Chapter 7

Question 1

Organizational Innovation

Answer 1

the successful implementation of creative ideas in organizations

Question 2

Technology cycle

Answer 2

a cycle that begins with the birth of a new technology and ends when the technology reaches its limits and is replaced by a newer and substantially better technology

Question 3

S-curve pattern of innovation

Answer 3

a pattern of technological innovation characterized by slow initial progress, then rapid progress, and then slow progress again as a technology matures and reaches its limits

Question 4

Slope of Curve

Answer 4

• Steep slope = small amounts of effort will result in significant increases in performance
• Flat slope = increased effort will bring small improvements in performance

Question 5

Phases

Answer 5

1. Technology discontinuity
2. Discontinuous change
3. Dominant Design

Question 5

Innovation streams

Answer 5

patterns of innovation over time that can create sustainable competitive advantage

Question 6

Technology discontinuity

Answer 6

performance or functional breakthrough created by a scientific advance or a unique combination of existing technologies

Question 7

Discontinuous change

Answer 7

Phase of technology characterized by:
- tech substitution = the purchase of new technologies to replace old ones
- design competition = competition between old and new tech to establish a new tech standard or dominant design

Question 8

Dominant Design

Answer 8

a new technological design/process that becomes the accepted market standard:
1. Indicates which companies will prosper and which will face
technological lockout
2. Signals shift from experimentation and competition to incremental
change

Question 9

Technological lockout

Answer 9

the inability of a company to competitively sell its products because it relies on old technology or a nondominant design

Question 10

Incremental change

Answer 10

companies innovate by lowering costs and improving the
functioning and performance of the dominant technological design

Question 11

Ways to manage innovation

Answer 11

1. Build a creative work environment to manage sources of innovation
2. Use an experiential approach to manage innovation during
   incremental change
3. Build a creative work environment to manage sources of innovation

Question 12

Creative work environments

Answer 12

Creative work environments: workplace cultures in which workers perceive that new ideas are welcomed, valued, and encouraged

Question 13

Flow

Answer 13

a psychological state of effortlessness, in which you become
completely absorbed in what you’re doing, and time seems to pass quickly

Question 14

Components of Creative Work Environment

Answer 14

1. Challenging work
2. Organizational Encouragement
3. Supervisory Encouragement
4. Work Group Encouragement
5. Freedom
6. Lack of Organizational Impediments

Question 15

Experiential approach to innovation

Answer 15

an approach to innovation that assumes a highly uncertain environment and uses intuition, flexible options, and hands-on experience to reduce uncertainty and accelerate learning and understanding

Question 16

5 aspects of experiential approach

Answer 16

1. Design iteration
2. Testing
3. Milestones
4. Multifunctional teams
5. Powerful leaders

Question 17

Design Iteration

Answer 17

a cycle of repetition in which a company tests a prototype of a new product or service, improves on that design, and then builds an tests the improved prototype

Question 18

Product prototype

Answer 18

a full-scale, working model being tested for design, function, and reliability

Question 19

Testing

Answer 19

systematic comparison of different product designs or design iterations

Question 20

Milestones

Answer 20

formal project review points used to assess progress and performance

Question 21

Multifunctional teams

Answer 21

work teams composed of people from different departments

Question 22

Powerful leaders

Answer 22

keep the innovation process focused and on target through their vision, discipline, and motivation

Question 23

Compression approach to innovation

Answer 23

an approach that assumes that incremental innovation can be planned using a series of steps and that compressing those steps can speed up innovation

Question 24

Planning for Incremental Innovation

Answer 24

1. helps avoid unnecessary steps 2. enables developers to sequence steps in the right order to avoid wasted time and delays between steps 3. reduces misunderstandings and improves coordination

Question 25

Generational Change

Answer 25

a change based on incremental improvements to dominant technologies design such that the improved technology is fully backward compatible with the older technology

Question 26

Ways to shorten development time

Answer 26

* supplier involvement * shortening the time of individual steps * overlapping steps

Question 27

Organizational decline

Answer 27

a large decrease in organizational performance that occurs when companies don't anticipate, recognize, neutralize, or adapt to the internal or external pressures that threaten their surival

Question 28

Stages

Answer 28

1. Blinded: key managers fail to recognize the internal or external changes 2. Inaction: recognition of problems fails to prompt managers to act 3. Faulty action: management uses belt-tightening plans to cut costs, increase efficiency, and restore profits 4. Crisis: either bankruptcy, dissolution, or restructuring becomes necessary 5. Dissolution: company is dissolved because of failure to make needed changes

Question 29

Types of Forces

Answer 29

1. Change forces 2. Resistance forces

Question 30

Change forces

Answer 30

forces that produce differences in the form, quality, or condition of an organization over time

Question 31

Resistance forces

Answer 31

forces that support the existing conditions in organizations

Question 32

Resistance to change

Answer 32

opposition to change resulting from self-interest, misunderstanding and distrust, and a general intolerance for change

Question 33

Organizational change process proposed by Kurt Lewin

Answer 33

* Unfreezing: getting the people affected by change to believe that change is needed * Change intervention: the process used to get workers and managers to change their behaviors and work practices * Refreezing: supporting and reinforcing new changes so that they stick

Question 34

Methods used to manage resistance to change

Answer 34

* Educate employees about the need for change * Communicate change-related information to employees * Encourage employee participation in planning and implementing change * Allow employees to discuss and agree on who will do what after the change * Offer significant managerial support * Coercion: the use of formal power and authority to force others to change

Question 35

Change Tools and Techniques

Answer 35

* Results-driven change: change created quickly by focusing on the measurement and improvement of results * Agile change: using daily standups, or “huddles,” to review the progress of multidisciplinary teams or “Scrums,” who break problems into small, clearly defined parts that team members work on in sprints * General Electric fastworks: quickly experimenting with new ideas to solve customer problems and learn from repeated tests and improvements * Organizational development: a philosophy and collection of planned change interventions designed to improve an organization’s long-term health and performance * Change agent: the person formally in charge of guiding a change effort

Question 36

How to Create a Results-Driven Change Program

Answer 36

1. Set measurable, short-term goals to improve performance. 2. Make sure your action steps are likely to improve measured performance. 3. Stress the importance of immediate improvements. 4. Solicit help from consultants and staffers to achieve quick improvements in performance. 5. Test action steps to see if they actually yield improvements. If they don’t, discard them and establish new ones. 6. Use resources you have or that can be easily acquired. It doesn’t take much.

Question 37

General Steps for Organizational Development Interventions

Answer 37

1. Entry A problem is discovered, and the need for change becomes apparent. a search begins for someone to deal with the problem and facilitate change. 2. Startup A change agent enters the picture and works to clarify the problem and gain commitment to a change effort. 3. Assessment & feedback The change agent gathers information about the problem and provides feedback about it to decision makers and those affected by it. 4. Action planning The change agent works with decision makers to develop an action plan. 5. Intervention The action plan, or organizational development intervention, is carried out. 6. Evaluation The change agent helps decision makers assess the effectiveness of the intervention. 7. Adoption Organizational members accept ownership and responsibility for the change, which is then carried out through the entire organization. 8. Separation The change agent leaves the organization after fist ensuring that the change intervention will continue to work.

Question 38

Types of Organizational Development Interventions

Answer 38

1. Large-System 2. Small-Group 3. Person-Focused