Managing Change:

Change occurs in many forms and comes from many directions.

A single change in the environment can cause serious crises:

- A competitor launches a new superior product

- Another competitor develops a much more cost effective manufacturing process and slashes prices.
- A new competitor springs up from unexpected sources.
- A new legislation poses serious threat
- A health hazard is discovered
- Exchange rate moves rapidly against you..
- And so on

Any organization may face several of these simultaneously.

Changes in economic, technological, political, social environment may ‘trigger a change’

Mark Twain: “Most of the bad things in life never happened”

- Most of the corporate transformation never happened.

- Fundamental and radical change tends to be planned, discussed, publicized and started,
but only rarely carried out through and sustained.

Successful companies reflect consistency in top management commitment to change.

Technological Change:
Three basic kinds:
1. New processes for manufacturing goods and delivering services; ATMs, JIT inventory control
2. New products, significantly improved products; smart phones, new drugs, new surgical procedures
3. Processing and transmission of information

Political Change:
Global, regional and national
- Change in government
- Privatization
- Deregulation
- Insurgencies, Wars
- Stability

Social Change:
These take various forms:
- Change of attitudes, values, beliefs,
- Emphasis on health and safety- effect on industries: e.g. tobacco, automobiles, construction
- Concern for environments: affect on oil, chemicals, plastic
- Change in social institutions e.g. family, decline in parental authority, work- life balance, increasing
divorce rates, separation of older people from families
- Social structure e.g. age structure
- Change in lifestyle affecting demands for goods and services; rise in leisure spending, on health and
keeping fit.
- Change in pattern of behavior
- Rise in crime, frauds and corruption
Triggers for Change:

- Financial loss
- Increase in competition, loss of market share
- Industry recession
- New CEO
- Proactive; ability to identify opportunities and vulnerabilities
- Technology development