Ch 6

Question 1

What must managers do?

Answer 1

Implement change!!!

Question 2

What is Organizational Change ?

Answer 2

-any alteration of an organization’s structure, technology, or people.

Question 3

What are changes in organizational structure?

Answer 3

-change in authority relationships, coordination mechanisms, job design, degree of centralization
-examples: creating work teams, reducing work specializations, wider degree of control, decentralizing

Question 4

What are changes in technology?

Answer 4

-modifications in the way work is done or the equipment used.
-computerizing work processes & procedures, equipping employees with mobile communicating tools, installing new equipment such as a new computer system, etc.

Question 5

What are changes in people?

Answer 5

-modifying people’s behavior, attitudes, perceptions, and expectations
-examples: pushing safety first, changing behaviors to implement a new customer service strategy,

Question 6

Why do people resist change in a organization?

Answer 6

-uncertainty
-habit
-concern of personal loss
-belief of change is not in the organization’s best interest

Question 7

What are ways to manage change?

Answer 7

-communication & education- educate and explain to employees about the need for change
-participation- allow employees to act in decisions, planning change
-facilitation & support- give employees the support they need to implement the change
-negotiation- give something of value to influence them embrace change
-manipulation-using negative actions to implement
-co-optation- selecting people that are open to and accept change
-coercion- using direct threats or force

Question 8

What is stress?

Answer 8

• adverse reaction to excessive pressures placed constraints, demands, and opportunities.
  -can be caused by personal factors and job related factors

Question 9

What are the symptoms of stress?

Answer 9

-physical, psychological, behavioral

Question 10

How managers deal with job related stress factors?

Answer 10

-match employee’s abilities to job requirements
-improving job site communication
-using a performance planning program
-redesigning jobs

Question 11

How managers deal with personal stress factors?

Answer 11

-employee counseling
-time management programs
-wellness programs

Question 12

What is creativity?

Answer 12

the ability to combine ideas in a unique way, or make unusual associations between ideas

Question 13

What is innovation?

Answer 13

Using the outcomes of the creative process into useful products or work methods.

Question 14

What is disruptive innovation?

Answer 14

-innovations in products, services, or processes that radically change an industry’s rules of the game.

Question 15

What external forces create a need for change?

Answer 15

-marketplace
-labor market
-economics
-technology

Question 16

What internal forces create a need for change?

Answer 16

-employee attitudes
-corporate strategy
-composition of an organization’s workforce

Question 17

Change agents

Answer 17

-people who act as change catalysts who assume responsibility for managing the change process

Question 18

How does organizational change happen?

Answer 18

Two metaphors:
-calm sea
-white water rapids

Question 19

What is the calm sea metaphor?

Answer 19

-description of organizational change that compares that change to a ship crossing a calm sea on a known course and experiencing an occasional storm (change).

Question 20

What is the 3 step process for change in calm sea metaphor?

Answer 20

-Unfreezing the status quo, change to a new state, freezing the new change so as to make it permanent.
-status quo can be thought of as at equilibrium. Need to identify:
1. Driving forces- increase them.
2. Blocking forces- decrease them.
3. Do both.
-this was the case of most organizations in the 20th century

Question 21

What is the white water rapids metaphor?

Answer 21

-descriptions of organizational change that compares change to a small raft navigating a raging river
-change is the status quote and managing change is a continual process
-in today’s environment organizations face constant internal and external forces that bring about the need for organizational change

Question 22

What is organizational development?

Answer 22

-Efforts that assist members of an organization with a planned change by focusing on their attitudes and values
-attempts to involve organizational members in changes that will affect their jobs and seeks their input about how the change is affecting them.

Question 23

What are some organizational development techniques?

Answer 23

-surveys
-outside process consultation
-team building
-intergroup development

Question 24

When managers talk about changing an organization to make it more creative, what do they mean?

Answer 24

They want to stimulate and nurture innovation.

Question 25

What is involved in innovation?

Answer 25

Perception-looking at things differently or a unique perspective
Incubation-reflecting on ideas and their data, info
Inspiration-culmination of all effort and coming up with the best idea
Innovation-putting the best idea into action

Question 26

How can a organization foster innovation?

Answer 26

By creating an environment that stimulates innovation thru organizational variables:
Structural variables-flexibility, communication, abundant resources, low pressure time constraints, support,
Cultural variables-acceptance of ambiguity, able to experiment regardless of failure, difference of opinions are encouraged, low internal controls (rules),
Human resource variables-idea champions, commitment to job training/development, job security

Question 27

What are idea champions?

Answer 27

Individuals that enthusiastically and actively support new ideas, build support for, overcome resistance to, and ensure innovations are implemented.