Conclusion

In static environments, organizational leaders have the luxury of long-range business plans that only require infrequent adjustments to correct for failures or take advantage of opportunities. Today’s competitive environment is hardly static. To survive in increasingly turbulent environments, organizational leaders must develop continuous change as a core competency. This does not mean the end of strategic planning and occasional organizational transformations. Linking both perspectives provides leaders with a clearer picture of the same phenomena. Episodic change theory provides executives with definable and measurable processes for driving change at the macro level of the organization, whereas continuous change theory provides an understanding of the inherent dynamic processes that affect change at the macro level.