2024 – 1 A consultant is best described as A a person who makes things

1) A consultant is best described as

A.  a person who makes things happen within the organization

B.  someone who fixes what is wrong in an organization

C.  a person who has some influence but no direct power to make changes

D.  the person who owns the problem

2) According to Block, every consulting project, regardless of size, must go through five phases. Why is that so important?

A.  This text is the supreme authority on consulting, so we should follow the advice given.

B.  The client would expect us to complete the five phases.

C.  It is only by completing each step in each phase that we can be assured of delivering competent consulting advice.
D.  Having a methodology is essential for any project to succeed.

3) What is the purpose for an initial contact with a client regarding a project?

A.  To identify who is the boss and where the work will be done

B.  To kick off the project and meet all stakeholders

C.  To discuss past performance by getting to know each other

D.  To explore the problem and to determine whether the consultant is the right person to work on the issue
   
4) According to Block, the feedback and decision to act phase of the five phases of consulting includes which of the following?

A.  Setting up ultimate goals and selecting the best action

B.  Setting up large amounts of data and selecting an alternative action

C.  Determining what feedback to offer and suggesting decisions

D.  Offering suggestions on the issues and how to decide to act

5) Journals, abstracts, scholarly books, and the materials located in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) are examples of ______ sources.

A.  primary

B.  secondary

C.  tertiary

D.  general

6) What does author Salkind suggest as the initial step in the process of writing a literature review?

A.  Read other literature reviews.

B.  Ask your boss where to start.

C.  Copy other literature reviews.

D.  Just start writing.

7) What are the main functions of the operations functional area?

A.  Keeps the organization profitable and distributes merchandise

B.  Produces products, services, and benefits

C.  Produces the products and services and generates revenues and cash flows

D.  Keeps the organization cash flow positive and distributes merchandise

8) Providing the funding for all organizational day-to-day operations is the responsibility of which functional area?

A.  Operations

B.  Accounting

C.  Finance

D.  Management

9) Why is the human resources department affected by most business problems?

A.  They are deeply involved with the people aspect and have actions that influence virtually every functional area in a business.
B.  They are responsible for all legal compliance issues within the organization.

C.  They are the only department that deals with health care benefits.

D.  They are deeply involved in organizational decisions and can influence leadership.

10) The marketing and sales department reacts to a problem by

A.  looking at the future planning, analyzing past results, and conducting customer surveys

B.  looking to the future, analyzing the past, and writing white papers

C.  developing strategies, gauging changes, and creating presentations

D.  considering options done in the past and asking others for their opinion

11) The presenting problem from the client and the real problem are

A.  usually the same

B.  usually different

C.  always the same

D.  always different

12) The purpose of the discovery phase is to

A.  distract the client from the real problem

B.  initiate who has control

C.  define the problem

D.  mobilize action on a problem

13) What is the first step in the data-collection process?

A.  Identify the data to be collected.

B.  Collect data.

C.  Reproduce the client’s problem.

D.  Identify the presenting problem.

14) One step to prepare for data-collection meetings and to prepare for any resistance is to

A.  use the meeting as a gripe session to clear the air

B.  convene and bring people together informally

C.  help people question their current reality

D.  generate interest

15) Which statement is a good method of engaging in new conversations and limiting the discussion of history?

A.  Ask what you can do to move forward.

B.  Ask only open-ended questions.

C.  Ask for the facts.

D.  Ask about what the team wants to create together.

16) Creating higher interaction among clients during engagement is how to bring ________ into the implementation phase.

A.  installation

B.  solutions

C.  resolutions

D.  responsibility

17) Which statement best describes a practical way to structure a meeting?

A.  Restrict the conversation.

B.  Practice transparency and the public expression of doubt.

C.  Decide for the client.

D.  Decide what not to do in a meeting.

18) What are the two conditions of accountability that support high-commitment implementation strategies?

A.  Accountability to self and others

B.  Accountability to peers and project manager

C.  Accountability to manager and regulators

D.  Accountability to peers and boss

19) The steps to be followed when handling resistance are

A.  identify the kind of resistance, name the resistance, and wait for a response

B.  identify when resistance is taking place, view it as a natural process, and do not support the client

C.  ignore the resistance and do not take the expression of resistance personally

D.  find the resistance and remove it

20) The key to understanding the nature of resistance is to realize that

A.  it is an emotional process that is irresolvable

B.  there are difficult organizational problems

C.  understanding the client is one of the most difficult aspects a consultant must deal with

D.  resistance is a reaction to an emotional process taking place within the client

21) The purpose of the feedback meeting is more than just a presentation of data; it is also an opportunity to

A.  restate the original contract and make sure you are on the right track

B.  state the obvious problems and talk about the unknown

C.  request the client’s action plan

D.  get the client’s reaction to the data, recommendations, and action

22) What is the most useful guideline for giving feedback?

A.  Be assertive.

B.  Be aggressive.

C.  Be nonassertive.

D.  Be nonaggressive.

23) Which statement best describes one of the goals in consulting?

A.  Teaching clients how to solve problems themselves

B.  Teaching clients that you need to take over at some point

C.  Teaching clients that it is all right to implement the project

D.  Teaching clients what not to expect from you

24) __________ empowerment should be considered during the implementation phase.

A.  Employee

B.  Employee and consultant

C.  Consultant

D.  Public

25) A consultant may choose engagement over installation when

A.  the change requires following a pre-defined set of steps

B.  the change involves carefully defined objectives and measures

C.  the change requires finding a solution for a mechanical problem

D.  the change involves intangible goals such as building relationships

26) What benefits does the engagement strategy offer that the installation strategy does not?

A.  The engagement strategy provides clearly defined objectives and measures.

B.  The engagement strategy builds support for the business or planned technical change.

C.  The engagement strategy offers a defined set of steps.

D.  The engagement strategy usually results in cosmetic change.

27) Creating learning helps bring value to the client. What does this mean when building elements through the implementation process?

A.  There is a need to bring change to the forefront to design a package.

B.  There is a need to package an answer in order to learn.

C.  There is a need to design a method to teach learning.

D.  There is a need to design our efforts to support learning at the expense of teaching.

28) Why is the question more important than the answer during the learning and change process?

A.  The way we ask questions answers who caused the problem.

B.  The way we develop answers comes from asking how things were done.

C.  The way we ask the question drives the kind of answer we develop.

D.  The way we develop answers comes from asking when the problem began.

29) The promise of consulting is to

A.  commit to care and to service

B.  teach the client process improvement

C.  establish effective client relationships

D.  create new business opportunities

30) Saying no to inappropriate projects, avoiding no-win consulting situations, should happen

A.  when checking financial resources and learning the client does not have the money to pay

B.  when the client is absent

C.  when there is no chemistry with the client

D.  when you over promise and under deliver