Exam 7: Innovation and Adaptability

The prevailing model for handling change in "white waters" is best illustrated in Kurt Lewin's three-step description of the change process.

In an adaptive organization,employees ________.

The existence of a dramatic organizational crisis can facilitate cultural change.

Initiating change involves identifying which organizational areas might need to be changed and ________.

Lightspeed.com (Scenario) Edwin Edwards is a team leader for Lightspeed.com, an e-business that has employees in every global time zone. Some of the factors that the team has to contend with are deadlines, strong work ethic, creativity-innovation chain, high-speed turnaround, and professionalism. As a team leader, Edwin sees team members via videoconference only a few times per year or via compressed video via Internet a few times more per year. A frustration that he is encountering himself is that he works with all of these people and does not have control over their "actual" work or the few organizational rules, regulations, and policies. Yet, due to the position he is in, he feels he gets all of their complaints. The team does not deal well when a member offers an "off-the-wall" solution to a team problem. Team members seem to have more trouble with this than any other team-conflict issue. What he likes most about leading the team is that they seem to prefer getting their objectives accomplished instead of wasting time trying to decide who should be doing what tasks. -Edwin decided that his employees could benefit from ________,an OD technique designed to change behaviour through unstructured group interaction.

Lightspeed.com (Scenario) Edwin Edwards is a team leader for Lightspeed.com, an e-business that has employees in every global time zone. Some of the factors that the team has to contend with are deadlines, strong work ethic, creativity-innovation chain, high-speed turnaround, and professionalism. As a team leader, Edwin sees team members via videoconference only a few times per year or via compressed video via Internet a few times more per year. A frustration that he is encountering himself is that he works with all of these people and does not have control over their "actual" work or the few organizational rules, regulations, and policies. Yet, due to the position he is in, he feels he gets all of their complaints. The team does not deal well when a member offers an "off-the-wall" solution to a team problem. Team members seem to have more trouble with this than any other team-conflict issue. What he likes most about leading the team is that they seem to prefer getting their objectives accomplished instead of wasting time trying to decide who should be doing what tasks. -If Edwin decided to introduce new methods and work processes,he would be making a change in which of the following categories?

The ________ metaphor is most consistent with uncertain and dynamic environments that are increasingly dominated by information,ideas,and knowledge.

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. -If Kelly decided to enhance productivity by giving greater authority to other technicians and increasing formalization,she would be addressing which category of change?

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. -The 10 percent of the employees that are expected to leave during the computerized equipment training,will leave because they ________.

It is sufficient for organizations to be flexible in order to be successful.

In organizational success,flexible means ________,whereas adaptable means ________.

Sensitivity training is a method of changing behaviour through unstructured group interaction.

Apex Corporation has reorganized its marketing division,and the reporting structure has completely changed.This is an example of a change in ________.

Which of the following is an internal force for change for an organization?

The right organizational environment is crucial for innovation and adaptability to prosper.

One reason people resist change is that it substitutes ambiguity for uncertainty.

Adaptability requires forward-thinking leadership within organizations whereby they proactively ________.

Entrepreneurship and management innovation will drive new business creation and ________ in the future.

Change threatens the investment that people have already made in ________.

One reason people resist change is the belief that the change is incompatible with the goals and interests of the organization.