Deck 5: The Process of Organisational Change

Question 1

Establishing a diagnostic relationship requires:

A)getting to know the client one-on-one
B)meeting organisational members regularly
C)clarifying expectations between relevant organisational members and the consultant
D)gathering data with organisational members
E)telling the client who you are, why you are there and what you are doing

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Individual differences among organisation members can affect the success of the intervention.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The main techniques of data collection are:

A)questionnaires
B)interviews
C)observations
D)unobtrusive measures
E)all of the above

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Unobtrusive measures provide a highly subjective view of organisational functioning.

Question 5

Implementation feedback is rarely suitable for detecting deviations from desired intervention behaviours

Question 6

In making observations, the organisation development (OD) practitioner must apply formal, standardised procedures.

Question 7

A key issue in planning an intervention is how to motivate commitment to organisational change.

Question 8

Interview data can be collected and analysed quickly.

Question 9

Which of the following describes the most widely used technique for collecting data in organisation development (OD)?

A)questionnaires
B)individual interviews
C)group interviews
D)individual or group interviews
E)individual and group interviews

Question 10

The extent to which people agree on the appropriateness of the organisational changes is known as a value consensus.

Question 11

Diagnosis is one of many approaches used to inform the design of organisation development (OD) interventions.

Question 12

The process of diagnosing an organisation involves the organisation development (OD) practitioner examining the organisation, finding the cause of the problems and prescribing a solution.

Question 13

If the desired change is to be achieved, as much data as possible should be fed back to management by organisation development (OD) practitioners.

Question 14

Data collection involves gathering information on specific organisational features (such as the inputs, design components and outputs) at different levels of the organisation (such as organisational level and group level).

Question 15

Establishing the diagnostic relationship between the consultant and the relevant organisation members is similar to forming:

A)a mentor/mentee relationship
B)a partnership
C)a contract
D)a friendship
E)a professional bond

Question 16

A good diagnostic relationship helps organisation members to:

A)justify current practices
B)provide valid information
C)start thinking about issues that concern them
D)become more collaborative
E)trust the organisation development (OD) practitioner

Question 17

A system's overall effectiveness is determined by the extent to which the different parts are aligned with each other.This alignment or fit concerns the relationships between:

A)inputs and transformations
B)transformations and outputs
C)the subsystems of the transformation process
D)none of the above
E)all of the above

Question 18

Questionnaires are often used because:

A)they can collect data from many people
B)data can be analysed quickly
C)they are cost effective
D)they are unobtrusive
E)they are easily summarised

Question 19

Major potential problems with questionnaires are that they:

A)lack empathy
B)limit responses
C)miss issues and lack clarification
D)tend to be impersonal
E)all of the above

Question 20

Some methods of collecting data are superior to others.

Question 21

A number of contingencies present in the change situation can affect intervention success.Discuss.

Question 22

Can a change agent change the power dynamics of an organisation? Briefly outline the implications for OD practitioners involved in organisational politics.

Question 23

Structured interviews are normally:

A)less useful than unstructured interviews
B)specific with narrow questions
C)based on a conceptual model of organisation functioning
D)general with broad questions
E)none of these choices

Question 24

The knowledge and skills required to manage change do NOT include the ability to:

A)motivate change
B)lead change
C)avoid changing too quickly
D)develop political support
E)manage the transition

Question 25

The following is NOT an advantage of the observations method:

A)lack of self-report biases
B)collection of real-time data
C)contextual factors can be considered in the given situation
D)relatively objective view of organisational functioning
E)what is being observed can be modified

Question 26

The following issue is NOT a key target of OD interventions:

A)strategy
B)technology and structure
C)human resources
D)interpersonal relationships
E)high thresholds of sensitivity

Question 27

The following does NOT define an effective intervention:

A)the extent to which the intervention fits the needs of the organisation
B)the degree to which the intervention is based on causal knowledge of intended outcomes
C)the extent to which the intervention transfers competence in managing change to organisation members
D)the extent to which the intervention enhances the organisation's capacity to manage change
E)the extent that the internal OD practitioner is committed to comparing methods of OD intervention

Question 28

Archival company data can often be useful in:

A)ensuring the information used is accurate and real
B)avoiding biases in the diagnostic process
C)confirming the organisation development (OD) practitioner's intuition
D)preliminary diagnosis
E)proving the validity of initial judgements by senior managers

Question 29

Compare and contrast the various methods of gathering diagnostic data.

Question 30

The following is NOT a feature of successful feedback processes to establish ownership of the data:

A)the group feels that working on the feedback data will have beneficial outcomes
B)an agenda or outline for feedback meetings
C)appropriate membership of feedback meetings
D)clarification of the power possessed by the group
E)self-directed feedback meetings

Question 31

The major problems with unobtrusive measures include:

A)inaccurate reporting by individuals
B)competitive biases in performance information
C)records may not include data in a form that is usable by the consultant
D)access to data may be restricted by those resisting the intervention
E)a tendency to report more on individual rather than collective performance

Question 32

Sampling becomes an issue when data are collected:

A)from all members, behaviours or records
B)from selected members, behaviours or records
C)but not analysed
D)from representative members, behaviours or records
E)from small samples

Question 33

Why is it so important that feedback data are comparative?

Question 34

Why is it important to manage the political dynamics of change? What approaches can the organisation development (OD) practitioner use to manage the political dynamics of change?

Question 35

The overall average score on a questionnaire item has less meaning when samples are:

A)large and simple
B)small and simple
C)large and complex
D)small and complex
E)drawn from large populations

Question 36

Why is the diagnostic relationship important and how might it be established?

Question 37

Major potential problems of interviews are:

A)self-report biases of respondents
B)self-report biases of interviewers
C)expense
D)coding and interpretation difficulties
E)all of the above

Question 38

The capabilities of the change agent can influence the effectiveness of an organisation development (OD) intervention and, ethically, OD practitioners are compelled to work within their experience and capabilities.But how can an OD practitioner obtain a realistic view of their own capabilities in deciding if there is a mismatch in capabilities versus the requirements of the OD intervention?

Question 39

A stratified sample may be more appropriate with:

A)many diverse subgroups
B)many similar subgroups
C)simple random samples of behaviours
D)simple random samples of archives
E)homogenous subpopulations

Question 40

What are the major problems with using unobtrusive measures for diagnosis?

Question 41

A number of contingencies present in the change situation can affect intervention success.Discuss.