Employees Resistance To Change For Open-Plan Office

Reasons for employees resisting the change

Discuss about the Employees Resistance To Change for Open-Plan Office.

Reasons for employees resisting the change to an open-plan office approach

According to Alvesson, M. and Sveningsson, (2015) changes in an organization are not always the problem, but resistance to change is. Since the two new partners came to the company, they have introduced a raft of changes which employees have not embraced fully because of a number of reasons. One is the idea of an open plan office which surprisingly, even the senior partners do not embrace. 

Majority of the employees feel that with the open office plan, their privacy will be infringed. The senior partners particularly, feel that they shouldn’t be mixing with other junior staff. Their resentment to the open office plan is evident when their appearance becomes less frequent. Jack and Owen see themselves as senior staff members, and should have their own private office. Jack underscores this point telling Owen that, “Of course we aren’t equal”. Other senior associates share these sentiments noting that they have lost their seniority statuses in the absence of their own offices.

Junior staffs like the secretaries feel their privacy has been infringed by working in the open office. They complain that they cannot talk to their boyfriends on phone without others eavesdropping. Paralegal and administrative staffs also share their frustrations with the open office plan. While they appreciate the modern feel of the décor and harbor view, they have reservation of having to talk on phone without anyone listening. They also dislike the new office because it is far from the shops they used to frequent and worse still --cafes in the new office are expensive for them. While they appreciate the new office, employees feel that it has made it difficult for them to chat with fellow colleagues, or even have a private discussion with clients. The new partners seemed to have come up with the idea of an open office without consultation and the idea was imposed on them without asking them what they feel about it.

Explain what the partners might have done better to have minimised the resistance

Change is like rest and thus inevitable in any organization. However, for change to be successful, Hon, Bloom and Crant, (2014) recommend adopting a strategy that make employees feel they are part and parcel of the change process by communicating change effectively, and explicitly telling them what the change is about and why it is necessary. This can be done using a blend of both formal and informal communication channels. Using different communication ways according to Battilana, and Casciaro, (2013) help the managers explain the objective of the change, besides preparing them on the expectations from this change. The partners therefore should have used other communication channels like holding meetings with all employees. In so doing, they could have gotten to know the feel of the employees have about the open office approach.

Explain what the partners might have done better to have minimized the resistance

Effectively engaging employees is another approach which the partners could have used to minimize resistance. From the case we see employees lamenting that “no one got asked what they wanted in the new offices”. Employees are a critical part of an organization since they are the ones ensuring that the clients are happy, and any meaningful change must involve them. The new partners should have frequently engaged with the employees either in a groups or individually in order to collect feedback that would have assisted in knowing the source of resistance. According to Stanleigh, (2013) engagement has to be done in a manner that employees feel their concerns and ideas will be heard. In trying to understand employees’ concerns, Battilana, and Casciaro, (2013) argue that understanding that employees differ is essential in realizing that there is going to be different and diverse reasons for resistance.

While there are many strategies that can be used to implement change, Stanleigh, (2013) proposes implementing changes in a gradual process as one of the strategy. Noting that change is a process that doesn’t happen overnight, Hon, Bloom and Crant ,(2014)  opine that companies should make the preparation for change, implement, make plans for managing change, and support the changes while assuring employees of the expected benefits. The partners undoing from this strategy advanced by Stanleigh, (2013), was failing to implement the change gradually and the employees were seemingly overwhelmed with many the many unexpected changes at once. The company should also have developed a clear plan for managing change in case of resistance.

Analysis of the barriers to communication existing in the law firm

The case illustrates various barriers to effective communication that are typical in many organizations. Communication has been considered by many to be the key driver of organizational success. According to Mandal, (2011) communication is critical in promoting motivation by informing employee about the task to be implemented, manner to be done, and in engaging them on how to improve their individual and overall performances. In the Cheetham and Wynne law firm case; there exist glaring communication breakdown between the partners and the employees.  

Un-clarified assumptions exist on some matters between employees and the partners. Gupta, (2007, pp 490) describes un-clarified assumptions as the existence of unclear messages by the sender which may confuse the recipient. For instance, Anna is dissatisfied that she had been promised a salary increase if she had a good performance. Anna believes the word good performance is vague and that she should have had a bonus for her exemplary work. John Carlton, an accountant is also another victim of un-clarified assumptions. He believes he had been hired temporarily as an accountant who later takes up a supervisory role over other employees. He had also casually discussed with Jack about the possibility of sponsoring his MBA studies which Jack later back out because the cost exceeded what he had imagined.

Analysis of the barriers to communication existing in the law firm

There also exists mistrust and emotional communication barriers.  In the case, we see that mistrust has developed between the partners and the employees. Mai complains that they are not even aware what to expect from a performance review. This is worsened by the fact that the partners cannot politely correct her. Mai has been made to feel unwanted and that she doesn’t have enough experience. This breakdown in communication has left her confused on whether to believe Mr. Wynne or not.

Considering the importance of communication to effective organization management, it is important to remove these barriers. While complete removal of these barriers may not be possible, Austin, E.W. and Pinkleton, (2015) assert that managers should put serious efforts to remove majority of these barriers so that effective communication can be established.  Mandal, (2011) advises using formally written documents to eliminate un-clarified assumptions. Using this strategy enables the recipient to read and clearly understand the contents of the document and seek clarifications where necessary.  

Gregory and Levy, (2015) advance facilitating feedback as a way to minimize barriers associated with trust and emotions. With this strategy, managers should give employees the opportunity to give feedback regarding the content of the message. For instance, the partners should seek to find from the employees, their thoughts about performance review. Through this engagement, the employees can better understand the review process, and their expectations on bonuses and salary increase arising from improved performance.

Sources of power and its impact on employees

Power within an organization refers to the capacity to influence the action or behavior of others. Power is dynamic and changes with changes in situations and individuals. Griffin, and Moorhead, (2011) categorizes power into five sources namely; legitimate, coercive, reward, expert, and referent. In the law firm, the partners have legitimate power which according to Bertocci, (2009) refers to the manager’s influence over others based on the formal managerial position they hold in a company.

Mark and Cathy are partners by virtue of their father’s position as senior partners. As such, the two derived legitimate power which has seen them take a lead role in the management of the organization. They have gone ahead to introducing sweeping changes which the employees have been resistant to. Griffin, and Moorhead, (2011) warn against abusive use of legitimate power noting that it can cause frustrations, dissatisfaction and resistance among employees. This is evident in the case, from the way the new partners have used their power to the resistance of the employees. They add that while employees may follow the instructions of the manager, they may no longer be loyal.

How to overcome communication barriers

In the law firm, there is also some element of expert power. According to Daft, (2014), expert power is demonstrated in a person’s ability to have influence over others because of recognized talents, competencies, or specialized knowledge. Daft, (2014) is quick to point out that the scope of expert power can be relatively narrow since an individual may chose to recognize expertise incident while resisting in another. Jack, a senior partner recognizes their expert power when he notes that their partners had employed lawyers who were “not like us”. Jack’s assertion is that they are experts in commercial law. Griffin, and Moorhead, (2011), argue that while expert power can be useful in earning respect and trust from peers, it can lead to decrease in respect for seniority.

Influence partners and employees have

Power and influence go hand in hand according to Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, (2102), and achieving good leadership requires the understanding organizational power, influence, and influence tactics. Influence refers to the process of changing a person’s behavior, influence tactics are techniques used to achieve that process. Rational persuasion is the commonly used tactic and has been used by the partners while persuading the employees on the new open floor office approach. This tactic uses data, facts, and logical arguments in convincing others (Long, 2010). In an email to all employees, the partners had indicated the benefits of the new office, which among others were flexibility and more opportunities for teamwork. This influence tactic was not very successful since the partners failed to incorporate other aspects of leadership like effective communication and engagement.

The employees on the other hand used coalition tactic in a bid to have their say heard.  Locke, (2009) describes coalition tactic as the type of influence where a group of individuals work together towards a certain goal to exert influence on others. This is evident from the case, where we see employees canvassing in groups about the challenges they are facing in the new open floor plan .

Reference List

Alvesson, M. and Sveningsson, S., 2015. Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. London: Routledge.

Austin, E.W. and Pinkleton, B.E., 2015. Strategic Public Relations Management: Planning and Managing Effective Communication Campaigns(Vol. 10).London:  Routledge.

Battilana, J. and Casciaro, T., 2013. Overcoming resistance to organizational change: Strong ties and affective cooptation. Management Science, 59(4), pp.819-836.

Bertocci, D.I. (2009) Leadership in organizations: There is a difference between leaders and managers. Lanham, Md: University Press of America.

Daft, R.L.,2014. The leadership experience. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Gregory, J.B. and Levy, P.E.,2015. Using feedback in organizational consulting. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Griffin, R.W. and Moorhead, G. (2011) Organizational behavior. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Gupta, 2007. Business Organisation & management. New Delhi: S. Chand Publishing.

Hon, A.H., Bloom, M. and Crant, J.M., 2014. Overcoming resistance to change and enhancing creative performance. Journal of Management, 40(3), pp.919-941.

Hughes, R., Ginnett, R., & Curphy, G.,2012. Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Locke, E., 2009. Handbook of principles of organizational behavior: Indispensable knowledge for evidence-based management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

Long,,2010. Communication, relationships and practices in virtual work. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Inc (IGI).

Mandal, S.K., 2011. Management: Principles and practice. Bombay: Jaico Publishing House.

Stanleigh, M., 2013. Leading change. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 36(2), p.39.