Chapter 7
Collecting and Analyzing Diagnostic Information
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Establishing a “diagnostic relationship” refers to
a. getting to know the client one-on-one
b. meeting organizational members regularly
c. clarifying expectations between relevant organizational members and the consultant
d. gathering data with organizational members
2. Which question does the OD practitioner ask when developing a diagnostic relationship?
a. Who are you?
b. Why am I here?
c. How much am I paid?
d. Who has political clout?
e. all of the above
3. Which of the following is not important for OD practioners to address before collecting data from members of an organization?
a. confidentiality of responses
b. plans on how to adopt the strategic plan
c. how much time and effort people must spend providing data
d. describe to members how they might benefit from the data feedback
4. Which is not a goal of data collection?
a. to justify the presenting problem’s importance
b. obtain valid information about organizational functioning
c. create and direct energy for change
d. help develop a collaborative, longer-term relationship
5. Questionnaires are often used because
a. they can collect data from many people
b. data can be analyzed quickly
c. their meaning is clear
d. A and B
e. all of the above
6. Observations can be particularly helpful in diagnosing
a. organization structure
b. organizational control structures
c. interpersonal relations
d. performance appraisal systems
7. Data analysis is usually guided by
a. the client system
b. the organization
c. the conceptual model underlying diagnosis
d. the type of data collected
e. none of the above
8. The question, “how satisfied are you with your work group?” was asked of five groups using a five-point scale where 1= very dissatisfied and 5 = very satisfied. Which group is most satisfied?
a. Mean = 4.0; standard deviation = .60
b. Mean = 4.2; standard deviation = .65
c. Mean = 4.1; standard deviation = .65
d. Mean = 4.2; standard deviation = .90
e. Mean = 4.1; standard deviation = .80
9. Which method of gathering data is the most “objective”?
a. questionnaires
b. interviews
c. unobtrusive measures
d. observation
e. all of the above are objective
True/False Questions
10. The relationship between consultant and organization is often neglected in planning and executing diagnosis.
11. The OD practitioner should not share the entire purpose of data gathering with members of the organization.
12. Questionnaires allow the consultant flexibility in data gathering since they typically do not have fixed response categories.
13. Interview data can be collected and analyzed quickly.
14. Unobtrusive measures include archives and other company records.
15. Unobtrusive measures provide a highly subjective view of how the organization functions.
16. Force field analysis is a quantitative technique for analyzing data.
17. Quantitative measures of one group’s behavior can be useful even without a comparison group.
18. A correlation coefficient clearly establishes cause and effect between two variables.
Essay Questions
19. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods of data collection.
20. Under what conditions are quantitative tools useful in analyzing data? Qualitative tools?
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