Deck 16: Managing Change and Organizational Learning

Question 1

Change efforts are less complicated and relatively easier to manage when they are targeted at the organizational level.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Social psychologist Kurt Lewin developed an eight-step process for leading change.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Organizational change is more likely to succeed when managers proactively consider the impact of change on its employees.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Managers can begin the changing process of the three-stage model by disconfirming the usefulness or appropriateness of employees' present behaviors or attitudes.

Question 5

Kotter's eight-step process for leading organizational change helps managers to diagnose what needs to be changed.

Question 6

Inputs,strategic plans,target elements of change,and outputs are the four components of the organization development process of change.

Question 7

Organization development is put into practice by change agents.

Question 8

The four main components of a systems model of change are diagnosis,intervention,evaluation,and feedback.

Question 9

Quick-fix solutions do not really solve underlying causes of organizational problems and they have little staying power.

Question 10

A mission statement represents a long-term goal that describes "what" an organization wants to become.

Question 11

Organization development entails a process of structured change.

Question 12

The feedback process in the organization development model requires the development of measures of effectiveness.

Question 13

Among other things,strategic plans are based on results from a SWOT analysis.

Question 14

An organization's vision represents the "reason" for its existence.

Question 15

The intervention stage in the organization development process represents the changes being made to solve the problem.

Question 16

Kotter's research reveals that it is ineffective to skip steps in the model proposed by him.

Question 17

Strategic plans are the components of an organization that may be changed.

Question 18

Change is stabilized during refreezing by helping employees integrate the changed behavior into their normal way of doing things.

Question 19

Varying one target element of change creates changes in other target elements.

Question 20

Organization development techniques do not apply to the change models formulated in the past.

Question 21

Samson,Inc.,encourages employee collaboration by using an advanced form of videoconferencing that merges robotic technology.This gives cross-border employees a sense of being together through virtual conversations while also helping save the company substantial travel expenditure.The technology that the company uses is known as:

A) video relay service.
B) virtual reality.
C) multiple points of presence.
D) artificial reality.
E) telepresence.

Question 22

Organizational change experts criticize the tendency to treat participation as a cure-all for resistance to change.

Question 23

_____ is (are)an example of an organization's internal force of change.

A) Market change
B) Social and political pressure
C) Strikes
D) Technological advancement
E) Demographic characteristics

Question 24

It is advisable that managers and organization development consultants apply an organization development intervention that works in one country to a similar situation in another country.

Question 25

Leadership is the key to fostering an environment that creates a learning organization.

Question 26

Which of the following is an external force for change?

A) Organizational culture
B) Managerial decisions
C) Job satisfaction
D) Political pressure
E) Employee morale

Question 27

Layken,Inc.,provides cotton to various garment industries.There is an increasing pressure on the company to change its traditional method of production owing to increased use of pesticides.Hence,Layken adopts organic ways for its production of cotton.What factor of change is being discussed here?

A) Customer and market change
B) Technological advancement
C) Social and political pressure
D) Organizational change
E) Demographic characteristics

Question 28

L&M Corporation changes the way it markets its products.It also makes changes in the designs of its store layouts citing generational differences as the reason.L&M Corporation is responding to:

A) technological advancements.
B) demographic characteristics.
C) high labor costs.
D) employee morale.
E) organizational culture.

Question 29

Change agents should not be afraid to modify the targeted elements of change based on employee resistance.

Question 30

According to Lewin's model,the _____ stage focuses on creating the motivation to change.

A) change
B) unfreezing
C) evaluation
D) refreezing
E) feedback

Question 31

Overconfidence reflects the tendency to take more personal responsibility for success than failure and can lead managers to assume that success was due to their insights and talents.

Question 32

Most theories of organizational change originated from the landmark work of social psychologist:

A) John Kotter.
B) Chester Barnard.
C) Tom Burns.
D) Kurt Lewin.
E) Robert Cialdini.

Question 33

Which of the following is an internal force for change?

A) Market changes
B) Turnover and conflict
C) Technological advancements
D) Social and political pressures
E) Demographic characteristics

Question 34

People are less likely to resist change when the change agent uses transformational leadership.

Question 35

Employees are more likely to resist when they perceive that the benefits of change overshadow the personal costs.

Question 36

Primus Technologies conducts an analysis of employee job satisfaction and finds that the incompetent employee remuneration packages majorly contributes to increased attrition rates.This indicates the influence of changes due to _____ in organizations.

A) external forces
B) social and political pressure
C) technological advancements
D) internal forces
E) demographic characteristics

Question 37

Resilience to change is a characteristic that is positively associated with recipients' willingness to accommodate or accept a specific organizational change.

Question 38

The three stages in Lewin's change model are:

A) benchmarking,diagnosing,and evaluating.
B) unfreezing,changing,and refreezing.
C) planning,intervening,and changing.
D) inputs,benchmarking,and feedback.
E) inputs,unfreezing,and evaluating.

Question 39

Change must be internalized by recipients before it will be truly accepted.

Question 40

Resistance to change reflects an internal locus of control.

Question 41

A _____ plan outlines an organization's long-term direction and the actions necessary to achieve planned results.

A) tactical
B) strategic
C) programmed
D) operational
E) departmental

Question 42

A securities trading company regularly compares its performance with that of high-performing organizations in the industry.This process is described as:

A) changing.
B) refreezing.
C) benchmarking.
D) strategic planning.
E) imitating.

Question 43

What does a mission statement represent?

A) The reason an organization exists
B) The profitability target of the organization
C) The history of the organization
D) What an organization wants to become
E) The ownership of the organization

Question 44

_____ essentially represent change levers that managers can push and pull to influence various aspects of an organization.

A) Strategic plans
B) Refreezing activities
C) Target elements of change
D) Inputs
E) Unfreezing activities

Question 45

Which of the following is an example of a target element of change?

A) Feedback
B) Inputs
C) Social factors
D) Strategic plans
E) Evaluation

Question 46

The employees of CeMetals,Inc.,adhere to the modified behaviors that management expects them to inculcate into their routine professional interactions.To frequently reinforce the desired changes,monetary benefits are awarded to those displaying exemplary behavior and negative reinforcement to those failing to abide by the changes.What stage of Lewin's change model does this indicate?

A) Change
B) Strategic plans
C) Target elements of change
D) Refreezing
E) Diagnosis

Question 47

Change efforts are very complicated and difficult to manage when they are targeted at the _____ level.

A) organizational
B) group
C) individual
D) departmental
E) functional

Question 48

Which of the following models of change is based on the notion that any change,no matter how large or small,produces a cascading effect throughout an organization?

A) Kotter's eight-step change model
B) The Six Boxes Model
C) Organizational development
D) Lewin's model of change
E) A systems model of change

Question 49

The four main components of a systems model are:

A) target elements of change,unfreezing,refreezing,and evaluating.
B) planning,initiating,controlling,and evaluating.
C) strategic plans,organizing,intervening,and controlling.
D) planning,intervening,outputs,and feedback.
E) inputs,strategic plans,target elements of change,and outputs.

Question 50

On comparing its performance with that of other companies with superior track records,the managers at Vega Incorporated learn that bad after-sales services have caused them to lose their competitive edge.This information is ultimately relayed to the sales department.Going by Lewin's change model,Vega Incorporated is using the _____ technique of unfreezing.

A) evaluating
B) intervening
C) strategic planning
D) benchmarking
E) changing

Question 51

As a newly joined divisional head in the organization,Dan is interested in analyzing his company's long-term direction and actions necessary to achieve planned results.What specific document must he look for?

A) Operational plan
B) Deed of trust
C) Strategic plan
D) Vision statement
E) Mission statement

Question 52

How do managers begin the unfreezing process?

A) By developing measures for organizational effectiveness
B) By encouraging the current state of organizational affairs
C) By establishing long-term goals of the organization
D) By being unsupportive of employees' current behavior
E) By reducing the levels of hierarchy in the organization

Question 53

The employees of Juniper Industries are presented with information and facts about the workforce's reduced efficiency that is supposedly the cause of dipping sales and customer dissatisfaction.This encourages them to work harder and improve their levels of effectiveness.What stage of Lewin's change model is being discussed here?

A) Inputs
B) Change
C) Strategic planning
D) Feedback
E) Unfreezing

Question 54

According to the systems model of change,target elements of change include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) methods.
B) organizational arrangements.
C) people.
D) outputs.
E) social factors.

Question 55

Change is stabilized during _____ by helping employees integrate the changed attitude into their normal way of doing things.

A) unfreezing
B) refreezing
C) benchmarking
D) processing
E) intervention

Question 56

An organization's vision describes:

A) the means to realize its mission.
B) the reason why it exists.
C) what it wants to become.
D) how the organization was formed.
E) who the competitors are.

Question 57

The management of Delta Technologies has a meeting with its board of directors wherein it is decided that the company will expand its customer service to China in conformity with its determined plans and actions.This is an example of a(n):

A) strategic plan.
B) operational plan.
C) programmed plan.
D) departmental plan.
E) tactical plan.

Question 58

In a systems model of change,mission,vision,internal strengths and weaknesses are classified as:

A) evaluation.
B) inputs.
C) refreezing.
D) target elements of change.
E) strategic plans.

Question 59

John Kotter,an expert in leadership and change management,believes that organizational changes typically fail because:

A) not all departments undergo coordinated changes at once.
B) management fails to properly identify the required changes to be made.
C) they take long periods of time to show the intended results.
D) senior management makes a host of implementation errors.
E) employees are resistant to any type of environmental change.

Question 60

The _____ stage in Lewin's change model entails providing employees with new types of information,processes,behavioral models,and new ways of getting the job done.

A) feedback
B) unfreeze
C) evaluation
D) refreeze
E) change

Question 61

_____ is the final step in Kotter's eight steps for leading organizational change

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

Question 62

The _____ stage in the organization development process represents the changes being made to solve the problem.

A) unfreezing
B) diagnosis
C) input
D) refreezing
E) intervention

Question 63

The notion that organizations learn is an outgrowth of the _____ organizational model.

A) open-system
B) centrally-structured
C) closed-system
D) mechanistic
E) organic

Question 64

Which of the following is true of the organization development (OD)method of change?

A) The OD techniques are very similar to those used in previous models of change.
B) It is used during the "unfreezing" stage in Lewin's model of change.
C) It is used during the eighth step in Kotter's model of change.
D) It possesses diagnostic focus associated with the systems model of change.
E) It entails a structured sequence in the implementation of change.

Question 65

Which of the following represents the first step in Kotter's model of change?

A) Generate short-term wins
B) Create the guiding coalition
C) Establish a sense of urgency
D) Anchor new approaches in the culture
E) Develop a vision and strategy

Question 66

Jessy is not directly affected by the changes introduced in her company,but she is actively resisting it to protect the interests of her friends.What reason for change does this suggest?

A) Fear of the unknown
B) Personality conflicts
C) Peer pressure
D) Lack of tact
E) Climate of mistrust

Question 67

Which of the following reduces a recipient's willingness to accommodate or accept a specific organizational change?

A) Commitment to change
B) Internal locus of control
C) Fear of failure
D) Resilience to change
E) Optimism

Question 68

In the past,resistance to organizational change was viewed as a negative outcome that was chiefly caused by:

A) managerial incompetence.
B) improper implementation.
C) irrational recipients.
D) decentralized organizational structure.
E) the change agents' attitudes.

Question 69

Which of the following is true of Kotter's eight-step organizational change model?

A) The process emphasizes internal factors of motivation for better results.
B) The organizational change model proposed is diagnostic in orientation.
C) The process emphasizes external factors of motivation for better results.
D) The change model subsumes the steps in the organizational development process.
E) The model prescribes how managers should sequence or lead the change process.

Question 70

In Kotter's eight steps for leading organizational change,which step corresponds most to the "refreezing" stage in Lewin's change model?

A) Consolidating gains and producing more change
B) Creating the guiding coalition
C) Empowering broad-based action
D) Anchoring new approaches in the culture
E) Communicating the change vision

Question 71

Establishing a sense of urgency,creating the guiding coalition,developing a vision and strategy,and communicating the change vision are Kotter's steps for leading organizational change that represent Lewin's _____ stage.

A) unfreezing
B) evaluation
C) change
D) diagnosing
E) refreezing

Question 72

Which of the following is a change agent characteristic that causes employees to resist change?

A) Loss of status
B) Improper timing
C) Peer pressure
D) Fear of the unknown
E) Fear of failure

Question 73

Which of the following is a recipient characteristic that causes employees' resistance to change?

A) Lack of tact
B) Personality conflicts
C) Failing to legitimize change
D) Leadership style
E) Past success

Question 74

All of the following are reasons why employees resist change EXCEPT:

A) fear of failure.
B) peer pressure.
C) fear of the unknown.
D) past success.
E) tactfulness.

Question 75

An external consultant conducts hosts of written interviews and surveys in an organization to know why the production quality has deteriorated in the recent years.This is the _____ step in the organization development process of change.

A) unfreezing
B) diagnosis
C) strategic plans
D) benchmarking
E) evaluation

Question 76

Empowering broad-based action,generating short-term wins,and consolidating gains and producing more change are Kotter's steps for leading organizational change that represent Lewin's _____ stage.

A) unfreezing
B) evaluation
C) changing
D) diagnosing
E) refreezing

Question 77

A(n)_____ organization is one that proactively creates,acquires,and transfers knowledge and that changes its behavior on the basis of new knowledge and insights.

A) organic
B) decentralized
C) mechanistic
D) learning
E) closed

Question 78

A set of techniques or interventions that are used to implement planned organizational change is referred to as:

A) traditional management.
B) strategic planning.
C) management development.
D) organization development.
E) a systems model of change.

Question 79

The _____ step in the organization development change process requires the organization to develop measures of effectiveness.

A) strategic plan
B) evaluation
C) feedback
D) output
E) diagnosis

Question 80

Which of the following is NOT an element of change through the organization development process?

A) Feedback
B) Strategic plan
C) Evaluation
D) Intervention
E) Diagnosis