Abstract
M.Comm.
This chapter addresses the issues of the changing nature of change, the significant changes and challenges organisations will have to deal with in the new world, and the effect of these changes on the way organisational change will have to be managed in the future. The purpose of this theoretical assessment of change, organisational change and managing organisational change was to institute the rationale why it is important for managers and leaders, of today and tomorrow, to reassess their roles in the dramatic changes their organisations are experiencing. The section on change reveals that the nature of change has changed again, but this time, more drastically than ever experienced before in the world. The changes the world experienced since the mid-nineties are not just exponentially bigger than those of the past, it is also escalating at a much higher rates than ever before. The main reason for this continuous growing change follows from the changes in the forces that drive these changes. The increasing pace of technological development, communication and globalisation are constantly creating new world markets that provide ample new opportunities for businesses but at the same time creating a highly complex and competitive business environment. The section on organisational change indicates that these changes in the business environment force organisations to reassess their positions in the markets. Local boundaries and protection are disappearing quickly and more multinationals are appearing in the world markets. Competition is escalating, competitive advantages are disappearing, products and services becomes obsolete, innovation is the new game, stability disappears, and the people and not the leaders becomes the drivers of the new organisations. The nature of these change, forces organisations to implement major changes, in fact, too totally reinvent all aspects of the organisation, leadership, management, structure, processes, and corporate culture. The last section of the chapter, which looked at the managing of organisational change indicate that managing these major organisational changes has become the biggest challenge ever for the leaders and managers of organisations. The old well established change management methods and processes proofs to be insufficient to deal with the new challenges. Change has to happen quickly and continuously, leaving no time for well-planned incremental change processes. Integrated change management methods and processes that could drive structural, business processes and corporate culture changes at the same time needs to be designed and implemented. Most importantly, the organisation needs change process that could change its corporate culture as quickly as it change its structure and business processes. This chapter also emphasis the need to provide the organisations, leaders, and managers with insight into the nature and importance of their corporate cultures in these major change, since it is the people of the organisation that will drive the implementation of these changes. Chapter 3 deals extensively with the role of corporate culture in the change process.