The discussions that were posted to the Week 3 Collaboration Forum reflect a core interest in the
ways in which organisations can arrange their resources in a manner that best equips them with the
capabilities required to confront an extremely uncertain future. Initial posts to this week�s Key
Concept Exercise will have highlighted the reality that there are many different ways in which
organisations can choose to respond to that challenge.
In this week�s Collaboration, your task is therefore to compare the key features of your own
organisation�s practice with those described by your classmates in an effort to identify aspects of
that practice that could be targeted for improvement.
This week�s Collaboration will enable you to engage with your classmates in an exploration of the
important ideas and issues related to this concept.
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Key Concept Exercise from week 4
In my organization, the current practice entails the use of outmoded technology and a
lack of product diversity. The retail company has not embraced new technology such as
providing online shopping for its customers as it sells its products only in-store, and it only
sells a few retail products. For this reason, the retail company has recently recorded reduced
sales and is losing its market share to its competitors. These features of my company’s
practice are to some extent similar to those described by some classmates who noted that
implementing new technologies in an organization is of great importance in ensuring
continuity against the company’s competition. Reham, for example, pointed out in her post
that investing in new technologies is critical to the sustained survival of a firm.
The company is not as competitive as its competitors in the market who have adopted
modern and new technologies such as online shopping and provide an extensive range of
products. The competitive nature of the marketplace, as Blackburn et al., (2011) pointed out,
plays an essential role in a business planning not just in the long-term, but in the short-term as
well. For the retail company to stay competitive in the retail marketplace, it will have to
implement long-term changes such as new product introductions and adopt new technologies.
These changes will certainly necessitate shifts in company resources. It is notable that change
process would without doubt influence the business model of the company (Cavalcante,
2014). With new technologies, shoppers would benefit because being allowed to shop online
will improve their shopping experience and convenience, and introduction of new products
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will increase the range of products that customers can purchase online and in-store
(Zimmermann 2011).
Replies to the classmates’ posts
Chanita Federlein’s post
The post by Chanita is enlightening as it sheds light on a major barrier to effective
implementation of organizational change in any firm – resistance from employees. The post
also clearly describes how Kurt Lewin’s Change Model could be applied in the process of
organizational change. Although many organizational change efforts usually face resistance
from employees, the resistance could be addressed through the use of a number of strategies.
The approach adopted by the organizations described by Chanita will be helpful in supporting
an effective decision-making environment as it will allow employees to be involved in
decisions regarding organizational change and will ensure that employee participation is
taken into account in the change process. This will help to reduce their likelihood of
resistance. In addition, the practices adopted by Chanita’s organizations are really appropriate
in preparing those firms for the future since those practices will enable the organizations to
effectively change in keeping with the new technological and macro environmental
developments.
Reham Aloraini’s post
Reham’s post is very much revealing and educational since it highlights the
significance of change drivers that compel an organization to change. Reham has clearly
mentioned how investment in new technologies was crucial to the continued survival of the
organization. Furthermore, Reham has mentioned the importance of clarifying the key
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stakeholders during the change process. During the process of organizational change, the
change agent should share ideas and views with the main stakeholders and strive to obtain
their trust (Mayfield 2014). This is something that Reham’s has noted in the post. The
approach adopted by the organizations described by Reham will be helpful in supporting an
effective decision-making environment as the approach entails seeking the views and
opinions of the key stakeholders, involving both the internal stakeholders such as employees
and external stakeholders such as investors and suppliers in decision making. This is crucial
in making effective decisions during the change process (Patrick 2014). The adopted
approach would also help in developing positive relationships with external stakeholders such
as suppliers, customers, vendors, and investors as the approach entails consulting with these
major external stakeholders during organizational change process.
Zeina Badreddine’s post
Zeina’s post is really informative. In it, she eloquently describes how the business
model of the firm would inescapably be influenced by the change process. A business model
is characterized by 3 fundamentals: value capture, modus operandi and value creation
(Cavalcante 2014). The adopted approach would help in developing positive relationships
with external stakeholders since through the modus operandi fundamental of the business
model, the organization will seek to enhance its working processes which entails improving
its relationships with stakeholders such as investors, suppliers and even clients. In addition,
the practices adopted by Zeina’s organizations are really appropriate in preparing those firms
for the future since the organizations would be able to comprehend the environment in which
they operate and then introduce novel and recent technologies that would enable them to
optimize their production lines, and develop new innovative products and/or services in
response to the changing demands of consumers in the marketplace.
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References
Blackburn, S., Ryerson, S., Weiss, L., Wilson, S. & Wood, C 2011, How do I implement
complex change at scale?, McKinsey & Company, p.1-16
Cavalcante, S. A., 2014. Designing business model change. International Journal of
Innovation Management, 18(2), pp. 1-22.
Mayfield, P 2014, ‘Engaging with stakeholders is critical when leading change’, Industrial
and Commercial Training, 46 (2), pp.68-72.
Patrick, M 2014, “Engaging with stakeholders is critical when leading change”. Industrial
and commercial training. Journal of management development Vol. 46 Iss 2 pp 68 –
72
Zimmermann, N 2011, Dynamics of Drivers of Organisational Change. Cambridge, MA:
Springer Publications.
