Chapter Summary by Learning Outcome
6-1 Define organizational change and compare and contrast views on the change process.
Organizational change is any alteration of an organization’s people, structure, or technology. The “calm waters” metaphor of change suggests that change is an occasional disruption in the normal flow of events and can be planned and managed as it happens, using Lewin’s three-step change process (unfreezing, changing, and freezing). The “white-water rapids” view of change suggests that change is ongoing, and managing it is a continual process.
6-2 Explain how to manage resistance to change.
People resist change because of uncertainty, habit, concern about personal loss, and the belief that a change is not in the organization’s best interests. Techniques for managing resistance to change include education and communication (educating employees about and communicating to them the need for the change), participation (allowing employees to participate in the change process), facilitation and support (giving employees the support they need to implement the change), negotiation (exchanging something of value to reduce resistance), manipulation and co-optation (using negative actions to influence), selecting people who are open to and accept change, and coercion (using direct threats or force).
6-3 Describe what managers need to know about employee stress.
Stress is the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure placed on them from extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities. The symptoms of stress can be physical, psychological, or behavioral. Stress can be caused by personal factors and by job-related factors. To help employees deal with stress, managers can address job-related factors by making sure an employee’s abilities match the job requirements, improving organizational communications, using a performance planning program, or redesigning jobs. Addressing personal stress factors is trickier, but managers could offer employee counseling, time management programs, and wellness programs.
6-4 Discuss techniques for stimulating innovation.
Creativity is the ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to make unusual associations between ideas. Innovation is turning the outcomes of the creative process into useful products or work methods. An innovative environment encompasses structural, cultural, and human resource variables.
Important structural variables include an organic-type structure, abundant resources, frequent communication between organizational units, minimal time pressure, and support. Important cultural variables include accepting ambiguity, tolerating the impractical, keeping external controls minimal, tolerating risk, tolerating conflict, focusing on ends not means, using an open-system focus, and providing positive feedback. Important human resource variables include high commitment to training and development, high job security, and encouraging individuals to be idea champions.
Design thinking can also play a role in innovation. It provides a process for coming up with products that don’t exist.
6-5 Explain what disruptive innovation is and why managing it is important.
Disruptive innovation describes innovations in products, services, or processes that radically change an industry’s rules of the game. It’s important because it can catch established organizations by surprise if they’re not aware of the drawbacks of entrenched organizational cultures and values and their potential to act as constraints on change. Disruptive innovation has the potential to surprise and upend entrepreneurs, corporate managers, and personal career plans.
Discussion Questions
6-1 Why is managing change an integral part of every manager’s job?
6-2 Contrast the calm waters and white-water rapids metaphors of change. Which of these would you use to describe your current life? Why is that one your choice?
6-3 Describe Lewin’s three-step change process. How is it different from the change process needed in the white-water rapids metaphor of change?
6-4 How are opportunities, constraints, and demands related to stress? Give an example of each.
6-5 Organizations typically have limits to how much change they can absorb. As a manager, what signs would you look for that might suggest your organization has exceeded its capacity to change?
6-6 Why is organization development planned change? Explain how planned change is important for organizations in today’s dynamic environment.
6-7 How do creativity and innovation differ?
6-8 Research information on how to be a more creative person. Write down suggestions in a bulleted list format and be prepared to present your information in class.
6-9 How does an innovative culture make an organization more effective? Could an innovative culture ever make an organization less effective? Why or why not?
6-10 How can organizations and individuals benefit from disruptive innovation? How can they not become victims of disruptive innovation?
6-11 Planned change is often thought to be the best approach to take in organizations. Can unplanned change ever be effective? Explain.
6-12 Describe the structural, cultural, and human resources variables that are necessary for innovation.
6-13 MyLab Management Only—comprehensive writing assignment for this chapter.