Resistance to Change

How People are Affected by Change?  Operational Effects The operational effects of the change caused the people impacted to alter the way in which they performed their work.

 Psychological Effects  Any change tends to alter how each person impacted relates to and feels about what he or she is doing. When a change is first announced, everyone affected begins to wonder how the change will impact accustomed ways of working. Questions arise, because any change creates uncertainty first.

 Often, such uncertainty is related to each individual’s ability to cope with required operational change.  Concerns about ability to cope are triggered both by individual personality characteristics, and by the nature of the change itself.  Several questions may arise depending upon one’s personality and experiences.

 Social Effects These effects are alterations that take place in a person’s established relationship with others in his or her work group, and with the management, union officials and the organisation as a whole.

 For a change to be introduced and implemented successfully, all three effects must be considered and dealt with systematically.

1Part Organisational Change How People React to Change? In reactions to change, Individual and group behaviour can vary widely across a broad spectrum of possibilities. Enthusiastic Cooperation AcceptanceCooperation under pressure from management Acceptance Passive Resignation Indifference Apathy; loss of interest in the job Doing only what is ordered Regressive behavior Passive ResistanceNon-learning Protests Working to rule Doing as little as possible Active ResistanceSlowing down Personal withdrawal (increase time off job and away from work) Committing “errors” Spoilage Deliberate Sabotage The Spectrum of possible behaviors toward Change

Sources of Individual Resistance to Change

Sources of Organizational Resistance to Change

1Part Organisational Change Cont…. Overcoming Resistance to Change  Education and communication  Participation and Involvement  Facilitation and Support  Negotiation and Agreement  Manipulation  Explicit and Implicit Coercion

1Part Organisational Change Cont…. Change and the Person Change and Stress Change creates anxiety, uncertainty and stress, even for those managing change. Even people who are firmly committed to change may experience stress. Stress Performance/ Self-esteem Relationship between Performance/Self esteem and Stress

1Part Organisational Change Cont…. Thresholds for Performance/Self-esteem in periods of Stress Stress Performance/ Self-esteem Threshold?

1Part Organisational Change Cont…. Change and Rebuilding Self-Esteem There are four categories of needs that are required if the individuals involved in the change process are to rebuild their self-esteem during a program of organisational change

1Part Organisational Change Rebuilding Self-Esteem Empathy Support Skills Intelligible information Self-esteem and Self-knowledge Action

1Part Organisational Change Change and the Manager  Organisation and their managers must recognize the change, in itself, is not necessarily a problem.  The problem often lies in an ability to effectively manage change: not only can the adopted process be wrong, but also the conceptual framework may lack vision and understanding.  Change is now a way of life; organisation and more importantly their managers must recognize the need to adopt strategic approaches when facing transformation situation.