Abstract While some resistance to change is inevitable, most resistance can be managed and actually is beneficial. In order to manage resistance to change, managers must first understand what attributes to the resistance and how the resistance is beneficial. Resistance to change can be healthy, because it forces you to check your assumptions and clarify what you are doing, as well as how you are planning to achieve it. The many reasons for resistance are explored and practical solutions, based on findings of research studies, are offered. How to Manage Resistance to Change It was once stated by Gerard Egan (1988) that there are three certain things in life: death, taxes, and resistance to change. David Foote (2001) is quoted as …show more content…
To deal with complexity we rely on habits or programmed responses, but when confronted with change, our tendency to respond in our accustomed ways becomes a source of resistance. Remember, letting go of the old feels very risky to many people and we, as managers, have to encourage and reinforce their efforts. Mark Twain says it best: “Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” To assist with breaking habits, we have to lead employees one step at a time until they feel comfortable with the change. A third cause of resistance is the fear of losing something already possessed. Change tends to threaten the investment an employee may have already made in the status quo. The more people have vested in the current system, the more they resist. They fear losing status, money, authority, friendships, personal convenience, or other economic benefits they value. Older employees tend to resist change more than younger workers because they tend to have more vested in the current system; therefore having more to lose. The final possible cause of resistance is a person’s belief that the change is incompatible with the goals and interests of the organization. For instance, an employee may believe a proposed new job procedure will reduce product quality or productivity, which will result in that employee resisting the change. When managers see change resistance as dysfunctional, they can use any or all of the seven
43-45). Top-down change process provides prescription that has only been developed by top managers and given to lower cadre employees down the ranks to consume without their input. According to Bovey & Hede (2001, p. 540) resistance occurs at the individual level, where employees are motivated by psychological factors to change that include resentment, frustration, low motivation and morale, fear, and feelings of failure. At the same time, earlier publication by Yilmaz & Kilicoglu (2013, pp. 17-18) identified four factors that motivate employees to resist changes in the organisation: employees focusing on self- interests as opposed to those of the organisation, having inadequate understanding of
Many people may resist change because they fear they will lose their jobs, status or position. It may be because they do not fully understand the purpose of change, or they may have a different perspective on the change than their management. “Individuals, groups, and organizations must be motivated to change. But if people perceive no performance gap or if they consider the gap unimportant, they will not have this motivation. Moreover, they will resist changes that others try to introduce,” Bateman and Zeithaml explained. Many times change for people at work
Resistance to change is an expected reaction of human nature. We are not accustomed to change, as it is possible to lead to failure; however, there are also ways to manage the resistance within the company.
This article discusses the pros and cons of advocating change within the workplace. It also discusses the reason (s) individuals are said to resist change because of habit and inertia, fear of the unknown, absence of the skills they will need after the change, and fear of losing power. OD approaches to organizational change presents a solid consensus that change and resistance can and should be "managed" by developing a strategy for change and using the OD tool kit of interventions such as training and communication programs, confrontation meetings, stakeholder
Changes are very critical to enhance organizational effectiveness. An organization needs to implement changes to stay productive, competitive as well as avoiding calamity in the case of aviation sector. Changes are the process of instilling new attitudes, values, norms and behaviors within an organization to support the way of doing work. However, the implementation of changes is a task that requires adequate planning and design since changes are not always welcome and could lead to individual's resistance to change. (Agboola,& Salawu,2011). The identification
The reasons why I feel people may resist to change is because they are afraid, they are stuck in a routine, they don’t like the way the new change is or they just don’t understand it because it to different. People are sometime more resistant to change regardless because they are lazy and been doing something so long they don’t want to learn anything different. Also it because they are so use to doing things this one way for years they don’t understand why it must be done different. Change is always really scary to people that have been use to completing a task the same way. They are more afraid of making a mistake use this new way then they are with the old way. This fear happens because at least they are more understand of what they did wrong
In today’s society companies are finding that it is more demanding that they make changes in certain departments or in the entire company. May managers are faced with the question, “How do I make successful changes?” Another issue company’s face is the resistance to changes by employees. How can a company reduce the resistance from employees? What role do human
Leaders within a business need to be cognizant of the signs of change resistance and develop strategies to overcome them. Individuals are averse to change for four reasons: fear of loss of value, lack of understanding regarding the modification, belief change is not warranted, and an intolerance for change (Kotter, & Schlesinger, 2008). Comprehending and addressing these concerns are crucial steps between success or failure.
The organization must implement specific strategies to identify and resolve resistance to change. O Connor (1993) stated "In an organization, resistance is opposition or witholding of support for specific plans or ideas. It can either be intentional or unintentional, covert or overt" (p. 30). Employees will likely consider how change affects them personally and that may naturally cause some resistance. One of the most important things an organization can do to minimize resistance is to address these personal concerns. It is also important to identify any potential loss or gain that comes from implementing, or not implementing, the change initiative. Leaders
Employees who feel pushed out of their comfort zone may also resist change, due to the unfamiliarity of new implications or managers. The fear of uncertainties due to the lack of communication can also lead to resistance to change on an individual level. If employees are not informed of the needs of the change then the fear of the unknown can cause resistance.
In these instances, change is seen as evil and not "healthy". Change is not looked on as a positive opportunity and thus is rejected by the individuals in a company, which may result in incohesiveness within the organization and eventual collapse. Personal instances of resistance like those stated above often hold companies back because of their conservative views as they often result from lack of individual confidence in oneself to be creative. Stemming from personal instances of resistances is the occurrence of group resistance to change. Sources of group resistance to change include: Conformity to Norms (Inertia), Vested Interests, Sacrosanct, Rejection of Outsiders, Overdetermination, and threatened power. Vested Interests is probably the most interesting source of resistance because how can interest in being the best be a resistance? Vested Interests can be a resistance because it often promotes conformity to norms, as workers are less likely to contribute their ideas to the advancement of innovation and as a result the company suffers as past new ideas become old, and new ideas are needed to survive in the ubercompetitive business world today. Rejection of Outsiders can be looked on as positive or negative, but more negatively, thus placing it as a resistance to change. Rejection of Outsiders might cause more cohesion within a group to rely on each
Individuals when faced with any major change will be inevitably resistant and will want to preserve the status quo, especially if they think their status or security within the organization is in danger (Bolognese, 2010). Folger and Skarlicki believe that organizational change produces skepticism in employees which make it problematic and possibly even impossible to contrive improvements within the organization (as cited in Bolognese, 2010) Therefore, management must understand, accept and make an effort to work with resistance, since it can undermine even the most well-conceived change efforts (Bolognese, 2010). Furthermore, Coetsee states for organizations to achieve the maximum benefits from change they must effectively create and
People often resist change based on fear of the unknown, fear of loss, fear of failure, disruption of interpersonal
Since human beings are adaptive and familiar with change, how is it that they often resist change in their work environment? This question had troubled managers since the beginning of the industrial revolution, and the fast peace of change required by the electronic age has made
To identify the key elements of the resistanceto change described in this situation, one may make use of the six Change Approaches of Kotter and Schlesinger.[1]The model prevents, minimizes or descreases resistance to change in organizations. According to Kotter and Schlesinger (1979), there are four reasons that why people resist change, three of which are applicable to this case: