Drivers of Change

There are many factors that drive change in an organization. These changes can either be internal or external. Downsizing is one of these factors and it is the one that has been around for a long time. This is a force employed when an organization intends on cutting the cost of operation and it involves retrenchment of employees. This model is also used when an organization has merged up with another firm. While this can be seen as an expansion that would rather bring more employment opportunities, the contrary is always true in that a merger means that there could be duplication of roles. For instance a human resource manager from one of the companies that came together has to be retrenched for one of the managers to remain.

Information technology is also another factor that drives organizational change in that it has brought about efficiency in operations while at the same time has been responsible for the job loss of many people. Mechanization of a company’s operations means that the person responsible for the work taken over by the machines will lose their jobs and will be replaced by the machines. While this may be true, this technology may also create more job opportunities. For instance software engineers will be employed to manage a institutions databases and machines. This is a post that would not have been there if information technology was not there. The use of internet has also improved the way that organizations do their business since it has created a market place for its products while at the same time has enhanced interactions between institutions.

Politics is also another influence that drive change in an organization. A firm may need to initiate change in an organization based on the political environment that it is working at. For instance, the politics around global warming may be a factor that will influence change in many companies. A government may put a policy in place banning vehicles that increase the carbon emissions. This means that companies responsible for manufacturing such vehicles will need to change and produce automobiles that either use electricity or other forms of energy that do not emit carbon to the environment so as to remain in business (Spacey, 2018). This will need a lot of restructuring of the company which will involve hiring professionals in the relevant field and may also require laying off those employees that were responsible of producing the previous vehicles.

Change in consumer preferences is also another major factor that leads to a change in an institution. When the preference of the customer changes, an organization will need to restructure itself in order to realign itself with the needs of its customers. Competition can also force a company to change in that competitive prices from the competitors’ can lead to a company lowering its prices to ensure that it remains in the industry.

In my previous institution, the company had faced stiff competition from Chinese companies that produced goods cheaply and thus selling them at a cheaper price to the customers. Our company could not match the prices that the competitor was offering and therefore the company shifted its focus and changed its target market to high end customers that needed quality products at premium prices. The company therefore managed to beat its competitors as it attained more loyal customers and its brand image grew significantly.

Video Summary

Gary Hamel’s talk is mainly based on innovation he asserts that the beginning of management was also an invention. He looks at this in relation to automation through automobile industry that came up with the basic management tools that have been used over the years. He asserts that the ways of management have rarely changed over the years and the basics have remained the same. He asserts that this however has to change and the modern world needs to embrace new management ways because change has changed. He says that the current world are facing a different challenge that the previous world had faced and that hyper competition present a new challenge to modern day companies and the only way to remain relevant and beat the wind of creative destruction is innovation. He also looks at knowledge as a commodity and a firm needs to understand the knowledge that it has while looking at the knowledge that it will create.

He asserts that companies that will adopt new and creative ways of innovation will be successful in the current world. New ways of management need to be employed to ensure effectiveness in production. He states that if one needs to be successful in the future, one needs to look into some unusual places like the web.

Characteristics of Innovative Companies

There are several characteristics that make up an innovative company. One of these characteristics is that the companies acknowledges and creates room for failure. If a company allows their employees to fail without endangering their positions, they will work hard to take up risky and more innovative ideas that will benefit the company. Trust is another element of an innovative company in that by creating an environment of trust, an institution will give their employees to pursue their ideas however stupid they may be without ridicule. This will motivate them to come up with more creative ideas knowing that they will have the full backing of the company. Another characteristic of an innovative company is that they are leaders in their own field. The main thing that innovation provides to an institution are ideas that have never been implemented before in the industry and thus acting as trail blazers in the sector. Innovative companies can also be characterized by their relevant but unique strategy. Companies like Apple have employed a unique and relevant strategy in their operations and have thus come up with some of the most innovative products in the technology industry. Autonomy is also another characteristic of these innovative companies where employees are given clear goals and objective while at the same time allowed the freedom to work in their own ways towards these goals (Baumgartner, n.d.).

Characteristics of Innovative People

Innovative people have been known to posses several characteristics. These include opportunistic mindset. This characteristic allows them to identify gaps in the market. They also have formal education and training which is essential in noticing and interpreting new opportunities in the market. They also have a high degree of persistence which allows them to fight for the opportunities that they have identified. They are also prudent and are will organized in the way that they do their work. They are disciplined and do not take calculated risks. They also have a social capital. Successful innovators have a huge pool of connections that are important in ensuring their ideas take off (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2013).

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