BUSINESS TRIALS, TRIBULATIONS AND RESILIENCE DURING COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 has presented unsurmountable hurdles for all facets of daily life. Organizations globally have felt the effects of the pandemic, having to alter traditional modes of thinking and operating. There have emerged new laws regarding daily life, which has in turn affected consumer behaviour and the supply and demand chain. Some organizations were able to flourish during the pandemic because their product was appropriate for the new at-home reality of most of the population. Although this appears a positive effect, it still requires the increased supply and subsequent need for all facets of the organization to respond accordingly. In the case of those industries that did not align with the new remote reality, they suffered massive losses and needed to remain calm, finding alternate routes for profit, or at least for the hope of profit to occur one day, in the future. This pandemic exhibited the necessity for companies to have established plans in place for various realities. There need be well-established management that is able to engage in appropriate decision-making skills, whilst maintaining the cohesiveness of the team, abiding by the overall goals of the company. Any executives that stick to traditional modes of thinking and operating would definitely be stifled by the necessity to adapt to changing times. Successful business response to a chaotic period like COVID requires openness to change. We are seeing the effects of the pandemic in real-time, short-term, however there is also the period after the pandemic to consider. Companies with longevity will work to establish long-term plans relevant to the various realities waiting for us, even after the virus has subsided.