BUS250 Chapter 7 - Innovation and Change

organizational innovation

the successful implementation of creative ideas in organizations

technology cycle

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, substantially better technology

S-curve pattern of innovation

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

innovation streams

patterns of innovation over time that can create sustainable competitive advantage

technological discontinuity

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

discontinuous change

a phase of technology cycle characterized by technological substitution and design competition

technological substitution

the purchase of new technologies to replace older ones (ex. iPod to iPod Touch)

design competition

competition between old and new technologies to establish a new technological standard or dominant design

dominant design

a new technological design/process that becomes the accepted market standard

technological lockout

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

incremental change

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

creative work environments

workplace cultures in which workers perceive that new ideas are welcomed, valued, and encouraged

flow

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

experiential approach to innovation

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

design iteration

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

product prototype

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

testing

systematic comparison of different product designs or design iterations

milestones

formal project review points used to assess progress and performance

multifunctional teams

work teams composed of people from different departments

compression approach to innovation

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

generational change

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

organizational decline

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 survival

blinded

a stage of organizational decline when key managers fail to recognize the internal or external changes

inaction

a stage of organizational decline when the recognition of problems fails to prompt managers to act

faulty action

a stage of organizational decline when management uses belt-tightening plans to cut costs, increase efficiency, and restore profits

crisis

a stage of organizational decline when bankruptcy, dissolution, or restructuring becomes necessary

dissolution

a stage of organizational decline when the company is dissolved because of the failure to make needed changes

change forces

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

resistance forces

forces that support the existing conditions in organizations

resistance to change

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

Kurt Lewin

a man who created the organizational change process; consists of unfreezing, change intervention, and refreezing

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

coercion

the use of formal power and authority to force others to change

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