Chapter 15 Flashcards
Successful organizations monitor their environments because they ______.
are open systems that adapt to survive
The model of organizational change that helps change agents diagnose the forces that drive and restrain proposed change is ______.
Lewin’s force field analysis model
According to Lewin’s force field analysis model, ___ forces attempt to maintain the status quo and block the change process.
restraining
Employees may resist change by engaging in behaviors that include ______.
work stoppages
griping to customers about the changes
performing tasks the old way when unnoticed
Sally thinks the new software package the company wants to use will be very difficult to learn because she has limited experience with computers. Which of the reasons for resisting change applies to this situation?
Inadequate skills and knowledge
6 reasons why people resist change
- negative valance of change
- Fear of the unknown
- not invented here syndrome
- breaking routines
- incongruent team dynamics
- incongruent org systems and structures
Negative Valence of change
new situation will have more negative than positive outcomes.
pple apply the rational choice decision-making model
cost-benefit analysis
Fear of the unknown
people tend to assume the worse with change.
lack of personal control
not invented here syndrome
people not liking the idea created else where (other companies or departments)
breaking routines
people are creatures of habit and tend to revert back to their old ways.
*Unless new patterns are supported and reinforced
Incongruent team dynamics
teams develop and enforce conformity
Incongruent Org System
failing to overcome structure confines of the past (pay, career path, changes)
When employees believe that change will reduce their status and pay or create poorer working conditions, which of the following likely will occur?
Resistance to change will be stronger.
True or false: Organizations must adapt to environmental changes in order to survive.
True. Reason: Organizations are open systems that must be compatible with their environments.
A primary barrier to productivity in many cultures surveyed is ______.
resistance to change
Reasons that employees resist change include ______.
misperceptions of their roles and the needed change
lack of motivation to change
inability to change due to lack of skills and knowledge
Why employees resist change
Employees typically oppose change lack of motivation, ability, role clarity, situational support to change attitudes, decisions, and behavior
Employees determine whether a proposed change will make them personally better or worse off by ______.
applying a cost-benefit analysis
Alistair isn’t sure how the announced changes will affect him. He is uncertain whether his work group will change, whether he will have to move, and or if his pay will be reduced. The most likely reason Alistair is resisting the change is ______.
fear of the unknown
TSKCO has hired a consultant to select new software for the accounting department. The accounting department employees believe they had the information needed and should have chosen it themselves. They are resisting the change because they ______.
feel that their self-worth is threatened
A reason that workers may resist change is that they prefer ______.
remaining in their comfort zones
A company has changed to a team-based structure and is now changing the reward system to one that rewards team members equally for reaching productivity goals. This is an example of ______.
aligning the system to support desired behaviors
Employees fear the unknown and resist change because all change includes some degree of ______ that creates risk.
uncertainty
The reason employees resist change when it diminishes their self-worth is referred to as the ______ syndrome.
not-invented-here
According to the force field analysis model, the best strategy to effectively create change is to ______.
reduce the restraining forces and increase the driving forces
Andrea likes the old way of doing things and doesn’t want to change. “We’ve been doing it this way since I started with the company, and you just can’t teach an old dog new tricks” she asserts. Which of the following best describes Andrea’s resistance to change?
Breaking routines
To support the desired changes, an organization’s systems and structures ______.
must support the desired behaviors
According to Lewin, informing employees about innovation by competitors, changing consumer trends, and new regulations are all factors of the external environment that ______.
create an urgency to change
Customers provide a human element that can create ______ for change.
driving forces
According to Lewin’s model, ______ forces must be reduced in order for change to occur.
restraining
The problem with weakening or removing the forces restraining change is it ___.
provides no motivation to adopt the change
The greatest priority and primary strategy for any organizational change is to ______.
communicate the reasons for change
The strategy for minimizing resistance to change that teaches employees the skills they will need is ______.
learning
Which of these are ways that leaders develop an urgency for change under Lewin’s force field analysis model?
Informing employees about pending government regulations
Reminding employees about changing consumer trends
Keeping employees up-to-date about competitors
True or false: Dissatisfied customers create a powerful driving force for change because the organization can’t survive without satisfied customers.
True. Reason: Dissatisfied customers won’t buy the company’s products and the organization won’t survive.
Employee involvement in the decision to change reduces resistance by ______.
creating a sense of ownership for the decisions