Ch15: Organizational Change BUSI 240

What are cross-cultural limitations to organizational change theories?

-Change is cyclical, not linear, in some places. -Many theories are built around Western cultural assumptions. -Direct confrontation with change is unacceptable in some areas.

Employees may resist change by engaging in behaviors that include ______.

-work stoppages -griping to customers about the changes -performing tasks the old way when unnoticed

According to Lewin, informing employees about innovation by competitors, changing consumer trends, and new regulations are all factors of the external environment that ______.

create an urgency to change

XTen Enterprises has been holding system-wide group sessions lasting a few days during which participants identify trends and establish ways to adapt to those changes. X Ten is using ______.

future search conferences

Creating a vision, communicating the vision, and building commitment to that vision are behaviors that create and implement change initiatives through ______ leadership.

transformational

A primary barrier to productivity in many cultures surveyed is ______.

resistance to change

The organizational change process that combines changing attitudes and behavior with testing theory is the ______.

action research approach

Pilot programs are useful for introducing change because they ______.

test the effectiveness of the change

Employee involvement in the decision to change reduces resistance by ______.

creating a sense of ownership for the decisions

Which of the following can encourage refreezing new behaviors among employees?

-Changing physical structures to support the employees -Changing reward systems to support the employees

Which of the following are problems associated with a future-oriented positive focus to organizational change?

-Generating high expectations that can not be met -Domination by a few members of the group

Which of these are ways that leaders develop an urgency for change under Lewin's force field analysis model?

-Keeping employees up-to-date about competitors -Reminding employees about changing consumer trends -Informing employees about pending government regulations

Employees who participate in the decisions about a change ______.

-feel a sense of ownership -will have reduced fear of the unknown

Teaching employees new knowledge and skills needed for the organization's proposed change ______.

-increases readiness and commitment to change -helps employees perform better after the change

Communication can reduce the restraining forces against change by ______.

-informing employees of specific external threats -explaining the future and the need for change

Guiding coalitions for organizational change ______.

-involve employees from a wide array of levels -might be the greatest factor in the achievement of organizational change programs -involve people with the same level of commitment to enacting change

Reasons that employees resist change include ______.

-misperceptions of their roles and the needed change -lack of motivation to change -inability to change due to lack of skills and knowledge

Transformational leadership ______.

-presents a clear vision of the future -links an individual's values and the change

Advantages of using a pilot project include ______.

-reduced risk of failure when the strategy is adopted by the entire organization -facilitating the selection of organizational groups that are most ready for change

Put the steps in the action research approach to organizational change in order. Place the first step at the top and the last step at the bottom.

1. Form client-consultant relationship 2. Diagnose the need for change 3. Introduce the intervention 4. Evaluate and stabilize change 5. Disengage consultant's services

A perspective of organizational behavior that focuses on building positive qualities and traits within individuals or institutions as opposed to focusing on what is wrong with them is known as positive organizational _______.

Behavior

What does positive organizational behavior focus on?

Building character in individuals and institutions

In which step of the action research process is data gathered and analyzed about an ongoing system?

Diagnose need for change

Sally thinks the new software package the company wants to use will be very difficult to learn because she has limited experience with computers. Which of the reasons for resisting change applies to this situation?

Inadequate skills and knowledge

The model of organizational change that helps change agents diagnose the forces that drive and restrain proposed change is ______.

Lewin's force field analysis model

What is a highly participative arrangement made up of people across all levels of an organization who apply the action research model to produce meaningful change?

Parallel learning structure

When employees believe that change will reduce their status and pay or create poorer working conditions, which of the following likely will occur?

Resistance to change will be stronger.

According to Lewin's force field analysis model, ___ forces attempt to maintain the status quo and block the change process.

Restraining

According to Lewin's model, ______ forces must be reduced in order for change to occur.

Restraining

A formal group of several people who are influence leaders with a similar level of commitment to the change is an example of ______.

a guiding coalition

Employees determine whether a proposed change will make them personally better or worse off by ______.

applying a cost-benefit analysis

A cultural limitation of the theories used in Western cultures is that they ______.

assume change is linear

The action research approach to organizational change ______.

combines changing attitudes and behavior with testing theory

The greatest priority and primary strategy for any organizational change is to ______.

communicate the reasons for change

Alistair isn't sure how the announced changes will affect him. He is uncertain whether his work group will change, whether he will have to move, and or if his pay will be reduced. The most likely reason Alistair is resisting the change is ______.

fear of the unknown

The step in the action research approach to organizational change during which an outside change agent assesses the client's readiness, ability, and motivation to change is ______.

forming a client-consultant relationship

The strategy for minimizing resistance to change that teaches employees the skills they will need is ______.

learning

The form client-consultant relationship stage of the action research approach to organizational change involves ______.

learning if people are motivated to participate in the change

Highly participative arrangements composed of people across organizational levels who apply the action research model are part of the _________ learning structures approach.

parallel

The problem with weakening or removing the forces restraining change is it ___.

provides no motivation to adopt the change

To succeed in implementing change successfully, change agents must ______.

reduce the restraining forces

According to the force field analysis model, the best strategy to effectively create change is to ______.

reduce the restraining forces and increase the driving forces

The employees in the new manufacturing teams all received productivity bonuses that showed they were adjusting to the new systems very well. This is an example of:

refreezing an organizational change.

Employees fear the unknown and resist change because all change includes some degree of ______ that creates risk.

uncertainty