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A notable influence on operations strategy arises from the need to manage and be responsive to change.
- External changes are caused by legislation, the economy, society’s expectations and new technology.
- Internal changes are brought on by staff initiative, use of available technology and innovation of goods or services.
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Resistance to change can be a major obstacle to the realisation of operations goals.
- Overcoming the resistance to change is a necessary aspect of change management.
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two principal sources of resistance to change
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financial
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psychological (inertia)
Financial costs
One cause of resistance to change is that of financial costs, often associated with:
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- purchasing new equipment
- redundancies
- retraining employees
- structural reorganisation of the business, including changes to plant and equipment layouts (plant layout).
Purchasing new equipment
- The purchase of equipment such as machinery and technology
- considered a capital cost
Redundancy payments
- Redundancy is defined as :: a loss of work arising from job skills that are no longer relevant to the workplace, which results in employees losing their jobs.
Retraining
- A cost that arises from change that causes a reorganisation of the business’s internal hierarchy
- or from the acquisition of technology
Reorganising plant layout
- Plant refers to the facilities where the machinery is arranged.
- major changes often require extensive reorganisation of the layout within the facility
Inertia
- inertia is :: a psychological resistance to change
- Inertia can be due to a feeling of uncertainty or fear of the unknown.