Fundamentals of Management, 10e (Robbins)
Chapter 8 Managing Change and Innovation
1) Change can’t be eliminated, so managers must learn to ________ successfully.
A) avoid it
B) ignore it
C) work around it
D) manage it
2) Which of the following is an example of a structural organizational change?
A) changing employee attitudes
B) changing work practices
C) purchasing new work equipment
D) changing managerial span of control
3) Which of the following is an example of a technology change within an organization?
A) forming teams to complete tasks
B) workers using new software
C) workers wanting to telecommute
D) workers wanting flexible hours
4) Which of the following is an organizational “people change”?
A) work methods that people use
B) authority relationships between people
C) attitudes that people have
D) job redesign
5) Which of the following is an organizational structure change?
A) the building of a new workshop
B) resentment of bosses by employees
C) a new way to package chocolate cake
D) changing who reports to whom
6) Which of the following is an organizational technology change?
A) purchase of a new backhoe
B) employees expecting a raise
C) employees accepting a new schedule
D) widening of span of control
7) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an example of which of the following forms
of environmental change?
A) internal
B) technology
C) government laws and regulations
D) labor markets
8) Falling interest rates are an example of what kind of external force that causes a company to
need to make an organizational change?
A) marketplace competition forces
B) government laws and regulations
C) labor market forces
D) economic forces
9) Which of the following is an internal force that can cause a company to make an
organizational change?
A) a new ad campaign
B) new safety requirements
C) a new rival company
D) new pollution laws
10) Which of the following is an external force that would cause a company to make an
organizational change?
A) an organization-wide restructuring
B) the naming of a new CEO
C) a widening span of control for managers
D) a booming economy
11) To compete with rival company X, company Y changes its management structure. This is an
example of ________.
A) an internal change causing an external change
B) an internal change causing another internal change
C) an external change causing another external change
D) an external change causing an internal change
12) After a thorough company-wide self-examination, company Y decides to set up work teams.
This is an example of ________.
A) an internal change causing an external change
B) an internal change causing another internal change
C) an external change causing another external change
D) an external change causing an internal change
13) A company’s workers asking to be able to celebrate Mexican holidays is an example of
________ force for change.
A) an external workforce composition
B) an internal workforce composition
C) an external tactic
D) an internal strategy
14) Labor strikes are an example of what change factor that may encourage a change in
management thinking and practices?
A) workforce composition
B) equipment
C) employee attitude
D) strategy
15) In organizations, people who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing the
change process are called ________.
A) managers
B) change agents
C) change managers
D) nonmanagerial employees
16) Outside consultants generally try to initiate ________ changes than internal managers.
A) more drastic
B) less drastic
C) more cautious
D) fewer
17) The “calm waters” metaphor envisions an organization as ________.
A) a large ship on a roiling sea
B) a large ship on a calm sea
C) a small raft on a calm sea
D) a small raft on a roiling sea
18) The “white-water rapids” metaphor envisions an organization as ________.
A) a large ship on a roiling sea
B) a large ship on a calm sea
C) a small raft on a calm river
D) a small raft on a raging river
19) The “white-water rapids” metaphor sees change as ________.
A) an occasional occurrence
B) the natural state of things
C) an unpleasant interruption of the normal calm
D) something that must be eliminated
20) Kurt Lewin’s “calm waters” metaphor sees change as ________.
A) an unusual event
B) an everyday event
C) unfortunate
D) avoidable
21) The first step in Lewin’s three-step description of the change process involves ________.
A) freezing the new state
B) changing to a new state
C) unfreezing the status quo
D) changing to a new status quo
22) The final step in Lewin’s three-step description of the change process is ________.
A) freezing the new state
B) unfreezing the status quo
C) changing to a new state
D) unfreezing the new state
23) According to Lewin, which of the following is a force that might overcome inertia and
unfreeze the status quo?
A) increase restraining forces
B) maintain restraining forces
C) decrease driving forces
D) increase driving forces
24) According to Lewin, which of the following is the objective of refreezing?
A) to stabilize the new situation
B) to promote movement away from existing equilibrium
C) to eliminate the need for future change
D) to direct behavior away from the status quo
25) According to Lewin, which of the following is the best way to unfreeze the status quo?
A) increase restraining forces
B) decrease restraining forces and increase driving forces
C) decrease driving forces
D) increase restraining forces and increase driving forces
26) The goal in Lewin’s “calm waters” metaphor is ________.
A) to change the current equilibrium state
B) to reach a state of constant change
C) to eliminate the equilibrium state
D) to establish a new equilibrium state
27) Today, Lewin’s “calm waters” metaphor is increasingly thought to be ________.
A) illogical
B) an apt description of the current situation
C) a blueprint for the future
D) obsolete
28) Which phenomenon in today’s business climate has made the “white-water rapids” metaphor
popular?
A) reduced competition
B) corporations that are too powerful
C) organizations that resist change
D) constant and chaotic change
29) Writing laws to reward industries to reduce carbon emissions in an effort to combat global
climate change can be best described as an example of which of the following?
A) unfreezing the status quo
B) freezing a change into place
C) implementing change
D) refreezing the status quo
30) Kurt Lewin originated some of his most important group dynamics ideas by studying which
of the following?
A) family vacations during World War I
B) force fields in physics
C) how football has blocking and driving forces
D) family food habits during World War II
31) Lewin’s force field analysis identified ________ forces that compete when people try to
achieve a goal.
A) physical push-and-pull
B) driving and blocking
C) enormous
D) magnetic
32) In terms of change, Lewin’s force field analysis might see ________ as a driving force.
A) fear of change
B) inertia
C) reward from change
D) difficulty of change
33) Signing up for a college course that varies in length from 2 to 30 weeks with classes that last
from 20 minutes to 3 hours is an example of which metaphor of change?
A) Three step model
B) Calm-waters
C) White-water rapids
D) Force-field
34) Organization development (OD) helps employees ________.
A) deal with planned change
B) deal with unplanned change
C) avoid unpleasant change
D) avoid all types of change
35) Organization development can be viewed as an attempt to change an organization’s
________.
A) structure
B) financial goals
C) culture
D) status
36) The most popular OD efforts involve cooperation and these kinds of activities.
A) individual interactions
B) group interactions
C) group assessment
D) individual assessment
37) Which of the following is NOT a common method of organization development (OD)?
A) teambuilding
B) process consultation
C) positive feedback
D) survey feedback
38) In process consultation, ________ observe and analyze an organization to find ways to
improve interpersonal processes.
A) outside consultants
B) top-level managers
C) ordinary employees
D) company efficiency specialists
39) The primary goal of the OD method called teambuilding is to ________.
A) increase efficiency
B) increase trust and openness
C) identify troublemakers
D) play games such as volleyball to build morale
40) Organizational change can be any alteration in an organization’s people, structure, or
technology.
41) Change is something that managers strive to eliminate completely.
42) An example of a change in structure is an organization becoming more decentralized.
43) A company changing its computer operating system would not be an example of a
technology change because no new technological equipment was used.
44) Ongoing changes like software updates are not considered changes in technology because
they are changes that are planned and expected.
45) An example of changes in people would involve a manager widening her span of control.
46) An aggressive new competitor in the marketplace is an external force that creates a need for
organizational change that companies frequently face today.
47) New online advertising technology is an external force that creates a need for organizational
change when it causes a company to change its advertising strategy.
48) Labor markets are an internal force that creates a need for organizational change.
49) The decision of an organization to bring in new equipment from the outside is an example of
an external force that creates a need for organizational change.
50) In an organization, only a manager can be a change agent.
51) Consultants are less likely to be change agents than internal managers.
52) The “calm waters” metaphor imagines the organization as a large ship crossing a calm sea.
53) Kurt Lewin sees the first step in change as the freezing of the status quo.
54) In Lewin’s view, the only way to effect change is to increase the driving forces that direct
change away from the status quo.
55) The main idea of the “white-water rapids” metaphor is that change is always destructive.
56) In the “white-water rapids” metaphor of change, managers should expect change at any time,
and it may last for unspecified lengths of time.
57) The number of managers who face “white-water rapids” metaphor conditions is getting
smaller.
58) Organization development (OD) consists of efforts to help organization members deal with
unplanned changes.
59) One important reason why organization development efforts are needed is that even planned
change can be very upsetting to members of an organization.
60) In a short essay, identify and discuss two external forces that bring about the need for
change.
61) In a short essay, identify and discuss how internal forces can bring about the need for an
organization to change.
62) In a short essay, describe the “calm waters” view of organizational change.
63) In a short essay, describe the “white-water rapids” view of organizational change.
64) In a short essay, explain the three types of organizational change.
65) In a short essay, explain organization development (OD).