1
Contemporary Organizational Behavior (Elsbach)
Topic Summary 13 Change, Innovation, and Stress
1) Organizational change focuses change efforts on which of the following?
A) Planned or unplanned changes
B) Rapid or incremental changes
C) Structure, process, or outcome
D) Culture, hierarchical structure, or innovation
2) Can the factors of psychology and culture be drivers of change or work to constrain change?
A) These factors drive change. If you are trying to change a process and your employees are
open to the idea and willing to change, it will be far easier to make and retain the change
B) These are the factors that constrain change. People don’t always want to change; we are
creatures of habit
C) These two factors can act as both drivers and constraints in the change process
3) Strategic changes in organizations can fail for all of the following reasons except ________.
A) Employees don’t have the skills or ability to perform after the change
B) Employees try to change on their own
C) Employees may not believe in the change or where the company is headed
2
4) Which best describes incremental change?
A) Changing the organization’s culture to respond to internal forces such as poor morale among
employees
B) This type of change prompts a company to reinvent themselves because the changes are so
extensive and gradual they don’t resemble the company they were before the change
C) Gradual changes over time such as an organization increasing their online presence and
decreasing their brick and mortar presence
5) Can organizations change more than one thing at a time?
A) Yes; internally and externally driven forces dictate that changes have to occur, not wait in a
queue
B) No; the models can’t work together or employees will get confused
C) Yes; they can only work on changes following one model at a time
D) No; managing one change is hard enough. More than one change would place undue stress
on an already taxed management team
3
6) You have probably used a process similar to the force field model in your personal life. How
might you have done this?
A) To change your beliefs or culture to fit in with a group
B) When you make a list of pros and cons to help you decide
C) Every time you decide on a certain course of action
7) When implementing Lewin’s three-step model, when do you tell employees the purpose and
goal of the change?
A) Step 1
B) Step 2
C) Step 3
D) Step 4
8) What is the step that some observers add to Lewin’s three-step model?
A) Diagnosing change barriers at the individual and organizational level
B) Evaluating how well the change worked
C) Ensuring that the change continues
D) Evaluate and go back to step 1 if the change didn’t work the first time
Difficulty: Hard
4
9) If you were to use Lewin’s three-step model amended with an additional step, where does the
fourth step go in the original model?
A) Before the first step
B) Before the second step
C) Before the third step
D) After the third step
Difficulty: Hard
10) What is the difference between Lewin’s models and Kotter’s model?
A) Kotter looked at strategic change and Lewin looked at change in general
B) Lewin focused on psychological and cultural aspects of change and Kotter focused on
applying managed change in organizations
C) Lewin proposed models that are easy for untrained managers to follow unlike Kotter’s more
complex model
11) Which of these would not be found in Lewin’s third step?
A) Analyze driving and constraining forces
B) Hire new employees with the values/skills/abilities needed in the changed environment
C) Use positive reinforcement and feedback for employees demonstrating changed behavior
D) New routines become habit and changes are normalized
Difficulty: Medium
5
12) Kotter’s first step is “sense of urgency.” What happens in this step?
A) Management communicates the rapid change needed and what is driving it
B) Tell employees why the change is necessary so they embrace the change and begin reaping
said benefits
C) You should establish this sense of excitement and rush so that you can proceed through the
stage changes quickly
D) Managers or decision makers need to quickly decide what the plan is so they can
13) The second step in Kotter’s model is to build a guiding coalition. What is a guiding
coalition?
A) Top management team (TMT) who oversee the change and have helped to establish the
vision and changes the company should make
B) Task force composed of management and change consultants who monitor the change process
and put it back on track if something goes awry
C) Team of employees from any level who act as change advocates. They spread support for the
change among their various areas or departments
D) Extra-organizational members with insights on the particular change the organization wants
to do. They help the organization’s managers follow through with the rest of the plan
6
14) How is appreciative inquiry distinct from other methods of change?
A) Appreciative inquiry builds on positive aspects instead of trying to change or improve
problem areas
B) Appreciative inquiry is based on positive reinforcement instead of forcing change
C) Appreciative inquiry is driven by employees in a grassroots method instead of the top down
approach used by the other methods
D) Appreciative inquiry is the most recent approach to change and comes out of the positive
15) What drives appreciative inquiry?
A) Self-fulfillment
B) Internal forces
C) External forces
D) Creative process improvements
Difficulty: Medium
16) What is disrupted in disruptive innovation?
A) The status quo
B) The innovative process
C) Consumer acceptance
7
17) Which factors make up creativity?
A) Creativity and innovation
B) Trial and error
C) Innovation and diffusion of innovation
D) Individual and work related
18) A new cashier has stood out since day one with her unique method of scanning and bagging
that is faster than all of the other cashiers. Management recognizes the potential cost savings to
this approach and are considering a widespread transition to her technique. This new scanning
method is ________ and if the implementation is completed, the technique will be considered
________.
A) Efficient; influential
B) Innovative; a diffusion of innovation
C) Creative; a disruptive innovation
D) Creative; innovative
19) ________ always requires ________ but creativity doesn’t always result in innovation.
A) Creativity; innovation
B) Creativity; workplace expertise
C) Innovation; diffusion of innovation
D) Innovation; creativity
8
20) Which best describes the relationship between creativity and innovation?
A) Creativity is the idea and innovation is the result
B) Creativity comes from individuals and innovations are made by groups
C) Creativity is the first step in the innovation process
D) Creativity becomes innovation when the creative idea or product is adopted by the
organization or marketplace
21) If you want to promote creativity, you should do everything except ________.
A) Lessen the emphasis on successful outcomes
B) Decrease time for projects
C) Reinforce the process and effort instead of the outcome
D) Increase individual autonomy
22) Stress originates from an individual’s ________. This is part of the reason we experience
stress differently.
A) Perceptions
B) Ability to cope
C) Support network
D) Complexity of job
9
23) Which of the following is not a way to reduce stress for your subordinates?
A) Convert hindrance stress to challenge stress
B) Provide positive feedback consistently instead of just for outcomes
C) Get to know them on a personal level
D) Recognize when they are stressed or struggling and help with that issue, such as extending a
deadline
24) Which of the following will not reduce your level of stress?
A) Utilize self-help resources such as websites, books, and recordings
B) Actively seek support from your social network
C) Engage in an activity you find enjoyable like listening to music or exercising
25) It seems like every holiday season there is a hot item that everyone just “has” to have. This
year the must have item is one of your toys! The sudden popularity of your toy is excellent news
for your company. There are backlogged orders that can’t be filled because you can’t make the
toys fast enough! What types of changes best describe how your company should respond to
meet the increased demand?
A) Change management
B) Force field model of change
C) Kotter’s strategic change
D) Rapid change
Difficulty: Medium
10
26) What kind of change must organizations engage in if the federal government were to raise
the minimum wage?
A) Unplanned change
B) Internal changes in outcomes
C) Incremental change
D) Externally driven change
27) Provide an example that applies the steps of appreciative inquiry to yourself. First, explain
what you seek to change and provide your rationale. For each of the four steps, explain what you
will do and why.