Chapter 9: Management and change

Chapter test
Answer all questions in the spaces provided. Use the marking scheme as a guide to the time
you should spend on each question.

Time allowed for the test: 40 minutes

TOTAL 20 MARKS

Multiple choice
1. Which of the following is an example of an internal influence on business?
A. Business culture
B. Geographic
C. Social
D. Technological
(1 mark)

2. Which of the following factors would cause resistance to change?

A. Inertia
B. Seeking employee input
C. Two-way communication
D. Clearly articulating purpose of change
(1 mark)

3. A mining company recently made a number of significant changes to the business. They
appointed one of their most influential line managers to act as a catalyst to help manage the
change process. What is this manager an example of?
A. Entrepreneur
B. Change agent
C. Chief executive officer
D. Management consultant
(1 mark)

4. A business plans for change by being proactive. Which of the following would demonstrate this
approach?
A. Addressing problems as they arise
B. Only adopting strategies which match past trends
C. Responding quickly to internal and external influences
D. Anticipating future trends and implementing strategies in advance
(1 mark)

5. Which of the following strategies would help reduce resistance to change?

A. Reorganising the layout
B. Recruiting new employees
C. Ensuring communication is one way
D. Involving employees in decision making
(1 mark)

© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 1

 Chapter 9: Management and change

Short answer

6. Outline how managers can identify the need for change. (2 marks)

Situational SWOT (Strength Weakness Opportunities) analysis helps identify aspects of the
business’s intwernal and external environment that businesses will need to respond to. By doing
so, managers can anticipate these and proactively plan for future change.

7. How could a management consultant help a business manage change effectively?

(3 marks)

A management consultant specialises in handling such change so they will understand how to
approach situations that employees will best respond to. This includes fair warning, two-way
communication and reassurance re job safety.

8. Examine how a business can manage change effectively. Support your answer with an example.
(5 marks)

A business can effectively manage change by identifying, anticipating and analysing external
and internal business influences that can create change (alteration in the business env).
Managers must be proactive in analysing trends and drawing out potential influences where
change may be required. This can be done through Business Information Systems whih use
tech to gather data and analyse info, allowing managers ot identify changes in data and
proactively anticipate change. After identifying this, businesses can set achievable goals to
work towards either alleviating the issue or swtting up an environment to best adapt to the
change. Furthermore, businesses must overcome resistance to change such as fear of job
loss and poor timing which can be easily managed by a professional change agent. Two-way
communication is also required to give stajeholders suffieicnet notice to adapt, thereby
decreasing change of change resistance.

© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2