Question

2. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) have identified reasons why people resist to change and methods when dealing with this resistance to change.

a) Identify reasons why people resist to change

b) Discuss methods to deal with resistance.

Answer 1

Q-a) Identify reasons why people resist to change.

A: Some of the reasons why people resist change are:

i. Loss of standing or job security within the organization: People are always afraid of change because of fear of losing their job or losing their position in the organization, they feel the change can leave them in a worse situation.

ii. Poorly aligned (non-reinforcing) reward systems: Where employees are not clearly provided why change is beneficial to both the organization and to them, there will be no buy-in to change and the feeling of being neglected or ignored sets in since rewards are not aligned with contributions and support by the employees.

iii. Surprise and concern of the unknown: Humans tend to worry about everything and generally are compulsive worriers who easily fall prey to rumors and gossip. So, even inspite of clear and transparent communication and objectives, still there will be some kind of fear of not knowing what is going to happen in the future and letting in doubts and suspicions.

iv. Peer pressure: This occurs when a colleague who is seen as an influential staff member and who is great performer is vocal against change for their own personal fears and this tends to influence and pressure other colleagues to also feel fear of change.

v. Climate of mistrust: When the top management or the senior manager is not friendly and supportive and is in fact aggressive and hostile, then employees will fear change even more because they don't trust the person communicating the change and may look for hidden motives and agendas.

vi. Organizational politics: When an office environment based on jealousy and unhealthy competition then politics creeps into the system and destroys the work culture leading to fears and suspicions leading to resistance to change.

vii. Fear of failure: Employees may fear new technology or processes being introduced can leave them incapable and they may fail to learn and grasp the new approach quickly and may seem to be afraid of failing to keep up.

viii. Faulty Implementation Approach (Lack of considerateness or poor timing): An organization needs to pay attention to implementation and procedures as well apart from just communication and transparency in change as this too can affect employee morale and dilute productivity. For example, in an economic crisis to go in for change management may be poor timing and lack of considerateness towards the employees.

Q-b) Discuss methods to deal with resistance.

A: The methods to deal with employee resistance to change are:

i) Overcome opposition: No matter however well firms manage modifications / amendments / changes, there's continuously progressing resistance. Firms ought to interact with people who are against any modifications. By doing this, they'll actively see what their considerations are and presumably alleviate the matter during a timely manner. By permitting workers time to offer their input, it assures them that they're a part of a team that truly cares regarding its workers.

ii) Effectively interact employees: Listen, listen, listen. If there's another piece of recommendation that an organization ought to take, it’s to receive and reply to the feedback that's provided by the workers. Those ensuring that every one are happy will see that all the work gets done, thus keeping them within the loop is significant.

iii) Implement modification in many stages: All modifications don’t happen directly. Firms ought to, first, steel themselves for the modification, then take action on the modification and create a concept for managing the modification, and third, support the modification and assure that every thing goes as planned.

iv) Communicate modification effectively: The simplest approach that you simply as a leader will communicate modification is to expressly tell workers what's happening. Employing a mix of formal and informal communication permits you to make sure that every one receive the news regarding the modification in a way or another. With all the communications like email, company intranets, town halls, and face-to-face conferences, the message goes to urge across the corporate. Using many other ways to speak modification helps justify the vision, goals and expectations for what must happen and why.