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Concord Bookstore

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Concord Bookstore
University of Phoenix
Creating Change within Organizations HCS587
David Harrell
16 January, 2012 *

The Concord Bookshop is a small town bookstore with a 64-year history and a cultural appeal enjoyed by the citizens of the town. In recent years the economic environment created fierce competition for the bookstore, coupled with a need for innovative technology meant a need for restructuring. The financial status of the bookshop was in grave distress. Fearing financial ruin the board members made a unanimous decision to implement significant changes. However, the board did not take the necessary steps of including the appropriate stakeholders in the change process and obtaining employee support. Several phases of organization change were not executed during the Concord Bookshop discussion, which ultimately led to the failure of the company.
Strategic Renewal The board did not consider the employees talent, capabilities or experience as an important component to achieve the future goals of the bookstore (Spector, 2010). The residents of Concord frequented the bookstore, yet the board did not seek customer or employee support for their vision. Appropriate consultation may have saved the bookstore from financial despair. By failing to see the importance of stakeholder input and implementing changes before any valuable dialogue took place led to the gradual destruction of the bookstore. Strategic renewals are required by companies to gain a competitive edge. It is important that individuals responsible for organizational change study the dynamics of change, and understand effective strategies or processes for change. This will ensure the company can create and maintain customer service and momentum. The implementation of a new organizational model will ensure the company gains a profit and survives in the current market (Spector, 2010). Spector also suggested that starting a new business from the ground up with new employees is significantly easier than the challenges associated of implementing a new business vision and direction within an existing model (Spector, 2010).
Behaviour Change Change can be successful if a company or group within the organization changes the way an individual presents oneself (Spector, 2010). Behavior change is based on how an individual works within the environment. The employees of Concord Bookshop were not consulted therefore did not have an opportunity to verbalize their concerns or provide input to assist the company to move the bookstore in a new direction. The management team was aware of the financial distress and was willing to participate in any financial changes required. The employees of the bookstore had an abundance of knowledge and experience that may have contributed to ending financial turmoil (Schein, 2011). Open dialogue between the employees and owners may have facilitated the development and collaboration of new ideas in a competitive environment. The new strategies could have provided a new direction for the bookstore. According to Burnes, in discussing Kurt Lewin’s Change Model, for change to be effective within a group there has to be a collective approach by each member of the group (2004).
Conclusion
The Concord Bookshop was a well respected historical bookstore facing financial challenges. While the bookstore employed knowledgeable and dedicated employees, the owners and board members did not engage the stakeholders in the decisions related to the future direction of the store. The bookstore owners and board members failed to transform their own attitudes, behaviors, and ideas about the concepts from current employees. The company did not survive the changes.
References
Burnes, B. (2004). Kurt Lewin and the Planned Approach to Change: A Re-appraisal. Journal of Management Studies, 41(6), 977-1002. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2004.00463.x
Schein, E. H. (2011). Kurt Lewin's Change Theory in the Field and in the Classroom. Toward a Model of Managed Learning. Reflections, 1(1), 59-74. doi:10.1162/152417399570287
Spector, B. (2010). Implementing organizational change theory into practice (2nd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

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