Chapter 7 - Terms

Question 1

Organizational innovation

Answer 1

the successful implementation of creative ideas in organizations

Question 2

Technology cycle

Answer 2

a cycle that begins with the birth of a new technology and ends when that technology reaches its limits and is replaced by a newer, substantially better technology

Question 3

S-curve pattern of innovation

Answer 3

a pattern of technological innovation characterized by slow initial progress, then rapid progress, and then slow progress again as a technology matures and reaches its limits

Question 4

Innovation streams

Answer 4

patterns of innovation over time that can create sustainable competitive advantage

Question 5

Technological discontinuity

Answer 5

the phase of an innovation stream in which a scientific advance or unique combination of existing technologies creates a significant breakthrough in performance or function

Question 6

Discontinuous change

Answer 6

the phase of a technology cycle characterized by technological substitution and design competition

Question 7

Technological substitution

Answer 7

the purchase of new technologies to replace older ones

Question 8

Design competition

Answer 8

competition between old and new technologies to establish a new technological standard or dominant design

Question 9

Dominant design

Answer 9

a new technological design or process that becomes the accepted market standard

Question 10

Technological lockout

Answer 10

the inability of a company to competitively sell its products because it relies on old technology or a nondominant design

Question 11

Incremental change

Answer 11

the phase of a technology cycle in which companies innovate by lowering costs and improving the functioning and performance of the dominant technological design`

Question 12

Creative work environments

Answer 12

workplace cultures in which workers perceive that new ideas are welcomed, valued, and encouraged

Question 13

Flow

Answer 13

a psychological state of effortlessness, in which you become completely absorbed in what you’re doing, and time seems to pass quickly

Question 14

Experiential approach to innovation

Answer 14

an approach to innovation that assumes a highly uncertain environment and uses intuition, flexible options, and hands-on experience to reduce uncertainty and accelerate learning and understanding

Question 15

Design iteration

Answer 15

a cycle of repetition in which a company tests a prototype of a new product or service, improves on that design, and then builds and tests the improved prototype

Question 16

Product prototype

Answer 16

a full-scale, working model that is being tested for design, function, and reliability

Question 17

Testing

Answer 17

the systematic comparison of different product designs or design iterations

Question 18

Milestones

Answer 18

formal project review points used to assess progress and performance

Question 19

Multifunctional teams

Answer 19

work teams composed of people from different departments

Question 20

Compression approach to innovation

Answer 20

an approach to innovation that assumes that incremental innovation can be planned using a series of steps and that compressing those steps can speed innovation

Question 21

Generational change

Answer 21

change based on incremental improvements to a dominant technological design such that the improved technology is fully backward compatible with the older technology

Question 22

Organizational decline

Answer 22

a large decrease in organizational performance that occurs when companies don’t anticipate, recognize, neutralize, or adapt to the internal or external pressures that threaten their survival

Question 23

Change forces

Answer 23

forces that produce differences in the form, quality, or condition of an organization over time.

Question 24

Resistance forces

Answer 24

forces that support the existing conditions in organizations.

Question 25

Resistance to change

Answer 25

opposition to change resulting from self-interest, misunderstanding and distrust, and a general intolerance for change

Question 26

Unfreezing

Answer 26

getting the people affected by change to believe that change is needed

Question 27

Change intervention

Answer 27

the process used to get workers and managers to change their behaviors and work practices

Question 28

Refreezing

Answer 28

supporting and reinforcing new changes so that they stick

Question 29

Coercion

Answer 29

the use of formal power and authority to force others to change

Question 30

Results-driven change

Answer 30

change created quickly by focusing on the measurement and improvement of results

Question 31

General Electric fastworks

Answer 31

quickly experimenting with new ideas to solve customer problems and learn from repeated tests and improvements

Question 32

Organizational development

Answer 32

a philosophy and collection of planned change interventions designed to improve an organization’s long-term health and performance

Question 33

Change agent

Answer 33

the person formally in charge of guiding a change effort