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
To succeed in implementing change successfully, change agents must ______.
reduce the restraining forces
Communication can reduce the restraining forces against change by ______.
informing employees of specific external threats
explaining the future and the need for change
Which of the following minimizes resistance by removing some of the negative valence and fear of the unknown about the change process?
Stress management
Teaching employees new knowledge and skills needed for the organization’s proposed change ______.
helps employees perform better after the change
increases readiness and commitment to change
Ted has been vocal in his objections to the current organizational change, and management has offered him an opportunity to transfer to another division where he will not be affected by the change. Which strategy for minimizing resistance to change does this describe?
Negotiation
Employees who participate in the decisions about a change ______.
feel a sense of ownership
will have reduced fear of the unknown
“Go along or get out” would best describe which strategy for minimizing resistance to change?
Coercion
Which of the following can encourage refreezing new behaviors among employees?
Changing physical structures to support the employees
Changing reward systems to support the employees
Tanya believes she will lose a lot of the overtime she has been earning on the assembly line if the new cellular work groups are introduced. The most likely reason she is resisting the change is ______.
there will be a direct loss to her
How do organizational managers view negotiation as a tactic for reducing resistance to change?
Useful but not necessarily effective for the long term
Transformational leadership ______.
links an individual’s values and the change
presents a clear vision of the future
The least desirable way to get employees to accept change is ______.
coercion
Guiding coalitions for organizational change ______.
involve people with the same level of commitment to enacting change
might be the greatest factor in the achievement of organizational change programs
involve employees from a wide array of levels
The employees in the new manufacturing teams all received productivity bonuses that showed they were adjusting to the new systems very well. This is an example of:
refreezing an organizational change.
The viral change process uses word-of-mouth and ______ to build support and opportunities for observing those adopting new behaviors.
social networks
Pilot programs are useful for introducing change because they ______.
test the effectiveness of the change
Creating a vision, communicating the vision, and building commitment to that vision are behaviors that create and implement change initiatives through ______ leadership.
transformational
Reasons why employees are willing to adopt changes more easily after observing a pilot project include that they ______.
recognize that change brought recognition and rewards to those in the pilot project
understand that they can learn the skills needed to make the change
see how the proposed changes could apply to them
A formal group of several people who are influence leaders with a similar level of commitment to the change is an example of ______.
a guiding coalition
Which of the following do social networks rely on to create viral change?
Viral marketing
Word-of-mouth
Trusted sources
Advantages of using a pilot project include ______.
facilitating the selection of organizational groups that are most ready for change
reduced risk of failure when the strategy is adopted by the entire organization
Pilot projects make it easier to diffuse changes through the larger organization by ______.
having participants teach workers in other parts of the organization the needed skills and knowledge to change
The organizational change process that combines changing attitudes and behavior with testing theory is the ______.
action research approach
Put the steps in the action research approach to organizational change in order. Place the first step at the top and the last step at the bottom.
- form client-consultant relationship
- Diagnose the need for change
- Introduce intervention
- Evaluate and stabilize change
- disengage consultant services
The step in the action research approach to organizational change during which an outside change agent assesses the client’s readiness, ability, and motivation to change is ______.
forming a client-consultant relationship
The step in the action research process of diagnosing the need for change involves ______.
gathering and analyzing data
The action research approach to organizational change ______.
combines changing attitudes and behavior with testing theory
When an organization chooses to fine-tune its systems and take small steps toward change, it is introducing ______ change.
incremental
In which step of the action research process is data gathered and analyzed about an ongoing system?
Diagnose need for change
What happens during the evaluate and stabilize change stage of action research?
Standards are used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention.
The form client-consultant relationship stage of the action research approach to organizational change involves ______.
learning if people are motivated to participate in the change
The appreciative inquiry approach emphasizes ______.
building on strengths to increase organizational success and individual well-being
The step in the action research process that gathers and analyzes data about the situation and identifies a direction for change is ______.
diagnosing the need for change
What does positive organizational behavior focus on?
Building character in individuals and institutions
When an organization chooses to fine-tune its systems and take small steps toward change, it is introducing ______ change.
incremental
Which stage in the action research process measures the effectiveness of the intervention against the standards established in the diagnostic stage?
Evaluate and stabilize
Positive principle
Focusing on positive potential produces more effective and enduring change.
Constructionist principle
Our understanding of the change process depends on the questions we ask and language we use during the process.
Simultaneity principle
Inquiry and change are simultaneous, not sequential.
Poetic principle
Organizations are open books so we have choices in how they are perceived, framed, and described.
Anticipatory principle
People are motivated by the vision they believe in for the future.
The organizational change approach that directs the group’s attention away from its own problems to focus participants on the group’s potential and positive elements is the ______ approach.
appreciative inquiry
Match the stage in the Four-D model of appreciative inquiry on the left with the correct description on the right.
Discovery - what is
Dreaming - what might be
Designing - what should be
Delivering - what will be
A large group intervention to introduce change can be described as ______.
generating a collective vision for the future
future-oriented and positive
highly participative events
A perspective of organizational behavior that focuses on building positive qualities and traits within individuals or institutions as opposed to focusing on what is wrong with them is known as positive organizational ________.
behavior
XTen Enterprises has been holding system-wide group sessions lasting a few days during which participants identify trends and establish ways to adapt to those changes. X Ten is using ______.
future search conferences
Which of the five principles of appreciative inquiry holds that organizations have choices in how they are perceived, framed, and described?
Poetic
List the steps of the Four-D model of appreciative inquiry in order, with the first step at the top and the last step at the bottom.
Discovery - what is
Dreaming - what might be
Designing - what should be
Delivering - what will be
Highly participative arrangements composed of people across organizational levels who apply the action research model are part of the ______ learning structures approach.
parallel
Which of the following best characterizes large group interventions?
Highly participative events
A cultural limitation of the theories used in Western cultures is that they ______.
assume change is linear
Which of the following are problems associated with a future-oriented positive focus to organizational change?
Domination by a few members of the group
Generating high expectations that can not be met
What is a highly participative arrangement made up of people across all levels of an organization who apply the action research model to produce meaningful change?
Parallel learning structure
What are cross-cultural limitations to organizational change theories?
Change is cyclical, not linear, in some places.
Direct confrontation with change is unacceptable in some areas.
Many theories are built around Western cultural assumptions.
