Adapting to Unexpected Change in Business

During these times of change business may have to change its orgainsation, operation and its nature to deal with the challenges of each stage in the business life cycle. For business to be successful they must constantly develop and change strategies to deal with the growth of the business or the life of the business may be cut short.

Managing Change: The Art of Balancing“ by Jeanie Daniel Duck [1] came out in the Harvard Business Review in November 1993. It is an influential article, one that has been cited 437 times until date. Duck draws upon her years of experience as a Vice President in the Chicago Office of the Boston Consulting Group and of running her own consulting firm that focused on the emotional and behavioral impact of change on corporate performance. She can be safely called both, a management consultant as well as an organization development consultant. Presented below is a summary and key points of the article supplemented by examples, views and facts gleaned from other sources as well.

One frequently asked question in business today that is least answered is, as stated by David Chaudron, PhD (2003), “What can we do to make our business flourish, survive and grow?” With the rapid changes in technology and the rise in the globalization of markets, we must have a game plan in place for adjusting to these changes. It has become increasingly difficult to predict what is going to happen, and there are thousands of obstacles and opportunities along the way. To add to the confusion, there are thousands of products, solutions and methods for dealing with these changes. With many brands, sizes and varieties it is very difficult to choose what is best for your organization. Add to that,

Shock – The initial reaction can sometimes be shock, this will automatically reduce the individuals performance as they will fear the unknown.

In this ever-changing modern day business environment, organizations should always be ready to adapt to the ever-changing concepts and customers’ needs. Both internal and external factors influence the kinds of changes that take place in any business or organization. As of the complex adaptive systems, in order to keep up with the constant upcoming changes, they need to keep on revising their goals and objectives. They can do this by assimilating to any current changes present in society.

It fascinates me how businesses operate in frequently changing environments. Particularly, the way employees are managed in order to maintain a flowing business structure whilst achieving business aims and objectives and by using calculated risks to overcome challenges. Thus leading to the progression and success of a business.

My company needs serious organizational change in two areas. First is improving our vendor payment processes. We have been having problems getting the funds to our vendors on time and sometimes paid them the wrong amounts due to our current process. This problem must be fixed for the future of our relationships with our vendors, suppliers, and contractor agencies. We must establish a change that will help repair and build the relationships and ensure the we also receive our merchandise in a timely fashion. The other area that needs to be improved is our company culture by means of employee evaluation. Currently, our employee evaluations are based on a numerical scale, measuring performance in a 1 to 5 basis. This leaves almost no room for improvement

Businesses continually adapt to a changing environment to maintain their market position (Appelbaum, Habashy, Malo, & Shafiq, 2012; Biedenbacha & Soumlderholma, 2008). Change is inevitable considering the current rate of technological advancement and the growth in global competition (Appelbaum et al., 2012; Armenakis & Harris, 2009; By, 2007). Increasing competition and the need for strategic flexibility and globalization is affecting almost every organization today, regardless of size, market, focus, and so on (Jaros, 2010).

Reinforcement: Encourage staffs to take initiatives and make the required contributions. Apply inclusive workplace culture to empower staffs to lead and manage decision.

Organizational change encompasses many challenges to both the individual, and the organization. An organization is a living system, as Flower (2002) states “living systems cannot survive without change, challenge, variety, and surprise” (Flower, 2002, p. 16). An organization requires the ability to adapt in to survive as Darwin states in The Origin of Man, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” (Read Me First, 2013, p. 1). It must adapt to the changing market, global economic pressures, stakeholder demands, and the diverse needs

John Everet will act as the playboy by displaying a lack of involvement through his

Organic structures are flexible and decentralized and communication lines are more fluid and flexible (David et al., 2013). Employee job descriptions are broader and employees are asked to perform duties based on the specific needs of the organization. Organic structures tend to be related to higher levels of job satisfaction on the part of employees. These structures are conducive to entrepreneurial behavior, continuous improvement and innovativeness.

In order to respond in suitable manner to these threats and opportunities, strategies must be adaptable, that is, have the ability to change, at times, significantly in various areas including products, services, manufacturing techniques, distribution channels, and marketing approaches (Yukl, 2013).

The business world preys on those who stay static, and fail to evolve and innovate. There are solutions however and of course and it is worth investigating what aspects play

Keeping up with changes in any industry is crucial to maintaining a competitive edge, so i must develop new skills needed to maintain