Organization Change and Development - Factors Affecting Change - Essay Example

?Organization Change and Development In most spheres of life and society, change is one thing that is inevitable. Simply put, change can be defined as any modification that makes things different from the way they have always been. The business environment of today is not like it was many centuries ago. The current business environment is characterized by many significant changes such as reengineering, outsourcing, new enterprise acquisition, downsizing, and creation of global businesses and formation of joint ventures. As such, organizations have to be flexible in order for them to adopt these sweeping changes. There is not one organization in the world that can survive the current business environment by resisting change (Kaufman, 2007). These changes are not random; rather they are the result of various factors which will be the focus of this paper. Factors Affecting Change The major forces that make organizational change inevitable, which can either be external or internal, are: economic, technological, social, political, legal, labor market and international environments. Every organization has its own unique goals and objectives which are related in one way or another to the changing business environment which is highly dynamic. These factors of change normally force the organization to re-evaluate and change its mode of operation, management and service delivery (Botha and Kourie, 2008). Technology may be the main factor of change that is being experienced all over the business world. The 21st century has been characterized by innovations and introductions of new technologies which have affected the way people love and work. Perhaps the most important of this technological innovation has happened in the communication sector. The development of the telephone, internet and other forms of communication has entirely changed the business environment (Appalbaum, Close and Klasa, 1999). Many organizations have adopted new technologies to help not only in communication but also in other areas of operation. The adoption of new technology normally enables a business to offer competitive services and products to its customers. In order to be ahead of the competition, organizations have had to restructure in order to make way for technology which is appropriate for their own survival in this ever changing world. The market conditions in the 21st century have also changed quite a lot. Competition has become much stiffer than it was years ago. This competition has been heightened by the ever increasing number of businesses that offer the same or similar products and/or services. The battle to remain relevant in this kind of market environment is one that all organizations must fight on a constant basis. If it means that the organizations have to change the way they conduct their business, then there is no way around it. Globalization is a major reason why market competition has risen to such great heights (Appelbaum, Everard and Hung, 1999). A good example of a business environment that has seen many changes due to changing market conditions is India. After liberalization in the last two centuries, the country has experienced an influx of foreign companies and formation of many others. This has created such high level of competition that those organizations which could not keep up with the change had to close down or merge with those that had already adapted to the changing business environment. Those organizations that were able to re-align their operations with the sweeping changes in the market are some of the countries best today. The political and legal environment is also as turbulent as the business environment of today. This is because it is also vulnerable to frequent changes, which also affect other spheres of life for individuals and organizations alike. Any changes of governance or administration in a country or a region may have great implications for businesses. For instance, if a democratic government is replaced by a totalitarian one, or vise versa, there is likely to be a major shift of ideology and way of doing things in that country, and this will of course affect the way organizations operate (Appalbaum, Close and Klasa, 1999). They must change to reflect the ongoing political and legal changes; otherwise, they are not likely to survive in such a place. After the cold war, many countries decided to forsake the totalitarianism that often comes with communism. They instead turned to more democratized forms of government which saw a lot of changes being affected in various forms. Organizations in these countries had to change their way of self management and operations to fit in with the new democratic ideologies which favored more liberalization than communism did. Social factors are also quite significant in terms of organizational change and development. All organizations or businesses operate within a societal structure. This means that any sociological issues that occur within the society will inadvertently affect or influence the organization in one ay or another. Social changes reflect in terms of people’s aspirations, the needs, and their ways of working. Some of the social factors that have led to organizational change and development include urbanization, education, international impacts that result from new sources of information and feelings of autonomy (Hartley and Warr, 2002). Today, more than ever, more people are getting higher levels of education in all manner of academic fields, people are flocking into urban areas in search of jobs and better life opportunities, cultures are changing as the information age continues to evolve and people are now enjoying more personal freedom than they used to. All these social changes have an influence on the behavior of employees and managers within an organization (Kaufman, 2007). This means that businesses have had to adjust their mode of operations so as to match the needs of their people. Change in management could also be a factor leading to organizational change and development. Different managers have different styles of leadership and management. Every new manager comes into an organization with his own unique way of doing things and this has a profound impact on the operations of a company. Organizations have had to find appropriate mechanisms to deal with managerial changes. Each of these mechanisms is designed to help the organization continue its normal operations even in the face of a different management. New managers in organizations may also want changes in organizational policy (Kaufman, 2007). This may lead to structural changes within the company and it may affect how well or how poorly the business performs. Another internal factor that has led to changes n organizations is the changing nature of the workforce. A majority of today’s employees are well educated and they have access to ample information. They are therefore empowered to make decisions which affect their workplaces. Conclusion Change, as they say, is truly inescapable. The business environment of today must adapt to several factors that almost always results in big and/or small changes. Since these factors of change are here to stay, it does look like organizations have to always be ready to change in order to stay relevant. This factors which may be external or internal to the organization are many and wide varied. Technology, politics, social changes, marketplace changes and internal factors such as managerial and workforce changes all combine to affect the way a company develops and operates. The current business environment will continue experiencing these changes as long as the factors leading to these changes exist. Organizations have to therefore find ways to adapt to these inevitable changes so as to stay relevant. References Appelbaum, S.H., Close, T.G. and Klasa, S. 1999. Downsizing: an examination of some successes and more failures. Management Decision. Vol. 37, Iss. 5; pg. 424. Appelbaum, S., Everard, A. and Hung, L.T. S. 1999. Strategic downsizing: critical success factors. Management Decision. Vol. 37, Iss. 7; pg. 535 Botha, A. C. and Kourie, D. 2008. Coping with Continuous Change in the Business environment. New York: Chandos Publishing. Hartley, J. and Warr, P. 2002. Organizational Change and development. Psychology at work. New York: Penguin Press. Kaufman, H. 2007. The Limits of Organizational Change. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Read More