Chapter: Chapter 14: Managing IT Projects, Process Improvement, and Organizational Change

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is not an element of the technology adoption process?

a) the communication channels used by potential adopters
b) the relative advantage of the technology
c) the social system into which the technology is introduced
d) the speed of adoption

2. A(n) _________ is the person who promotes the benefits of a new information system on an
ongoing basis and across different levels of the organization.
a) adopter
b) champion
c) CFO
d) entrepreneur

3. Apple’s launch of the iPhone generated significant press and interest. This launch is an
example of a:
a) hype cycle
b) priority matrix
c) slope of enlightenment
d) technology trigger

4. Categories of technology adopters include each of the following except:

a) innovators
b) laggards
c) movers
d) late majority

5. Which of the follow is not a distinguishing characteristic of innovators?

a) slightly above average in age experience
b) generally high financial status
c) risk takers
d) well educated

6. Compared to other types of IT adopters, _________ tend to be risk averse and pay little
attention to the opinions of others.
a) late majority
b) laggards
c) early majority
d) non-adopters
7. When a company implements a new information system, typically there is a(n):
a) change in the way business is conducted.
b) change in IT infrastructure
c) increase in competitive advantage
d) decrease in accountability

8. Data centers, networks, data warehouses, and corporate knowledge bases are examples of
___________ because they provide an IT foundation for the enterprise.
a) cross-functional applications
b) IT applications
c) IT infrastructure
d) system implementations

9. Which statement about research organizations is not true?

a) Research organizations produce numerous reports that are useful to managers in assessing
suitable technologies for IT-based systems.
b) Gartner, Inc. and Forrester publish informative articles that assess the current status of
different technologies.
c) Gartner, Inc. and Forrester are widely respected research firms with low cost
subscriptions and subscribers from a majority of organizations.
d) Forrester hosts an IT Forum annually to inform and educate IT professionals about newly
emerging technologies and IT methodologies.

10. The process of implementing a new information system is:

a) scheduled to coincide with the beginning or ending of the fiscal year.
b) complex.
c) best done by the end-users.
d) done using the parallel approach.

11. When an information system will be implemented at numerous business units at various
locations, the most appropriate implementation approach to minimize user resistance and
maximize user confidence is the _____________ approach.
a) parallel
b) phased
c) pilot
d) plunge

12. When an information system consists of several modules that are tested as they are
developed, the appropriate implementation strategy is the _____________ approach, which can
be used along with other approaches.
a) parallel
b) phased
c) pilot
d) plunge
13. When the primary objective is to minimize risk during the implementation of a new
information system regardless of transition costs, the most appropriate implementation strategy is
the _____________ approach.
a) parallel
b) phased
c) pilot
d) plunge

14. When the primary objective is to minimize transition costs during the implementation of a
new information system regardless of risk, the most appropriate implementation strategy is the
_____________ approach.
a) parallel
b) phased
c) pilot
d) plunge

15. It is estimated that ____________ of IT-based projects fail.

a) 10 to 25%
b) 25 to 33%
c) 30 to 70%
d) over 75%

16. IT-implementation success and failure is influenced by each of the following factors except:
a) level of risk
b) user acceptance
c) user support
d) user training

17. __________ involves the use of information technologies and tools to model, measure,
manage, and improve core business processes enabling companies to be more competitive and
better serve customers.
a) Business process management
b) Business process engineering
c) Business activity monitoring
d) Workflow management

18. Formerly, it took IBM Credit Corporation from 6 days to two weeks to issue credit to a
customer. Often they would lose customers during the lengthy approval process. Today, the
process takes only minutes or hours. This change is an example of:
a) Business process management
b) Business process reengineering
c) Business activity monitoring
d) Workflow management
19. To put an effective business process management (BPM) strategy into place, it is critical that
companies focus strongly on:
a) prospective and current customers
b) how operations are performed
c) people who perform the operations
d) desired outcomes

20. A business process model is:

a) a snapshot of processes within a specific time period.
b) a draft of inefficient processes to be eliminated.
c) similar to an income statement in that it looks at the entire organization over a long
period of time.
d) based on Six Sigma.

21. _________ is a methodology to manage process variations that cause defects, defined as
unacceptable deviation from the mean or target, and to systematically work toward managing
variation to prevent those defects.
a) Total quality management (TQM)
b) ISO 9000
c) The PDCA Cycle
d) Six Sigma

22. In the vast majority of cases, the problems that occur when introducing new systems into an
organization are due to:
a) the complexity of the technology.
b) hardware or software malfunction.
c) people having to relate to others and work in ways that conflict with their basic values.
d) insufficient tech support.

23. All of the following describe change management issues arising from an IS implementation
except:
a) The problems with people can be resolved with training sessions for those who want to
take them.
b) Problems with hardware and software usually can be fixed by redesign, integration or
upgrade.
c) Disgruntled people can be constant threats to the success of any project that involves change.
d) The origins for resistance to system implementation can often be attributed to the
redistribution of power.
24. What is the sequence of stages of Lewin’s three-stage change model?
a) negotiating, unfreezing, changing
b) acceptance, transition, change
c) unfreezing, change, (re)freezing
d) bargaining, compromising, agreeing

25. Which of the following is not one of the ten principles of change management?
a) Address the ‘human side’ of change systematically
b) Start with the end-users
c) Involve every layer or level of the organizations
d) Make a formal written case for the change.

True/False

26. The IT adoption process is a linear process consisting of five stages, which ends with the
decision stage that leads to adoption or rejection of the innovation.
Ans: False

27. Approximately 50 percent of the general population is slow to adopt new technology.
Ans: True

28. Age, gender and education are important individual differences that influence when certain
individuals will adopt new technology and how easily they will accept the associated changes.
Ans: True

29. The successful adoption and implementation of an information system depends on the proper
assessment of numerous individual, technology, task, organizational, and environmental factors.
Ans: True

30. The first step in adopting a new IT-based system is to identify the technologies that
competitors have adopted and the cost of those technologies.
Ans: False

31. Gartner’s Emerging Hype Cycle has five stages that reflect the basic IT adoption path starting
with a trigger point, through overblown hype, and then enduring disillusionment, before finally
becoming mainstream and accepted.
Ans: True

32. IT infrastructures consist of the systems and programs for achieving specific objectives, such
as payroll processing or order fulfillment.
Ans: False
33. An appropriate implementation approach for mission critical information systems is the
plunge approach.
Ans: False

34. Top management support is as important in IT implementation as it is in IT adoption.

Ans: True

35. The major factors determining the risk of IT projects are project size, organization size, and
complexity of the implementation effort.
Ans: False

36. When users have the opportunity to provide input into the design and development of an IS,
they are more inclined to buy-in to the system and less likely to resist it.
Ans: True

37. The activities of business process management consist of designing, analyzing,

implementing, managing, and optimizing a process for both effectiveness and efficiency.
Ans: True

38. Companies will not achieve significant productivity improvements from business process
management (BPM) if bottlenecks within the processes are not corrected.
Ans: True

39. If organizations focus exclusively on automation and cost savings when managing business
processes, they can achieve significant operational efficiencies and a competitive edge.
Ans: False

40. When faced with potential changes in organizational power from the implementation of a
new IS, stakeholders tend to either consciously or unconsciously resist the implementation by
delaying, sabotaging or insisting on the modification of system development.
Ans: True

41. To minimize employees’ panic that could lead to resistance to a new and vital IS,
communication about the system should be on a need to know basis until the time of
implementation.
Ans: False

Short Answer

42. _________ is the degree to which the new system is perceived to fit with the existing values,
past experiences and needs of potential adopters.
Ans: Compatibility
43. _________ is the degree to which the new system is perceived as being better than the
system it replaces.
Ans: Relative advantage

44. After an organization understands the __________ in which an IT is operating, it needs to

assess how new or established technologies are already being used.
Ans: social system

45. _________ is critical to the successful introduction of a new system because of the
potentially extensive business changes that will be associated with its introduction.
Ans: Management support

46. A(n) ________ is the person who will promote the benefits of the new system across
different levels of the organization and on an ongoing basis.
Ans: champion

47. The __________ is a simple diagramming technique that assesses a technology’s potential
impact against the number of years it will take before it reaches mainstream adoption.
Ans: priority matrix

48. _________ refers to all organizational activities involved in the introduction, management
and acceptance of technology to support one or more organizational processes.
Ans: Implementation

49. Using the _________ implementation approach, both new and old systems operate
simultaneously for a designated period of time until a final cutover.
Ans: parallel

50. ___________ is the extent to which a new system is perceived as being useful and easy to
use by the system users
Ans: User acceptance

51. The activities of _________ consist of designing, analyzing, implementing, managing, and
optimizing a process to improve effectiveness or efficiency.
Ans: business process management

52. ____________ is the radical redesign of an organization’s business.

Ans: Business process reengineering

53. _________ is an activity similar to drafting a blueprint for a house. It includes techniques and
activities used as part of the larger business process management discipline.
Ans: Business process modeling
54. _________ is a structured approach to transition individuals, teams and organizations from a
current state to a desired future state. It includes managing change as part of systems
development to avoid user resistance to business and system changes.
Ans: Change management

Essay

55. Identify the five different adopter categories and list two characteristics of each category.
How do users’ attitudes toward change influence the adoption process?

Ans: Also see Table 14.1.

Innovators.
 risk-taking
 generally high financial status
 well educated
 younger than average
Early adopters.
 slightly above average in age, education and experience
 resources are more limited than those of innovators or early adopters
 risk averse
Early majority.
 less educated and older than average
 form bulk of membership in formal organizations
Late majority.
 less educated and older than average
 risk averse
 form bulk of membership in formal organizations
Laggards.
 least educated and oldest of all categories
 risk averse
 pay little attention to the opinions of others
Those who have a positive attitude toward change are more likely to adopt earlier. They adapt to
new systems more easily than those who prefer to stay with the status quo.

56. Identify and discuss the four implementation approaches. Under what conditions is each
approach appropriate?

Ans: In the plunge approach, the old system is turned off and the new system is put into
operation simultaneously. This approach is appropriate if an organization is under time pressure
to comply with a new government regulation or a new business policy comes into effect with
little prior notice.
In the parallel approach, both new and old systems operate concurrently for a designated period
of time. This approach is appropriate if risk needs to be minimized because major flaws in the
new system can be resolved without negative consequences.
In the pilot approach, the system is being implemented in more than one business unit or
geographic location. This approach is appropriate when a higher level of user confidence and a
lower level of user resistance over time are important.
In the phased approach, the system consists of several modules or versions. This approach is
appropriate when each module or version of the system is implemented as it is developed and
tested.

57. Identify and explain two of the ten principles of change management .

Ans:
1. Address the human side of change systematically – Develop a formal approach for managing
change and adapt it often as circumstances change within the organization.
2. Start at the top – Top managers must show full support for the change to challenge and
motivate the rest of the organization.
3. Involve every layer – Cultivate leaders at various levels to support the change so that the
change ‘cascades’ down.
4. Make the formal case –A formal written statement of the envisioned change helps create and
solidify alignment between change leaders and the change team.
5. Create Ownership – Top management leaders need to work with the design teams to fully
understand the changes that will result from the introduction or modification of technology.
6. Communicate the Message –Employees must be repeatedly provided with the right
information at the right time through multiple channels to ensure they understand the
consequences of the change initiative.
7. Assess the Cultural Landscape – As change cascades down through organizational levels, the
culture and behaviors of employees must be addressed up front.
8. Address Culture Explicitly – Once understood, the culture must be addressed head on.
9. Prepare for the Unexpected – No matter how well a plan is executed, there are always
surprises along the way.
10. Speak to the Individual – Employees must be involved in the change process and
individual rewards must be offered to reinforce the organization’s commitment to the change
process.