The idea that organisations can change from being ‘dinosaurs’ to agile, flexible organisations through applying change management strategies, such as Lewin’s model or others, is incredibly attractive to most senior managers and shareholders. However, the reality for many organisations is that change is simply too difficult to achieve because organisational structures and processes have become so embedded that they cannot be changed in any substantial way. It may be better to allow these organisations to be ‘naturally’ selected out by the market through bankruptcy or closure, because, like the dinosaurs of prehistoric time, they cannot change sufficiently to adapt to their new environment. An example of where this ‘natural’ selection could have occurred, but didn’t, is in the US car industry. Less than a year after the onset of the global financial crisis, GM and Chrysler had both filed for bankruptcy and only massive injections of US government financial aid saved them from collapse.

However, Kodak Eastman looked likely to be ‘naturally’ weeded out. Founded in 1888, Kodak filed for bankruptcy in January 2012. Kodak generally sold cheap cameras, but made its money out of the expensive film they used. Even though the company spent $4 billion on developing the photo technology that enables mobile phones to take pictures, its heavy reliance on film led to its collapse. It was also unable to adapt to digital technology as quickly as its competitors Canon and Sony, which helped contribute to its near demise. However, in September 2013 Kodak announced that it had restructured and exited bankruptcy and would now focus on commercial products, such as high‐speed digital printing technology and printing on flexible packaging for consumer goods. A trend in the film industry to print on film rather than using cheaper digital video formats saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens manufactured in a Kodak factory, which contributed to the recovery of the company.

New organisations will always arise that are better adapted to new or changing situations. In other words, Darwin’s survival of the fittest principle applies not only to natural species but also to organisations. It must, therefore, be recognised that managers have limited control over organisational outcomes, and that chance, luck and fate — environmental determinism — may be powerful forces that determine long‐term survival.

QUESTION

If history ever repeats itself and there is another recession or global financial crisis, do you think that overgeared banks should be allowed to fail rather than be bailed out by governments?

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400TX PETAN B&W NOTES BLACK & WHITE NEGATIVE FILM 400TX 400TX TRI-X 400 FILM 400TX BLACK & WHITE NEGATIVE FILM Kodak Professional 28644