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Stories of Change

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Stories of Change
Prof. Dr. Vanessa Graham
HRM 560
January 26, 2014

Introduction The current business atmosphere is characterized by a myriad of changes that often bring new opportunities as well as challenges to established ways of doing things. Technological advancements, changing economic fortunes are some of the factors that frequently call for new approaches in doing things so as to cushion business from the adverse effects of failing to embrace these changes. Increasing levels of competition puts firms to their toes as they continuously more effective techniques with a view to gain a competitive advantage (Anderson & Anderson, 2001). Organizations and scholars are in agreement that change is inevitable. The result is a development of change models which help organizations to embrace and structure change processes so as to reduce resistance (Brisson-Banks, 2010). This essay discusses Kotter’s change model and its application to the stories of change at IBM, Hewlett Packard and Kodak.
Kotter’s change model and stories of change As mentioned earlier, change is inevitable in organizations. While a majority of stakeholders often recognize the need for the implementation of change, most organizations are met with general resistance towards change. People often find it hard to abandon old ways of doing things that they are familiar with as they fear the unknown (Anderson & Anderson, 2001). Human beings fear failure as well as the loss of their power, authority or the very jobs in a new work dispensation. These fears make employees resistant towards change and may frustrate change effort even when such change is meant to be of high benefits to all stakeholders in an organization. Management scholars have devised various models to help reduce resistance and help people in organizations to embrace

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