*Assistant Professor -Management, College of Business and Technology, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas, USA.
** Professor -Management, College of Business and Technology, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas, USA.
*** Professor -Management, Huizenga School of Business & Entrepreneurship, NOVA Southeastern University, Texas, USA.
****Professor -Management, Pinkie Roden Chair of Entrepreneurship and Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, USA.
Online published on 7 December, 2012.
Organizational renewal can occur as an ongoing, continuous process or as episodic change. Organizations need continuous renewal because it adds a level of stability in the midst of internal and external triggers of change. The purposes of this paper are: (1) to emphasize the need for continuous organizational renewal and (2) to elucidate the respective roles of organizational culture, the external environment, and internal organizational processes as well as strategic decisions and actions in both continuous and episodic organizational renewal.
This paper involved an extensive literature review of theories and concepts relevant to continuous and episodic organizational renewal. For example, continuous learning and innovation were studied a part of the continuous renewal process. In addition, organizational culture, the external environment, and internal organizational processes as well as strategic decisions and actions were studied in terms of their potential impact on organizational renewal. Finally, a conceptual organizational renewal model was developed which depicts the influence of internal and external elements of change and the role of continuous learning and innovation.
Organizational leaders must understand organizational renewal theories in order to be better able to invent the future as a continuous as well as episodic renewal process. Leadership assessments, training, mentoring, and hiring processes should be refined to ensure that the people being hired and promoted into leadership positions will function as transformational, organizational renewal leaders for their respective organizations. As organizational renewal occurs, it then impacts learning and innovation sothat renewal becomes a self-sustaining, continuous, reiterative process. It is in this way that learning and innovation serve both as the foundation for, and reiterative elements of, organizational renewal.
The literature review indicated (1) a need for continuous organizational renewal and (2) the existence and causes of episodic organizational renewal which have the potential for negative as well as positive organizational impact. The authors recognized a need for an organizational renewal model which will be useful to organizational leaders who face organizational renewal challenges on a daily basis.
All organizations face external and internal challenges which have the potential for negative and/or positive organizational impact. This paper encourages organizational leaders to invent the future by understanding and appropriately utilizing organizational renewal theories and concepts. An organizational renewal model is presented which can be utilized to sustain continuous renewal and there by support long term organizational viability.
This paper presents a new conceptual model in which learning and innovation comprise both the foundation for, and impacting elements of, organizational renewal.
Organizational Renewal, Continuous Learning, Innovation, Strategy
