Resistance to Organizational Change - Essay Example

Resistance to organizational changes is also responsible for shortfalls that are experienced in the organization under study in its effort to introduce large-scale technological changes, introduce compensation systems changes, and develop effective management practices. Resistance to change is tridimensional, encompassing cognitive, behavioral, and affective human components or attitudes that inhibit the change process (Hammer, 2006).

The organization under study has experienced regular resistance to changes that border on employees’ intrinsic rewards. The organization had proposed changes that would result in redefining the employees’ tasks and altering their current job positions. According to the resisting employees, any attempt to transfer employees to less interesting, less challenging, and less autonomous employment positions would lead to negative change evaluation and erroneous evaluation of employee performances. Cognitively, a decrease in challenges and autonomy would also lead to a negative emotional response. According to opposing employees, individual well-being is to some extent influenced by an organization’s ability to satisfy individual intrinsic needs including self-determination and autonomy (Brown, 2005).

Changes in prestige and powers have as well encountered consistent resistance from employees who feel less rewarded in the process. In the organization under study, the power and prestige changes proposed the alteration in power allocation where some people were to be assigned some influential positions while others were expected to be downgraded. Some leadership positions were also projected to get more privileges than others. According to employees, the power organization changes as well as political ramifications were the major causes for the negative evaluation of individual performances. Additionally, power relegation was equated to negative impacts on an individual’s behavior (Brown, 2005).

In his Life Space Theory, Lewin evaluated the interaction between the environment and individual needs. According to his theory, people try to maintain a balance between their needs and the environment. When this balance is compromised or disturbed, stress is developed and individuals are forced to restore the balance (Schultz & Schultz, 2004). In example one, an attempt to redefine the position destabilized the employee's balance with their environment, leading to resistance. In example two, an attempt to deny people their coveted powers and prestige created stresses that required immediate action to restore normalcy in the environment. Additionally, Lewin observed organizational changes based on three main steps. The initial step is the unfreezing step where employees are trained to understand the need for organizational change. Secondly, employees need to undergo a work change training program based on a structured plan (Williams, 2006). The final step is refreezing, which involves the institutionalization of new behaviors and structures. In the two examples, the organization management did not follow the required steps as stipulated by Lewin’s theory, advancing change resistance.

The organization under study does not entirely understand the procedure required in implementing changes in its operations. The lack of proper planning for proposed changes has undermined the organization's effort to undertake radical organizational changes. As a result, there is a consistent confrontation between the management and employees thus leading to poor performance in the organization.

Referring to the resistance examples, the understanding of the term resistance to changes as well as the negative impacts of resistance to changes in the organization, the management should strategize and develop more sensible means of implementing changes in the organization. From the research, it is clear that employees’ resistance to changes is caused by fears of changes outcomes, lack of adequate consultation, inadequate communication and work over-load, limited trust among the employees and management, misunderstanding of the need for change, lack of capability, and lack of clarification on the requirement on the organizational changes.

Based on Lewin's Life Space Theory, it is evident that people’s resistance to change is essentially caused by fear of interference with the existing stability between their needs and the environment. To overcome the existing fears and develop an environment that promotes acceptance and adoption of organizational change, the management should inform the employees of the anticipated changes, communicate to employees the opportunities and benefits of the anticipated changes, offer the required tools, knowledge, and skills for the new changes, and address the emerging issues among the employees on the proposed changes (Coch, 2008).

If properly implemented, the approach will provide the employees with faith and trust in the proposed changes. In most cases, people take steps towards unknown changes if they have a strong belief in their outcomes. Effective communication on the opportunities and benefits of the intended changes will advance people’s trust in the proposed changes. Moreover, the un-protested changes will lead to both short-term and long-term organizational development. Additionally, the plan is also expected to reduce the resources and time that were previously misused on futile organizational change programs. Finally, the plan is also intended to create a harmonious relationship between the employees and the staff (Hitt, Black, & Porter, 2005).