Deck 14: Organization Development and Change

Question 1

HRD generally has little impact on OD changes.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An Intervention strategy is

A) the primary means for organizational change and improvement
B) an unplanned corporate event
C) a new government regulation
D) a major problem encountered for the first time by an organization

Answer 2

A

Question 3

OD generally uses spontaneous (non-planned)interventions to accomplish its goals.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

OD enhances the effectiveness of the organization.

Question 5

Organization development appears to be currently in a state of flux.

Question 6

The change agent needs a knowledge of OD theories.

Question 7

An HPWS is a high performing work system.

Question 8

The culture of an organization has no impact on organization learning.

Question 9

OD enhances the well-being of the members of the organization.

Question 10

Survey feedback is simply interviewing a lot of people about their jobs.

Question 11

Two types of alternative work schedules are flextime and compressed work week.

Question 12

A high performing work system is based on eight core principles.

Question 13

The model of planned changed (by Porras and Silvers)distinguishes two sets of target variables: vision variables and work setting variables.

Question 14

Research has shown that organizational learning is very effective.

Question 15

To change an organization and its people can be very difficult.According to the Schein 3-stage model,the first step in this process is to restructure them.

Question 16

TQM stands for Total Quality Maintenance.

Question 17

Techno-structural intervention theory focuses on job competencies..

Question 18

Job enlargement moves people into different jobs.

Question 19

An SMT is a self-managed team

Question 20

Strategic interventions may be needed when an organization is faced with internal pressures to change and adapt.

Question 21

What role should senior management take in a TQM program?

A) hands-off - it is the workers' program
B) they need to guide the implementation of the program
C) they need to facilitate the TQM training
D) none

Question 22

In a learning organization:

A) HRD is responsible for all learning that takes place
B) top management decides who gets training
C) everyone works on solving problems and improving task performance
D) most decisions are made only by management

Question 23

The role of the change agent is all of the following except:

A) Fact finder
B) Alternative identifier
C) Production Manager
D) Technical specialist

Question 24

The change manager:

A) oversees the design process
B) determines the need for change
C) needs a broad range of HRD knowledge
D) can never be an internal HRD person

Question 25

An organizations paradigm is:

A) Its generally accepted view or belief based on unexamined assumptions
B) Its corporate rule book
C) Its accounting method
D) None of the above

Question 26

Team building programs:

A) are used to improve a work group's problem-solving ability and effectiveness
B) are up to management alone to implement
C) have always been found to be legal by the U.S. Supreme Court
D) always require a new union contract

Question 27

In OD the action plan specifies:

A) Who will be the manager
B) The intervention strategy
C) The evaluation strategy
D) How to do the needs assessment

Question 28

All of the following are limitations of research supporting OD Theories EXCEPT:

A) lack of true experimental designs
B) lack of resources available to OD practitioners
C) limitations of field research designs
D) OD is a relatively new field, so there hasn't been time to do research

Question 29

Job enrichment involves changing:

A) The jobs title
B) The jobs pay structure
C) One or more of the job's characteristics
D) The scope of responsibility of the job

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a common characteristic of an effective self-managed team?

A) team members are told what to do by their supervisor
B) team members have the skills to perform several tasks
C) the team receives feedback on performance
D) members have discretion over work assignments, schedules and other work
Issues

Question 31

The change agent:

A) oversees the evaluation of the process
B) determines the need for the change
C) needs a broad range of knowledge of OD theories
D) can never be an internal HRD person

Question 32

Which of the following is TRUE about self-managed teams (SMTs)?

A) SMTs requires little organizational change
B) SMTs have authority beyond TQM teams
C) SMTs work only in small organizations
D) SMTs are part of the larger organizational transformation

Question 33

When individuals perceive a replacement of one paradigm with another that contains new variables,this is known as:

A) alpha change
B) beta change
C) gamma (a) change
D) gamma (b) change

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT an example of an alternative work schedule?

A) compressed work week
B) job narrowing
C) flex time
D) flex schedule

Question 35

To change an organization and its people can be very difficult.According to the Schein 3-stage model,the first step in this process is to:

A) unfreeze them - motivate them to look at something new
B) restructure them - give them a mentor for change
C) take them to the woods (threaten punishment) to get their attention
D) have management issue a new operating manual

Question 36

The most prestigious award recognizing quality in an organization is known as:

A) Department of Commerce Award
B) Malcolm Forbes Award
C) Malcolm Baldrige Award
D) Harvard Business School Award

Question 37

Job enrichment programs involve:

A) paying people more money to make them happier
B) giving employees more work to do - they like work
C) varying the tasks to increase job satisfaction
D) having employees produce more profits for the company

Question 38

What are the two primary roles an HRD practitioner can play in the design of OD interventions?

A) Assessor and critic
B) Change agent and evaluator
C) Change agent and implementer
D) Trainer and planner

Question 39

In organizational development,a cooperative agreement between unions and management:

A) takes the place of the labor contract
B) give the unions what they what with nothing given back on the part of the
Unions
C) is not needed - management runs the organization
D) requires trust on both sides - but is essential for organizational change to take
Place in a unionized organization

Question 40

Organizational development is designed to enhance

A) Individual employees only
B) Only the organization
C) Both the individual employee and the organization
D) Neither the individual employee nor the organization

Question 41

A cooperative agreement between Management and a union means that:

A) Both must be willing to make changes in accountability and the ways employees perform their jobs
B) Both must agree on wage issues
C) The union 'accepts' the way management wants work performed
D) Management gives in to the union on important issues

Question 42

Group effectiveness depends on all of the following except:

A) If the group likes each other
B) If group output meets standard
C) If the group members are learning to work independently
D) If the groups efforts are adding to individual growth

Question 43

Organization culture is:

A) A bunch of people from the same country
B) Everyone is related to each other
C) A group of "good old boys"
D) A system with shared values and beliefs

Question 44

Job enlargement:

A) Provides greater variety in the job
B) Provides varying tasks to employees
C) Moves people into different jobs
D) Increases the work load for the worker

Question 45

TQM and SMT interventions:

A) Are basically the same thing
B) Have some significant differences
C) Quality is the only goal of both interventions
D) Training of employees for both interventions is exactly the same

Question 46

A learning organization focuses on:

A) Education
B) Continuous learning by everyone
C) Lots of training programs
D) Having a good corporate library

Question 47

According to Trahant and Burke the strongest predictor of the success of an Organizational Transformation intervention is:

A) Union acceptance
B) Employee commitment at the lowest levels of the organization
C) Committed leadership in the earliest stages of change
D) Supervisor support

Question 48

A quality circles group consists of:

A) A steering committee
B) A facilitator
C) The circle leaders
D) All of these are members of a quality circles group

Question 49

The change manager:

A) Makes forced changes in the organization structure
B) Oversees the design of the intervention strategy
C) Changes the pay structure of the organization
D) Is always an external consultant

Question 50

The first step in designing an intervention strategy is to:

A) Diagnose the environment
B) Develop and action plan
C) Design an evaluation plan
D) Develop a force field analysis

Question 51

A cooperative agreement is a strategy between:

A) The organization and the labor union
B) The organization and the IRS
C) The union and the EEOC
D) The organization and a third party consultant

Question 52

An external change agent's role should be determined by the:

A) President
B) Change manager
C) Union leader
D) HR Manager

Question 53

Single loop learning is:

A) The same as double loop learning
B) Commonplace in continuous improvement programs
C) Not often found in a complex world
D) Only used with a special computer package

Question 54

Working 4 - 10 hours shifts in a week is an example of:

A) Working overtime
B) Flextime
C) Compressed work week
D) Working exempt time

Question 55

An organization may go through a strategic change due to all of the following except:

A) Acquisition
B) Merger
C) A new management team
D) The legal environment