...Organizational Change Process at Concord Bookshop HCS/587 Organizational Change Process at Concord Bookshop The intense competition and economy are two major drivers of organizational changes. The development and implementation of any significant organizational changes requires strategic planning. Kurt Lewin’s change model offers a simple and an effective approach for implementing the organizational changes. The lack of a strategic planning to implement the organizational changes could be demoralizing for the staff and disastrous for the entire organization. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the impact of poor organizational change planning at Concord Bookshop in New England. Additionally, the paper will describe the Kurt Lewin’s three phases of organizational change. The failure to follow three phases of organizational change resulted in employees’ resistance to embrace the proposed changes. The Concord Bookshop was a highly regarded bookstore famous for its knowledgeable staff and friendly service. The online mega bookstores, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble have created a stiff competition forcing the Concord Bookshop owners to implement significant organizational changes. The owners failed to include the staff members in the change process creating an environment of resistance that forced many long-time employees to leave the organization. Kurt Lewin’s Phases of Change Model Unfreeze Phase During this phase, the top management effectively communicates with...
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...Concord Bookshop Introduction As the world is changing with Technology, many companies are finding themselves struggling to stay afloat in competitive market. Whenever new business strategy is introduced in a company, a change has to take place. The way changes are introduced and implemented, determines the success of the change. Before change is introduced, there must be need for change and after implementation of change; there is expectation (Vaughn, 2012). Change is not an easy process; it requires team work in planning, organizing and implementation. Organizational change is successful when it is effective and yield growth, but a failure when is unproductive. This paper will discuss the phases in the organizational change process and what lead to the change failure at the Concord Bookshop. Phases of Organizational Change Process Change is trying to do things in a different way for a better result or outcome. (Spector, 2010). Kurt Lewin’s three stage theory of change are Unfreeze, Change and Freeze. The Unfreezing stage is the understanding of the need for change and preparing for it. It requires moving away from the comfort zone of the old norms. The Change stage or Transition is the most difficult time of the change. At this stage reaction to change are displayed, people are frustrated and fearful. Support is need at this stage either in form of training, or in-services and mistakes are expected...
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...Concord Bookshop Creating Change Within Organizations HCS 587 March 30, 2013 Professor David Harrell Concord Bookshop The Concord Bookshop was a 64 year old small establishment that had been well established in New England. The establishment had been having financial difficulties due to larger competitors and Internet purchases. The board decided to hire a new general manager to change the direction of the company to avoid ruin. There are three stages of an organizational change process. When changes in an organization do not complete these stages or leave one of them out it can result in angry employees who are resistant to change. Ultimately this leads to financial ruin of the organization. This paper will describe processes of change that were not completed at the Concord Bookshop which lead to change failure. Phases in Organizational Change Process There are three stages of the organizational change process for implementation to be effective. Kurt Lewin’s Model for Change describes the three vital phases as unfreezing, moving, and refreezing. The first stage, unfreezing, occurs when employees or an organization learns that change is required, which creates dissatisfaction with the way things have always worked. “We must accept disconfirming information and connect it to something we care about” (Spector, 2010, p. 29). This stage creates increased anxiety for the stakeholders of an organization. Open communication is imperative for discussions of change to decrease...
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...Concord Bookshop Paper The article “Tales of Woe at Concord Bookshop” is about a small town bookshop that has been in existence for 64 years. Many people of the town enjoyed using the bookshop. The bookshop’s financial situation was considered to be the worst it had ever been, so the board of directors made a drastic decision to hire a new general manager. No changes were going to be made to any current employee. This paper will show the organizational change processes that were not implemented at the Concord Bookshop, which led to the change failure. The phases in an organizational change process are strategic renewal and organization change, behavioral changes, and employee participation and resistance to change. According to Spector (2010), strategic renewal requires organizational change and demands “wide-scale invention, reinvention, and redesign of business processes and organizational structures” (p. 4). For strategic renewal to be successful, organizations need to create new business models. The business model is the organizations approach to generating revenue and making a profit. Changing an existing business model is more difficult than starting a new one because changing an existing model requires organizational changes. These changes usually affect behavior patterns of existing...
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...Concord Paper Deejah Klein HCS 587 December 24, 2012 Introduction Change is inevitable. According to Borkowski (2005), “change is a very complex phenomenon involving the multiplicity of man’s motivations in both micro and macro systems and that man gets satisfied with his equilibrium and is resistant to changing his status quo.” Most organizational efforts will be met by resistance. The Concord Bookshop is initiating a change due to the store’s financial situation. The President of the bookshop announced that a new general manager will be hired. This will not lead to any salary cuts or employee lay off. Employees were not happy with this change and met with board members to express their concerns but the board members had already made up their minds and told employees to decide on how they want to proceed. This approach backfired, which led some of the employees to quit or give their notice (Spector, 2010). This paper discusses the phases in the organizational change process and also discusses the phases that was not completed or implemented at the concord bookshop that led to the change failure. Phases in the Organizational Change Process In 1947, Kurt Lewin developed a three stage process of implementing change which is necessary for effective change within an organization. The three stages are: Unfreezing: Recognizing the need for change is very vital. This is the first phase that involves preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary. The existing...
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...Concord Bookshop Paper Read “Tales of Woe at Concord Bookshop” in Ch. 1 of Implementing Organizational Change. Prepare a 350- to 700-word paper discussing the phases in the organizational change process including the following: • Describe 2 to 3 phases of the organizational change process that were not completed or implemented at the Concord Bookshop that lead to the change failure. • Format your paper according to APA standards. The Concord Bookshop is not a health care organization, but the organizational change process you study in this course applies to other types of organizations. In this assignment, you must focus on the change process. You observe how this process applies to health care organizations as you progress through the course. This assignment is due in Week One. |Content |Points |Points |Additional Comments: | |60 Percent |Available |Earned | | | |3 |X/3 | | |Discusses the phases in the organizational change process | | | | |Described 2 to 3 phases of the organizational change process that were not | | | | |completed...
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...Concord Bookshop Paper Shobin Kovoor HCS/587 February 27, 2012 Laura Hurst Concord Bookshop Paper Change is a natural and necessary process in an organization. Continual and managing change has become one of the greatest challenges in today’s successful organization. Implementing successful organizational change is a key challenge to many businesses. This paper provides a description about phases in organizational change process and what lead to the failure of Concord bookshop to survive change. An organizational change means introducing a new enterprise resource planning system to co-ordinate and standardize internal process (Spector, 2010). According to Kurt Lewin, there are three phases of organizational change. First one is unfreezing. In this phase, the organization needs to identify the need of change and find solutions. A strategic renewal is needed. Organization must make the people visualize the need for change. Next phase is change. This phase is aimed on individual behavior. People try to do things in a better way. This process takes long time. Next phase is refreezing. In this phase changes are implemented and evaluated. The organization needs new goals and good leadership. Concord bookshop is an old store, that is running for 64 years in New England. This store was famous in the small community and they had support from the people. The management knew the need for change. There was financial crisis in the store. The owners failed to communicate the vision...
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...Change is an inevitable part of any organization. Organizations are faced with the challenge of choosing how to correctly handle the organizational change process. Establishments have two options when it comes to the change process they can choose to handle the change with organization and proper planning or they can choose to implement the change without ensuring proper planning or implementation. Many theoretical models have been established to ensure that organizations have references to use when implementing change in an organization. Below Kurt Lewin’s change model will be explained and used to analyze the change that occurred several years ago at successful independent bookstore called Concord Bookshop. The Concord Bookshop is a 64-year-old independent bookstore in New England that underwent big changes. Kurt Lewin was a psychologist who studied change implementation. Lewin’s change model includes three phases the unfreezing, changing, and refreezing stage. The first stage in Lewin’s model is the unfreezing stage. In this stage the individual or individuals are proposing a process to change and have to provide the individuals affected with an understanding of why this change is necessary. Nancy Borkowski (2005) states that the unfreezing stage is when the, “workers involved in perpetuating resistance acquire an understanding of variances that exist between current practices and behavior and desires activities and behavior” (p.384). This stage did not occur during the...
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...The Phases in the Organizational Change Process HCS/587 October 14, 2013 The Phases in the Organizational Change Process Spector (2010) stated “organizational change is typically initiated in response to a trigger event or a shift in the environment that precipitates a need for altered strategies and new patterns of employee behavior” (p.18). According to Spector (2010), to understand and analyze the dynamics of change it is important to sort out and distinguish the different approaches that can be taken. In chapter one Spector gives the reader insight into the Concord Bookshop, a bookstore that is in the process of implementing new changes. Spector (2010), states that “for the Concord Bookshop, the increasing penetration of online booksellers into the store’s market space triggered the requirement for strategic renewal” (p.18). Kurt Lewin developed a change model to assist organizations such as the Concord Bookshop with changes. There are three steps in Lewin’s...
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...Introduction It’s like a family quarrel that nobody wants and nobody knows how to stop. The Concord Bookshop, a 64-year-old independent store regarded as one of the best in New England, is beset by a bitter clash between owners and staff. The conflict puts pressure on the store at a time when independent booksellers are reeling from competition from chains and the Internet. Eight of Concord Bookshop’s employees, including the trio of top managers, have quit or given their notice. The staffers’ years of service add up to 73. The three managers, including [the] general manager have worked at the store for a total of 34 years. Meanwhile, a group of outraged local authors . . . has fired off a letter to the owners supporting the staff. The precipitating event was a surprise announcement last month by the owners a group of three families represented by a board led by President Morgan “Kim” Smith of Concord—that a new general manager will be hired. No one was laid off, and no one’s salary was cut. Yet many of the staff were outraged at the de facto demotions, as well as by what they saw as the owners’ immovable stance. “We asked for a meeting with the whole board,” says [a departing staff member]. “We presented our concerns, and they thanked us for our input and said, ‘We’re going to do it our way, and if you don’t like it, each of you will have to make up your mind as to how to proceed.’ Something in me died, the fragile alchemy that made it such a great place to work had...
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...Concord Bookshop Paper According to the famous phrase “the only constant in this world is change”. Life changes constantly and changes happen either it is with a positive or with a negative outcome. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” according to Charles Darwin. With organizations, change is constant. Organizational change is inevitable in order to cope with competitors. The private owned business Concord Bookshop is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has been the pride of the town for years. According to the reading, Concord Bookshop is considered as one the best in New England. The Concord Bookshop develops a change due to the bookstore’s financial state. This essay will discuss the phases in the organizational change process and discusses the phases that were not implemented at the concord bookshop that resulted to company’s business failure. The three phases of organizational change are turnaround, tools and techniques, and transformational behavioral change. In turnaround phase, implementing cost effective measures are, usually, the first step in most recovery approach as they can be accomplished quickly and generally needs little or no capital or investment of any resources. Another phase of organizational change is the tools and techniques that aims on improving internal organization processes. Changes on the organizations processes are being made without affecting behaviors of employees...
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...Change is inevitable; it happens everywhere, it happens every day. Change is the new norm, the new stability. The idea of change even in the best of times is unsettling to most individuals. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” stated Charles Darwin. The Concord Bookshop went through changes as many other companies are faced in today’s recession, fierce competition, innovative technology, and restructuring needs. According to Kurt Lewin there are three phases of change implementation: freezing, moving, and refreezing. In this paper, I will describe phases that Concord Bookshop failed to complete that lead to change failure. Phases of Organizational Change Before the change occurs, there are techniques a company can use to minimize resistance. These include good strategic planning, commitment to leadership and team-building skills, and good communication skills (Gambrel & Stevens, 1992). Concord Bookshop failed to use any of the said techniques. According to Spector (2010), a new organizational model is necessary for a business to gain profit and survive in the market. When Concord management hired new general manager there is no strategic planning done. Although the management attempts to hire new manager is needed to keep updated with technology and the ability to competition, management’s approach to change implementation led to resistance and resentment. Concord management failed to involve...
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...Concord Bookshop HCS 587 Georgetta Baptist The concept of change is vital to the survival of all forms of life; it is nearly impossible to remain stagnant and unchanged when inhabiting a round sphere that is in constant motion. Today’s society thrives on competition, speed, and convenience. Long gone are the days of mom and pop stores and consumers actually enjoying to shop in person. Instead, physical stores are being replaced by the convenience of virtual shopping from your cell phones, Ipads, computers, etc. This is the case of the Concord bookshop, whom in its hay day was a highly regarded community jewel in Boston, known for their customer service and vast knowledge of books. The last few years have been financially difficult for the bookshop and in a last ditch effort to remain open, the owners have decided to enforce a new business model much to the dissatisfaction of their employees. I will focus on two phases of the organizational change process that were not implemented by the Concord bookshop that ultimately led to their failure. The first failure occurred when the new general manager and the owners decided to change the business plan without consulting the three current store managers or the employees. “Change imposed from “above”-top executives telling employees that they must alter their behaviors in order to implement a new strategy or perform better under the old strategy-is likely to engender resistance” (Spector, p.11, 2010). Getting people to change...
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...Concord Bookshop HCS/587 December 10, 2012 David Harrell Concord Bookshop Concord bookshop was an organization that had challenges. This paper entails the description of the Concord bookshop and its organization. Organizational change process is explained along with Lewin’s Change Model phase; unfreezing, change, and refreezing. The phases of Lewin’s Change Model that Concord did not implement at the time of the change will be described also. The Concord bookshop was an independent bookstore company that implemented a change during a time when the competition booksellers were chain bookstores and Internet books sales (Spector, 2010). The hire of a general manager caused conflict between the Concord owners and the employees the way the change was presented. Concord owners were set with their decision (Spector, 2010). The company did not listen to the employee’s concerns and told the employee’s the company will do it the way of the company and if he or she did not like it, it was his or her choice to continue or not with the company (Spector, 2010). The employee’s believed they were unimportant and dispensable; this led to the employee’s quitting. Lack of proper change implementation by the owners led to conflict and resistance from the employee’s. The Concord owner’s did not use the organizational change process or the strategic renewal approach. Strategic renewal helps to redefine the relationship with the employee’s. The organizational change process...
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...The Concord Bookshop and the Change process Tara Buckenmyer HCS/587 March 17, 2014 Carol Rohrback Organizational Change and the Concord Bookstore Change is inevitable for business owners. External forces like technological advances and consumer demands often places financial hardship on a company. The success of online shopping has forced bookstore owners to become creative in competing with Internet companies. To remain competitive and maintain viability, bookstore owners must be able to adapt quickly and implement organizational changes. Organizational change means introducing a new enterprise resource planning system to co-ordinate and standardize internal process (Spector, 2010). Businesses often turn to strategic renewal changes to improve profit margins and customer relations. An independently owned bookstore, The Concord Bookshop, underwent organizational change processes that led to failure. The Concord Bookshop The Concord Bookshop was a thriving bookstore in Boston, Massachusetts, until national bookstore chains and the availability of online shopping affected its financial status. To improve the store’s financial position, the owners represented by a board president, elected to implement organizational changes. The owners no longer wanted to use a three-way management system. They elected to demote the existing managers into different positions and hire a new general manager. This came as an abrupt surprise to the current employees. Employees...
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