Abstract
Change management practices apply to business firms, and they are a critical component
of organizational operations. A critique of the book, "Deep change: Discovering the leader
within" by Robert Quinn covers multiple theoretical interpretations of change in modern
business. The review shows how the concept of deep change allows organizations to reinvent
various activities they do to enhance the value they offer their clients. The analysis also covers
influential aspects of leadership and how they affect the actions of multiple stakeholders in a
firm. The Christian worldview is also an integral component of organizational change because it
shapes leaders’ moral actions and decisions they make. An overview of the book’s arguments
allows the review to expound on the significance of change in modern business and how the
concept has transformed organizational behavior.
Literature Analysis/Review
In modern organizations, change influences business strategies that leaders implement at
any given period. Primarily, change determines a firm's ability to adapt to multiple situations it is
likely to face in its operations and its ability to deal with uncertainty. Quinn (2010) argues
profound change helps an organization transform its thinking to cope with risks that may threaten
its existence in the long-term. Firms need to reinvent themselves through innovative leadership
to ensure they actualize their goals in an industry at a specific period. Leaders must be proactive
in identifying the needs of their organizations and how they can fulfill them through effective
deep change. By pursuing impactful strategies, they can account for different performance
elements affecting their organizations to enable them to achieve their objectives in the future.
The concept of deep change allows leaders to rediscover their resolve, allowing them to pursue
strategies that transform business operations in organizations they head.
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Summary
The discussion has illustrated the significance of different viewpoints affecting the
impacts of leadership in organizational change. The influence that leaders have helps them
explore specific habits affecting their employees’ output and improvements they must make to
realize progress. Primarily, the discussion has addressed how successful influencers shape
directions their organizations follow and specific outcomes they realize (Franklin, 2014).
Alternatively, the discussion addresses balancing between profit and social sustainability and
how such considerations shape an organization's overall success. Thus, firms should take
seriously different issues that are likely to impact their progress to ensure they conform to
different expectations they have set. Incremental changes enable organizations to review specific
change management elements that define their operations in a market. Therefore, they can get
lessons from failures or achievements they make in various activities they undertake in specific
periods.
The Christian worldview offers valuable insights on ethical guidelines, and modern
companies should be aware of while undertaking different actions in various locations. Thus,
Christian doctrines offer firms a useful religious basis they can build on to improve their internal
and external processes to achieve their long-term goals. Religious teachings encourage business
leaders to focus on critical values defining their existence in various industries, while
undertaking improvements that lead to positive outcomes. Primarily, the Christian worldview
encourages firms to initiate changes in different production processes they undertake to enable
them to build trust with their stakeholders (Franklin, 2014). Moreover, the approach guarantees
solid mutual relationships between the firm on one hand and its clients and employees on the
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other. Thus, the discussion has revealed significant issues determining change management
issues in modern organizations and how they contribute to performance.
Discussion
Different theoretical interpretations affect how modern organizations adopt changes and
specific results they expect to achieve in the long-term. For deep change to take effect, an
organization should exhibit courage, motivation, and orderliness to satisfy all stakeholders
(Quinn, 2010). Such sacrifices make it easier for leaders to address different forms of lethargy
that contribute to poor performance in various units of a firm. A leader also needs to adopt
strategic planning that transforms the quality of multiple operations that employees undertake in
their workstations. Such considerations make it easier for a firm to streamline external and
internal activities. Notably, high levels of morale and productivity allow an organization to be
proactive in dealing with challenges and opportunities it encounters in its operations. Therefore,
a change-oriented leader tackles uncertainty by realigning all tasks to the set goals to achieve
positive outcomes.
The influential component of leadership is critical in determining the path an organization
follows at a given period. Grenny, et al. (2013) assert that influential leaders encourage people to
act differently to enable an organization to realize its purpose within a specific timeline. Such
factors help leaders to build strong relationships with their subordinates that focus on exchanging
ideas to enhance mutual trust between two parties. Likewise, the influence leaders have over
their subordinates makes it easier for all parties involved to be aware of their strengths and
weaknesses. Leaders as influencers can transform the attitudes of various people who look up to
them in different organizations. Thus, they should propose new ways of solving different
problems affecting their subordinates to improve their creative thinking capabilities.
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Consequently, such actions allow organizations to institute ideal measures that make all
employees understand the steps they need to take to attain better results.
Managers should also consider peculiar factors they are likely to face whenever they
introduce changes in their organizations. Drucker (2012) argues that leaders should identify
assumptions influencing collective actions by employees in various departments to determine
how they impact performance. He reviews General Motors’ previous business model to
demonstrate how large firms often ignore external elements affecting their success in the market
due to strong assumptions. Thus, market structure, consumer identities, and existing technology
affect the nature of changes a firm can initiate in a given industry. Crucially, such factors require
organizations to be aware of their core competencies and actions they need to take to be
successful in the market. Modern organizations should continually challenge their product
development systems to determine whether common assumptions that their employees and
customers have are accurate. Such approaches allow organizations to transform their overall
thinking in the long-term.
Alternatively, business organizations should note future directions they intend to follow
to help them accomplish their objectives in various industries. Schultz (2011) argues that
business firms must avoid distractions and focus on the core aspects of their operations to
achieve positive outcomes at a given period. Using Starbucks as an example, the author insists
that many firms are more obsessed with growth, making them ignore beneficial incremental
changes. Thus, they need to challenge themselves by adopting new philosophies and strategies to
improve their future thinking. Moreover, leaders should build and sustain connections with other
people to help them accomplish various goals they have set in the industry. Progression of ideas
allows a firm to strengthen the relationships it has with its customers using various products. In
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Starbucks' case, the firm has a solid reputation for providing high-quality coffee to various
consumers in its sophisticated establishments. Therefore, effective marketing strategies help a
firm to change general consumer perceptions towards its products and services.
Change also impacts the direction a firm follows and how various consumers understand
its actions in the long-term. Kotter (2012) insists his eight-step change management process
allows a firm to develop a strong vision that influences its growth in an industry. A firm must
examine competitive factors in the environment it operates to find out why it needs to adopt
changes to its business model. Alternatively, it must focus on creating strategies that will guide
change efforts to actualize its objectives in the industry. Such processes influence specific
actions a firm has to undertake to deal effectively with various situations it might face in an area.
Equally crucial, a firm should prepare for both wins and losses that are likely to impact its
credibility in a particular location. Thus, such situations require leaders to determine specific
elements of corporate culture, shaping their organizations and connections they seek to achieve
in the future.
Often, organizational missions borrow heavily from religious teachings that guide
leaders' decisions regarding how to attain better outcomes in their operations. Auxier (2015)
argues that the Christian worldview affects business leaders' ability to participate in various
initiatives that are crucial to the success of companies they head. Such considerations allow
leaders to use their moral foundations to instill ethical values in their subordinates, leading to
positive changes in the long-term. Further, the Christian worldview encourages people to be
honest, diligent, decisive, and transparent in their dealings. Such virtues can form a strong
foundation for a change management process because they encourage leaders to look inward in
what they seek to achieve in different organizations. Further, they make it easier for people to be
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more selfless in what they do by making sacrifices that yield positive collective outcomes in an
organization. Therefore, organizations should continuously instill moral values in their
employees to make them more effective in the different roles they perform.
A Christian worldview also relates to change management processes in various
organizations because it reinforces leaders’ beliefs in noteworthy social progress. Deep change
processes should go beyond short-term economic benefits a firm realizes from its operations in a
particular industry (Mele & Fontrodona, 2017). Even though modern firms seek to increase their
competitiveness in various markets, they should apply Christian principles in multiple decisions
they make to safeguard the wellbeing of different parties. Such considerations make it easier for
companies to undertake social and business improvements that fulfill the needs of their
employees, clients, and other stakeholders. Thus, modern organizational change practices require
companies to do more in making societies where they operate more livable for future
generations. Essentially, the Christian worldview integrates ethical thinking with modern
business practices to enhance equality, environmental standards, and human rights in
organizational behavior.
Conclusion
The discussion offers valuable insights into the process of change and its general
implications on multiple companies' business activities. Deep change is a vital concept that
encourages leaders to account for various decisions they make while maintaining strong
relationships with their followers in a particular environment. Consequently, the discussion has
illustrated various viewpoints that shape change management processes in modern organizations
and how they impact a firm's success in an industry. The Christian worldview makes companies
understand their ethical obligations to their employees, clients, and surrounding communities.
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References
Auxier, W.R. (2015). A comparison of worldviews of business leaders from disparate geographic
cultures. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 8 (2), 1-10.
Drucker, P. (2012). Managing in a time of great change. Routledge.
Franklin, M. (2014). Agile change management: a practical framework for successful change
planning and implementation. Kogan Page.
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The
new science of leading change. McGraw Hill.
Kotter, J.P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Press.
Mele, D., & Fontrodona, J. (2017). Christian ethics and spirituality in leading business
organizations: Editorial introduction. Journal of Business Ethics, 145, 671–679.
Quinn, R.E. (2010). Deep change: Discovering the leader within. Wiley.
Schultz, H. (2011). Onward: How Starbucks fought for its life without losing its soul. Wiley.