Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Test Bank
CHAPTER 5: NAVIGATING CHANGE THROUGH FORMAL STRUCTURES AND
SYSTEMS
Multiple Choice
1. What is the purpose of formal structures?
a. to support the strategic direction of the firm by enhancing efficiency and effectiveness
b. to clarify roles and responsibilities
c. to ensure accountability and oversight
d. to create a coherent organization chart
2. Which of the following is an example of a formal system?
a. accounting
b. morale
c. power dynamics
d. organizational culture
3. How does the degree of differentiation change over the life an organization?
a. Differentiation generally remains stable throughout the life of the organization.
b. As the number of employees increases, there is greater differentiation.
c. As an organization becomes more successful and profitable, there is a greater need
to differentiate tasks.
d. As a workforce becomes more embedded and cross-trained, the degree of
differentiation diminishes.
4. What is integration?
a. How much one task overlaps with another.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
b. The degree in which each individual tasks fits in with the organization’s overall
mission.
c. The degree to which responsibility is meaningfully assigned instead of having
unnecessary levels of management and bureaucracy.
d. The extent to which all disparate tasks and jobs are combined into a cohesive whole.
5. What are the common ways that larger, more complex companies are organized?
a. Larger companies tend to be organized purely by function.
b. Each product and category is integrated into each department.
c. There may be people who specialize, bringing together all parts of the organization.
d. They consolidate all locations to manage all aspects of the company more closely
from one entity.
6. What part of structure does the chain of command reflect?
a. the formal power structure
b. the informal power structure
c. the organization’s culture
d. the change process
7. Organizations that have a more decentralized decision-making process tend to be
structured in what way?
a. hierarchical
b. flat
c. formal
d. informal
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
8. What makes an organizational structure formal?
a. The dress code is business.
b. The organizational chart is detailed.
c. There are at least two layers of middle management.
d. Organizational charts are clear and reflect reality.
9. Which of the following is a characteristic of a mechanistic organization?
a. Tasks are broken down into separate parts.
b. There is a wide span of control.
c. There is an evolving planning process.
d. Communication is abundant and flows horizontally.
10. Which of the following kinds of organizations is most likely to be mechanistic?
a. a tech start-up
b. a school
c. a nuclear power plant
d. an architecture firm
11. As uncertainty ______, the amount of information that needs to be processed
between decision makers ______.
a. decreases; increases
b. increases; decreases
c. increases; increases
d. increases; stays the same
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
12. One way that organizations can reduce their information-processing challenges is
by ______.
a. Sending more emails.
b. Adding slack resources.
c. Making departments more reliant on each other.
d. Working harder and longer.
13. What is the role of information systems?
a. to develop needed information and get it to the right people
b. to make sure all employees understand what’s going on in the organization
c. to keep employees accountable for mistakes they may be making
d. to develop annual reports for shareholders
14. How can organizations align their formal structures and systems with the
environment?
a. Take into account the cultural implications of their performance rating system.
b. Match their formal structures with that of their competitors.
c. Let the customer needs dictate the structure.
d. Pursue a structure that maximizes efficiency as much as possible.
15. How does an organization’s design impact the behavior of its members?
a. Design either inhibits or facilitates collaboration.
b. Design suits some personalities better than others.
c. Design determines the size an organization can reach.
d. Design inhibits creativity.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
16. In the implementation stage, which avenue is most effective?
a. brainstorming sessions
b. task force
c. town hall meeting
d. having the people who generate ideas and also make the decisions
17. Once the structure is set up, what is needed to ensure it is effective?
a. Change it quarterly so it can keep up with the environment.
b. Collect feedback from employees to rate its effectiveness.
c. Careful management of trade-offs and attention to strategy alignment.
d. Ensure the correct structure is used based on industry.
18. Which decision should be made first?
a. structure
b. culture
c. tasks
d. strategy
19. While having a good strategy is important, it is ineffective if which characteristic isn’t
present?
a. delegation
b. oversight
c. alignment
d. dedication
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
20. Incremental changes require ______, while larger more influential changes require
______.
a. less dedication; sustained passion
b. more employee buy-in; leadership commitment
c. less money; formal approval
d. numerous task forces; town hall meetings
21. If leadership has a low tolerance for ambiguity, the approval process is likely to be
______.
a. more rigorous
b. more straightforward
c. quicker
d. lengthy
22. When approaching a formal approval process, change agents should follow which of
the following strategies?
a. Just work with people who agree with the change.
b. Be vague about the project in order to set accurate expectations.
c. Create a vision and strategy that fits with the change project.
d. Use the appropriate process to legitimize the proposal.
23. How can change agents increase the likelihood of formal approval?
a. Introduce the idea early to get people used to it.
b. Try to develop the idea as much as possible before presenting it so it looks polished.
c. Figure out if there are competing initiatives and try to find holes in them.
d. Try to move as fast as possible to show progress.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
24. Acceptance is enhanced in which of the following situations?
a. by involving others in the discussion and thoroughly discussing alignment
b. by presenting the change proposal after others have already put forward their ideas
c. by keeping the project quiet until the project is formally approved
d. by not including people who may resist the initial idea
25. Acceptance can be increased despite initial resistance by which of the following?
a. Discussing the idea so people feel heard.
b. Waiting until final approval after which people will have to accept the initiative.
c. Using a single provoking piece of data instead of getting bogged down in the details.
d. Skimming over the review so people don’t lose interest.
26. Creeping commitment can be obtained by which of the following actions?
a. Moving forward with the formal approval process.
b. Shooting down other people’s ideas.
c. Avoid getting people involved so they aren’t resistant to additional work.
d. Survey, collect data, and initiate pilots.
27. What are the risks of the renegade approach to change?
a. You might get fired.
b. Change may be enacted too fast and miss key elements.
c. You might damage the reputation of the organization.
d. You may come across as uneducated.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
28. Which of these is one of the three most common mistakes leaders make in change
initiatives?
a. structures that don’t provide access to necessary resources
b. the renegade approach
c. under-communicating the purpose of the change
d. lack of vision
29. Why does physical space matter in change?
a. It impacts people’s job satisfaction.
b. It determines the accessibility of needed technology.
c. It changes the way people communicate.
d. It impacts how employees structure their day.
30. What kind of organization responds to change best?
a. bureaucratic
b. homogenous
c. siloed
d. adaptive
True/False
1. Some organizations do not require any formal systems because they are so small.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
2. Leveraging structural and systematic change will create major animosity with one’s
employees.
3. Formal approval tends to follow the same general decision-making process in most
organizations.
4. In general, approval and acceptance go hand-in-hand.
Short Answer
1. In what kinds of industries would an organic organization work best?
2. What kinds of lateral relations will help increase information flow?
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
3. How might change leaders increase the likelihood of gaining approval?
4. Give an example of a change that may be more effective with the renegade
approach.
5. How can a change leader best approach an extreme change?