Deck 12: Future Directions: Change in a Global Setting

Question 1

The scholarly perspective focuses on how organisation development (OD) is defined, its values and how it is practised.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The traditional approach to organisation development (OD):

A)focuses on interventions that have been successful in the past
B)champions professional certification of practitioners
C)views the major objective of OD to promulgate long-established values
D)ensures that organisational processes remain commercial-in-confidence
E)all of the above

Answer 2

E

Question 3

The emergence of a global economy promises the rationalisation of the process in the near future.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The National Training Laboratories (NTL) argues that organisation development (OD) should be driven by long-established values of human potential, equality, trust and collaboration.

Question 5

The three trends occurring within organisation development (OD) are:

A)domestic, international and multinational
B)internal, external and transnational
C)traditional, pragmatic and scholarly
D)general, task and enacted
E)pragmatic, professional and traditional

Question 6

The context within which organisation development (OD) is applied is changing less than the evolution of the field of OD itself.

Question 7

Two types of e-commerce that will be increasingly important for organisation development's (OD's) future include:

A)video gaming and mobile phone apps
B)social networking and cloud technologies
C)EFTPOS and Internet sales
D)business-to-consumer and business-to-business
E)internet advertising and e-tailing

Question 8

As a result of the increasingly networked and knowledge-based nature of organisations:

A)most organisations now have dynamic strategies for networking and knowledge management
B)a large proportion of organisations are not aware of these practices and still others resist applying them
C)the learning organisation is becoming the dominant conceptual framework for organisation development (OD) practice
D)strategic alliances are managed successfully by most organisations
E)the majority of organisations are adopting self-managed work teams

Question 9

Government organisations are being pushed to become more efficient, flexible and networked by economic, workforce, technological and organisational trends.

Question 10

Globalisation enables companies to:

A)shift their manufacturing operations from high- to low-labour-cost countries
B)gain resources
C)expand technology
D)practice multiculturalism
E)change value systems

Question 11

The potential quality of decisions and actions can be greatly enhanced by the amount of information that can be stored and accessed.

Question 12

Much of the recent writings in organisation development (OD) have focused on the evaluations of practice or research on the processes of change.

Question 13

Organisation development (OD) practitioners and organisational members will become joint learners in the future because of:

A)a process of innovation achieved through collaborative learning
B)fast-paced and networked technologies that enhance communication
C)networks that hold the promise of realising the economic opportunities presented by globalisation
D)self-managed work teams require OD practitioners to avoid the role of 'expert'
E)the decreasing importance of economies of scale in industries such as manufacturing

Question 14

The traditional and pragmatic trends in organisation development (OD):

A)have more in common with each other than with the scholarly trend
B)hold similar views about how the field should evolve
C)view each other as too 'touchy-feely'
D)hold different and often conflicting views on how the field should evolve
E)are earlier trends which have now evolved into the scholarly trend

Question 15

E-commerce businesses require organisation development (OD) to help create and implement novel business models.

Question 16

There is considerable common ground within organisation development (OD) and the emergence of a more integrated view of the field seems likely in the long term.

Question 17

A more educated workforce is likely to demand higher wages, more involvement in the decision-making process and continued investment in knowledge and skills.

Question 18

Organisation development's (OD's) long term future is likely to be:

A)a blend of practitioner values in use, professional practice and change theory
B)more focused on scholarly research
C)less focused on traditional OD values
D)less affected by globalisation than other professions
E)focused predominantly on information technology solutions

Question 19

Pragmatists argue that organisation development (OD), as a profession, should not require a common body of knowledge as the variety of situations faced is too diverse.

Question 20

Despite considerable investment in computers and technology in the 1980s and 1990s, it took a relatively long time for organisations to learn how to apply these new technologies in increasing productivity.

Question 21

How have downsizing, reengineering, and mergers and acquisitions affected the workforce?

Question 22

The pragmatic trend within organisation development emphasises:

A)humanistic values
B)certification of professional OD practitioners
C)that anyone can be an OD practitioner
D)e-commerce represents the future of organisations
E)that an increasingly educated workforce reduces the need for OD

Question 23

The powerful influence of shared values and supportive practices may result in organisation development (OD) in the future supporting a policy of:

A)responsible progress
B)a universal code of professional conduct for OD practitioners
C)reducing the practice of putting scarce resources to their most efficient use
D)increasing collaboration and reducing competition
E)managing cultural diversity in multinational corporations

Question 24

What are the challenges facing national governments in the current global context and what are the implications for the practice of OD?

Question 25

Working across cultures or with multiple cultures is not:

A)about reducing growth
B)the same as preserving or leveraging cultural diversity
C)impacted by psychological conditions
D)impacted by changes to regulations in the host country
E)focused on competitive pressures

Question 26

How might globalisation of the economy impact organisation development (OD) efforts across the world?

Question 27

In the field of OD, institutional sponsors are supporting:

A)formal projects to clarify organisation development's (OD's) values
B)traditional values
C)the 'soft' approach to change
D)the 'change management' approach to change
E)The 'hard' approach to change

Question 28

How can organisation development (OD) support ecological sustainability in the future?

Question 29

Important contextual forces that will indirectly affect organisation development (OD) through their interaction with other trends include:

A)the increasing concentration of wealth
B)mobile communication technologies
C)networked organisations
D)e-commerce
E)an increasingly educated workforce

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a reason for developing an integrated view of the current trends in organisation development (OD)?

A)Driving sustainable bottom lines
B)Assuring that OD has moral purpose
C)Ensuring OD practice remains relevant to business
D)Developing a healthy balance of the art and science of OD practice
E)Ensuring scholars of change accept the more useful hands-on approaches of traditionalists and pragmatists

Question 31

How might technological changes change organisation development (OD) processes?

Question 32

In the short term, the future of organisation development (OD) practice is likely to face:

A)challenges from other professional fields such as accountants and lawyers
B)more disagreement over professionalisation
C)more disagreement from traditionalists
D)a move towards more formalised and accurate approaches based purely on action research
E)little change until greater professionalisation occurs

Question 33

What potential opportunities for organisations exist in the current global environment?

Question 34

The public sector is increasingly applying organisation development (OD) interventions because:

A)older organisational structures are proving increasingly irrelevant
B)network technologies have changed the nature of government
C)public-private partnerships have proven ineffective
D)economic, workforce, technological and organisation trends are also pushing government organisations to become more efficient, flexible and networked
E)all of the above

Question 35

The traditional trend in OD includes:

A)a strong focus on process interventions
B)making work more machine-like and therefore efficient
C)a focus on effectiveness rather than values
D)the 'change management' approach to change
E)individual effort rather than collaboration

Question 36

It is not realistic to expect new product development and other forms of innovation to be:

A)instantaneous
B)impacted by physical limits
C)impacted by psychological limits
D)impacted by reductions in the innovation and change cycle
E)a result of collaboration

Question 37

How can an OD practitioner assist organisations with the risk-laden task of predicting the future?

Question 38

In the near future, organisation development (OD) will focus more on:

A)environmental sustainability
B)competitive advantage
C)innovation purely for economic success
D)cultural homogenisation
E)technology purely for economic success

Question 39

How might current trends within OD influence the future of the profession?

Question 40

In the short run, a constraint on economic success will be:

A)access to highly-skilled workers
B)environmental sustainability
C)the slowing down of the global economy
D)the slowing down of the change cycle
E)change fatigue

Question 41

Compare and contrast the traditional, pragmatic, and scholarly trends within organisation development (OD).How will these contribute to the future of OD practice?