Rapid and Continuous Change – a Modern Perspective

Businesses are facing a dichotomy between wanting to chalk out an all-time structure and strategy for their organization, and recognizing that their world is in a constant state of flux [3]. For most of the 20th century they were largely focused on the static elements of this dichotomy. However, in the last decade changes have become more frequent and more dramatic, so much so that a whole branch of management is now devoted to the subject of change itself.

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

Achieving organizational change that produces results is not just a managerial challenge; it is a cognitive challenge, too. Managers, like people generally, find it difficult to think about dynamic events like feedback loops and time delays. It is easier to pay attention to immediate effects and visible changes. The outcome is a focus on the short-term and local not the longer-term and global results from change, a problem that organizational incentives amplify. Thus, local improvements in cost reduction or efficiency are assumed to benefit the firm as whole, while little attention is given to actually ensuring results for the firm.

As we all know, change is inevitable and we cannot control the world changing around us, but what we can control is how we can deal with how the employees deal with change. Knowing and understanding the common cause why people is resistant to change gives you the chance to plan your strategy to address these factors.

When a change needs to take place, top management must foresee and do something about it before it is needed; this is a leader’s most critical competency. The growth of a company is predicated on transformation at least several times throughout the lifespan of the business. The change will not happen overnight; therefore, an appropriate pace is necessary, not too fast and not too slow. The leadership team must be meticulous, and simultaneously, the employees must be well-prepared for change. Indeed, the changes must be well thought out to provide stable contingencies (Gleeson, 2016).

The organization must implement specific strategies to identify and resolve resistance to change. O Connor (1993) stated "In an organization, resistance is opposition or witholding of support for specific plans or ideas. It can either be intentional or unintentional, covert or overt" (p. 30). Employees will likely consider how change affects them personally and that may naturally cause some resistance. One of the most important things an organization can do to minimize resistance is to address these personal concerns. It is also important to identify any potential loss or gain that comes from implementing, or not implementing, the change initiative. Leaders

One of the biggest obstacles is resistance to change. People resist change because change disrupts habits, conflicts with certain personality types, cause a fear of failure, can have potentially negative impacts, can result in a potential for loss of power, and, when done too frequently, can exhaust employees. There may be key people who publicly support the change effort while silently undermining the planned changes. It is the management’s job to identify, understand, and remove these obstacles. (Kotter J. P.

Charles Darwin once said that “It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives, it is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

Change has become necessary for every organisation there is. World is moving rapidly towards better technologies, efficient systems, new techniques, compact profits, different friendlier environments and organisations are always in the race to reach new heights by thriving effectively in this competitive environment (Kotter, 1996).

To adjust to greater competition and pressures of obtaining increased organizational efficiency and cost containment, many organizations have begun to examine strategies related to restructuring and downsizing to maintain organizational viability. These processes have included mergers and acquisitions, and redefining occupational roles of workers within the organization. Consequently, successful management of the structural change process can be daunting and overwhelming if not handled in an organized and thoughtful process. Those who are responsible for the process must

Internal changes may be triggered by organisational strategies: centralisation/ merger due to pressures of “economies of scale” for market-place competitiveness, which may lead to closures, redundancies, change in Job descriptions, re-training / re-skilling.

Bolognese, A. (2002). Employee Resistance to Organizational Change. Retrieved December 2, 2006 from Internet, http://www.newfoundations.com/OrgTheory/

Most organisations are in a constant state of change. Over the decades there has been improved technology, globalisation, ecological and social considerations in organisations. Some organisations are seemingly ready to make changes whenever required and generally embrace change. Other organisations avoid, delay or stop change from happening. For organisations change is the way to stay competitive and to develop. The paper seeks to explore the different changes in organisations and how it has made an impact.

“It is not strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change”

For any business in the rapidly evolving world of business, planning and implementing successful organizational change is indispensable. Essentially, organizational change refers to a process whereby an organization strives to optimize performance in order to achieve its ideal state characterized by high performance and profitability (Côté & Mayhew, 2014). Any business would be more likely to lose its competitive edge, as well as fail to meet the demands of its loyal consumers if it doesn’t plan and implement change. Weiss (2012) emphasizes that all organizations ought to embrace change, and it’s imperative to note that successful organizational change doesn’t involve simple process of adjustments; instead it requires appropriate change management capabilities.