Chapter 7—Innovation and Change

Organizational innovation

the successful implementation of creative ideas in organizations

Technological 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

Steep slop of S-curve pattern

indicates small amounts of effort will result in significant increases in performance

flat slope of s-curve pattern

indicates that increased effort will bring small improvements in performance

1. Technological Discontinuity

2. Discontinuous Change

3. Dominant Design

4. Incremental Change

Patterns of Innovation Phases

Creative work environments

Organizational encouragement

Supervisory encouragement

Work group encouragement

Freedom

Lack of organizational impediments

Challenging work

Experiential Approach

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 & understanding

Design iteration

Testing

Milestones

Multifunctional teams

Powerful leaders

Experiential Approach includes

compression approach

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

planning, testing, milestones, multifunctional teams, powerful leaders

compression approach includes

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, inaction, faulty action, crisis, dissolution

organizational decline stages

blinded

key managers fail to recognize the internal or external changes

inaction

recognition of problems fails to prompt managers to act

faulty action

management uses belt-tightening plans to cut costs, increase efficiency, and restore profits

crisis

either bankruptcy, dissolution, or restructuring becomes necessary

dissolution

company is dissolved because of 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

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

results-driven change

change created quickly by focusing on the measurement and improvement of results

agile change

using daily standup meetings, 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

c.      A newer, substantially better technology replaces it

A technology cycle ends when:

a.      Performance declines below competitors

b.      Customers reject the technology

c.      A newer, substantially better technology replaces it

d.      R&D spending stops

b. false

The compression approach assumes innovation is largely unpredictable and intuitive.

a.      True

b.      False

c.      Long-term organizational achievement

Organizational development focuses on:

a.      Quick fixes

b.      Short-term wins

c.      Long-term organizational achievement

d.      Market disruption

c.      Discontinuous change

The experiential approach is best used during:

a.      Stable markets

b.      Incremental change

c.      Discontinuous change

Cultural stabilization

b.      Hidden resistance

The “Kiss of Yes” refers to:

a.      Public enthusiasm for innovation

b.      Hidden resistance

c.      Rapid adaptation

d.      Open disagreement

c.      Fail to recognize threats

The blinded stage of decline occurs when managers:

a.      Declare bankruptcy

b.      Recognize problems but delay action

c.      Fail to recognize threats

d.      Cut costs aggressively

b. False

During discontinuous change, companies typically focus on reducing costs and refining existing products.

a.      True

b. False

a.      In crises or last resort situations

In change management, coercion should primarily be used:

a.      In crises or last resort situations

b.      In early innovation

c.      During incremental change

d.      To build culture

d.      Measurable performance outcomes

Results-driven change focuses primarily on:

a.      New procedures

b.      Employee morale

c.      Organizational philosophy

d.      Measurable performance outcomes

c.      It achieves critical mass or fixes a problem

A dominant design emerges primarily when:

a.      It is technically superior

b.      It receives government approval

c.      It achieves critical mass or fixes a problem

d. It is the cheapest option