Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
Test Bank
CHAPTER 6: NAVIGATING ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS AND CULTURE
Multiple Choice
1. In order to get a full picture of the informal organization, which stakeholder(s) must be
considered?
a. yourself
b. the CEO
c. the lowest level employees
d. former employees
2. If a merger makes good business sense, an organization might not pursue it due to
which of the following reasons?
a. shareholders may be upset
b. it may be too expensive
c. the cultures of the two organizations clash
d. there is not unanimity among the board
3. What is likely to happen when a new CEO comes into an organization?
a. The CEO will fire most of the employees.
b. The CEO will continue with business as usual.
c. The CEO will be immediately accepted.
d. The CEO may challenge power and culture dynamics.
4. Which of the following is true of organizational politics as described by the authors?
a. They are inherently negative.
b. They impede organizational change.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
c. They are the foundation of decision making.
d. They should be minimized as much as possible.
5. What is the definition of politics as described in the book?
a. Gathering power and allies to further one’s own objectives over another’s.
b. Conflict and debate of those pursuing power.
c. Brokering power to meet one’s own goals.
d. Ability and success of governing others.
6. What question should a change agent ask about her own power?
a. Who has more power than me?
b. What am I authorized to do?
c. How do I get more power?
d. What does my power mean?
7. Which kind of power tends to be least important on its own?
a. positional power
b. network power
c. knowledge power
d. personality power
8. Which would not necessarily be a characteristic of a powerful department within an
organization?
a. ability to veto decisions
b. low sustainability
c. a significant amount of people
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
d. centrality
9. Which of the following is one of Hardy’s dimensions of power?
a. financial power
b. charisma power
c. process power
d. network power
10. Which of the following tends to be the least popular power tactic?
a. referring to a higher authority
b. bargaining
c. developing coalitions
d. applying sanctions
11. Defining themselves as an organizational politician, a change agent should focus on
what skills?
a. building coalitions
b. running meetings
c. deploying resources
d. clarifying process
12. Which of the following is true about Schein’s definition of culture?
a. It’s a pattern of basic assumptions that has been implemented by a single leader.
b. It’s a set of assumptions that is taught as one of a variety of ways of perceiving
problems.
c. It’s a set of assumptions that is considered valid by senior leadership.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
d. It’s a set of assumptions that has been learned by a group as the correct way to think.
13. What is an example of a cultural artifact?
a. the way employees dress
b. the basic underlying assumptions of a group
c. the organization’s publicized mission
d. the size of the organization
14. Which of the following aspects of culture is most difficult to change?
a. cultural artifacts
b. espoused beliefs and values
c. underlying assumptions
d. how people relate to one another
15. In order to assess culture at its deepest level, change agents should ask which
question?
a. Are humans basically good, neutral, or evil?
b. How often has the mission changed?
c. Do people really believe the mission?
d. What is the incentive and reward system?
16. Individuals will usually choose whether or not to accept a change program based on
what?
a. how much they trust the leader
b. how detailed the change plan is
c. how others around them react to the change
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
d. how the change will impact them personally
17. The more ______ people are, the more they will be willing to change.
a. intelligent
b. dissatisfied
c. senior
d. involved
18. What does homeostasis mean?
a. a tendency toward change
b. a tendency toward equilibrium
c. a tendency toward complexity
d. a tendency toward laziness
19. What is a force field analysis?
a. a process of identifying driving and restraining forces
b. a process of tempering power by leveling the playing field
c. a process of identifying the best routes to accomplish change
d. a process of creating alliances
20. Which of the following is a factor one must take into consideration when conducting
a force field analysis?
a. how to deploy resources over time
b. the change plan
c. the financial impact of the change in the short and long term
d. how many people will be affected by the change
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
21. In a stakeholder map, one may want to depict which of the following factors?
a. the organizational chart
b. stakeholder linkages
c. internal stakeholders only
d. stakeholder wealth relative to others
22. In Cross and Prusak’s model, organizational members can be classified as which of
the following?
a. knowledge workers
b. change resistors
c. boundary spanners
d. socialites
23. The movements of stakeholders follow which of the paths below?
a. interest, awareness, desire for action, leadership
b. awareness, discussion, communication, participation
c. awareness, interest, desire for action, take action
d. denial, grief, bargaining, acceptance
24. What kind of stakeholders should change agents approach first at the beginning of a
change initiative?
a. laggards
b. early majority
c. late majority
d. innovators
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
25. Why should a change agent do a stakeholder analysis?
a. to show leadership that they are being through
b. to categorize people regarding their natural response to change
c. to plan how to influence key people
d. to understand all the people who will be affected by the change
26. What might be the origin of a restraining force for change?
a. a curmudgeonly leader
b. a poorly conceived change plan
c. industry rules and regulations
d. poor financial performance
27. What crucial perspective is often missed during change projects?
a. how the change will affect competitive positioning
b. how the change will affect vendors
c. how the change will affect efficacy of current structures
d. how the change will affect individuals
28. People tend to focus on the consequences of the change rather than the
consequences of which of the following things?
a. remaining the same
b. resisting the change
c. disagreeing with leadership
d. restructuring the organization
29. What is the difference between espoused values and underlying assumptions?
a. Espoused values are posted on the website whereas underlying assumptions are
only discussed internally.
b. Espoused values describe why we do things; underlying assumptions describe how
we approach situations.
c. Espoused values are articulated; underlying assumptions are foundational and rarely
explicit.
d. Espoused values can be ascertained by talking to people; underlying assumptions
can be ascertained by reading foundational organizational history.
30. Which power tactic is better used to influence superiors than subordinates?
a. develop coalitions
b. bargain
c. use and give reasons
True/False
1. Employees who are deeply committed to the organization will generally demonstrate
the most support for change initiatives.
2. Organizational culture has a standard definition that is widely understood.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
3. The early majority is the most apt group to seek change.
4. Stakeholders with a positive commitment and a high understanding of the change will
provide the strongest consensus.
5. Resistance to change should be avoided at all costs.
Short Answer
1. Who might be included in a stakeholder analysis?
2. Provide the four areas of change and an example of each.
Deszca, Organizational Change 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2020
3. Describe the elements of an informal organization.
4. Give an example of meaning power.
5. Which kind of organizational member do you most closely identify with and why?