Guide to

Module 7 - Handling change

Module 7 Objectives
After completing this module you will be able to:
1	Indentify the changes that are happening which affect the way we work
2	Consider the key changes in your own work
3	Make some planned changes yourself

Synopsis: Coping with change

We're beginning to get used to the idea that change is a regular feature of life in the last part of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Some of us have already experienced a lot of change, others only a little, but it's certainly happening.

The most dramatic change has been the introduction of computer technology, which now affects most industries, even if it does not yet affect your own job directly. It is not the only change that's occurring however. Others include:

• Technological changes: other technological changes include automation and the development of new materials and processes- the building industry, for example, has been affected dramatically by the use of plastics.
• The global economy: we are part of a world economy now and what happens elsewhere affects us whether we like it or not. For example, oil prices have affected all countries, exchange rates affect our international competitiveness, EEC agreements have affected the fishing industry, and competition from countries with lower labor costs means that they can produce certain goods more cheaply than us (textiles for example).
• The economy: we have become familiar with ups and downs in the our economy – in fact they have always happened. At present, along with many industrial countries, we are in the middle of a steady long-term growth in employment and we are also seeing the decline of older industries like shipbuilding and the development of new ones.
• Business organization: there has been a steady growth in the size of companies as the successful ones grow and amalgamate with others, and as large companies operate more and more on an international scale.
• Business methods: new ways of doing things have also developed with industry using new systems and methods which often encourage flexibility, involvement and responsibility for their own work from the workforce.
• Expectations and values: we ourselves have changed too in that we have higher expectations than in the past. We expect a higher living standard, we expect to be involved more in decisions affecting our work and so on.

Most of these are long-term changes whose impact is also long-term. Their implications for our work and jobs are however clear:

This module looks at how we can respond positively to the changes that are happening around us and those changes we can confidently predict. Delegates completing this module will be able to handle change with more confidence.