Explain the relationship of an organization's environment to its change strategy,and identify the way in which managers can be proactive rather than reactive regarding change.

All students should be able to describe the basic requirement for organizations to adapt to changes in their environments in order to maintain their competitive edge.Since the text does not discuss the concepts of proactive versus reactive change management,critical thinking is required to fill in this portion of the answer.One suggested approach is presented below.
Organizations exist in a changing environment and are themselves constantly changing in both planned and unplanned ways.Both advanced industrial and developing countries are changing in important ways that have significant impacts on organizations.Many organizations changes in the nature of the workforce employed by organizations.As their environment changes in significant ways,organizations must adapt to those changes in order to continue to compete effectively.The organizations (e.g. ,K-Mart,U.S.Airways)that do not adapt effectively will fail,either through bankruptcy or through merger or acquisition with more nimble competitors.Organizational change can be difficult and costly.Despite the challenges,many organizations successfully make needed changes,but at the same time,failure is also common.There is considerable evidence that adaptive,flexible organizations have a competitive advantage over rigid,static organizations in today's turbulent,global business environment.As a result,managing change has become a central focus of effective organizations.It is important,however,to distinguish between change that inevitably happens to all organizations and change that is planned by members of an organization.The former reflects a reactive approach to change,in that managers react to things that happen.In such cases,they may or may not be in control of the changes occurring and the resultant effects.The organization may or may not be better off as a result of the change.It is much more desirable for managers to deal with change in a proactive way.That is,change tends to be more effective and better for the long-term success of the organization when it is intentional and goal-oriented.The term planned organizational change represents a purposeful attempt by managers and employees to improve the functioning of teams,departments,divisions,or an entire organization in some important way.Proactive change occurs when organizations (e.g. ,Wal-Mart,7-Eleven,Texas Instruments)monitor pressures for change and develop appropriate plans to implement the changes needed in order to allow them to continue to compete effectively,or better yet,to gain a unique competitive advantage in the marketplace.