The decision about when to change is as important as what to change and how much to change. There are several strategies:
- Change when things are going well. Organizations that make this choice are leaders who anticipate pressures on the horizon and make change as a matter of foresight and preparation. Companies that adopt this philosophy truly believe that if they are not routinely changing themselves they risk complacency and stagnation.
- Change when results are mixed. These changes are made when there are some problems but they are not life threatening. Situations arise that management feels need attention, but the need is not pressing. For example, "It would be nice to know which machines require timely maintenance." or "If I knew how much set-up time was required with each product I could better manage production scheduling."
- Change demanded by a full-fledged crisis. For example, some changes are required to avoid a loss of competitive advantage, loss of major customers, or to satisfy a new reporting requirement by the Financial or Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Deciding when to change requires a careful balance. Waiting until a crisis demands change often is more expensive as deadlines place demands on development schedules that would not be required with more advanced planning. Waiting until a crisis exists may indicate a more fundamental problem in the organization, such as inattentiveness to problems and unwillingness to introduce change to confront a situation. Making change before a "problem" or "crisis" exists is equally difficult. Many people have the attitude If it isn't broke, then don't try to fix it! Creating an artificial crisis by crying wolf may work in the short run, but people see through this strategy and lose confidence in leaders because of the leaders' dishonesty and deceitfulness. Deciding when to change requires a keen sense of timing and leadership.
Business Solutions, Change, and the Solution Professional, Accounting, Information Technology, And Business Solutions, by Holannder, Denna, and Cherrington, McGraw Hill
