Change

Question 1

What are the major causes of rapid change

Answer 1

1 introduction of new technology
2. Changes in competition
3 changes in consumer tastes
4 new legislation
5 labour market changes
6changes in economic conditions
7 changes in business ownership

Question 2

What are internal causes of change

Answer 2

1 changes in management style
2 changes in business ownership
3 changes in business size
4 introduction of new technology

Question 3

Describe the effects of changes in management style

Answer 3

1 new leaders may implement new strategies leading to a change in culture
2 a move away from an authoritarian style to a more laissez faire approach has an impact for all stakeholders and staff will need to adopt new ways of working and take greater responsibility

Question 4

Describe the effects of changes in business ownership

Answer 4

1 new owners look for efficiencies and cost cutting to improve profitability
2 new management may introduce a new ethos a new way of working
3 new hen 2 businesses merge the more dominant organisation may impose its culture on the other who will need to adapt

Question 5

Describe the effects of the changes in business size

Answer 5

1 rapid growth ca put pressure on liquidity, debtor management, and staff who will need To develop new skills to adapt to new role
2 often need to bring in external investment which can change management structure , responsibilities and business objectives

Question 6

Describe the effects of new technology

Answer 6

1 can effect the pattern of consumer demand and methods of production

Question 7

List the external causes of change

Answer 7

1 introduction of new technology
2 labou market
3 changes in economic conditions
4 competition
5 changes in consumer tastes
6 new legislation

Question 8

Describe the effects of new technology

Answer 8

Methods of [roduction are constantly changing and the introduction of robotic technology is the car industry is thought to be essential if quality and out put are to be improved

Question 9

Describe the effects of the labour market

Answer 9

1minimum wage, living wage, greater employment protection have pushed up costs
2 a recession will increase supply of labour and push down costs
3 immigration policy and EU membership increased supply of migrant workers - keeping wages of unskilled low

Question 10

Describe the effects of changes in economic conditions

Answer 10

Exchange rates fluctuate casusing businesses to find new markets or change suppliers as profit margins are reduced

Question 11

Describe the effects of competition

Answer 11

1 existing competitors can change strategy or new ones enter the market

Question 12

Describe the effects of changes in consumer tastes

Answer 12

1 tastes can change quickly and completely alter demand pattern

Question 13

Describe the effect of new legislation

Answer 13

Uk businesses have to comply with new legislation and adapt their products and can cause costs to rise

Question 14

Describe planned and unplanned change

Answer 14

1 planned change is created internally is structured and timetabled there are clear objectives, time lines are created
2 unplanned change happens in response to a shock to the business often unstructured and under resourced m

Question 15

What are the effects of change

Answer 15

1 shorter product life cycles - can bring threats and opportunities. Shorter life cycle may bring immediate returns but there is little incentive for long term investment. Returns can be improved by looking for new markets
2 diminished brand loyalty - new entrants into the market find it easier to grab the market share existing businesses find it harder to maintain sales. Marketing costs increased to maintain brand or introduce new products
3 new products need to be developed - because goods are seen as more disposable and consumers constantly look for better quality
4 production methods need to change - to match changing customer demands and will require spending on research and development and production technology
New products need constantly spending on and updating. Capital goods are likely to become out of date quickly - pressure on returns from investment encourages some businesses to contract out manufacturing
5 retraining the workforce - existing employees maybe able to adapt to new ways of working or new technology but training and recruitment costs increase. Problems when a particular industry declines and the skills of the workforce are no longer needed can cause large scale regional unemployment
6 flexible workforce - in order to respond quickly to change businesses need a much more flexible workforce to remain competitive
7 need to comply with constantly changing legislation - raises costs for the business

Question 16

How do leadership prepare for change

Answer 16

1 employee preparation - first stage of effective change may involve reskilling employees to carry out new tasks - makes workforce more flexible and adaptable . May need to recruit
2 increase research and development expenditure - bot to prepare and to react to change
3 additional capital investment - change can mean need new technology and equipment so change can be expensive

Question 17

What 4 options did John Story offer for
Implementing change

Answer 17

1 negotiated total package
Management and workers negotiate on how changes in how a business functions will be implemented -
1B so changes ar agreed between management and workforce. Trade unions are involved
!c increased rewards and incentives may be offered and results in change being accepted
!d the most effective method of change but needs lots of preparation and expenditure and not always possible in a competitive business environment
2 negotiated piecemeal initiatives
2B management and workers consult and agree on changes as they become needed
2C their is no overall agreement or process
2D easier to implement than a total package of change but can be difficult because of lack f complete change
3 imposed piecemeal initiatives
3B managers plan and implement change
3C saves time and change is in the hands of managers who understand the overall objective
3D can be met with resistance from workers due to lack of consultation, each change may be aimed at a different objective
4 imposed total package
4B senior management plan and introduce a major change all at once with out consulting workforce
4C this sort of change may happen when negotiation has failed or external factors need to be responded to quickly
4D likely to be resisted by middle managers and workers

Question 18

What forms can resistance take

Answer 18

1 workforce resistance can result in sabotage or expensive failures and industrial action - where possible involve workers from the start, explain the reasons for change, have a clear strategy an vision
2 supplier resistance - may result in increased costs - managers should explain that the changes may increase orders and they will benefit too
3 owner resistance -owners fear change will increase risk and will need to be convinced that sacrifices lead to better profits

Question 19

What does Lewis say about change

Answer 19

It was not difficult to creat change but to reinforce it is what matters and keep it going in the future nit letting things slip back into old ways

Question 20

What are Lewins 3 stages of creating and maintaining change

Answer 20

1 unfreezing
2 change or transition
3 refreezing

Question 21

Describe unfreezing

Answer 21

Getting employees to see that change is needed and therefore must unfreeze from current approaches to work and instead adapt to new methods

Question 22

Describe change or transition

Answer 22

Can be a difficult time for employees as they move towards new ways of doing things they need time to adapt, support ie training, educating and no criticism for mistakes

Question 23

Describe refreezing

Answer 23

Final stage in change process is about establishing stability once changes have been made . New methods of working have been accepted as the norm. Refreezing means workers are settled in new routines and should not be forced into continual change but given time to adapt. New methods need to be embedded before changes

Question 24

What is organisational and cultural change

Answer 24

It reflects beliefs and values of the business and are difficult to change
Cultural change must begin at the top of the management structure and must be communicate reasons for change to all staff

Question 25

How can change be evaluated

Answer 25

Success against performance indicators to see if objective had been achieved
Eg
Delivery times
Production defects
Market share
Sales turnover
Profit