Assignment and Test Questions on Organizational and Individual Change
True/False Questions:
Sometimes
organizations change in response to forces from outside the organization such as
government, competition, suppliers, global dynamics, technology, etc.
True
False
One
of the most common reasons for organizational change is growth.
True
False
Greiner
argues that organizations evolve through five distinguishable phases of development, each
of which ends with a crisis.
True
False
A
management team can never anticipate and prepare for the next developmental crisis.
True
False
The
revolutionary phases are the calm stages of growth without major upheaval.
True
False
The
key task during the crisis of leadership is to find a strong project/programme purpose oriented manager who
is also acceptable to the founders and the original organizational members.
True
False
In
the delegation phase a functional organizational structure is established with increasing
specialization for tasks, numerical control systems are installed, work becomes
standardized, budgets are set up, communication is characterized by information flowing up
and centralized decisions cascading down the hierarchy.
True
False
In
the direction phase managers need to delegate and empower more, which directive phase
managers resist doing.
True
False
The
crisis of control occurs because the managers feel they are losing control of an
increasingly diverse field and then seek to regain control.
True
False
Organizations
smoothly go through each of these crisis and phases as they grow.
True
False
If
there is no crisis, no perceived need for change, no compelling vision for the future, or
no process for getting to the future, an organization is not likely achieve change.
True
False
Fear
fuels resistance to change.
True
False
Key
implementers of change should be involved in creating goals of change.
True
False
We
have a tendency to exaggerate the losses we experience.
True
False
In
the experience of many change managers, most of the time spent in change management at the
human level, is in dealing with or helping people deal with endings.
True
False
In
the neutral zone of transitions individuals can be very creative and productive.
True
False
When
leading individuals through change it is helpful to acknowledge the loss from their
perspective.
True
False
Multiple-Choice:
Which
of the following is NOT a way to lead
successful organizational change?
Create
a sense of urgency
Describe vague goals
Delineate
specific steps and programs the organizational will take
Set
up ways to measure your results to demonstrate how the benefits of the change are greater
than any perceived losses.
Which
of the following represents the stages of a well-managed organizational change?
Crisis,
institutionalization, transition
Diagnosis,
compelling vision, transition ideas
Ready,
Fire, Aim
None of the above
Which
of the following is an individual emotional response to undesired change?
Bargaining
Doubt
Pessimism
Optimism
Which
of the following is a characteristic of collaboration phase?
Each
entity becomes an investment center
Departments
start merging
Stock
options and profit sharing are used to encourage identity with the organization.
Cross organization teams are used more
Matching the Columns:
Please match the evolutionary stage or revolutionary crisis
from Greiner’s organizational development model with their descriptions.
1.
Coordination Phase
2.
Creativity Phase
3.
Direction Phase
4.
Leadership Crisis
5.
Red Tape Crisis
6.
Autonomy Crisis
a)
Merger of departments into coherent groups, acquisitions,
centralized information and financial systems with decentralized performance and reward
systems.
b)
Replacing individualistic technical leaders with
efficiency-mined managers.
c)
Conflict between headquarters and individual operating
units.
d)
Organization is born. Products and markets are
developed.
e)
Functional organizational structure, control systems and
standardized work.
f)
Employees resist directive management seeing
more decision-making latitude and empowerment.
Answers: 1-a; 2-d; 3-e; 4-b; 5-c; 6-f
Summary
In
this module we examined five phases of organizational change and development (creativity,
direction, delegation, coordination, and collaboration) and the crises that punctuate
organizational growth and development. In addition, the dynamics of planned change
in organizations were described, and strategies for managing this type of change
suggested. The dynamics of change within individuals were summarized, as were
emotional reactions to both undesired and positive change. Lastly, strategies for
leading individuals through organizational change in individuals were offered.
Bridges, W.
- Leading Transitions: A new model for change. 2000.
Greiner, L.
-
Evolution and revolution and organizations grow, revised. Harvard project/programme purpose
Review. 1998.
Kubler-Ross, E.
- On Death and Dying.
Lewin, K.
- Field theory in social science. NY: Harper and Row. 1951.
Machiavelli, N.
- The Prince. NY:
Morgan, G.
- Images of Organization – Chapter 8.
Wheatley, M.J.
- Leadership and the New Science.
Change.
Occurs in organizations when there is dissatisfaction with the current situation, a vision
of the future that is attractive to organizational members, and an idea of the steps it
would take to reach that vision—and all of those factors exceed the perceived
cost–losses from changing the status quo.
Denial.
A form of passive resistance that defends the person from acknowledging that an unwanted
change is occurring.
Evolutionary
phases. The calm stages of growth free of major upheaval.
Revolutionary
phases. Periods of substantial turmoil in organizational growth.
Transition.
A period when there is a gradual, psychological reorientation to new circumstances; we
disengage from what was -- ending, live in a confusing/ambiguous place – the neutral
zone, and then become familiar with, and accept, the new reality – new beginning.
Learning Objectives include:
Gaining an overview of the change processes, both intrinsic and planned, that occur at organizational levels
Gaining an overview of change dynamics that characterize the individual level and ways to manage/optimize the process.
Questions
and Answers
1. Will you simplify the stages of the change
process?
Answer: The simplest version of the change process
comes from Kurt Lewin: Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze. Almost all the other descriptions
for managing individual or organizational change are variations on these three
factors. People may break down what it takes to get people to detach from the old,
move into new directions, and get comfortable in the new order – but when it is all
said and done – unfreeze, change, refreeze captures the essence.
2. What do you do in a
situation where we need to change but no body is interested because we’re still very
profitable?
Answer: This is always a challenging
situation. Unless there is some agreement on the need for a change, it is very
difficult to get any change. How do you know that you need to change? If you
have some information based on future projections about changing markets, slowing growth,
opportunities missed, beneficiary concerns – whatever data you have that you can use to
advocate change must be organized and presented in a communication campaign that will
dislodge people from their complacency. Many profitable organizations miss markets
and opportunities because they cannot read the signals that new directions need to be
taken. It’s often more difficult to get successful, profitable organizations to
change than to get ‘hungry’ organizations to change. So you must create a
sense of urgency by communicating widely the need for change, grounded in as much
objectively verifiable information as you can obtain.
3. The description of
the crises of organizations really struck me. We are an managerial organization
that has grown tremendously, but now we need new ‘management-oriented’
leadership and our founder-CEO still wants to run things as if we were a small
organization. What can we do?
Answer: Greiner gives a number of suggestions in
his model for how to handle such a situation. There are also many
‘small-project/programme purpose’ and manager oriented consultants who can help you and your
organization find additional managers who will work well with your current CEO and
culture, and who can start to institute some of the systems needed to run larger, rapidly
growing organizations. You might start to discuss some of the ideas from the model
with the founder-CEO – coupling the information with your assessment of some of the
problems you have in your organization and the systems that need developing to handle
those problems. It’s a tricky thing to do with many founders – that’s
why Griener calls it the crisis of leadership – because many founders resist
acknowledging that they need help and/or a different style to manage as opposed to start
an organization. Getting them to release that attachment to doing things their way is
always hard. That’s why it’s helpful to get a consultant.