Chp7/8

A company changing the way it names computer files would not be an example of a technology change because no new technological equipment was used. True False

False A technology change includes changes in equipment or in the way equipment is used. Therefore, the new filing procedure would qualify as a technology change, making the statement false.

Organic organizations tend to inhibit innovation. True False

False Organic organizations that are informal, decentralized, and unspecialized tend to foster, rather than inhibit, innovation.

One important reason why organization development efforts are needed is that even planned change can be very upsetting to members of an organization. True False

True Change is stressful; OD aims to minimize the amount of stress that change causes.

________ is the process of taking a creative idea and turning it into something useful. a. Innovation b. Imagination c. Creativity d. Inspiration

a. Innovation It takes imagination, creativity, and often inspiration to end up with an innovation, which is a useful outcome of some type that results from putting ideas together in a unique and novel way. This makes innovation the correct response and eliminates all other responses as correct answers.

George constantly strives to excel. He must always get the highest grade in the class and has a sense of urgency about him at all times. George probably has which of the following? a. Type A personality b. Type B personality c. both Type A and Type B personality d. neither Type A nor Type B personalty

a. Type A personality George is an impatient, driven, and competitive person so he fits the Type A personality profile, making that the correct response. Type B personality is incorrect because Type B people have traits that are essentially the opposite of George's traits: laid-back, calm, and relaxed. Both Type A and Type B personality is wrong because a single person cannot show both personality traits at once.

A stressor is defined as ________. a. a personal or job-related factor that causes stress b. a person who causes stress c. an attitude that causes stress d. an emotion that causes stress

a. a personal or job-related factor that causes stress Though a person, strong emotion, or an attitude can cause or contribute to stress, the term stressor is defined as a personal or job-related factor that causes stress, making that the correct response and eliminating all other responses.

Kurt Lewin's "calm waters" metaphor sees change as ________. a. an unusual event b. the natural state of things c. unfortunate d. avoidable

a. an unusual event The "calm waters" metaphor sees calm equilibrium as the natural state of things, with change being an occasional occurrence that briefly upsets the status quo before things are restored to normal. This makes "an unusual event" the correct response, and eliminates "the natural state of things," since change in Lewin's view is clearly not the natural state of things. Both "unfortunate" and "avoidable" can also be eliminated, since Lewin does not see change as a negative thing or a thing that can necessarily be avoided. In fact, rather than avoid change, Lewin devised a system for dealing with change.

If several efforts between a manager and an employee for reducing resistance to change fail to allay employee fears, a manager might take himself out of the process and try this. a. facilitation and support b. negotiation between parties c. manipulation d. participation

a. facilitation and support Since the manager wants to remove himself from the process, participation, manipulation, and negotiation are all incorrect choices because they all involve contact between the manager and the employee. The only choice that can take the manager out of the process completely is facilitation and support, which can allow a counselor to deal with the fearful employee, so that is the correct response.

Outside consultants generally try to initiate ________ changes than internal managers. a. more drastic b. less drastic c. more cautious d. fewer

a. more drastic Since outside consultants do not have to live with the changes they suggest, they tend to be less cautious than internal managers and more likely to initiate drastic or extreme changes, making "more drastic" the correct response. Since "more drastic" is the correct response, "less drastic" and "more cautious," which mean roughly the same thing, can both be eliminated. If anything, consultants might order up more rather than fewer changes, so "fewer" is also an incorrect response.

A baseball player in a slump who feels stress from trying to raise his batting average is experiencing ________ stress. a. task demand b. role demand c. role conflict d. interpersonal

a. task demand The stress from trying to get hits is in a sense a form of work quota. A player who struggles to meet this quota—that is, to get hits—is suffering from task demand, making task demand the correct response. Role demand would require that the player be forced to perform some role of leadership or responsibility on the team—for example, to be named the team captain—that he is not ready or qualified for. Role conflict would come from trying to meet very difficult or unrealistic expectations: for example, a player who is not a homerun hitter being asked to hit homeruns. Interpersonal stress might result from the player not getting along with teammates, for example.

Potential stress can become actual stress when the outcome of an event is both ________ and important to the individual. a. uncertain b. certain c. meaningful d. significant

a. uncertain The key to potential stress becoming actual stress is that two conditions are met: the outcome of an event is both uncertain and very important to the individual, making "uncertain" the correct response. Certainty of an event would decrease, rather than increase the likelihood of stress. The terms meaningful and significant are somewhat synonymous with important, so both conditions meet only one of the two requirements (importance) for potential stress to become actual stress.

Kara is a very relaxed, easygoing person who appears to have all the time in the world. She is never too busy to stop and chat for a moment. Kara has which of the following? a. Type A personality b. Type B personality c. both Type A and Type B personality d. neither Type A nor Type B personality

b. Type B personality Kara is a laid-back, relaxed person so she fits the Type B personality profile, making that the correct response. Type A personality is incorrect because Type A people have traits that are essentially the opposite of Kara's traits: nervous, driven, and impatient. The choice indicating both Type A and Type B personality is wrong because a single person cannot show both personality traits at once.

A company's workers asking to be able to celebrate Mexican holidays is an example of ________ force for change. a. an external workforce composition b. an internal workforce composition c. an external an employee attitude d. an internal strategy

b. an internal workforce composition The request is an internal force for change since it is being made by workers who already work at the company. Being internal rules out the two external choices. The request is the result of the composition of the company workforce, not any strategy, which eliminates an internal strategy and makes an internal workforce composition the correct response.

When a manager attempts to buy off a key leader who opposes change by offering her a promotion, he is using which of the following methods of reducing resistance to change? a. manipulation b. co-optation c. coercion d. negotiation

b. co-optation Though often ethically dubious, manipulation or coercion do not involve buying off an adversary either directly or indirectly. Neither does negotiation, making those three choices incorrect responses. When a party attempts to buy off an adversary, that is an example of co-optation, making that the correct response.

A constraint causes stress because it ________. a. helps you achieve your goal b. prevents you from achieving your goal c. helps you define your goal d. prevents you from defining your goal

b. prevents you from achieving your goal Constraints have nothing to do with defining goals, so the two choices regarding defining goals can be eliminated as correct responses. What constraints do is deter an individual from achieving his or her goal, making that the correct response and helping you achieve your goal incorrect.

Behavioral effects of stress include ________. a. metabolism changes b. job dissatisfaction c. absenteeism d. procrastination

c. absenteeism Job dissatisfaction and procrastination are examples of psychological, not behavioral effects of stress, so they are incorrect responses. Metabolic changes are physical effects of stress, so that choice is not correct. Only absenteeism qualifies as a behavioral response to stress, so it is the correct response.

Adverse psychological effects of stress include ________. a. absenteeism b. elevated heart rates c. boredom d. rapid speech

c. boredom Absenteeism and rapid speech are examples of behavioral, not psychological effects of stress, so they are incorrect responses. An elevated pulse is a physical effect of stress, so it is not correct. Only boredom qualifies as a psychological response to stress, so it is the correct response.

A key to dealing with stress is to recognize that all stress ________. a. leads to dysfunctional work behavior b. can be eliminated from an employee's life c. cannot be eliminated from an employee's life d. originates on the job

c. cannot be eliminated from an employee's life Managers should keep in mind that only some sources of stress that affect employees' lives originate on the job, so there is little they can do to remedy nonwork-related stress. This eliminates "originating on the job" as a correct answer. Furthermore, managers should keep in mind that all manifestations of stress are not necessarily dysfunctional and even if they were, it would be impossible to eliminate stress from an employee's (or anyone else's) life, so managers should focus on ways to minimize and cope with stress. This makes the choice indicating that stress cannot be eliminated the correct response.

Employees at a company protest a change that allows an automatic answering system to answer phone inquiries, claiming that the company is becoming "depersonalized." They are most likely resisting change due to ________. a. uncertainty b. habit c. conflicts with company goals d. fear of losing status

c. conflicts with company goals The new phone system does not increase the employees' uncertainty about their jobs or threaten their standing in the company, so these choices are incorrect. They are not protesting the change out of habit, since they are explicitly identifying "depersonalization" as the source of their complaint. This leaves conflicts with company goals as the correct response—the employees think that the new phone system will damage the image of the company so it is conflicting with company goals.

Which of the following is a term borrowed from the physical sciences that accurately describes people's resistance to change? a. energy b. uncertainty c. inertia d. momentum

c. inertia By definition, inertia is the tendency of an entity to resist change. In physics, inertia refers to physical objects. In management psychology, inertia refers to the tendency among people to resist change, making inertia the correct response. The other terms - energy, uncertainty, and momentum - do not specifically refer to resisting change, so they are all incorrect responses. In fact, momentum, the tendency of an entity to continue moving, is roughly the opposite of inertia.

Studies show that ________ personalities show negative effects from stress. a. Type A b. Type B c. neither Type A nor Type B d. both Type A and Type B

d. both Type A and Type B Surprisingly, both Type A and Type B personalities seem to suffer from adverse effects from stress, making that the correct response and eliminating the other responses. The main difference between the two types seems to be that Type A individuals seem to display the symptoms of stress while Type B people keep their symptoms to themselves.

Which of the following is an organizational structure change? a. the building of a new workshop b. resentment of bosses by employees c. a new way to package chocolate cake d. changing who reports to whom

d. changing who reports to whom A structure change must alter the relationships between people in an organization. Changing who reports to whom alters an authority relationship, so it is a structure change, making it the correct response. A new workshop or way to make cake are work method or technology changes, not structure changes, so they are incorrect choices. Resentment is an employee attitude change, so it qualifies as a people change, not a structure change.

According to Lewin, which of the following is a force that might overcome inertia and unfreeze the status quo? a. increase restraining forces b. decrease restraining forces c. decrease driving forces d. increase driving forces

d. increase driving forces In Lewin's view, driving forces promote deviation from the status quo while restraining forces hinder this deviation. Therefore, there are two ways to move away from the status quo: the driving forces must increase or the restraining forces must decrease (or both must occur). increasing driving forces is the only choice that lists one of these two alternatives, so it is the correct response and the other responses are incorrect.

An innovative organization needs to tolerate risk because employees ________ the creative process. a. being in physical danger is part of b. being in physical danger is not part of c. making mistakes is not part of d. making mistakes is part of

d. making mistakes is part of Creativity does not involve physical danger or risk, so both of those choices can be ruled out as correct responses. Repeated failure and mistakes are all expected as part of the creative process, so the choice regarding making mistakes being part of the process is the correct response.

Change can't be eliminated, so managers must learn to ________ successfully. a. avoid it b. ignore it c. work around it d. manage it

d. manage it Since change can't be eliminated, managers must learn to manage it successfully, making that the correct response. Avoiding change is impossible, making that choice an incorrect response. Ignoring change or trying to work around it would not prevent managers from being affected by change, so those options are incorrect.

Which method of reducing resistance to change is mostly likely to backfire on the manager who uses it? a. education and communication b. negotiation c. participation d. manipulation

d. manipulation Negotiation, participation, and education and communication do not involve an element of dishonesty or deception, so they are not likely to backfire on the user, making these choices incorrect. Manipulation often does involve distortion or deception, so it can backfire on its user, making it the correct response.

An employee's blood pressure rises, indicating a(an) ________ symptom of stress. a. psychological b. behavioral c. emotional d. physical .

d. physical A change in blood pressure is not merely psychological, behavioral, or emotional. It is a measurable, observable physical change, making physical the correct answer and eliminating all other choices