Triggers for Change:

Learning has no end for an individual or the organization. Hence people must
update their skills and knowledge in order to perform efficiently as well as
effectively in the organization to get a competitive edge. If people learn in the
organization, naturally organizational growth happens in streamline. Individuals
within an organization learn as they carry out what is expected of them, written
as well as unwritten expectations. Written expectations can be reached through
emails, memos, and job descriptions. But unwritten expectations are not clear for
individuals in the organization.

Definition of triggers:

Triggers can be defined as situations which act as means to organizational

learning. Organizations do not learn proactively as with human beings (Watkins
and Marsick 1993).Tremendous pressures are given to perform and produce
results, thus organizations tend to invest heavily towards exploiting existing
knowledge and under invest in learning or developing new skills set.

Triggers are motivators which stimulate individuals to learn in turn it serves as a

motivating tool to stimulate organizations to learn. So triggers can be considered
as an influential tool which inspire for learning from both the perspective.

Triggers can be analyzed through various managerial tools with regard to

understand the internal as well as external environmental factors.

SWOT analysis:

When an organization looks for change, it must undergo for a SWOT analysis. This
would help the organization to know its’ internal strength as well as weaknesses.
And meanwhile this would gives a path to the opportunities which can be
grabbed and be aware about the threats which could be faced in future.
This approach would provide a structure in which to lay out the need and the
readiness of the organization to change. Change can be triggered by the desire to
alter the knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviour and relationships of people in the
organization in order to improve the performance of an individual in competitive
way.

Change is the only constant in the world and organizations need to manage
change in order to survive in the market place. There are
rapid changes occurring due to many reasons. Organizations need to identify
change triggers (need for change) and take necessary steps to implement
appropriate change processes. Change triggers can be broadly categorized into
two namely,
 Internal Change Triggers
 External Change Triggers

Internal Change Triggers

This is where the factors which are under the control of the organization (within
the organization) forces the organization to change to make changes. These could
be managed easily as they are under the control of the management. Though
internal change triggers can be managed easily there should not be any
underestimation and management should pay relevant attention to internal
change triggers. Some of the internal change triggers are explained below:
Human Resource Issues:
Organizational learning requires humans as agents, accordingly changes in human
resources within any organizations pose major impetus for organization learning.
There can be changes in leadership/people forcing the organization for change. As
an example if a new manager is appointed the way he manages
the business would be different to that of the previous manager.
Implementation Issues:
Technology playing significant role in the organization, today’s technology won’t
be there tomorrow, rapid changes are taken place in the area of technology. The
introduction of new technology, innovation or R & D often triggers the need for
organizational learning (see George 1983; Bessant and Buckingham 1993 Carlsson
and Kean 1976). Implementing a new innovation often alters existing work
routines, reward structures, or communication patterns to the extent the relevant
resources to support learning to encompass the innovations successfully and get
the benefit out of it.

Inter-Organizational Relations:
Integrated approach play a vital role for organizational learning which is an
emerging paradigm for the study of making strategy when firms diversity into
new practices and collaborate with other firms in creating inter-organizational
relationships or IOR (Alaharkonen and Rutenberg 1990).

Firm Size- Increased in the size of the firm requires the scale of operations to be
increased and vice versa.

Production methodology- There can be changes in production methodology

forcing the organization to change the way in which they operate the business.

Organizational structure- Sometimes there can be structural changes in

the hierarchy of the organization. As an example, an organization which is
managed in a top down approach may decide to adopt a bottom up approach
which triggers a change in the whole business process.
External Change Triggers
This is where a change in the organization is identified/triggered as a result of a
factor that is outside to the organization. The external change triggers are not
under the control of management and most of the firms struggle to cope up with
external change triggers.

Business Environmental Issues

Business turbulence comprises one of the most significant environmental jerks
faced by firms. Rapid changing dynamics of industries and competitive forces
requires firms to learn faster than competitors and make competition irrelevant
by developing uniqueness. Porters 05 forces model can be used to explain change
triggers of task environment so that they can think of some differentiation
strategies to beat the competition or make them irrelevant to their business.

Technological Environmental Issue

Technological developments are playing significant role in this competitive
scenario. If the business organizational goals need to be achieved, it has to be
adopted the current and advanced technology in a right Manner. The
technological policies are very important because the management has to kept
eye on the technical advancement in the market to gain the competitive
advantage. Formal education in schools would never be able to prepare workers
for their lifetime’s technological work demands. Thus it is paramount that firms
create a learning environment within their organizations to promote on the job
learning and growth.
Economic Environment Issues
Economic environment can affect supply and demand, identify the economic
influences which relevant to the business and monitor them is a greater
challenge. Economic Growth and Unemployment based on the stability of the
economic condition of the country.
It refers to all forces which have an economic impact on business like industrial
production, agriculture, planning, basic economic philosophy, infrastructure, per
capita Income, money supply, price level, population, savings, stages in the
economic development, trade cycles are major factors which have an impact on
the total economic environment. Thus firms had to erase outdated procedures
and generate new rules and set a precise standard to compete in the new open
market economy.

Ecological and Political Environment Issues

At the outset organizations have learned from natural disasters (Bhopal disaster).
Disasters make explicit organizational policies on safety measures (Bowman and
Kunreuther 1988). As nations become more concerned with the ecological
environment, and as new laws and statues are enacted to protect the natural
environment. Organizations also need to learn to cope with new regulation
following changes in political leadership and regimes (Godkin and Montano 1991).

Socio-cultural changes
It’s very comprehensive because it may include total factors within which an
organization operates. Culture consists of the cultivated behaviour of individual
within society. From the business point of view, socio cultural environment
includes expectations of the society form the business, as such attitude,
knowledge, perception and behaviour of society towards business and its
management etc.
Social movements are public activities who strive to integrate their general
aspirations into the system of values and norms that constitute legitimacy in a
society. Essentially, as the social culture changes, predicted by social movements,
the values of an organization may change to coincide with social change.