Organizational Innovation and Change - Assignment Example

Leadership and change of the Answers to the MCQ d. Systems. 2) a. Leaders exist in some, but not allorganizations. 3) c. Systems theory approach. 4) e. Adaptiveness. 5) a. Environment, input, process, and output. 6) a. Redefinition. 7) c. Increasing exchange among members. 8) d. Honor the goals of the organization. 9) d. Keep your feelings bottled up. 10) b. Mentor. 11) e. A glance at the similarities and differences in work values across nations. 12) d. none of the above. 13) a. power distance. 14) b. Realism. 15) c. Neocreativity for management. 16) c. The satisfaction-performance relationship is moderated by other variables such as rewards. 17) e. Employees were very accurate in perceiving reward administration but supervisors were far less accurate. 18) e. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title 7. 19) b. Conscientiousness. 20) d. None. The relationship is dependent on acceptance of goals. 21) a. Recognition. 22) b. Equity. 23) d. Self-actualization. 24) d. Exchange. 25) c. Competition. 26) a. Reasoned expectations. 27) c. A feeling of entitlement within the organization. 28) c. Downsizing. 29) e. All of the above are reasons cited by Kerr. 30) e. Health and Safety Act. 31) b. Job depth. 32) c. Accident rates. 33) b. Training in consensus decision making. 34) d. Scientific management, human relations. 35) b. One-third. 36) e. Role stress. 37) d. Emotional. 38) d. Middle management. 39) e. Openness to experience. 40) b. Burnout. Essay questions Q1) Organizational innovation and change Organizational innovation refers to the process of developing new products and services. Organizational innovation is a process of inducing a positive change. The change may be in respect of efficiency, quality of products and services, market share or competitiveness. The process of innovation involves the development of customer value. Innovation leads to the development of solutions that satisfy a particular need. It therefore becomes essential to innovate and develop products which identifies new types of needs, satisfies unarticulated needs or fulfills existing needs in a new way. Apart from satisfying the needs of consumers, new products and services which are innovated also aim to provide economic growth. Developing a new product provides the scope for increasing investments, generating employment and increasing the revenues earned by the firm. Innovation also leads to the development of the society by infusing modernity and advancement. A product or idea may also provide the opportunity for further innovation in the future (Tushman & OReilly, 2013). The present day global economy is characterized with continuous changes. The changes may occur from the perspective of technological growth, economic and social conditions, consumer’s tastes and preferences and the availability of resources. Organizations are required to be able to sustain these changes so as to remain in operation. Adaptability to change is only possible if organizations are flexible. The readiness to change in as essential factor which managers is required to cultivate within the organization (Jones, 2010). The process of change involves understanding the requirement to change and the benefits which such changes may cause. Organizational change if planned and executed well may benefit the company from the perspective of reducing costs and improving the corporate structure. Change not only affects the company undertaking it, but also other companies with which the business is associated. Therefore it can be stated that change helps in improving and developing new corporate relations (Pettigrew, Woodman & Cameron, 2001). Q2) Process of change and Effective management of change Change can be described as a four step process. The first step is to assess the need for change. Change usually becomes necessary when the organization perceives alterations in the external environment such as changes in the political, economical, social and technological aspects. The need to change may also arise from within the organization. The internal factors which drive organizational change are lack of productivity, fall in quality, reduction of revenues and the inability to meet targeted goals. The second step in organizational change is to determine the types of changes which are required to be implemented. For instance if the change is required in terms of improving the quality of the products, then the firm must implement new systems of quality checks and monitoring. The third step in the process is to implement the change. This involves informing the employees about the change and giving necessary instructions related to the change process. The implementation of change may also involve establishing new rules and methods of operations. Lastly, in the final step managers are required to evaluate the results which arise out of the implementation of change (Dooley, 2004). In order to manage change and the process of changing effectively, managers are required to assess the needs of the environment. The business environment has a number of elements such as competitors, suppliers, financers, government, employees, economic factors and technological aspects. The organization is required to analyze the impact of change upon each of these elements. In order to undertake change, organizations are required to adjust their existing systems with new systems. Hence managers must develop suitable techniques for collaborating change with the existing policies and systems of the organization. Training employees is also an effective method of incorporating organizational change (Lewin & Kim, 2004). Q3) Leadership is both an art and science Leadership is considered to be an art as it incorporates change, creativity and evolving over time. It is a quality that gets developed overtime and with experience. Leadership cannot be developed simply by acquiring theoretical knowledge. Leader is a person whom others follow. Hence it becomes essential for him to impart the right values and beliefs to others. A leader is also required to set example for others. As a result it becomes essential for leaders themselves to deliver high performance and results (A. Shriberg, D. Shriberg & Lloyd, 2002). Leadership is also described as a creative process as it involves assessing employee potentials and assigning jobs accordingly. Leadership also involves imparting training by analyzing the areas in which employees’ lack. Just like an artist who carves out beautiful figures from simple materials by giving it shape and color, a leader is required to develop efficiency and talent amongst subordinates through motivation and training. A leader must constantly provide support to subordinates and encourage them to perform better (DePree, 2011). Leadership is considered as a science as it is based on certain essential principles and techniques. A leader is required to follow certain organizational strategies and plans in order to attain goals. It therefore becomes essential to scientifically analyze the manner in which employees are required to be directed so that the set objectives can be met. The process of science involves experimentation and proving different theories. Similarly a leader is also required to test different policies before implementing the same. Leaders are required to take actions in constrained scenarios by following certain essential management principles (Green, 2012). References DePree, M. (2011). Leadership is an art. New York: Random House LLC. Dooley, K. J. (2004). Complexity science models of organizational change and innovation. Handbook of organizational change and innovation, 1(1), 354-373. Green, R. L. (2012). Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to implementing the ISLLC standards. New Jersey: Pearson Higher Education. Jones, G. R. (2010). Organizational theory, design, and change. New Jersey: Pearson. Lewin, A. Y. & Kim, J. (2004). The nation-state and culture as influences on organizational change and innovation. Handbook of organization change and innovation, 324-353. Pettigrew, A. M., Woodman, R. W. & Cameron, K. S. (2001). Studying organizational change and development: Challenges for future research. Academy of management journal, 44(4), 697-713. Shriberg, A., Shriberg, D. & Lloyd, C. A. (2002). Practicing leadership: Principles and applications. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Tushman, M. L. & OReilly, C. A. (2013). Winning through innovation: A practical guide to leading organizational change and renewal. Boston: Harvard Business Press. Read More