Chapter 6 Give one or more examples of a type of change you

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

Answers to Questions in the Text

Chapter 6: Managing Change, Innovation,

and Entrepreneurship

WORK APPLICATION SAMPLE ANSWERS

Most of the answers are actual student answers or based on student answers. You may give these

answers as part of your lecture before, after, or in place of getting student answers.

6–1. Give an example of an innovation from an organization you work for or have worked for. Be sure

to specify whether it was a product innovation or a process innovation.

I work for the Friendly’s Ice Cream training department. Friendly’s always maintains its technical skills

6–2. Give an example of a force that resulted in a change in an organization you work for or have

worked for.

At my restaurant we had a technology change from the old-fashioned give the cook a hand-written

6–3. Give one or more examples of a type of change you experienced in an organization you work for

or have worked for.

6–4. Does an organization you work for or have worked for have any of the six characteristics of

innovative cultures? Overall, does the organization have a creative culture?

I work at a large supermarket and stock shelves. As far as I know, management does not encourage risk

6–5. Does an organization you work for or have worked compete in a more incremental or

discontinuous change environment?

I work at a local pizza shop and things don’t change much. So I guess it is more incremental because it

6–6. Give an example of a situation when you resisted a change. Be sure to specify which of the six

reasons fueled your resistance to change.

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

I was resistant to using Microsoft Office because of uncertainty and learning anxiety. I was happy with

6–7. Describe the intensity, source, and focus of the resistance to change you identified in Work

Application 6–6.

I was strongly resistant because of values pertaining to self. My feeling was: “I like the way I do my job

6–8. Give an example of one or more OD interventions used in an organization that you work for or

have worked for.

The company I worked for, Smith & Wesson, had an annual survey feedback, and during the year it

6–9. Are you interested in being an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur? What business would you like to

start?

REVIEW QUESTION ANSWERS

6–1. How do the four management functions relate to change?

When managers organize and delegate tasks, they often require employees to make some changes in

6–2. What is the difference between a change in strategy and a change in structure?

A change in strategy occurs at the corporate, business, and/or functional level. It can include going from

6–3. List the four areas of technology change.

6–4. What are the two forms of change?

Change takes one of two broad forms: It is either incremental or radical.

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

6–5. What are the characteristics of an innovative culture?

6–6. What are the two approaches to managing innovation?

There are two major approaches to managing innovation. There is the compression approach used

6–7. List the four stages in the change process.

The four stages in the change process are denial, resistance, exploration, and commitment.

6–8. What are the six major reasons employees resist change?

6–9. What are the three major focuses of resistance to change?

6–10. Explain the difference between team building and process consultation.

Team building is broader in scope than process consultation. Team building is an OD intervention

6–11. State the difference in the use of force field analysis and survey feedback.

Force field analysis is used by a small group to diagnose and solve a specific problem. Survey feedback

6–12. What is a new venture, and who starts it?

6–13. How do you define small business?

6–14. What are competitive and first-mover advantages?

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

A competitive advantage specifies how an organization offers unique customer value. A first-mover

COMMUNICATION SKILLS ANSWERS

6–1. How does the systems effect relate to the four types of changes?

6–2. Which type of change is the most important?

Answers will vary. But people are the organization’s most valuable resource.

6–3. Do you believe that organizational change today is more slow/incremental (calm water) or

radical (white-water rafting)?

6–4. Do you consider yourself to be a creative and innovative person? Why or why not?

6–5. Would you prefer to work during a time of incremental or discontinuous change?

Answers will vary.

6–6. Which stage of the change process is the most difficult to overcome?

6–7. Which of the six reasons for resisting change do you believe is most common?

6–8. Which of the seven ways to overcome resistance to change do you believe is the most important?

Answers will vary.

6–9. Does creating urgency really help to get people to change? Give at least one example to support

your position.

6–10. As a manager, which, if any, OD interventions would you use?

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

6–11. Would you rather work for a small or large business?

APPLYING THE CONCEPT ANSWERS

Applying the Concepts 6–1: Types of Change

Identify the type of change in each statement:

A. strategy

B. structure

C. technology

D. people

1. “We are improving the quality of our product by making the battery life longer.”

2. “We are implementing a retrenchment strategy by laying off 25% of our employees.”

B. Structure. Layoffs of 25% will change the organizational structure.

3. “Due to increasing competition, we are going to have to improve our ability to keep our existing

customers.”

4. “Usain, I’d like you to get a college degree so you can advance into management positions with us.”

5. “The new machine makes the product twice as fast as the old one.”

C. Technology. A new machine is an example of technology.

Applying the Concept 6–2: Innovative and Noninnovative Cultures

Identify the type of organizational culture described in each statement.

A. innovative culture

B. noninnovative culture

6. “We can do our jobs any way we want to, so long as we meet our objectives.”

A. Innovative culture. Jobs autonomy is commonly used by innovative companies.

7. “We have several levels of management to approve implementing our ideas.”

8. “I tried to develop a better glue, but it didn’t work. However, my boss gave me a very sincere

thank-you for trying.”

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

9. “Why does my boss always have to tell me all the details of how to do a new task without my

input?”

10. “Our managers focus on having us follow their standing plans.”

Applying the Concept 6–3: OD Interventions

Identify the appropriate OD intervention for the change described in each statement.

A. training and development

B. sensitivity training

C. team building

D. process consultation

E. forcefield analysis

F. survey feedback

G. large-group intervention

H. work design

I. direct feedback

11. “I think we could benefit from an organization–wide intervention to improve productivity.”

12. “We need an intervention that can identify the employee morale problems so we can change the

situation.”

F. Survey feedback. A questionnaire can be used to gather data as the basis for change.

13. “I’ve been hearing a lot about cloud computing. Should we go to the cloud?”

14. “When we move to the cloud, who is going to learn to run it?”

A. Training and development. Training is the process of developing skills to be used on the job.

15. “How are we going to prepare our employees to put the product together as a group rather than

each person continuing to produce one part of it?”

16. “Our team has a lot of conflict that is affecting how we get along as we complete the job.”

17. “Employees are getting bored. What can we do to make jobs more interesting and challenging for

them?”

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

18. “Your employees are often rude to each other. What can we do to make them better understand

how their behavior affects their coworkers?”

19. “Why don’t we get a small group together to figure out things that are holding us back from

getting a higher product quality rating and what we can do to improve quality?”

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Join the Discussion 6–1: Online High School

There are high schools, including National High School, offering online courses and diplomas. They tend

to be attractive to individual-sport athletes, such as tennis players, golfers, and skaters, because they

allow flexibility to train, travel long distances to compete, and do course work in between. Online

courses also allow students to work at their own pace. Unlike public school, students pay to earn credits

and don’t have face–to-face, in-person contact with peers and teachers. Some of the online high schools

are for-profit businesses making lots of money.

1. How do you feel about high school students missing the experience of attending traditional classes

and socializing with their peers?

Answers vary

2. How do you feel about students paying to earn a high school diploma online when they can earn

one for free at a public school?

3. Is it ethical and socially responsible to offer a for-profit online high school?

Join the Discussion 6–2: Virtual Internships

You are familiar with the traditional internship model, in which a student works at an organization to

gain experience and perhaps a full-time job after graduation. With today’s Internet technology, more

and more companies are hiring virtual interns, who work from their college computers. Virtual interns

do a variety of tasks, including secretarial work, software and website development, and information

technology (IT) projects. Most virtual interns never even set foot inside the organization’s facilities.

Entrepreneurs Nataly Kogan and Avi Spivack cofounded Natavi Guides, a New York small business, in

2002, to publish guidebooks for students. Natavi hires virtual interns to write stories and locates people

by posting openings with career offices at more than 30 universities nationwide. Kogan estimates that

Lussier, Managing Fundamentals, 7e

Natavi saved $100,000 in overhead during the first year in business by not having to furnish office space,

computers, and other equipment to interns.

1. What are the benefits of virtual internships to employers and to interns?

Answers vary

2. Should a student be given college credit for a virtual internship, or should he or she receive only pay

without credit—a part-time job?

3. Is it ethical and socially responsible to use interns instead of regular employees?

4. Will the use of virtual interns become the norm, or will the practice fade?