Chapter 4: Recognising the Need or Opportunity for Change

1. What does the acronym PEST stand for?

Political, economic, sociological and technical factors Personal, economic, sociocultural and technological factors Personal, environmental, sociocultural and technical factors Political, economic, sociocultural and technological factors

2. According to Weick and Quinn (1999), which of the following are the three related processes associated with continuous change:

Security of supplies Shifting attitudes towards work and leisure New legislation on consumer protection Availability of new production processes

3. In Strebel’s (1996) model, which of the following are the two phases in organizations’ evolutionary cycles of competitive behaviour?

Evolution and revolution Creativity and ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ Innovation and efficiency Innovation and growth

4. Greiner’s (1972) view is that organizations evolve through ______ predictable stages of development and each stage brings with it a set of __________________ issues that have to be managed if the organization is to be effective.

five/alignment-related four/competition-related four/cost-related five/people management-related

5. What is the third stage in Greiner’s organizational life cycle?

Growth through collaboration Growth through delegation leading to a crisis of control Growth through creativity leading to a crisis of leadership Growth through direction leading to a crisis of autonomy

6. What is the name Nadler and Shaw (1995) give to the trap that organizations can often fall into after a long period of success?

The death trap The death spiral The mousetrap The cycle of denial

7. Prior to the introduction of Kaplan and Norton’s (2004) balanced scorecard, organizations treated investments in e.g. employee capabilities and customer relationships as _____________________________________.

separate expenses outside of regular financial accounting expenses in the period in which they were incurred unnecessary and a hindrance to their growth necessary but expensive

8. Which of the following is a definition of ‘groupthink’?

When people simultaneously accept two contradictory beliefs as correct When an organization’s culture and terminology limit free thought When people lose the ability to think independently due to focusing on group cohesion When people are able to think independently but also work together in a group

9. Thompson (2012) asserts that those employees who ____________________ can be the first to learn about product shortcomings.

liaise with suppliers communicate frequently with each other work directly on product development interact directly with customers

10. According to Pitt (2002), which of the following roles can people play to influence the agenda for change in an organization?

Foreign language translator Devil’s advocate Upward-facing emotive champion Downward-facing emotive advocate

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