Exam 6: Innovation and Adaptability

A change in demand for health care employees is an example of an economic change.

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

In the "white-water rapids" metaphor of change, managers should expect change at any time, and it may last for unspecified lengths of time.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. New Ideas Inc. (Scenario) Though New Ideas Inc. has been in business 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 wanting to 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.

An innovative culture is likely to have __________.

The unfreezing step of the change process can be thought of as ________.

Having creative people is enough to get innovative products and work methods in an organization.

The __________ metaphor is best illustrated by Kurt Lewin's model of the change process.

Define Organizational Development (OD) and how it is used to change people in the change process. In addition, describe briefly the five most popular OD techniques.

Which of the following is a mistake that managers make when leading change?

New idea champions are extremely self-confident, persistent, energetic, and have a tendency to take risks.

The "white water rapids" metaphor described the situation that managers faced up until the late 1980s.

Which OD technique is designed to change behaviour through unstructured group interaction?

Top managers can distance themselves from operational change efforts as these are the responsibility of the line managers.

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

The chairman of the Tata Group of India decided that in order for his business to survive in the global economy he had to make innovation built into the DNA of his company. One unique way innovation is encouraged at Tata is to_________________.

Having creative employees and groups is enough to help the organization become more innovative and adaptive.

Organic structures positively influence innovation.

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

What OD technique involves changing the attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions that work groups have about each other?