CH11 Managing change and innovation
All the employees at Agyris Fence, Inc. were sad when Mr. Agyris, the founder of the company, died. The remaining Agyris managers decided that the company needed new ideas, so they hired Mr. Solaris, the CEO of a rival fencing company, to run the firm. Mr. Solaris changed many things, including the firm's target market. Before, Agyris sold mostly residential fencing. Now, Mr. Solaris wants all of the employees to focus on selling fences to businesses and corporations. Employees think that Mr. Solaris is trying to reduce competition for his old company, and they are not happy about the change.
The most likely cause of resistance to change in this situation is: Lack of trust between employees and management The most effective tactic for implementing change in this situation would be: Top management support and communication
Ivan's term paper for his marketing class deals with the product development process. Ivan has decided to use some of his knowledge from his management class to write the paper, and he's collected a number of examples of different innovation strategies.Which of the following examples involve a cooperation strategy? Check all that apply.
*Hallmark Cards sponsored a "Your Greeting Card Competition" that encouraged people who don't work for the company to submit their ideas for new greeting cards to Hallmark. *Apple solicits iPhone applications from hundreds of different organizations. Some of the more unusual apps include one from a Massachusetts police department that identifies offenders via photos and another from iHandysoft that turns an iPhone into a carpenter's level.
Seth Goldman makes clear that innovation is essential for a small company to break into the packaged beverage market. In what ways can a company foster innovation?
*Have employees in marketing communicate customer feedback to employees in research so that people in research work to solve customers' problems. *Establish a cross-functional team with members from research, manufacturing, and marketing departments to guide a new product's development from beginning to end. *Make sure technical employees are aware of the latest technological innovations and engage in cross-functional discussion about how they could be used to achieve competitive advantage.
RAG Janitorial has been in business for 30 years. Recently, the employees at RAG proposed a new team-based structure for the organization. Cleaning crews would be created by region, and each crew would have a floor specialist, an upholstery specialist, a wood specialist, and a general helper. The employees believe that work will be done faster and more efficiently under this structure. Management is opposed because they believe that the new structure will require more employees and raise costs.
The most likely cause of resistance to change in this situation is: Managers and employees having different goals The most effective tactic for implementing change in this situation would be: Participation
One change that Seth mentions is the PlantBottle. Another is using grape juice instead of sugar to sweeten drinks. What is true about these changes?
The PlantBottle is a potentially disruptive innovation; grape juice-sweetened drinks are a product change
To reduce the time repair technicians need to spend traveling from one customer to the next, an appliance repair company could make a ___________ , becoming more efficient and hopefully more profitable.
Technology change
The senior partners at S. V. Lee & Associates, a law office, just announced that, going forward, the company will focus on employment law because such cases are typically resolved more quickly than other types of legal problems. Several of the junior partners believe that this is a bad idea because they have seen a decrease in the overall number of employment law cases. Talking amongst themselves, the junior partners decry their lack of involvement in developing the firm's strategies. They are considering refusing to take on employment law cases when they arise.
The most likely cause of resistance to change in this situation is: Junior and senior partners have different goals The most effective tactic for implementing change in this situation would be: Participation
Travis's term paper for his marketing class deals with the product development process. Travis has decided to use some of his knowledge from his management class to write the paper, and he's collected a number of examples of different innovation strategies. Which of the following examples involve an exploration strategy? Check all that apply.
*Stamen Design is a design and technology studio that uses mapping and data visualization tools to present information in fresh and exciting ways. Creativity is a way of life for its designers, and the company is willing to pay what it takes to hire only the most innovative designers on the market. *Douglas Hart, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, was able to develop his concept for a 3-D hearing aid scanner at the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. The center serves as an idea incubator to help academics pursue creative endeavors.
Junk-to-Go, a cleanup company, has built a lucrative business hauling people's castoffs to the dump. The managers of Junk-to-Go recently attended a "Businesses of Tomorrow" conference and are now telling employees that recycling is the wave of the future and they should recycle everything they possibly can. However, the employees don't believe that management is really committed to the idea of recycling, because they see managers throwing cans and bottles in the garbage. Now, many of the employees are questioning whether or not recycling is worth the extra effort it takes.
The most likely cause of resistance to change in this situation is: The employees' lack of understanding and trust The most effective tactic for implementing change in this situation would be: Top management support