3.10 Managing Strategic Change Flashcards
What is the difference between internal and external sources of change?
Internal = Changes initiated by the business
External = Changes from outside the business
What are some examples of sources of internal change?
Restructuring
Delayering
Management changes
Expansion / retrenchment
What are some examples of sources of external change?
Social trends
Economic conditions
Laws / regulations
What are the 3 types of change? (not including internal and external)
Incrimental = These are the many small changes that businesses make day-to-day as management respond to opportunities and threats.
Step Change = These are the more dramatic or radical changes which management make. They are often triggered through the arrival of new senior leadership and/or when it is recognised that the business is suffering from strategic drift.
Disruptive change = Disruptive change is a form of step change that arises from changes in the external environment. Disruptive change impacts the market as a whole, challenging the established “business model”
Lewin’s Force Field Analysis
What is delareying?
Delayering involves removing one or more levels of hierarchy from the organisational structure.
How can delayering be achieved?
-Increasing average span of control of senior managers, people affected are moved elsewhere
What are some benefits of delayering?
It offers opportunities for better delegation, empowerment and motivation as the number of managers is reduced and more authority passed down the hierarchy
It can improve communication within the business as messages have to pass through fewer levels of hierarchy
It can remove departmental rivalry if department heads are removed and the workforce is organised more in teams
It can reduce costs as fewer (expensive) managers are required
It can encourage innovation
It brings managers into closer contact with the business’ customers – which should (in theory) result in better customer service
What are some drawbacks of delayering?
Not all organisations are suited to flatter organisational structures - mass production industries with low-skilled employees may not adapt easily
Delayering can have a negative impact on motivation due to job losses, especially if it is really just an excuse for redundancies
A period of disruption may occur as people take on new responsibilities and fulfil new roles
Those managers remaining will have a wider span of control which, if it is too wide, can damage communication within the business. There is also a danger of increasing the workload of the remaining managers beyond that which is reasonable.
Delayering may create skills shortages within the business – a danger is that delayering means that the business loses managers and staff with valuable experience
What are flexible employment contracts?
Contracts such as part-time and zero contract that allow workers to change hours week by week.
What are some benefits of flexible
