Deck 4: Internal Innovation: Implementation

Question 1

Which one of these is NOT one of the three key implementation questions to be asked in the innovation implementation process?

A) What should we be doing now/later?
B) What is the cost to benefit ratio?
C) What activities require most time/skills?
D) What should be delegated and to whom?
E) None of these are key implementation questions

Answer 1

What is the cost to benefit ratio?

Question 2

When a firm develops technology that leapfrogs the firm:

A) Obtains venture capital financing
B) Skips over an existing generation of products
C) Leaps in market value significantly
D) Is guaranteed a profitable market entry
E) Has a smooth but fast path towards full market penetration

Answer 2

Skips over an existing generation of products

Question 3

Synergy relies on:

A) the ability to use the same firm resources in different domains
B) having large enough firms that equipment can overlap
C) being in the same industry classification
D) having management teams that work well together
E) having simple enough processes that overlaps can be found

Answer 3

the ability to use the same firm resources in different domains

Question 4

Which is not one of the four critical elements to implementing innovation as a strategy in the organization?

A) Opportunity
B) Leadership
C) Extension
D) Alignment
E) Engagement

Question 5

For successful innovation implementation leaders need to ensure:

A) a clear identification of those financial goals that will drive the firm
B) that there are strong accounting and financial sectors of the firm to ensure that funding is strictly accounted for
C) that there is a culture of collaboration and cross functional initiatives
D) that perform measures are strictly used
E) those members of the leadership team that do not support the goals are replaced

Question 6

Innovative organizations typically are founded and lead by:

A) a strong leader that utilizes a hierarchical organization
B) leaders that are willing to "break a few eggs" to get things done
C) individuals driven by financial rewards
D) teams of individuals
E) individuals who had the "ah-ha" moment that led to the founding of the firm

Question 7

Informal power comes from:

A) the title of the individual
B) the official position of the individual
C) the expertise and knowledge of the individual
D) age of the person
E) strength of the person

Question 8

Seymour Cray is known for creating:

A) high performance computers
B) silicone chips
C) GSM technology
D) a wheelchair that can climb stairs
E) RFID technology

Question 9

The law of diminishing returns is discussed in Chapter 4 in terms of:

A) the level of investment necessary to bring an investment to market
B) the ability of an industry to shape returns of a firm
C) how complementary products shape the returns of a firm
D) the power of a firm to shape competition in that industry
E) the need to avoid analysis by paralysis

Question 10

The benefits of leaders delegating authority include all of the following except:

A) employees learn to lead
B) employees gain new skills
C) the organization will develop leadership talent
D) the leader spends time on other things
E) the leader ensures that they do not overwork themselves

Question 11

A leader should ask all of the following questions in the implementation process except:

A) Is there an open, questioning attitude among employees?
B) Does the organization have a clear hierarchy that ensures all opinions are processed to prevent information overload?
C) Is the organization avoiding the ruts?
D) Are there strategic gaps?
E) Is there a vision of where the firm needs to go?

Question 12

____ is pivotal in determining engagement by employees in the innovation implementation process.

A) Employee compensation
B) Status of leaders
C) Rank of leaders
D) Organizational culture
E) Goals of organization

Question 13

Engagement focuses on:

A) creating a questioning attitude in employees
B) team building
C) fostering inertia
D) delegating authority
E) funding critical needs

Question 14

What emerges when there is a satisfaction with the status quo?

A) poor job performance
B) loss of technological advantage
C) complacency
D) engagement
E) inertia

Question 15

Richard D'Aveni is associated with:

A) re-engineering
B) hypercompetition
C) five forces model
D) diamond of national competitiveness
E) resource theory

Question 16

Hypercompetition focuses on the belief that:

A) organizations build up over time excess processes that no longer provide value to the customer
B) rapid change and intense competition exist in certain industries
C) a firm's profitability is determined by its industry
D) a nation's competitiveness is based on more than factors of production
E) a firm's competitive advantage comes from internal resources that the firm develops over time

Question 17

The three methods that can help to establish the view by employees that they are part of the organization or system are all of the following except:

A) mentor
B) train and develop
C) sympathize
D) build a knowledge-based culture
E) none of these choices

Question 18

Mentoring can be ____ to be successful.

A) Formal but not informal
B) Informal but not formal
C) Unobserved
D) Informal or formal
E) Structured

Question 19

____ is a direct one-on-one activity between employees in the organization or system.

A) extension
B) shared lessons
C) monitor competencies
D) mentoring
E) training & development

Question 20

Successful skills development programs are characterized by all of the following except:

A) A state of informed optimism
B) Dynamic process that changes as there is a need for employees to change
C) Directed empowerment
D) Turning prism
E) A consistent view of firm so that the firm is not distracted from mission

Question 21

Benchmarking involves the:

A) building a bench or portfolio of new products that can be introduced to market
B) building a bench or portfolio of innovations that the firm pursues consecutively
C) comparing the "best" firms in any domain to a given firm's performance and processes in that domain
D) comparing your firm's performance and processes in a given domain to the industry average in that domain
E) determining how the firms with the largest sales in a given domain conduct their activities in a given domain

Question 22

Extension occurs when ____ and ____ competencies are understood sufficiently so that ideas lead to action.

A) innovation, market
B) market, strategy
C) product, market
D) strategy, product
E) innovation, strategy

Question 23

Key actions that help to generate extensions of innovation include all of the following except:

A) Shared lessons within the organization
B) Monitor competencies
C) Look for new opportunities
D) Cut costs in current processes
E) All of these are key actions

Question 24

Diffusion is concerned with:

A) market penetration by a new product.
B) information sharing in an organization
C) common culture development in a multi-national firm
D) joint ventures and the blending of cultures
E) joint ventures and the level of support for a new product

Question 25

Diffusion is associated with the following characteristics except:

A) a new idea or innovation
B) the new idea or innovation is at prototype stage so it can be visualized
C) the idea or innovation is communicated through certain channels
D) the communication occurs over time in a timely manner
E) the communication occurs members of a social system

Question 26

Alignment within the organization is concerned with:

A) Fit between the systems in the firm
B) Fit between the firm and the industry
C) Fit between the leadership and the firm's workers
D) Fit between top management and middle management
E) Fit between the environment and the leadership of the firm

Question 27

All of the following are what firm needs to consider as it seeks to build fit except:

A) focus building the group within the department or division
B) seek to reduce barriers between departments
C) ensure that the information on competitors is current and central to the implementation effort since they shape a firm's success
D) gather information from customers and consumers
E) recognize that the importance of external concerns will depend on the nature of the firm's industry

Question 28

One of the primary reasons firms have difficulty being innovative is:

A) the firm's structure
B) competitors' actions
C) industry structure
D) communication technology failures
E) skills of people in the organization

Question 29

Evidence shows that the best structure for an innovative firm is:

A) simple
B) hierarchical
C) functional
D) SBU
E) one that matches the organization's goals.

Question 30

A useful analogy for a portfolio of innovative projects is:

A) the "bench" of a football team -how deep does the potentially successful innovations go
B) an ecosystem
C) a family and its ability to function and support each other
D) the stock market - the best survive and the market determines what is best
E) a couple and its children are its innovations

Question 31

It is better to have supportive systems and policies in the firm that:

A) Have very loose systems and policies
B) Have strict systems and policies that measure all things
C) Leave the development of such systems and policies to midlevel managers
D) Are consistent with the effort to encourage innovation
E) Avoid any specification of the systems and policies until problems arise so that you can then design those systems and policies as needed

Question 32

In tying rewards and incentives to the achievement of goals the relevant questions include all of the following except?

A) What happens to creative mavericks?
B) Is there guidance to new paths from the analysis of when things go wrong?
C) Are you still able to make your numbers?
D) What happens to someone that fails?
E) Do you encourage risk taking?

Question 33

The structure of any organization has two basic purposes which are:

A) coordination and leadership
B) communication and flexibility
C) openness and flexibility
D) communication and coordination
E) being flat and open

Question 34

The pitfalls for innovation to avoid include all of the following except:

A) applying the process too narrowly
B) overlooking people processes
C) being too confident of your ability to lead the process
D) relying on technology to fix all systems problems
E) avoiding the elimination of processes and people

Question 35

The guidelines for a new product in an existing market include all of the following except:

A) determine the relative advantage of the product in the market
B) make it very complex so selling it to the market becomes easier
C) build awareness through samples
D) build awareness through demonstrations
E) make the product visible

Question 36

Engagement is related to career building factors.

Question 37

The four critical elements to implementing innovation as a strategy are leadership, engagement, extension, and sustainability.

Question 38

One of the methods that helps establish the view by employees that they are part of the organization is building a knowledge-based culture.

Question 39

The purpose of an innovative strategy is to create and effectively utilize new products and processes.

Question 40

One of the most difficult items to identify and proactively impact is the culture of the organization.

Question 41

Objective measures are always the best method of judging the success of innovation.

Question 42

Generally speaking, the structure of an organization must be characterized by flexibility and openness if innovation is to take place.

Question 43

The ultimate outcome from the leader's efforts at implementation is to put into place systems, structures, people, processes that will help the organization move in the direction it desires and towards long-term sustainability.

Question 44

Complacency disappears when there is a satisfaction with the status quo.

Question 45

Culture is the key element in determining the level of engagement within the organization.

Question 46

Leadership, engagement, extension, and alignment are the four critical elements to implementing innovation as a strategy in the organization.

Question 47

Alignment, in terms of innovation implementation, is the fit between the organization and its customers.

Question 48

In an innovative company, the external groups are most important because they allow interaction and idea exchange.

Question 49

Engagement focuses on team building, and if employees do not feel they are a part of the organization they will have trouble overcoming complacency.

Question 50

Extension occurs when product and market competencies are understood sufficiently so that ideas lead to action.

Question 51

What are the key concerns when considering the actions necessary to implement an innovation strategy?

Question 52

What are the key implementation issues when considering what and whom to delegate?

Question 53

What are the problems in engagement in the implementation of innovation process?

Question 54

What are the three key action that help generate extensions during innovation implementation?

Question 55

Describe the main elements of diffusion.

Question 56

Describe the key activities necessary for alignment.

Question 57

What are the key concerns when trying to determine if the firm is truly tying rewards and incentives to innovation?