Changes in a major business organization Research Paper

Changes in a major business organization - Research Paper Example duct lines, and the changes made by the company in tune with the environment for survival, including the changes that may be required to be implemented in the light of the experience. Copier Business used to be the mainstay of Xerox, and they were market leaders in copiers business. The brand Xerox hold such a sway in the market place, that photocopying is referred to as Xerox or Xeroxing and found its way to dictionaries, verb & noun. Entry of IBM into the copier business and the Japanese products such as Ricoh and Canon into the markets in the beginning of seventies and mid seventies became a threat to its monopoly in the copier market. However, a perceptible shift in the technology, consumer preferences, competition from smaller players, changes in distribution patterns, introduction of low cost printers, fax machines with copying facilities, scanners, etc., coupled with downturn in work stations business and its subsequent closure forced the company into diversification. ‘In 1988 Xerox underwent a $275 million restructuring, cutting 2,000 jobs, shrinking its electronic typewriter output, dropping its medical systems business, and creating a new marketing organization, Integrated Systems Operations, to get new technologies into the marketplace more effectively.’ (International Directory of Company Histories, 1999). It is in this scenario of downtrend, we have to understand the changes that have been taking place in Xerox to face these challenges. In line with the emergence of social media and the new trends in the society, as explained in an interview with Christa Carone, the CMO of Xerox, ‘they encourage every employee to become part of the voice of the company. They developed friendly guidelines that empower employees and encourage them to use social media on behalf of the company.’Â   (Francois, March 3rd, 2010). We will find in this paper that this progressive policy of the company, as in the case of social media, has b een reflected in decision