Deck 12: Managing Change and Innovation

Question 1

Probably the most visible technology changes in recent years have come through managers' efforts to expand corporate financing.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Computerization is a technological change that replaces people with machines.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Negotiation refers to covert attempts to influence, twisting and distorting facts, or withholding information.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Change threatens the investment you've already made in the status quo.

Question 5

Competitive factors or new innovations within an industry often require managers to introduce new equipment, tools, or operating methods.

Question 6

Sensitivity training is a method of changing behavior through unstructured group interaction.

Question 7

Cooperation refers to covert attempts to influence.

Question 8

The "calm waters" metaphor of change is consistent with Lewin's concept of unfreezing, changing, and refreezing.

Question 9

Any manager can be a change agent.

Question 10

A major disadvantage of coercion is that it may be illegal.

Question 11

One reason people resist change is the belief that the change is incompatible with the goals and interests of the organization.

Question 12

Arab managers and workers have the willingness to change if they feel that change is not imposed on them by an alien force.

Question 13

Manipulation is the use of direct threats.

Question 14

Organizational change can be any alterations in people, structure, or technology.

Question 15

The change in demand for health care technicians is an example of an economic change.

Question 16

Changing structure includes any change in structural variables such as reporting relationships, coordination mechanisms, employee empowerment, or job redesign.

Question 17

Cultural change is easier when the organizational culture is strong.

Question 18

Managers used different OD techniques during the strategic change including team building, survey feedback, and intergroup development.

Question 19

In the "white-water rapids" metaphor of change, managers should expect change at any time, and it may last for unspecified lengths of time.

Question 20

One reason people resist change is that it substitutes ambiguity for uncertainty.

Question 21

Internal forces that stimulate the need for change tend to originate primarily from the impact of external forces or from ________.

A) change in technology
B) the internal operations of the organization
C) customer demand for the products the company produces
D) the forces of competition

Question 22

More willingness to accept risks will lead to more creativity and innovation in Arab organizations.

Question 23

Having creative people is not enough to produce innovative products and work methods.

Question 24

Labor strikes are an example of what change factor that may encourage a change in management thinking and practices?

A) strategy
B) employee attitudes
C) workforce
D) equipment

Question 25

One of the primary views of the change process is ________, while the other view is ________.

A) optimistic; pessimistic
B) occasional; continuous
C) costly; conservative
D) problematic; encouraged

Question 26

Strictly enforcing rules and policies would promote more innovation in Arab organizations.

Question 27

Which of the following is not an internal force of change?

A) workforce
B) technology
C) employee attitudes
D) strategy

Question 28

Managing change is an integral part of ________.

A) every manager's job
B) middle-level management's job
C) the first-line manager's job
D) top management's job

Question 29

Lewin's theory is consistent with which view of organizational change?

A) "calm waters"
B) Mayo's
C) contemporary
D) continuous

Question 30

Falling interest rates are an example of what external force?

A) economic changes
B) marketplace
C) government laws and regulations
D) labor markets

Question 31

A realistic job preview during the selection process can minimize stress by reducing ambiguity over job expectations.

Question 32

A leadership change can facilitate cultural change.

Question 33

Stress symptoms can be grouped under three general categories: physical, psychological, and behavioral.

Question 34

In terms of organizational factors, any attempt to lower stress levels has to begin with employee selection.

Question 35

Which of the following is not an external force of change?

A) Marketplace
B) Workforce
C) Economic changes
D) Government laws and regulations

Question 36

In a survey about stress in GCC countries, employees in Saudi Arabia and UAE indicated the highest levels of stress.

Question 37

Cultural change is likely to take place when a dramatic crisis occurs.

Question 38

Stress is the physical and psychological tension an individual feels when he or she is facing or experiencing extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important.

Question 39

In a survey about stress in the Arab world, almost a fifth of all respondents said that they were under severe stress, while another 66 percent felt stress in some form.

Question 40

Stress can be caused by personal factors and by job-related factors.

Question 41

When grocery stores installed scanners to read the product price, this was an example of managing which change category?

A) structure
B) competitors
C) people
D) technology

Question 42

In organizations, people who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing the change process are called ________.

A) change agents
B) operations managers
C) charismatic leaders
D) change masters

Question 43

Competitive factors or new innovations within an industry often require managers to introduce all of the following except new ________.

A) operating methods
B) employees
C) equipment
D) tools

Question 44

The unfreezing step of the change process can be thought of as ________.

A) making the move to the new organizational condition
B) loosening the organization from the old condition and moving it to the new condition
C) thawing the organization loose from the current status to the new status
D) preparing for the needed change

Question 45

Organizational change is classified as ________.

A) structure, management, goals
B) people, structure, or technology
C) rules, procedures, management
D) technology, goals, management

Question 46

In the white-water rapids metaphor, change is a natural state, and managing change is ________.

A) a continual process
B) an accepted practice
C) a maintenance process
D) an expected practice

Question 47

As change agents, managers should be motivated to initiate change because they are committed to ________.

A) improving their organization's performance
B) managing and want to do the best they can for everyone
C) promoting the welfare of their employees
D) meeting the competition head-on in the market

Question 48

A company that decides to decentralize its sales procedures is managing what change category?

A) structure
B) people
C) competitors
D) technology

Question 49

Techniques to change people and the quality of interpersonal work relationships are termed ________.

A) operations
B) downsizing
C) organizational development
D) robotics

Question 50

Managers' options for change essentially fall into what three categories?

A) mission, environment, and process
B) structure, technology, and people
C) mission, structure, and people
D) environment, technology, and mission

Question 51

What is an emerging and evolving consumer trend that Hallmark identified?

A) chariness
B) from me to we
C) happening
D) future perfect

Question 52

Initiating change involves identifying which organizational areas might need to be changed and ________.

A) hiring a consultant to confirm that the change is needed
B) discussing them with the board of directors
C) putting the change process in motion
D) forming a committee to determine that the need for change is real

Question 53

Structural changes include ________.

A) span of control
B) attitudes
C) work processes
D) behavior

Question 54

The ________ is consistent with uncertain and dynamic environments.

A) contemporary metaphor
B) calm waters metaphor
C) white-water rapids metaphor
D) continuous metaphor

Question 55

According to Kurt Lewin, increasing the driving forces, which direct behavior away from the status quo, is a means of doing which of the following?

A) refreezing
B) changing
C) restraining forces
D) unfreezing

Question 56

According to Lewin, which of the following is the objective of refreezing?

A) It stabilizes the new situation.
B) It eliminates the need for future change.
C) It hinders movement away from existing equilibrium.
D) It directs behavior away from the status quo.

Question 57

Which category of change involves work processes, methods, and equipment?

A) technology
B) people
C) structure
D) competitors

Question 58

In spurring organizational change, outside consultants are usually more ________, whereas internal managers may be more ________.

A) drastic; thoughtful
B) highly paid; risky
C) cautious; friendly
D) resistant; bold

Question 59

According to Kurt Lewin, which of the following is not a stage in the change process?

A) refreezing
B) restraining
C) changing
D) unfreezing

Question 60

Which type of change might include a shift from a functional to a product structure?

A) a structural design change
B) computerization
C) a structural component change
D) automation

Question 61

For ________ to be effective, there must be mutual trust and credibility between managers and employees.

A) education
B) negotiation
C) coercion
D) participation

Question 62

If a company hired a consultant to decrease group friction and enhance cooperative work relationships, this would be an example of managing which change category?

A) structure
B) competitors
C) technology
D) people

Question 63

All of the following are mentioned as actions that managers can use to deal with resistance to change except ________.

A) diversification
B) facilitation and support
C) participation
D) education and communication

Question 64

One reason for the resistance to change in the Arab world is that ________.

A) there is a lack of qualifications of key people involved in the change process
B) there is a lack of resources needed to implement change
C) there is a lack of presence of change agents
D) the word "change" has negative connotations

Question 65

Which organizational development (OD) technique is a technique for assessing attitudes and perceptions, identifying discrepancies in these, and resolving the differences by using survey information in feedback groups?

A) survey feedback
B) sensitivity training
C) team building
D) intergroup development

Question 66

Which of the following is not a favorable situational condition that may facilitate change in an organizational culture?

A) the organization is young and small
B) stock prices remain constant
C) a dramatic crisis occurs
D) the culture is weak

Question 67

________ is using direct threats or force on those who resist change.

A) Cooptation
B) Negotiation
C) Education and communication
D) Coercion

Question 68

What is a strategy for managing cultural change?

A) Keep the reward system the same.
B) Redesign socialization processes to align with the new values.
C) Terminate top managers who are positive role models.
D) Support employees who remain devoted to the old values.

Question 69

________ is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure placed on them from extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities.

A) Stress
B) A halo effect
C) Stereotyping
D) Creativity

Question 70

Stress, in and of itself, is ________.

A) beneficial to those who use it
B) not necessarily bad
C) harmful, especially if not managed by exercise
D) healthy in most cases

Question 71

Which of the reasons for resistance to change expressed by an employee may be beneficial to the organization?

A) uncertainty
B) freezing
C) refreezing
D) change is incompatible with the interests of the organization

Question 72

What OD technique involves changing the attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions that work groups have about each other?

A) intergroup development
B) team building
C) survey feedback
D) sensitivity training

Question 73

Increasing the numbers of employed women and minorities forces managers to pay attention to what change factor?

A) workforce
B) strategy
C) technology
D) equipment

Question 74

A dynamic and uncertain organizational environment has created a large number of employees who are ________.

A) overworked, but paid very well
B) young and energetic about the "next day's work"
C) overworked and stressed out
D) old enough to retire, but can't afford to retire

Question 75

An individual is likely to resist change because of all of the following reasons except ________.

A) concern over personal loss
B) increased productivity
C) uncertainty
D) belief that the change is not in the organization's best interest

Question 76

Cultural change is most likely to take place when ________.

A) the culture is strong
B) the organization is large
C) there is a leadership change
D) the organization is old

Question 77

To cope with the complexity of life, individuals rely on habits or ________.

A) certainties
B) the status quo
C) beliefs
D) programmed responses

Question 78

Which of the following represents the relationship between organizational culture and change?

A) Culture tends to be very resistant to change.
B) Culture can change in months but not weeks.
C) Culture can never be purposely changed.
D) Culture and change are naturally compatible.

Question 79

________ prevent you from doing what you desire; ________ refer to the loss of something desired.

A) Fears; stressors
B) Stressors; fears
C) Constraints; demands
D) Demands; constraints

Question 80

Before using the same OD techniques to implement behavioral changes, especially across different countries, managers need to be sure that they've taken into account ________.

A) societal differences
B) cultural characteristics
C) organizational differences
D) employee attitudes