Deck 3: Why Change Contemporary Pressures and Drivers

Question 1

_____ pressures include government mandates such as new laws and policies.

A) Formal coercive
B) Informal coercive
C) Hypercompetitive
D) Demographic

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Hypercompetition forces companies to:

A) deliver goods and services more quickly and more flexibly.
B) take on activities similar to other organizations due to government mandate.
C) rectify the poor or negative images of an organization.
D) commit to organizational changes such as employee empowerment.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When change is forced on organizations through formally mandated legislation and regulation, it is known as _____.

A) mimetic isomorphism
B) dichotic isomorphism
C) coercive isomorphism
D) flexible isomorphism

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to the _____ perspective of organizational change, firm survival depends on satisfying shareholders.

A) economic
B) organizational learning
C) political
D) control

Question 5

_____ arise when interdependent organizations persuade each other to behave in particular ways, and to collude with each other in certain actions.

A) Formal coercive pressures
B) Informal coercive pressures
C) Geopolitical pressures
D) Demographic pressures

Question 6

The changes that organizations made after the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11, 2001 and the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) were a response to _____.

A) fashion
B) hypercompetition
C) demographics
D) geopolitics

Question 7

Which of the following is a force for stability?

A) Institutionalism
B) Control
C) Competitive advantage
D) Adaptability

Question 8

Which of the following does NOT exemplify geopolitical pressures that impact organizations?

A) The terrorist attacks on New York on September 11, 2001
B) The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
C) The political instability in Egypt since 2011
D) The latest management fad, such as big data and data analytics

Question 9

ChevronTexaco and Coca-Cola were under court orders to improve their record on diversity management. This is an example of change as a response to _____.

A) fashion
B) external mandate
C) geopolitics
D) hypercompetition

Question 10

According to Boyd et al., _____ occurs when managers threaten the survival of their firms by failing to act because they perceive the environment as stable when it is (objectively) turbulent.

A) A type 1 error
B) A type 2 error
C) A type 3 error
D) A type 4 error

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of change as a response to geopolitics?

A) Change as a response to the latest management fad
B) Change as a response to the preferences of Generation C
C) Change as a response to formally mandated legislation and regulation
D) Change as a response to global warming

Question 12

According to the _____ perspective of organizational change, organizations and human systems are complex and evolving and cannot be reduced to a single objective of maximizing shareholder value.

A) economic
B) organizational learning
C) political
D) control

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT one of the global environmental forces for change that was identified by John Kotter?

A) New technologies
B) The expansion of international trade
C) Maturing markets
D) The end of the World War I

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a force for change?

A) Competitive advantage
B) Cost containment
C) Impatient capital markets
D) Transaction costs

Question 15

When managers respond to the latest management fad in an attempt to be seen as professional and progressive, the organizational change is a response to _____.

A) fashion
B) demography
C) geopolitics
D) hypercompetition

Question 16

According to Boyd et al., a(n) _____ occurs when the environment is (objectively) stable, but managers perceive it as turbulent and take (unnecessary) actions.

A) type 1 error
B) type 2 error
C) institutional error
D) transactional error

Question 17

Which of the following is a force for change?

A) Institutionalism
B) Transaction costs
C) Adaptability
D) Sustained advantage

Question 18

During the 1990s, problems cited against Walt Disney Company's board of directors included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) excessive ownership of the company's stock.
B) close ties between the chief executive and directors.
C) lack of management experience.
D) minimal oversight of the company.

Question 19

The view that "the outside world" is a construction based on individual perceptions is referred to as the _____.

A) "enacted environment" perspective
B) behaviorist perspective
C) objective reality perspective
D) rehabilitative perspective

Question 20

_____ occurs when organizations imitate the structures and practices of others, but not necessarily in the same sector, and usually those that they consider to be legitimate and successful.

A) Mimetic isomorphism
B) Coercive isomorphism
C) Simulated change
D) Chronic adhesion

Question 21

During the 1990s, which of the following was cited by BusinessWeek as having one of the worst corporate boards in the United States?

A) Home Depot Inc.
B) Walt Disney Co.
C) Campbell Soup Co.
D) General Electric Co.

Question 22

_____ strategies are designed to maintain organizational effectiveness by adapting to external changes.

A) Buffering
B) Bridging
C) Shielding
D) Shaping

Question 23

The tussle between Philip Purcell and John Mack for the chief executive's position at Morgan Stanley after the company was bought by Dean Witter and Discover Financial Services Inc. in 1997 is an example of _____.

A) geopolitical pressures
B) economic pressures
C) power and political pressures
D) reputational pressures

Question 24

The U.S. Mint faced a dilemma about whether it should produce coins as a passive organization following the dictates of the Federal Reserve and Congress or act like a market-based organization. This is an example of a(n):

A) growth crisis.
B) political crisis.
C) identity crisis.
D) management crisis.

Question 25

"Trapped by success" is another reason why organizations can fail to respond to pressures for change.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT a force for stability?

A) Predictability and uncertainty reduction
B) Organizational social capital
C) Sustained advantage
D) Competitive advantage

Question 27

Organizational change can occur as a simple response to the latest management fad or fashion.

Question 28

A Type 1 error occurs when managers threaten the survival of their firms by failing to act because they perceive their environment as stable when it is turbulent.

Question 29

_____ strategies are designed to maintain organizational efficiency by avoiding change, by shielding an organization from external pressures.

A) Buffering
B) Bridging
C) Binding
D) Adapting

Question 30

Inside out perspective means assessing how climate change will affect how the organization operates.

Question 31

According to Brian Toft and Simon Reynolds, which of the following statements is True of passive learning?

A) It refers to implementing changes.
B) It refers to identifying lessons.
C) It is overlooked in many organizations.
D) It is viewed as difficult to achieve in many organizations.

Question 32

After being accused of having one of the worst corporate boards in the United States during the 1990s, the Walt Disney Company remains reluctant to incorporate any form of change into the board structure or practices.

Question 33

Generally, all managers respond to external pressures for change in the same way.

Question 34

Reputational pressures always develop slowly over time.

Question 35

According to David Buchanan, post-incident change contexts _____.

A) have defensive agendas
B) have progressive agendas
C) are exciting for change agents
D) are aimed at taking risks

Question 36

Formal coercive pressure occurs when organizations are forced to change to meet new requirements relating to, for example, pollution, taxation, or affirmative action.

Question 37

Internal organizational change drivers include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) growth.
B) integration and collaboration.
C) corporate identity.
D) social identity.

Question 38

Which of the following is most likely an advantage that new chief executive officers (CEOs) have over their predecessors?

A) They create energy for change within an organization.
B) They strictly adhere to past organizational practices.
C) They tackle customer problems with credibility because of their associations with previous problems.
D) They focus on an organization's "dogs" rather than its unresolved "cash cows."

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT an advantage that new chief executive officers (CEOs) have over their predecessors?

A) They can create energy for change within an organization.
B) They can focus on an organization's unresolved "sacred cows."
C) They adhere to past organizational practices.
D) They handle customer-related problems with credibility as they have no association with previous customer relationship issues.

Question 40

John Kotter argued that four sets of forces were translating global trends and developments into organizational adaptations and changes: new technologies, the expansion of international trade, maturing markets, and the end of the "cold war."

Question 41

Adaptability, impatient capital markets, and competitive advantage are all forces for organizational change.

Question 42

According to Amy Edmondson, for effective post-incident change, those who report failures-the "messengers"-should be penalized, rather than praised.