Deck 7: Leading Change

Question 1

According to Spector, leadership's primary role in change management is:

A) providing strategic direction
B) determining which employees must be laid off
C) mobilizing adaptive behavior in the organization
D) being the face of change
E) all of the above

Answer 1

C

Question 2

With narrowly focused functional managers rather than broadly based leaders, organizations become:

A) skill based rather, than behavior based
B) more adaptive
C) nonresponsive
D) more resistance to change
E) none of the above

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The flow of information from lower to higher hierarchical levels is called:

A) privileged communication
B) hierarchical communication
C) employee initialized communication
D) upward communication
E) none of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Selecting an individual for a leadership position who has always worked in one functional area has which of the following downsides:

A) they do not have enough experience
B) they will favor their former functional area unfairly
C) they have limited knowledge of the total organization, especially how subunits fit together
D) they will feel uncomfortable with international operations
E) none of the above

Question 5

Particularly in situations of strategic renewal and change, formal leaders need to learn about how their effects are proceeding through a process of mutual engagement with employees at all organizational levels.

Question 6

If employees are committed to their organization, emotionally they are less likely to engage in required behavioral changes because they are happy with the status quo.

Question 7

is an individual who is granted authority, usually based on hierarchical position.

A) Change agent
B) Formal leader
C) Consultant
D) Stakeholder
E) none of the above

Question 8

Moving from individual to shared leadership is desirable, and is:

A) not easily achieved
B) not possible
C) requires replace of current leaders
D) quite easy to achieve
E) none of the above

Question 9

Strong, demanding leaders are the most effective at leading change.

Question 10

In leadership development, recruiting candidates with outstanding technical skills:

A) formulate vision and strategies, rather the planning and managing budgets.
B) communicate purpose and build commitment rather than issue repots and creating policies.
C) think in log-term time horizons.
D) work with an organization's culture and not its formal structures.
E) all of the above

Question 11

Dominant individual leaders can create an internal dynamic that builds , while initiative, innovation, and teamwork.

A) trust, increasing
B) dependency, stifling
C) independence, increasing
D) dependency, increasing
E) none of the above

Question 12

Which of the following best describe how leaders enhance the effectiveness of change implementation:

A) providing a common sense of direction and goals that allows decentralized decision making.
B) placing decision‐making authority in the hands of employees who are best able to respond, and respond quickly, to a dynamic environment.
C) providing a common purpose which enhances the ability of an organization to achieve required levels of coordination and teamwork.
D) formulating strategy to help advance purpose and then change the strategy in response to or anticipation of a dynamic environment.
E) all of above

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a potential consequence of overreliance on an individual leader

A) high levels of dependency can displace individual and group initiatives.
B) dependency on one leader can slow decision making.
C) providing the candid feedback required of effective transformation can become risky and therefore not given.
D) a dominant leader might be unable to build the sense of teamwork and shared responsibility required to sustain a coordinated change effort.
E) a single change leader would be able to handle the pressure alone.

Question 14

To transform an organization from a collection of individuals into a coordinated, interdependent unit requires that transcends instrumentality.

A) precise written contracts
B) a strong organizational culture
C) a bond
D) habits
E) none of the above

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a core task of change leadership:

A) establish demanding performance expectations
B) enable upward communication
C) forge an emotional bond between employees and the organization
D) design the new rules under which the organization will operate
E) develop future change leaders

Question 16

Organizational purpose is:

A) broader than strategy
B) the same as strategy
C) is a better way to define organizational culture
D) describes what motivates workers
E) none of the above

Question 17

are clearly articulated and challenging performance expectations.

A) Management objectives
B) Adaptive goals
C) Stretch goals
D) Compensation contracts
E) none of the above

Question 18

Which of the following actions does NOT help create a shared purpose?

A) supporting decentralized decision
B) supporting enhanced autonomy
C) supporting coordination
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 19

The of the chief executive can influence the behaviors of other organizational leaders.

A) management style
B) age
C) educational level
D) years of experience with organization
E) emotional intelligence level

Question 20

In leadership development, recruiting candidates with outstanding technical skills:

A) should always be done.
B) is NOT a good idea, such persons have limited leadership potential.
C) is NOT a good idea, they have difficulty communicating with non-technical people.
D) is NOT a good idea, they focus only their own area of expertise.
E) is NOT a good idea, they often demand more money and perks.

Question 21

Effective change efforts are built on a drive to achieve outstanding performance.

Question 22

Stretch goals are designed to urge workers to go beyond their normal job descriptions and expand their areas of expertise, even if short-term performance is sacrificed.

Question 23

Leaders should work through coalitions and leverage their hierarchical authority.

Question 24

Effective leaders need to take specific steps to ensure that communications move both upward and downward, and is best they simply response to all questions, fully and completely.

Question 25

Effective leaders communicate downward to make sure employees at all levels understand in a clear and consistent way the purpose and direction of the firm.

Question 26

Maintaining centralized decision making is suggested during a period change.

Question 27

The effectiveness of leadership will be judged not by personalities and traits but by the impact those actions and behaviors exert on the change process.

Question 28

Rapid upward movement of personnel through the hierarchy can work to hurt an organization's ability to develop effective leadership.

Question 29

Knowledge possessed by employees at lower hierarchical levels puts them in an excellent position to understand the degree to which the change goals articulated and pursued by upper management are both being implemented and achieving the desired results.

Question 30

Formal leaders may exert a powerful influence over followers without exercising effective leadership.

Question 31

Given a combination of experience, training, and circumstances, a wide array of individuals can be effective leaders.

Question 32

Inadequate attention to leadership development can ruin a company, even an industry.

Question 33

Autonomy places decision‐making authority in the hands of employees who are best able to respond, and respond quickly, to a dynamic environment.

Question 34

Cisco CEO, John Chambers was NOT committed to building collaboration as a way of keeping his company agile and responsive to a rapidly shifting competitive and technological environment. This explains why their change initiative was unsuccessful.

Question 35

Reliance on one person to be the leader of change might actually undermine the effectiveness of a change effort.