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TEXT 15 

 

Innovation & Change 

 

Kinds Of Change 

Things change much faster today than they did a hundred years ago. 

Or 25 years ago. A company that is not aware of the changes that affect it 

may not be in business very long. We can think of change in a firm as 

radical change or incremental change. Radical change results in major 

changes in a company: in its organization, in the way it produces things, in 

its relation to its customers. 

Radical change may results from a new president, a merger, a new 

technology, new powerful competition, a dramatic loss of profit. Incremental 

change is gradual. Incremental change builds on existing processes and may 

modify them slowly in order to improve operations. 

Change Agents. People who are responsible for the change process are 

called change agents. They can be managers, team leaders, or outside 

consultants. 

Planned and Unplanned Change. Change can also be planned or un-

planned. Unplanned change happens by chance. And it can have positive 

or negative effects. Planned change results from specific decisions and 

policies on the part of change agents.