Fundamentals of Management - Chapter 6: Managing Change and Innovation

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers managing organizational change, innovation, stress management, and metaphors of change based on Chapter 6 of Fundamentals of Management, 11e.

Structural organizational change

Changes involving relationships between people within an organization, such as alteration in authority, span of control, or job design.

Technology change

A change in the methods of getting work done, which may include new software, equipment like a backhoe, or work practices.

People change

Organizational changes that involve altering the attitudes, behaviors, expectations, or perceptions of people within the company.

External force for change

Marketplace competition, government laws and regulations, labor market fluctuations, or economic forces like falling interest rates that originate outside the organization.

Internal force for change

Forces originating inside an organization, such as a new ad campaign, organizational restructuring, naming a new CEO, or changes in workforce composition.

Change agent

Individuals who act as catalysts and assume responsibility for managing the change process; they can be managers, nonmanagerial employees, or outside consultants.

Calm waters metaphor

A view of change proposed by Kurt Lewin envisioning an organization as a large ship on a calm sea, where change is seen as an occasional interruption of a stable equilibrium status quo.

White-water rapids metaphor

A view of organizational change as a small raft on a raging river, asserting that change is constant, chaotic, and the natural state of the business climate.

Unfreezing

The first step in Lewin's three-step change process, involving preparing for change by breaking the status quo through increasing driving forces or decreasing restraining forces.

Refreezing

The final step in Lewin's change process intended to stabilize the new situation and establish a new equilibrium state.

Driving forces

In Lewin's force field analysis, these are forces that promote deviation from the status quo and direct behavior toward a goal.

Restraining forces

Forces that hinder movement away from the status quo and act to maintain the existing equilibrium.

Organization development (OD)

Efforts intended to help organization members deal with planned change by focusing on changing attitudes and values to achieve organizational goals.

Process consultation

An OD method where outside consultants observe and analyze an organization to identify and remedy issues with interpersonal processes.

Team-building

Activities designed to increase trust and openness among organization members to help them learn how each member thinks and works.

Inertia

A term from physical science used to describe the tendency of employees to resist change.

Coercion

A method to reduce resistance to change that involves using direct or indirect threats, such as mentioning that supervisors might lose their jobs if they do not comply.

Manipulation

A technique to reduce resistance to change that involves covertly influencing others by distorting or twisting facts to make the change appear more attractive.

Stress

The adverse reaction people have to pressures placed on them by demands, constraints, and opportunities in the workplace.

Karoshi

A Japanese phenomenon translated as death from overwork, representing an extreme consequence of workplace stress.

Functional stress

A positive aspect of stress that allows a person to perform at their highest levels during crucial times.

Task demands

Stress factors related to an employee's job, including job design, working conditions (like noise or temperature), and physical work layout.

Role conflict

Stress created when an employee feels there is a conflict between what is expected of them and what they believe they can actually achieve.

Role overload

A condition occurring when an employee is expected to perform too many different tasks or jobs instead of delegating authority.

Role ambiguity

Stress that arises when an employee is unsettled because they are not sure what their specific responsibilities or roles are.

Type A personality

A personality profile characterized by an individual who is impatient, driven, competitive, and has a chronic sense of urgency.

Type B personality

A personality profile characterized by an individual who is relaxed, easygoing, and patient.

Employee assistance programs (EAPs)

Programs set up by organizations to aid employees with personal problems regarding health, finances, or legal issues to help them return to productivity.

Creativity

The ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to make unusual and meaningful associations between ideas.

Innovation

The process of taking a creative idea and turning it into a useful product, service, or method of operation.

Incubation

The stage in the creative process where ideas are allowed to percolate subconsciously in a person's mind for various lengths of time.

Inspiration

The moment in the creative process where all prior efforts successfully come together and a new idea gels instantaneously.

Idea champions

Individuals who shared traits like high energy and self-confidence who actively support innovation and every step of the process leading to innovative ideas.

Disruptive innovation

Innovations in products or processes that radically change an industry's rules, often destroying the status quo, such as online reading services affecting libraries.

Skunk works

A small group within a large organization given a high degree of autonomy and resources to develop projects for radical innovation without bureaucratic restraints.