1. Generalised Theories and Principles relating to Organisational Change
On the other hand, discontinuous change refers to the transformation of an organisation from past traditions to a new way of doing things. It does not refer to regular improvements or enhancements; rather, it is the name of introducing new patterns of carrying out certain activities or bringing an unorthodox type of change such as relocating a business or targeting a new demographic segment of customers (Ramanthan, 2008).
(Rossetto, Rossetto, and Carvalho, 2009)
3. Testing and Application
3.1. Identifying Changes at Nike
Nike has undergone several types of change during the life of the company by now. Some of the most significant changes in its history are highlighted in the case under discussion.
The first change brought at the company was the ‘product development’. It started as a track shoe manufacturer, but soon also started to provide equipment and products for other sports by identifying the unexploited opportunities (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).
Then, in initial years, the company has undergone significant incremental change in its size responding to the anticipation of future priorities.
At a later stage, the company evolved to have a proper structure characterised by the hierarchy. Reward management system was replaced by theselfless passion of serving the company. It led to the growth of financial stability though passion-driven pioneers of the company resigned. This discontinuous change aimed to increase the level of job satisfaction by rewarding employees according to their performance. It can be categorized as transformational change as it transformed the very philosophy of Nike’s business.
Fourth change was the relocation of its manufacturing plants. Seeking the cost efficient opportunities of manufacturing, it kept shifting its production plants from increasingly high labour cost destinations to low labour cost countries i.e. first from Japan to Korea and Taiwan, and then from Korea and Taiwan to Indonesia and some other countries marked with cost-efficient labour (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).
Another significant change was introducing the code of conduct for its suppliers in response to certain scandals faced as a result of suppliers’ being found indulged in unethical activities such as child labour in their factories (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).
3.2. Scale of Change with Reference to the Changes Identified with Nike
As for the first change, i.e. product development, it can be regarded as an incremental change, because it is the part of regular improvements. It is usual for the business to add to its product categories with the passage of time (Doole and Lowe, , 2008). However, the change of relocation is a kind of discontinuous change brought on a small scale. The company had undergone the massive change in its structure as reward management and appraisal system replaced the informal organisational structure. Hence, it changed the ways of doing things complying with the essence of discontinuous change (Ramanthan, 2008).
Other changes are also far reaching involving the elements of discontinuity. For example, the decision of off-shoring to Japan, and then to Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and other countries involves implications on a large scale. By the same token, at a later stage, as it responded to scandals due to unethical practices of suppliers through its newly defined code of conduct, it was also a kind of discontinuous change, because it implies to change the way of approaching to its suppliers. Furthermore, it also added monitoring of suppliers as additional consideration for Nike, which was not a part of its supply chain management strategy previously (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).
4. Reflection/Conclusion
Current experience of reflective assessment has broadened the writer’s vision relating to the key concepts of organisational change. It is found that scale, scope and timing of change are of sheer importance in business strategy. Furthermore, managers should be capable not only of acting in a predefined and patterned way but should also be able to react to any emerging situation forced by one or more potential external factors. Furthermore, the mediating impact of multiple variables on the external environment of business should also be considered while defining any planned way of change. Emergent changes can also add to profitability if implemented timely and in a well-directed manner.
On the whole, it added handsomely to the writer’s knowledge about the importance of change management on the whole. The success of a business largely depends on the changes responding to internal or external requirements. And, the success of any change heavily relies on how well it is planned and managed within an organisation. Furthermore, management should develop predefined strategies in order to smoothly respond to recurrent period of changes that are inevitable.
List of References
Doole, I., and Lowe, R. (2008). Strategic marketing decisions 2008-2009. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Myers, P., Hulks, S., & Wiggins, L. (2012). Organizational change: Perspectives on theory and practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ramanthan, T. R.,. (2008). The role of organisational change management in offshore outsourcing of information technology services: Qualitative case studies from a multinational pharmaceutical company. Northumbria University.
Robertson, J. (2005). Organisational management and information systems. Oxford: CIMA/Elsevier.
Rossetto, C. R., Rossetto, A. M., and Carvalho, C. E. (2009). Study Of Strategic Changes In Companies Of The Construction Sector: An Aplication Of The Tushman And Romanelli Model. Redalyc. Available from http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3312/331227114008.pdf [Accessed on 30th March, 2016]
