Change is a common theme among business. This applies to any size corporation or industry. The world we live in is ever changing and business of any type, needs to keep up to remain successful. A business that can handle change will survive whereas those that don’t handle change may fail. The way a business manages change and how successful they are at it may vary depending on the nature of the business as well as the amount of change needed and the people involved. To keep up with competition it’s important to respond to the needs of the business. Goals include doing things that create and maintain quality performance by employees. The first important step in the process is recognizing the need for change. Unfortunately, not all employees may recognize the state of a company. Employees may disagree with the condition of the business. It would be vital to have an overall understanding of the need for change. The communication can’t be in the form of a memo or announcement. There needs to be strategic renewal where the intent is to regain sustainable competitive advantage. Change in the organization needs to align the internal process that demands new strategies to find new talent and skills of its employees. The goal being lasting changes in employee behavior to support strategic renewal. According to Sector (2010), effective strategic renewal needs behavioral change that targets patterns of employee actions and interactions to meet the company’s strategy and to achieve and sustain outstanding performance. Behavior is said to come from both the person and the organizational context in which the person works. It’s the setting and circumstances of which we work.

In looking at the failure of the Concord Bookshop there are some things that were not done effectively to make the change necessary for its success. I think the first major error made is that the company did not take the time to help employees understand the need for change. They made a surprise announcement about a new GM. Although no layoffs and no salary cuts the employees were upset and viewed the owners as immovable. Although the employees were allowed to voice their opinions and concerns they did not feel validated. They were simply thanked for their comments and were then told it was being done our way and if you don’t like it, each person would have to decide how they want to proceed. The employees were devastated and deflated. They felt everything they had worked for was gone and that they were expendable as opposed to valuable members of the team. A difference of opinion existed between the owners and the current management regarding the financial state of the company. Each felt strongly about the success of the company and wanted it to continue. The hard stance the owners took made the employees feel completely resistant to anything they wanted to do. Employees were satisfied with the way things were. Many of these employees have been with Concord for a very long time. They feel invested in the store and felt discounted with the way these changes were basically thrown at them. I don’t think they ever really were made to understand that there was a need for change for them to continue to be successful. The understanding of the need for change is the first step in the process and without that understanding it’s hard to progress. The failure of the Concord Bookshop is a sad example of a potentially business saving idea poorly implemented. Reference
Spector, B. (2010). Implementing organizational change: Theory into practice (2nd ed). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection