Chapter 14 - Managing change

• reasons for change in business - technology, employees, consumers, laws and competition
• managing change - the processes used to identify and adapt to changes in the business environment
• resistance to change - fear of failure, redundancy, loss of control, lack of rewards and laziness
• overcoming resistance to change - open communication, employee involvement, leading by example, rewards and training
• employee empowerment - management gives employees a certain amount of independence and responsibility for decision-making in the business - enables employees to make decisions on behalf of the business without meeting to get permision from management
• benefits of employee empowerment - decision-making, employee motivation, management time and better customer service
• risks to employee empowerment - employee training, managerial control, lower motivation and less managerial supervisiom
• employee participation relates to management encouraging staff to actively take part in running and improving the business
• team - a group of people who work together to achieve a common goal or complete a task
• importance of employee participation - increased motivation, improved industrial relations and decision-making
• stages to forming a team - forming, storming, norming and performing
• stage 1 - forming - the team members come together for the first time - there may be a lack of trust between the members
• stage 2 - storming - conflict can arise at this stage, as the members have different opinions - there may be personality clashes within the group
• stage 3 - norming - there is greater trust between the team members and they develop ground rules - enabling the team to function effectively
• stage 4 - performing - the team focus on achieving the team goal - they trust each other and work hard to make decisions and solve problems quickly and effectively
• benefits of teamwork - greater employee motivation, improved communication skills, better decision-making and faster task completion
• total quality management - a commitment by management and employees to continuously promote and encourage quality in all aspects of a firm's operation
• TQM - focus on consumers, continuous improvement, employee empowerment, quality assurance and teamwork
• quality assurance - a system, put in place by senior management at a firm, that guarantees quality at every stage of the production process from design to customer sales
• benefits of TQM - improved quality, lower costs, employee motivation and increased sales
• risks of TQM - slow process, pressure on staff, high costs and staff resistance
• CAD -software that can be used by business to create 2D and 3D models of new products
• CAM - software used to control and monitor manufacturing machinery
• CIM - the use of computers to control the entire production process of a product from design to production
• voice recognition software - software that recognises the human voice and can command a device to perform a particular task
• impact of tech of management - wider span of control, speed of communication, management stress, improved decision-making and production
• impact of tech on business personnel - teleworking, staff training, staff qualifications and skills and efficiency
• teleworking/e-working - this enables employees to work from home via the firm's computer system
• impact of tech on business opportunities - new products/services, faster production, e-commerce and improved decision-making