Page 1
1.
Which of the following is not a concept in systems theory?
A)
Feedback
B)
Top-down management
C)
Interdependence
D)
Goals
2.
Systems theory encourages us to explore how organizational effectiveness depends on
the coordination of
A)
the production cycle.
B)
the areas of the organization that create the most revenue.
C)
the total enterprise.
D)
technology and machines.
3.
Which of the following is the key factor that turns a group into a system?
A)
Relationships
B)
Organization
C)
Nature
D)
None of the options are correct.
4.
Which of the following theories changed the way that we look at the universe, thereby
giving rise to the systems approach?
A)
Giddens’s theory of structuration
B)
Weick’s sense-making model
C)
von Bertalanffy’s general systems theory
D)
Einstein’s theory of relativity
5.
Policies are important texts that give individuals the means to understand their
relationship to the organization. According to the text, this policy knowledge includes
all of the following EXCEPT
A)
health insurance.
B)
vacation time.
C)
workload.
D)
political and religious affiliation.
6.
An employee who regularly interacts with others outside of the organization is referred
to as a(n)
A)
systems manager.
B)
environmental scanner.
C)
external facilitator.
D)
boundary spanner.
Page 2
7.
When individuals use common resources to benefit personal needs rather than the needs
of the whole, this process is called
A)
closed systems.
B)
counterdependence.
C)
“the tragedy of the commons.”
D)
“counter-networking.”
8.
Steve Corman’s concept of “counter-networking” has been particularly useful in learning
about which of the following groups?
A)
Government agencies
B)
Emergency services
C)
Protest organizations
D)
Terrorist networks
9.
“There is no best way to organize” and “all ways of organizing are not equally effective”
are two tenets of
A)
Giddens’s theory of structuration.
B)
contingency theory.
C)
von Bertalanffy’s general systems theory.
D)
Einstein’s theory of relativity.
10.
According to the text, which of the following is the main reason that researchers are not
doing a better job of studying organizational communication from a systems approach?
A)
Insufficient statistics training
B)
The changing nature of systems
C)
The concept of equifinality
D)
Insufficient research support
11.
According to Peter Senge, which of the following concepts requires us to shift our way
of thinking about organizations to a more participative and holistic approach?
A)
Open systems
B)
Closed systems
C)
Interdependent systems
D)
Learning organizations
Page 3
12.
As part of his early theorizing on sense making, Karl Weick referred to the process of
making sense of uncertainty through interaction as
A)
enactment.
B)
equivocality reduction.
C)
retention.
D)
partial inclusion.
13.
Which of the following is NOT one of the properties of sense making as identified by
Karl Weick?
A)
Enactment
B)
Socialization
C)
Selection
D)
Extracted cues
14.
Karl Weick said, “How can I know what I think until I see what I say?” This statement
best represents which of the following concepts?
A)
Retrospective sense making
B)
Selection
C)
Equifinality
D)
Partial inclusion
15.
The idea that we all display some, but not all, of our behaviors at work is called
A)
enactment.
B)
extracted cues.
C)
partial inclusion.
D)
selective construction.
16.
Which of the following concepts from the systems approach shows us that average
employees could be strong leaders in their community outside of work?
A)
Distributed intelligence
B)
Partial inclusion
C)
Boundary spanners
D)
Socialization
17.
According to Karl Weick, the primary purpose of organizations is to
A)
provide a space for storytelling and socializing.
B)
profit.
C)
perpetuate the system.
D)
move from closed systems to open systems.
Page 4
18.
Which of the following concepts is found in both Weick’s basic model of organizing and
his theory of retrospective sense making?
A)
Retention
B)
Continuation
C)
Enactment
D)
Socialization
19.
Part of Weick’s theory of retrospective sense making suggests that sufficient information
and plausibility take precedence over
A)
socialization.
B)
retrospection.
C)
accuracy.
D)
enactment.
20.
Peter Senge draws a distinction between
A)
discussion and communication.
B)
selecting and organizing.
C)
the goals of individuals and the goals individuals have for their organization.
D)
discussion and dialogue.
21.
Which of the following approaches claims that the whole is greater than the sum of its
parts?
A)
Classical management
B)
Interpretivism
C)
The human relations approach
D)
The systems approach
22.
When one struggles with uncertainty due to multiple interpretations of a single
experience, the systems approach would suggest that this person struggles with
A)
retrospection.
B)
enactment.
C)
equivocality.
D)
equifinality.
23.
Learning organizations that use “double-loop learning” rely on which of the following
concepts?
A)
Socialization
B)
Feedback
C)
Sense making
D)
“Counter-networking”
Page 5
24.
When organizations need both cooperative and competitive models at work in a single
system, which of the following strategic approaches to organizing should they consider?
A)
Coopetition
B)
Retrospection
C)
Open systems
D)
General systems
25.
According to the systems approach, which of the following concepts connects
communication and action?
A)
Dialogue
B)
Feedback
C)
Empathic concern
D)
Interdependence
26.
The concept of distributed intelligence recognizes that all members of a system—be
they people or cells—are important.
A)
True
B)
False
27.
Coopetition works only for nonprofit organizations.
A)
True
B)
False
28.
Closed systems are more likely to respond quickly to a change in the system.
A)
True
B)
False
29.
One emerging area of inquiry that makes important use of systems concepts is the study
of policy communication.
A)
True
B)
False
30.
A significant power imbalance can lead to a lack of mutual interdependence.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 6
31.
Equifinality refers to the notion that there is “one best way” to organize.
A)
True
B)
False
32.
An underlying assumption of Weick’s model is that decision making is largely
retrospective sense making.
A)
True
B)
False
33.
Goals can differ across systems levels.
A)
True
B)
False
34.
Loosely coupled systems are always superior to tightly coupled systems.
A)
True
B)
False
35.
According to Karl Weick, loosely coupled systems are not able to withstand jolts from
the environment.
A)
True
B)
False
36.
Interdependence refers to the relationship between the whole and the individual parts.
A)
True
B)
False
37.
Shared visions are an important part of learning organizations.
A)
True
B)
False
38.
In systems theory, there are two main types of feedback: direct and indirect.
A)
True
B)
False
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39.
Weick’s theory of retrospective sense making does not take into account people who
strive to act only in accordance with predetermined plans.
A)
True
B)
False
40.
The typical college or university exemplifies a loosely coupled system, because the
actions of one department often have little impact on the actions of another department.
A)
True
B)
False
41.
Draw connections between general systems theory as it applies to biological and
physical sciences as well as how it has been adapted to the social sciences.
42.
What are the five features of Senge’s learning organization?
43.
Describe each part of Weick’s model of organizing.
44.
An underlying assumption of Weick’s model is that decision making is largely
retrospective sense making. What does this mean?
45.
How is systems theory unique from the other three theoretical approaches to
organizational communication?
46.
Explain the concept of an open system. Provide an example that illustrates your point.
47.
Illustrate how the enacted environment is so important to Weick’s theory.
48.
Describe how equifinality operates in organizations. Offer an example of this concept
that illustrates your point.
49.
Illustrate Weick’s process of sense making, and explain its importance to organizational
communication.
Page 8
50.
If distributed intelligence is important to an organization, how should managers and
employees use this concept?
51.
Explain Weick’s quotation, “How can I know what I think until I see what I say?”
Moreover, use his model of retrospective sense making to explain how Weick’s
approach has shifted to a more relationally based quotation, “How can we know what
we think until we see what we say?”
52.
The concept of interdependence is a central concept to the systems approach. Explain
interdependence by demonstrating how it relates to the other concepts associated with
the systems approach. Conclude your essay by offering a very detailed example of how
interdependence makes a system work.
53.
The concept of feedback is particularly important to systems theory. Explain how
feedback operates in a systems approach, paying particular attention to
deviation-counteracting versus deviation-amplifying feedback.
Answer Key
1.
B
2.
C
3.
A
4.
D
5.
D
6.
D
7.
C
8.
D
9.
B
10.
B
11.
D
12.
B
13.
C
14.
A
15.
C
16.
B
17.
A
18.
C
19.
C
20.
D
21.
D
22.
C
23.
B
24.
A
25.
B
26.
A
27.
B
28.
B
29.
A
30.
A
31.
B
32.
A
33.
A
34.
B
35.
B
36.
A
37.
A
38.
B
39.
A
40.
A
41.
42.
43.
44.
Page 10
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.