Business Management Quiz

Unit 4

Management of Change

Question 1List five external sources that drive organisational change.

Answer1. Economic2. Geographic3. Social4. Legal5. Political

Question 2Explain how Economic forces can have a direct impact on change within an organisation. Give at least three examples relating to economic forces.

1. Inflation2. Interest Rates3. Consumer spending4. Currency rate5. Global Economic Recession

AnswersEconomic forces have a direct impact on all organisations operating within the current economic conditions.

Question 3Explain how Legal forces can have a direct impact on change within an organisation. Give at least three examples relating to legal forces.

1. Industrial Relations Laws2. Occupational Health & Safety Laws3. Equal Opportunity Laws4. Environmental laws such as the Carbon Emissions

Trading Scheme.5. Restrictions in Advertising eg tobacco & alcohol

AnswersThis relates to a change in the law either by Federal, State or Local Council by-laws

Question 4Explain how Geographic forces can have a direct impact on change within an organisation. Give at least three examples relating to geographic forces.

1. Extreme weather eg drought or flood2. Water restrictions3. Carbon emissions4. Pollution5. Land degradation

AnswerGeographic forces is when an organisation is affected by extreme weather conditions.

Question 5Explain how Social forces can have a direct impact on change within an organisation. Give at least three examples relating to social forces.

1. Fashion Trends2. New trends & cultural change3. Carbon emissions4. Healthy lifestyles5. Changing expectations of customers

AnswerSocial forces can be explained when consumers expectations change.

Question 6Explain how Political forces can have a direct impact on change within an organisation. Give at least three examples relating to political forces.

1. Government assistance in certain industries.2. Government assistance in training 3. Govt assistance in employing long term unemployed.4. Restrictions on opening and closing hours.

AnswerPolitical forces can be explained when federal, state or local governments intervene in the market place to support organisations which will benefit the economy or impose restrictions on organisations that may have a detrimental effect on the economy or community.

Question 7Explain how Technological forces can have a direct impact on change within an organisation. Give at least three examples relating to technological forces.

1. On-line shopping2. Robots replacing people in repetitive and boring jobs.3. Instant communication through sms messages for

advertising.4. Social networking web sites such as Facebook, Twitter

and You tube.

AnswerTechnological forces are when new technology is introduced into an organisation to improve it’s efficiency and effectiveness or their operations.

Question 8Internal forces have just as much impact on an organisations operations as external forces, however an organisation does have some control over these types of changes. List six internal forces of change.

Answers1. Corporate Culture2. New Management Styles3. Management Skills4. Stakeholders (shareholders, suppliers, competitiors)5. Changing employee expectations6. New policies.

Question 9Give an example of change relating to Corporate Culture.

Answers1. Change in the way people present themselves to their

customers eg. Dress code, telephone etiquette, customer service code of conduct.

Question 10Give an example of change relating to new management style.

AnswersA new participative or consultative style of management

may include more meetings to gauge employees ideas on situations.

A more autocratic style of management may include no consultation which may result in employees lower down the hierarchy not having any impact on decisions made.

Question 11Give an example of change relating to management skills.

AnswersA new manager that does not possess leadership skills may

have to rely on delegation which includes giving more power or consulting more with lower level managers.

Question 12Give an example of change relating to stakeholders.

AnswersA change that may occur relating to stakeholders could be a

change in ownership if a major individual or organisation purchased a majority of shares in the organisation. This would result in a merger or takeover.

A change that may occur relating to a supplier may be if a supplier goes out of business then the organisation will have to source another supplier.

A change that may occur relating to a new competitor could be a loss of customers and market share.

Question 13Give an example of new policies that may affect change within an organisation.

AnswersAn example of new policies that may affect change within

an organisation might be the a policy relating to using environmentally friendly products within the organisation, or installing energy saving procedures such as turning lights off when rooms are not in use.

Question 13Give an example of changing employee expectations.

AnswersA change that may occur due to changing employee

expectations could be loss of skilled employees if they are dissatisfied with the workplace. It may also be a problem if an organisations reputation is such that new employees will not apply for positions if the workplace situation is not adequate.

Question 14Give a definition of driving forces that create pressure to change.

AnswersA driving force that creates pressure to change are those

forces that enable an organisation to move towards its set objectives.

Question 15Give a definition of restraining forces that create pressure to change.

AnswersA restraining forces is a force that restricts change or

prevents it from happening.

Question 16Give nine (9) examples of a driving force that creates change.

Answers1. Effective management2. Technology3. New Employees4. Good Communication5. Global Markets6. Change Agents7. Competitors8. Legislation9. Low productivity

Question 17Give nine (9) examples of a restraining forces that restrict change.

Answers1. Costs2. Existing Corporate Culture3. Time4. Lack of resources5. Resistance from employees6. Poor communication7. Poor management8. Organisational inertia9. Low productivity

Question 18Name the 8 Steps that underlie Kotter’s theory on change management.

Answers1. Establish a sense of urgency2. Form a powerful guiding team3. Create a vision4. Communicate that vision5. Empower staff to act on the vision6. Plan for and celebrate short-term successes7. Consolidate improvements8. Institutionalise new behaviour

Question 19Identify at lease three low-risk and three high-risk practices that can be used as strategies for effective change management.

Answers1. Low risk strategies include, communication and

education & participation

2. High risk strategies include, negotiation and coercion.

Question 20Categorise the following as low risk or high risk practices when determining strategies to use in the change management process.1. Speaking to employers on a one-to-one basis regarding

change.2. Communicating via emails, texts, reports and letters.3. Using a participative style of management and delegate

some decision making authority.4. Supporting employees through the changes by using active

listening to problems and monitoring the level of dystress.5. Negotiating agreements and offering incentives for

employees to accept change.6. Manipulating figures to support the change process or

starting rumours to influence change.7. Using direct threats against those who resist change.

Question 20 - AnswersCategorise the following as low risk or high risk practices when determining strategies to use in the change management process.

1. Speaking to employers on a one-to-one basis regarding change. Low Risk2. Communicating via emails, texts, reports and letters. Low Risk3. Using a participative style of management and delegate some decision

making authority. Low Risk4. Supporting employees through the changes by using active listening to

problems and monitoring the level of dystress. Low Risk5. Negotiating agreements and offering incentives for employees to accept

change. High Risk6. Manipulating figures to support the change process or starting rumours to

influence change. High Risk7. Using direct threats against those who resist change. High Risk

Question 21Identify seven (7) significant issues that can affect large scale organisations.

Answers

1. Social responsibility2. Business ethics and corporate governance3. Globalisation4. Mergers and Acquisitions5. Technological Development6. Legislative compliance7. Privatisation.

Question 22Explain with an example how community attitudes put pressure on organisations to be better corporate citizens.

Answers

The reputation of an organisation can affect its profitability if it does not ‘do the right thing’ by the values of the community.

Examples of this are ‘News Corp’ Rupert Murdoch’s media organisation is in crisis at the present due to a scandal involving tapping into private citizen’s text messages and phone records.

Alcoa supports community projects by allowing their employees to work in the community one day a month. Compare this with the negative feedback coming from parents of children attending Anglesea Primary School where it is inferred that Alcoa is polluting the air children breath at the new school location.

Question 23Explain with an example how ‘business ethics and corporate governance put pressure on organisations to be honest and transparent in their operations.

Answers‘Doing the right thing’. An example of ‘News Corporation’ owned by Rupert

Murdoch reporting on others not doing the right thing when they themselves were tapping into private citizens phone records.

Corporate Governance is where laws and regulations are set down by the administrators to control everyone working for the organisation. Everyone is accountable and there are appropriate checks and balances in place to avoid unethical or unlawful activities taking place.

Eg Accounting standards must be complied with but reports accompanying the financial records must not be misleading giving a more favourable view of the reports than what is actually occurring.

Question 24Explain with an example how globalisation can have an impact of changing an organisations operations.

AnswersOrganisations today with the introduction of new

communication technology are able to operate effectively in a world market.

1. Contact with different cultures and business customs2. Different currencies3. Different legal and political systems4. New technology5. International recruitment6. International social responsibility.

Question 25List five Australian organisations that have gone global.

Answers1 BHP Billiton2 Brambles3 Lend Lease4 National Australia Bank5 Telstra

Question 26Explain how Mergers and Acquisitions affect change within an organisation.

AnswersA merger is when two or more organisations join together

to become one large organisation.An acquisition is when one organisation purchases another

by buying a controlling interest in its shares. Sometimes referred to as a takeover.

Question 27Explain the benefits of a merger or acquisition to an organisation.

AnswersEconomies of scale – this allows an organisation to lower

its production costs.Increased market share and access to new product

markets.Geographical expansion – can include access to foreign

marketsUpgraded expertise – can also target organisations to

acquire knowledge or technical expertise needed for expansion.

Lower cost of expansion – buying another organisation is often cheaper than growing internally.

Defence – protects themselves against a takeover.

Question 27Explain with an example how technological developments can affect change within an organisation.

AnswersAdvances in technology have impacted greatly on

organisations over the past few years. E-commerce is emerging an important aspect of an organisation business with more and more consumers shopping on line.

New technology brings with it the need for an organisation to change its current work practices and learn new skills.

Security is an issue with e-commerce and consumers need to have faith in the security of their information.

Technology can also lower production costs and the quality of a product.

Question 28Explain with an example how legislative compliance can affect change within an organisation.AnswersLaws passed by Acts of Parliament by State and Federal governments

have had a huge impact on organisations.

Laws that have been introduced over the past few years that organisations have had to comply with are:

1. Employee/industrial relations2. Superannuation3. Equal employment opportunity (covers sexual harassment)4. Affirmative action (Attempts to redress discrimination in the

workforce.)5. Occupational Health & Safety6. Financial Accountability7. Taxation8. Restrictive trade practices (includes anti-competitive behaviour).9. Consumer protection10. Privacy 11. Environment protection

Question 29Explain with an example how privatisation can affect change within an organisation.

AnswersThe term privatisation is used when a government owned business is

sold to the private sector.An example of this was:Commonwealth BankTelstraQantasThe transport system in Victoria – trains, trams, buses.

The new privatised business becomes more focussed on profit and cost cutting than when the government owned the business as they were more interested in providing a community service.

Question 30Describe characteristics of an effective leader in managing change.

AnswersAn effective leader has the following characteristics:

. Has a clear understanding of the change

. Can communicate this understanding to staff

. They provide a vision through strategic planning and communicate this down the line.

. Acts as a good role model by exhibiting the desired behaviour.

. Able to maintain motivation levels among employees.

Question 31Identify the two functions of an organisation where change will have an impact on the internal operations of an organisation.

Answers

The management of the operating processAnd The management of the human resources.

Question 32Identify the elements of the operations process in an organisation.

AnswersInputsProcessesOutputs

Question 33

Give an example of a change that might affect the operations process of an organisation.

Answers

Water restrictions imposed on organisations affected change within organisations reliant on using water in their processing of their product. New Equipment, tanks, recycle equipment.

The use of Robotics in the manufacturing process of vehicles has meant job reduction and new job roles created to maintain the robotics. Also has increased productivity allowing production to operate continuously with no sick leave, holidays, lunch breaks etc.

Outsourcing part of the production process can also change the operations process. Less staff, loss of quality control, introducing just-in-time materials management.

Question 34

Give an example of a change that might affect the management of human resources in an organisation.

Answers1. Management of employees when facing job losses, communication. 2. Managing the termination of employees.3. Modification of jobs to suit the new processes eg training4. Preparation of employees to the changes types of skills that will be needed.5. Recruitment of new staff to carryout the change in job roles, skills and

expertise.6. Maintaining the culture of the organisation.7. Recognising and rewarding staff in the process of change.8. Changing organisation objectives will influence the goals and objectives down

the line.9. A change in the management structure of the organisation.