MGMT FINAL ~ CH. 18
________ involves correcting errors by modifying the organization's objectives, policies, and standard routines.
Double-loop learning
________ is a change process based on systematic collection of data and selection of a change action based on what the analyzed data indicate.
Action research
________ are persons who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing refinement activities.
Change agents
John Kotter built on Lewin's three-step model to create a more detailed approach for implementing change. Which of the following steps in Kotter's eight-step plan for implementing change represents the unfreezing stage in Lewin's three-step model?
Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision.
Which of the following is the first step in Kotter's eight-step plan for implementing change?
Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed.
[Fony Corp., headquartered in China, is a leading manufacturer of electronic devices and solutions intended for professional markets. The company is considering upgrading the technology currently being used at Fony's manufacturing facility located in Guangdong that specializes in producing lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power laptops, cameras, cell phones, and other similar gadgets. The new technology is expected to increase efficiency levels and will also allow for greater adherence to quality standards.] Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument that Fony Corp. should upgrade its technology?
Fony's main client account is at risk after the client had to recall nearly 2 million notebooks owing to defective batteries.
________ is one way to achieve unfreezing of an organization's status quo.
Increasing the driving forces directing behavior away from the status quo
Which of the following statements is true regarding innovation in organizations?
Innovative organizations reward both successes and failures.
Appreciative inquiry (AI) is an organizational development technique. Which of the following statements is true regarding appreciative inquiry?
It consists of four steps including discovery, dreaming, design, and destiny.
Who built on Lewin's three-step model to create a more detailed eight-step plan for implementing change?
John Kotter
Who developed a three-step model for change that included unfreezing, movement, and refreezing?
Kurt Lewin
Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding organizational approaches to managing stress?
Managers should consider decreasing employee involvement in decision making because evidence clearly shows that decreases in employee empowerment reduce psychological strain.
________ is a collection of change methods that seek to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being.
Organizational development
Which of the following steps in Kotter's eight-step plan for implementing change represents the movement stage in Lewin's three-step model?
Plan for, create, and reward short-term "wins" that propel the organization toward the new vision.
Which of the following is the last step in Kotter's eight-step plan for implementing change?
Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between new behaviors and organizational success.
Which of the following steps in Kotter's eight-step plan for implementing change represents the refreezing stage in Lewin's three-step model?
Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between new behaviors and organizational success.
________ is a method of changing behavior through unstructured group interaction.
Sensitivity training
________ involves correcting errors using past routines and present policies.
Single-loop learning
Benny is stressed with the new corporate reorganization. He now reports to a foreign office that has usurped many of his responsibilities, including the contract labor for his projects. Therefore, he's working with new and less qualified contractors with whom he doesn't have a relationship. However, the managers of the other departments find themselves in the same boat, and every day they are able to laugh over lunch about their new managerial impotence. ________ is helping Benny handle his stress.
Social support
________ is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.
Stress
[Strum Services provides content management services to major educational publishers. Due to low morale, the level of employee output has been below par, which has caused a backlog in work.] Which of the following, if true, would strengthen the argument to use coercive techniques in this situation?
The company is on a tight deadline to complete a major project for an important client.
[Strum Services provides content management services to major educational publishers. Due to low morale, the level of employee output has been below par, which has caused a backlog in work.] Which of the following, if true, would weaken the argument to use coercive techniques in this situation?
The company just finished its peak season, during which employees were required to work overtime and on weekends.
[Fony Corp., headquartered in China, is a leading manufacturer of electronic devices and solutions intended for professional markets. The company is considering upgrading the technology currently being used at Fony's manufacturing facility located in Guangdong that specializes in producing lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power laptops, cameras, cell phones, and other similar gadgets. The new technology is expected to increase efficiency levels and will also allow for greater adherence to quality standards.] Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument that Fony Corp. should upgrade its technology?
The technology which the company is considering adopting was recently developed and has not yet been successfully implemented in a real business context.
An example of change in competition is ________.
U.S. manufactured Toyota vehicles
Risa has to work long hours and sometimes weekends, losing out on family time. Risa doesn't find her long hours overly stressful, but rather she sees it as her contribution to maintaining her family's equilibrium and well-being and bettering her children's future. In which country is Risa most likely employed?
Venezuela
Tescra Education is an educational publishing company that provides textbooks in the area of higher education. The company has been in business for almost 20 years now and has earned substantial profits during this period. Which of the following trends, if true, would drive the company to change its business strategy?
a need for learning environments where students feel safe to apply the knowledge they've acquired in the classroom to real-life situations
Rather than looking for problems, ________ seeks to identify the unique qualities and special strengths of an organization, which can then be built upon to improve performance.
appreciative inquiry
Excessive smoking, substance abuse, and sleep disorders are all examples of ________ symptoms of stress.
behavioral
Which of the following tactics for overcoming resistance to change is most likely to be beneficial when employees' fear and anxiety are high?
building support and commitment
The application of direct threats or force upon resisters is called ________.
coercion
[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 to implement if you cannot overcome the resistance of the sales personnel and obtain their cooperation.] You have threatened to eliminate positions and even to close down the company if your sales personnel don't change their attitudes. The method for overcoming resistance that you have chosen is ________.
coercion
Which of the following resistances to change is overt and immediate?
complaint
"Buying off" the leaders of a resistance group by giving them a key role and seeking their advice not to find a better solution but to get their endorsement is an example of ________.
cooptation
If individuals resisting change are included in making change decisions in an attempt to gain their support, this approach is called ________.
cooptation
An example of change in the nature of the workforce is an increase in ________.
cultural diversity
A(n) ________ resistance to change clouds the link between the change and the reaction to it and may surface weeks, months, or even years later.
deferred
The step in the action research process where information is gathered about problems, concerns, and needed changes is known as the ________ stage.
diagnosis
Which of the following steps of the appreciative inquiry attempts to identify what people think are the organization's strengths?
discovery
Which of the following is a step in the appreciative inquiry process?
dreaming
As a result of changing technology and unstable environment, your company is planning to undertake restructuring of the business. The employees in your company are worried about this upcoming change and many of them are anxious due to a fear that they will lose their jobs as a result of this change. But that is not the case. The company only wants to restructure its business units, and it is not planning to cut down on jobs. In such a situation, which of the following techniques is most likely to be used by your company to deal with the employees' resistance to change?
education and communication
Which tactic for overcoming resistance to change basically assumes that the source of resistance lies in misinformation?
education and communication
[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 to implement if you cannot overcome the resistance of the sales personnel and obtain their cooperation.] 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 ________.
education and communication
Political uncertainties, economic uncertainties, and technological change are examples of the ________ factors of potential stress.
environmental
Which of the following is an example of an individual source of resistance to change?
fear of the unknown
During the design step of appreciative inquiry, participants ________.
find a common vision of how the organization will look in the future
Brian's team just had a research breakthrough. They'll need several thousands of dollars to complete the project. Brian has called a series of meetings in which he's promoting the significance of the new discovery, explaining the economic benefits that will result from the final project, and answering questions. Brian is a(n) ________ within his company.
idea champion
Which of the following resistances to change is implicit?
increased error
Selective information processing is a major source of resistance to change. It indicates that ________.
individuals hear what they want to hear and they ignore information that challenges the world they've created
Which of the following types of changes involves a new idea being applied to initiating or improving a product, process, or service?
innovation
Elaine is very good at what she does, but she is constantly stressed by internal deadlines assigned to co-workers, obligatory meetings, and time lost in unrelated idle cubicle chatter. Today, after a meeting with her supervisor, she has been given more responsibility for her work, is able to set her own deadlines, decline attendance to various department meetings, and telecommute two days a week. Elaine's boss is using which of the following organizational strategies to reduce her stress?
job redesign
Which of the following types of jobs is least likely to create stress and reduce satisfaction?
jobs that provide a high level of feedback
Which of the following is an example of an organizational source of resistance to change?
limited focus of change
Management of a company threatens to close a manufacturing plant in the company whose employees are resisting an across-the- board pay cut. But this threat is actually untrue. In this case, which of the following tactics of overcoming resistance to change is being used by the management?
manipulation
Using covert influence to overcome resistance to change is called ________.
manipulation
Which tactic to overcome resistance to change is a relatively inexpensive way to gain the support of adversaries, but may backfire if the targets become aware of the tactic?
manipulation
Which of the following is one of the three steps in the Lewin's three-step change model?
movement
Which of the following reactions from employees is preferable as a response to change?
open discussion
Jerry is feeling very stressed because his boss expects a project to be delivered to the client within a very unreasonable deadline. Jerry has to work nights and weekends to make the deadline. Jerry is feeling stress due to a(n) ________ factor.
organizational
Limited focus of change is a major source of resistance to change that originates from an organizational source. It indicates that ________.
organizations consist of a number of interdependent subsystems and one can't be changed without affecting the others
It is easiest for management to deal with resistance when it is ________.
overt
[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 to implement if you cannot overcome the resistance of the sales personnel and obtain their cooperation.] 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 ________.
participation
Family issues, economic problems, and personality characteristics are examples of the ________ factor of potential stress.
personal
Rudolf is dealing with impending layoffs at work. Yesterday, at a pharmacy, he measured his blood pressure and it was high. He also notices that when he thinks about the future, his heart rate accelerates. Rudolf is demonstrating ________ symptoms of stress.
physiological
A paper sales company designs and offers a new method of purchasing and shipping commercial quantities of paper through its Web site. The company used to do its business through its sales representative. This is an example of a(n) ________ change.
planned
The deemphasizing of hierarchical authority and control in organizational development is referred to as ________.
power equalization
Which of the following stressors is likely to produce less strain than the other stressors?
pressure to complete tasks
Which of the following is an organizational development technique that involves an outsider assisting a manager to identify what to improve and how?
process consultation
In order to make their firm a learning organization, managers should ________.
redesign the organizational structure
One of Carl's department employees was severely injured on the job. Carl has called in psychological counselors to talk to the other employees and scheduled a series of safety trainings for the department to be completed by the end of the week. He has also asked the HR personnel to talk to the department about the disability insurance that the company offers and make sure that his employees know what is available. Carl is using ________ to help cope with the stress caused by his employee's injury.
resources
Bart has a new idea for a way to cut costs in his department, but he is not willing to share his idea with his boss because the last department head that tried new cost cutting methods was recently fired because the new methods could not achieve expected results. Based on the example, how can Bart's company improve the culture to create innovation?
reward both successes and failures
Which of the following actions can extinguish risk taking and innovation?
rewarding for the absence of failures rather than for the presence of successes
Organizations are increasingly adjusting their processes and positioning their products as environment friendly and sustainable in order to increase their appeal to consumers. This is a response to changes in ________.
social trends
After restructuring, your division has had trouble filling the open positions with appropriate candidates. The selection processes used by human resources have not yet adjusted to the new criteria required for the restructured job positions. This problem is an example of which kind of resistance to change?
structural inertia
Organizations have built-in mechanisms—like their selection processes and formalized regulations—to produce stability. When an organization is confronted with change, these mechanisms act as a counterbalance to sustain stability. Which of the following organizational sources of resistance to change is represented by these mechanisms?
structural inertia
Procedural fairness while implementing changes is especially important when ________.
the employees perceive the outcome as negative
Louise is overwhelmed with the new tasks that she has been assigned after the department merger. Each day, she arrives at work and makes a list of the new tasks, writes a number next to each one according to the urgency of completion, and schedules a time to complete each one. Although she's still stressed, Louise is able to get most of the work done and feels better at the end of the day. Louise is using ________ techniques to reduce her stress.
time-management
Idea champions display characteristics associated with ________ leadership.
transformational
During the dreaming step of appreciative inquiry, participants ________.
use information from the discovery phase to speculate on possible futures
Organizationally supported programs that focus on the employee's total physical and mental condition, such as helping them quit smoking or control alcohol use, are called ________ programs.
wellness
