WEEK 4

SUMMARY


1. The first part of the lesson was 'drivers of change', which mainly touched on the factors which can change/disrupt the progress of societies. Such an example is demographics, the current trend is more and more people are shifting from rural to urban areas, putting more pressure on resources.

2. The second part of lesson was 'change management and change leadership'. This was more about the attitude and actions taken towards initiating change in any corporations, which was quite aptly described by the pessimism-time curve.

KEY TAKEAWAYS


I got a chance to read through the natural england commission report  where they listed out the possible and   realistic drivers of change. In these 'drivers of change', they further categorised the impacts, trends and one particularly interesting point called 'WILDCARDS'. The 'wildcard' was about events that may defy the trend and cause a total different chain of events. Most 'wildcards' in the report was about technology advancing so steadily that different economical or natural problems are solved. Like in the case of environmental pollution, the 'wildcard' was that new greener technology is invented to reduce emissions of greenhouses gases. However, shouldn't the wildcard be a reality instead of a possibility? This shows the pessimism shown by natural england that these wildcards may not even take place, to quote their usage of 'low probability events' . I was particularly disturbed by this phrase, it shows how far behind we really are in achieving a true green industrial environment. This further proves my point when president Obama announced that he is considering making changes to the environmental policies so as to encourage development in the economy. Once again, the dilemma between saving environmental or our livelihood appears and i wonder what would we choose.

This phrase 'It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.' was probably my key takeaway from the second part of the lesson. Survival is by choice, it is not a must, no one will stop you from throwing in the towel. If you are not willing to change for your own sake, then no one can help you. This was exemplified by the case of Kodak that prof posted on the Facebook page. Kodak was the pioneer in instant cameras, giving them a very strong foothold in the market. However, due to the emergence of other companies such as Fujitsu and Sony, they slowly lost their market share. It was reported that Kodak are currently facing annual losses and what does the CEO decide to do? He has decided to remain using printers and ink cartridges as his main source of revenue, but that has not really worked for him as Kodak is placed fifth. Instead of investing in marketing and 'a brand halo' as mentioned, Kodak has decided to rely on his past glory to attract customers. Kodak must change before it faces a shut down sooner or later.

The point about Gen Y-ers being able to work with senior/elderly staff was a particularly relevant point. As retirement age is pushed back, we will inevitably see more and more seniors staff in offices. I feel that there has to be a balance between respect and sharing in our interactions with them. We have to respect their contributions because they have been through a lot more and that experience is not something that we can read from our books. But we also have to show our respect in our sharing with them, we have to use a non-
condescending tone and patience too. This was what i have learnt in my 6 mths of working in OCBC bank. The senior staff will make mistakes but the main thing is not to reprimand them but instead enlighten them.