Deck 6: Organisation Development and Change

Question 1

Organisation learning is the same as individual learning.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Knowledge management is more concerned with developing organisational capabilities while organisation learning (OL) is more concerned with technical issues, such as how to store organisation experience.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In built-to-change (B2C) organisations, information is stored centrally to make it more accessible.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Knowledge management (KM) interventions are focused heavily on:

A)codifying tacit knowledge before employees leave their jobs
B)codifying organisation knowledge so it can be accessed and applied to tasks
C)codifying explicit knowledge so it can be readily used by employees
D)sharing knowledge formally across organisational units
E)all of the above

Question 5

In practice, the stages of the self-design strategy:

A)are dependent upon the general prescriptions for change established during stage 1
B)are linear and must be applied in strict succession to be effective
C)are most vulnerable during the assessing stage
D)cannot progress until resistance to change has been eliminated
E)merge and interact iteratively over time

Question 6

Adaptive change generally involves a systematic change process that accounts for multiple features and relationships.

Question 7

Laying the foundation for self-designing organisations requires:

A)diagnosis, knowledge and valuing
B)diagnosis, change and evaluation
C)design, assessment and implementation
D)design, change and evaluation
E)knowledge, assessment and evaluation

Question 8

Double-loop learning is also known as:

A)the ladder of inference
B)adaptive learning
C)Model I learning
D)generative learning
E)cyclical learning

Question 9

In turbulent environments, built-to-change (B2C) organisations achieve success by identifying future opportunities, organising to take advantage of them and then moving on to the next opportunity when things change.

Question 10

Self-designing organisations are well suited for stable, predictable markets and environments.

Question 11

The terms 'organisation learning' and 'knowledge management' are sometimes used interchangeably.

Question 12

In built-to-change (B2C) organisations, the organisation must continually make strategic adjustments as part of normal operations.

Question 13

The self-design strategy involves:

A)allowing employees greater flexibility in the work they undertake
B)translating corporate values into specific structures, processes and behaviours
C)less involvement from organisation development (OD) practitioners
D)ongoing support from OD practitioners in a continuous change intervention
E)a limited number of hierarchical management levels

Question 14

Single-loop learning refers to:

A)drastically challenging the status quo
B)adaptive learning
C)learning from individual mistakes
D)learning how to learn
E)learning how to unlearn

Question 15

The built-to-change (B2C) approach to organisation design is based on the simple fact that most organisations are designed for stability and dependable operations.

Question 16

Learning organisations are those which promote individual learning widely throughout the organisation.

Question 17

Organisation learning is an iterative process of:

A)understanding, integration and application
B)discovery, innovation, application and generalisation
C)curiosity, understanding, production and generalisation
D)discovery, invention, production and generalisation
E)action learning

Question 18

Organisation learning interventions emphasise the organisational structures and social processes that:

A)prevent employees from learning and sharing knowledge
B)enable employees to learn and to share knowledge
C)are used to collect, organise and translate information
D)facilitate individual learning
E)enable knowledge to be used to improve performance

Question 19

Lawler and Worley stress that unpredictable environments mean all organisations should be built to change.

Question 20

Decision making in built-to-change (B2C) organisations is faster because leadership is shared throughout the organisation.

Question 21

Compare and contrast organisation learning (OL) interventions with knowledge management (KM) interventions.Discuss the benefits of each.

Question 22

The reported outcomes for organisations with sound knowledge management (KM) practices do NOT include:

A)reductions in costs
B)increases in new product sales, manufacturing capacity and corporate profits
C)reductions in service delivery time and
D)start-up time for new ventures
E)improved internal-oriented objective knowledge

Question 23

Putting decision-making in the hands of those closest to the work and the environment is part of the following built-to-change (B2C) organisation design component:

A)leadership
B)delegation
C)structure
D)managing talent
E)reward system

Question 24

What is the aim of a knowledge intervention?

Question 25

In applying knowledge management (KM) interventions, the 'organising knowledge' stage involves:

A)a knowledge audit
B)refining knowledge to increase its value to users
C)a skills assessment
D)training to increase knowledge
E)implementing data storage solutions

Question 26

Knowledge management (KM) practitioners distribute knowledge using the following approaches:

A)databases, informal networks and job design
B)hierarchy, task methods and mentoring
C)codification, personalisation and tacit systems
D)self-directed, knowledge services and networks, and facilitated transfer
E)all of the above

Question 27

Organising knowledge on the basis of how it is shared is known as:

A)codification
B)informal networking
C)individualisation
D)knowledge networking
E)personalisation

Question 28

For many organisations, the value of intellectual assets:

A)is over-stated
B)increases in direct proportion to increases in an organisation's training budget
C)increases in direct proportion to increases in the cost of materials and labour
D)far exceeds the value of physical and financial assets
E)is acknowledged in archival data, especially accounting records

Question 29

When building and managing knowledge effectively results in a competitive advantage, these knowledge capabilities can be described as:

A)a successful strategy based on intangible assets
B)continuous change through learning
C)a core competency
D)an ability to deal with turbulent environments
E)effective knowledge management

Question 30

Define the concepts underlying organisation learning (OL) and knowledge management (KM) and discuss how these approaches are useful in creating a learning organisation.

Question 31

Using examples, compare and contrast two design components which can be configured to promote change in a built-to-change (B2C) organisation.

Question 32

Explain the differences between adaptive learning and generative learning.

Question 33

Explain the purpose of the 'ladder of inference'.

Question 34

In disseminating knowledge, self-directed distribution methods rely heavily on:

A)member control and initiative
B)open systems theory
C)specific assistance and organised channels for leveraging knowledge
D)benchmark data and electronic repositories
E)all of the above

Question 35

What is a self-designing organisation? Discuss the characteristics of a self-designing organisation.

Question 36

The term 'knowledge objects' refers to:

A)reports and other data sources organised into meaningful categories
B)explicit forms of knowledge that can be extracted from people
C)organised channels for leveraging knowledge throughout the organisation
D)objective information
E)data nodes

Question 37

The 'hit and run' approach used to transition to a built-to-change (B2C) organisation involves:

A)using trial and error to determine an appropriate strategy
B)restricting the number of strategic choices to reduce confusion
C)limiting the type and level of change which is adopted
D)management rapidly changing the organisation identity
E)pursuing a series of temporary competitive advantages

Question 38

To facilitate the transfer of tacit knowledge, knowledge management (KM) practitioners have developed:

A)interpersonal relationship training focused on knowledge exchange
B)a variety of methods for facilitating personal exchanges between those with tacit knowledge and those seeking it
C)database solutions which enable the personalisation of reports
D)theories on how the codification of tacit knowledge occurs
E)a variety of tacit knowledge distribution systems for use in large organisations

Question 39

How can an organisation become self-designing?

Question 40

Which of the following organisation structures best support built-to-change (B2C) interventions?

A)formal and hierarchical
B)flat, lean and flexible
C)disruptive network
D)agile
E)customer-focused

Question 41

What is a learning organisation and what are its characteristics?