Triggers for Business Change
As we know change is inevitable as market expectations are not static, new technology is constantly being developed, and organizational responses are inevitable to these sequences. It is a simple matter of business evolution. If every manager and every employee could have some understanding of the triggers of change and their relationships with each other, then the acceptance to change would be easier.
When change is being implemented the natural tendency is to feel threatened by what is happening, if you don't think rationally and emotions and feelings take over. Sometimes, it is all seen as some kind of conspiracy by employers and they perceive that the management is concerned only to look after them. There could be elements of truth in this, but a major educational effort to get everyone in the company to expect change, and indeed to create it within their own spheres, would lead to the path of positive change.
Change is expressed through three main areas: the market itself, the technology to meet market demand competitively, the organization of resources, and the enterprise to achieve success. We also consider the tendency of companies to follow a pattern of similar life cycles. The stage in the life cycle could affect the nature of the changes which might be expected. In this article, we are looking at key triggers that necessitate the change.
1. Market Changes
The market is constantly evolving and the only way to survive in the market is to adapt to what market demands. Some examples of market-driven changes are:
- Customers demand – They want more or less of particular goods or services
- Competitors have begun to get ahead in the race due to aggressive advertising
- Government decisions and new regulations have either freed you or constrained you
- World events have changed the nature of people's expectations – Like the COVID-19 pandemic has constrained the movement of people around the world
- Price mechanisms nationally or internationally have got out of range, imports have become costlier and non-affordable
- New technology has superseded what your organization was good at – MP3 has replaced the need for cassette players
- Political changes in other countries open up opportunities or closed entry
- Raw material shortages have arisen or their prices have shot up
All these create specific changes in your business, whatever it is. The changes in the marketplace will impact your company and if the impact is negative, there will be urgency in the organization to search for new products or for the creation of new expectations from old ones. There will be the decision to explore areas of the globe where you are not previously represented; by expanding your customer base by moving to the right place in order to hold in the demand for the moment.
2. Technological Changes
Technology is naturally enough a significant part of the changing scenario. There are constant development and introduction of new technology that brings process optimization and results in reducing the people costs, or to speed up manufacturing and assembly processes or result in innovative ways of fulfilling a particular need. Technology enables meetings of customer needs, anywhere, at any time, in the form it is wanted and with the minimum of physical material and the maximum of accompanying service. Technological change has a knock-on effect so that change in this field in response to need becomes the trigger of further change. Technology can force an organization to re-establish price advantage, quality pre-eminence, or diversification into new products.
3. Organizational Changes
These changes in the market or technology will also affect the organization. If on the negative side it could result in retrenchment, a reduction in the number of employees, and a reduction in the number of levels of management. The technology itself might require new styles of organization, new sills, and the upgrading of old ones. The number of operating sites may be reduced. People may find themselves performing totally new functions, which they may like or perhaps won't like, at least to start with. The only way to stay in business may be a merger or to be the subject of a takeover, friendly or hostile. With such ownership changes, another market, technological and organizational changes may follow. In some industries, it is an endless cycle.
Most CEOs seeking to improve results do something about the organizational structure and culture of their enterprise. The organization is a matter of structuring the way in which resources are brought and kept together in order to achieve objectives. These resources include people, places, money, materials, and machines. Most changes have some implications for the ways in which resources and relationships are organized. Whether corrective action is being taken or opportunities are being seized, the organization's change will make a difference to the immediacy of reaching and speed of decision-making, information-sharing, communications, and policy implementation.
The culture change brought about by reorganizing is the most difficult handle and the ones that take the longest. They have to overcome the inhibitions of whole corporate life history, and they are likely to meet emotional resistance.
The restructuring of organizations will have to be essentially rational and it will move in different directions, depending on need.
Related Links
You May Also Like
-
In its simplest sense, decision-making is the act of choosing between two or more courses of action. Decision making is a key skill in the workplace and is particularly important if you want to be an effective leader. When decisions have to be made, there are several stages that you should go through to reach a practical solution. Understand the meaning and importance of decision making and how to look at it as a process.
-
Change & Culture of Innovation
Predicting the future is a tricky business but managers need to have a future perspective in order to take business advantage and remain competitive. They need to drive and introduce constructive change to the business of the enterprise. The first step to creativity and innovation is to drive a culture of Innovation. Managers need to focus on developing future mindset all the time to keep pace with the unfolding future.
-
Facilitative Leadership is all about involving the employees in the decision-making process at all levels enhancing their sense of ownership, responsibility, and motivation. Facilitative leadership style uses a number of indirect communication patterns to help the group reach consensus and build commitment for the decision taken. To be effective in modern organizations, managers need to become facilitative leaders, learn what it means to be a one.
-
Charles Darwin had once commented that “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” Agility means the capability of rapidly and efficiently adapting to changes and recently, agility has been applied in the context of software development, agile enterprise, and agile leadership. Agile leaders play an important, even essential, role in scaling agility in an organization. Understand how being an agile leader helps in effectively catalyzing organizational change.
-
At times like this, more than ever, it is essential that the organizations appreciate the human resource management skills required to successfully handle the transformation of industry and create an innovation culture. Read more to understand, how as a manager you can help in cultivating a culture of continuous innovation and adaptation to change.
-
Team Foundation in Forming Stage
This is the first stage of team development. This is the stage when the foundation of the team is laid. During the Forming stage, team members have a high dependence on their leader for guidance. Learn the practical strategies you can use during this stage to help your team develop into a highly effective performing team.
-
Many different types of teams have been identified by social scientists. Managers may encounter the diverse types of challenges while managing different kinds of teams. Challenges associated with Cross-Functional Teams might be different from that of a Geographically Dispersed Team or a Virtual Team. This article explores some common categories and subtypes of teams.
-
Thinking & Problem Solving Skills
Today's dynamic business world demands that you make decisions that significantly boost productivity and drive competitive advantage. But how do you know whether a decision will benefit the organization? And how do you know that the decisions are based on rational and statistical reasoning? Explore how to become a dynamic problem solver with the skills to make accurate decisions.
-
Collaborative leadership is all about collaborative problem-solving and decision-making or can also be defined as the leadership of a collaborative effort. . The term started to appear in the mid-1990s in response to the formation of long term public-private partnerships to rebuild public infrastructure. Learn how you can use principles of collaborative leadership to enhance your leadership skills for being an effective leader.
-
We define Lean as the systematic elimination of waste through a continual effort to decrease inefficiency; the lean leader strives to create a more efficient organization. Lean leadership is a philosophy. It is a consistent way of thinking and being in your role as a leader. The focus of this approach is on raising new leaders and help their team embrace a culture of continuous improvement. Learn what we mean by lean leadership style and its principles.
