Distinguish between internal and external forces of change - MBA Assignment Notes

Distinguish between internal and external forces of change - MBA Assignment Notes
Answer:

Internal forces and External forces of change:

1) Internal forces of change

Any change in organization’s internal factors may also necessitate change. Such a change is required because of two reasons: change in managerial personnel and deficiency in existing organizational practices.

Change in the top management: 

Change in the top management and consequent change in the ideas to run the organization also leads to change in the system, structure and processes. Old managers are replaced by new managers which are necessitated because of retirement, promotion, transfer or dismissal. Each new manager brings his own ideas and way of working into the organization. The formal or informal relationships may change because of changes in top management. Moreover, attitudes, ideology, leadership style of the person may be different from the earlier one, this will reflect in their actions and decisions. The result is that an organization has to change accordingly.

Change in size of the organization: 

Change in the organization’s size leads to change in the internal structure and complexity of the operations in the organization.

Performance gaps: 

When a gap between set target and actual results (in terms of market share, employee productivity and profit) is identified, organizations face the forces to change and reduce the gap.

Employee needs and values: 

With changing needs and values of the employees, organizations change their policies. For example, attractive financial incentives, challenging assignments, vertical growth opportunities and autonomy at work may be provided in an organization to attract and retain its effective employees.

Deficiency in existing organization: 

Sometimes, changes are necessary because of deficiency in the present organizational arrangement and process. These deficiencies may be in the form of unmanageable span of management, large number of managerial levels, lack of co-ordination between various departments, obstacles in communication, multiplicity of committees, lack of uniformity in policy decisions, lack of co-operation between line and staff and so on.

2) External forces of change

Each organization has goals and responsibility related to others in its environment. Thus, an organization must not only deal with its environment in conducting its affairs, but also give consideration to the goals of others, as it establishes its goals and conducts its operations. The present-day environment is dynamic and will continue to be dynamic. Changes in social, political, economic, technological, and legal environment force organizations to change themselves. Such changes may result in organizational changes like major functions, production process, labour-management relations, nature of competition, economic constraints, organization methods, etc. In order to survive in the changing environment, organization must change.

Technology: 

Technological changes are responsible for changing the nature of the job performed at all levels in an organization. When there is a change in technology in the organization’s environment and other organizations adopt the new technology, the organization under focus becomes less cost-effective and its competitive position weakens. Therefore, it has to adopt new technology. When the organizations adopt a new technology, its work structures are affected and a new equilibrium has to be established. We have seen that technology has impact on organization structure, organizational processes, and behavior of people. For example, computers and automation have made significant impact on organizational functioning.

Business scenario: 

Due to rapid changes in the business scenario with increasing competition and global economy, the needs and demands are also changing among the customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Organizations are, therefore, forced to change their operational methods to meet the demands of the stakeholders. Since every organization exports its outputs to the environment, an organization has to face competition in the market. There may be two types of forces which may affect the competitive position of an organization, other organizations supplying the same products and, buyers who are buying the product. Any change in these forces may require suitable changes in the organization. For example, when Indian economy was liberalized (the process still continues), there were many foreign organizations which entered the Indian market. This forced many Indian organizations to re-align themselves with the new situation. The result is that there have been many cases of divesting the business and concentrating on the core business, acquiring core business, and developing competitive competence to face competitive threats. Similarly, there may be changes in buyers in terms of their needs, liking-disliking, and income disposal for a product. These changes force the organizations to bring those products which meet buyer’s requirements.

Environmental and National factors: 

Environmental factors such as economic, political and demographic and legal factors play a vital role in devising organizational policies and strategy. Any change in these political and legal factors may affect the organizational operation. For example, organizations may have to change their employment policies in accordance with the government policy, demand of the non-government organizations and changing economic conditions of a country.

Social changes: 

Social changes reflect in terms of people’s aspirations, their needs, and their way of working. Social changes have taken place because of the several forces like level of education, urbanization, feeling of autonomy, and international impact due to new information sources. These social changes affect the behavior of people in the organization. Therefore it is required to make adjustment in its working so that it matches with people.