"... as we move into the twenty-first century, we face more change rather than less, and the pace of change will quicken for both governments and enterprises alike. In particular, we face the challenge of transforming organizations, traditional production and consumption patterns and our personal lifestyles to reflect the fact that we are an integral part of a global community and an ecology vital to our welfare and survival. We must all become change agents now."
The quote from Stace and Dunphy (2001) is made in the context of the impending changes organisations will need to make to deal with the changing social norms of an eco-friendly society, what Maynard and Mehrtens refer to as "The fourth wave". It would be simple then to determine that they are referring merely to the need for organisations to be more ?eco-friendly', however the deeper meaning is more about the need to develop what Kriegal and Brandt (1996) refer to as "Change Ready Organisations". An organisation where, as Stace and Dunphy (2001) suggest, "everyone is a change agent". The major implication therefore is the need to advance organisations to this point. Not just to change an organisation, but for them to be truly change ready, where all members of the organisation are change agents. To better determine how we should effect change, we need to look at why we need to change and why Stace and Dunphy (2001) believe that we "face more change rather than less".
Drivers
The principal driver for any organisation is to remain viable and relevant to its customers, thus maintaining existence. Put simply, "If an organisation is to survive, it must respond to changes in its environment" (Robbins et al. 1994: 787). This can be effected by a number of factors. Stace and Dunphy (2001: 21-42) cite ...