Question 1

Leaders must draw on a range of personal skills as well as organizational mechanisms to move their organizations forward in the face of barriers to change.

Accepted Answer

Leaders must draw on a range of personal skills as well as organizational mechanisms to move their organizations forward in the face of such barriers to change. One of the most important tools a leader has for overcoming barriers to change is their personal and organizational power.

Question 2

The tendency of many individuals to throw good money at bad decisions despite negative performance feedback is referred to as escalation.

Accepted Answer

Many people have vested interests in the status quo. People tend to be risk averse and resistant to change. There is a broad stream of research on escalation, wherein certain individuals continue to throw good money at bad decisions despite negative performance feedback.

Question 3

Systemic barriers to change refer to elements of organization design, structure, and reporting relationships that impede the flow of information.

Accepted Answer

Organizations at all levels are prone to inertia and are slow to learn, adapt, and change because there are systemic barriers. The design of organization structure, information processing, reporting relationships, and so forth impede the proper flow and evaluation of information.

Question 4

Political barriers to change can be overcome by promoting collaboration throughout the organization, as seen in the case study on Natura Cosmeticos of Brazil, in which CEO Carlucci implemented a comprehensive engagement process across the organization.

Accepted Answer

Natura Cosmeticos of Brazil provides another example of overcoming barriers to change by addressing political barriers. Alessandro Carlucci, CEO of the large manufacturer and marketer of beauty products, has implemented a comprehensive engagement process that promotes a collaborative mindset at all levels of the organization.

Question 5

Leadership is the process of transforming organizations from what they are to what the leader would have them become. This implies that there will be a lot of satisfaction with the status quo.

Accepted Answer

Leadership is the process of transforming organizations from what they are to what the leader would have them become. This definition implies a lot: dissatisfaction with the status quo, a vision of what should be, and a process for bringing about change.

Question 6

Designing the organization is the leadership activity that involves building structures, teams, systems, and processes that facilitate the implementation of leader vision.

Accepted Answer

When designing the organization, successful leaders are actively involved in building structures, teams, systems, and organizational processes that facilitate the implementation of their vision and strategies.

Question 7

Three key interdependent strategic leadership activities are: designing the organization, determining its direction, and nurturing a culture dedicated to excellence and ethical behavior.

Accepted Answer

Many authors contend that successful leaders must recognize three interdependent activities that must be continually reassessed for organizations to succeed. These are: (1) setting a direction, (2) designing the organization, and (3) nurturing a culture dedicated to excellence and ethical behavior.

Question 8

Leaders are not expected to accept personal responsibility for ethical behavior in an organization, because ethics is a matter of individual choice.

Accepted Answer

Managers and top executives must accept personal responsibility for developing and strengthening ethical behavior throughout the organization. They must consistently demonstrate that such behavior is central to the vision and mission of the organization.

Question 9

Coercive power is the power exercised by use of fear of punishment for errors of either omission or commission by employees.

Accepted Answer

Coercive power is the power a manager exercises over employees using fear of punishment for errors of omission or commission.

Question 10

According to the Gresham law of planning, operational decisions do not drive out the time necessary for strategic thinking and reflection.

Accepted Answer

According to the Gresham law of planning, operational decisions do drive out the time necessary for strategic thinking and reflection. This tendency is accentuated in organizations experiencing severe price competition or retrenchment, wherein managers and employees are spread rather thin.

Question 11

Leaders may find it difficult to implement their vision and strategies because they have inadequate or inappropriate budgeting and control systems.

Accepted Answer

At times, almost all leaders have difficulty implementing their vision and strategies. Such problems may stem from a variety of sources including inadequate or inappropriate budgeting and control systems.

Question 12

Referent power refers to manager identification with his or her employees.

Accepted Answer

The source of referent power is subordinate identification with the leader. Leader personal attributes or charisma might influence subordinates and make them devoted to that leader.

Question 13

A strategic vision provides a clear future direction for the firm, a framework for its mission and goals, and enhanced employee communication, participation, and commitment.

Accepted Answer

This necessitates the capacity to solve increasingly complex problems, become proactive in approach, and develop viable strategic options. A strategic vision provides many benefits: a clear future direction; a framework for the organization's mission and goals; and enhanced employee communication, participation, and commitment.

Question 14

Leaders play an important role in sustaining organization culture, but they are powerless to change it.

Accepted Answer

Leaders play a key role in changing, developing, and sustaining organization culture.

Question 15

Hypercompetition suggests that sustainable competitive advantages are no longer possible because all of the dimensions of competition are compressed in time and heightened in complexity.

Accepted Answer

Richard D'Aveni, author of Hypercompetition, argued that in a world where all dimensions of competition appear to be compressed in time and heightened in complexity, sustainable competitive advantages are no longer possible.

Question 16

Setting a direction is the leadership activity that involves developing a strategic vision of what the organization could become.

Accepted Answer

A holistic understanding of the organization stakeholders requires an ability to scan the environment to develop knowledge of all of the company stakeholders and other salient environmental trends and events. Managers must integrate this knowledge into a vision of what the organization could become.

Question 17

Behavioral barriers to change occur because of conflicts between departments, conflicts arising from power relationships, and refusal to share information.

Accepted Answer

Behavioral barriers cause managers to look at issues from a biased or limited perspective due to their education, training, work experiences, and so forth. Political barriers refer to conflicts arising from power relationships.

Question 18

The two broad bases of leader power are organizational and hierarchical.

Accepted Answer

A leader derives his or her power from several sources or bases. The simplest way to understand the bases of power is by classifying them as organizational and personal.

Question 19

When Peter Loscher took over as CEO at Siemens in 2007, he lacked internal connections. He used formal bases of power to bring about organizational change and increase a customer orientation.

Accepted Answer

As an outsider, Mr. Loscher found it challenging to establish himself as a strong leader inside the bureaucratic Siemens organization. Naturally, in the early stage of his tenure, he lacked internal connections and the bases of power associated with inside knowledge of people and processes. Absent a more formal power base, he turned to more informal means to accomplish his mandate of organizational change and increasing customer orientation.

Question 20

In order for a firm to become highly ethical, it needs corporate credos and codes of conduct.

Accepted Answer

Several elements must be present and reinforced for a firm to become highly ethical, including role models, corporate credos and codes of conduct, reward and evaluation systems, and policies and procedures.

Quiz 11: Strategic Leadership: Creating a Learning Organization and an Ethical Organization