Sears changes again and again - Essay Example

And since the top management of the organization are the decision makers, they have the power and capability to initiate strategic change. Strategic change affects the “. goals, systems, structures, work processes, values, mission and culture” of businesses (Jacobs, 2010). This means that such changes are far-reaching and they affect the entire organization over a period of time. There is always a reason for change. This is because top level management makes changes to attain certain ends.

In this paper, the case refers to Sears, now known as Sears-Roebuck and Co, a U.S.-based chain of stores that provides consumer goods for the public. The paper will examine the strategic changes that occurred in the company over the past two decades. In attaining this end, the following objectives will be addressed: Normally, organizations have institutionalized cultures and systems. Institutionalism is defined by Poole and Van De Ven (2004) as the culture and structures that guide activities in an organization.

As such, every organization nurtures a type of system that enables it to operate and maintain its unique identity. Sears had its own system and structures. The initial system was to produce household appliances and run departmental stores in the early 1990s. The institutional structures and systems of the company had survived through the 1980s to the 90s. This shows that they believed in traditions and systems. However, the company seemed to have priorities: maintaining Sears as a going concern.

When this was threatened, they had to find ways of adjusting the institutional structures to keep the companys performance high. So they resorted to bringing in Martinez, who was from a completely different background. Gottschalk (2007, p.14) states that “outside successors are often selected when in periods of poor firm performance and when directors cannot locate a competent successor in-house.” In order for new CEOs to succeed, they will need to