Deck 13: Change and Innovation in African Organizations

Question 1

Due to his spouse's accepting a promotion, Colin had recently left his private sector job in Kansas and accepted a new position in the public service with the state of Ohio. The change had been quite a shock at first. The organizational cultures were quite different, and each environment offered a different set of challenges. One new challenge Colin accepted was implementing changes into a state government system. Historically, this environment had not seen a lot of changes, and now, with the changes in Washington (the government) and the move toward privatization, change was necessary. Plus, his agency director was also new and had announced that the agency would be developing a new strategic plan. Together, Colin had been through many changes recently, and would be involved in more in the near future.
-The changes the state government was facing due to pressures put on by Washington could be referred to as a(n) ____________ force of change.

A) Driving.
B) External.
C) Marketplace.
D) Internal.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Due to his spouse's accepting a promotion, Colin had recently left his private sector job in Kansas and accepted a new position in the public service with the state of Ohio. The change had been quite a shock at first. The organizational cultures were quite different, and each environment offered a different set of challenges. One new challenge Colin accepted was implementing changes into a state government system. Historically, this environment had not seen a lot of changes, and now, with the changes in Washington (the government) and the move toward privatization, change was necessary. Plus, his agency director was also new and had announced that the agency would be developing a new strategic plan. Together, Colin had been through many changes recently, and would be involved in more in the near future.
-If Colin accepts the responsibility and acts as a catalyst for change, he could be referred to as a(n):

A) Change master.
B) Director of change.
C) Change agent.
D) Enforcer of change.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Due to his spouse's accepting a promotion, Colin had recently left his private sector job in Kansas and accepted a new position in the public service with the state of Ohio. The change had been quite a shock at first. The organizational cultures were quite different, and each environment offered a different set of challenges. One new challenge Colin accepted was implementing changes into a state government system. Historically, this environment had not seen a lot of changes, and now, with the changes in Washington (the government) and the move toward privatization, change was necessary. Plus, his agency director was also new and had announced that the agency would be developing a new strategic plan. Together, Colin had been through many changes recently, and would be involved in more in the near future.
-If Colin focuses on the forces facilitating the change, he would be focusing on the _____ forces.

A) Restraining.
B) Driving.
C) Internal.
D) External.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Due to his spouse's accepting a promotion, Colin had recently left his private sector job in Kansas and accepted a new position in the public service with the state of Ohio. The change had been quite a shock at first. The organizational cultures were quite different, and each environment offered a different set of challenges. One new challenge Colin accepted was implementing changes into a state government system. Historically, this environment had not seen a lot of changes, and now, with the changes in Washington (the government) and the move toward privatization, change was necessary. Plus, his agency director was also new and had announced that the agency would be developing a new strategic plan. Together, Colin had been through many changes recently, and would be involved in more in the near future.
-If Colin decided to replace some employee work time with a telephone menu system, this would be considered changing the:

A) Organizational structure.
B) Technology.
C) People.
D) Organizational development.

Question 5

Due to his spouse's accepting a promotion, Colin had recently left his private sector job in Kansas and accepted a new position in the public service with the state of Ohio. The change had been quite a shock at first. The organizational cultures were quite different, and each environment offered a different set of challenges. One new challenge Colin accepted was implementing changes into a state government system. Historically, this environment had not seen a lot of changes, and now, with the changes in Washington (the government) and the move toward privatization, change was necessary. Plus, his agency director was also new and had announced that the agency would be developing a new strategic plan. Together, Colin had been through many changes recently, and would be involved in more in the near future.
-If Colin decided to train his people to adopt new attitudes and behaviors, the focus of change would be on:

A) Technology.
B) Structure.
C) People.
D) Equipment.

Question 6

In a force field analysis, there are generally two types of forces, the driving forces (the forces supporting change) and the restraining forces (the forces resisting change). If you were asked to introduce changes in your organization, which of the following forces might you consider as restraining forces?

A) Threats to power and influence.
B) Reward systems.
C) Communication channels.
D) New organizational structure.