Question 1

____________ is an approach to structural redesign that is known to be used as a response to poor organizational performance, is seldom effective in the long run, and presents a painful experience to those who endure the process.

Accepted Answer

Downsizing is often used as a response to poor organizational performance, aiming to reduce costs by cutting the workforce. However, it is generally not effective in the long run and can be a painful experience for employees who are laid off or who remain but face increased workloads and job insecurity.

Question 2

Jacob Schneider has been involved in reengineering his organization. He is redesigning the organization's processes to ensure __________.

Accepted Answer

Reengineering aims to fundamentally rethink and redesign business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical measures of performance such as cost, quality, service, and speed. Therefore, all of the options listed (lower costs, better quality, increased speed) may result from reengineering efforts.

Question 3

When organizations want to improve their efficiency and the quality of their products and services, they often examine their __________.

Accepted Answer

Improving efficiency and quality often involves examining and optimizing internal production processes to identify and address inefficiencies or quality issues.

Question 4

By __________ its insurance claims processes, National Grange Mutual & Insurance Company was able to reduce its response time by 55 percent.

Accepted Answer

Reengineering processes often leads to significant improvements in efficiency and speed, which in this context, explains how National Grange Mutual & Insurance Company was able to reduce its response time by 55 percent.

Question 5

Job __________ involves changing the tasks performed by employees in order to produce the maximum output for the minimum input.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Job __________ involves changing the tasks performed...

Question 6

The oldest task approach to change is job __________.

Accepted Answer

The oldest task approach to change is job simplification, which involves breaking down jobs into simpler components and tasks, often to improve efficiency and productivity. This approach contrasts with job enrichment or empowerment, which aim to make jobs more fulfilling and give employees more control. Job deployment is not a commonly used term in this context.

Question 7

Fast-food restaurants most likely use __________. They use this design because their employees can learn tasks rapidly, they have short work cycles, and low-skilled and low-paid employees can be trained easily.

Accepted Answer

Fast-food restaurants use job simplification to streamline operations. This approach involves breaking down jobs into simple, repetitive tasks that can be easily learned and performed, even by employees with minimal skills or experience. This method is effective in fast-food settings because it allows for quick training, efficient service, and the ability to easily replace employees without significant disruption to operations.

Question 8

At FAO Schwarz, specific jobs were changed with the intent of broadening and adding to the challenge of the tasks required. Productivity improved due to the company's __________ approach to change.

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment involves modifying a job to make it more rewarding, challenging, and interesting, which aligns with the description of broadening and adding challenge to tasks to improve productivity.

Question 9

Carol Maida has been attempting to increase productivity through job enrichment. Job enrichment encompasses all of the following unique aspects except:

Accepted Answer

All the options listed are indeed aspects of job enrichment. Job enrichment aims to modify jobs so that employees are more involved and satisfied, which can lead to attitudes that support new behaviors and help humanize an organization.

Question 10

All of the following are true regarding job enrichment except:

Accepted Answer

Job enrichment is designed to enhance job satisfaction and performance; it does not promote social loafing. Social loafing refers to the phenomenon where individuals exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone. Job enrichment, on the other hand, aims to make work more rewarding and engaging, thereby encouraging individual effort and reducing the likelihood of social loafing.

Question 11

Christina Holtgrove is studying various approaches to organizational change. She should use a(n) __________ approach if she needs a long-range strategy for developing her workforce and improving their effectiveness.

Accepted Answer

Organization development is a long-range strategy focused on improving workforce effectiveness and organizational health through planned interventions and training.

Question 12

__________ is a planned, long-range behavioral science strategy for understanding, changing, and developing an organization's work force in order to improve its effectiveness.

Accepted Answer

Organization development is a comprehensive, long-term strategy aimed at improving an organization's effectiveness and health through interventions in its processes, using the knowledge of behavioral science. It focuses on the organization as a whole to achieve change and development.

Question 13

Organization development (OD) includes three commonly used methods for achieving organizational change. All of the following are included except __________.

Accepted Answer

Information systems, while crucial for organizational functioning and can be part of broader change initiatives, are not typically classified as a method of organization development (OD) in the same way that focus groups, team building, and survey feedback are. OD methods are primarily focused on improving organizational effectiveness and employee well-being through participative and people-focused interventions.

Question 14

__________ is an organization development (OD) method that allows managers and employees to report their thoughts and feelings about the organization and to learn about how others think and feel about their own behaviors.

Accepted Answer

Survey feedback is an OD method designed to help managers and employees communicate their perceptions about the organization and their behaviors within it, by collecting and sharing feedback through surveys. This process facilitates open dialogue and understanding among team members and across different levels of the organization.

Question 15

Survey feedback is obtained by means of a __________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Survey feedback is obtained by means of...

Question 16

When companies such as Intel, GE, and IBM conduct employee surveys, the company's employees respond ______________.

Accepted Answer

Employee surveys by large companies like Intel, GE, and IBM are commonly conducted over the Web for efficiency, accessibility, and ease of data analysis.

Question 17

Joseph Scabow is a human resources manager for the credit card division of Citibank. He has decided to initiate some team building activities which might include all of the following except __________.

Accepted Answer

Competitive games might not be encouraged in team building activities as they can foster competition rather than collaboration among team members. Team building aims to strengthen relationships and improve teamwork, whereas competitive games could potentially create divisions or conflicts within the team.

Question 18

The installation of ERP software at Fairchild Semiconductor was a radical change that created all of the following results except:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The installation of ERP software at Fairchild...

Question 19

Fairchild Semiconductor implemented an ERP application from Peoplesoft. A key step was to educate users on how their own work was related to the overall process so that the workers might __________.

Accepted Answer

Educating users on how their work relates to the overall process helps in ensuring they understand the importance and benefits of the new system, leading to a higher commitment to fully using the new ERP application. This approach is aimed at maximizing the utilization and effectiveness of the new system rather than saving training time, justifying the purchase decision, or influencing decisions about pay raises.

Question 20

Fairchild Semiconductor worked with ____________ as a strategic partner for managing their change effort.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Fairchild Semiconductor worked with ____________ as a...

Quiz 12: Guiding Organizational Change and Innovation