OM Leadership & Organizational Development 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An organization wants to assess whether its leadership pipeline is strong enough to meet future needs. Which practice BEST addresses this concern?
- 360-degree feedback surveys
- Succession planning and talent review processes (Correct answer)
- Employee engagement surveys
- Performance improvement plans
Correct answer: Succession planning and talent review processes
Succession planning systematically identifies and develops internal talent to ensure leadership continuity for critical roles.
Question 2: Which organizational structure gives functional managers and project managers equal authority, requiring employees to report to both simultaneously?
- Flat organization
- Divisional structure
- Matrix organization (Correct answer)
- Network organization
Correct answer: Matrix organization
A matrix organization overlays project teams across functional departments, creating dual reporting relationships.
Question 3: Edgar Schein's model of organizational culture identifies three levels. Which level is the DEEPEST and most difficult to change?
- Artifacts
- Espoused values
- Basic underlying assumptions (Correct answer)
- Behavioral norms
Correct answer: Basic underlying assumptions
Basic underlying assumptions are unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs that form the core of organizational culture and are highly resistant to change.
Question 4: A CEO wants to shift the company culture from siloed, competitive behaviors to collaborative cross-functional teamwork. Which OD intervention would be MOST effective?
- Implementing a new performance appraisal system with peer reviews and team metrics (Correct answer)
- Issuing a company-wide memo about the importance of collaboration
- Reorganizing the org chart into smaller reporting units
- Introducing a new employee handbook with collaboration guidelines
Correct answer: Implementing a new performance appraisal system with peer reviews and team metrics
Changing reward and measurement systems to reinforce team collaboration directly influences behavior and signals new cultural expectations.
Question 5: In leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, the 'in-group' refers to:
- Employees who consistently outperform their peers on KPIs
- Subordinates with whom the leader develops high-quality, trust-based relationships with expanded roles and responsibilities (Correct answer)
- Senior leaders who have access to privileged organizational information
- Members of formal cross-functional project teams
Correct answer: Subordinates with whom the leader develops high-quality, trust-based relationships with expanded roles and responsibilities
LMX theory describes how leaders develop differentiated relationships, with in-group members receiving more latitude, support, and resources than out-group members.
Question 6: Which approach to organizational change assumes that organizations function best when members collaboratively identify the positive core of the organization and build on it?
- Force Field Analysis
- Appreciative Inquiry (Correct answer)
- Gap Analysis
- SWOT Analysis
Correct answer: Appreciative Inquiry
Appreciative Inquiry focuses on discovering, dreaming, designing, and delivering based on an organization's strengths rather than fixing deficiencies.
Question 7: A newly appointed director finds that her team has low morale and distrust following a period of poor leadership. According to Patrick Lencioni's model, what is the FOUNDATIONAL dysfunction she must address first?
- Inattention to results
- Avoidance of accountability
- Lack of commitment
- Absence of trust (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Absence of trust
Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions pyramid places absence of trust at the base; all other dysfunctions cascade from this foundational issue.
OM Leadership & Organizational Development 3
An organization wants to assess whether its leadership pipeline is strong enough to meet future needs.
Which practice BEST addresses this concern?