Deck 10: Managing Innovation and Change

Question 1

According to Lewin, the state of inertia is when the forces for change and the resistances to change are in perfect opposition to each other.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Globe Metallurgical Inc. increases its flexibility and decreases its costs primarily by using CIM.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

An organization's strategy can be an obstacle to change.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a competitive force for change.

Question 5

Evolutionary change has a much narrower focus than revolutionary change.

Question 6

In the coal mining industry, production was dramatically improved by replacing the old "hand got method" with a new system called the "long wall method."

Question 7

Anheuser-Busch's inefficiencies didn't really show until a takeover attempt by InBev.

Question 8

Organizational strategy is a force for change.

Question 9

Nike and Reebok changed their outsourcing practices due to public outcry regarding the use of sweatshops and child labor.

Question 10

Change in organizations is generally targeted at the functional level.

Question 11

Anheuser-Busch has been very proactive in changing its practices to meet the needs of the environment.

Question 12

Organic structures tend to resist change more than mechanistic structures.

Question 13

One criticism of Lewin's Force-Field model is that since it was developed over 50 years ago, it cannot be used to explain the complex changes that today's organizations face.

Question 14

According to Lewin, in order for change to occur, managers must find a way to increase the forces for change or reduce the resistances to change.

Question 15

E-engineering refers to companies' attempts to use all kinds of information systems to improve their performance.

Question 16

Restructuring focuses on business processes.

Question 17

Flexible work teams can increase efficiency only when they use reengineering.

Question 18

Mechanistic structures are likely to decrease organizational inertia.

Question 19

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a global force for change.

Question 20

Total quality management (TQM) is a radical innovation.

Question 21

One technique used to deal with resistance to change is to educate and communicate with employees.

Question 22

Starwood's, the large global hotel chain, uses six-sigma principles in order to improve performance.

Question 23

Organizational mirroring is a technique designed to make each department appreciate the other's perspective.

Question 24

Change efforts in human resources include all except:

A) changing norms and values.
B) centralizing authority.
C) reviewing the reward system.
D) training and development.

Question 25

Effective change requires a top-down change strategy.

Question 26

Intergroup training is similar to teambuilding except that intergroup training goes a step further and looks at ways to improve the ways different functions or divisions work together.

Question 27

To capitalize on technology, organizations change ________.

A) employees
B) structure
C) managers
D) stakeholders

Question 28

The text states that organizational change generally involves a restructuring of which of the following?

A) Human resources, functional resources, technological capabilities, and organizational capabilities
B) Strategy, structure, culture, and the environment
C) Individual abilities, group abilities, functional resources, and divisional resources
D) Human resources, functional resources, organizational resources, and the environment

Question 29

Which of the following is not considered a target of organizational change?

A) Functional Resources
B) Technological capabilities
C) Competitive environment
D) Organizational capabilities

Question 30

Bottom-up change has the benefit of making employees feel comfortable about the change.

Question 31

Socializing employees into a new organizational culture is a change in ________.

A) human resources
B) technological capabilities
C) functional resources
D) organizational capabilities

Question 32

The problem with top-down change is that it does not change bottom-level employees.

Question 33

Action research should be institutionalized throughout the organization in order to be effective.

Question 34

Examples of organizational change do not include:

A) improving returns to stakeholders.
B) using resources in a new way.
C) expanding operations.
D) maintaining current production levels.

Question 35

The European Union is a ________ force for change.

A) demographic
B) social
C) competitive
D) political

Question 36

An advantage in efficiency, quality, or innovation is a ________ force for change.

A) political
B) social
C) competitive
D) global

Question 37

Sensitivity training is an intense type of counseling.

Question 38

An organizational confrontation meeting is a last resort effort to get the issues on the table and allow managers to vent their frustrations.

Question 39

Process consultation is a technique in which a facilitator works closely with a manager on the job to help improve his or her interactions with the group.

Question 40

When all other methods fail, managers should bargain with employees to facilitate change.

Question 41

Revolutionary change is characterized by all of the following except:

A) a high level of uncertainty.
B) a top-down change strategy.
C) radical changes.
D) discussions about the need for change by employees at all levels in an organization.

Question 42

A flexible work team is designed to:

A) be ready for revolutionary change.
B) standardize the work process.
C) develop norms and values for efficiency.
D) give a team the responsibility for completing the entire task.

Question 43

In Lewin's force-field theory, what occurs when the forces for change are greater than the resistance to change?

A) Top management must use coercion in order to stabilize the organization.
B) Inertia will prevent the organization from leaving.
C) Change will occur.
D) The organization will experience a strategic shift.

Question 44

Which theory explains the need to match technology with culture?

A) TQM
B) Technical complexity
C) Task interdependencies
D) Socio-technical systems

Question 45

Global challenges facing organizations include all except:

A) centralizing authority to maintain control.
B) rise of low-cost foreign competitors.
C) adapting to different national cultures.
D) changing structure for foreign expansion.

Question 46

The overall goal of total quality management (TQM) is/are ________.

A) economies of scale
B) pooled interdependence
C) continuous improvement
D) radical innovation

Question 47

According to Lewin's force field theory, change will occur when:

A) pressures for change are increased.
B) subunit orientations are increased.
C) resistance to change is increased.
D) ethical forces are promoted.

Question 48

According to Lewin's theory, when the forces are in balance, an organization:

A) changes.
B) remains in a state of inertia.
C) centralizes authority.
D) changes managers.

Question 49

Globe Metallurgical used self-managed teams. The results were all of the following except:

A) no layoffs.
B) new suggestions for productivity.
C) experimentation.
D) increased efficiency.

Question 50

A ________ is a group of workers who assume responsibility for performing all the operations necessary for completing a specified stage in the manufacturing process.

A) control group
B) quality circle
C) flexible work team
D) top management team

Question 51

New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), a joint venture between GM and Toyota:

A) relies primarily on robots.
B) assigns managers responsibility for designing more efficient ways to perform tasks.
C) has high absenteeism.
D) uses flexible work teams.

Question 52

The coal mining industry replaced the small batch system with a more efficient mass technology system ("long wall method." Why was it not successful?

A) The new system disrupted the established working relationships and informal norms of the group.
B) Top management was never committed to the new process.
C) The TQM principles in use at the time just didn't work in this intensive industry
D) The change was too revolutionary in that the technology was not tested prior to implementation.

Question 53

An evolutionary approach to change is characterized by all of the following except:

A) benefits of making changes outweigh the costs of change.
B) a bottom-up change strategy.
C) a top-down change strategy.
D) incremental change to organizational strategy and organizational structure.

Question 54

What type of technology and interdependence in the British Coal mining industry promoted group cohesiveness?

A) Small batch and reciprocal interdependence
B) Small batch and pooled interdependence
C) Engineering and reciprocal interdependence
D) Mass production and pooled interdependence

Question 55

Group members unite to preserve the status quo. This resistance to change results from ________.

A) power and conflict
B) group cohesiveness
C) cognitive biases
D) group norms

Question 56

Which of the following is not an approach to implementing revolutionary change?

A) Total Quality Management (TQM)
B) Innovation
C) Reengineering
D) Restructuring

Question 57

The principles of total quality management are based upon ________.

A) environmental theory
B) organizational behavior
C) the rites of passage
D) continuous improvement

Question 58

The main reason companies have seen their fortunes decline is:

A) inability to change.
B) reduced efficiency.
C) demographic forces.
D) human rights violations.

Question 59

When changing task and role relationships, managers must:

A) adjust the technical and social systems.
B) centralize decision making.
C) change the cohesiveness of a subunit.
D) change the culture.

Question 60

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a flexible work team?

A) The team discusses ideas for improving productivity.
B) Existing team members train new team members.
C) Managers assign team members to tasks.
D) The team eliminates the need for a separate quality control function.

Question 61

TQM is highly interrelated to ________.

A) restructuring
B) innovation
C) quantum technological change
D) reengineering

Question 62

Which of the following defines managers meeting to discuss whether or not the organization is effectively achieving its goals?

A) Team building
B) Organizational confrontation meeting
C) Organizational mirroring
D) Process consultation

Question 63

A store has received complaints from customers that the time between requesting and receiving a refund is too long. What can the store do to better serve customers?

Question 64

An organization that implements TQM:

A) needs to empower employees.
B) uses fixed workers.
C) has terminal values of frugality and economy.
D) relies on standardization as the primary means of control.

Question 65

IBM created a new division and grouped engineers from 13 divisions. This change is called ________.

A) restructuring
B) TQM
C) innovation
D) evolutionary

Question 66

Bob's subordinates think he is too demanding and too directive. Bob does not understand why they feel this way, and has hired a consultant to follow him around, attend meetings, and act as a sounding board. This is called ________.

A) a quality circle
B) process consultation
C) sensitivity training
D) team-building

Question 67

A finance manager observes that return-on-investment (ROI) is only 10 percent compared to the industry average of 20 percent. The manager informs top managers about his or her observation. This organization is in which stage of the Action Research process?

A) Diagnosing the organization
B) Eliminating obstacles to change
C) Identifying obstacles to change
D) Selecting a strategy for change

Question 68

Workers may be uncooperative and resist change because of ________.

A) uncertainty and insecurity
B) escalation of commitment
C) selective retention
D) global forces

Question 69

Which of the following OD techniques involves a facilitator or manager working closely with a manager on the job?

A) Sensitivity training
B) Team building
C) Process consultation
D) Mentoring

Question 70

________ defines a strategy for generating and acquiring knowledge that managers can use to define an organization's future state.

A) Action research
B) Revolutionary change
C) Benchmarking
D) Organizational Development

Question 71

Why did Hallmark undergo reengineering and TQM?

A) It was taking too long to go from design to production.
B) Customers saw a noticeable drop in product quality.
C) Artists were getting frustrated with the mechanistic structure.
D) Product quality was deteriorating.

Question 72

A consultant determines that the main issue is that there are teams that have little appreciation for the goals and objectives of a department that they have to work with. The consultant would most likely recommend ________.

A) action research to determine the root cause
B) organizational mirroring
C) an organizational confrontation meeting
D) process consultation

Question 73

The primary difference between process consultation and team building is:

A) teambuilding uses outside consultants as opposed to internal change agents.
B) process consultation looks at systems and processes, as opposed to workgroups.
C) teambuilding focuses on relationships between the entire team as opposed to a single member.
D) process consultation is not designed to improve relationships.

Question 74

Which of the following approaches to change entails the most risk?

A) Reengineering
B) Innovation
C) Restructuring
D) TQM

Question 75

"E-engineering" is ________.

A) reengineering by service organizations
B) used extensively in engineering firms
C) a process by which managers change task and authority relationships
D) where organizations attempt to use all kinds of information systems to improve performance

Question 76

Which of the following is not one of the OD techniques to promote change?

A) Process consultation
B) Flexible work teams
C) Coercion
D) Sensitivity training

Question 77

The principles of total quality management do not include:

A) instituting a program of education and self-improvement.
B) constantly improving production techniques.
C) increasing work standards and rules on the factory floor.
D) breaking down barriers between departments.

Question 78

Restructuring often occurs because of:

A) evolutionary change.
B) incremental change.
C) improved performance.
D) deteriorating performance.

Question 79

________ is the process of developing new goods and services.

A) Functional reorganization
B) Reengineering
C) Restructuring
D) Innovation

Question 80

Reengineering entails:

A) reducing differentiation and integration.
B) ignoring the current setup of tasks, roles, and work activities.
C) developing new goods and services or new production and operating systems.
D) increasing R&D funding.