Verified Test Bank Ch4 Managing Knowledge and Creativity

Chapter 4: Managing knowledge, innovation and creativity in organisations

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS

1. The culture that develops within a group of organisational employees working on a team project is an example of human knowledge.

a. True

b. False

LO: 2

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

2. Knowledge work is the behaviour that results in the end product of knowledge being delivered.

a. True

b. False

LO: 3

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

3. According to knowledge work as an individual characteristic, the individual, not the job or profession, contributes value to the organisation in the form of knowledge.

a. True

b. False

LO: 3

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

4. Knowledge work as an individual activity means work that employees perform with their head, not their hands.

a. True

b. False

LO: 1

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

5. HRM must be aware of how to manage knowledge, because organisational knowledge resides in the minds of employees.

a. True

b. False

LO: 4

Diff: 1

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 5

6. Knowledge management and knowledge transfer are essentially the same concept.

a. True

b. False

LO: 6

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 3

7. All organisations are learning organisations.

a. True

b. False

LO: 1

Diff: 1

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

8. In order to cut costs, an organisation decides to implement a policy where all forms must be completed electronically and submitted via email. This is an example of an innovation.

a. True

b. False

LO: 4

Diff: 2

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

9. There are different types of innovative people—adapters and innovators. In general, innovators are likely to take fewer risks than adapters.

a. True

b. False

LO: 10

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

10. While innovation focuses on the introduction of new processes or systems, creativity focuses on the development of those new systems.

a. True

b. False

LO: 10

Diff: 2

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. The Human Resources department of an organisation develops a policy outlining the practices and guidelines that should be followed when recruiting employees. This is an example of:

a. intangible knowledge

b. tacit knowledge

c. explicit knowledge

d. organisational knowledge

LO: 11

Diff: 3

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 3

2. An organisation develops procedures to follow when appraising the performance of employees. This is an example of:

a. structured knowledge

b. social knowledge

c. human knowledge

d. tacit knowledge

LO: 11

Diff: 2

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 3

3. Which of the following statements about knowledge work as a profession is true?

a. industries such as information technology and science are depicted as leaders in the pursuits and achievement of knowledge acquisition

b. educational level, such as having a higher degree, is needed to be a knowledge worker

c. organisational hierarchy, such as being a senior manager or CEO, is necessary to the production of knowledge work

d. Taylorism is an example of knowledge work

LO: 9

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 3

4. There are three classifications of knowledge work. The two which are the most similar are:

a. knowledge work as a profession and an individual characteristic

b. knowledge work as an individual characteristic and an individual activity

c. knowledge work as a profession and an individual activity

d. knowledge work as a behaviour and an individual activity

LO: 3

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

5. According to Kelloway and Barling (2000), the concept of knowledge work as an individual activity implies knowledge work is a product of:

a. educational level and organisational hierarchy

b. white-collar and blue-collar workers

c. white-collar workers but not blue-collar workers

d. both a and c

LO: 3

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 3

6. Several factors may contribute to an employee’s ability to produce knowledge work. Which of the following individual characteristics will impact on a worker’s ability to produce knowledge work?

a. the employee’s personality

b. the structure of the organisation

c. the national culture of a country

d. all of the above

LO: 9

Diff: 3

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

7. An organisation develops a procedure for customer service that incorporates the concept of emotional intelligence. This is an example of which step in the knowledge creation process?

a. sharing tacit knowledge

b. creating concepts

c. building an archetype

d. cross-levelling of knowledge

LO: 7

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 8

8. The CEO called a meeting of employees to discuss the reasons and procedures surrounding a program of organisational change. These employees were engaging in:

a. knowledge management

b. knowledge control

c. knowledge transfer

d. knowledge creation

LO: 6

Diff: 3

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 3

9. When knowledge is encoded and exchanged electronically in an organisation this is a form of which characteristic of knowledge management?

a. organisational infrastructure

b. technological infrastructure

c. organisational culture

d. knowledge or human capital

LO: 9

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 8

10. According to Argyris and Schön (1996) when an organisation undergoes organisation-wide change in order to fill a perceived gap between current and desired performance it engages in a process of:

a. organisational learning

b. strategic knowledge management

c. knowledge acquisition

d. information distribution

LO: 9

Diff: 1

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

11 Which of the following reasons prevents an organisation from learning?

a. a lack of awareness of the world outside the organisation

b. using frames of reference that have become outdated

c. a shortage of resources

d. all of the above

LO: 1

Diff: 1

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

12. Which of the following characteristics of an organisation’s environment would NOT encourage learning to take place?

a. an environment that was supportive

b. an environment that only recognised successes

c. an environment that encouraged participation in decision making

d. an environment that created a community atmosphere to reduce barriers

LO: 10

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 8

13. Organisational culture can be identified as:

a. Having visible and non-visible dimensions

b. Shared values, assumptions and beliefs that guide behaviour

c. Characteristics of the relationships between people

d. All of the above

LO: 10

Diff: 2

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 5

14. An organisation has a large research and development department that enables it to constantly produce new goods and services to meet changes in the external environment. What type of organisation is this?

a. a learning organisation

b. an organisation that is skilled at knowledge acquisition

c. an organisation that is skilled at information sharing and collaboration

d. an organisation that values teamwork and a shared purpose

LO: 4

Diff: 2

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

15. Organisations can achieve innovations in business through:

a. research and development

b. on-the-job training

c. valuing mistakes as well as successes

d. all of the above

LO: 11

Diff: 1

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 3

16. Tidd, Bessant, and Pavitt (2005), identified four types of innovation. Which of the following is NOT a type of innovation?

a. product innovation

b. process innovation

c. positioning innovation

d. procedure innovation

LO: 1

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 3

17. An administrative employee introduced a new procedure to deal with customer complaints. This new method meant that customer complaints could be dealt with more reliably and efficiently. This is an example of:

a. an adapter introducing a process innovation in a chaotic environment

b. an innovator introducing a product innovation in a routine environment

c. an adapter introducing a process innovation in a routine environment

d. an innovator introducing a procedure innovation in a chaotic environment

LO: 10

Diff: 1

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

18. What is considered a favourable environment in an organisation where both innovation and a creative climate are supported?

a. Add playfulness as research shows sadness diminishes creativity

b. For creative employees to be managed uniquely as traditional management methods work poorly for them.

c. To have training and rigorous performance appraisals to structure conformity with organisations’ procedures.

d. Both a and b

LO: 7

Diff: 2

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

19. One of the key issues faced by organisations seeking to effectively manage organisational knowledge is:

a. a lack of employee creativity

b. a lack of employee innovation

c. a lack of retaining employees

d. a lack of younger employees and individualists

LO: 5

Diff: 1

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

20. Measuring the impact of knowledge management is difficult for organisations. According to the CHRM Application Tool one way to evaluate knowledge management against success criteria is to:

a. assess the degree to which profits have increased since the implementation of knowledge management

b. assess the degree to which customers complaints have decreased since the implementation of knowledge management

c. assess the degree to which the collective knowledge of employees has increased since the implementation of knowledge management

d. all of the above

LO: 6

Diff: 3

Topic: HRM issues related to knowledge management and organisational learning

AACSB: 8

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. Knowledge cannot be clearly ‘touched’ or ‘categorised’, because it is holistic. Reflect on this statement and outline the difference between information and knowledge.

LO: 2

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8

2. What are the five steps in creating knowledge?

LO: 3

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 3

3. In what ways should HRM ensure that knowledge is managed within the organisation?

LO: 5

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 8

4. A learning environment must be encouraged for learning to take place. According to Redding and Catalanello (1994) what are the four ways in which organisations can learn?

LO: 3

Diff: 1

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 8

5. Why do some organisations fail to learn? Provide at least 6 (six) reasons.

LO: 3

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge management

AACSB: 8

ESSAY QUESTION

1. Using the concept of knowledge work, firstly as a profession, secondly an individual characteristic and finally as an individual activity, describe ‘knowledge work’ in an organisation.

LO: 3

Diff: 2

Topic: Knowledge and knowledge workers

AACSB: 8