Exam 7: Innovation and Adaptability

Techniques to change people and the quality of interpersonal work relationships are called ________.

One of the primary views of the change process is ________,while the other view is ________.

________ refers to the ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to make unusual associations between ideas.

________ tend to be an important feature of an adaptive organization's structural design.

Which organizational development (OD)technique is a technique for assessing attitudes and perceptions,identifying discrepancies in these,and resolving the differences by using survey information in feedback groups?

The Practice (Scenario) Kelly Rae works at an ophthalmology office where she has been employed as a technician for approximately one year. Due to a recent retirement of another employee, Kelly has been promoted to the position of clinic coordinator, where she is responsible for supervising and training other technicians, overseeing the doctors' schedules, and coordinating activities between the scheduling desk, the technicians, the insurance office, and the optical shop. Upon her promotion she was given a mandate by the doctors to "clean house" in an effort to make fundamental changes to enhance productivity. -A technician named Shelly was particularly concerned about the changes.She had spent a number of years befriending a particular doctor and had earned special privileges,such as taking extended lunches with her husband,because of it.Shelly's resistance to change came from her ________.

Innovation Variables at Lightspeed (Scenario) Edwin Lee leads a cross-functional product development team at Lightspeed.com, a software company with employees in 10 countries around the world. The members of Edwin's team are hard-working and highly creative, but he wonders if there are ways to stimulate more innovation from the team. As the company has grown, so too has the bureaucracy. Numerous rules and policies have been introduced, and decision making has become highly centralized. This has resulted in resource limitations and tight project deadlines. Fortunately, with the use of web cams and other Internet technology, Edwin is able to hold frequent meetings with his global cross-functional teams. And despite some structural limitations, the company's culture does seem to foster creative solutions. Diverse opinions are encouraged, and even the most unrealistic, "off-the-wall" solutions are accepted without criticism. Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities—a good thing, since there have definitely been some mistakes! -Which cultural variable relates to the acceptance of mistakes at Lightspeed?

Which of the following human resource variables is supportive of organizational innovation?

One reason people resist change in an organization is that their future has been set and cannot be changed.

Which OD technique is used when an outside consultant helps managers to understand how interpersonal processes are affecting the organization?

Before using the same OD techniques to implement behavioral changes across different countries,managers need to be sure that they've taken into account ________.

Cultural change is easier when the organizational culture is strong.

The ________ metaphor compares an organization to a group of complete strangers aboard a raft travelling at night toward an uncertain destination.

Fred Fryer's Donuts (Scenario) Since the integration of two new stores, Fred Fryer's Donuts, Inc. has recognized that there is a need for reengineering the entire organization. The main need is to install new state-of-the-art kitchen equipment in the seven remaining stores, and then dispose of all old equipment to a salvage dealer or else incur a loss. The employees will have to be trained to operate the new computer programmed equipment. Some of the older employees are worried that learning the computerized system may be too difficult. Fred is setting up the main store as a training store. The regular employees from the main store have the responsibility of instructing the classes or overseeing the installation of the new equipment and testing its operation before employees return to their jobs. The organization is also replacing the old employee reporting system. Ordering of materials will now be done by an intranet. Fred has promised that no one will lose his or her job because of the organizational changes. He estimates that when the employees get to the computer programming training, as many as 10 percent of the current employees will resign or retire. He also thinks that opening a new store will absorb the excess employees. -Having the regular employees from the main store train other employees and oversee installation of the new equipment indicates that to some extent the company is ________ through employees acquiring and sharing knowledge.

Resistance to change is likely to be lower if managers ________.

British retailer Tesco is an adaptive organization that has developed the capacity to ________.

________ is a key characteristic of entrepreneurial ventures.

University student who has just graduated and is now facing the process of finding a job and moving into the business world is in what step of the change process?

New Ideas Inc. (Scenario) Though New Ideas Inc. has been in business profitably for 30 years, the company and its employees have seemingly been in a constant state of change. Paul Gill has been president of New Ideas for the last 15 years. During this time, he has had to change the strategic focus of the company three times. The employees have become vocal recently about the decrease in their bonus cheques and are waiting to share in the increased profits. It seems as though his competition is always introducing new products into the market, and the niches Gill thought New Ideas held leadership in are always changing. Recently the government has been active in passing new legislation to increase the control of the product packaging and product contents. The technology used to manufacture the products is constantly improving with the use of robotics to make the process more efficient. -New Ideas is a company that focuses on new ideas,uses technology that changes frequently,and has strong competition in a dynamic market.This is consistent with the ________ metaphor of the change process.

The Practice (Scenario) Kelly Rae works at an ophthalmology office where she has been employed as a technician for approximately one year. Due to a recent retirement of another employee, Kelly has been promoted to the position of clinic coordinator, where she is responsible for supervising and training other technicians, overseeing the doctors' schedules, and coordinating activities between the scheduling desk, the technicians, the insurance office, and the optical shop. Upon her promotion she was given a mandate by the doctors to "clean house" in an effort to make fundamental changes to enhance productivity. -In an effort to change the attitudes,perceptions,and stereotypes that each group of technicians holds about each other,Kelly decides to use the popular OD technique of ________.