Chapter 14
High-Performing
Systems and the
Learning
Organization
TEST QUESTIONS
True/False Questions
1. Today’s managers can aim for success in a relatively stable and predictable
environment.
2. Organizations inevitably change because they are open systems that are in continuous
interaction with their environment.
3. Employee surveys may be used to evaluate policies, procedures, and work processes.
4. Using survey feedback with other intervention procedures usually produces effects
that are more successful and long-range than using only the feedback method.
5. Most of the evidence regarding the results of survey research and feedback methods
indicates positive changes in employee attitudes and perceptions.
6. In a learning organization people are free to try experiments, take risks, and openly
assess the results.
7. Learning organizations are characterized by employees focused on learning within
their own department so that they are not confused with the interactions and
objectives of other departments.
8. Reengineering emphasizes methodical and minor modifications to the current
practices of an organization.
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9. Likert’s research of organizations describes System 2 management as a benevolent
but authoritative system.
10. In Likert’s System 4 management, there are a great many rules, policies, and
procedures that need to be done.
11. High performance systems (HPSs) have blurred boundaries so that the systems can
be integrated with their environments.
12. High performance systems (HPSs) normally utilize more resources than other
subsystems in the organization doing the same type of work though they do the work
much faster.
13. An important key to creating a successful high performance system (HPS) is the
leaders’ ability to display energy and zest for the task being performed, the product
being built, and fellow team members.
14. High performance systems (HPSs) are often seen as a problem by other organization
subsystems.
15. The Grid OD Program begins with a focus on the managerial styles of executives.
16. During the teamwork development phase of the OD grid program, the manager of
each department sets individual and group goals.
17. Several system-wide approaches to OD present contradictory approaches to change.
Multiple-Choice Questions
18. A system-wide intervention examines _____.
a. the organizational structure
b. process and flows within the organization
c. interactions and integrations within the system
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
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19. The key to a successful survey is for management to _____.
a. select an OD practitioner whose values fit those of the organization
b. clearly define the purpose of the survey and what will be done with the
results
c. delegate process responsibilities to the human resource department
d. make sure that every person in the organization completes a survey
e. funnel data to top management for use in strategic planning
20. A manager who is feeding back the information collected through a questionnaire to
his or her subordinates is involved in which intervention?
a. survey research and feedback
b. transactional analysis
c. reengineering
d. system 4
e. Grid OD
21. The tool used to gather information in the survey research method is _____.
a. personal stories of employees regarding effective management
techniques
b. questionnaires
c. production reports
d. financial statements
e. focus groups
22. Steps in the survey research approach include _____.
a. involvement of top management in preliminary planning for the survey
questionnaire
b. administration of the survey questionnaire by the human resource staff to
organization members
c. meeting of individual work teams for data feedback
d. all of the above
e. answers a and c
23. Survey feedback interventions are most effective _____.
a. for long-range planning
b. when used with T-group analysis
c. when used in conjunction with other OD activities
d. when the surveys are formulated by a self-managed team composed of
members from a cross section of the organization
e. answers a and d
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24. Moving to a learning organization means the organization must _____.
a. redesign the formal structures of the organization but allow the informal
and less obvious interactions of people to develop without interference
b. redesign the patterns of interaction between people and processes
c. incorporate transactional thinking and learning
d. all of the above
e. answers a and c
25. Learning organizations have the following characteristics:
a. People feel they are doing something that matters.
b. Visions of the direction of the enterprise are developed at the top
management level.
c. People treat each other as colleagues.
d. all of the above
e. answers a and c
26. Reengineering, as an OD intervention, incorporates _____.
a. work design
b. centralization
c. reassigning decision making to employees most technically competent
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
27. Reengineering seeks to make all processes more efficient by _____.
a. focusing on the customer
b. combining, eliminating, and restructuring tasks
c. implementing minor modifications to current practices
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
28. In Likert’s System 1 management, the organization is most like _____.
a. a matrix design
b. an organic design
c. an autocratic bureaucracy
d. a hybrid design
e. a strategic design
29. The characteristics of Likert’s System 1 organization include _____.
a. downward directives
b. ideas of subordinates seldom sought and used
c. participative methods
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
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30. The characteristics of Likert’s System 3 organization include _____.
a. communication is down, up, and sideways
b. upward communication is readily accepted
c. ideas of subordinates are always sought and used
d. consulting with others
e. none of the above
31. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Likert’s System 4 management?
a. empowerment of employees at all levels
b. decisions made at lower levels
c. communication primarily downward
d. perceived confidence and trust between superiors and subordinates
e. individual accountability in place of rigid policies
32. Research on Likert’s system model advocates _____.
a. System 4 (participative) to be the most ideal state
b. System 3 (consultative) to be the most ideal state
c. System 1 (exploitative/authoritative) to be the most ideal state
d. System 2 (benevolent/authoritative) to be the most ideal state
e. none of the above
33. High performance systems require leaders who will _____.
a. see that excessive layers of structure within the organization are removed
b. emphasize participation across functional barriers
c. display energy for the task being worked on
d. encourage communication across the organization
e. all of the above
34. The eight criteria that Peter Vaill identified for examining systems include all the
following EXCEPT _____.
a. doing work with the assistance of other subsystems
b. performing excellently against an external standard
c. fulfill the ideals for the culture within which they exist
d. perform with fewer resources than is assumed is needed to do the job
e. perform excellently at the level of potential
35. A high performance system will have the following characteristics:
a. often seen as a problem by other subsystems
b. leadership is strong and clear
c. teamwork is focused on the task
d. all of the above
e. answers b and c
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36. The one word that best describes the major focus of Grid OD is _____.
a. delegation
b. excellence
c. control
d. power
e. structure
37. The Grid OD system was created by _____.
a. B. F. Skinner and Douglas McGregor
b. Alvin Toffler
c. Robert Blake and Jane Mouton
d. Peter Senge
e. none of the above
38. The learning objectives of the Grid OD seminar in Phase 1 include _____.
a. increasing personal objectivity in appraising oneself
b. learning and working effectively in a team
c. learning to manage intergroup conflict
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
39. The potential benefits of using Grid OD include _____.
a. maximizing a manager’s concern about both their subordinates and the
organization
b. employees develop greater knowledge and ability to contribute to the
task
c. developing teams
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
40. In Phase 2 of the Grid OD process, the focus is on _____.
a. improving teamwork with a manager and his or her immediate
subordinates
b. identifying the OD practitioner’s style
c. developing a strategic model
d. implementing the strategic model
e. all of the above
41. In Phase 4 of the Grid OD process, the focus in on _____.
a. identifying managerial style of supervisors
b. developing an ideal strategic model
c. implementing survey research programs
d. interacting with others in different teams
e. improving the management style of upper management
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42. Which of the following is a product of the Grid OD approach to management?
a. an organizational chart
b. a set of five-year goals for the company
c. an ideal strategic model
d. an employee training program
e. a survey report
43. The final phase of the Grid OD process is a systematic examination of _____.
a. team formation and development
b. team effectiveness in task accomplishment
c. intergroup planning skills
d. individual goal accomplishments
e. progress toward change goals
Essay Questions
44. Discuss the four management systems in Likert’s system 4 management.
45. Discuss the characteristics of high performance systems.
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46. Discuss the six phases of the Grid OD Program.
Phase 1: Grid seminar—Someone in a responsible management position attends a