5.2 Resistance to organizational Chanage

Teaching material

1. Many authors (Waddell and Sohal, 1998) stress that
the reasons for the failure of many change initiatives
can be found in resistance to change.
Undoubtedly, resistance to change is a key topic in
change management and should be seriously
considered to help the organization to achieve the
advantages of the transformation.
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5,2 Resistance to change

2. Dent and Goldberg (1999) maintain that
resistance is the conduct that employees adopt
in order to preserve the status quo when faced
with pressure or if they feel that their security or
status is threatened.
By doing so, the status quo is maintained.
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3. Resistance is any conduct that tries to keep the
status quo, that is to say, resistance is equivalent
to inertia, as the persistence to avoid change.
Resistance is a phenomenon that affects the
change process, delaying or slowing down its
beginning, hindering its implementation, and
increasing its costs (Ansoff, 1990).
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4. O’Connor (1993) describes resistance as:
a) slow motion response to change or even a
complete refusal to cooperate with change.
b)In an organization, resistance is opposition or
withholding of support for specific plans or
ideas.
c)It can be either intentional or unintentional,
covert or overt.
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5. 5.2.1 The nature and causes of resistance
In the literature on resistance to change, many writers
have concurred that employees resist change because:
a)they are afraid to lose something that they value- Fear
of the future state, including concerns over jobsecurity.
b)they do not understand the change & its implications;
(Lack of understanding of why the change is happening)
c)they do not believe that the change will make sense in
the organization; or
d)Loss of control and ownership of work processes
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6. Dent and Goldberg (1999) cited six common causes that foster
employee resistance to change.
Resistance occurs when:
a)the nature of the change is not made clear to the employees who
are going to be influenced by the change;
b)the change is open to a wide variety of interpretations;
c)employees influenced by the change have pressure put on them
to comply/obey instead of having an input in the nature or the
direction of the change;
d)the change is made on personal grounds; and the change
ignores the already established institutions in the group.
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7. Other causes of resistance by employees in
organizations are:
lack of confidence in management;
loss of status; loss of job security;
pressure from co-workers;
dysfunctional group relationships;
personality clashes; and a lack of diplomacy and
timing .
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8. Forms of resistance to change
The various forms of resistance to change are
highlighted by different scholars.
Maurer (1996) who states that resistance in the
organization can be demonstrated through
immediate criticism and complaints,
silence,
Deflection/criticism,
sabotage,
non-agreement and compliance with malicious intent.
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9. For Skoldberg (1994), the forms of employees
resistance are displayed by the
loss of commitment and loss of motivation
among employees.
increased errors on the part of employees,
high rates of absenteeism, etc.
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10. The easiest form of resistance to recognize is
those who loudly indicate their dissatisfaction
with the changes taking place in the organization.
Soliciting feedback from these individuals lets
leaders/change initiators to know where they
stand, so that you can overcome the resistance.
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11. Denial: Employees often resist change through
denial. These individuals refuse to acknowledge
that a problem exists.
That is employees might not see a need for this
change.
Therefore, the reasons for change must be fully
explained so that employees understand why it is
necessary to embrace the change
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12. Another common resistance is exhibited by
individuals who willingly embrace the change,
but when they realize that it takes additional
time and effort, they begin to undermine the
change process.
Therefore, it is best to slow down and allow
people to absorb change gradually before
forging ahead.
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13. Confusion: Sometimes employees use confusion
to postpone change.
After explaining the changes repeatedly, some
employees ask the same questions over and over
again.
They may truly be confused or they may be using
confusion as a form of resistance to avoid
accepting change.
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14. Malicious compliance: The most dangerous form
of resistance is referred to as malicious
compliance. Employees enthusiastically support
change, but covertly undermine the effort.
For example, during presentations, the questions
are polite and employees seem accepting.
As you move forward they act as though they are
implementing the new program. But, some time
later you find out nothing has changed.
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15. Recognizing, addressing and overcoming the
resistance is always lengthy and not an easy
process.
People resist changes and especially they resist
most to radical changes and it is only the leader’s
ability to overcome.
A strong leader is required to solve the problem as
the physician is required to solve medical problem
(Heifetz 1997).
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