Radical change- worth it? LO3357

NewSouth1@aol.com
Sun, 22 Oct 1995 11:06:22 -0400

Replying to LO3326 -- was LO as Hype/Fad? LO3326

Phillip Capper (LO3326) talks about performance going down for three years
after a major change at a manufacturer then rising to the top echelons of
the industry by year eight. Here's a question...can you attribute this to
the organizational change? In other words, where would the manufacturer
have been if the CEO had done nothing but strive for improvement using his
original organizational structures & processes. Would he have been out of
business? Or dramatically lower in market share? David Kearns in his book
on change at Xerox says he knew they had to change because he could see he
would be the CEO who would preside over the demise of his own company if
Xerox didn't alter course. GM's venture into robotics in the 1980's seem
to be an example of change & pain that were the wrong prescription at the
time? What do you think a CEO should consider before setting such a
dangerous,but possibly rewarding course, for his/her organization?

It would be useful to hear your answers to the question of when radical
change is warranted given the pain it causes and the significant drop in
performance that follows for a long time.

thanks,

--
Larry Rosenstrauch
Charlotte, North Carolina

E-mail: newsouth1@aol.com