5.3.1

Change

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Causes of Change in a Business

Business change occurs when any process, system or structure within the business is changing.

Organisational size

Organisational size

  • An organisation changing size is an example of business change.
  • A business may have to shrink and make people redundant if revenues are lower than expected.
  • If a business is growing, then the organisation may need to hire more people and change its recruitment processes.
Poor business performance

Poor business performance

  • Poor business performance can result in business change as leaders are likely to introduce measures to reduce cost which may include restructuring and redundancy.
New ownership

New ownership

  • New ownership can result in business change if leaders have a different vision to previous owners.
  • For example, Palmer Luckey, who founded Oculus VR was fired shortly after joining Facebook (after it bought Oculus).
Transformational leadership

Transformational leadership

  • Transformational leadership can result in business change as employees are given opportunities to suggest changes and these may be implemented by managers and leaders.
The external environment

The external environment

  • The external environment (PESTLE) may result in business changes as businesses must respond to internal and external changes to maintain competitiveness.
    • For example, technological advances are part of the external environment and many supermarkets have introduced self-checkouts to take advantage of this technology.
    • In many cases, the introduction of technology has resulted in reducing staffing and making redundancies.

Impact of Change

Business change can impact several aspects of a business:

Competitiveness

Competitiveness

  • Business change can impact a business' competitiveness.
  • Any change which results in lowering unit costs can allow the business to reduce its selling price.
Productivity

Productivity

  • Business change can impact productivity if the change involves replacing human labour with technology.
  • Car manufacturers replaced lots of workers on their assembly line with robots made by businesses like KUKA.
Financial performance

Financial performance

  • Business change can impact financial performance as change which results in lowering costs can improve profitability.
Stakeholders

Stakeholders

  • Business change can impact stakeholders as employees may become concerned about their job security although shareholders may see increased dividends if profitability increases.
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1

Exploring Business

1.1

Features of Business Organisations

1.1.1Sole Traders & Partnerships1.1.2Private & Public Limited Companies1.1.3Types of Liability & Not-For-Profits1.1.4Purposes of Businesses1.1.5Purposes of Businesses 21.1.6The Different Economic Sectors1.1.7Multinational Companies1.1.8Stakeholders1.1.9Influence of Stakeholders
1.2

Organisation of Businesses

1.2.1Organisational Structure1.2.2Types of Organisational Structures1.2.3Business Aims & Objectives1.2.4Business Aims1.2.5Business Objectives
1.3

Business Environment

1.3.1External Influences1.3.2Political & Legal Change1.3.3Economic Environment1.3.4Social & Technological Environment1.3.5Lifestyle & Technological Environment1.3.6Corporate Social Responsibility1.3.7The Competitive Environment1.3.8Innovation1.3.9Risk & Uncertainty1.3.10Porter's Five Forces1.3.11SWOT Analysis
2

Marketing Campaigns

2.1

Marketing

2.1.1Setting Marketing Objectives2.1.2Customer Needs2.1.3The Market2.1.4Competition & The Market2.1.5Consumer Behaviour2.1.6Market Research2.1.7Forms of Market Research2.1.8Market Segmentation2.1.9Cultural & Social Factors in Marketing2.1.10Promotional Decisions 32.1.11Pricing Strategies
2.2

Marketing Mix

2.2.1Marketing Mix2.2.2Product Life Cycle2.2.3Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming2.2.4Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration2.2.5Promotional Decisions2.2.6Promotional Decisions 22.2.7Promotional Decisions 32.2.8Market Mapping
3

Business Finance

3.1

Sources of Finance

3.1.1Internal Finance3.1.2External Finance3.1.3External Finance 23.1.4Sources of Business Finance
3.2

Financial Planning

3.2.1Revenue3.2.2Costs3.2.3Cash & Cash Flow3.2.4Cash & Cash Flow 23.2.5Break-Even Analysis3.2.6Profits
3.3

Financial Statements

3.3.1Balance Sheets3.3.2Income Statements3.3.3Liquidity
4

International Business

4.1

Globalisation

4.1.1Growing Economies4.1.2Specialisation & Trade
4.2

International Business

4.2.1Internationalisation4.2.2International Trade4.2.3MNCS4.2.4Conditions that Prompt Trade4.2.5Assessment of a Country
4.3

International Economic Environment

4.3.1Globalisation4.3.2Factors Contributing to Globalisation4.3.3Protectionism4.3.4The EU & the WTO4.3.5Trading Blocs
4.4

Factors Affecting International Business

4.4.1Global Competitiveness4.4.2Ethics of Global Business4.4.3Controlling MNCs4.4.4Cultural & Social Factors in Marketing
5

Principles of Management

5.1

Management & Leadership

5.1.1Managers5.1.2Management Theories5.1.3Managing Organisational Culture5.1.4Management Style
5.2

Theories of Motivation

5.2.1Motivating & Engaging Employees5.2.2Taylor's Theory5.2.3Mayo's Theory5.2.4Maslow's Theory5.2.5Herzberg's Theory
5.3

Managing Change

5.3.1Change5.3.2Key Factors in Change5.3.3Scenario Planning5.3.4Managing Change5.3.5Managing Strategic Implementation
6

Business Decision Making

6.1

Business Principles & Practices

6.1.1Influences in External Environments6.1.2Product Decisions6.1.3Competitive Environment6.1.4Corporate Strategy6.1.5Quantitative Sales Forecasting6.1.6Legislation
6.2

Quality Management

6.2.1Importance of Quality6.2.2Measuring Quality6.2.3Total Quality Management6.2.4Evaluating TQM
6.3

Human Resources

6.3.1Contracts6.3.2Recruitment6.3.3Training a Workforce
6.4

Documents & Business Decisions

6.4.1Sales Forecasts6.4.2Managing Strategic Implementation6.4.3Problems with Strategy

Practice questions on Change

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Causes of business change:Fill in the list
  2. 2
    If an organisation needs to reduce its size, what may happen to some employees?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Why can lowering costs lead to a business becoming more competitive?Multiple choice
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Herzberg's Theory

Key Factors in Change