Ways Managers Can Positively Manage Resistance to Change - Coursework Example

Managing Change Name Institution Course Date Managing Change Globalization and severe competition faced by companies have been witnessed in today’s business environment (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). In order to be competitive and respond to customers’ needs, companies need to adapt new practices, tighten their organizational relationships and manage its operations. Technological advancements, changing economic conditions and demographic shifts also force companies to implement change. Nevertheless, any change process initiated by an employer is faced with resistance from employees (Lewis, 2006). People are often overwhelmed by change taking place in an organization especially if they perceive that they have no say or control over it. The typical response of change is flight or fight, and managers often interpret these reactions as being stubbornness or not being a team player. The end result is the lack of morale which leads to loss of productivity. Resistance has affected change process and many change processes have failed as a result (Lewis, 2006). Therefore, companies need to work towards managing change and eliminating resistance from employees. This essay will discuss the ways managers can positively manage resistance to change. The essay will also examine what managers need to know and understand when undertaking change management. Organizational change can be termed as the transformation of systems, structures, and quality through the introduction of new ideas and businesses in order to improve performance and gain competitive advantage (Johansson and Heide, 2008). Change is mandatory in order to survive the economic crisis, market competition, and technological development. Although change results in improvement of performance, not all employees are happy when an organization undergoes a change process. Managers should understand that there will always be resistance to change. People prefer stability over change since it is much easier to work comfortably without the need to adjust to any change. According to Moran and Brightman (2001), when change is required, a firm will face resistance due to uncertainty regarding a change. Organizational change often present a number of threats to those involved. Some threats include job insecurity, destruction from the main objectives, and the need to adjust (Johansson and Heide, 2008). Employees therefore tend to resist change as a way of protecting themselves from such threats. There are so many reasons why employees resist change. Job loss is a major factor that prompts employees to offer resistance to change. In a typical working environment, there are always things that keep on changing within an organization that are aimed at enhancing productivity (Palmer and Dunford, 2008). With such change in place, an organization may opt to downsize or create new opportunities for employees which may lead to fear of job loss. Another reason for resistance to change is fear of the unknown. When a change process is introduced to an organization without any information, the workers may become fearful of change implications. Change processes create doubt and uncertainty which contribute to resistance (Palmer and Dunford, 2008). Also, when a change process is troublesome and inconveniences the workforce, there may be high resistance to change implementation. Change may also prevent employees from fulfilling their economic and social objectives and thus, they may offer resistance to changes that impact job status and social relationships and minimize their income. Overall, resistance create challenges at every stage of change formulation and implementation and threatens to disrupt change success (Oreg, 2006). Companies need to come up with strategies necessary for managing resistance. According to Lewin’s 3-step model, change process involves three steps; unfreezing, changing and refreezing (Cummings, Bridgman and Brown, 2016). The unfreezing stage involves preparing employees and other stakeholders to accept the change. This can be done by breaking down the existing activities to create room for new ways of operating. By making an organization re-examine its core objectives, managers can prepare the employees to receive the change. The second step involves the changing process where people start to embrace new directions and address their uncertainty while looking at new ways of operating (Cummings, Bridgman and Brown, 2016). Firms move into the transition period which involves employees learning new skills and behaviours to apply in the new roles. On the other hand, the refreezing step involves an organization creating a platform for the employees to internalize the changes and ensure they are effectively incorporated into everyday business (Cummings, Bridgman and Brown, 2016). According to Kegan and Lahey (2009), companies can use the Lewin’s 3-step model to manage change and eliminate resistance. Under this model, managers can design an effective resistance management plan that can reduce the chances of change failure. Using this model, managers can undertake diagnosis to establish the areas that need improvement in order to determine changes to be made. The managers can also ensure its employees learn new skills and behaviours suitable for the new roles brought about by organizational change. Moran and Brightman (2001) argue that by recognizing the three stages of change process, managers are able to implement the change required while taking into consideration the resistance presented by the employees. Even though the implementation of change is complex, the 3-step model is important. An important model used in managing resistance is Kotter’s 8-step model. Kotter’s 8-step model has portrayed change as a campaign. Resistance to change can only be eliminated when managers convince the employees of the urgent need for the change process (Cameron and Green, 2004). The model has offered 8 steps to be followed during change management to eliminate resistance. The first step involves creating a sense of urgency by communicating the importance of implementing change. The second step involves building a team by bringing together different actors to work towards implementing the change. The third step entails companies forming a vision that can clarify the future of the change initiative (Cameron and Green, 2004). The fourth step entails enlisting employees to rally around a common objective. The fifth step involves removing barriers to change which offers the freedom to work across silos and drive success. The sixth step involves generating short-term goals which can be communicated to the employees to boost their awareness. The seventh step involves companies becoming persistent to change by increasing credibility to improve systems and structures (Cameron and Green, 2004). The last stage entails making the change permanent by ensuring that new behaviours become strong enough to replace old habits. Taking into consideration the Kotter’s 8-step model, managers can introduce different strategies to deal with resistance (Cameron and Green, 2004). One way managers can manage resistance is through education and communication. Managers should understand that lack of open communication between the management and the subordinates may intensify change resistance (Lewis, 2006). Therefore, to manage resistance, managers should work towards educating and communicating the employees about the change required in the organization. Open communication and education beforehand will assist workers see the logic in the change initiative. Education and communication reduces incorrect and fabricated rumours regarding the change initiatives and eventually reduces resistance (Lewis, 2006). Another strategy managers can use to manage resistance is participation and involvement. Employees often lack information about the change efforts and are swept aside to create a room for managers to design the change (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). Lack of employees’ involvement in the change process results in poor implementation due to high level of resistance. When the managers involve the employees in the process, they are more likely to give in to the change efforts rather than resist it. Therefore, participation and involvement of employees in the change process will lower resistance and ensure effective formulation and implementation (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). Managers can also manage change through facilitation and support. Employees often resist change due to adjustment issues. Change threatens to initiate new operations that may be new to the workers and may require some adjustments. Managers can work towards being supportive of the staff during difficulties. Such support will assist the workers to deal with fear and anxiety brought about by a change process. Resistance is often linked to the perception that change has detrimental effects to the organization (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). Therefore, managing resistance should involve facilitation of training and counselling to the employees. Such initiatives will assist them cope during a transition period. Managers should understand that employees have the power to determine whether a change effort will or will not yield success. It is not up to them to drive success but up to the employees to accept the change initiatives (Cameron and Green, 2004). Therefore, with this in mind, employers should use negotiation and agreement as strategies to manage resistance. Manages can offer incentives to workers as a way of negotiating with them to accept change. In a more serious circumstance, managers can offer incentives to resistors in order to leave the company through early retirements. This strategy is appropriate where the people resisting change are in position of power or can affect the overall decision of the company regarding the change. According to Johansson and Heide (2008), it is paramount that an organization has a culture that supports open communication. Not only is such an environment effective in motivating employees but can ensure managers communicate change more explicitly to the staff. Therefore, in an instance where an organisation has a culture that does not support open communication, managers can work towards transforming it to incorporate change efforts (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). Also, to manage resistance, leaders should work at implementing change in stages rather that at once. Change should not be implemented all at once. Managers should first prepare for change before taking actions in managing and support change. Implementing change at once will overwhelm the employees resulting in high resistance to change. In addition, when managing resistance, managers should understand that people often accept changes when the environment permits it or when the process has been planned in advance. According to Moran and Brightman (2001), there are three steps that managers should use in managing resistance; planning implementation and evaluation. Resistance should be managed through early planning. To ensure early planning, managers should determine how and when the change is needed and the methods of communicating about it to the stakeholders (Lewis, 2006). Managers should focus on the amount and rate of change for effective change implementation. In addition, evaluation of the results of change is very critical in determining whether the company has made the right decision. If change is not monitored, it will be difficult to establish obstacles such as resistance (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). Therefore, management of change should take place in steps from planning, implementation to evaluation. Managers should also work at building trust between the management and the employees. Trust is important in operating a successful company. In companies with high level of trust, there is often lower change resistance (Kegan and Lahey, 2009). Therefore, managers should build trust by taking care of the needs of the needs of the employees and implementing explicit and implicit factors that can create workplace motivation. There are some instances where the efforts to manage resistance may not work. Also, there are some situations where speed is essential in change efforts (Kegan and Lahey, 2009). In such circumstances, managers can explicitly or implicitly force the staff to accept change. Managers can state clearly that resistance to change may lead to job loss or not being promoted. Putting such harsh rules in place will force employees into accepting the change (Kegan and Lahey, 2009). In conclusion, due to globalization and technological advancement, competition has intensified in the market which has forced companies to change its processes, structures or activities. Since the market is evolving, businesses need to evolve too. However, with change comes resistance. Resistance can be detrimental to the change process and may lead to unsuccessful change implementation. There are a number of reasons that cause resistance to change such as fear, anxiety, lack of trust and threat of security. Managers should deal with change efforts in a positive manner in order to eliminate resistance. There are several ways managers can use to manage resistance. For instance, they can establish open communication, involve employees in decision making, and educate them on the need for change. Managers can also facilitate special training and counselling to assist workers to deal with fear and anxiety. References Bamford, D. R. and Forrester, P. L 2003, ‘Managing planned and emergent change within an operations management environment’. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 18-22. Cameron, E & Green, M 2004, Making sense of change management : a complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organizational change, London Sterling, VA: Kogan Page. Cummings, S., Bridgman, T and Brown, K 2016, Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. Human Relations, vol. 9, no. 1, pp.33-60. Johansson, C. And Heide, M 2008, Speaking of change: three communication approaches in studies of change, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 288-305. Kegan, R & Lahey, L 2009, Immunity to change: how to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your organization, Boston, Mass, Harvard Business Press. Lewis, L.K 2006, Employee perspectives on implementation communication as predictors of perceptions of success and resistance. Western Journal of Communication, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 23-46. Moran, J. W and Brightman, B. K 2001, ‘Leading organizational change’. Career Development International, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 111–118. Oreg, S 2006, Personality, context, and resistance to organizational change. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 73-101. Palmer I and Dunford R 2008, Organizational Change and the Importance of Embedded Assumptions. British Journal of Management, Vol. 19, S20–S32. Read More