Managing Change Final
Change is an ongoing process that is inevitable; organizations no longer have an option to avoid change, and therefore they have to change in order to survive and avoid being obsolete. It is quite a challenging thing for an organization to change, let alone a single individual. This places huge and increased pressure on the management of an organization to discern and manage the important details of change. Therefore, managers of organization have to understand how to manage change. There are several aspects to consider in managing change. These include questions such as, how do organizations detect when they ought to change, and the cues the company should look for, and etc. All organizations face several different forces for change that range from the internal, emanating from within the organization, to the external, which emanate outside the organization. Cognizance of these forces can assist managers to decide when they ought to ponder executing an organizational change. This particular paper will consider the internal and external forces for change in Target Corporation and how such changes should be managed (UNITAR, 2010).
Primary Internal and External Forces Generating Change in Target
Internal forces for change are forces which come from within the organization. These particular forces might be understated and non-obvious, such as low motivation and morale; they may also be noticeable in outward signals, such as conflict within the organization or low productivity. It is imperative to note that internal forces for change emanate from the decisions and behaviors of managers as well as from human resource issues. On the other hand, external forces for change are instigated from outside the organization. Considering these forces may have international impacts, they might cause a company to consider the essence of the business or industry it is operating in, and the practices through which its products or services are produced. In particular, there are four main external forces for change: market changes, technological advancements, demographic features, and social and political aspects. The following are the primary internal and external forces for change that influence Target Corporation as an organization (UNITAR, 2010).
i. Internal Forces
1. Substitutes and Complements
Target Corporation offers a wide range of products and therefore has several close substitute sellers. A retail store that is more specified is a partial substitute seller for the corporation's different departments. For instance, Walgreens offers competition in the pharmaceutical area, and Best Buy offers competition in the field of electronics and also groceries. These forces for change cause the company to consider an organizational change, in the sense that its products and services are top notch and it wishes to ensure that the consumers do not opt for close substitutes from other retail companies (Tongue et al., 2012).
2. Fierce Competition
Walmart, the leading company in the retail industry, offers intense competition to Target Corporation in terms of pricing competition and its low operating costs. In the retail industry, the buyers have little to no cost when they want to switch from one rival company to another. It is very easy for consumers in general to shop around to other retail companies for the best price (Tongue et al., 2012). The companies in this industry can easily adjust and alter their prices in a fast manner and more so, these changes in prices can be greatly advertised and therefore easily observable (Tongue et al., 2012).
3. Differentiation
The strategy employed by Target Corporation for differentiating its products is deemed to be one of the internal forces that are prompting change. With regards to this strategy, Target Corporation has for a lengthy period represented itself as an exciting, fashionable, and chic alternative with high-class product offerings. This strategy has the benefit of handing Target some protection from going head-to-head on price rivalry with Wal-Mart. Nonetheless, it is indeterminate whether the company has the capability to instantaneously sustain both an expensive and an inexpensive image. As Target continues to brand its commodities or products, it appears that Target merchandise is more costly, yet simultaneously higher quality than Wal-Mart products (Tongue et al., 2012).
ii. External Forces
1. Technological Advancements
The increase in technological advancements has transformed the retail industry. Retail companies are now able to employ social media networks, connect with consumers, and offer them special discount deals. Considering the fact that multi-channel retailing is constantly evolving, there is increased and heightened pressure on companies to be at par with the changing demands of the consumers and the developments...
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