MB20NE02- Innovation & Technology Management

NAME: Bharathwaj N

REGISTRATION NUMBER: RA2152001040118

YEAR: II

SECTION: B

SEMESTER: IV

BATCH: 2021 - 2023

TOPIC: Innovations: Planned and Unplanned

Introduction

There has been substantial controversy on whether innovation is planned or unplanned. Both
sides have attracted arguments supporting them, as well as arguments discrediting them.
A careful examination of real life examples of how organizations come up with innovations
reveals that innovations are both planned and unplanned. This is the case despite the fact that
planned innovations occur more often than unplanned innovations. Both innovations have
advantages and disadvantages that complement each other due to the differences in their origin.
An organizational change could be either planned or unplanned. Planned change happens after
leaders identify the need for transformations and organize a strategy to realize the change. Even
if the planned change is anchored in a proactive and well-founded approach, it sometimes fails
to occur in an organized manner. Instead, it may arise in a chaotic and disruptive style
attributable to resistance to change by employees.
Generally, planned changes are geared towards the alteration of the status quo in an
organization or group among others. On the other hand, unanticipated change is one that occurs
due to uncertainties that are encountered in operation. These are caused by the external forces
of operation or external business environment factors.
Businesses, organizations or groups have no influence on external business environment
factors, and it might force them to introduce new things or ideas, which may lead to
unanticipated change (Thames & Webster, 2009). Change can also be intentional based on the
needs of an organization.
As a director of a child care center, intentional change may arise in case there is a need to
enhance the quality of services provided due to demand by the administration to attract more
clients. This may lead to increasing the number of staff and or introducing new services in the
center, which is intentional (Thames & Webster, 2009).
Expound upon the concept of change, delineating distinctions between change that is
unanticipated, crisis-oriented and reactive and change that is planned, intentional and proactive.
Planned changes are those that are made intentionally in organizations or groups. Planned
changes are purposeful and serve specific and discussed needs within an organization or group.
Planned change is the process of preparing an entire organization, or a significant part of it, to
achieve new goals or move in a new direction. This direction can refer to a company’s culture,
internal structure, processes, metrics and rewards, or any other aspect related to the business.
While constant change is the new normal and the best companies embrace it, not all change is
planned. On occasion, organizations will suddenly have to adapt to new market demands,
unexpected market shifts or heightened competition.
It’s also worth noting that planning for change and planning for innovation are not the same.
Some practitioners describe planning for change in general as incidental, administrative, and
serving mostly "cosmetic purposes." The role of this type of change is, therefore, to maintain
stability and incorporate certainties into the organization.
Unplanned innovation

Unplanned innovations are innovations in which an organization discovers a new way of doing
things in the course of its day-to-day activities. These innovations are not as common as the
planned innovations because they are accidental per se. In most cases, they are discovered by
a clever individual within an organization, who comes across or thinks of a new way of solving
the problems of the organization.
Although these innovations build upon existing knowledge, they have substantial originality
and thus they qualify the organization for acquisition of copyrights. In some cases, the
individual who comes up with these innovations is not even part of the organization
(McNamara, 2010, p. 1). The individual may be a professional who has a passion for problem
solving. After identifying a problem common with organizations, the individual may approach
the organizations concerned and present his solutions.

Advantages of unplanned innovations

The greatest advantage of unplanned innovations is that they are substantially cheaper than
their planned counterpart. This is especially the case if the person who comes up with the
innovation is a member of the organizations’ staff. If the innovation is from an outsider, the
process is also cheaper since it involves a single individual who can easily be recruited into the
organization, or persuaded to sell the idea to the organization.
Another advantage comes from the fact that unplanned innovations are more or less
instantaneous. This is to mean that the innovations are not planned in advance and thus they do
not take much of the organization’s time. Their implementation is thus time saving, and they
do not have the risks associated with planned innovations.
Additionally, unplanned innovations tend to be more successful than planned innovations
since, for them to be adopted, their usefulness to the organization must be established. In other
cases, the unplanned innovations actually lead to planned innovations since after an individual
comes up with an idea, the organization may desire to perform systematic checks of the
relevance of the innovation and even repeat most of the steps of innovation carried out during
planned innovation.

Disadvantages of unplanned innovations

Unplanned innovations may prove to be disadvantageous to an organization in that it may lack

the holistic coverage of issues of the organization. This is because an unplanned innovation is
mostly the creation of an individual and thus the individual may overlook important aspects of
the organization.
This shortfall is minimized by customizing an innovation after its discovery in order to make
it conform to the needs and circumstances of a particular organization. Another disadvantage
is that unplanned innovations may be adopted inappropriately in cases where an organization
adopts an innovation just because the innovation is available.
This problem comes about because, as stated above, most unplanned innovations are
instantaneous and thus an individual may come up with an innovation in an area that does not
require change within the organization (Knowles, 2002, p. 49). In such a case, the organization
may face a reduction in its productive potential due to implementation of a new mediocre
innovation.

Planned innovation

This is the most common form of innovation. In this type of innovation, organizations identify
the need to have a strategic change in their operations and plan on how to come up with an
innovation that will satisfy the need.
Thus the innovation is participatory and it makes it easy for the organization to come up with
an innovation that touches all aspects of the organization. In most cases, such an innovation is
necessitated by competition from other organizations, and the organization may even be
required to make use of prevailing ideas on how to offer services or make certain goods.
In most cases, the innovation is planned and developed by the staff in the organization, but in
other cases, the organization may opt to hire a consultant to come up with the problem-solving
innovation (Guy, 2010, p. 1). In both cases, the development of the innovation is consultative
and thus it makes use of inputs from all stakeholders.

Advantages of planned innovation

Planned innovations are advantageous because they are developed as a response to a need in
the organization. Therefore, almost all the planned innovations developed are utilized and have
positive results. The positive results are even enhanced by the fact that, unlike unplanned
innovations, planned innovations are focused and they have a holistic impact in the
organization.
Another advantage is the fact that it is likely to increase the competitiveness of the organization
than its unplanned counterpart. This is because planned innovations take into consideration the
shortfalls the organization is experiencing and thus the innovation takes care of those shortfalls
in the best way it can.
For instance, if a company realizes that its rival is offering certain services that are making
customers prefer the goods/services of the rival, the company can come up with a strategic
innovation of providing other related services in order to gain a competitive edge (Anderson,
1992, p. 37). Therefore, planned innovations are more likely to increase the competitiveness of
the organization than unplanned innovations.

Disadvantages of planned innovations

The greatest disadvantage of planned innovations is, perhaps, the high costs that are involved
in developing them. For instance, if an organization decides to use its employees in the
development of the innovation, the organization will spend money in wages, allowances, and
also lose a considerable amount of time doing consultations.

On the other hand, if an organization decides to hire a consultant, substantial amount of time
will be spent while making consultations and the consultancy fee will also be high. Another
disadvantage is the fact that planned innovations may not come out as planned, and thus the
efforts in developing a particular innovation may go down the drain.

Main body

Unplanned changes often emanate from major, unexpected incidences in the organization. Such
occurrences may encompass a manager unexpectedly leaving the organization, decreased
quality of products and services leading to the loss of clients, and other unsettling situations
(Oreg, Bartunek, Lee, & Do, 2018). Resistance to change denotes the practice of opposing
transformations that affect the status quo in an organization (Shimoni, 2017). Workers resist
change if it is undertaken poorly, transformation affects the mode of operation, they do not
understand the need for modifications, or are not adequately involved.
The best means of making sure that resistance does not occur is through effectively
communicating the change process to employees and making them understand its necessity.
Through clearly and comprehensively informing employees why change is occurring, the way
in which it will affect their tasks, and what is anticipated of every one of them before, during,
and after transformation, resistance to change is avoided as nothing will be left to question.
The application of both informal and formal communication enables the executive to ensure
that workers obtain all details concerning the change (Christensen, 2014).

Concept of Change and Systems Thinking

Further discuss change processes by incorporating systems concepts such as open systems,
morphogenesis, requisite variety, et cetera. Change is a process, which must be effectively
coordinated to ensure that its goals and objectives are achieved. There are several stages or
phases of the change process that an agent of change must undergo before approval of dismissal
by relevant parties or authorities in an organization.
The phases of change are freezing, unfreezing and moving (Thames & Webster, 2009).
Unfreezing is the first phase of change whereby individuals or employees are assisting to
slowly abandon the previous ways of operation. This phase is crucial because it involves
informing individuals of the weaknesses of the old system or ways, which should be
convincing.
This phase requires support, and individuals who might be affected by the change must be
involved to avoid resistance to the change in future before full realization. This phase can be
referred to as an open system because all affected parties are involved (Thames & Webster,
2009).
The second phase of change is moving. This stage involves working with individuals on the
proposed change. There are several aspects involved in this process, which include, working
with individuals towards the planning and implementation of the proposed change. It also
involves educating individuals on the concepts of the new change. This phase may be referred
to as requisite variety or capacity building (Thames & Webster, 2009).
The last phase in the change process is refreezing. This involves establishing an equilibrium
that is temporary. The new or proposed change is evaluated and tested at this stage. In case the
change is advantageous and efficient to the operation of the organization as proposed it is
adopted as proposed, but in case there are certain hitches, they are adjusted before fully
adopting the new system (Thames & Webster, 2009).

Planned Change Strategic Planning Parallels and Overlaps

Indicate to what extent there are parallels between aspects of planned change and aspects of
strategic planning. Strategic planning is the careful planning for uncertainties in the future.
Generally, strategic planning is geared towards addressing factors that can affect the operation
of an organization negatively. Strategic planning is an aspect of strategic management.
Planned change is also geared towards addressing the future needs of an organization and
enhancing efficiency in operation. A planned change and strategic planning are aspects of
strategic management, which are aimed at enhancing efficiency in operation (Thames &
Webster, 2009).
There are certain parallels between planned change and strategic planning. Generally, both are
aspects of management. They are mainly carried out by the top management of an organization.
Secondly, Strategic planning and planned change are geared towards enhancing efficiency,
which may also lead to gaining competitive advantage in the business environment.
Furthermore, planned change is part of strategic planning. Strategic planning involves planning
for the future. Similarly, planned changes are geared towards addressing future operations
(Thames & Webster, 2009).
Characteristics and Phenomenon of Resistance

Delineate the various characteristics of resistance as posited by Zaltman and Duncan. There
are different resistances that can be encountered in the event of introducing change in an
organization. The resistances have different characteristics based on nature and the factors that
influence the respective resistance. Zaltman and Duncan discuss four resistances that may be
faced and their characteristics.
The resistance discussed by Zaltman and Duncan is cultural, psychological, organizational, and
social resistance. Cultural resistance in an organization may arise in case a proposed change
affects the norms, traditions and social arrangements among others in an organization or group.
Secondly, social resistance is characterized by protection of group identification, which may
lead to resistance in case individuals view the change agent as an outsider. Furthermore,
organizational resistance is characterized by protection of the dynamics of an organization.
Finally, psychological resistance is characterized by retention, and in most cases selective
perception (Thames & Webster, 2009).

Change Strategies and the Continuum of Resistance

Define and elaborate upon the four change strategies set forth by Zaltman and Duncan, and
match and relate each strategy to the appropriate level or type of resistance, using the
continuum of resistance as outlined in class lecture notes. Implementation of change in an
organization is not easy because it’s prone to resistance.
Individuals may oppose the change in an organization in case it affects their operation directly
or indirectly, and they are not well versed with the effects of the new change. Although the
change may be resisted in an organization, the level of resistance differs depending on the
effects of the respective change on individuals within an organization.
However, there are strategies that can be used to address the respective resistance to ensure that
change is implemented effectively. There are different strategies that are applied in a change
to ensure a smooth transition in case of resistance. The individual strategies apply to different
resistances. The strategies that are commonly used are facilitative, power, re-educative and
persuasive strategies.
On the other hand, the most common resistances encountered are very low, very high,
moderately high and moderate low resistances (Thames & Webster, 2009). Facilitative
strategy: This is one of the change strategies that can be used in organizations for successful
implementation. The facilitative strategy is applied in situations when resistance is very low.
This strategy involves lubrication and implementation of a proposed change, which is a
requirement in the case of very low resistance to change (Thames & Webster, 2009). Re-
educative strategy: This strategy is applicable in case there is moderate resistance experienced.
The strategy can be implemented effectively in case individuals need change but require
elevation to fully accept the proposed change.
Re-education strategy involves the provision of education and re-education on proposed
changes for universal or majority acceptance in an organization (Thames & Webster, 2009).
Persuasive strategy: This is a strategy that can be used to successfully aid the implementation
of change in an organization in case a moderately high resistance is faced.
This strategy involves the use of bias messages to implement change. This strategy is aimed at
using any means, biased information inclusive, to convince individuals to accept change in an
organization (Thames & Webster, 2009). Coercion or Power strategy: This is a strategy that
can be successfully applied to enable change implementation in case very high resistance is
experienced (Thames & Webster, 2009).

Force Field Analysis

Define and discuss force-field analysis as a concept and as a tool for analyzing and promoting
change within human services organizations and communities. Relate force-field analysis of
the phase of change, which are unfreezing, moving and refreezing. Force Field analysis can be
used to influence situations.
Force Field analysis is a concept and can be used as a change tool in implementing and
promoting change. This concept can be useful in promoting and analyzing change through the
analysis of resistance that may be encountered before introducing change. It can also be used
in the determination of the most appropriate strategy to use (Thames & Webster, 2009).

Graphic Depiction of Force

Based upon the project that you planned and implemented in Competency unit four, prepare a
force-field analysis chart graphically illustrating the salient driving and restraining forces.
Innovation and Diffusion

Define and expound upon the concept of innovation and diffusion as espoused by Everett M.
Rodgers and his associates. Everett and his associates have adequately discussed innovation
and diffusion. According to their work, innovation is a new idea that is intended to be applied
in an organization to aid the introduction of change.
Innovation is only new to individuals within an organization that has not used or applied the
perceived idea in the past. On the other hand, diffusion is the process that is taken by an
organization to spread the new proposed change in an organization. It is the process of even
spreading of innovation within a system (Thames & Webster, 2009).
An innovation must undergo five stages in the adoption of effective use and application in an
organization. Awareness of the innovation must be created between individuals or components
within a system. Secondly, an innovation must undergo the interest stage. In the interest stage,
individuals must be educated on the solutions to gain interest in the innovation for better
application.
Furthermore, it must undergo an evaluation stage where it is determined whether the innovation
is worth trying or not. Trial stage: This is the stage where the innovation is tried, tested and
implemented for use. Finally, adoption; this is the stage where a decision on the use of the
innovation is made by the top organ of an organization (Thames & Webster, 2009).

Innovation and Diffusion Planned Change

Compare and contrast the concept of innovation and diffusion with the concept of planned
change, drawing upon relevant systems theories. The concept of innovation and diffusion
involves the introduction of new ideas and effectively introducing them into a system.
Innovation must be tested before adoption. Similarly, planned change involves discussion of a
change and forecasting on its effectiveness on a system. However, innovation and diffusion
might not be accepted, while planned change must be implemented (Thames & Webster, 2009).

Conclusion

As evidenced in the discussion above, innovation may be planned or unplanned. The effect that
a specific innovation has on an organization will depend on the nature of the organization and
the need for a change in its operations. As much as the two forms of innovation are important,
planned innovation is more advantageous than unplanned innovation because it is more focused
and it tailors solutions to fit the needs of the organization. Planned innovation is thus more
common than its unplanned counterpart.
Reference List

Anderson, N. (1992). Organizational change and innovation: psychological perspectives. New

Jersey. Wadsworth Publishing.
Guy, M. (2010). Planned and Unplanned Cultural change. Web.
Knowles, H. (2002). Organizational leadership of planned and unplanned change. Journal of
Management, Vol 1, pp. 23 – 79.