Exam 6: Innovation and Adaptability

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. The Management Seminar (Scenario) Mandy recently returned from her two-day managerial seminar, How to Totally Change Your Management and Leadership Style in Two Days. Even though she felt the seminar was worthless (as she had predicted), it did give her a chance to think about how to change the culture of her organization. She had been brought in by the new CEO as a change agent, and her position had the authority to make an impact. She felt that the recent hostile takeover by their parent company had shocked everyone, especially given that the entire organization consisted of only 150 people and had been in business for only five years. She felt this might be the time to attempt cultural change while everyone was still thinking in terms of change. As she tossed her leadership seminar manual into the wastebasket, she considered what might be her first step and how well the cultural change would work. -Which of the following are favourable conditions that might help facilitate cultural change at Mandy's company?

According to Kurt Lewin, increasing the driving forces, which directs behaviour away from the status quo, is a means of doing which of the following?

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

Which of the following represents the relationship between organizational culture and change?

Which of the following is a characteristic of adaptive organizations?

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. The Management Seminar (Scenario) Mandy recently returned from her two-day managerial seminar, How to Totally Change Your Management and Leadership Style in Two Days. Even though she felt the seminar was worthless (as she had predicted), it did give her a chance to think about how to change the culture of her organization. She had been brought in by the new CEO as a change agent, and her position had the authority to make an impact. She felt that the recent hostile takeover by their parent company had shocked everyone, especially given that the entire organization consisted of only 150 people and had been in business for only five years. She felt this might be the time to attempt cultural change while everyone was still thinking in terms of change. As she tossed her leadership seminar manual into the wastebasket, she considered what might be her first step and how well the cultural change would work. -Which of the following statements is true concerning the leadership of Mandy's company and its effect on cultural change?

Innovation for organizations is about developing new products and services as customer needs change.

Which of the following is a cultural value that supports innovation?

Technology and competition are internal forces for change.

describe, compare, and contrast the "calm waters" and "white-water rapids" views of organizational change.

Driving forces are forces that drive change and direct behaviour ________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Fred Fryer's Donuts (Scenario) Since the integration of two new stores in Littleville, U.S., 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. Fred is setting up the main store as a training store. Employees from the other stores will train at the main store for five days while their respective store's equipment is being converted. 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 that store's employees return from training. 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 installation of the new equipment at is an example of ________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. 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, 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 __________.

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

The marketplace is an external force for change.

Cultural change is easier when the organizational culture is strong.

Describe the methods that help employees accept change and relate these to the mistakes managers make when leading change.

Change threatens the investment managers have already made in the status quo in the workplace.

An organizational culture that fosters innovation accepts ambiguity and has a low tolerance for risk.

Until the late 1980s, the __________ metaphor described the situation faced by most managers.