Unit 10: Managing Strategic Change – Key Terms

Strategic Change

A significant shift in a business’s direction, structure, or operations to remain competitive.

Incremental Change

Gradual, small-scale adjustments made over time.

Disruptive Change

A sudden, radical shift in the industry or business environment.

Planned Change

Change that is deliberately introduced by management.

Emergent Change

Change that develops organically due to evolving circumstances.

Business Culture

The shared values, beliefs, and behaviours that influence how employees work.

Lewin’s Force Field Analysis

A model that identifies driving forces (supporting change) and restraining forces (resisting change).

Restructuring

Reorganising a business to improve efficiency, such as downsizing or decentralisation.

Delayering

Removing levels of management to create a flatter structure and enhance communication.

Outsourcing

Transferring non-core activities to external providers.

Intrapreneurship

Encouraging employees to develop new ideas within the company.

Scenario Planning

A strategy businesses use to prepare for potential future risks and uncertainties.

Contingency Planning

Preparing backup plans in case of unforeseen disruptions.

Crisis Management

Immediate response strategies for emergencies or threats to business operations.

Business Continuity Plan

A plan ensuring a company can keep operating after disruptions.

Risk Management

Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to business performance.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The responsibility of a business to consider its impact on society, beyond profit-making.

Kotter's Four Resistances to Change

1.Self-interest (employees fear personal loss from change)

2. Misunderstanding (Lack of trust or poor communication)

3. Different assessments (Disagreements on the necessity of change)

4. Low tolerance for change (Preference for stability)

Kotter & Schlesingers 6 methods of overcoming change

1. Education & Communication: Explaining the benefits of change.

2. Participation & Involvement: Engaging employees in decision-making.

3. Facilitation & Support: Providing training and resources.

4. Negotiation & Agreement: Offering incentives for acceptance.

5. Manipulation & Co-option: Persuading key individuals to influence others.

6. Explicit & Implicit Coercion: Using authority to enforce change.

Handy's Cultural Model

A framework developed by Charles Handy to categorize organizational cultures into four types:

1. Power Culture: Decisions are made by a central figure, commonly seen in small firms.

2. Role Culture: A bureaucratic and structured hierarchy where roles define behavior.

3. Task Culture: Focuses on teamwork and collaboration to achieve objectives.

4. Person Culture: Prioritizes the personal goals of employees over organizational objectives.

strategic drift

when a company responds too slowly to changes in the external environment and continue with a strategy that is no longer suited to the current situation

critical path analysis

the technique for planning the sequencing of activities to complete a project in the shortest time possible

critical pathway

the sequence of activities which have no float time and are essential to complete in time to not delay the project

float time

the amount of time a task can be delayed without it delaying the projects overall completion time