Should Companies Necessarily Adapt to Change?

Introduction 

In today’s dynamic cooperate environment, the gap between obsolescence and relevance grows wider on daily bases. For a company to stay relevant, then it has no option but to adapt to change. However, companies must do so in advance before the change signals the call. To stay relevant implies anticipating new directions and foreseeing the need for innovation (Richards, 2015). It also means staying connected globally with emerging markets and trends, externally with clients and internally with the employees. 

The advantages of adapting to change by far outweigh the disadvantages. Adopting technological change is crucial to any company. Without changes, the leaders of the company will have to dictate correspondences to their secretaries, editing their words as well as taking them back to the planning table, which is a tedious and time-wasting process (Richards, 2015). On the other hand, adopting new technologies can be distractive at first as the staff spends some valuable time trying to learn it. However, in the long run, the change not only enhances work efficiency but also leads to overall increased productivity. Technology adoption is key as it revolutionizes communication within a company, hence, affecting how the employees communicate. The days of dialing rotary phones and getting busy signal feedbacks are gone. Through technology, companies have a more extensive client base which offers diversification of products, as different sects, has different requirements (Kline, 2017). Getting an expert or an expert opinion is not as tedious in a company that has adopted technology change as compared to one that is yet to adopt it. Through technology, companies get to access wider databases that offer solutions to some common day-to-day challenges. Today, adapting to such change offers the company an opportunity to learn more about different enterprises in an efficient manner than ever before. The existence of companies more than ever before is dependent on its ability to meet the customer needs. As the business world evolves, the clients’ needs also grow as well as change. By so doing they create new demand for new kinds of services and products (Richards, 2015). For instance, a company that supplied conventional ovens several years ago will be out of business today as clients are in need of better products such as microwaves. Also, changes in customers’ needs open up new areas for companies to explore. Therefore, for companies to meet these dynamic changes in customer needs, they have to be ready to adopt new changes. 

Adopting changes is essential for companies to mitigate the effect of the economy. Over the years, the economy has affected business in both negative and positive ways. Either way, the companies have to overcome the challenges that result from such economic changes. A growing economy, as well as an increasing demand for services and products, implies that companies have to consider expansion (Richards, 2015). This calls for increasing of the staff as well as developing new facilities. On the other hand, a weak economy is more detrimental to companies as they are forced to undertake difficult decisions that affect the salaries of the employees or their job securities. However, companies that are early adopters of change will have an easier time in raising solutions to mitigate these challenges. Moreover, accepting new changes is essential in providing growth opportunities to the staff of the companies. A new change brings with it a new challenge (Kline, 2017). As the staff of the companies struggle to solve these challenges, they get to learn new skills, hence, become empowered. Changes also provide the workers with the much-required chance to exercise individual creativity. At the end of the day, the employees raise new ideas and become more committed to performing their duties (Kline, 2017) . Once the companies adopt these changes, they get to evaluate the skills and competencies of their staff. Therefore, the can identify the gaps between the current capabilities and the required skill in responding to growth. 

Companies should also adopt changes to challenge the status quo. By asking the question why companies can initiate innovations and new ideas. Changes in ways of looking at client needs, service delivery, strengthening client interaction and new products have a potential of attracting new markets for the companies (Richards, 2015). New employees, on the other hand, are crucial as they might spot opportunities that the current employees might have overlooked. Hence, it becomes essential for businesses to adapt to changes to realize growth. Changes are also crucial in reacting to internal and external pressures. The management as well as the employees, especially those who are members of organized unions continually exert pressure for change. On the other hand, companies face external pressure from various areas, which include the clients, changing government regulations, financial markets, competition, and shareholders as well as other factors in the companies’ external environment (Kline, 2017). Crises and disasters are uncertainties that companies rarely anticipate. For instance, many companies and even industries like airlines and travel did not anticipate the dramatic September 11 attack. The recent financial crises have resulted in changes in the financial service industry that forces companies to change. Therefore, if a company is to survive, then it must adapt to new changes. 

Conclusion 

Companies should adapt changes not only to stay relevant but also to promote growth. They should constantly review their mission, vision as well as strategies to enhance their competitiveness. They should be willing to adopt new technology as well as train their staff to empower them with new skills. Changing the companies’ structure and culture will go a long way in enhancing efficiency and productivity. 

Reference 

Richards, L. (2015). Why is change important in an organization?  Houston Chronicle . 

Kline, J. A. (2017). How to implement change in your organization:  Armed Forces Comptroller ,  52 (1), 35.