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Chapter 1
True/False
1. The structural frame sees organizations as factories.
2. The primary sources of managerial “cluelessness” are personality disorders and IQ.
3. Frames are also called maps, mental models, cognitive lenses, schema, and mind sets.
4. The explosive technological and social changes of recent years have simplified our lives
and our understandings of the world.
5. The most effective managers choose a single perspective or frame, and become highlyskilled specialists.
6. According to Bolman and Deal, “multiframe thinking” typically leads to confusion and
paralysis.
7. Modern organizations rely too much on an artistic approach to management and too little on
an engineering approach.
8. Bolman and Deal argue that most managers and leaders have trouble understanding complex
situations, not because they lack the intelligence, but because they are unable to adopt
multiple perspectives.
Answers
1. T (P. 15)- While the structural frame sees organizations as factories and machines; the human
resource frame sees organizations as a family, the political frame sees organizations as
jungles, and the symbolic frame sees organizations as carnivals, temples and theater.
2. F (Pp. 7-8) – While it is true that some managerial “cluelessness” comes from psychological
flaws, personality disorders, and IQ; managerial “cluelessness” is primarily caused by
clinging to entrenched mental models. This action does not allow the manager to make
sense of situations or it encourages the misinterpretation of those situations that do not
conform to these entrenched ways of thinking.
3. T (P. 10) – All of the images brought to mind by these different labels help to illustrate the
notion of the use of frames.
4. F (P. 6) – These explosive technological and social changes have produced a world that is far
more interconnected, frantic and complicated. We find ourselves “in over our heads”
(Kegan, 1998). Forms of management and organization which were effective a few years
ago are now obsolete.
5. F ( P. 15)
6. F (P. 18)
7. F (Pp. 20-1)
8. T
Multiple Choice
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1. If, as a manager, you encounter an important problem that seems almost impossible to solve;
Bolman and Deal would likely suggest that you:
a. Hire a consultant who brings the right knowledge and expertise to the problem
b. Stand out of the way and let someone else work on the issue
c. Try using different lenses to analyze the problem and develop strategies
d. Call a meeting of everyone who knows about the issue and make a group decision about
what to do
2. It is argued that even the smartest managers take foolish actions in decision-making because
they:
a. Are too clever for their own good
b. Have a parochial and distorted view of the problem at hand
c. Are driven by self-love and ego, which stifle their ability to understand a situation
correctly
d. Fall into the trap of personality foibles such as pride, haughtiness and unconscious need
to err
3. The political frame sees organizations as
a. Carnivals
b. Factories
c. Families
d. Jungles
4. The most successful mangers rely on which of the four frames to diagnose their situation?
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
e. All of the above
5. Which is not one of the four characteristics of the intuitive “blink” process?
a. Conscious
b. Very fast
c. Holistic
d. Results in “affective judgments”
6. Bolman and Deal describe the actions of the successful manager as similar to a skilled
carpenter using the right tools for the job. Thus, a successful manager must:
a. Make sure their organizations are “level” (i.e., balanced)
b. Possess “a diverse collection of high-quality implements (i.e., frames)” along with the
knowledge of when and how to use them
c. “Measure twice but cut once” (i.e., not make hasty decisions)
d. Have the right wood (i.e., employees) for the job
7. Bolman and Deal believe
a. All of the social science research in organizational studies can be meaningfully
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categorized into four frames
b. That the field of management research is quickly moving towards a unified approach to
understanding organizations
c. The major schools of thought about organizations in the social sciences possess similar
assumptions but differ in their understandings of organizations
d. Academic research has not contributed much to improve management practice
8. Multiframe thinking
a. Allows managers to discern which of the four frames in their model is most effective in
understanding a particular situation they are facing
b. Confuses mangers by presenting too many ways to interpret a particular situation they
are facing.
c. Allows a manager to obtain a more meaningful understanding of the situation they are
facing that any one frame alone would not provide
d. Clarifies the rank order of the accurateness of the multiple frames
Answers
1. c (P. 18) – Each frame has its own image of reality. Applying and understanding the four
frames deepens your understanding of organization. This approach will allow you to
develop a solution by way of a clearer understanding of the nature of the problem. Since
you directly experience the problem in a way a consultant cannot, an internal solution
may be arrived at more easily, without the added expense of the consultants time.
2. b (Pp. 7-8) - Managers get trapped in entrenched mental models that do not allow them to
make sense of or misinterpret situations that do not conform to these entrenched ways of
thinking. This leads to foolish actions and decision making.
3. d (P. 16) - While the political frame see organizations as jungles, the structural frame sees
organizations as factories and machines, the human resource frame sees organizations as
a family, and the symbolic frame sees organizations as carnivals, temples and theater
4. e (P. 19) – Successful managers do not rely on any one particular frame, rather employ
multiple frames to makes sense of situations they encounter.
5. a (P. 11) – “Conscious” is not one of the four characteristics of the intuitive “blink” process
because the “blink” process is engaged without conscious awareness.
6. b (Pp. 13-14) – Like maps, frames are both windows on a territory and tools for navigation.
Every tool has distinct strengths and limitations. The right tool makes a job easier. But
the wrong one gets in the way.
7. a. (P. 14) - The authors believe that the social science researchers have developed multiple
perspectives through which to research and understand organizations. Each perspective
holding a unique set of assumptions. Each of these perspectives provides a different
frame through which to examine organizations. They have sorted these perspectives into
four underlying frames.
8. c (Pp. 18-19) – Each of the four frames provides a different image of organizations and a
different understanding of a particular situation a manager faces. Thus, using the four
frames creates a more meaningful understanding of organizations than any one frame
would alone.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
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1. Ultimately, what do Bolman & Deal see at the primary the reason Bob Nardelli failed as
CEO of Home Depot?
2. What is a frame and what does it allow a manger to accomplish?
3. What is “reframing” and why is it an important skill for managers?
4. Describe the cognitive process called anchoring?
Answers
1. Bob Nardelli failed as CEO for Home Depot because he was only able to see part of the
picture of what he was facing. Successful leaders have the ability to see the whole picture
from multiple frames. In the case study, the CEO of Home Depot, Bob Nardelli, had an
incomplete picture of the operation that negatively impacted Home Depot’s results. He
possessed that incomplete or distorted picture because he overlooked or misinterpreted
important signals. Implementing a command and control structure, he focused only on
operational efficiency at Home Depot and he neglected the aspects of customer care that
made Home Depot successful. Through his actions, he fundamentally changed Home
Depot’s culture, which led to a decline in employee morale and customer service. This
course of action severely damaged his relationship with investors and the board of directors
of Home Depot. (Pp. 3-4)
2. It is a set of ideas and assumptions that help a manager understand and negotiate a particular
“territory.” It permits a manger to register and assemble key bits of perceptual data into a
coherent picture of what is happening. It allows a manger to know what she is up against and
ultimately, what she can do about it. (P. 11)
3. Reframing is the ability to break frames – the ability to move from utilizing one frame to
utilizing another frame to make sense of the situation a manager faces. Having the ability to
employ multiple frames allows a manger to create a more meaningful understanding of the
multitude of different situations she faces. Reframing encourages a manager to use more
than one frame to make sense of the situation. Every frame has strengths and limitations, and
thus, each frame is more or less valuable for making sense of a particular situation. (Pp. 1213)
4. Anchoring is a cognitive process that occurs when a decision maker locks into a particular
answer to a problem or understanding of a situation in spite of the fact that some of the facts
of the situation do not fit decision maker’s answer or understanding of the situation. (P. 12)
Matching
1. Match each frame with its corresponding metaphor:
FRAME
METAPHOR
Symbolic
Family
Political
Carnival
Structural
Jungle
Human Resource
Factory
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Answers
1. Exhibit 1.1, P. 18
The following frame and metaphor correspond with one another:
FRAME
METAPHOR
Symbolic
Carnival
Political
Jungle
Structural
Factory
Human Resource
Family
Chapter 2
True/False
1. According to Bolman and Deal, the world we see is primarily constructed from within on the
basis of the ideas and needs we bring to a situation. {I think this one is too specific to a
particular author}
2. Research has shown that individuals spin reality to support their existing beliefs.
3. Bolman and Deal argue that the most important causes of organizational problems are
individual ineptitude, bureaucratic red tape, and political thirst for power.
4. Bolman and Deal believe that the field of organizational studies is fragmented.
5. A key source of error in the incident in which pilots mistakenly shot down “friendly”
helicopters over Iraq was that the pilots saw what they expected to see rather than what
was there.
6. Bolman and Deal believe that stricter rules and policies are the best way of making a sick
organization better.
7. Senge and Oshry argue that “…failure to read system dynamics traps us in a cycle of
blame and self-defense.”
8. Bolman and Deal say that organizations are complex, surprising, frenetic, and ambiguous.
Answers
1. T (P. 39)
2. T (Pp. 39-40) – Because our theories are self-sealing filters, they tend to block us from seeing
our errors. We are encouraged to see the world in a way that supports our existing beliefs,
but not in ways that challenge and disrupt our existing beliefs.
3. F (Pp. 25-28) – These perceived causes are common fallacies in explaining organizational
problems.
4. F (P. 41) – They believe it to be pluralistic. It offers a rich assortment of lenses for
understanding organizations.
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5. T (Pp. 36-37) – Often, because of our existing mental models, we see what we know or
believe rather than what is actually happening. The pilots had been trained to learn scripts of
destroying enemy aircrafts that they locked on and this inhibited them from seeing what was
actually there.
6. F (Pp. 27-28) – Stricter policies might work in cases where an organization needs more
control, but often will make things worse by generating bureaucratic rigidity, inhibiting
freedom and flexibility, stifling innovation and generating reams of red tape.
7. T (P. 35)
8. F (Pp. 31-32)
Multiple Choice
1. In their book entitled Organizations, James March and Herbert Simon believe
a. in the “rational man” theory.
b. that organizational members maximize their utility when making decisions.
c. that organizational members “satisfice” when making decisions.
d. that organizational members consider all of the possible options available and pick the
best one when making decisions.
2. Decision makers tend to respond __________ to an option that has “a 70 per cent chance of
success” as compared to an option that has “a 30 percent chance of failure.”
a. Less favorably
b. More favorably
c. Equally favorably
3. Bolman and Deal discuss four basic characteristics of organizations that challenge managers.
Organizations are:
a. Complex, surprising, deceptive, ambiguous
b. Aimless, ambling, awkward, apraxic
c. Free-flowing, flawed, frenetic, far-flung
d. Dysfunctional, disappointing, disorganized, demoralizing
4. Which one of these is not a common fallacy in explaining organizational problems identified
by Bolman and Deal?
a. Blaming people
b. Thirsting for power
c. System weaknesses
d. Blaming the bureaucracy
5. According to Bolman and Deal, turbulent, rapidly shifting situations require the organization
to __________.
a. Continuously invest in the latest technologies
b. Utilize only short-term sources of capital
c. Create strategies for 6-month periods
d. Learn better and faster
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6. Barry Oshry believes that system blindness
a. Occurs in a limited amount of organizations
b. Is caused by feeling overwhelmed by complexity, responsibility and overwork in
employees at the bottom
c. Is rooted in troubled relationships between groups that have little grasp of what’s above
or below their level
d. Traps us in a cycle of blaming and self defense
e. c and d
7. Bolman and Deal believe that organizations dealing with a complicated and uncertain
environment should try to make it simpler by
a. Developing better systems and technology to collect and process information
b. Developing better mental maps to anticipate complicated and unforeseeable problems
c. Breaking complex issues into smaller chunks and assign them to specialized individuals
of units
d. Hiring or developing professionals with sophisticated expertise in handling thorny
problems.
8. The world that we perceive is for the most part:
a. constructed objectively
b. existing independent of us
c. constructed internally on the basis of individuals’ beliefs and perceptual filters
d. Dependent upon the quality of our sight
Answers
1. c (Pp. 26-27) - James March and Herbert Simon do not believe a, b, or d. They believe
individuals and organizations have limited information and restricted ability to process what
is available. Thus, organizational members “satisfice: when making decision rather than
consider all of the possible options available and pick the best one.
2. b (P. 40) Even though they are statistically identical, the decision maker responds more
favorably to “a 70% chance of success.” This example demonstrates the power of framing a
situation. The framing of a situation determines its meaning, not the situation itself.
3. a (Pp. 31-32)
4. c (P. 25-29) – a, b, and d are all fallacies in that they are oversimplifications of the problem.
There is usually a larger systematic problem in the organization that needs to be addressed.
5. d (P. 33) – They believe organizations need to learn better and faster from experiences if
they are to be successful.
6. e (P. 35 ) – Systems blindness is rooted in troubled relationships between groups that have
little grasp of what’s above or below their level and it traps us in a cycle of blaming and self
defense. It is top managers that feel overwhelmed by complexity, responsibility and
overwork.
7. b (P. 36) – While a, c, and d are options for help in dealing with a complicated and uncertain
environment, Bolman and Deal believe they are not sufficient. The key to dealing with these
events is to develop better mental maps to anticipate complicated and unforeseeable
problems
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8. c (P. 39) –Our personal theories construct our realities by guiding us as to what to attend to in
our environment. There is simply too much happening for us to attend to everything. Once
we perceive this limited amount of information from our environment, our personal theories
determine how we interpret this information to construct our reality.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. In the example in the text, the two U.S. F-15C pilots patrolling the no-fly zone in post Gulf
War Northern Iraq, who shot down the two American Blackhawk helicopters, were described
as doing “the normal human thing in the face of ambiguous perceptual data.” What was that
“normal human thing”?
2. According to Bolman and Deal, what are the two advantages of well-grounded, deeply
ingrained, personal theories?
3. What are three of the major sources of ambiguity in organizations identified by Bolman and
Deal?
4. Explain what Bolman and Deal mean when they state “what we expect determines what we
get?” Use the examples in the text to explain.
Answers
1. “They filled in gaps based on what they knew, what they expected, and what they wanted to
see.” The lead pilot thought he had spotted two “Hinds” – Soviet-made helicopters used by
the Iraqis. But in reality they were two American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Once the
pilot saw the helicopters, he “believed” he was seeing enemy helicopters. He then
“selectively matched up incoming scraps of visual data with a reasonable cognitive scheme
of an enemy silhouette (Snook, 2000, p. 80).” (Pp. 36-37)
2. They tell us what is important in a situation and what can be safely ignored and they group
scattered bits of information into manageable patterns. (P. 39)
3. The sources are: available information is incomplete or vague; different people interpret
information in different ways depending on mindsets and organizational doctrines;
sometimes it is intentionally generated as a smoke screen to conceal problems or steer clear
of conflict, much of the time; events and processes are so intricate, scattered, and
uncoordinated that no one can fully understand the real truth; we are not sure what the
problem is; we are not sure what is really happening; we are not sure what we want; we do
not have the resources we need; we are not sure who is supposed to do that; we are not sure
how to get what we want; we are not sure how to determine if we have succeeded. (P. 33)
4. Not only do our frames (i.e., mental maps) influence how we interpret our world, they
influence how our experiences unfold. In support of this, Bolman and Deal use the example
of the placebo effect and school teachers who were told that random students were
“spurters”. The student’s academic performance actually did “spurt.” Thus, the patients’ and
teachers’ beliefs became reality, not because they were true but simply because they
believed. (P. 40)
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Chapter 3
True/False
1. One of the assumptions of the structural frame is that organizations work best when
rationality prevails over personal agendas and extraneous pressure.
2. The essence of lateral coordination is that higher levels control the work of subordinates
through authority, rules and policies, and planning and control systems.
3. James D. Thompson in his book Organizations in Action: Social Science Bases of
Administrative Theory Uncertainties states that uncertainty poses major challenges to
rational thinking in organizations, and he further argues that technologies and
environments are sources of uncertainty.
4. Rules, policies, standards, and standard operating procedures limit individual discretion and
help ensure that behavior is predictable and consistent.
5. Organizations are most effective when individuals and sub-units stick to their knitting and
focus on their own priorities.
6. The Structural perspective emphasizes dealing with organizational issues by changing people
through training, rotation, promotion and dismissal.
7. Organizational growth spawns informality and simplicity.
8. Bolman and Deal tell us that formal meetings in organizations are a form of vertical
coordination.
Answers
1. T (P. 47) – Personal agendas and extraneous pressure are not consistent with achieving the
established goals and objectives of the organization – its raison d’être.
2. F (Pp. 54, 56) – This is the definition of vertical coordination. Lateral coordination
techniques include formal and informal meetings, task forces coordinating roles, matrix
structures, and networks.
3. T (P. 49) – The two primary sources of this uncertainty are technology and the environment.
4. T (P. 54) – Rules and policies govern conditions of work and specify standard ways of
completing tasks, handling personnel issues, and relating to customers and other key
players in the outer environment. This helps ensure that similar situations are handled in
comparable ways, reducing “particularism” (Perrow, 1986) – responding to specific
issues on the basis of personal whims or political pressures unrelated to organizational
goals.
5. F (P. 53) – This leads to suboptimization of organizational effectiveness since each unit
focuses on achieving its own goals rather than focusing on the organizations overall
mission. Efforts become fragmented and performance suffers. Individual units must
coordinate their effort with other units to maximize organizational effectiveness.
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6. F (P. 47) – This is what the human resource approach emphasizes, while the structural
perspective emphasizes putting people in the right roles and relationships.
7. F (P. 62) Organizational growth spawns formality and complexity.
8. F (P. 57)
Multiple Choice
1. When defining an organization’s structure, the key consideration should involve:
a. Allocation of responsibilities across different units and members, as well as the
integration of these efforts in pursuit of common goals.
b. The number of organizational levels and their breadth.
c. The level of centralization versus decentralization of responsibilities.
d. How to effectively motivate organizational members to maximize their performance.
2. An organization’s structure should not be dependent upon
a. Its workforce
b. Goals
c. Emotional liability
d. Technology
3. Patriarchal organizations are characterized by a:
a. Fixed division of labor
b. Hierarchy of offices
c. Set of rules governing performance
d. Dominant father figure, a ruler with almost unlimited authority and power
4. The example of United Parcel Service (UPS) was used to illustrate that?
a. People prefer organizational structures with more choice and latitude
b. Loosely structured organizations create environments that enhance innovation
c. Formal structure enhances morale if it helps organizational members complete their work
d. People prefer being controlled by organizations
5. When designing the structure of an organization, creating roles and units yields the benefits
of specialization but creates problems of _____?
a. Pay scales for the various roles
b. How to motivate the employees in each unit
c. Coordination and control
d. Where to locate the different units
6. Bolman and Deal attribute FEMA’s failure to adequately respond to Hurricane Katrina to:
a. FEMA Director Michael Brown’s lack of leadership.
b. FEMA’s reduced autonomy and shift in priorities to national security and away from
disaster management when it became part of the Department of Homeland Security.
c. FEMA’s lack of expertise in disaster management.
d. The sheer size of the catastrophe.
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7. The two primary methods of coordinating individual and group efforts and linking local
initiatives with overall organizational goals are:
a. Monthly and bi-annual coordination
b. Weekly and monthly coordination
c. Email and video conferencing coordination
d. Vertical and lateral coordination
8. Forecasting and measuring organizational performance is accomplished through ______.
a. Planning and control systems.
b. Rules and regulations.
c. Formal authority.
d. Standard operating procedures.
9. Lateral coordination is often achieved through
a. Rules and regulations
b. Authority and delegation
c. Meetings and task forces
d. A clear chain of command
10. __________ are becoming more prevalent in fast moving fields like biotechnology, where
knowledge is so complex and widely dispersed that organizations find it impractical to
exercise initiatives alone.
a. Inter-organizational networks
b. Matrix structures
c. Task forces
d. Rules and regulations
11. When deciding how to coordinate work roles and units in an organization it is best to
a. Use either vertical or horizontal coordination but not both
b. Base the choice on the workers’ preference
c. Base the decision on the leader’s preference
d. Base the choice on the organization’s environment
Answers
1. a (Pp. 47, 52) – it has to do with how to divide the organization’s work (differentiation) and
then how to coordinate it (integration). B and c are concerns but not the key questions
around developing an organizational structure. While d is a concern of the human
resource frame.
2. c (P. 47) – a, b, and d are all things that should be taken into account when establishing an
organization’s structure., while emotionality should not be a major factor in
organizational design.
3. d (P. 48) – a, b, and c are features of what Weber described as a “monocratic bureaucracy,”
which is an organization structure based on rationality rather than personal power and
relationships in patriarchal organizations.
4. c (Pp. 50-51) – People like formal structure only when it helps them get their work done. It
has a negative impact if it gets in the way of people doing their jobs, buries them in red
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tape, or makes it too easy for management to maintain a tight control.
5. c (P. 53) – a, b, and d while concerns, are not directly related to organizational design. Work
needs to be integrated across roles and units for the organization to be effective in
achieving its mission.
6. b (P. 53) – With this example, Bolman and Deal are making the point that central control,
while sometimes beneficial, may also be detrimental. While, the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security came with the benefit of coordinating disparate
government organizations that dealt with terrorism, it also reduced FEMA’s autonomy
and shifted its priorities away from disaster management which did not allow it to
effectively respond to Hurricane Katrina.
7. d (Pp. 54, 56) – The two primary ways are vertically through the formal chain of command
and laterally through meetings committees, coordinating roles, or network structures.
8. a (P. 56) – All answers have to do with coordination and control but only “a” has to do with
forecasting and measuring.
9. c (P. 57) – a., b., and d. are methods of achieving vertical coordination.
10. a (P. 59) – b., c., and d. are within organization coordination and control efforts. While a.
allows coordination across organizations.
11. d (P. 60) – Coordination inside an organization should be determined based on the
environmental circumstances that exist in that specific organization.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is a core premise of the structural lens?
2. In what situations is a tightly controlled, top-down organizational structure effective? In
what situations is it ineffective?
3. What are the “structural imperatives” identified by Bolman and Deal? In other words, what
is the universal set of internal and external parameters that organizations need to respond to
when choosing its structure?
4. How does structure influence what happens in the workplace?
Answers
1. Clear well understood goals, roles, relationships and adequate coordination are essential to
organizational performance. The right structure forms a solid underpinning to combat the
risk that individuals will become confused, ineffective, apathetic or hostile. (P. 46)
2. It is effective in simple, stable environments. It is ineffective in fluid, ambiguous ones.
3. Size and age, core process, environment, strategy and goals, information technology, and the
nature of the workforce. These are the dimensions of an organization’s operational context
that should be considered when choosing an organization’s structure. The implications of
each are outlined in Exhibit 3.2, p. 63.
4. It provides a blueprint for officially sanctioned expectations and exchanges among internal
players and external constituencies. Thus, it enhances and constrains what an organization
can accomplish. (P. 50)
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Chapter 4
True/False
1. Sally Helgesen, in discussing her conceptualization of structural possibilities, argues that the
idea of hierarchy is primarily a male-driven depiction, quite different from structures
created by female executives.
2. In Mintzberg’s model, the strategic apex of an organization primarily exerts pressures to
standardize.
3. In a machine bureaucracy, the bulk of the work is done in quasi-autonomous units.
4. Bolman and Deal attribute FEMA’s failure to effectively respond to Hurricane Katrina to a
failed restructuring plan.
5. During restructuring, the five components of Mintzberg’s model of structural possibilities
indicate that top management has the most influence on the final outcome.
6. As the complexity of the role structure of an organization grows, it needs more sophisticated
coordination strategies.
7. Bolman and Deal use case examples from Greyhound Van Lines and Kodak to show that
reengineering normally produces dramatic organizational gains.
8. Helgesen’s “web of inclusion” model promotes a circular rather than hierarchical form, in
which weaknesses either at the center or the periphery of the web undermine the strength of
the overall network.
Answers
1. T (P. 86) – The women Helgesen studied “had built profoundly integrated and organic
organizations in which the focus was on nurturing good relationships; in which the
niceties of hierarchical rank and distinction played little part; and in which lines of
communication were multiplicitous, open, and diffuse (Helgesen, 1995, p. 10).” Women
put themselves at the center of the organization, rather than the top.
2. F (P. 88) – The technostructure exerts pressure to standardize.
3. F (P. 83) – This description refers to the divisionalized form in Mintzberg’s model.
4. T (P. 73) – Although Michael Brown to the hit for the failure, it was attributable to the failed
restructuring plan that took place when FEMA become part of the Department of
Homeland Security. It gave FEMA another reporting level and left its funding for
disaster relief vulnerable due to the new emphasis on terrorism.
5. F (Pp. 88-89) – During restructuring, each of the five components has more or less influence
on the final outcome dependent on the organizations current structural configuration (i.e.,
whether they are a machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, simple structure,
divisionalized form or adhocracy).
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6. T (P. 73) – Rules, policies, and commands have to be augmented by lateral strategies –
coordination strategies.
7. F (Pp. 86, 88-89)
8. T (Pp. 86-87)
Multiple Choice
1. If employees are unclear about what they are supposed to do, they often
a. Tailor their roles around the most professional standards.
b. Tailor their roles around personal preferences.
c. Tailor their roles around industry standards.
d. Tailor their roles around organizational goals.
2. In “Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure,”
Michael Jensen and William Meckling espouse that the primary value of stock analysts is
a. Their ability to accurately pick stocks
b. Their ability to accurately value stocks
c. To provide insight on organization optimal structure
d. To provide oversight that puts heat on mangers to serve shareholders’ interest
3. The chief contribution of Henry Mintzberg’s conception of structural possibilities is:
a. A detailed prescription of how to structure an organization in response to different
missions and external challenges to envision organizations as webs of inclusion
b. Clustering various functions into groupings and showing their relative size and clout in
response to different missions and external challenges.
c. To envision organizations as organic, circular architectural forms
4. As conceptualized by Mintzberg, a simple structure consists of?
a. A loose, flexible, self-renewing organic form tied together mostly through lateral means.
b. An operating core that is large relative to its other structural parts and few managerial
layers exist between the strategic apex and operating core.
c. A strategic apex and an operating level.
d. A large support staff and a sizeable technostructure, with many layers between the apex
and operating levels. Decisions are made at the strategic apex, and day-to-day operations
are controlled by managers and standardized procedures.
5. Linux Inc. is an example of?
a. A machine bureaucracy organization
b. A web organization
c. An adhocracy organization
d. A professional bureaucracy organization
6. In Mintzberg’s model, __________ resist control from the top and tend to pull an
organization towards balkanization.
a. Top management
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
b. Supervisors
c. Front-line employees
d. Middle managers
7. When a process is reengineered…
a. Employees begin to make choices and decisions on their own
b. Managers finally begin to act like bosses
c. Workers become more willing to follow orders
d. Jobs get narrower and more routine.
8. The reengineering effort at __________ led to the crash of the company’s stock and the
forcing out of management.
a. Kodak
b. Beth Israel Hospital
c. Cititbank
d. Greyhound
9. In Henry Mintzberg’s conception of structural possibilities, the __________ is composed of
specialists, technicians and analysts who standardize, measure, and inspect outputs and
procedures.
a. Operating core
b. Technostructure
c. Support staff
d. Administrative component
10. In Henry Mintzberg’s conception of structural possibilities, the __________ is composed of
the workers who provide products and services to customers.
a. Operating core
b. Technostructure
c. Support staff
d. Administrative component
Answers
1. b (P. 74) If employees are unclear about what they are supposed to do, they often tailor their
roles around personal preferences.
2. d (P. 77) Through providing oversight that puts heat on mangers to serve shareholders’
interest stock analysts reduce agency costs for shareholders.
3. c (P. 78) – b and d describe Sally Helgesen’s model and a is the opposite of the answer, c.
Mintzberg’s model is a rough atlas of the structural terrain that helps managers get their
bearings.
4. c (P. 79) – a is an adhocracy, b is professional bureaucracy, and d is machine bureaucracy
5. b (P. 87)
6. d (P. 88) – Middle managers resist control from the top and tend to pull the organization
toward balkanization.
7. a (P. 91) – b, c, and d are the opposite of what occurs under reengineering.
8. d.(P. 93) – a, b, and c all had successful implementations of reengineering.
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9. b (P. 78) – Accounting and quality control departments in industry, audit departments in
government agencies, and flight standards departments in airlines perform such technical
functions.
10. a (P. 78) – teachers in schools, assembly-line workers in factories, physicians and nurses in
hospitals, and flight crews in airlines perform such operating core functions.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What do Bolman and Deal mean when they state, “when responsibilities are overdefined,
people conform to prescribed roles and protocols in “bureaupathic’ ways?”
2. What was the authors’ purpose in utilizing the example of managed health care in which
medical decisions are reviewed by insurance companies, giving clerks far removed from
the patient’s bedside the authority to approve or deny treatment?
3. As described by Michael Jensen and William Meckling in their article entitled “Agency costs
and ownership structure,” what is the “agency problem” that exists in corporations?
4. Briefly explain Mintzberg’s conceptualization of structural possibilities and the model’s
major contribution the field of organizational theory.
Answers
1. They mean that employees rigidly follow job descriptions regardless of how much the
service or product suffers. (P. 74)
2. It is an example an organizational structure that is too tight. Tight structures stifle flexibility
and cause people to spend much of their time trying to beat the system. In this example,
the result is that many physicians lament spending more time talking on the phone with
insurance representatives than seeing patients, and as a result of the tight controls,
insurance providers sometimes deny treatments that physicians see as urgent. (Pp. 75-6)
3. An agency relationship is a structural arrangement created whenever one party engages
another to undertake some task. This relationship exists in corporations between the
shareholders (the owners) and the mangers (their agents). The shareholders and owners
both seek to maximize their utility, but their interests often diverge. If you are a sole
proprietor, a dollar of the firm’s money is a dollar of yours as well. But if you are an
employee with no ownership interest, you have an incentive to pad your expense account or
schedule a business meeting at an expensive resort because you’re spending someone else’s
money – this is the “agency problem” in corporations. (P. 77)
4. Mintzberg’s model have five components: operating core, administrative component,
strategic apex, technostructure, and support staff. It is a broad description of the structural
terrain of organizations. It clusters various functions of organizations into grouping and
showing their relative size and clout in response to different missions and external
challenge. It is composed of five basic structural configurations: simple structure, machine
bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, divisionalized form and adhocracy. (Pp. 78-9)
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Chapter 5
True/False
1. More complicated projects generally require structure with clearly defined roles,
elementary forms of interdependence and coordination by plan or command.
2. It is difficult to combat Al Qaeda’s decentralized and loose structure with traditional
command and control strategies.
3. Unlike baseball, football requires intricate strategy and tightly meshed execution.
4. According to Katzenbach and Smith, high-performance teams require develop an overall
mission but it is not important that they create specific and measurable performance goals
because these would be impede the team’s performance.
5. To ensure organizational effectiveness, structures should be consistent across all teams
within a particular organization.
6. A group’s structure needs to align with the work to be done.
Answers
1. F (P. 102) – More complicated projects generally require more complex forms: flexible roles,
reciprocal give-and-take, and synchronization through lateral dealings and communal
feedback.
2. T (P. 101) Command and control organizations are too inflexible and slow to react to Al
Qaeda’s hydra-like team structure.
3. T (P. 108) – Lineman and offensive backs hear, see and often touch one another. Each play
involves every player on the field. Efforts re sequentially linked in a prearranged plan.
The efforts of individual players are independent but instead are tightly coordinated.
4. F (P. 111) –.Both an overall mission and specific and measurable performance goals are
necessary to create a high-performance team. Performance goals keep the team focused
and united and facilitate superior performance.
5. F (P. 110) – Even within an organization, team structures should vary based on the team’s
purpose and context.
6. T (P. 102) – The tasks assigned to groups vary in clarity, predictability, and stability. Taskstructure relationship in small groups is parallel to that in large organizations.
Multiple Choice
1. Bolman and Deal believe the key ingredient of a top-notch team is dependent on
a. Choosing right leader for the team.
b. Adequately funding the team.
c. The diversity of group members.
d. The appropriate blueprint of roles and relationships.
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2. Which team configuration is extensively used at the White House to free the president to
focus on mission and external relations while leaving operational details to the chief of staff?
a. One boss
b. Dual authority
c. Simple hierarchy
d. All-channel network
3. Which type of team configuration works well for amorphous or complicated tasks, but is
slow and inefficient for simple tasks?
a. Dual authority
b. Simple hierarchy
c. Circle network
d. All-channel network
4. Which type of team configuration works well when a task is divisible?
a. Dual authority
b. Simple hierarchy
c. Circle network
d. All-channel network
5. Which one of the following teams is described by Bolman and Deal as like an
improvisational jazz band?
a. Baseball
b. Football
c. Basketball
d. Golf
6. According to Katzenbach and Smith (1993), high performance teams
a. Need at least ten members for sufficient breadth of expertise
b. Should be the smallest size that can get the job done.
c. Should be between five and seven members
d. Should be the largest size that can be afforded
7. The U.S. Army commando team described in the chapter was successful because
a. It varied its structure based in response to change in task and circumstances
b. It only took on low-risk operations compared to other commando teams
c. It had more talented members than other commando teams
d. It received more education and training than other commando teams
8. In which sport is it easiest for players to transfer from one team to another?
a. Baseball
b. Football
c. Basketball
d. Volleyball
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Answers
1. d (P. 101) – While all are important, the key ingredient identified by Bolman and Deal is the
appropriate blueprint of roles and relationships set in motion to attain common goals.
2. c (P. 104) In this configuration, a middle manager reports to the boss and in turn supervises
and communicates with others
3. d (Pp. 105-6) This configuration creates multiple connections so that each person can talk to
anyone else. Information flows freely.
4. a (P. 104) – The dual authority configuration reduces the boss’s span of control, freeing up
time to concentrate on mission, strategy or relationships with higher-ups.
5. c (P. 109) – Basketball teams require a high level of spontaneous, mutual adjustment.
6. b (P. 111) – High-performance teams should aim for the smallest size that can get the job
done; they should be between two and twenty five people.
7. a (P. 100) – b, c, and d are false. They did not take on low-risk operations compared to other
commando teams, have more talented members than other commando teams, or receive
more education and training than other commando teams. Researchers pinpointed the
reason for the group’s success: the ability to reconfigure its structure to fit the situation.
8. a (P. 108) – In all of the other teams, players’ performance is much more interdependent.
Thus, it is more difficult for a player to transfer from one team to another.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1.
Identify the six distinguishing characteristics of high-performance teams identified by
Katzenbach and Smith (1993).
2. What are the characteristics of a self-managed work team?
3. What did the U.S. commando team do differently in developing their battle plan and then in
executing this battle plan.
4. Katzenbach and Smith (1993) believe there is a clear difference between undifferentiated
“groups” and sharply focused “teams.” How do they define a “team”?
Answers
1. P. 111-2
 They shape purpose in response to a demand or opportunity placed in their path,
usually by higher management
 They translate common purpose into specific, measurable performance goals
 They are of manageable size
 They develop the right mix of expertise
 They develop a common commitment to working relationships
 Member of these teams hold themselves collectively accountable
2. P. 113
 They manage themselves
 They assign jobs to members
 They plan and schedule work
 The make production – or service-related decisions
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 They take action to remedy problems
3. In developing a battle plan, the team was participative, democratic and reached decision by
consensus. This participation encouraged creativity, ownership and understanding of the
battle plan. In executing the battle plan, the team had a well-defined, tightly controlled chain
of command. Each individual had a specific assignment. Authority, accountability, and
clarity enabled the team to with speed and efficiency during the battle. (P. 100-1)
4. “A team is a small number of people with complementary skills, who are committed to a
common purpose, set of performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves
mutually accountable (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993, 112).” (P. 111)
Chapter 6
True/False
1. Research in behavioral genetics regularly concludes that people’s genes and environment
interact in complex ways to determine how they act.
2. Because of the preponderance of evidence, Maslow’s view is widely accepted and
enormously influential in management practice.
3. Argyris and McGregor believe there is no inherent person-structure conflict built into
traditional principles of organizational design and management.
4. As reported by Kleinfeld (1996), according to a poll taken in 1996, 75% of U.S. workers felt
companies had become less loyal to their employees, but 64% of workers felt that
employees remained loyal to their companies. (I think this item is too specific to a
particular poll in a specific year)
5. Research shows that downsizing often hurts firm performance more than it helps.
6. Prior to the establishment of the human resource frame, it was widely assumed that the
workers duty was to simply work and follow orders, with no rights beyond a paycheck.
7. According to Argyris and McGregor, employee absenteeism, alienation, and resistance are a
predictable consequence of traditional principles of organizational design and
management.
8. According to Bolman and Deal, the theories of Maslow, McGregor, and Argyris suggest that
the conflict between individuals and organizations would be eliminated as people became
more highly educated and more affluent.
Answers
1. T (P. 123) – In extreme forms, both the nature and nurture arguments are misleading. The
majority of scholars see human behavior as resulting from and interplay of heredity
and environment.
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2. F (P. 125) - Maslow’s view is widely accepted and enormously influential in management
practice but not because of the preponderance of evidence. Attempts to validate the
model have produced mixed results.
3. F (P. 127) – Argyris and McGregor saw person-structure conflict built into traditional
principles of organizational design and management. The structural concept of task
specialization defines jobs as narrowly as possible to improve efficiency. But this
task specialization makes people feel dehumanized, frustrated and angry.
4. F (P. 135) – while the first part of the statement is true, the second part is false. 64% of U.S.
worker felt that employees were less loyal to the companies.
5. T (P. 134) – Even when it has paid off in manufacturing when new technology and smart
management combine to enable fewer people to do more, it risks trading short-term
gains for long-term decay. But overall, research shows that cutting employees hurts
firm performance more often than helps.
6. T (P. 121) – The human resource frame criticized this assumption on two grounds: it was
unfair, and it was bad psychology.
7. T (Pp. 119-20)
8. F (P. 124)
Multiple Choice
1. Mary Follett and Elton Mayo argued that
a. Workers’ skills attitudes, energy, and commitment are vital resources that can make or
break an enterprise.
b. Workers rarely work as hard as they should.
c. It is the duty of the employee to work hard and follow orders.
d. Workers need organizations much more that organizations need workers.
2. In academic circles,
a. There is shared understanding that managers would benefit from focusing on employees’
psychic needs as opposed to specific performance goals
b. The concept of need has been proven meaningless.
c. Everyone appreciates the concept of need.
d. The concept of need is controversial.
3. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model
a. Has been scientifically validated
b. Assumes that lower level needs must be fulfilled before higher levels needs can be
fulfilled
c. Identifies esteem need as the highest human need
d. Identifies love as the most basic human need
4. Theory X assumes that
a. The task of management is to arrange conditions so that people can achieve their own
goals by directing their efforts toward organizational rewards
b. Subordinates are active, ambitious, and like to take initiative
c. Subordinates are passive and lazy
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d. Management needs to align organizational requirements with employees’ self interest.
5. What is the message of the Charlie Chaplin film Modern Times?
a. Industrial organizations exist to maximize profit.
b. Industrial organizations abuse workers and treat them like infants.
c. Industrial organizations maximize efficiency.
d. Industrial organizations respect workers as long as they are productive.
6. As a result of a shift from a production-intensive to an information-intensive global
economy…
a. Manufacturing jobs are making a comeback.
b. Low-skill workers have better job prospects than in the past.
c. Jobs require much higher skill levels than in the past.
d. Organizations are becoming more centralized.
7. The example of Al Dunlap when he headed Scott Paper is used to illustrate
a. The long-term effectiveness of downsizing on organizational performance.
b. The long-term negative effects of downsizing on employee morale and organizational
performance.
c. The positive effects of employee stock options on organizational performance.
d. The effectiveness of employee benefits programs on organizational performance.
8. At the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy on needs is
a. Self-actualization
b. Physiological
c. Safety
d. Esteem
9. The human resource frame focuses on:
a. The relation between motives and personal growth.
b. The existential dilemmas of the human condition.
c. Alignment between the characteristics of people and organizations.
d. Why human resources are more important than financial resources to organizational
success.
10. The best summary of McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y is:
a. Theory X works best when employees have limited motivation and skill, while Theory
Y is more appropriate for employees with higher levels of motivation and skill.
b. Theory X generates a self-fulfilling prophecy, but Theory Y does not.
c. Theory X relies on external direction whereas Theory Y relies on self-control and
internal motivation.
d. Theory Y is based on Max Weber’s theory of bureaucracy, whereas Theory X is
derived from Maslow’s hierarchical theory of motivation.
Answers
1. a (P. 121) b, c, and d are the opposite of what Follett and Mayo believed.
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2. d (P. 122) a, b, and c are false. Some theorists argue that the idea is too vague and refers to
something difficult to observe. Others say that people have needs that are so variable and
strongly influenced by their surroundings that the concept offers little help in explaining
behavior.
3. b (Pp. 124-5) a, c, and d are false.
4. c (Pp. 125-6) – a, b, and d are assumptions of Theory Y.
5. b (P. 127) – While a and c might be true, they are not the message of the film. Even if
workers are productive, the film implies that industrial organizations never respect
workers.
6. c (Pp. 132-3).
7. b While Scott Paper did initially realize short economic benefits, its employee morale and
market share both decreased over the long term.
8. a (P. 124) – At the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is physiological needs below
safety, social/belonging, esteem and self-actualization needs, respectively. Only once a
lower need is fulfilled are individuals motivated by higher level needs.
c ) – It introduces the human resource frame. It focuses on the human side of
organizations. It summarizes the assumptions underlying the human resource frame,
examines how people’s needs are either satisfied or frustrated at work, and looks at
today’s changing employment contract and its impact on people and organizations.
9. c.
10. c.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1.
Bolman and Deal describe McWane and Nucor as representing opposite poles in a perennial
debate about the relationship between people and organization. Please describe these
opposite poles.
2. What are the core assumptions of the human resource frame?
3. Define the concept of need?
4. What does it mean that the Theory X approach is self-fulfilling?
5. Identify the six ways that Chris Argyris identified that employees try to stay sane by looking
for ways to escape the powerlessness and frustrations associated with being in a job that are
defined as narrowly as possible to improve efficiency such as on an automobile assembly
line.
Answers
1. On one pole, McWane sees individuals as objects to be exploited by organizations. On the
opposite pole, Nucor holds that the needs of individuals and organizations can be aligned,
engaging people’s talent and energy while the enterprise profits. (P. 121)
2. (P. 122)
 Organizations exist to serve human needs rather than the converse.
 People and organizations need each other. Organizations need ideas, energy, and
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talent; people need careers, salaries, and opportunities.
 When the fit between individuals and system is poor, one or both suffer. Individuals
are exploited or exploit the organization – or both become victims.
 A good fit benefits both. Individuals find meaningful and satisfying work, and
organizations get the talent and energy they need to succeed.
3. A need is a genetic predisposition to prefer some experience over others. Needs energize and
guide behavior and vary in potency at different times. (P. 123)
4. Whether hard or soft, the Theory X approach is self-fulfilling: if you treat people as if they’re
lazy and need to be directed, they conform to your expectations. (P. 126)
5.
 They withdraw – through chronic absenteeism or simply by quitting.
 They stay on the job but withdraw psychologically, becoming indifferent, passive and
apathetic.
 They resist by restricting output, deception, featherbedding, or sabotage.
 Try to climb the hierarch to better jobs.
 They form alliances (such as labor unions) to redress the power imbalance.
 They teach their children to believe that work is unrewarding and hopes for advancement
are slim.
Chapter 7
True/False
1. Although it is a noble idea, no research evidence exists that supports the notion of investing
in employees and responding to their needs.
2. Although evidence is mounting that high involvement, high performance or high
commitment management practices demonstrate positive economic returns, trends in actual
management practice are often moving exactly opposite to what this evidence indicates.
3. Frederick Herzberg felt that improving hygiene factors was central to increasing worker’s
motivation.
4. Because gain sharing plans have had a positive impact on performance, they have been
quickly adopted by the majority of companies.
5. Effective implementation of employee stock ownership programs (ESOPs) is dependent upon
employees learning and driving the business disciplines that help the company do well.
6. When a group of pilots applying with Southwest Airlines was asked to change into Bermuda
shorts for their interviews, two pilots declined. These were not hired.
7. In the doll-painting case, the blue-collar workers controlled the speed of the belt, which
produced a substantial loss of speed and efficiency.
8. T-Groups and Survey Feedback both played an important role in the evolution of
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organization development (OD).
Answers
1. F (P. 140) – Numerous studies have supported this notion.
2. T (P. 141) – Managers might pursue less effective strategies because they operate under
Theory X assumptions. Thus, they fear losing control or indulging workers. Also,
investing in workers requires time and persistence to yield a payoff. Faced with relentless
pressure for immediate results, mangers often conclude that slashing costs, changing
strategy, or reorganizing is more likely to produce a quick hit.
3. F (P. 153) – Herzberg’s belief that improving motivators through job enrichment was
essential to improving employee motivation.
4. F (P. 147) – Although they have been shown to have a positive impact on performance and
profitability (Kanter, 1989), they have spread slowly because they require significant
changes: cross-unit teams, suggestion systems, and more open communication of financial
information to employees.
5. T (P. 148) – Rosen and others (2005) argue that ESOP’s success is dependent on effective
implementation of three elements of the “equity model” (p. 19):
 Employees must have a significant ownership share in the company.
 The organization needs to build an “ownership culture” (p. 34) by sharing
financial data, involving employees in decisions, breaking down the hierarchy,
emphasizing teams and cross-training, and protecting jobs.
 It is important that “employee both learn and drive the business disciplines that
help their company do well” (p. 38). Depending on the company, the key
discipline might be technical innovation, cost control, or customer service, but
employees understand what it takes to make the company competitive and focus
on making it work.
6. T (P. 143) – This example was used to demonstrate the importance of hiring people that fit
the company’s mold or culture.
7. F (P. 150)
8. T (Pp. 157-8)
Multiple Choice
1.
Which of the following companies hires based primarily on intelligence?
a. Microsoft
b. Google
c. Southwest
d. Enterprise
2. To become the industry’s most profitable firm, Costco’s formula for success is to pay
employees __________ and charge customers __________ than its biggest competitor,
Sam’s Club.
a. less, less
b. less, more
c. more, less
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d. more, more
3. Studies have shown that employee participation
a. Increases morale but not productivity
b. Increases productivity but not morale
c. Increases neither productivity nor morale
d. Increases productivity and morale
4. Egalitarianism implies
a. A workplace where the emergent leader makes all of the decisions
b. A democratic workplace where employees participate in decision making
c. A workplace where the designated leader makes are key decisions
d. A republican workplace where people are able to make all of their own decisions
5. Total Quality Management (TQM) is
a. A comprehensive strategy that combines structural and human resource elements.
b. A comprehensive strategy based on the human resources frame.
c. A comprehensive strategy based on the structural frame.
d. A team structure that combines structural and human resource elements
6. The “Work-Out”, implemented to address the slow pace of change in his organization, was
initiated by
a. Colin Powell of the U.S. Army
b. Bill Gates at Microsoft
c. Jack Welch at General Electric
d. Herb Keller at Southwest Airlines
7. The NUMMI example of the joint venture between General Motors and Toyota, while
recognizing that it was not a trouble-free paradise, was used in the text to demonstrate
a. a successful implementation of TQM
b. a successful implementation of T-groups
c. a successful implementation of survey feedback
d. a successful implementation of team building
8. Norway’s legally mandated worker participation in decision making in 1977 has been
a. Both a success and a failure, as evidenced by their rating near the bottom of the “best
country to work in” rankings, with broad prosperity, and low unemployment in a weak
economy
b. A failure, as evidenced by their rating near the bottom of the “best country to live in”
rankings, with a weak economy, narrow prosperity at the top and high unemployment.
c. Both a success and failure, as evidenced by their rating near the top of the “best country
to work in” rankings, with a strong economy, but with narrow prosperity at the top and
high unemployment
d. A success, as evidenced by their rating near the top of the “best country to live in,”
rankings, with a strong economy, broad prosperity, and low unemployment
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9. The example of Circuit City and Best Buy was used to demonstrate
a. The long-term competitive advantage of layoffs
b. The short-term competitive advantage of layoffs
c. The competitive advantage of job security
d. The long-term competitive advantage of aggressive pricing
10. In discussing the changing basis for pay, Kanter emphasizes the following trend:
a. A decline in pay for all but the most senior executives.
b. Substantial increases in pay for knowledge workers, but a decline for everyone else.
c. A shift from pay based on status to pay based on contribution.
d. A shift to more egalitarian pay structure.
Answers
1. a (P. 143) – Google hires on intelligence but also teamwork. Enterprise actually hires “from
the half of the class that makes the top half possible”; they focus on people skills.
Southwest hires people with positive attitudes and well-honed interpersonal skills,
including a sense of humor.
2. c (P. 144) – Compared with its competitors, Costco has achieved higher sales volumes, faster
inventory turnover and lower shrinkage.
3. d (P. 151) – There more satisfaction in doing good work than in simply doing more (Lawler,
1986).
4. b (P. 155) – Egalitarianism implies a democratic workplace where employees participate in
decision making but it is not necessarily that they make all of the decision.
5. a (P. 159) – It is a comprehensive strategy that combines structural and human resource
elements. TQM emphasizes workforce involvement, participation and teaming as
essential component of a serious quality effort.
6. c (Pp. 162-3) – Welch convened a series of town hall meetings to identify and resolve issues
“that participants thought were dumb, a waste of time, or needed to be changed” (Bunker
and Alban, 1996, p.170).
7. a (Pp. 159-61) – TQM is a comprehensive strategy that combines structural and human
resource elements. These programs differ on specifics, but all TQM programs emphasize
workforce involvement, participation, and teaming as essential components of a serious
quality effort.
8. d (P. 155) – Major corporations pioneered efforts to democratize and improve the quality of
work life in Norway. Three decades later, the results of the “Norwegian model” look
impressive.
9. c This example and others were used to focus on the advantage of job security.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. List the reasons cited in the text as why managers persist in pursuing less effective strategies
than those obtained through high involvement, high performance or high commitment
management practices.
2. As outlined by Bolman and Deal, although every organization with productive people
management has it unique approach, most of their strategies can be captured in six general
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strategies. What are these six basic human resource strategies?
3. Name the three ways identified in the text to align employee rewards more directly with
business success?
4. What is the central idea in the autonomous team approach and what does it require to be
effective?
Answers
1. P. 141
 Theory X managers fear losing control or indulging workers.
 Investing in people requires time and persistence to yield a payoff.
 Faced with relentless pressure for immediate results, mangers often conclude that
slashing costs, changing strategy, or reorganizing is more likely to produce a quick hit
 The dominance of the financial perspective that sees the organization as simply a
portfolio of financial assets.
2. P. 142
 Build and implement an HR strategy
 Hire the right people
 Keep them
 Invest in them
 Empower them
 Promote diversity
3. Gain-sharing, profits-sharing, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). P(. 147)
4. The central idea in the autonomous team approach is giving groups responsibility for a
meaningful whole – a product, subassembly, or complete service – with ample autonomy and
resources and with collective accountability for results. Teams need ample training to
operate effectively as an autonomous team. Workers need group skills and a broader range
of technical skills so that each member understands and can perform someone else’s job. (P.
155)
Chapter 8
True/False
1. Although people bring patterns of behavior to the workplace that have roots in early life,
these patterns change quickly and easily once on the job.
2. In their research, Argyris and Schon (1974, 1996) found insignificant discrepancies between
espoused theories and theories-in use.
3. In Argyris’ and Schon’s Model I, the model’s assumptions s lead to minimal learning,
strained relationships, and deterioration in decision making.
4. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is popular with academic psychologists.
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5. The primary reason that change initiatives fail is that managers’ intentions are insincere.
6. Managers spend most of their time relating to people.
7. According to Bolman and Deal, a theory of action is a program, or cognitive map that
informs and guides an individual’s actions.
8. A "theory in use", according to Bolman and Deal, is a scientific theory that is supported by
existing research and used by researchers in the field.
Answers
1. F (P. 166) – The patterns and behaviors that people bring to the workplace that have roots in
their early lives tend to repeat themselves and are difficult to change.
2. F (P. 169) – Managers often give reasons for their actions that are different from the reasons
they actually engage in certain behaviors. Argyris and Schon found significant discrepancies
between espoused theories and theories in use.
3. T (P. 171) – Lurking in Model I is the core assumption that an organization is a dangerous
place where you have to look out for yourself or someone else will do you in. The result is
minimal learning, strained relationships, and deterioration in decision making.
4. F (P. 179) – While the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is widely used in management
development, it is not popular with academic psychologist. Academic psychologists prefer
the “Big 5” model of personality because it has stronger research support.
5. F (P. 176) – Most change initiatives fail because managers are unable to handle the social
challenges of changing and not because the intentions of managers are incorrect or insincere.
6. T (P. 166) – Managers spend most of their time in conversations and meetings, in groups and
committees, over coffee or lunch, on the phone, or on the Internet.
7. T (P. 169)
8. F (P. 169)
Multiple Choice
1. In M. S. Granovetter’s article entitled “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem
of Social Embeddedness,” he contrasts the assumptions of how people make decisions in the
fields of
a. Sociology and psychology
b. Sociology and economics
c. Psychology and economics
d. Economics and mathematics
2. In M. S. Granovetter’s article entitled “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem
of Social Embeddedness,” he contends that
a. Economic actors are atomized individuals whose decisions are little affected by their
relationship with others
b. Economic actors acquire custom, habits, norms that are followed mechanically,
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c.
irrespective of their bearing on rational choice
People’s actions are embedded in concrete, ongoing systems of social relations. Actors
make choices that are essentially random.
3. Managers typically see themselves as
a. More rational but less autocratic than they are seen by colleagues.
b. Less rational but more democratic and caring than they are seen by colleagues.
c. Less rational, open, concerned for others and democratic than they are seen by
colleagues.
d. More rational, open, concerned for other and democratic than they are seen by
colleagues.
4. Argyris’ and Schon’s Model II does NOT emphasize which of the following?
a. Integration of advocacy and inquiry.
b. Owning and controlling whatever is relevant to your interests.
c. Unilaterally protecting oneself.
d. Designing and managing the environment unilaterally.
5. Emotional intelligence was popularized by __________ but invented by __________?
a. Goleman; Salovey and Mayer
b. Salovey and Mayer; Daniel Goleman
c. Thorndike; Argyris and Schon
d. Thorndike; Goleman
6. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a tool that is used to assess a person’s
a. Theories of action
b. Emotional intelligence
c. Leadership competencies
d. Personal type or management style
7. When compared to the Myers-Brigs Type Indicator, a major disadvantage of the Big 5 model
of personality for management development is that it
a. has weaker research support than the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
b. has five dimensions versus Myers-Briggs four dimensions
c. conveys stronger value judgments than the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator
d. is popular with academic psychologists.
8. Groups operate on two levels: an overt, conscious level focused on __________ and a more
implicit level of __________.
a. process, task
b. emotions, cognition
c. cognition, emotions
d. task, process
9. Informal group norms
a. Define which members will complete what organizational tasks.
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b. Govern how the group functions and how members conduct themselves.
c. Are the patterns of who relates to whom.
d. rely on the rigidity of social relations
10. In response to the rumors of a sexual relationship between he and her boss, Model II suggests
that Anne Barretta’s most effective strategy is:
a. Resign immediately because the damage is done and no one will ever believe her
denials.
b. Retain a lawyer, and begin legal action against both Harry and Hillcrest Corporation.
c. Spread an equally-devastating rumor about Harry.
d. Confront Harry openly and directly.
Answers
1.
b (P. 167) - M. S. Granovetter contrasts the way people makes decisions in the fields of
sociology and economics.
2.
c (Pp. 167-8) – People make choices, but their choices are inevitably influenced by the
social context within which they the decision.
3.
d. (P. 169) – Managers’ self-understanding often differs from how they are perceived by
their colleagues. They typically see themselves as more rational, open, concerned for other
and democratic than they are seen by colleagues.
4.
a (P. 172) – b, c, and d are all action strategies associated with Model I. Model II
emphasizes the integration of advocacy and inquiry. It asks managers to actively express
openly what they think and feel and to actively seek understanding of others’ thoughts and
feelings. Also, it emphasizes common goals and mutual influence and communicating
openly by publicly testing assumptions and beliefs.
5.
a (P. 176) – Salovey and Mayer invented the term emotional intelligence; it updated
Thorndike’s concept of social intelligence. Daniel Goleman made the idea of emotional
intelligence famous through his book called Emotional Intelligence.
6.
d (P.178) – Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is built on the principles of Jungian psychology.
It assesses four dimensions (introversion versus extraversion, sensing versus intuition,
thinking versus feeling, and perceiving versus judging). On the basis of scores on these
dimensions, it categorizes an individual into one of sixteen types. Interpersonal
relationships are less confusing and frustrating if individuals understand and appreciate
their style and those of coworkers. No style is better than the rest.
7.
c (P. 179) – The Big 5 model of personality has the disadvantage of conveying stronger
value judgments than the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. Thus, managers taking the test
are more likely to misinterpret and get defensive about results than about the MyersBriggs’ results. This can impede management development.
8.
d (P. 180) – Groups, like modern art, are complex and subtle. They operate on two levels:
an over, conscious level focused on task and a more implicit level of process, involving
group maintenance and interpersonal dynamics.
9.
b (P. 182) – Every group develops informal norms to live by. These norms are rules that
govern how the group functions and how members conduct themselves.
10. d (P. 172)
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Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What are the three recurrent questions about relationships that regularly confront managers?
2. In his book entitled Emotional Intelligence, what basic argument does Daniel Goleman put
forth?
3. What is emotional intelligence? What term were Salovey and Mayer updating when they
created the concept of emotional intelligence?
4. Please define espoused theories and theories-in-use. These theories are used to explain
which managerial phenomenon?
5. What are the four central issues of group process discussed in Chapter 8?
Answers
1. Chris Argyris (1963) emphasizes the importance of “interpersonal competence” as a basic
managerial skill. The three recurrent questions about relationship that regularly confront are:
 What is really happening in this relationship?
 What motives are behind other peoples’ behaviors?
 What can I do about it?
(P. 168)
2. Daniel Goleman made the concept of emotional intelligence famous with his book entitled
Emotional Intelligence. In this book, Goleman’s basic argument is that emotional
intelligence (EQ), rather than intellectual abilities (measure through the intelligence quotient
(IQ)), accounts for most of the variance in effectiveness among managers, particularly at the
senior level. (P. 176)
3. Emotional intelligence includes the skills of awareness of self and other and the ability to
handle emotions and relationships. Salovey and Mayer found that individuals who scored
relatively high in the ability to perceive accurately, understand and appraise others’ emotions
could respond more flexibly to changes in their social environments and were better able to
build supportive social networks. Salovey and Mayer were updating Thorndike’s concept of
social intelligence – “the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girlsto act wisely in human relations (1920, p. 228). (Pp. 175-6)
4. Espoused theories are accounts given by individuals whenever they try to describe, explain,
or predict their behavior. Theories-in-use guide what people actually do. These two theories
are used to explain how managers’ self-descriptions are often disconnected from their
actions. These discrepancies exist because managers don’t learn very well from their
experience. (P. 169)
5. The author’s map emphasizes four central issues in group process. They are informal roles,
informal norms, interpersonal conflict, and leadership and decision making. (P. 180)
Chapter 9
True/False
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1. It is naïve and romantic to hope that organizational politics can be eliminated.
2. Political activity is more visible and dominant under conditions of homogeneity than
diversity.
3. In a family context, parents function as partisans.
4. Conflict encourages new ideas and approaches to problems, stimulating innovation.
5. The political frame blames organizational politics on individual characteristics such as
selfishness, myopia, and incompetence.
6. The blue-ribbon commission that investigated the Columbia tragedy concluded that the loss
of the Columbia was as much an organizational as a technical failure.
7. A “zone of indifference” is an area or unit in an organization in which most employees are
alienated and bored by their work.
8. According to the political frame, organizational goals are not set by the board or the CEO,
but through a negotiation process involving multiple coalition members.
Answers
1. T (P. 194) – It is naïve and romantic to hope organizational politics can be eliminated,
regardless of individual players. Managers can, however, learn to acknowledge, understand,
and manage political dynamics rather than shy away from them.
2. F (P. 196) – Agreement and harmony are easier to achieve when everyone shares similar
values, beliefs, and cultural ways. Political activity is more visible and dominant under
conditions of diversity than of homogeneity.
3. F (P. 202) – Parents making binding decision about such things as bedtime, television
viewing, or which child uses a particular toy. They function as authorities within the context
of the family. The children function as partisan by trying to influence their parents.
4. T (P. 207) – Well handled conflict can stimulate creativity and innovation that make an
organization a livelier, more adaptive, and effective place.
5. F (P. 194) – The political frame proposes that interdependence, divergent interests, scarcity,
and power relations inevitably spawn political activity rather than organizational members’
individual characteristics.
6. T (P. 191) – Although the ultimate causes were technical failures, organizational failures lead
to the technical failure. In the case of the Columbia, the Columbia Accident Investigation
board concluded that organizational breakdowns included “the original compromises that
were required to gain approval for the shuttle, subsequent years of resource-constraints,
fluctuating priorities, schedule pressures, mischaracterization of the shuttle as operational
rather than developmental, and lack of an agreed national vision for human space flight
(2003, p. 195).”
7. F. (P. 196)
8. T. (Pp. 186-7)
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Multiple Choice
1. In the case of the explosion of the Challenger,
a. Political agendas corrupted engineers’ technical judgments and caused them to
recommend launching the Challenger.
b. Political agendas dominated, and the judgment of technical experts was disregarded when
making the final decision to launch the Challenger.
c. Technical experts failed to foresee the possibility of a Challenger explosion.
d. Weather conditions were identified as the main cause of the Challenger explosion.
2. The political frame emphasizes that organizational goals are
a. Set by edict at the top of the organization.
b. Mutually agreed upon by the organization’s coalitions.
c. Evolved through an ongoing process of negotiation and bargaining.
d. Set through a process of consensus.
3. A potential partisan is?
a. Any member of a coalition who wants to exert bottom-up pressure
b. Any organizational member who, by virtue of position, is entitled to make decisions
binding on subordinates
c. Any member of senior management who exerts authority by virtue of their position.
d. Any member of a coalition who lacks the courage of his or her convictions.
4. Coercive power
a. Rests on one’s attractiveness and social adeptness.
b. Rests on one’s occupation of a position that has legitimate authority.
c. Rests on the ability to pass out rewards
d. Rests on the ability to constrain, block, interfere, or punish.
5. Personal power
a. Rests on one’s attractiveness and social adeptness.
b. Rests on one’s occupation of a position that has legitimate authority.
c. Rests on the ability to rewards such as jobs, money and political support.
d. Rests on the ability to constrain, block, interfere, or punish.
6. The example of Republican electoral success based on the ability to recast, for example, the
“estate tax” as the “death tax” was used to demonstrate to the power of
a. Access and control of agendas.
b. Alliances and networks.
c. Framing.
d. Personal power.
7. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was an example of
a. A balanced system
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b. An overbounded system
c. A system of diffuse power
d. An underbounded system
8. Under which frame is conflict not viewed as something that can or should be tamped down or
stamped out?
a. Human Resource.
b. Structural.
c. Symbolic.
d. Political.
9. Concerning organizational conflict, it is not the case that
a. How the conflict is managed is more important than the amount of conflict
b. An organization can experience too much or too little conflict.
c. Interventions may be needed to tamp down or stoke the intensity of conflict, depending
on the situation.
d. Conflict is unlikely to occur at organizational boundaries, or interfaces, between
departments or divisions.
10. Authorities are recipients of __________, and agents or initiators of __________.
a. personal power, reputation
b. influence, social control
c. access, referent power
d. coercive power, alliances
Answers
1. b (Pp. 192-1) – Thiokol’s engineers recommended canceling the Challenger launch but their
recommendation was not accepted by Thiokol’s senior managers. NASA accepted
Thiokol’s senior managers’ recommendation to launch the shuttle. Both Thiokol’s senior
managers and NASA were feeling political pressure to launch the Challenger and thus,
ignored the engineers’ technical recommendation to delay the launch of the Challenger
because of the probability that the cold temperatures would cause a failure in the
synthetic O-rings sealing the rocket motor joints. If the rings failed, the motor could
blow up.
2. c (P. 197) – Few organization’s goals are not set by the edict of top management or are
mutually agreed upon by organizational members or coalitions. Rather they are created
through a process of negotiation and bargaining.
3. a (Pp. 201-2) – Potential partisans are agents or initiators of influence, and targets or
recipients of social control. They are any member of a coalition who wants to exert
bottom-up pressure.
4. d (P. 203) – Coercive power rests on the ability to constrain, block, interfere or punish.
5. a (Pp. 203-4) – Individuals who are attractive and socially adept – because of charisma,
energy, stamina, political smarts, gift of gab, vision, or some other characteristic – are
imbued with power independent of other sources.
6. c (P. 204) – The example was used by Lakoff (2004) to argue that the Republican electoral
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success in 2000 and 2004 owed much to the skill of framing. Framing establishes the
framework within which issues will be viewed and decided and thus, determines their
meaning.
7. b (P. 206) – Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was tightly controlled through highly concentrated
power. It was an example of an overbounded system.
8. d (P. 206) – Under the political frame, conflict is normal and inevitable. Conflict has
benefits as well as costs. It is a natural by-product of organizational life. Thus, it is not
seen as something that should be tamped down or stamped out.
9. d (Pp. 206-7) – a, b, and c are all true. Conflict is particularly likely to occur at
organizational boundaries, or interfaces, between units and groups. Horizontal conflict
occurs in the boundary between departments or divisions. Vertical conflict occurs at the
border between levels.
10. b (P. 202) – Authorities are the recipients or targets of influence, and the agents or initiators
of social control.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What are the five propositions that summarize the political frame?
2. What is power and what makes power a key organizational resource?
3. In analyzing decision making, what are the four “relational concepts” - implicit rules that
organizational members use to make decisions - that Cyert and March develop in their book
A Behavioral Theory of the Firm?
4. Compare how structural theorist, human resource, and political frame theorists view power.
Answers
1. The five propositions are:
 Organizations are coalitions of assorted individuals and interest groups.
 Coalition members have enduring differences in values, beliefs, information,
interests, and perceptions of reality.
 Most important decisions involve allocating scarce resources.
 Scarce resources and enduring differences put conflict at the center of day-to-day
dynamics and make power the most important asset.
 Goals and decisions emerge from bargaining and negotiation among competing
stakeholders jockeying for their own interests.
(Pp. 194-195)
2. Power is the capacity to get things done. Pfeffer defines power as “the potential ability to
influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, and to get people
to do things they would not otherwise do (1992, p. 30).” Differences and scarce resources
make power a key organizational issue. (P. 196)
3. Cyert and March developed a predictive theory of organizational decision making rotted in a
realistic understanding of how decisions actually get made. As a basis for this understanding,
Cyert and March developed the following four “relational concepts:”
 Quasi-resolution of conflict – instead of resolving conflict, organizations break
problems into pieces and farm pieces out to different units. Units make rational
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decisions but decisions are never consistent. They only need to be good enough to keep
the coalition functioning.
 Uncertainty avoidance – organizations employ a range of simplifying mechanisms –
such as standard operating procedures, traditions, and contracts – that enable them to
act as if the environment is clearer than it is.
 Problemistic search – organizations look for solutions in the neighborhood of the
presenting problem and grab the first acceptable solution
 Organizational learning – over time, organizations evolve their goals and aspiration
levels, altering what they attend to and what they ignore, and change search rules.
(Pp. 200-1)
4. Structural theorist typically emphasizes authority, the legitimate prerogative granted by the
organization to make binding decisions. In this view, mangers make rational decisions
(optimal and consistent with purpose); monitor actions to ensure decisions are implemented;
and calculate how well subordinates carry out directives.
In contrast, human resource theorists place less emphasis on power and more on
empowerment. More than structuralists, they emphasize the limits of authority and tend to
focus on influence that enhances mutuality and collaboration. The implicit hope is that
participation, openness, and collaboration substitute for power.
Political frame theorists views authority as only one among many forms of power. It
recognizes the importance of individual and group needs but emphasizes that scarce
resources and incompatible preferences cause needs to collide. The political issue is how
competing groups articulate preferences and mobilize power to get what they want. Power is
not viewed as evil. (P. 201)
Chapter 10
True/False
1. Politically, an agenda outlines a goal and a schedule of activities.
2. Managers often fail to get things done because they rely too much on reason and too little on
relationships.
3. Political dynamics are a product of three conditions that most managers face every day:
ambiguity, diversity, and scarcity.
4. Value claimers believe that successful negotiators must make every effort to come to a winwin solution.
5. Terminal values are presented as the four vital principles of moral judgment..
6.
One of the key elements of an “agenda for change” is a vision balancing the long-term
interests of key parties.
7. Bolman and Deal argue that the higher the position a manager achieves with a company, the
more power they have and, therefore, the less dependent they are on others.
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8. Mutuality, generality and caring are important criteria in forming an ethical judgment about a
particular action.
9.
Political skill is a dangerous quality in managers.
10. Key elements in a political map include the 3 P’s of players (who’s on the field), positions
(what individuals and groups want) and power (capacity for influence held by different
participants)
Answers
1. F (P. 214) – Structurally, an agenda outlines a goal and a schedule of activities. Politically,
an agenda is a statement of interests and a scenario for getting the goods. The first step in
effective political leadership is setting the agenda.
2. T (P. 218) – Managers believe that people will follow them if a logical reason is given for
doing so. Because of this, they do not focus enough of their attention to the relational aspects
of accomplishing initiatives.
3. T (P. 220) – Ambiguity (which causes uncertainty), diversity (which causes differences), and
scarcity (which causes conflict) inevitably lead to political dynamics in organizations.
4. F (P. 221) – Value claimers see “win-win” as naively optimistic. For them, bargaining is a
hard tough process in which you have to do what it takes to win as much as you can.
5. F (P. 226) – Instrumental values are the four important principles of moral judgment. They
are guidelines about right actions rather than right outcomes (terminal value)
6. T (P. 214) – Effective leaders create an “agenda for change” with two major elements: a
vision balancing the long-term interests of key parties, and a strategy for achieving the vision
while recognizing internal and external forces.
7. F (P. 217)
8. T (Pp. 226-7)
9. F. (Pp. 214 et seq.) The chapter argues the opposite: that political skill is vital to an
organization’s capacity to manage political dynamics effectively.
Multiple Choice
1. The example of Ronald Reagan was used to show how it was necessary for him to
a. Set the agenda.
b. Map the political terrain.
c. Network and form coalitions.
d. Bargain and negotiate.
2. In negotiations, people who stake out positions and then reluctantly make concessions to
reach agreement are engaging in
a. Principled bargaining.
b. Unprincipled bargaining.
c. Positional bargaining.
d. Directional bargaining.
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3. In principled bargaining,
a. One should focus on one’s position
b. One should focus on one’s interest
c. One should lock in on the first viable alternative that arises
d. One should link the people with the problem
4. Under value claiming,
a. Players should focus on the interests, rather than their positions.
b. Players should separate people from problem.
c. Players should insist on objective criteria for both substance and process.
d. The more player A can control player B’s level of uncertainty the more powerful A is.
5. What negotiation strategy begins with open and collaborative behavior maintaining this
approach so long as the other party responds in kind, and an adversarial approach should this
strategy be adopted by the other party during negotiation?
a. Conditional value claiming
b. Conditional openness
c. Value hedging
d. Principled hedging
6. Which of the following is not one of the four important principles of moral judgment?
a. Mutuality.
b. Generality.
c. Openness.
d. Contingency.
7.
The question “are all parties to a relationship operating under the same understanding about
the rules of the game?” embodies which of the following important principles of moral
judgment?
a. Mutuality.
b. Generality.
c. Openness.
d. Caring.
8. Bill Gates’ negotiations with IBM and Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer are an example of
successful
a. Value creating
b. Value claiming
c. Win-win negotiating
d. Principled bargaining
9. The example of congressman John LeBoutillier and Thomas O’Neill was used to illustrate
a. The need to understand the role of people in a network.
b. The risks of criticizing political opponents.
c. The power of agenda setting
d. The power of bargaining
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10. Which of the following are key skills of the manager as politician
a. ambition, vision, tenacity, and a thick skin
b. mutuality, sensitivity, openness, caring
c. agenda-setting, mapping the terrain, networking, bargaining,
d. stakeholder analysis, ratio analysis, goal-setting, systems design
Answers
1. a (P. 214) – In the first year of his presidency, Ronald Reagan was remarkably successful
winning the agenda game. From painstakingly studying the first hundred days of his four
predecessors, Reagan’s staff concluded that it was essential that he move with speed and
focus
2. c (P. 221) Fisher and Ury contend that this type of positional bargaining is inefficient and
misses opportunities to create something that’s better for everyone .
3. b (Pp. 221-2) – In principled bargaining one should know one’s interests, not one’s position.
One should also seek to create objective criteria for both the substance and procedure of
negotiation and invent options for mutual gain instead of locking in to the first alternative
that comes to mind.
4. d (P. 223) – a, b, and c are all part of principled bargaining. Along with the understandings
that bargaining is a mixed-motive game, a process of interdependent decisions, involves
judicious use of threats rather than sanctions, requires making a threat credible, and
requires the calculation of the appropriate level of threat, under value claiming the more
player A can control player B’s level of uncertainty the more powerful A is.
5. b (P. 224) – Conditional openness is, in effect, a friendly and forgiving version of tit-for-tat –
do unto others as they do unto you.
6. d (Pp. 226-7) – Mutuality, Generality, Openness, and Caring are the four important principles
of moral judgment presented.
7. a (P. 226) – The principle of mutuality is embodied in the question “are all parties to a
relationship operating under the same understanding about the rules of the game?
8. b (Pp. 222-3) – It is an example of value claiming. In the negotiations with IBM and Tim
Paterson, Bill Gates did what it took to win as much as he could from them.
9. a (P. 220) – John LeBoutillier misread the amount of power that Thomas O’Neill possessed
in the political network. Because of this he ignorantly made a negative quip about
Congressman O’Neill that led to his unsuccessful bid for re-election.
10. c (Pp. 214-21)
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What are the four key skills of the manager as politician?
2. What are the four steps that are suggested for developing a political map?
3. What are the four basic steps suggested for successfully exercising political influence?
4. What are the four strategies of principled bargaining?
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5. Creating value and claiming value are both intrinsic to the bargaining process. What two
questions are important for mangers to ask in deciding how to balance the two?
Answers
1. The four key skills of manager as politician are:
 Agenda setting.
 Mapping the political terrain.
 Networking and forming coalitions.
 Bargaining and negotiating.
(P. 214)
2. The four steps that are suggested to develop a political map are:
 Determine channels of informal communication.
 Identify principal agents of political influence.
 Analyze possibilities for mobilizing internal and external players.
 Anticipate counterstrategies that others are likely to employ.
(P. 216)
3. These four steps underscore the importance of developing a power base. The four basic steps
necessary for exercising political influence are:
 Identify relevant relationships. Figure out which players you need to influence.
 Assess who might resist, why, and how strongly.
 Develop, wherever possible, links with potential opponents to facilitate
communication, education, and negotiation.
 If step three fails, carefully select and implement either more subtle or more forceful
methods.
(P. 219)
4. Principled bargaining is an alternative to positional bargaining that is inefficient and misses
opportunities to create something that’s better for both negotiating parties. The four
strategies of principled bargaining are:
 Separate people from problem.
 Focus on interests, not positions.
 Invent options for mutual gain instead of locking on the first alternative that comes to
mind.
 Insist on objective criteria – standards of fairness for substance and procedure.
(Pp. 221-2)
5. The two questions that are important to answer are:
 How much opportunity is there for a win-win solution?
 Will I have to work with these people again?
If an agreement can make everyone better off, it makes sense o emphasize creating value. If
you expect to work with the same people in the future, it is risky to use scorched-earth tactics
that leave anger and mistrust in their wake.
Chapter 11
True/False
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1. When viewing organizations as political arenas, organizational design is seen as a rational
expression of the organization’s goals.
2. A classic scenario for revolution is a period of rising expectations followed by widespread
disappointment.
3. In a durable ecosystem, like Wintel and Wal-Mart, a major organization’s role is an
important determinant of how it can best balance pursuit of its own interests with the overall
well-being of the ecosystem.
4. Since organizations depend on their environment for resources needed for survival, they are
inevitably enmeshed with external constituents whose expectations or demands must be
heeded.
5. In contrast to the United States, Japanese business and politics have been kept separate.
6. In most organizational change initiatives, the right idea and legitimate authority will
generally ensure success.
7. Although Fred Smith, the CEO of FedEx, spends a lot of time in Washington, the
organization’s political action committee does not wield much political clout in our nation’s
capital.
8. An organization’s understanding of their environment is often distorted or imperfect because
they only act on the information they are geared to collect and know how to interpret.
Answers
1. F (P. 230) – When viewing organizations as political arenas, organizational design is viewed
as a political embodiment of contending claims.
2. T (P. 233) – These revolutions are in the form of grassroots mobilizing and organizing such
as the formation of trade unions, civil rights groups, student movements and environmental
groups.
3. T (P. 237) – Though this is not a major concern for small players with only marginal
influence, it is vital for “keystone” firms like Wal-Mart and Microsoft that sit at the hub of an
ecosystem.
4. T (P. 235) – These constituents speak loud with conflicting voices, adding to the challenge of
managerial work.
5. F (P. 241) – Business and politics are closely intertwined in Japan. As one leading financial
journalist put it, “If you don’t use politicians, you can’t expand business these days in Japanthat’s basic (Downer, 1994, p. 299).”
6. F (P. 235) – This assumption ignores the agendas and power of the “lowerarchy” – partisans
and groups in midlevel and lower-level positions, who devise creative and maddening ways
to resist, divert, undermine, ignore, or overthrow innovative plans.
7. F (P. 241) – FedEx’s political action committee is ranked among the nation’s top ten, making
generous donations to hundreds of congressional candidates.
8. T (P. 243)
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Multiple Choice
1. Ross Johnson’s decision to move RJR’s headquarters from Winston-Salem to Atlanta
a. Was a sound business decision.
b. Was a political decision, that met the needs of Johnson’s dominant coalition
c. Was facilitated by the fact that the residents of Winston-Salem wanted the cigarette
maker out of the city.
d. Was based on cheaper real estate prices in Atlanta.
2. The example of school districts that received generous, long-term federal funding to develop
experimental programs for comprehensive changes in rural education illustrated
a. Why top-down change usually succeeds
b. Political risks in top-down change initiatives
c. The conditions necessary for a successful bottom-up change initiative
d. Why bottom-up change initiatives usually fail.
3. In the IBM ecosystem, Microsoft and Intel
a. Became fierce competitors.
b. Got caught in anti-trust legislation.
c. Remain servants to IBM.
d. Became mutually indispensible.
4. In the battle for RJR Nabisco between Henry Kravis at KKR and Ross Johnson
a. Henry Kravis and KKR ended up paying too much to acquire the company
b. Henry Kravis and KKR were able to purchase the company at a surprisingly low price
c. Ross Johnson outmaneuvered Kravis to hold on to this company..
d. Ross Johnson ended up violating federal securities laws and losing his company. .
5. In Marion Blakey’s five-year rein at the FAA,
a. Through a clear understanding of the ecosystem, she was able to turn the agency around.
b. Through establishing a performance-oriented culture, she was able to turn the agency
around.
c. Because of a lack of a formal management education she was unable to turn the agency
around.
d. Because of an ecosystem in which no one seemed to be in charge she was unable to turn
the agency around.
6. Education in the United States was used as an example of a
a. Public policy ecosystem
b. Business-government ecosystem
c. Society as ecosystem
d. Business ecosystem
7. Which of the following companies was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of a company
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in influencing government agencies
a. Microsoft
b. Ben and Jerry’s
c. FedEx
d. Intel
8. A critical question in the society ecosystem is, “What is the power relationship between…”
a. The Office of the President and everyone else?
b. Large corporations and everyone else?
c. Toyota and everyone else?
d. China and everyone else?
9. Of the top twenty-five U.S. companies at the beginning of the twentieth century which of the
following remained one of the top 25 at the end of the century?
a. General Electric
b. General Motors
c. Exxon
d. Sears
10. Wal-Mart made a point of tracking demand information in real time and then it would share
the information through Retail Link with its
a. competitors
b. manufacturers
c. supplier network
d. constituents
Answers
1. b (P. 233) – RJRs headquarters were relocated from Winston-Salem to Atlanta because Ross
Johnson was able to head a successful coalition in favor of moving the company, in spite
of the fact that it had been located in Winston-Salem for a century and its citizens to
much pride in the company and were fiercely loyal to it.
2. b (Pp. 234-5) – This new change initiative set off heated political battles. In many cases,
administrators found themselves outgunned. Only one superintendent survived over the
program’s five-year funding cycle. In most cases, the administrators never anticipated a
major political battle. They thought the program made sense and that it would be
accepted. They were confident their proposed programs were progressive, effective, and
good for everyone.
3. d (P. 236) – Because more sophisticated software needed faster microprocessors, and vice
versa, Microsoft and Intel became mutually indispensible. They began as servants to
IBM but eventually took over what became the “Wintel” ecosystem.
4. a (P. 237) – In the competitive frenzy, both companies bid too high and Henry Kravis and
KKR were stuck with an overpriced albatross.
5. d (P. 238-9) – Almost every move she made to solve one constituency’s problem created
trouble for others. Much of the fault lay in the ecosystem in which no one was in charge.
6. a (Pp. 239-40) – Education in the United States was used as an example of a Public policy
ecosystem
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7. c (P. 241) – The New York Times described FedEx as “one of the most formidable and
successful corporate lobbies in the capital (Lewis, 1996, p. 17).” FedEx’s political action
committee ranked among the nations’ top ten, making generous donations to hundreds of
congressional candidates.
8. b (P. 242) –Large corporations have great power: “Of the 100 largest economies in the
world, 51 are corporations, and only 49 are countries. Wal-Mart is bigger than Israel,
Poland or Greece. Mitsubishi is bigger than Indonesia. General Motors is bigger than
Denmark. If governments can’t set the rules, who will? The corporations? But they’re
the players. Who’s the referee? (Longworth, 1996, p. 4).”
9. a (P. 245) – Of the top twenty-five U.S. companies at the beginning of the twentieth only
General Electric remains. All others have dropped out of the top twenty-five or
completely vanished.
10. c (P. 237) – Sharing demand information through Retail Link with the supplier network
allowed the company to communicate valuable sales information to the support system
that would make the organization successful.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What are the basic skills of individual managers as politicians that organizations, as political
actors, need to master?
2. In what ecosystem are business, government, and the public embedded?
3. What changed between 1954 and 2005 in terms of the number of companies it took to equal
20% of the American economy? Why are the implications of this shift?
4. What is the principal theme of Jeffrey Pfeffer’s and Gerald Salancik’s book The External
Control of Organizations?
5. What is the “marketing concept” of management? Would Korten or Pfeffer and Salancik
agree with it?
Answers
1. As political actors, organizations need to master many of the basic skills of individual
mangers as politicians. These skills are:
 Develop an agenda
 Map the environment
 Manage relationships with both allies and enemies
 Negotiate compacts, accords, and alliances
(Pp. 235-6)
2. Society is the massive swirling ecosystem in which business government, and the public are
embedded. (P. 242)
3. In 1954, it took more than sixty companies to equal 20 percent of the American economy; in
2005, it took only 20. This means that the leaders of these 20 corporations make decisions
that steer one-fifth of the U.S. economy. These 20 companies have enormous influence on
the society ecosystem of the United States and are driven by the sole dictum of maximizing
shareholder wealth and thus, most often conceived as amoral. (P. 242)
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4. As its title suggests, the book’s principal theme is that organizations are much more creatures
than creators of their environment. In the authors’ word: “The perspective [in this book]
deniers the validity of the conceptualization of organizations as self-directed, autonomous
actors pursuing their own ends and instead argues that organization are other-directed,
involved in a constant struggle for autonomy and discretion, confronted with constraint and
external control (1978, p. 257).” (P. 243)
5. “The marketing concept of management is based on the premise that over the longer term all
businesses are born and survive or die because people (the market) either want them or don’t
want them. In short, the market creates, shapes, and defines the demand for all classes of
products and services (Marshall, 1984, p. 1).” Pfeffer and Salancik would agree.
Chapter 12
True/False
1. Building community around a brand name updates ancient traditions based on tribe and
homeland.
2. Evidence exists that the culture of an organization is related to its profitability.
3. A good story, like the one that attributes Pierre Omidyar’s vision for eBay to an effort to help
his girl friend, can be very powerful, regardless of whether it is true.
4. In his book Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values,
Geert Hofstede argues that the same basic management practices and concepts work
around the world. =
5. Fairy tales may be entertaining, but serve no useful purpose at work. .
6. An organization’s culture is revealed and communicated through its symbols.
7. Bolman and Deal describe myths as distorted, half-truths that inhibit organizational
effectiveness.
8. The symbolic frame centers on the concepts of meaning, belief, and faith.
Answers
1. T (P. 252) – Harley-Davidson owners are part of a unique culture. Although diverse, they
are fanatical about their Harleys.
2. T (P. 269) – Books like Kotter and Heskett’s Corporate Culture and Performance (1992),
Collins and Porras’s Built to Last (1994), and Collins’s Good to Great (2001) offer
impressive longitudinal evidence linking culture to the financial bottom line.
3. F (Pp. 256-7) – This story was hatched by Mary Lou Song, an eBay publicist, in an effort to
gain media exposure. Her rationale: “Nobody wants to hear about a thirty-year-old
genius who wanted to create a perfect market. They want to hear that he did it for his
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
fiancée.
F (P. 273) – In his book Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related
Values Geert Hofstede argues that management theories and practices are inevitably
culture-bound. To Hofstede, managers and scholars have too often assumed that what
works in their culture will work anywhere, an assumption that can have disastrous results.
F (P. 259) – Fairy tales, like stories, offer more than entertainment. As well as moral
instruction, they offer comfort, reassurance, direction, and hope.
T (P. 254) – Think of Geico’s gecko, Target’s bull’s eye, or Budweiser’s Clydesdales.
McDonald’s franchises are unified by its golden arches, core values, and the legend of
Ray Kroc.
F (P. 254) – Myths transform a place of work into a revered institution and an allencompassing way of life. They explain, express, legitimize, and maintain solidarity
and cohesion.
T (P. 248) – The symbolic frame focuses on how humans make sense of the chaotic,
ambiguous world in which they live. Meaning, belief, and faith are its central concerns.
Multiple Choice
1.
The story that the original plan for Southwest was sketched on a cocktail napkin in a San
Antonio bar is an example of a
a. Vision.
b. Myth.
c. Mission statement.
d. Journalistic bias.
2. An organization’s ___________ turns an organization’s core ideology, or sense of purpose,
into an image of the future.
a. Vision.
b. Myth.
c. Mission statement.
d. Fairy tale.
3. The story of Scott O’Grady, a U.S. Air Force pilot downed during the Bosnian conflict, was
used as an example of the importance of
a. Myth.
b. Values.
c. Vision.
d. Heroes.
4. Initiation into an organization is a form of
a. Culture
b. Play
c. Ritual
d. Metaphor
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5. _________ makes strange things familiar and the familiar strange.
a. Metaphor
b. Humor
c. Play
d. Myth
6. __________ allows one to illuminate and break frames, indicating that any single definition
of a situation is arbitrary.
a. Metaphor
b. Humor
c. Play
d. Myth
7. What concept is defined as “the way we do things around here”?
a. Metaphor
b. Culture
c. Myth
d. Values
8. Which of these strong-culture companies emphasizes the philosophical principle that “the
customer is always right?”
a. BMW
b. Continental
c. Nordstrom’s
d. Southwest Airlines
9. Which of these strong-culture companies had a CEO who gathered up old employee manuals
full of rules and regulations and led a group of employees to the parking lot for a bonfire?
a. BMW
b. Continental
c. Nordstrom’s
d. Starbucks
10. Which of the following is NOT a way that Bolman and Deal describe organizational culture?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Distinctive values, beliefs and practices that an organization has developed
The level of taste and refinement that an organization has cultivated in its members
How we do things around here
A pattern of shared basic assumptions
Answers
1. b (P. 254) – The napkin envisioned connecting three Texas cities: Dallas, Houston, and San
Antonio. As the myth has it, Rollin King, one of the original founders, said to his
counterpart Herb Kelleher, “Herb, let’s start an airline.” Kelleher, who later became
Southwest’s CEO replied, “Rollin, you’re crazy. Let’s do it! (Freiberg and Freiberg,
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1998, p. 15).” The persistent and zany mythologized beginnings of Southwest helped
shape its unique culture.
2. a (P. 255) – A vision illuminates new possibilities for an organization.. As Collins and Poras
stated in their book Built to Last, “The essence of a visionary company comes in the
translation of its core ideology and its own unique drive for progress into the very fabric
of the organization (1994, p. 201).”
3. d (P. 258) – To survive being shot, O’Grady drew on the example of Sijan: “His strong will
to survive and be free was an inspiration to every pilot I knew (O’Grady, 1998, p. 83).”
4. c (P. 262) – It is a ritual that marks the transition from outsider to full-fledged member with
access to organizational secrets. It affirms a person’s acceptance to a group or
organization.
5. a (P. 268) – Metaphors make the strange familiar and the familiar strange. Metaphors
compress complicated issues into understandable images, influencing our attitudes and
actions.
6. b (P.268) – As well as expressing skepticism, flexibility, adaptability, and signaling status,
humor is a way to illuminate and break frames. .
7. b (P. 269) – Schein defines culture as: “a pattern of shared basic assumptions that a group
learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and integration, that has worked
well enough to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new members as the
correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems (1992, p. 12).” Deal
and Kennedy, define culture more succinctly as “the way we do things around here
(1982, p.4).”
8. c (P. 275) –As well as this principle, Nordstrom’s motto is “not service the way it used to be,
but service that never was (Spector & McCarthy, 1995, p. 1).”
9. b (P. 274 ) – After taking over from Frank Lerenzo as CEO of Continental Airlines, Gordon
Bethune took many symbolic actions to mark a transition into a new direction that valued
flexibility, customer service, performance and a flattened organization.
10. b (Pp. 272-7)
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is a symbol? What aspects of social life does the symbolic frame focus on?
2. What are the five suppositions of the symbolic frame?
3. What four major roles do ceremonies serve? What is the rule to thumb that distinguishes
between ceremony and ritual?
4. How did Geert Hofstede define culture and what were the four dimensions of national culture
that he identified in his book entitled Culture’s Consequences: International Differences
in Work-Related Values?
Answers
1. “A symbol is something that stands for or suggests something else; it conveys socially
constructed meaning beyond its intrinsic or obvious functional use (Zott & Huy, 2007, p. 72).
The symbolic frame interprets and illuminates the basic issues of meaning and belief that
make symbols so powerful. (Pp. 252-3)
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2. The five suppositions of the symbolic frame are:
 What is most important is not what happens but what it means.
 Activity and meaning are loosely coupled; events and actions have multiple
interpretations as people experience life differently.
 Facing uncertainty and ambiguity, people create symbols to resolve confusion, find
direction, and anchor hope and faith.
 Events and processes are often more important for what is expressed than for what is
produced. Their emblematic form weaves a tapestry of secular myths, heroes and
heroines, rituals, ceremonies, and stories to help people find purpose and passion.
 Culture forms the superglue that bonds an organization, unites people, and helps an
enterprise accomplish desired ends.
(P. 253)
3. The four major roles of ceremony are:
 Socialization
 Stabilization
 Reassurance
 Conveying messages to external constituencies
As a rule of thumb, ritual is more everyday and ceremonies more episodic – grander and
more elaborate – convened at times of transition or special occasion.
(Pp. 265-6)
4. Geert Hofstede defined culture as “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes
the members of one human group from another. (1984, p21).”
His four dimensions of national culture are:
 Power Distance
 Uncertainty Avoidance
 Individualism
 Masculinity-femininity
(Pp. 272-3)
Chapter 13
True/False
1. The Eagle Group at Data General was successful in producing a new state-of-the-art
computer in record time because the project members were unusually talented.
2. Specialized language both reflects and shapes a group’s culture.
3. With respect to rituals and ceremonies, visible behavior is more important than what is
communicated beneath surface.
4. Alsing was the Eagle Group’s conscience.
5. Outback Steakhouse is committed to “no rules, just right.”
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6. Google was started by two graduate students, one from Michigan and one from Moscow,
who did not care for each other at the start.
7. In the symbolic frame, a specialized language fosters cohesion and commitment.
8. The spirit and overall experience of the Eagle Group’s process is not common in
organizational environments.
Answers
1. F (P. 280) – Each member was highly skilled, but there were equally talented engineers
working on other Data General projects. It seemed to have more to do with the fact that the
group members had a shared and cohesive culture that was the invisible force that gave
them their drive.
2. T (P. 284) – Most often language is thought of as simply representing culture, but it also
plays the role of constructing a culture.
3. F (P. 286) – With respect to rituals and ceremonies, what occurs on the surface is not nearly
as important as the deeper meaning communicated beneath visible behavior.
4. T (P. 288) – As well as the main organizer and instigator of parties, Alsing was the group’s
conscience and nearly everyone’s confidant.
5. T (P. 290) – This commitment has distinguished the company in the intensely competitive
restaurant industry.
6. T (Pp. 279-80)
7. T (P. 282)
8. F (P. 289)
Multiple Choice
1. ___________ binds a group together.
a. A clear chain of command.
b. Equal pay for equal work.
c. Diversity of group members.
d. Shared language.
2. __________ releases tension and helps resolve issues arising from the day-to-day routine as
well as from sudden emergencies.
a. A clear chain of command.
b. Humor
c. A shared vision
d. Shared language
3. After extensive research on high-performance groups, Vaill (1982) concluded that
__________ was at the core of every group he studied?
a. The high need for achievement of group members.
b. External competition from another team.
c. Spirit.
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d. Internal competition among group members.
4. After the Vietnam War, the ___________ added, “Cohesion is a principle of war,” to its
values?
a. The State Department
b. The Central Intelligence Agency
c. The FBI
d. The Air Force
5. What company tried to make every encounter between a customer and its employees a
“moment of truth”?
a. Scandinavian Air System
b. General Electric
c. Outback Steakhouse
d. Southwest Airlines
6. What was most basic to the Eagle Group’s success?
a. Its initiation ritual.
b. Its soul or culture
c. Its shared language
d. Contributions of informal cultural players.
7. Based of the Eagle Group’s experience, which of these is NOT an important tenet of the
symbolic frame?
a. How someone becomes a group member is important
b. Diversity supports a team’s competitive advantage
c. A common enemy holds a team together
d. Ritual and ceremony lift spirits and reinforce values
8.
The Eagle group’s use of names like Woodstock and Trixie for their prototype computers
showed:
a. Geeks will be geeks.
b. A lack of serious commitment to their work.
c. The value of play, humor and shared language in building motivation and teamwork.
d. The importance of work-life balance.
9. Stories carry history, values and ___________________.
a. ritual
b. myths
c. group identity
d. examples
Answers
1. d (P. 284) – a, b and c, divide groups. Shared language binds a group together and is a
perceptible sign of membership.
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2. b (P. 285) - Surgical teams, cockpit crews, and many other groups have learned that joking
and playful banter are essential sources of invention, team spirit. It helps release tension
and resolve issues arising from day-to-day routines as well as sudden emergencies.
3. c (P. 289) – Members of successful groups consistently “felt the spirit,” a feeling essential to
the meaning and value of their work.
4. d (P. 290) – This value was added in the aftermath of the Vietnam War by the Air Force in
its efforts to reaffirm traditions and rebuild its culture.
5. a (P. 290) – Jan Carlzon revitalized the culture of the Scandinavian Air System (SAS) around
the precepts that every encounter between a customer and an SAS employee was a
“moment of truth” and that SAS “flies people not planes.”
6. b (P. 289) – The symbolic side of the Eagle Group was the real secret of success. Its soul, or
culture created a successful group.
7. c (Pp. 281-2) – a b and d are all tenets of the symbolic frame. Example, not command holds
a team together.
8. c (P. 284)
9. c. (P. 284)
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is this chapter about?
2. What are the key lessons from the Eagle Group experience? What tenets of the symbolic
frame can be distilled that are broadly applicable to groups and teams?
3. What is the value of stories to high-performing groups such as the Eagle Group?
Answers
1. Using the example of the Eagle Group, chapter thirteen is about how teams achieve peak
performance – the culture of the organization. (P. 280)
2. The important tenets of the symbolic frame can be distilled that are broadly applicable to
groups and teams are:
 How someone becomes a group member is important.
 Diversity supports a team’s competitive advantage
 Example, not command, holds a team together.
 A specialized language fosters cohesion and commitment.
 Stories carry history and values and reinforce group identity.
 Humor and play reduce tension and encourage creativity.
 Ritual and ceremony lift spirits and reinforce values.
 Informal cultural players make contributions disproportionate to their formal role.
 Soul is the secret of success.
(Pp. 281-2)
3. In high-performing groups, stories keep traditions alive and provide examples to guide
everyday behavior. Stories carry history, values and facilitate the formation of group
identity. (P 284)
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Chapter 14
True/False
1. The success of the U.S. Navy Polaris missile system can be directly attributed to the
efficiency benefits of modern management techniques of PERT and PPBS.
2. The symbolic frame recasts organizational structures and processes as secular drama that
expresses our fears, joys, and expectations.
3. DiMaggio and Powel state that ideas from business schools spread rapidly when they
produce demonstrable benefits in efficiency and productivity.
4. Under a dramaturgical view, if an institution or its environment changes, theatrical
refurbishing is needed only if the change affects the bottom line.
5. When viewing organizations as theater, strategic planning is an example of a ceremony
which organizations conduct periodically to maintain legitimacy rather than improve
performance.
6. Evidence supports the notion that the adopting modern management techniques accentuates a
company’s legitimacy and heightens CEO compensation, even if the methods are not
fully implemented.
7. March and Olsen were ahead of their time in depicting meetings as improvisational
“stewpots.”
8. What is sometimes called a plan in an organization is often an investment brochure to
persuade potential donors of an institution’s attractiveness.
Answers
1. F (P. 294) – Management innovations were highly visible but only marginally connected to
the actual work. Instead of serving intended rational purposes, modern management
techniques contributed to a saga that built external legitimacy and kept critics at bay. This
myth afforded breathing space for work to go forward and elevated participants’ spirit and
self-confidence.
2. T (P. 295) – Theater arouses emotions and kindles our spirit. It also reveals our fears. It
provides a shared basis for understanding the present and imagining a more promising
tomorrow.
3. F (P. 298) – DiMaggio and Powell argue that managers and MBA’s from accredited business
schools carry shared values, beliefs and practices wherever they go. The latest ideas from
business schools may or may not produce better results, but they spread rapidly because the
newly minted professional believes in them.
4. F (P. 300) – Under the dramaturgical view, any time an institution or its environment
changes, theatrical refurbishing is needed since legitimacy and worth are anchored
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
5.
6.
7.
8.
primarily in the match between structural characteristics and prevailing myths.
Organization must alter appearances to mirror changes in social expectations.
T (P. 302) – Many executives consciously recognize the shortcomings of strategic planning,
yet continue to champion it. Strategic planning persists because it plays an eminent role in
an organization’s enduring drama.
T (P. 296) – In such cases, economic performance may not improve, but perceptions of
innovativeness and confidence in management rise.
F (P. 301) – Meetings according to March and Olsen are improvisational “garbage cans.”
T (P. 303)
Multiple Choice
1. Institutional theorists
a. See organizations as closed systems.
b. See organizations as rational systems.
c. Believe efficiency and economic performance to be the key concerns.
d. See organizations as open systems.
2. Isomorphism is a term used by DiMaggio and Powell (1983) to describe the processes that
cause organizations to __________ other organizations, particularly members of
____________ “organizational field.”
a. Become more like, the same
b. Become more like, a different
c. Differentiate from, the same
d. Differentiate from, a different
3. The symbolic view
a. Depicts the workplace as a formalized network of interdependent roles and units
coordinated through a variety of horizontal and vertical linkages.
b. Approaches structure as stage design.
c. Dictates that structural patterns align with purpose.
d. Dictates that structural patterns are determined by goals, technologies, and environment.
4. In his book The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning (1994), Henry Mintzberg questions the
link between
a. Strategic planning and its stated objectives.
b. Strategic planning and organizational profitability.
c. Departmental meetings and their stated objectives.
d. Departmental meetings and organizational profitability.
5. Under the dramaturgical view, power is?
a. Concrete and easily identified.
b. Often attributed to particular individuals or groups to account for observed behaviors.
c. A real commodity that individuals possess.
d. Something that flows to people who talk a lot in organizations.
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6. Under the dramaturgical view, a leader’s power is?
a. Less a matter of appearance than action.
b. Easily identified.
c. Is usually solely based on one’s organizational authority.
d. Less a matter of action than appearance.
7. Peter Vaill (1989) characterized management as
a. War.
b. A rational activity.
c. Sport.
d. Performing art.
8. The primary benefit of isomorphism is
a. The realization of effective industry practices by companies within a particular industry.
b. The improvement of an organization’s products and services.
c. The improvement of an organization’s image.
d. The improvement of an organization’s efficiency.
9. Which of these was NOT listed as an example of a symbolic role that plans play for
universities by Cohen and March?
a. Plans become games
b. Plans become advertisements
c. Plans become excuses for interaction
d. Plans build leadership
10. As Edelman puts it: “Leaders lead, followers follow, and organizations_____________.
a. grow
b. prosper
c. perform
d. soar
Answers
1. d (P. 297) – a, b, and c are beliefs of the traditional view of organizations. Institutional
theorists present a dramaturgical retake on the rational imagery of the traditional view of
organizations. They see organizations as open systems that cannot seal themselves off from
external events and pressures. They are constantly buffeted by larger social, political and
economic trends.
2. a (P. 297) – This is similar to the concept of an organizational ecosystem discussed in chapter
eleven. For example, public schools are like each other but unlike most other kinds of
organizations. They have similar buildings, classrooms, curricula, staffing patterns, gyms,
and parent-teacher organizations.
3. b (P. 299) – A symbolic view approaches structure as stage design: an arrangement of space,
lighting, props, and costumes that make the drama vivid and credible to its audience.
4. a (P. 302) – Through presenting an array of survey and anecdotal evidence, Mintzberg
questions the link between strategic planning and its stated objectives. He shows that the
presumed linear progression from analysis to objectives to action to results is more fanciful
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than factual.
5. b (P. 306) – Power is inherently ambiguous and slippery. It is rarely easy to determine what
power is, who has it, or how to get it. Power is a concept used to make sense of behaviors
after they have occurred with no necessary link to cause and effect.
6. d (P. 307) – Though reassuring, the assumption that powerful leaders make a difference is
often misleading. A leader’s power is less a matter of action than of appearance. Power is
not solely based on one’s authority and is often hard to identify.
7. d (P. 307) – As the example of entrepreneurs demonstrates, they skillfully manage
impressions through carefully crafted theatrical performances.
8. c (P. 298) – Each of the institutional isomorphic processes can be expected to proceed in the
absence of evidence that they increase internal organizational effectiveness. The primary
benefit is that these processes improve an organization’s image.
9. d (P. 303) – a b and c were listed. Plans are symbols was the forth example.
10. b (P. 306)
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is the story of the U.S. Navy Polaris missile system is used to illustrate?
2. What two earlier dramaturgical traditions does institution theory draw from?
3. What is the distinction between dramaturgical theory and institutional theory?
4. Identify and define the three kinds of isomorphism discussed by DiMaggio and Powell.
5. Describe the notion of meetings as improvisational “garbage cans.”
Answers
1. The value of the dramaturgical view of creating meaning and understanding of even a
technical environment. (P. 294)
2. The two dramaturgical traditions that institutional theory draws from are:
 One represented by the work of Erving Goffman (1959, 1974), who pioneered the use
of theater as a metaphor for understanding organizations. Goffman approached
organizations as if they were theatrical.
 The other is represented by Kenneth Burke (1937, 1945, 1972), who drew his
inspiration from philosophy and literary criticism. Burke saw them as theater.
P. 296
3. Whereas dramaturgical theorists focus on social interaction among individuals and with
internal situations, institutional scholars extend theatrical examples like Polaris and FEMA to
the interface between organizations and their publics. (P. 296)
4. The three types of isomorphism identified by DiMaggio and Powell (1983) are:
 Coercive – coercive isomorphism occurs when organizations become more similar in
response to outside pressures and requirements
 Mimetic – mimetic isomorphism occurs when one organization simply copies
another.
 Normative - normative isomorphism occurs because professionals (such as doctors,
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lawyers, engineers, and teachers) bring shared ideas, values and norms form their
training to the workplace.
(P.298)
5. In this imagery, meetings are magnets attracting mangers looking for something to do,
problems seeking answers, and people with solutions in search of problems. The results of a
meeting depend on a serendipitous interplay among items that show up: Who came to the
meeting? What problems, concerns, or needs were on their minds? What solutions or
suggests did they bring?
Chapter 15
True/False
1. This chapter considers each of the four frames individually to determine which one is the
most effective management frame for responding to current realities in the marketplace.
2. Managers are rational individuals who plan, organize, coordinate, and control activities of
subordinates.
3. The ideas in this chapter make it simple and straightforward to determine which frame will
be most helpful to interpret a given situation.
4. If you are in a situation that requires a change initiated from below, the political frame
provides the most meaningful course of action, perhaps with symbolic acts to draw
attention.
5. The guidelines for choosing a frame in table 15.2, page 317, cannot be followed
mechanically and there is no substitute for judgment and intuition in deciding on the
appropriate response to a situation.
6. Any organizational event can be framed in several ways and serve multiple purposes..
7. Collins and Porras found that “cult-like cultures” over-emphasized indoctrination and led to a
deterioration of organizational performance.
8. In Bensimon’s research, many university presidents thought they used more frames than they
actually did and they were particularly generous with how much they thought they had used the
human resource and symbolic frames.
Answers
1. F (P. 312) – The chapter considers the frames in combination and how they might apply in
tandem to different situations.
2. F (P. 312) – This is the prevailing myth about managers. Actually, managing is a hectic life,
shifting rapidly from one situation to the next. Decisions emerge from a fluid, swirling
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
vortex of conversations, meetings, and memos.
F (P. 317) – Choosing a frame for interpreting a particular situation is a combination of
analysis, intuition, and artistry.
T (P. 319) – Because partisans – change agents lower in the pecking order – rarely can rely
on formal clout, they must find other bases of power, such as symbolic acts to draw attention
to their cause and embarrass opponents.
T (P. 320) – These guidelines for choosing a frame can’t be mechanically followed.
T (P. 313) – For example, organizational planning produces specific objectives. But it also
creates arenas for airing conflict and becomes a sacred occasion to renegotiate symbolic
meanings.
F (Pp. 320-21)
T (P. 326)
Multiple Choice
1. With respect to September 11th, Giuliani believes that
a. He was successful because he did not let anything affect him personally.
b. It fundamentally changed him into a different person.
c. It did not fundamentally change him into a different person.
d. He was not prepared to handle the situation based on who he had been prior to September
11th.
2. Which frame interprets strategic planning as “arenas to air conflict and realign power”?
a. Structural
b. Human Resources
c. Political
d. Symbolic
3. Which frame interprets decision making as “an open process to produce commitment?
a. Structural
b. Human Resources
c. Political
d. Symbolic
4. The example of Dr. Gregory O’Keefe and the NHSC was used to demonstrate
a. The effectiveness of the structural frame.
b. Organizational authority, not public opinion, should make public policy decisions. The
effectiveness of the symbolic frame.
c. The value of understanding that people view situations from different lenses.
5. In any given situation,
a. One frame might be more helpful than the others.
b. All frames should be equally considered.
c. It is always best to use all four frames to interpret the situation.
d. The structural frame should always be used first.
6. If a particular situation presents conflict and scarce resources, what frame(s) should be used
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to interpret the situation
a. Structural and human resource
b. Political and symbolic
c. Structural and symbolic
d. Human resource
7. If a particular situation shows that individual commitment and motivation are essential to
success, what frame(s) should be used to interpret the situation?
a. Human resource and symbolic
b. Structural and political
c. Structural
d. Political and symbolic
8. In the research studies presented in the chapter,
a. Political issues were invisible in the study of individual managers’ success, but prominent
in organizational excellence studies.
b. The structural frame was not found to be important to an individual manager’s
effectiveness or success.
c. The structural frame was not found to be important to organizational excellence.
d. Political issues were invisible in the organizational excellence studies, but prominent in
the study of individual managers’ success.
9. Research evidence suggests that the effectiveness of managers and administrators in business
and education is associated with the ability to
a. use multiple frames.
b. pick the correct frame.
c. consistently use one frame effectively.
d. consistently use the structural frame
10. The study by Luthans, Yodgetts, and Rosenkrantz showed that the middle managers spent
three-fifths of their time on structural activities, about one-fifth of their time on human
resource management, and the remaining one-fifth on ___________.
a. meetings with top level executives
b. networking
c. putting out fires
d. people related activities
Answers
1. c (P. 311) – Giuliani believes that he was prepared to handle the events of September 11th
because he was the same person he was before September 11th.
2. c (P. 314) – The structural frame interprets strategic planning as strategies to set objectives
and coordinate resources; the human resource frame interprets strategic planning as
gatherings to promote participation; The symbolic frame interprets strategic planning as a
ritual to signal responsibility, produce symbols, and negotiate meaning.
3. b (P. 314) – The structural frame interprets decision making as a rational sequence to produce
the right decision; the political frame interprets decision making as an opportunity to gain
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or exercise power; the symbolic frame interprets decision making as a ritual to confirm
values and provide opportunities for bonding.
4. d (Pp. 315-7) – The inability of NHSC officials to understand and acknowledge the existence
of other perspectives illustrates the costs of clinging to a single view of the situation.
5. a (P. 317) – In a given situation, one frame may be more helpful than others.
6. b (P. 317) – When conflict and scarce resources are an important element of a situation one
wants to make sense of, the political and symbolic frames are more meaningful than the
structural and human resource frames.
7. a – When individual commitment and motivation are essential to success in a particular
situation, the human resource and symbolic frames are more meaningful than the
structural and political frames.
8. d (P. 324) – The structural frame was important to organizational excellence and individual
managers’ effectiveness and success. Political issues were invisible in the organizational
excellence studies, but prominent in the study of individual managers’ effectiveness and
success.
9. a (P. 325) – Presidents, principles, and chief executives in the non-profit sector who relied on
the structural frame have been shown to be particularly likely to be seen as ineffective
leaders.
10. b (P. 324)
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1.
What are the five questions one may pose to choose an effective frame(s) through which to
interpret a particular situation?
2. Why are the political and symbolic frames more meaningful in interpreting situations in
which there are high level of ambiguity and uncertainty?
3. Why is the structural frame most meaningful in interpreting situations in which the technical
quality of the decision is important?
4. When examining characteristics of excellent or visionary companies through the research of
Peters and Waterman (1982), Collins and Porras (1994), and Collins (2001) what was the
reason given for none of the characteristic of excellence being political?
Answers
1. The five questions one may pose to choose an effective frame(s) through which to interpret a
particular situation are:
 Are individual commitment and motivation essential to success?
 Is the technical quality of the decision important?
 Are there high levels of ambiguity and uncertainty?
 Are conflict and scarce resources significant?
 Are you working from the bottom up?
(P. 317)
2. If goals are clear, technology is well understood, and behavior is reasonably predictable, the
structural and human resource frames are likely to apply. But as ambiguity and uncertainty
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increases, the political and symbolic frames become more relevant. The political frame
expects that the pursuit of self-interest will often produce confused and chaotic contests that
require political intervention. The symbolic lens sees symbols as a way of finding order,
meaning and “truth” in situations too complex, uncertain, or mysterious for rational political
analysis. (P. 318)
3. When a good decision needs to be technically sound, the structural frame’s emphasis on data
and logic is essential. (P. 318)
4. Infighting and backbiting tend to be less visible on a winning team than on a loser. When
resources are relatively abundant, political dynamics are less prominent because slack assets
can be used to buy off conflicting interests. Also, strong cultures tend to increase
homogeneity – people think more alike. A unifying culture reduces political strife – or at
least makes it easier to manage. But even in successful companies, it is likely that power and
conflict are more important than these studies suggest. (P. 321)
Chapter 16
True/False
1. Reframing allows you to approach an organizational situation from different angles which
present alternatives for action in the given situation.
2. Using a particular frame to interpret a situation leads to the one best way to handle it.
3. When an organization reframes, it invariably finds the best solution.
4. Each frame offers distinct advantages, but each has its blind spots and shortcomings.
5. The political leader believes that managers have to recognize political reality and know how
to deal with conflict.
6. The human resource leader always puts people ahead of task.
7. The main job of the structural leader is to be sensitive to the organization’s history and
culture, using the best in the traditions and values of the organization to inspire the staff.
8. The essence of reframing is examining multiple situations with one frame.
Answers
1. T (P. 328) – Reframing allows the creation of alternatives for action based on the multiple
interpretations of the situation at hand. Different frames offer different interpretations of
the situation.
2. F (throughout the chapter) – Throughout the chapter, two different reactions are proposed for
each of the four frames. Beyond these two, many other possible reactions exist.
3. F (P. 338) – Each frame has limits as well as strengths, and each can be applied well or
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
poorly.
T (P. 339) – Frames permit certain understandings of a situation while concealing other
understandings. All frames create and limit based on possible interpretations of a particular
situation.
T (P. 333) – There is never enough to give all parties what they want, so there will always be
struggles. The job of the leader is to recognize major constituencies, develop ties to their
leadership, and manage conflict as productively as possible.
F (P. 331) – The human resource manager works on behalf of both the organization and its
people, seeking to serve the best interests of both.
F (Pp. 329, 336) – This description labels the symbolic leader whereas the structural leader
will focus on task, facts, logic keeping emotions and personality out of the equation.
F (P. 339) - Reframing is looking at one situation and adjusting the frame or lens through
which you view the circumstances as if to see the world through fresh eyes. Any one
frame will not handle every situation.
Multiple Choice
1. A ___________ scenario casts managers and leaders in the fundamental roles of clarifying
goals, attending to the relationship between structure and environment, and developing an
array of roles and relationships appropriate to what needs to be done.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
2. The example of Cindy reacting to Bill’s comment of “Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re
in a meeting right now? If you wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour” by
replying “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but I’m eager to get started, and I’ll need all your
help. [She walks around, introduces herself, and shakes hands with each member of her new
staff. Howard scowls silently.] Bill, could we take a few minutes to talk about how we can
work together on the transition, now that I’m coming in to manage the department?” is an
example of a ____________ scenario.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic
3. Under a __________ scenario, the leader believes that people are the center of any
organization.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
4. The example of Cindy reacting to Bill’s comment of “Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re
in a meeting right now? If you wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour” by
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
replying “My appointment as a manger of this office began at nine this morning. This is now
my office, and you’re sitting behind my desk. Either you relinquish the desk immediately, or
I will call headquarters and report you for insubordination” is an example of a ____________
scenario.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
5. Under a __________ scenario, the leader should recognize major constituencies, develop ties
to their leadership, and manage conflict as productively as possible.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
6.
The example of Cindy reacting to Bill’s comment of “Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re
in a meeting right now? If you wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour” by
replying “Maybe this is just the traditional initiation ritual in this department, Bill, but let me
ask a question. If one of our customers came through the door right now, would you ask her
to wait outside for an hour?” is an example of a __________ scenario.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
7. Under a __________ scenario, leaders believe that the most important part of their job is
inspiration. People get excited about and committed to a place with a unique identity, a
special place where they feel that what the do is really important.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
8. The example of Cindy reacting to Bill’s comment of “Didn’t the secretary tell you that we’re
in a meeting right now? If you wait outside, I’ll be able to see you in about an hour” by
replying “Bill, if it’s OK with you, I’d prefer to skip the games and go to work. I expect this
department to be a winner, and I hope that’s what we all want. I also would like to manage
the transition in a way that’s good for your career, Bill, and for the careers of others in the
room” is an example of a ____________ scenario.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
9. Reframing is the ability to
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a. Examine multiple situations from the same perspective.
b. Examine the same situation from multiple perspectives.
c. Turning each frame on its head to give a different perspective on the situation at hand.
Examine multiple situations from the structural frame.
d. Make sense of multiple situations in the same way.
10. The Structural leader would usually focus on all of the following EXCEPT______________
a. Task
b. Logic
c. Personality
d. Facts
Answers
1. a (P. 329) – With the right structure, an organization can achieve its goals, and individuals
can see their role in the big picture. The main job of a leader is to focus on task, facts,
and logic, rather than personality and emotions.
2. b (P. 332) – Cindy acknowledges Bill’s perspective and does not debate him. She recognizes
his concern but calmly communicates her confidence and focus on moving ahead. She
demonstrates an important skill of a human resource leader: the ability to combine
advocacy with inquiry.
3. b (P. 331) – The human resource leader works on behalf o f the organization and its people,
seeking to serve the best interest of both. The job of the leader is to support and
empowerment.
4. a (P. 329) – In this exchange, Cindy places heavy emphasis on her formal authority and the
chain of command.
5. c (P. 333)
6. d (P. 337) – Cindy focuses on the department’s core values. She brings her “customer first”
commitment with her, but she avoids positioning that value as something imposed from
outside. Instead she grounds it in an experience everyone in the room has just shared: the
way she was greeted when she entered. Like many symbolic leaders, she is attuned to the
cues about values and culture that are expressed in everyday life.
7. d (P. 336) – effective symbolic leaders are passionate about making the organization unique
in its niche and communicating that passion to others. They use dramatic symbols to get
people excited and to give them a sense of the organization’s mission. They are visible
and energetic. They create slogans, tell stories, hold rallies, give awards, appear where
they are least expected, and mange by wandering around. They seek to use the best in an
organization’s traditions and values as a base for building a culture that has cohesiveness
and meaning. They articulate a vision that communicates the organization’s unique
capabilities and mission.
8. c (P. 335) – In this politically based response, Cindy is both direct and diplomatic. She uses
a light touch in dismissing Howard’s opening salvo. She speaks directly to Howard’s
interest in his career and her subordinates’ interest in theirs. Clearly, she is confident of
her political position and knows that his bluster has little to back it up.
9. b (P. 339) – Effective leaders change lenses when thing don’t make sense or aren’t working.
Reframing offers the promise of powerful new options.
10. c (P. 329) – a b and d are all aspects of the structural leadership role. Personality would be a
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more subjective approach and would more likely fit a different frame.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is this chapter trying to accomplish and how does it go about accomplishing it?
2. What are the limitations of the structural frame?
3. What are the limitations of the human resource frame?
4. What are the limitations of the political frame?
5. What are the limitations of the symbolic frame?
Answers
1. The chapter is about the ability and value and risks of reframing (i.e., use multiple frames to
make sense of a situation). Each of the four frames generates its own understanding of a
situation which leads to different possibilities for action. This is accomplished through the
example of Cindy Marshall starting her new job in Kansas City as the manager of a customer
service unit. (Pp. 327-8)
2. The structural frame risks ignoring everything that falls outside the rational scope of tasks,
procedures, policies, and organization charts. Structural thinking can overestimate the power
of authority and underestimate the authority of power. (P. 339)
3. Adherents to the human resource frame sometimes cling to a romanticized view of human
nature in which everyone hungers for growth and collaboration. Human resource enthusiasts
can be overly optimistic about integrating individual and organizational needs while
neglecting structure and stubborn realities of conflict and scarcity. (P. 339)
4. The political frame is fixated on politics can easily become a cynical self-fulfilling prophecy,
reinforcing conflict and mistrust while sacrificing opportunities for rational discourse,
collaboration, and hope. (P. 339)
5. The symbolic frame’s concepts are elusive. Effectiveness depends on that artistry of the
user. Symbols are sometimes mere fluff or camouflage, the tools of a scoundrel who seeks to
manipulate the unsuspecting or an awkward attempt that embarrasses more than energizes
people at work. (Pp. 339-40)
Chapter 17
True/False
1. There is confusion and disagreement about what leadership means and how much of a
difference it can make.
2. Images of solitary, heroic leaders focus the spotlight too much on individual and too little on
the stage where they play their part.
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3. Although the Hersey and Blanchard situational leadership model is intuitively plausible, it
lacks strong research support.
4. Research suggests that, in the eyes of their subordinates, men and women in comparable
positions are more different than alike.
5. Limitations of research support, along with views that leadership and management are
synonymous, have kept approaches such as the Hersey and Blanchard notion of
situational leadership from becoming widely popular in management development
programs.
6. Authority and leadership basically come down to the same thing.
7. At the end of the twentieth century, women still represented less than 10 percent of the senior
executives in the work force.
8. Structural leaders focus on implementation, but they are not afraid to experiment.
Answers
1. T (P. 343) – Leadership is not tangible. It exists only in relationships and in the perceptions
of the engaged parties. Thus, it difficult to define and measure its influence.
2. T (P. 344) – Leaders make things happen, but things also make leaders happen. Leaders are
not independent actors, they both shape and are shaped by their constituents.
3. T (P. 349) –The Hersey and Blanchard situational leadership model, while intuitively
plausible, lacks strong research support.
4. F (P. 352 ) –Men and women are found for the most part to be more alike than different.
5. F (P. 348) – These limitations have not kept such programs from becoming widely popular in
management development programs.
6. F (P. 343) – Leadership is distinct from authority and position, though authorities may be
leaders. Weber (1947) links authority to legitimacy. People choose to obey authority as
long as they believe it to be legitimate. Authority and leadership are both built on
voluntary compliance.
7. T (P. 353) – In 2007, women made up less than 7% of senior executives and 2% of CEOs in
Fortune’s Global 100 companies. More than half the companies did not have a single female
officer.
8. T (P. 360) – As illustrated in the text by the story of Alfred P. Sloan Jr., implementation and
experimentation are important elements to the approach of a structural leader.
Multiple Choice
1. According to Bennis and Nanus (1985), which of the following is true about leaders and
managers
a. “Leaders do things right, and mangers do the right thing.”
b. “Managers accomplish all of the real work, while leader do all of the talking.”
c. “Leaders accomplish all of the real work, while managers do all of the talking.”
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d. “Mangers do things right, and leaders do the right thing.”
2. In the studies of effective leadership in recent decades,
a. No characteristic is universal.
b. Vision and focus show up on all studies as necessary characteristics of a leader.
c. Passion shows up in all studies as a necessary characteristic of a leader.
d. Ability to trust and building relationships are necessary characteristics of a leader.
3. What two fundamental dimensions of leadership do Blake and Mouton’s “managerial grid”
(1969, 1985) postulate?
a. Concern for people and concern for profitability.
b. Concern for people and concern for task.
c. Concern for profitability and concern for task.
d. Concern for vision and profitability.
4. Most situational theories of leadership?
a. Take an expansive view of leadership and have empirical support.
b. Make a clear distinction between leadership and management.
c. Take a limited view of leadership and few have much empirical support.
d. Debunk personality characteristics as important to effective leadership.
5. Historically, leadership research and writing has
a. Had balanced-gender approach.
b. Focused mainly on women.
c. Focused mainly on men.
d. Assumed leadership to be a gender neutral activity.
6. In the eyes of their subordinates, available research evidence suggest that in comparable
leadership positions
a. Men and women are more alike than different.
b. Men and women are more different than alike.
c. Men are more task-oriented
d. Women are more relationship oriented
7. __________ leadership often evokes images of petty tyrants and rigid bureaucrats who never
met a command or rule they did not like.
a. Structural.
b. Human resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
8. ___________ leadership evokes images of a facilitator and catalyst who uses emotional
intelligence to motivate and empower subordinates.
a. Structural.
b. Human resource.
c. Political.
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d. Symbolic
9. __________ leaders assess the distribution of power and interests.
a. Structural.
b. Human resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic
10. __________ leaders lead through actions and words as they interpret and reinterpret
experience.
a. Structural.
b. Human resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
Answers
1. d (P. 343) – Managers focus on execution, and leaders focus on purpose.
2. a (Pp. 345-6) – Although characteristics of a, b, and c show up quite often in studies of
leadership effectiveness, none show up in every study. No characteristics of leadership
effectiveness have been found to be universal.
3. b (P. 346) – Blake and Mouton have vigorously defended their conviction that an integrative
management style – one that combines a high concern with people with a high concern
for task – is a leadership approach for all situations and seasons, but this claim has been
heavily criticized.
4. c (P. 348) – Most situational theories of leadership take a limited view of leadership and few
have much empirical support. Many conflate leadership and management, typically
treating leadership as synonymous with management. Almost everyone believes that
widely varying circumstances require different forms of leadership, but evidence is
sparse.
5. c (P. 351) – In more recent years, there has been a dramatic shift in women’s roles and
accomplishments. This has brought on a break from masculine traditions and an
embrace of more feminine conceptions of leadership.
6. a (P. 352) – When differences are detected, they generally show women scoring somewhat
higher than men on a variety of measures of leadership and managerial leadership
behavior. But the differences are not large, and it is not clear whether they have practical
significance.
7. a (Pp. 356-60) – But they are effective leaders when they focus on organizational analysis
and design. They create the right design for the times and are able to get their structural
changes implemented.
8. b (Pp. 360-3) – The leader’s power comes from talent, caring, sensitivity, and service rather
than position or force. Human resource theorists typically advocate openness, caring,
mutuality, listening, coaching, participation and empowerment.
9. c (Pp. 363-7) – The other three principles of political leaders are:
 They clarify what they want and what they can get.
 They build linkages to key stakeholders.
 They persuade fist, negotiated second, and coerce only if necessary.
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10. d. (Pp. 367-72) – Symbolic leaders interpret experiences so as to impart meaning and
purpose through phrases of beauty and passion. Symbolic leaders
 Lead by example.
 Use symbols to capture attention.
 Frame experience.
 Communicate a vision.
 Tell stories.
 Respect and use history.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is this chapter trying to accomplish?
2. Briefly summarize the current state of what we know about “good leadership”?
3. Explain the contingency theories of leadership?
4. What are the two dimensions of leadership in Hersey’s and Blanchard’s situation leadership
model? What the four styles and in which situations should they be used?
5. Evidence points to what contributing factors to the glass ceiling women face in their rise to
top management positions?
Answers
1. It explores what leadership is, what it is not, and what it can and cannot accomplish. It
examines the differences between leadership and power and between leadership and
management, and emphasizes that leadership is always situated in both relationships and
contexts. It presents the research on effective leadership and explores two leadership models
popular with practitioners. It examines gender and leadership. Finally, it explores how each
of the four frames generates its own image of leadership. (P. 342)
2. Two of the most widely accepted leadership propositions offer divergent perspectives. One
asserts that all good leaders must have the right stuff – qualities like vision, strength, and
commitment. The other holds that good leadership is situational; what works in one setting
will not work in another. Despite the tension between these one-best-way and contingency
views, both capture part of the truth. Studies have found shared characteristics among
effective leaders across sectors and situations. Another body of research has identified
situational variables that determine the kind of leadership that works best. (P. 345)
3. Contingency theories of leadership argue that the situation determines effective leadership,
rather than something about the leader. (P. 348)
4. Hersey and Blanchard use the dimensions of task (“the extent to which the leader engages in
spelling out the duties and responsibilities of an individual of group” (1984, p. 31)) and
people (“the extent to which the leader engages in two-way or multi-way communication” (p.
32). The four styles of leadership are and should used when: Leadership through delegation
– should be used when followers are “able” and “willing” or “motivated”; Leadership
through directing should be used when followers are “unable” and “unwilling” or “insecure”;
Leadership through coaching should be used when followers are unable but “willing” or
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“motivated”; Leadership through supporting should be used when followers are “able” but
“unwilling” or “insecure”. (Pp. 348-9)
5. The following factors seem to contribute to the glass ceiling women face in their rise to top
management positions:
 Stereotypes associate leadership with maleness.
 Women walk a tightrope of conflicting expectations.
 The challenge for women to be powerful and “feminine” at the same time.
 Women pay a higher price in terms of their expressed needs and family
responsibilities.
Chapter 18
True/False
1. Changes rationally conceived at the top of an organization often fail.
2. From a human resource perspective, people have no reason to resist change.
3. From a political perspective, conflict should be ignored in hopes that it will dissipate.
4. Involvement and training will not ensure successful innovation unless existing roles and
relationships are realigned to fit the new initiative.
5. From a structural perspective, ritual is an essential companion to significant change.
6. Countless innovations falter and flop because managers neglect to involve people in the
process and skimp on training to help people learn the new ways.
7. One barrier to change in the human resource frame is a loss of direction and clarity, which
can lead to an overall sense of confusion.
8. Nelson and Winter see two central forms of activity in organizations: ongoing behavior
patterns and scouting new options.
Answers
1. T (P. 377) – More versatile approaches have a better chance of success.
2. F (P. 381) – Sometimes resistance is sensible because the new methods are a management
mistake that would take the organization in the wrong direction. Regardless, people do not
like feeling anxious, voiceless, and incompetent. Changes in routine practice and protocol
undermine existing knowledge and skills. These changes undercut people’s ability to
perform with confidence and success. When asked to do something they don’t understand,
haven’t had a voice in developing, don’t know how to do, or don’t believe in, people feel
puzzled, anxious and insecure. Lacking skills and confidence to implement the new ways,
they resist or even engage in sabotage, awaiting the return of “the good old days.”
3. F (P. 386) – From a political perspective, conflict is natural. It is best managed through
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
processes of negotiation and bargaining, where settlements and agreements can be hammered
out. If ignored, disputes explode into street fights.
T (P. 382) – Change undermines existing structural arrangements, creating ambiguity,
confusion, and distrust. People no longer know what is expected of them or what they can
expect from others. To minimize such difficulty, innovators must anticipate structural issues
and work to redesign the existing architecture of roles and relationships. .
F (P. 309) – From a symbolic perspective, ritual is an essential companion to significant
change. For example, in many societies, the sequence of ritual steps for the funeral of a
loved one involves a wake, funeral, period of mourning, and some form of commemoration.
T (P. 379) – Although it sounds simplistic, investment in change calls for collateral outlays in
training and developing active channels for employee input.
F (P. 379) – This barrier is attributed to the structural frame, according to Exhibit 18.1.
T (P. 385) – The ongoing behavior patterns promote a sense of stability from which new
options can be smoothly implemented.
Multiple Choice
1. The metaphor of losing weight is used to demonstrate the difficulty of
a. Leadership.
b. Reframing.
c. Organizational change.
d. Organizational design.
2. Six Sigma worked better at Motorola and General Electric than at 3M because:
a. The Six Sigma principles work better for electrical products than for tapes and adhesives.
b. GE and Motorola gave workers more training in Six Sigma concepts.
c. 3M’s implementation of Six Sigma ran counter to the company’s historic emphasis on
innovation.
d. 3M’s top management lacked real commitment to making Six Sigma work.
3. The example of Lisa Brummel at Microsoft was used to demonstrate a successful change
effort
a. From the top with an aim to loosen things up and emphasize more spiritual concerns.
b. From the top with an aim for standardization, measurement, tightening things up and
enhancing profitability.
c. From below with an aim for standardization, measurement, tightening things up and
enhancing profitability.
d. From below with an aim to loosen things up and emphasize more spiritual concerns.
4. The statement, “It must be realized that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more
uncertain of success, or more dangerous to mange than the establishment of a new order of
[things]; for he who introduces [change] makes enemies of all those who derived advantage
from the old order and finds but lukewarm defenders among those who stand to gain from the
new one (p. 27)” comes from which of the following?
a. Jim Collins’ Good to Great
b. Machiavelli’s The Prince
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c. Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved my Cheese?
d. Nelson and Winter’s An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change
5. The essential strategy for organizational change of the __________ frame is training to
develop new skills, participation and involvement, and psychological support.
a. Human Resource.
b. Structural.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
6. The essential strategy for organizational change of the __________ frame is communication,
realignment, and renegotiation of formal patterns and policies.
a. Human Resource.
b. Structural
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
7.
The essential strategy for organizational change of the __________ frame is creating areas
where issues can be renegotiated and new coalitions formed.
a. Human Resource.
b. Structural
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
8. The essential strategy for organizational change of the __________ frame is creating
transition rituals, mourning the past, and celebrating the future.
a. Human Resource.
b. Structural
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
9. The Experimental Schools Project was used as an example to understand the __________
frame.
a. Human Resource.
b. Structural.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
10. Which of the following is NOT one of the eight steps Kotter describes repeatedly found in
successful change initiatives?
a. Creating a sense of urgency
b. Creating an uplifting vision and strategy
c. Removing obstacles, or empowering people to move ahead
d. Setting up focus groups to determine feasibility
Answers
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1. c (P. 374) – Despite the growing knowledge about organizational change, the same mistakes
repeat themselves. Almost everyone wants to change as long as they don’t have to do
anything differently.
2. c (Pp. 374-6) –Six Sigma’s standardization began to intrude on 3M’s historical emphasis on
innovation.
3. d (Pp. 376-7) – Lisa Brummel was able to successfully lead a successful change effort from
below with an aim to loosen things up and emphasize more spiritual concerns. In some
cases, even one-upping Goggle.
4. b (Pp. 377-8) – Even though written almost five hundred years ago (1514), Machiavelli’s
observations are as timely as ever.
5. a (P. 378) – The human resource frame focuses on needs, skill and participation.
6. b (P. 378) – The structural frame focuses on alignment and clarity.
7. c (P. 378) – The political frame focuses on conflict and arenas.
8. d (P. 378) – The symbolic frame focuses on the loss of meaning and the importance of
creating new symbols and ways.
9. c (Pp. 385-6) – After the outlined exchange, conflict between administration and teachers
intensified. As changes emerged, camps formed: supporters, opponents, and fencesitters.
10. d (P. 394) – One guide team would be established with the needed skills, credibility,
connections, and authority to move things along.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is this chapter about?
2. Describe the typical progression of change scenario at 3M?
3. For each frame, what are the barriers to change?
4. What is the basic message of Who Moved my Cheese?
5. What is the argument made in Nelson’s and Winter’s book An Evolutionary Theory of
Economic Change?
6. What is the basic message of the book The Heart of Change written by Kotter and Cohen?
Answers
1. It examines the innovation process at two different companies. Then it moves to a
multiframe analysis to show how participation, training, structural realignment, political
bargaining, and symbolic rituals of letting go can help achieve more positive outcomes. It
concludes with a discussion integrating the frames with John Kotter’s influential analysis of
the stages of change. (P. 374)
2. New CEO introduces modern management techniques and scores a short-term victory;
political pressure and cultural resistance start to mount; CEO leaves to try again; organization
licks its wounds and moves both backward and onward. (P. 376)
3. Each frame emphasizes a distinctive set of barriers to change.
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK




Human resource frame – anxiety, uncertainty; people feel incompetent and needy.
Structural frame – loss of direction, clarity and stability; confusion, chaos.
Political frame – disempowerment; conflict between winners and losers.
Symbolic frame – loss of meaning and purpose; clinging to the past.
(P. 378 )
4. Cheese is a metaphor for whatever you might want in life. The maze represents the context
in which you work and live; it could be your family, your workplace, or your life. The basic
message is clinging to your own beliefs when the world around you has changed is selfdefeating. Flexibility, experimentation, and a willingness to try on new beliefs are critical to
success in a fast-changing world. (P. 380-1)
5. Nelson and Winter criticize the neoclassical view that sees both humans and organizations as
rational decision makers who maximize their own interests (utility) in the face of available
options and incentives. Maximizers will change if their preferences change, or if the
environment changes the options and incentives they face. Nelson and Winters
maximization on the ground that “firms have but limited bases for judging what will work
best; they may even have difficulty establishing the plausible range of alternatives to be
considered” (p. 399). In other words, decision makers find it hard to know their options and
hard to evaluate the alternative they see. (P. 384)
6. Too many change initiative change they rely too much on “data gathering, analysis, report
writing, and presentations” instead of a more creative approach aimed at grabbing the
“feelings that motivate useful action.” In other words, change agents fail when they rely
mostly on reason and structure while neglecting human, political and symbolic elements. (P.
394)
Chapter 19
True/False
1. Some of us have such strong ethical convictions that it matters little where we work, but
many of vulnerable to pressures from our environment, including cues and expectation
from our colleagues at work about what to do and not to do.
2. Justice, according to Bolman & Deal, comes down to fairness, but in any given situation is
likely to be controversial because different parties disagree about what is fair.
3. Dominant groups in organizations often have difficulty seeing and questioning things that
they have always taken for granted.
4. For an organization, soul can be viewed as an unyielding sense of character and a deep
confidence in its identity.
5. They talk openly about love at Starbuck’s.
6. During the Reagan administration, the president and Tip O’Neil would debate ferociously
about their political differences, but they agreed that after five o’clock, they were friends.
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
7. Bolman & Deal used the story of three stonemasons to illustrate the importance of honest
work.
8. According to Solomon, one should try to separate the personal from the public or
professional for it is only then that one can get real sense of “happiness.”
Answers
1. T (P. 399) – For employees like the latter, Enron lost track of its redeeming moral purpose
and failed to provide ethical guardrails for it employees.
2. T (P. 405).
3. T (P. 406) – The privilege of being a member of the dominant group in an organization
enables one to remain unaware of institutional and social forces and their impact. It
becomes hard for a member of the dominant group to see and question what he or she has
always taken for granted.
4. T (P. 400) – Soul in an organization, group, or family can be viewed as a resolute sense of
character, a deep confidence about who we are, what we are about, and what we deeply
believe in.
5. F (P. 404) – They talk openly about love at Southwest Airlines. As president Colleen Barrett
reminisced, “Love is a word that isn’t used often in Corporate America, but we used it at
Southwest from the beginning.”
6. F (P. 405) – Reagan and O’Neil did agree to be friends at the end of each day, however, the
friendly terms would begin at six o’clock.
7. T (P. 407) – The story is used to illustrate how the meaning or significance of work depends
on how it is framed or interpreted.
8. F (P. 401 – Solomon does not call for a separation of personal and professional, but to look at
all of one’s life as a whole. This concept would promote the idea that business is vital
community of interest, instead of a matter of vulgar self-interest.
Multiple Choice
1.
Who answered “not a lot” to the question: what shall an organization profit if it should gain
the world but lose its soul?
a. Ken Lay of Enron.
b. Howard Schultz of Starbucks.
c. Lee Iacocca of Chrysler.
d. Carly Fiorina of Hewlett Packard.
2. Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines, believes his company’s success is attributable to
a. Strategic prowess.
b. Financial acumen.
c. Its people, humor, love and soul.
d. Market timing.
3. Who stated “when you give love, you receive love. I maintain that there is a spiritual
connection to business just as there is to the lives of individuals” (Levering and Moskowitz,
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
1993, p. 47)?
a. Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben and Jerry’s Homemade.
b. Howard Schultz of Starbucks.
c. Lee Iacocca of Chrysler.
d. Ken Lay of Enron.
4. Excellence is the organizational ethic highlighted by the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
5. Caring is the organizational ethic highlighted by the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
6. Justice is the organizational ethic highlighted by the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic.
7. Faith is the organizational ethic highlighted by the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic
8. Creating significance in what the organization is attempting to achieve is the leadership
contribution of the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic
9. Love is the leadership contribution of the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic
10. Sharing power is the leadership contribution of the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
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b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic
11. Authorship for employees is the leadership contribution of the __________ frame.
a. Structural.
b. Human Resource.
c. Political.
d. Symbolic
Answers
1. b (P. 397) – This is the question he raised in a memo to everyone in his company in 2007. In
the case of Ken Lay and Enron the answer would seem to be “nothing at all.”
2. c (P. 400) – “Simply put, Kelleher ‘cherishes and respects’ his employees, and his ‘love’ is
returned in what he calls ‘a spontaneous, voluntary, overflowing of emotion” (Farkas and
De Backer, 1996, p. 413).
3. b. (P. 400) – This is the same sentiment echoed by Lou Gerstner of IBM and Howard Schultz
of Starbuck’s. They both focus on culture and heart when leading.
4. a (P. 402) – The ethical imperative of the factory, the metaphor for the structural frame, is
excellence: ensuring that work is done as effectively and efficiently as possible to
produce high-quality yields.
5. b (Pp. 402-3) – Caring is one person’s compassion for another. It is the primary purpose and
the ethical glue that holds a family (the metaphor for the human resource frame) together.
6. c (Pp. 402, 405) – The jungle (the metaphor for the political frame) is a politically charged
environment of conflict and pursuit of self-interest. In a world of competing interests and
scarce resources, people are continually compelled to make tradeoffs. No one can give
everyone everything they want, but it is possible to honor a value of fairness making
decisions about who gets what. Solomon (1993) sees justice as the ultimate virtue of
corporations, because fairness – the perception that employees, customers, and investors
are all getting their due – is the glue that holds things together.
7. d (Pp. 402, 407) – A temple (the metaphor for the symbolic frame) is a hallowed place, an
expression of human aspirations, a monument to faith in human possibility. A temple is a
gathering place for a community of people with shared traditions, values, and beliefs.
Members of a community may be diverse in many ways, but they are tied together by
shared faith and bonded by a sanctified spiritual covenant.
8. d (Pp. 402, 407) – People must believe that the organization is doing something worth doing
– a calling that ads something of value to the world. Significance is partly about the work
itself, but even more about how the work is embraced.
9. b (Pp. 402, 404) –Love is largely absent from most modern corporations. Caring begins with
knowing; it requires listening, understanding, and accepting. It progresses through a
deepening sense of appreciation, respect, and ultimately, love.
10. c (Pp. 402, 405-6) – The key gift leaders can offer in the pursuit of justice is sharing power.
People with a voice in key decision are far more likely to feel a sense of fairness than
those with none. Leaders who hoard power produce powerless organizations.
11. a (Pp. 402-3) – The gift of authorship is critical to creating and maintaining excellence. The
leader’s responsibility is to create conditions that promote authorship
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Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is this chapter about?
2. Based on the research of Collins and Porras (1994) and De Geus (1995), what is a central
characteristic of corporations succeeding over the long haul?
3. What was Solomon’s (1993) purpose in using the term “Aristotelian ethic”?
Answers
1. The chapter makes the argument that ethics must reside in soul, a sense of bedrock character
that harbors core belief and values. It discusses why soul is important and how it sustains
spiritual conviction and ethical behavior and presents a variegated picture of leadership
ethics. (P.399)
2. Both found that a central characteristic of corporations succeeding over the long haul was a
core ideology emphasizing “more than profits” and offering “guidance and inspiration to
people inside the company” (Collins and Porras, 1994, pp. 48, 88). (P. 401)
3. Solomon settled on the term Aristotelian because it makes no pretension of imparting the
latest cutting-edge theory or technique of management. Rather, he reminds us of a
perspective and debate reaching back to ancient times. (P. 402)
Chapter 20
True/False
1. The chapter assumes the protagonist, David King, (i.e., the principle beginning his first week
in a deeply troubled high school) is unfamiliar with the frames and with reframing.
2. Student safety was a major concern at Robert F. Kennedy High.
3. David King felt the need to achieve some kind of racial balance among the Kennedy
administrative group.
4. In contrast to his interviews with individuals, David King was surprised to find how
confrontational these individuals were in the staff meeting.
5. Although power can be used to “do people in”, it can also be used to get things done.
6. Under the human resource frame, King determines that the teachers at the school have no job
security, which is the main reason for the conflict among his staff.
7. King feared that the word resignation would set Carver off again.
8. King’s previous position was at a school that was troubled, but not as bad as Kennedy High.
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
King reflected back on the situation as one requiring patience, while hanging tough.
Answers
1. F (P. 411) – As well as being committed to the view of leadership and ethics described in
chapter 19, David King is assumed to be familiar with the frames and reframing.
2. T (Pp. 414, 415, 417) – Violence had occurred over the first two years of the school history.
Security was a major issue facing David King.
3. T (P. 420) – With his own appointment as principal, black administrators outnumbered white
administrators two to one, and Kennedy did not have a single Latino administrator, even
though a third of its pupils were Hispanic.
4. F (P. 420) – David King was amazed how slow, polite, and friendly the conversation was
among people who had so vehemently expressed negative opinions of each other in private.
5. T (P. 425) – Using power to get things done is the constructive side of politics.
6. F (P. 424) – Empowerment is what the teachers are lacking.
7. F (P. 430) – His fear was that the word apology would set Mr. Carver off again.
8. T (P. 431) – In the process of turning around the last school of which King had been
principal he learned that you must be patient while hanging tough.
Multiple Choice
1. What did David King spend most of his time doing in his first week?
a. Creating a strategic plan.
b. Creating an operating plan.
c. Understanding the school’s finances.
d. Individually interviewing key administrators.
2. After his first week on the job, with some time over the weekend to regroup, what do the
authors suggest would be the best course of action for David King?
a. Quit his job before things get worse.
b. Identify his opponents and fire them.
c. Actively reflect and reframe.
d. Share his vision for the school with the staff on Monday to get them all on the same page.
3. The lesson that “we blame individuals when the real problems are systemic” is a lesson of the
__________ frame.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
4. David King identifies Kennedy High School’s organizational structure as a __________
structure?
a. Hierarchical
b. Decentralized
c. Centralized
d. Matrix
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5. By examining his situation through the __________ frame, David King recognized that
everything at his school was win-lose. Nothing was discussed openly, and if it was, people
just blamed others and tried to straighten them out. They got defensive which proved them
right. But they never tested their assumptions. He realized they needed to find a better way
to deal with one another.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
6. By viewing his situation through the __________ frame, David King realizes that Kennedy
High School is steeped in enduring difference among employees, scarce resources, conflict
and power.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
a. Symbolic
7. By viewing his situation through the __________ frame, David King makes the observation
that his school is too new to have many roots and traditions, and what they have is mostly
bad.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
8. Through the __________ frame, David King was able to generate the following options for
action: responsibility charting and creating a task force on the organization’s structure.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
9. Through the __________ frame, David King was able to generate the following options for
action: improve safety and security, provide training in communication and conflict
management, and empower employees through participation.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
10. Through the __________ frame, David King was able to generate the following options for
action: create arenas for negotiation, do damage control caused by the security issues, unite
against outside threats, build coalitions and negotiate with outside constituents.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS TEST BANK
c. Political
d. Symbolic
11. Through the __________ frame, David King was able to generate the following options for
action: hoist a banner with a shared symbol, develop symbols, and create organizational
stories and ceremonies.
a. Structural
b. Human Resource
c. Political
d. Symbolic
Answers
1. d (P. 416) – Through these interviews, David King was trying to familiarize himself with the
school, its problems, and its key people.
2. c (P. 421) – A straightforward way to do that is to examine the situation one frame at a time
asking two simple questions: From this perspective, what’s going on? And what options
does this angle suggest?
3. a (P. 422) – Everyone is blaming everyone else at Kennedy High School but the real
problems may well be systemic.
4. d (P. 422) – teachers have ill-defined dual reporting relationship to both department chairs
and housemasters. This type of structure is built for conflict. The school has no
integrative devices to make this type of structure effective.
5. b (P. 424) – Through the core assumption of Model I that an organization is a dangerous
place where you have to look out for yourself or someone else will do you in (Chapter 8),
David King realizes this is the current operating assumption of employees at Kennedy
High School.
6. c (P. 425) – David King realizes he has all of these issues in his school. .
7. d (P. 426) – The school has a hodgepodge of individual histories brought from someplace
else by the people of Kennedy High. Deep down, everyone is telling a different story.
There’s nothing school-wide to which people can bond. Just little pockets of meaning.
8. a (P. 429) – These options were arrived at because of the recognition of a weak integration –
goals, roles, responsibilities and linkages were unclear. An ill-defined matrix structure
existed.
9. b (P. 429) – These options were arrived at because of the recognition that members basic
needs were not being met, poor conflict management, and employees felt disempowered.
10. c (P. 429) – These options were arrived at because of the recognition of house-department
conflict, security issues, the Carver-Dula feud, racial tension and the many outside
constituents that had an interest in the high school.
11. d (P. 429) - These options were arrived at because of the recognition of the absence of shared
symbols, the loss of faith in the mission of the institution and the school’s lack of
identity.
Conceptual/Open-ended Questions
1. What is the purpose of chapter 20 and through what means does it accomplish this purpose?
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2. Who is David King, what position does he hold and what is his background?
3. What are the two cornerstones of structure? What is the major structural problem of
Kennedy High School indentified by David King?
4. What is David King able to accomplish through his weekend of reflection and reframing?
Answers
1. To illustrate the art of reframing that uses knowledge an intuition to make sense of
organizational life’s daily challenges and find sensible and effective ways to respond. This is
done through the example of following a new principle through his first week in a deeply
troubled urban high school. (P. 411)
2. David King is the new principle assigned to Robert F. Kennedy High School in Great Ridge,
Illinois. David was born and raised in Great Ridge, Illinois. His father was one of the city’s
first black principals. King knew the city and its school system well. After two years of
military service, King followed in his father’s footsteps by going to Great Ridge State
Teachers College, where he received his B.Ed. and M.Ed. degrees. He taught English and
coached in a predominantly black middle school for several years until he was asked to
become the school’s assistant principal. He remained in that post for five years, when he was
asked to take over a large middle school of nine hundred pupils – believed at the time to be
the most “difficult” middle school in the city. While there, King gained a citywide reputation
as a gifted and popular administrator. He was credited with changing the worst middle
school in the system into one of the best.
3. Differentiation and integration. The school has an ample division of labor but weak overall
coordination. (P. 422)
4. Out of the confusion he felt of Friday, he was able to create a clearer picture of the situation
he was facing. He was able to generate possibilities for action. He is able to orient himself
within his situation to determine a direction to proceed. (P. 433)
Chapter 21
True/False
1. In the epilogue, Bolman & Deal argue that leaders sometimes need to act inconsistently when
uniformity fails, nonrationally when reason is inadequate, and playfully when a narrow focus on
task backfires.
2. Good managers and leaders sustain a tension-filled poise between extremes; they combine
core values with elastic strategies.
3. “The greatest leaders are often, in reality, good listeners…”
Answers
1. T (P. 435)
2. T (P. 436) – Managers get things done without getting done in.
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3. F (P. 436) – “The greatest leaders are often, in reality, skillful followers. They do not control
the flow of history, but by having the good sense not to stand in its way they seem to.”
Multiple Choice
1. The epilogue referenced four leaders in government who were controversial, but espoused
enduring values and beliefs. Which of these is NOT one of the four?
a. Margaret Thatcher
b. Lee Kuan Yew
c. John F. Kennedy
d. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
2. Organizations need leaders who can provide a durable sense of purpose and direction, rooted
deeply in ____________ and ___________.
a. ritual, ceremony
b. values, the human spirit
c. faith, morals
d. commitment, flexibility
Answers
1. c (P. 437) John F. Kennedy was not listed among controversial leaders with enduring values
and beliefs.
2. b (Pp. 436-7) – The purpose and direction of organizations today need to be rooted in values
and the human spirit.