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REVIEW AND APPLICATIONS
CHAPTER SUMMARY
8-1 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
8-2 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
8-3 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
8-4 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
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
8-1 Why is managing change an integral part of every manager’s job?
8-2 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?
Answer: As you can imagine, most students will choose the white-water metaphor to
8-3 Describe Lewin’s three-step change process. How is it different from the change process
needed in the white-water rapids metaphor of change?
Answer: The prevailing model for handling change in calm waters is Lewin’s three-step
model. See Exhibit 8-2. According to Lewin, successful change requires unfreezing the status
Unfreezing is necessary to move from this equilibrium.
The driving forces can be increased.
Once unfreezing has been accomplished, the change itself can be implemented.
The new situation needs to be refrozen so that it can be sustained over time. Unless this is
done, there is a strong chance that the change will be short-lived.
8-4 How are opportunities, constraints, and demands related to stress? Give an example of
each.
Answer: Managers may create conditions that lead to stress. Task demands are factors
related to an employee’s job—the more interdependence between an employee’s tasks and
Examples of each will vary based on the students' responses.
8-5 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?
Answer: There are a number of symptoms to indicate too much change; employee stress,
Organizational leadership is needed when change is happening. Training should be
8-6 Why is organizational development planned change? Explain how planned change is
important for organizations in today’s dynamic environment.
Answer: Most change in an organization does not happen by chance. The effort to assist
organizational members with a planned change is referred to as organization development.
8-7 How do creativity and innovation differ?
8-8 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.
8-9 How does an innovative culture make an organization more effective? Could an
innovative culture ever make an organization less effective? Why or why not?
Answer: The innovative organization is characterized by the ability to channel its creative
8-10 When you find yourself experiencing dysfunctional stress, write down what’s causing
the stress, what stress symptoms you’re exhibiting, and how you’re dealing with the
stress. Keep this information in a journal and evaluate how well your stress reducers
are working and how you could handle stress better. Your goal is to get to a point
where you recognize that you’re stressed and can take positive actions to deal with the
stress.
MyManagementLab
Students can find the following assisted-graded writing questions at
mymanagementlab.com. Answers to these questions are graded against rubrics in the
MyLab.
8-11 Planned change is often thought to be the best approach to take in organizations. Can
unplanned change ever be effective? Explain.
8-12 Describe the structural, cultural, and human resources variables that are necessary for
innovation.
Management Skill Builder: Stress Management
Ask any employee and they will tell you that they are stressed out. Heavier workloads, longer
hours, continual reorganizations, technology that breaks down traditional barriers between work
and personal life, and reduced job security are among factors that have increased employee
stress. In this section, students will see some of the causes of stress and what companies can do
to help employees deal with its adverse effects.
Personal Inventory Assessment: Controlling Workplace Stress
As our debunked Management Myth pointed out, workplace stress is a reality and managers can
do something about it. In this PIA, you’ll assess how you control workplace stress.
Skill Basics
For reducing stress, the following individual interventions have been suggested:
Implement time-management techniques.
Create personal goals.
Use physical exercise.
Practice relaxation training.
Expand your social support network.
Practicing the Skill
Four months in, Dana is dissatisfied with her job at Dancer Advertising. Dana, a wife and
mother of two young children, is working almost 80 hours a week at Dancer. The time
pressure has resulted in lack of sleep, little time for her family, weight loss, and she has
broken out in stress-induced hives. In her previous job, Dana worked a basic 8-to-5 day
as director of marketing. Dana has asked her old employer if she could come back, but
the only position open is a lower-level job with one-third the pay.
Students are asked, ‘What would you do?’
Experiential Exercise
Performance Pros
To: Tina Sanchez, HR Director
From: Aaron Scott, President
Subject: Employee stress management program
Performance Pros has made it through the initial phases of their restructuring efforts. To help
minimize the pressures on our software developers and sales staff, the president of the company
wants Tina to develop an employee stress management program that could be implemented
immediately.
Teaching Tip: Students can refer to the skill basics mentioned above. Stress management
and counseling can also be an important aid for employees. Some companies use EAP
programs that provide employee assistance while keeping employees’ names and
conditions of treatment confidential.
Case Application 1: The Next Big Thing
Discussion Questions
8.14 What do you think of UA’s approach to innovation? Would you expect to see this type of
innovation in an athletic wear company? Explain.
8-15 What do you think UA’s culture might be like in regards to innovation? (Hint: Refer to the
list on page 254)
8-16 How might design thinking help UA improve its innovation efforts?
8-17 What’s your interpretation of the company’s philosophy posted prominently over the door
of its design studio? What does it say about innovation? What could other companies
learn from the way UA innovates?
The philosophy says that the company is still striving for the next thing and always
Case Application 2: Making Over Avon
Discussion Questions
8-18 What external forces for change do you see described in this case? Would you describe
Avon’s environment as more “calm waters” or “white-water rapids?” Explain.
8-19 Why would it be more important for the CEO to look at those external forces when
planning organizational change?
8-20 Why might it be difficult to change a company that’s over 130 years old?
8-21 Avon is truly a global company. How might this affect the CEO’s efforts to implement
organizational change?
Case Application 3: Stress Kills
Discussion Questions
8-22 What is your reaction to the situation described in this case? What factors, both inside
the company and externally, appear to have contributed to this situation?
8-23 What appeared to be happening in the France Télécom’s workplace? What stress
symptoms might managers have looked for to be alerted to a problem?
8-24 Should managers be free to make decisions that are in the best interests of the company
without worrying about employee reactions? Discuss. What are the implications for
managing change?
8-25 What are France Télécom’s executives doing to address the situation? Do you think it’s
enough? Are there other actions they might take? If so, describe those actions. If not, why
not?
According to the case, Télécom is working to rebuild the morale of staff and they have
halted the workplace practices identified as being particularly disruptive. The CEO has
8-26 What could other companies and managers learn from this situation?
What happened at Télécom is a sobering reminder about the negative effects of stress. In
addition, these behaviors are not limited to one company or country. Suicides and
