57) A sense of calm is likely to be a ________.
A) negative attractor that activates the prefrontal cortex
B) negative attractor that activates the parasympathetic nervous system
C) positive attractor that activates the parasympathetic nervous system
D) positive attractor that activates the sympathetic nervous system
58) A negative emotional attractor such as fear is likely to activate the ________.
A) sympathetic nervous system
B) prefrontal cortex
C) parasympathetic nervous system
D) brain’s decision-making center
59) Emotions play a significant role in how people respond to change. Which of the following is
NOT primarily driven by emotion?
A) attention
B) decisions
C) behavior
D) focus
60) Boyatzis’s model uses a person’s ________ to provide motivation for intentional change.
A) dreams
B) shortcomings
C) real self
D) ideal self
61) In the Gestalt cycle of experience, the sixth and final step is resolution. Which sequence
correctly identifies the first five steps of the cycle?
A) sensation, awareness, action, energy, contact
B) sensation, awareness, energy, action, contact
C) awareness, sensation, contact, action, energy
D) contact, awareness, sensation, action, energy
62) “Analysis paralysis” typically arises in the Gestalt cycle when individuals or organizations
________.
A) skip key steps in the process such as contact and energy
B) fail to get the process started
C) get stuck in an early step such as sensation or awareness
D) have doubts about the process before they start
63) Organization development focuses on ________ change.
A) planned
B) diagnostic
C) incremental
D) short-term
64) Action research focuses on initiating change ________.
A) after a research project is complete
B) before a research project has begun
C) while a research project is in progress
D) without intervening in a group
65) It’s important for leaders to recognize that change is ________ for most people.
A) easy
B) pointless
C) meaningless
D) hard
66) As an analyst with the Department of Commerce, your work focuses on emerging economies
of the world. You need to identify areas that have a high percentage of young people. Which
country would be best to focus on?
A) Russia
B) China
C) Brazil
D) India
67) An employment agency for medical professionals is looking to expand operations outside the
United States. These jobs typically are most plentiful in countries with aging populations. Which
country would be best for the agency to consider?
A) Germany
B) United Kingdom
C) China
D) United States
68) Jules works for a nonprofit focused on economic justice. She’s conducting a study on U.S.
pay scales. Her research should indicate that the population segment with the lowest pay scale is
________.
A) African-American males
B) White females
C) African-American females
D) Latino females
69) Which of the following is NOT an approach to organizational change according to the
Nadler and Tushman model?
A) reorientation
B) re-creation
C) experimentation
D) adaptation
70) Your company has been blindsided by a competitor’s release of a game-changing product.
According to the Nadler and Tushman model, which is the best approach for the company to
address this challenge?
A) tuning
B) adaptation
C) reorientation
D) re-creation
71) An auto company’s management team has announced a new product development strategy in
response to tepid sales over the past three quarters. This is an example of ________.
A) bottom-up reorientation
B) top-down re-creation
C) bottom-up tuning
D) top-down adaptation
72) Which of the following is NOT a major societal change that will have long-term impacts on
organizations?
A) globalization
B) health care access
C) technology
D) environmentalism
73) You have been hired as an executive for a struggling movie studio. Profits are diminishing,
Internet technology has changed the film distribution model, and the studio’s promising sequel
projects have all under performed. Together, what do these developments represent in Kotter’s 8-
Stage Model?
A) They make up a new strategic vision.
B) They make up an urgent need for change.
C) They make up a group of short-term goals.
D) They make up a change in organizational culture.
74) You are a motion picture executive and have decided that your struggling studio will avoid
making blockbuster action films. Instead, it will focus on fresh scripts from new directors who
take risks. Which of Kotter’s stages are you focusing on?
A) Stage 1
B) Stage 2
C) Stage 3
D) Stage 4
75) You are the general manager for a large ski resort. As you implement new policies,
employees are being passively resistant to change. What would indicate this?
A) employees showing loss of interest in the job
B) widespread resignations
C) employees doing as little as possible
D) deliberate sabotage of operations by employees
76) Tracy has been hired as superintendent of schools for a large city. Student achievement test
scores are far below the norm, so she implements a force field analysis to initiate some major
changes. What would Lewin say Tracy must consider to be successful?
A) the slow pace of incremental change
B) the subsystem levers
C) the context of the situation
D) being a participant in the situation
77) Which of the following stages from Kotter’s model would require a manager to draw heavily
on emotional intelligence?
A) Stage 3: Create a new strategic vision
B) Stage 4: Make sure the new vision is effectively communicated.
C) Stage 6: Successfully pull off short-term victories.
D) Stage 8: Solidify the change in the organizational culture.
78) Janice is a literary agent who has read a very clever book about computers. It would not be a
runaway best-seller, but would be very popular among techno-geeks. This book can take
advantage of ________.
A) the long tail
B) the short tail
C) product placement
D) market diversity
79) Which statement is TRUE?
A) The fastest-growing economies in the world belong to the world’s most prosperous nations.
B) The world’s economic balance of power is shifting toward countries with aging populations.
C) Economies in the East and South, such as those of China and India, are quickly overtaking the
traditional powers in terms of economic growth.
D) The wealthiest countries have the world’s fastest-growing economies.
80) In order to attract the best employees, a company builds a state-of-the-art gym with a
babysitting service in its new factory. Which strategy of change fits this approach best?
A) tuning — because the steps are fairly small and incremental, and they are anticipating a need
rather than reacting to a problem
B) adaptation — because the steps are fairly small and incremental, and they are reacting to a
problem rather than anticipating a need
C) reorientation — because the steps are large and strategic, and they are anticipating a need
rather than reacting to a problem
D) re-creation — because the steps are large and strategic, and they are reacting to a need rather
than anticipating a problem
81) Which of the following contributed most to the economic crisis that began in 2007?
A) Deregulated commercial banks were allowed to take more risks than investment banks.
B) Deregulated commercial banks were allowed to trade securities and take more risks than they
had been in the past.
C) Deregulated investment banks were allowed to trade securities and take more risks than they
had been in the past.
D) Deregulated investment banks were allowed to take more risks than commercial banks.
82) Six weeks ago, Nola implemented a new policy for her sales team to attend two outside
networking events per week to expand their contacts. Two of her top salespeople have complied,
but Rob seems to have an excuse every week for not attending events. Which of the following
best describes Rob’s response to Nola’s new policy?
A) acceptance
B) indifference
C) passive resistance
D) active resistance
83) Which of the following is NOT considered a key power-related skill needed by change
agents?
A) the power to affect the organizational agenda
B) the power to manage meaning
C) the power to enlist organizational resources
D) the power to anticipate change
84) Employees respond to change in many ways. Which of the following is NOT considered a
form of passive resistance to change?
A) overlooking errors
B) being disobedient
C) minimizing output
D) failing to develop new skills
85) A colleague argues that if Vaill’s permanent white water metaphor is true, managers will
soon be rendered obsolete because there is no way to manage in a totally chaotic system. How do
you respond to this characterization?
86) You are leading a team through the Gestalt cycle to explore major strategic changes that can
successfully guide your company through a tough economy. After a few weeks of task force
meetings, you realize the group is stuck in analysis paralysis. How would you address this
problem?
87) Which metaphor for change do you see as more useful: Lewin’s force field analysis model or
Vaill’s permanent white water model? Explain.
88) Steve Jobs, the late founder of Apple, said, “Playing it safe is the most dangerous thing we
can do.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your reasoning.
89) You have been installed as Director of Strategic Diversity Initiatives for a fairly
conservative, Midwestern division of a large corporation. This is a new position, and the
management team does not believe that diversity is worth focusing on to improve business. How
do you convince them otherwise?
90) Explain how Children’s Medical Center of Dallas used Shea’s lever model to initiate
successful change.
91) You own a 2000-acre farm that grows cabbage. As public tastes change, you think that
demand for the vegetable will drop. You could convert the farm to broccoli, but you saw an
article about a new method for processing fast-growing grasses into biofuels. You believe this
might be an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something big. Explain this situation
using the Nadler and Tushman model, and describe which approach you would employ and why.
92) Describe the Gestalt cycle, and explain how “analysis paralysis” occurs.
93) A school district has hired you to carry out an action research project to assess and refine its
new reading program. Explain what you would plan to do.
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94) Explain how emotions can hijack our brain during times of change.