Exam 7: Innovation and Change

A technology _____ begins with the birth of a new technology and ends when that technology reaches its limits and dies as it is replaced by a newer, substantially better technology.

In _____, the old technology and several different new technologies fight to establish a new technological standard or dominant design.

Explain the difference between activity-oriented and results-driven change. List the advantages of the results- driven approach to change. Characterize each of the approaches to organizational change presented in the text in terms of their apparent degree of emphasis on activities or results.

Given the nature and demands of technology cycles and innovation streams, identify the two types of change that companies need to be able to manage. What are the approaches most appropriate for managing each type of change?

Which of the following statements is true about the compression approach to managing innovation?

In the context of managing change, _____ forces support the status quo.

The format war between HD-DVD and Blu Ray was preceded by a nearly identical competition between DVD and DIVX. While DVD technology was used by a variety of manufacturers (including Sony and RCA), DIVX was a proprietary format developed by Circuit City. Both formats could play DVD movies, which cost about $30 each. However, DIVX movies (which could be played only on a DIVX player and not on a DVD player) could be purchased for $5 and viewed for 24 hours, with the ability to renew (including perpetual viewing) at a reasonable charge and a telephone call. Circuit City believed that consumers beginning to buy video disk players and disks would prefer its format since the disks were less expensive and offered convenience similar to a rental with the option of a purchase (conveniently by telephone from home) at a later date. But the DIVX format never took off, and in mid-1999, Circuit City announced that it was being discontinued. This left DVD as the dominant format for videodisks. By late 2008, Circuit City stores were bankrupt and closed. Relate this example to the model of an innovation stream and corporate attempts to gain competitive advantage through technological innovation. Explain how this competition in formats between DVD and DIVX fits the model of the innovation stream.

Which of the following is NOT one of the components of creative work environments?

When incremental improvements are made to a dominant technological design such that the improved version of the technology is fully backward compatible with the older version, _____ is said to have occurred.

The _____ approach to innovation assumes that innovation is occurring within a highly uncertain environment.

In the _____ stage of organizational decline, a new CEO may be brought in to oversee the closing of stores, offices, and manufacturing facilities, the final layoff of managers and employees, and the sale of assets.

Which of the following is a component of a creative work environment that encourages creativity?

Which of the following is NOT an organizational impediment to creativity in a work environment?

Which of the following is a characteristic of the inaction stage of organizational decline?

Results-driven change focuses primarily on changing company procedures, management philosophy, or employee behavior.

Technological discontinuities are followed by discontinuous change, which is characterized by technological substitution and design competition.

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic methods for managing resistance to change?

Feldman Films is a company associated with photography. The development of the digital camera forced Feldman Films into the innovation stream because the new imaging process was a(n) _____.

Technological innovation not only makes it possible to duplicate the benefits obtained from a company's distinctive advantage but also quickly creates an opportunity to turn a company's competitive advantage into a competitive disadvantage.

The phases of a technology cycle within an innovation stream begins with: