Chapter 3 – Mutual Engagement and Shared Diagnosis
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ____________ is/are the process of learning about the dynamics of an
organization’s functioning.
a. Consulting
b. Operational reviews
c. Diagnosis
d. Cultural learning
e. Behavior change
2. ____________ is the process by which individuals receive data from the external
environment, analyze that data, and adjust their thinking and behaviors
accordingly.
a. Assimilation
b. Adaptation
c. Comparing
d. Learning
e. none of the above
3. Effective change starts with:
a. a clear vision of solutions.
b. a plan for downsizing and restructuring.
c. application of tried and true practices from other companies.
d. shared diagnosis.
e. none of the above
4. In order to be effective, the process of diagnosis should involve:
a. managers only.
b. consultants only.
c. trained employees only.
d. as many stakeholders as possible.
5. The process of organizational diagnosis is aimed at determining:
a. what needs to be changed.
b. how to bring about the change.
c. why things need to be changed.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
6. ____________ refers to the pervasive set of assumptions on the part of
employees that candid feedback and open, shared dialogue is to be avoided:
a. Dialogue
b. Closed dialogue
c. Stonewalling
d. Organizational Silence
e. none of the above
7. is one of the key sources of organizational silence and
distortion in communication.
a. Lack of team work
b. Communication distance
c. Hierarchy/Power distance
d. Focus on efficient task performance
e. None of the above
8. ____________ is a structural change that pushes decision making down to lower
levels of the organization.
a. Delayering
b. Downsizing
c. Decentralizing
d. Decomposition
9. Removing the artifacts of status differentials is called:
a. egalitarianism.
b. socialism.
c. capitalism.
d. delayering.
e. downsizing.
10. ____________ refers to a belief on the part of employees that the organizational
climate is conducive for taking personal risks, especially around dialogue.
a. Dependence
b. Interdependence
c. Psychological safety
d. Behavioral safety
e. none of the above
11. Targeting an organizational system guided by a framework that focuses on
interactions refers to which guiding principles of organizational diagnosis?
a. consultant facilitated
b. client oriented
c. systemic focus
d. psychological safety
e. none of the above
12. ____________ are self-administered paper-and-pencil or computer-based data-
collection forms.
a. Data mining
b. Questionnaires
c. Data-bases
d. Surveys
e. Both b and c
13. A ____________ is any individual possessing a broad range of diagnostic and
developmental skills who facilitates a change intervention.
a. manager
b. leader
c. supervisor
d. consultant
e. CEO
14. Organizations seeking to create a dialogue will need to create ____________.
a. organizational dynamics
b. organizational diagnosis
c. organizational commitment
d. organizational behavior
e. psychological safety
15. Which of the following is correct in regards to advantages of behavioral
observation at the initial stage of change in organizational diagnosis?
a. provides current work-based behavior as data
b. offers deep and rich data on interactions among people
c. can surface underlying emotions that impact behavior
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
16. Which of the following is correct in regards to advantages of questionnaires at
the initial stage of change in organizational diagnosis?
a. based on well-known issues and areas which should be examined
b. data are collected anonymously
c. can simplify vague and complex issues like culture
d. addresses the root causes of problems
e. creates commitment to outcomes or motivation to change
17. What are the basic forms of data collection?
a. questionnaire
b. observation
c. interview
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
18. Company X recently hired Janet, a specially trained individual who brings
external perspective and has the required skills to conduct organizational
diagnosis. Using Janet as part of the diagnostic process reflects:
a. systemic focus.
b. consultant facilitated.
c. customer oriented.
d. all of the above.
19. The process of ____________ can help build motivation and commitment to
altering patterns of behavior.
a. organizational diagnosis
b. interview
c. organizational development
d. data collection
e. none of the above
20. The primary goal of dialogue in organizational diagnosis is:
a. separating fact from fiction.
b. learning.
c. provide company and comfort.
d. breaking silence.
21. One of the advantages of diagnostic interviews over questionnaires is that
interviews:
a. are cheaper because they don’t involve paper.
b. are quicker to administer.
c. generate detailed insight into the dynamics of an organization.
d. require skilled consultants.
e. offer opportunities for people to make new friends.
22. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of using interviews in the initial stage
of change?
a. collects rich data
b. begins process of creating dialogue
c. teaches communication and listening skills
d. provides extensive quantifiable data
23. Which of the following statement is correct?
a. The involvement of employees in the data collection process enhances their
commitment to the changes suggested by the process.
b. Most commonly, organizational members inevitably know more about the
hidden but critical aspects of organizational life.
c. When employees participate in the data collection process, they are gaining
the skills necessary to engage in ongoing data collection.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
24. Which of the following data collection lends itself to being validated on a wider
scale?
a. questionnaire
b. interview
c. observation
d. dialogue
e. none of the above
25. After-action reviews are valuable because they:
a. are a product of extended review by experts
b. are conducted by computer generated
c. lead to quick performance improvement
d. are not biased
e. do NOT require behavioral change
26. Diagnosis can create a consensus among the stakeholders, not just about what
needs to be changed, but also how to bring about that change.
27. A diagnostic framework is a description of the best work process for a company.
28. Ideally, diagnosis targets only specific elements of the organization.
29. In order to be useful, dialogue must be structured in such a way as to arrive at
the specific desired conclusions determined beforehand.
30. Speaking openly and honestly can be a risky undertaking in organizations.
31. Centralizing pushes decision making down to lower levels and can occur
separately or be combined with delayering.
32. Delayering refers to the practice of eliminating hierarchical barriers from an
organization.
33. Organizational silence is caused by horizontal and vertical power distances.
34. Psychological safety is created through a series of conscious power equalization
steps.
35. Egalitarianism aims to increase representation from multiple levels into the
dialogue.
36. In the data collection stage, employees enter into a process, typically facilitated
by a consultant, to analyze the data, make sense of what they have learned, and
consider the steps to take to act upon that learning.
37. Feedback refers to the process of sending information concerning the
effectiveness of one’s actions and performance.
38. In structured interviews, the interviewer prepares a set of questions to be asked
of all respondents.
39. Discovery is the process of systematically collecting data about the organization
using a systemic framework.
40. There are two basic forms of data collection: questionnaires and interviews.
41. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using diagnostic interviews
in the initial stage of change of Organizational Diagnosis?
42. What are diagnostic interviews?
43. Explain the concept of decentralization.
44. Explain the importance and relevance of psychological safety to the
change process and how it can be accomplished.
45. Outline and explain the steps in taking organizational diagnosis.
46. Outline and explain the key principles guiding organizational diagnosis.
47. What is meant by “closing the loop”?
In order for the change process to be effective, it should involve mutual
48. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires in the
initial stage of change in Organizational Diagnosis.
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 40
Scenario-Based Questions
You have successfully managed one of the plants of your company over a period of 5
years. You built a climate of openness and trust in your plant and have a longstanding
history of honesty, dialogue, and teamwork. Based on your record of success, you have
just been transferred to a much larger but less successful plant. This plant has a history
of union-management conflict and the last plant manager had to be hospitalized due to
stress.
49. Your first action as the new manager of this plant is:
a. get new locks for your house and a safe place to park your car.
b. implement the same methods from your old plant.
c. check on the mental health provisions of your health insurance package.
d. put together a committee with representatives from different employee groups
50. The union has informed you that it wants to have official representation on your
strategy committee. Your response is:
a. correctly point out that this committee does not deal with contract issues and
therefore there is no place for the union.
b. politely decline because union representation would only add to the already
high level of conflict.
c. ignore the request altogether because it is totally inappropriate.
d. welcome the request because representation will help with power equalization
and dialogue.
51. The committee has sent out questionnaires to all the employees. The response
rate was a dismal 10 percent. Most of the respondents indicated that the
questionnaire was a waste of their time and that management should cease their
attempt at employee manipulation. The committee is disheartened and wants to
quit. You tell the committee:
a. they are a dismal failure and they are all dismissed from the committee.
b. they did a nice job trying but the plant and its employees are beyond hope.
c. it is time for a more direct approach of discipline and control.
d. to keep trying – questionnaires may not have been the right tool to use.
52. After a long process of data collection and discovery, you and the committee
decide on a course of action. The first step involves going back to the different
employee groups to tell them about the plan. The best approach to take is to:
a. be clear and firm about the planned course of action.
b. propose the course of action and invite feedback.
c. map out how this plan will affect future compensation.
d. none of the above; you have already spent too much time in meetings.