Rapid Change and Management

Like every company Choice Point is in the business to make money and generate revenue. When the demand for their services is increased they have to meet that demand. During the holiday season this increase is especially noted. Holidays usually require the hiring of more employees at several companies which in turn requires Choice Point to hire more employees themselves, to complete this increase of need for background checks. The hiring of this significant amount of new employees at Choice Point creates diversity in the work place. More and more, the work environment is filled with people of deferent races, cultures and background. The management teams are becoming more diverse and the change is happening very quickly. Diversity is not only happening from the hiring of several people into the company, but also from buying other companies in a short length of time. Choice Point is one of the biggest companies in its field because they have the revenue and resources to purchase their competitors. Even with increase of employees during peak seasons the work loads are increased for Choice Point's employees and at times short cuts have to be made to satisfy this demand. However, good management skills will help to ensure that the demands of clients are met as well as the demands of their employees.

The task of adapting and using change as an advantage is a hard task and when this change is rapid or unexpected it can severely alter and affect management functions. As stated by Richard Koch in The 80/20 Principle" (2001), "The rate of change in today's world is constantly increasing. Choice Point is a business that has to cater to a large clientele and supply information for these businesses based on their employee requirements. Not only does Choice Point have to consider change in their own business environment but the demand for their services is linked to the rapid changes their clientele is also experiencing. Choice Point, in considering rapid change, has to focus on adding value to the organization and maximizing return on investment. The business cannot remain static in management approaches and miss a newly emerging opportunity. There must be effective management in the rapidly changing environment, where change cycle can be shorter than or equal to the duration of any project or business venture being undertaken.

Planning as a management function is an activity that considerably assists Choice Point in dealing with rapid changes that may be encountered. In specifying the goals to be achieved and the actions to be taken to achieve such goals, Choice Point anticipates future market trends and future demands of its clientele. The ability to do superior background checks of employees