modified
E)When there is a lack of resources and routines and processes are modified

Question 45

Idea champions are also referred to as ________ within larger organizational settings.

A)product champion
B)intrapreneurs
C)project champion
D)corporate entrepreneurs
E)All of the above

Question 46

Although job enrichment was successfully implemented in a firm's Toronto plant,managers of the plants in San Diego,Tulsa,and Pittsburgh chose not to enrich jobs.This is a problem of ________ change.

A)institutionalization
B)evaluation
C)diffusion
D)diagnosis
E)reengineering

Question 47

The CEO of the Smelly Cheese Company felt that the company needed to embark on a major organizational development program.For months he had been walking around the company asking himself and the company's managers,"If we were creating this organization today,what would it look like?" What OD strategy do you think the CEO should consider?

A)Goals and strategies
B)Survey feedback
C)TQM
D)Team building
E)Reengineering

Question 48

What are the key dimensions of a learning organization?

A)Vision/support; culture; learning systems/dynamics; knowledge acquisition
B)Vision/support; knowledge acquisition; learning systems/dynamics; knowledge distribution
C)Vision/support; knowledge acquisition; learning systems/dynamics; knowledge management/infrastructure
D)Knowledge acquisition; knowledge distribution; knowledge transfer; knowledge management
E)Vision/support; culture; learning systems/dynamics; knowledge management/infrastructure

Question 49

The Institute for Learning serves as what organization's strategic learning base?

A)CIBC
B)TD Bank
C)RBC Financial
D)BMO
E)Scotiabank

Question 50

Unlike some other organizational change initiatives,TQM is

A)fast and continuous.
B)slow and continuous.
C)fast and episodic.
D)slow and episodic.
E)fast and sporadic.

Question 51

If the CEO of an organization is asking,"What business are we really in?" what OD strategy is being considered?

A)TQM
B)Reengineering
C)Team building
D)Survey feedback
E)Goals and strategies

Question 52

The text pointed out a quality that was 1)useful for overcoming resistance to change and 2)a common characteristic of idea or project champions.What is this quality?

A)Creativity-relevant skill
B)Modesty
C)Transformational leadership
D)Intelligence
E)Tolerance for ambiguity

Question 53

In recent years OD practitioners have developed greater concern for

A)organizational strategy and effectiveness.
B)employee self-actualization.
C)humanism.
D)finance and accounting.
E)trust and cooperation.

Question 54

The University of Michigan Survey of Organizations is not

A)a questionnaire.
B)a survey of firms' OD practices.
C)an instrument for survey feedback purposes.
D)a prepackaged survey.
E)a standardized survey.

Question 55

Diffusion refers to

A)the importation of technical ideas into an organization.
B)the process of moving an innovation from concept to implementation.
C)the process by which innovations move through an organization.
D)the extent to which a change effort becomes a permanent part of the organizational culture.
E)the process which leads to reduced enthusiasm for innovations.

Question 56

What are the primary methods of organizational learning?

A)Knowledge finding and knowledge sharing
B)Knowledge acquisition and knowledge innovation
C)Knowledge creation and knowledge sharing
D)Knowledge acquisition and knowledge development
E)Knowledge acquisition and knowledge management

Question 57

What company gives bonuses to managers that are contingent on 25 percent of their revenues from products that are less than five years old?

A)Raytheon
B)Polaroid
C)Sony
D)3M
E)Xerox

Question 58

Which of the following statements is most accurate?

A)Learning organizations are not more likely to have higher overall levels of profitability.
B)Learning organizations are almost 100 percent more likely to have higher overall levels of profitability.
C)Learning organizations are almost 50 percent more likely to have higher overall levels of profitability.
D)Learning organizations are almost 10 percent more likely to have higher overall levels of profitability.
E)Learning organizations are almost 90 percent more likely to have higher overall levels of profitability.

Question 59

The Stinky Cheese Company has begun to behave rigidly and exhibit extreme inertia.What has happened?

A)Unfreezing
B)Refreezing
C)Resistance
D)Perceived threat
E)Conflict

Question 60

When a university program was threatened by low enrollment,the faculty spent many hours revising the curriculum.Resources were invested but the revised curriculum looked like the old one.What happened?

A)Resistance
B)Poor diagnosis
C)Failure to institutionalize the change
D)Routines and processes were not modified.
E)Refreezing did not occur.

Question 61

Which of the following is an example of the knowing-doing gap?

A)A group of managers went on a plant tour to learn about the highly efficient Toyota Production System and afterwards could not explain what they had learned.
B)A group of managers went on a plant tour to learn about the highly efficient Toyota Production System and afterwards could not pass an exam on the system.
C)A group of managers went on a plant tour to learn about the highly efficient Toyota Production System and then did a poor job implementing the system in their own organization.
D)A group of managers went on a plant tour to learn about the highly efficient Toyota Production System and afterwards spent a great deal of time talking about it.
E)A group of managers went on a plant tour to learn about the highly efficient Toyota Production System and afterwards were able to show others how much they had learned about the system.

Question 62

Team building usually begins with

A)problem solving.
B)confidential interviews with team members.
C)role playing exercises.
D)development exercises.
E)a diagnostic session.

Question 63

What two companies featured in the text conduct comprehensive surveys?

A)IBM and Hewlett-Packard
B)IBM and Harley-Davidson
C)Hewlett-Packard and Harley-Davidson
D)IBM and Ford Motor Company
E)Ford Motor Company and Harley-Davidson

Question 64

Team building usually begins with a diagnostic session that is usually held

A)in the workplace.
B)in the team leader's office.
C)away from the workplace.
D)wherever the team usually holds its meetings.
E)at the change agent's office.

Question 65

When do surveys have the most beneficial effects?

A)When they are repeated on an annual basis.
B)When the results are reviewed with employees.
C)When action is taken in response to the survey.
D)When they are repeated on an annual basis and the results are reviewed with employees.
E)When the results are reviewed with employees and action is taken in response to the survey.

Question 66

The Stinky Cheese Company is planning to implement a job enrichment program.What kind of innovation is this?

A)Process innovation
B)Product innovation
C)Employee innovation
D)Managerial innovation
E)Organization innovation

Question 67

Survey research conducted by IBM has been able to validate

A)links from employee performance to client satisfaction to business performance.
B)links from employee job satisfaction to client satisfaction to business performance.
C)links from employee performance to unit performance to business performance.
D)links from employee job satisfaction to employee performance to business performance.
E)links from employee job satisfaction to employee performance to customer satisfaction.

Question 68

What company was one of the first to use computerized surveying with integrated data collection and data processing?

A)Hewlett-Packard
B)IBM
C)Dupont
D)Frito-Lay
E)3M Company

Question 69

What company is considered to be one of the pioneers in employee surveys?

A)Ford Motor Company
B)Harley-Davidson
C)Ritz-Carlton Hotels
D)IBM
E)Hallmark

Question 70

The problem of "creeping bureaucracy" prompted interest in what OD strategy?

A)TQM
B)Team building
C)Survey feedback
D)Job enrichment
E)Reengineering

Question 71

What does the knowing-doing gap refer to?

A)Managers know what to do but they make mistakes when they try to implement what they know.
B)Managers know what to do but don't know how to communicate it effectively.
C)Managers don't know what to do and they implement change programs that inevitably fail.
D)Managers know what to do but have trouble implementing knowledge in the form of action.
E)Managers do not know what to do and,as a result,they do not know what programs to implement.

Question 72

Which of the following companies is not noted for managerial innovations?

A)Visa
B)GE
C)DuPont
D)Procter & Gamble
E)3M

Question 73

Which of the following best represents reasons for the knowing-doing gap?

A)Rewards for short-term talk and internal competition
B)Rewards for short-term talk and punishment for action
C)Poor education and lack of feedback
D)Poor education and rewards for short-term talk
E)Lack of experience and internal competition

Question 74

Results from Ford Motor Company's Pulse survey found that branches with higher Pulse scores had

A)higher customer satisfaction,market share,and business volume,and lower employee turnover.
B)higher customer satisfaction,market share,and business volume,and lower employee absenteeism.
C)higher customer satisfaction,market share,and business volume,and lower employee theft.
D)higher customer satisfaction,market share,and business volume,and lower employee tardiness.
E)higher customer satisfaction,market share,and business volume,and lower customer theft.

Question 75

Activities or work that the organization must accomplish to create outputs that customers value are referred to as

A)job titles.
B)organization departments.
C)outcomes.
D)processes.
E)small gains.

Question 76

With respect to survey feedback,who do change agents prefer to conduct the feedback meeting?

A)They prefer that they (the change agent)conduct the meeting.
B)They prefer that employees who participated in the survey conduct the meeting.
C)They prefer that senior management conduct the meeting.
D)They prefer that the manager of the working unit conduct the meeting.
E)They prefer that human resources staff conduct the meeting.

Question 77

Transformational leaders can be especially effective when it comes to

A)overcoming resistance to change and survey feedback.
B)overcoming resistance to change and reengineering.
C)unfreezing and reengineering.
D)refreezing and reengineering.
E)overcoming resistance to change and institutionalization.

Question 78

When will the gains from reengineering be greatest?

A)When the process is complex and limited to a particular job or department.
B)When the process is simple and cuts across a number of jobs and departments.
C)When the process is simple and limited to a particular job or department.
D)When the process is complex and cuts across a number of jobs and departments.
E)When the process is complex and cuts across a number of jobs in a particular department.

Question 79

Which of the following represents a contrast between TQM and reengineering?

A)TQM seeks incremental improvements in existing processes; reengineering seeks radical revisions of processes.
B)TQM seeks incremental improvements in existing processes; reengineering seeks incremental improvements in new processes.
C)TQM seeks radical revisions of processes; reengineering seeks incremental improvements in existing processes.
D)TQM seeks radical revisions of old and new processes; reengineering seeks radical revisions of old processes.
E)TQM seeks incremental improvements in existing processes; reengineering seeks incremental improvements in old processes.

Question 80

What is the ideal outcome of a team building diagnostic session?

A)A list of team problems
B)A list of team strengths and weaknesses
C)A list of needed changes to improve team functioning
D)A list of needed changes to improve team members
E)An agreement to have more meetings