In this first decade of the XXI century with the advent of new technology and new paradigms. Most can recognize the implications of the changes that are taking place.
Worse within the business world, where are new organizations emerging in an increasingly convulsed and constantly changing environment?
It is necessary to specify in which context companies, especially Latin American ones, operate, to be aware of what their possibilities are of developing in this highly globalized and competitive world; and how they can manage to manage change as the only viable alternative for survival.
The change was always present in nature and in the evolution of humanity; long before Christ, Heraclitus noticed a constant "flow" as a reality explaining that "a person could not bathe twice in the same river"; For his part, Aristotle spoke of each individual having an innate and specific pattern of development that tended towards due self-realization; although this concept of self-realization is not accepted by others, such as the cynics within western philosophy or Xun-zi within the eastern one, since they affirmed that the human being was governed by an instinct of self-preservation; therefore, this was bad in essence, being able to generate chaos since it acts selfishly and that civilizations were something unnatural that should be despised.But current philosophers like Habermas imagine a future in which men, together with their ability to reason and their accumulated knowledge, can come to work for a better society.
A time of crisis
Classical authors such as Toffler, Druker, Kennedy, etc., maintain that humanity is currently facing a series of problems related to the power of technology to increase productivity and replace traditional occupations with others; argue that the population explosion is occurring mainly in countries with limited human and technological resources - too few scientists and skilled workers - inadequate investment in research and development; and in many cases, cultural and ideological biases against change are strong.
Some statistical data collected from a series of contemporary studies: Castro (2004), Filgueira and Peri (2004), Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Center (CELADE), UN, etc. will help to understand the current environmental conditions:
- In 2100 the world population will increase between 9 and 13 billion and almost all the growth will take place in developing countries. In Latin America and the Caribbean, growth will be approximately 22% for 2015 in relation to 2000. Energy demand will double and thus the increase in the excessive use of oil, due to the fact that many countries do not have the financing to develop alternative means; reason why an increase in the CO2 concentration is expected, causing an increase in world temperature; which will affect the entire ecosystem (sea level rise, afforestation effects, more extensive deserts, etc.); and by 2015, almost half of the world's population will live in countries with "water stress".In Latin America and the Caribbean, general and extreme poverty have grown significantly - almost 20 million more between 2000 and 2003 -, of which 14 million are destitute; This leads to greater social inequality in most of the countries belonging to these areas. In 2003, unemployment amounted to approximately 188 million people. Since 1990 the data has been higher in Latin America and the Caribbean and in South-East Asia, followed by East Asia. Current migration is also a problem - especially that of qualified personnel - it is estimated that some 20 million Latin Americans and Caribbean people live outside their country of birth and that the number of Latin American and Caribbean professionals, technicians, and related persons outside their country of origin. origin amounted to just over 300 thousand by 1990.Job creation continues to be a major problem in most countries and in almost all economies there has been an increase in unemployment and underemployment in recent years. The workforce of developing countries will rise to 3.1 billion in 2050 and between 38 and 40 million new jobs will be required.
Latin America is comparatively the most unequal region in the world; Mainly due to the negative conditions of the international context and the mismanagement of governments.
In several speeches presented by delegates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Latin America is characterized by its increasing dependence on industrialized countries, unemployment and poverty remain at unacceptable levels, which generates alarming social inequality. The solution they propose is in the hands of direct investment in health and education; Although they emphasize that strengthening foreign trade is the most important engine for sustained growth and poverty reduction since there is much that can be used economically by eliminating trade barriers with treaties such as the FTAA.
Organizations with neoliberal policies such as (IMF and the World Bank), promote a necessary reform of the labor market that increases flexibility, private investment and growth; they exemplify that the case of the restriction of temporary employment become an important obstacle that hinders the entry and exit of the labor market and, therefore, flexibility; similarly, high indirect labor costs are also an impediment to employment.
These elements show a bleak future; some blame globalization in its current style; But what does globalization represent for companies?
There are different points of view regarding globalization, both sides of the coin show it either as a means that could offer economic prosperity to people around the world, or as directly responsible for all problems.
The fundamental characteristics that allowed the emergence of globalization, according to The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization “CMDSG” (2004), are framed within:
The liberalization of international trade, the expansion of Foreign Direct Investment, the appearance of massive cross-border financial flows and the increase in competition in global markets as a result of the reduction of national barriers to international economic transactions and the impact of new technologies, especially in the fields of information and communications.
We are facing an era where the barriers of time and space are greatly reduced, the costs of circulating information, people, goods and capital across the planet are falling just as global communication is becoming cheaper and more instantaneous. Thus, markets are global in scope and encompass an increasing variety of goods and services.
This represents a threat not only to environmental sustainability and cultural diversity; This inadequate procedure has also resulted in the benefits of globalization being unevenly distributed, accentuating the gap between rich and poor countries; developed countries undoubtedly have more macroeconomic control options than developing countries and international policies are applied without taking into account the specificities of each nation. Finally, structural changes have created an environment of uncertainty and insecurity in workers and companies around the world, making unemployment and underemployment a tenacious reality that manifests itself for the majority of the world's population.
A series of debates promoted by this commission with companies from various countries, highlights that many companies do not consider themselves as drivers of globalization but rather react to it; and for those in poor countries or SMEs around the world, it is more difficult or almost impossible to operate on equal opportunities as global competition, even more so when public aid in many circumstances is nil; Many of them, not being competitive, have gone bankrupt due to trade liberalization or the entry of foreign companies.
In its current variant, globalization involves the inexorable integration of markets, nations, and technologies to a degree never seen before, bringing with it a host of negative consequences.
This supposed homogenization culture is growing and incorporating itself in the business environment, where the strongest has the greatest advantage of control and improvement.
Environment, Organization and Change
We are aware that development and innovation within the technological field and the exploitation of telecommunications, is breaking through with greater force in all areas of companies.
It is precisely the companies that have the labor world in their hands; These directly influence the social and economic environment in which people live. They are the main source of job and income creation and their values, practices and behavior have a direct impact on the achievement of social objectives.
Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize the social responsibility of companies beyond their legal obligations.
High unemployment rates weaken the bargaining position of workers relative to employers. And increased international competition for markets creates pressures to increase flexibility in the labor market, which deteriorates labor protection.
But every day companies are subject to taking certain measures that are not socially acceptable, mainly due to increasing their efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveness, in the face of changes that are no longer only more unfathomable, but also more accelerated.
As Cordoníu (2001) states, the speed of the changes that take place today in the business environment is "supersonic", and therefore it is impossible to foresee them. This not only has to do with technologies directly linked to the company, since many other technological advances can also influence an organization ”.
This leads, according to García (2002), that many companies are immersed in a series of typical problems such as lack of time, shortage of money, and increased complexity in management activity; Furthermore, Peretti (1997) affirms that they also face a series of fundamental challenges associated with this intensification and internationalization of competition, economic fluctuations, demographic evolution, new sociocultural trends, among other aspects that affect the all the fields of activity and functions of the company.
These challenges or demands of the environment, named after Goméz-Mejia, Balkin and Cardy (2000) "are represented by forces external to the organization and therefore beyond its control"; But not all demands are external, but they are also conditioned to face their own demands as an organization; To these are added the demands of their own members, who as bio-psycho-social entities, are in a constant search for development, where their motivation and personal characteristics play a fundamental role.
These problems, challenges or demands, whatever you want to call it, determine the need to understand and have a systematic vision of the problem, focusing on the relationship of interdependence between the environment and companies.
The concept of systems is clear and refers to the "Set of things that, related to each other, orderly contribute to a certain object"; reason why the systemic theory as explained by García, J (2004) is characterized by a set of elements linked together, which necessarily maintain an interaction; that is, that the relationships between the parts and the behavior of the whole are the center of attention, so there is no system outside of a given medium.
Following this idea, the author states that systems must have certain characteristics: a purpose of existence; a globalism (the system will react globally to any stimulation produced in any of its parts); a tendency to wear out (entropy) and to adapt seeking to achieve an internal balance against external changes.
Under this parameter, the organization must be considered as an open system, since it has a purpose and various functions that implies multiple interactions with the environment.
Furthermore, any organization is made up of many interrelated subsystems (if one changes, the others will probably change). The multiple links between the organization and the media mean that there is no clear delimitation between the two.
Both the organization and the environment are subject to the intensity of the changes, which is nothing more than the product of the relationship between these two elements; companies generate new products and services, new needs and lifestyles - they generate "changes" - that affect, to the extent of their intensity, the environment; and this in turn with a feedback effect generates new needs and changes for companies.
The change, therefore, plays a fundamental role in the success or failure of companies and is linked, according to some authors such as Behrensen (2003), to the concept of crisis, understood as a break in an unexpected state of equilibrium that causes uncertainty and that prevents anticipating future events, which is crucial for survival.
It triggers a series of effects that compromise the field of the organization's interactions; For this state of crisis to occur, it is necessary for a series of external factors to mobilize certain internal dimensions of the system, in this case the organization, producing the emergence of certain conflicts.
Following a psychoanalytic line, change necessarily involves losses, not simply in the economic sense, but in the way of thinking and acting, and therefore brings with it a duel that requires elaboration.
This grief reaction can be seen as an adaptive transitional process that allows integration into a new created reality.
The constant changes and their implications have strengthened a current paradigm, that the factors that guaranteed success for companies in past times no longer guarantee success today, and the factors that generate success in our time will not represent a advantage in the future because it becomes more uncertain; therefore, it is necessary to manage change, constantly innovating, adapting, testing, etc., a change of attitude towards change is also vital; The change is not a matter of aptitude, but of attitude, so we have the possibility of deciding to be victims, spectators or protagonists in the face of the constant progress.
For García (2002) the answer is not only to constantly adapt the structures, technical and administrative processes (hard factors, Hadware), change must be internalized, fostering a culture of change based on the optimization of management, communication and cooperation (Soft Factors, Software); Looking for a dynamic integration of the company's management system, it must therefore be changed in a harmonious, coherent, integrated and system-focused manner.
The development of a more social work environment, the generation of income through synergy, the flexibility in the ways of working, the organization of training and the improvement of personnel based on change, direction and control through more effective communication, with the strategic planning of each element with a vision for the future, they are the necessary basis for change, for this author.
As Lavagna (2005) put it, "The most precious asset in an institutional body, in addition to its transparency, is its ability, within foreseeable limits and procedures, to adapt to global changes."
So that there is a change at all levels of the company looking for an adaptive, open and flexible framework, oriented towards quality, innovation, entrepreneurship, risk acceptance, and efficiency; Alabart (2002), proposes that discipline and systematicity are required in the actions that are carried out.
It cannot continue to be administered as in the past, with markedly hierarchical organizations and a high division of labor, which leads to bureaucratization, delay in decision-making, bottlenecks in the flow of information and lack of motivation and worker participation.
Our Latin American companies require today more than ever the implantation of a philosophy of change with a new leadership style, with a change in the skills or competences of our workers, in the structures, in the strategies, and in the use of values to aligning behaviors, all of them configured in a way compatible with a system vision.
A wide range of authors converge in that the companies that are capable of anticipating change, adapting and permanently transforming themselves faster than their competitors, reinforcing their competitive position, will be those that can survive in the future (Castro, Cuesta, Chiavenato, etc.).
The transformation process must be conditioned by continuous improvement; with the maximum use of knowledge and information of the environment and people.
It is necessary, within the process of change, to first recognize the need for change in order to decide where you want to go by projecting adequate implementation methods that allow for optimal execution of the change since the external and internal conditions of the organization determined by the pace growth, market opportunities, increased customer expectations (internal and external), the need to be the best together with the sum of multiple factors, demand a resounding change in organizations, reinforcing and optimizing processes and resources available, seeking as a final result higher profits, total customer satisfaction and adequate quality in the work environment.
In summary, Bahena (2003), states that the search for the effectiveness of the organization is obtained through the achievement of results, taking advantage of existing resources; this being the adequate response to achieve competitiveness; Alhama, R. in his study on the new forms of work organization as a means to achieve qualitatively superior results, combining the technical aspects of the work process and the human and social dimension of man, speaks of the need to establish new principles developed in: Seek greater integration between specialized management functions with execution work, taking man as a factor in this integration and for man to become a part of the company, he has to join in managing change, communicating the reasons for the change,indicating its benefits and risks; knowing the expectations of the change, and then looking for the leaders in the group to promote the change, carrying out continuous training and seeking permanent feedback.
In conclusion
These aspects are not new, and many companies and their directors are aware of it, but others have stagnated in the change, because they continue to be and do the same, holding on to past practices, showing a negative attitude towards change, or they do not have any information to plan the change.
In a crisis or change situation it is necessary to: evaluate the context, noting its characteristics that affect the organization, managing the acquired knowledge to avoid making mistakes.
The key to business survival is centered on: anticipation and adaptability to the changes that emerge as the environment changes; If the changes at the organization level are increasingly complex, this forces us to seek new ways of working while being more flexible.
When we refer to business flexibility, one should not think of abrupt cuts in personnel, or abide by options proposed by the IMF or other neoliberal organizations. Flexibility must be understood as: the capacity of any organization to adapt adequately, being able to face changes by improving or maintaining its competitive position, taking as a fundamental requirement the satisfaction of its workers and responsibility towards society.
In either case, as we have tried to glimpse, successful organizations are built not only by adapting their behavior as a result only of a business style trend; a profound change is necessary that encompasses their culture, capabilities, strategies, internal design and market perception; This challenge is constant and the models are transformed and have to adapt each day to the reality of each company and environment.
Lastly, it must be clear that the main actor of change and forecasting is the worker, as the driving force of the transforming process, because it is he who, in the face of a process of change, guides the system to gain an advantageous position in the market.
Organizations need to promote change to survive, developing skills in their HR and taking human beings as a basic premise as a competitive advantage of the new millennium.
Bibliography
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