Chapter 16
The Challenge
and the
Future for
Organizations
TEST QUESTIONS
True/False Questions
1. Two criteria that an OD practitioner has for judging effectiveness: (1) the client’s
ability to maintain system wide innovation and (2) the stability of the OD program
after termination of the practitioner-client relationship.
2. Feedback is a continuing assessment that allows an organization to measure the
effectiveness of the change process.
3. OD practitioners and management have different roles in the OD process.
Management is responsible to see that necessary information is made available to
participating members and groups. This permits the OD practitioner to focus upon
other aspects of the OD process.
4. The “Hawthorne effect” is an effective feedback technique.
5. Fade-out is the gradual process of terminating the client-practitioner relationship.
6. OD evaluations are important only to the client’s key decision makers and the OD
participants who want feedback regarding their change efforts.
7. The extent of the evaluative process is determined in part by the willingness of
organization decision makers to pay for a rigorous evaluation.
8. A self-renewing organization is one that initiates new strategies that lead to
additional innovations in a constantly changing world.
9. An effective OD program results in an effective organization that will remain static
for a long-range of time.
10. The boundaries of what is or is not an OD intervention are clear because the scope of
OD knowledge has stabilized over the years.
11. Rather than being a fad, OD appears to be one of the primary methods for helping
organizations adjust to accelerated change.
12. The successful managerial organizations are practicing “reactive” management styles
rather than using “anticipative” styles.
13. OD’s basic thrust arises from its face validity: it seems to work in making the
organization more competitive.
14. Though trust has been recognized as a critical value in OD, it has not been a critical
factor for sustaining excellence with an organization.
15. Reengineering urges incremental change of job designs, organization structures, and
management systems.
16. Networking and collaboration among organizations are macrosystem trends for future
organizations as managers face resource reductions.
17. The workforce of the future will tend to become more homogeneous than it has been
in the past.
18. Evidence suggests that intrinsic, not extrinsic, motivation is a factor in stress and its
symptoms.
19. It is widely acknowledged that OD techniques to deal effectively with external
systems and power-coercive problems have been well established.
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Multiple-Choice Questions
20. A rigid, authoritarian system operating within a volatile environment is likely to
result in what type of orientation to change?
a. reconfigurable
b. conservative
c. reactive
d. facilitative
e. anticipative
21. Which of the following is a primary measure of the effectiveness of an OD program?
a. stability of the OD effort
b. maintenance of innovation within the system
c. development of a quality improvement program within the organization
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
22. Which of the following is not a method of providing feedback on the effectiveness of
an OD program?
a. benchmarks
b. self-disclosure
c. posting of financial data
d. after-the-fact interview
e. questionnaire data
23. A major factor in the deterioration of performance over time is _____.
a. fade-out
b. the change model
c. comfortable working conditions
d. a social network
e. improved technology
24. Change can be stabilized and fade-out eliminated or reduced by _____.
a. ascribing status to the change effort
b. demonstrating effectiveness of the change
c. integration into structure, norms, and culture
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
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25. Effective OD evaluation systems help a manager _____.
a. determine whether performance is on target
b. make projections of future conditions
c. train employees
d. to justify past inefficiencies
e. none of the above
26. A critical factor limiting evaluation of planned system changes is _____.
a. the willingness of organizational decision makers to pay for a rigorous
evaluation
b. the self-confidence of the OD practitioner to accept criticism
c. the cooperation of the organizational members involved in the effort
d. all of the above
e. answers a and c
27. The OD practitioner considers _____ when the benchmarks used to evaluate change
have been achieved and the client system appears capable of continuing innovation.
a. recycling
b. reconfiguration
c. reengineering
d. innovation
e. disengagement
28. Building innovation and commitment to change into the organization’s values
requires development of a _____.
a. client-practitioner relationship
b. self-renewal capacity
c. sociotechnical system
d. feedback loop
29. OD practitioners are increasingly using a(n) _____ approach that includes structural
and technical strategies.
a. integrated
b. systems
c. disengaged
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
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30. OD presents the technology for creating and seeking _____, which is the underlying
goal of the modem manager and organization.
a. stabilization
b. organizational excellence
c. disengagement
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
31. _____ is a complex dilemma in values that are facing OD practitioners at this time.
a. Organization diagnosis
b. The professionalism of OD
c. Intergroup team building
d. Force field analysis
e. The learning laboratory
32. Which of the following is NOT a challenge of OD?
a. professionalism
b. overemphasis on social interventions
c. the use of matrix models
d. dealing with power
e. certification of OD practitioners
33. _____ is a basic challenge to OD.
a. Overemphasis on behavioral aspects
b. Short-term techniques that are useful to organizations fighting for
survival
c. Long-term interventions that have positive results
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
34. A criticism of OD is its reliance on the use of collaboration models, which frequently
increases cohesion within units but fails to deal with _____.
a. power issues
b. the behavioral patterns of individual members
c. conflict resolution
d. the total system
e. answers b and c
35. Which of the following is NOT a future trend in OD?
a. mergers, takeovers, product changes, and plant closures
b. increased employee empowerment
c. organization around things that an organization does best
d. development of trust within organizations
e. stabilizing the external environment
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36. A fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of a business system is known as
_____. a. a shared vision
b. innovation
c. reengineering
d. organizational architecture
e. a learning organization
37. In organizations of the future, it will be necessary to simultaneously _____ and
_____ functions, structure, and governance.
a. inhibit; share
b. centralize; decentralize
c. reconfigure; disengage
d. trust; innovate
e. merge; downsize
38. Macrosystem trends for organizations include _____.
a. interorganization collaboration
b. more simplified organizational systems
c. reduced value conflicts
d. developing effective reward systems for individuals and teams
e. answers a and c
39. Interpersonal trends in organizations include _____.
a. resource linking
b. merging line and staff functions
c. understanding the impact of culture change
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
40. As increasing complexity emphasizes the interdependent relationship between the
individual and the organization, the OD practitioner will need to develop _____
among organizational elements.
a. controls
b. space
c. synergy
d. disengagement
e. architecture
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41. It is widely acknowledged that OD techniques to deal effectively with _____ and
_____ have yet to emerge.
a. behavioral; power
b. systems; operations
c. conflict; motivation
d. power; external systems
e. none of the above
Essay Questions
42. Describe the concept of self-renewal capacity.
43. Describe briefly the major challenges surrounding the role of values facing managers
as they engage in organization development in the future.
44. Describe the probable trends for organization development and the organization of
the future.
45. The course of change for OD will predominantly surround the issues of a changing
workforce, international competence, and transformation within the organization.
Describe the impact of these issues on the organization of the future.