Chapter 09 Individual and Organizational Change
True / False Questions
1.
(p. 208)
Stress causing events are always negative and detrimental to one’s health.
FALSE
2.
(p. 208)
The Holmes-Rahe Readjustment Scale measures how a person is coping with stressful
events without allowing them to damage his or her health.
FALSE
3.
(p. 209)
According to the Holmes-Rahe Readjustment Scale, if a person scores 150–299 life change
units, he or she has 50 percent chance of developing a stress-related illness.
TRUE
4.
(p. 210)
A common characteristic of seven major life changes is that they happen to everyone at
least a few times throughout one’s lifetime.
TRUE
5.
(p. 211)
According to William Bridges, “beginning” is the first of the three general steps involved in
the process of acceptance of personal loss.
FALSE
6.
(p. 211)
In the process of dealing with personal loss, “ending” is the stage where “emotional
standstill,” “denial,” and “anger” take place.
TRUE
7.
(p. 211)
In the event of an expected personal loss, the element of shock is absent.
FALSE
8.
(p. 212)
In the “bottoming out” step of dealing with personal loss, for the first time, it becomes
possible to let go of one’s emotional burden.
TRUE
9.
(p. 213)
One danger with the seven-step recovery diagram is that people might be tempted to think
they should passively let these steps happen to them.
TRUE
10.
(p. 214)
Personal change can affect your self-esteem.
TRUE
11.
(p. 215)
The Lewin change model shows that a status quo is essential to make a change.
FALSE
12.
(p. 215)
The Lewin change model contains three steps: the beginnings, the neutral zone, and the
endings.
FALSE
13.
(p. 216)
In the unfreezing process of the Lewin model, fear in some form is nearly always one of the
major obstacles.
TRUE
14.
(p. 216)
According to Kurt Lewin, the refreezing step of the change model is “relatively secure”
against change.
TRUE
15.
(p. 216)
The refreezing process of Kurt Lewin’s change model might involve new hiring policies, so
that employees hired after the change would be more accepting of the new system.
TRUE
16.
(p. 216)
The refreezing step of Kurt Lewin’s change model is unrealistic when environmental and
technological changes are everyday realities.
TRUE
17.
(p. 217)
In today’s world, staying with the status quo as suggested by the force field analysis is not
realistic.
TRUE
18.
(p. 217)
One of the benefits of the force field analysis is that it gets the changers to plan for the
change.
TRUE
19.
(p. 217)
The logical incrementalism model maintains that forces inside a firm and not outside the
firm can put pressure on those who are involved in a planned change.
FALSE
20.
(p. 218)
Trial balloon procedure is used in the general concern stage of the logical incrementalism
model.
FALSE
21.
(p. 218)
Many managers see logical incrementalism as an accurate description of how change
occurs in most successful companies.
TRUE
22.
(p. 218)
Logical incrementalism is most successful when used to bring a well-designed plan into
general acceptance.
TRUE
23.
(p. 218)
The major problem with getting organizational change to take place is nearly always the
same: technology barrier.
FALSE
24.
(p. 219)
When the pace of change is too sluggish, employees may rebel against the change.
TRUE
25.
(p. 221)
One of the reasons for Japan’s economic success has been its companies’ approach to
business.
TRUE
9-5
26.
(p. 221)
In the Japanese approach to change, managers involve employees in the change process
only during the final stages.
FALSE
27.
(p. 221)
Under the kaizen concept, business productivity is viewed as an ongoing, continual
process.
TRUE
28.
(p. 221–
222)
Organizational development requires that the top management of a company is kept away
from its planning.
FALSE
29.
(p. 222)
OD interventions are training tools that teach members of an organization how to solve the
problems they face.
TRUE
30.
(p. 222)
Today OD is often used as a tool for empowerment.
TRUE
Multiple Choice Questions
31.
(p. 210)
Which of the following is a common characteristic of the major life changes that affect
people?
A.
These changes happen regularly to everyone.
B.
Changes which are beyond one’s control cause more stress.
C.
People who have a hold over things they can control are not affected by major life
changes.
D.
People feel the results of the changes only after an event is over.
32.
(p. 211)
Which of the following is one of the seven stages of personal change?
A.
Bottoming out
B.
C.
General concern
D.
Refreezing
33.
(p. 211)
_____ is the first stage of personal change.
A.
Denial
B.
Experimenting
C.
Emotional standstill
D.
Bottoming out
34.
(p. 211)
Which of the following steps occurs in the “beginnings” phase of dealing with personal
loss?
A.
Emotional standstill
B.
Denial
C.
Bottoming out
D.
Experimenting
35.
(p. 211)
Which of the following steps occurs in the “endings” phase of dealing with personal loss?
A.
Completion
B.
Helplessness
C.
Emotional standstill
D.
Experimenting
36.
(p. 211)
Which of the following reactions to personal loss typically occurs in the emotional standstill
stage?
A.
Denial
B.
Anger
C.
Experimenting
D.
Shock
37.
(p. 212)
Which of the following is typically experienced by people entering the “neutral zone” when
dealing with personal loss?
A.
Experimentation
B.
Bottoming out
C.
Denial
D.
Expression of anger
38.
(p. 212)
Which of the following is a mistake made by a person entering the neutral zone when
dealing with personal loss?
A.
Retreating into isolation
B.
Expressing his or her anger
C.
Moving into a state of denial
D.
Allowing normal curiosities to emerge
39.
(p. 212)
Which of the following is true of a person in the helplessness stage of personal change?
A.
The person slips into a state of permanent regression.
B.
The individual enters into a state of shock and denial.
C.
The person enters a neutral zone which is a temporary state of loss.
D.
The normal curiosities and desires come back to the person and new experiences
become evident.
40.
(p. 213)
Which of the following is a danger associated with the seven-step personal recovery
process?
A.
People may think that they should passively allow the steps to happen to them.
B.
Most people are not aware that the steps in the process tend to fail to come through.
C.
People may force themselves to go through the steps quicker than usual.
D.
Most people slip backward to an earlier stage of growth even when they know the
steps.
41.
(p. 215)
According to Lewin’s change model, for any change to occur in an organization, first the:
A.
employees need to be guided to the necessary attitudes and behaviors required for a
change.
B.
individuals working for the company must be convinced that a change is essential.
C.
the organizational climate must be adjusted.
D.
systems of the organization need to be changed.
42.
(p. 215)
Which of the following is the first step of Lewin’s change model?
A.
Completion
B.
Experimenting
C.
Moving to another condition
D.
43.
(p. 216)
_____ is the step of Lewin’s change model in which the actual organizational changes are
made.
A.
Unfreezing the status quo
B.
Diminishing the restraining force
C.
Moving to a new condition
D.
Broadcasting a general concern
44.
(p. 216)
Which of the following statements is true of the refreezing step of Lewin’s change model?
A.
It is during this stage that the company must ensure that the new behaviors actually
become new norms or standards on the job.
B.
It is during this step that the actual organizational changes are initiated.
C.
It is the first step of the Lewin model and its primary focus is on changing people’s
habits and attitudes to adjust to the organizational changes.
D.
It is the step of the Lewin model that is referred to as being “most unsecure” against
change.
45.
(p. 216)
Which of the following is the most important criticism against Lewin’s change model?
A.
It does not consider the changes that take place at the structural level.
B.
Refreezing is not a realistic concept in today’s business world.
C.
Unfreezing the status quo would simply hinder the progress.
D.
It is ineffective as it does not consider the cultural diversity of today’s workplace.
46.
(p. 216)
Refreezing is seen as an unrealistic concept in today‘s business because:
A.
it is difficult to convince technology savvy employees about the need for change.
B.
employees are too comfortable in the status quo and hence highly resistant to change.
C.
restraining forces are very strong due to advancements in technology.
D.
environmental and technological changes are everyday realities.
47.
(p. 217)
Which of the following statements is true of the force field analysis model?
A.
According to this model, the status quo is presented like a battlefield being fought for
by two armies.
B.
This model acknowledges that bringing about changes in a large organization is usually
time-consuming and complicated.
C.
This model measures the relative impact of many kinds of changes, on the basis of their
intensity and the adjustment problems they can create.
D.
According to this model, the primary aim is to teach members of an organization how to
solve the problems they face.
48.
(p. 217)
Who developed the force field analysis model?
A.
Peter Drucker
B.
James Brian Quinn
C.
Kurt Lewin
D.
William Bridges
49.
(p. 217)
Which of the following is a benefit of using the force field model?
A.
It allows managers to stick to the status quo in an organization.
B.
It allows those who are organizing a change to closely examine restraining forces.
C.
It ensures that the changed behaviors become the new standard for the job.
D.
It leads to improved quality consciousness in all the members involved in the process.
50.
(p. 217)
Who developed the logical incrementalism model?
A.
Blake and Mouton
B.
Kurt Lewin
C.
Peter Drucker
D.
James Brian Quinn
51.
(p. 218)
Which of the following is the first stage of the logical incrementalism model?
A.
Experimentation
B.
General concern
C.
Unfreezing the status quo
D.
Development of a formal plan
52.
(p. 218)
In which stage of logical incrementalism is the “trial balloon” procedure used?
A.
Development of a formal plan for change
B.
Using an opportunity or crisis to begin the change plan
C.
Ongoing adaptation of the plan
D.
Broadcasting a general concern or idea without details
53.
(p. 218)
Logical incrementalism is most successful when:
A.
it is used to bring a well-designed plan into general acceptance.
B.
it is used to implement changes that are poorly defined.
C.
it is used to measure the impact of many changes based on their intensity and
adjustment problems.
D.
it is used as a coping measure to deal with a personal loss.
54.
(p. 218)
Employees resist change because:
A.
they experience the effect of change only after the event is over.
B.
the management tries to involve them in the process from the beginning.
C.
they often choose how they see and hear data, and ignore information that challenges
the stability of their world.
D.
the companies typically support the change agent, the person responsible for an
organizational change effort.
55.
(p. 219)
Dalton Inc. fired several good employees to make a structural change that would save
money and guarantee other jobs. Despite the fact that the change did result in the
promised improvements, other employees began to distrust the company and fear for their
own jobs. Which of the following reasons for resisting change is observed in the given
scenario?
A.
Cognitive dissonance
B.
Belief that the change is wrong
C.
Resentment of the change agent
D.
Hearing only what employees want or expect to hear