Mngt 300
Your company, Johnson Farm Products, has decided to expand its traditional business serving farm owners in order to include home gardeners in its customer base. This change is not met with enthusiasm by the sales personnel who have had good long-term relationships with area farmers. You know that the change will be difficult if you cannot overcome the resistance of the sales personnel and obtain their cooperation. 85) You have brought in the local extension agent to explain demographics and the changing nature of the area in which you live. The method for overcoming resistance that you have chosen is ________. A) education and communication B) participation C) negotiation D) manipulation and cooptation E) coercion
Answer: A Explanation: Education and Communication is the chosen method. Communicating the logic of a change can reduce employee resistance on two levels. First, it fights the effects of misinformation and poor communication: If employees receive the full facts and clear up misunderstandings, resistance should subside. Second, communication can help "sell" the need for change by packaging it properly.
Mintz's Motor Repair is moving its location to a larger community 100 miles away. Mintz would like for its mechanics to move with the company but realizes that there will be some hardships associated with the move. Mintz has decided to use Lewin's three-step model in order to make the change. 88) As a manager in charge of the relocation effort, you are offering a $2,000 moving bonus for any employee who will go to the new location. In Lewin's terms, you are attempting to ________. A) unfreeze the status quo B) move the process along C) refreeze the change D) bribe your employees E) none of the above
Answer: A Explanation: Kurt Lewin argued that successful change in organizations should follow three steps: unfreezing the status quo, movement to a desired end state, and refreezing the new change to make it permanent. This status quo is an equilibrium state. To move from equilibrium, to overcome the pressures of both individual resistance and group conformity, unfreezing must happen in one of three ways. The management is moving from the status quo.
You have decided to involve the sales personnel in planning for the change and in stocking appropriate new items to sell to gardeners. The method for overcoming resistance that you have chosen is ________. A) education and communication B) participation C) negotiation D) manipulation and cooptation E) coercion
Answer: B Explanation: Participation is the chosen method. It's difficult to resist a change decision in which we've participated. Assuming participants have the expertise to make a meaningful contribution, their involvement can reduce resistance, obtain commitment, and increase the quality of the change decision.
You have implemented a permanent upward adjustment of salaries for employees who relocate. You are attempting to ________. A) unfreeze the status quo B) move the process along C) refreeze the change D) change a driving force E) none of the above
Answer: C Explanation: Once change has been implemented, to be successful the new situation must be refrozen so it can be sustained over time. Without this last step, change will likely be short lived and employees will attempt to revert to the previous equilibrium state. The objective of refreezing, then, is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining forces.
You counsel each employee individually, trying to lessen each person's fears about the move. This is an example of ________. A) removing driving forces B) increasing driving forces C) removing restraining forces D) brainwashing E) none of the above
Answer: C Explanation: The restraining forces are the forces that hinder movement from the existing equilibrium. By counseling the employees, management is beginning to remove the restraining forces.
You have threatened to eliminate positions and even to close down the company if your employees don't change their attitudes. The method for overcoming resistance that you have chosen may be ________. A) education and communication B) participation C) negotiation D) coercion E) building support and commitment
Answer: D Explanation: Coercion is the method. Coercion is the application of direct threats or force on the resisters. If management really is determined to close a manufacturing plant whose employees don't acquiesce to a pay cut, the company is using coercion. Other examples are threats of transfer, loss of promotions, negative performance evaluations, and a poor letter of recommendation.
Despite your attempts to unfreeze the status quo at Mintz, your employees are still resistant to the relocation. According to Kotter's model, which of the following would most likely help to overcome this problem? A) emphasizing the importance of short-term wins by discouraging risk taking B) creating a set of strategies for the move and sticking with them at all costs C) limiting your discussion of your vision for the move to employees with the highest rankings D) postponing the moving deadline since it isn't critical that the move occur immediately E) providing employees with a list of compelling reasons for the move
Answer: E Explanation: First on Kotter's list is to establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed.