Understanding Factors Contributing To Resistance And Implementing Strategies For Successful Change Management Essay.

Concept of Resistance to Change

Question:

Discuss about the Knowledge Of Resistance to Change.

This report has been executed on the topic “Resistance to change” in which discussion will be made regarding the resistance to change faced by the organisation. The business environment is dynamic and employees may resist accepting these changes taking place in the business environment. Organisation adopts changes for enhancing the performance of the business. An important issue or challenge which is faced by the business is resistance to change from the employees. Different individuals behave differently for the changes which business is planning to implement for the betterment of the business. Different factors are responsible for the resistance to change by the employees or different individuals in an organisation. These factors determine the behaviour of the people towards the change. Change management is an important aspect which helps the business in implementing the change in an effective manner.

This report will develop knowledge of the concept of resistance to change and factors which contribute towards resistance to change. Impact of the resistance to change can be seen on the performance of the business. This impact of resistance to change will be discussed in this report. Business needs to adopt strategies or approaches which help in dealing with resistance to change.

Organisations are operating in a dynamic environment where changes are occurring at a very fast speed. These changing aspects create pressure on the business to adopt the change for conducting operations of the business effectively. Business needs to adopt the change or adopt the concept of change management for coping with the changing aspects of business environment. Change has been defined as an important for business which enhances the performance of the business. Adaptation of change forms a base for the survival of the business. Change management has become an important aspect of the business environment (Agboola & Salawu, 2011).

According to Goksoy, et. al. (2012), change management has been considered as an advantage for the business which promotes growth and expansion. There are different reasons responsible for the implementation of change and these reasons include technological advancements, increase in competition, change in financial condition and economic condition. Resistance to change is a challenge which affects the process of implementation of change in the organisation. Business needs to analyse this resistance to change along with the reasons responsible for the resistance to change.

An important element which affects the process of change management is resistance to change. The term resistance to change can be defined as the action of an individual or group of individuals opposes to a change which is taking place as a threat to the individual or group of individuals. Resistance to change is an important challenge which affects the growth and expansion of the business adversely. Organisations are adopting changes with a motive to gain a competitive advantage over the others in the industry. Changes are implemented for enhancing the performance of the business but the business may face resistance from different individuals or group of individuals (Boohene & Williams, 2012). Resistance to change is the action of the employee of the business which is affecting the change management process of the business. Resistance to change is a negative attitude of individual or group of the individual which is against the decision of implementing a change. Different assumptions have been made regarding the impact of resistance to change. There are different factors responsible for the failure of decision for change management and implementation. Resistance to change is one of the most important factors behind the failure of decision for implementation of change in an organisation (Vasanji, 2016).

Factors Contributing to Resistance to Change

In the words of Serban & Iorga (2016), resistance to change is a crucial challenge which is affecting the stability of the business. Different types of changes are being implemented by the organisation for coping with the changing complexities of the environment. These changes can be cultural change or structural change. Level of the change differs from organisation to organisation. Every organisation expects resistance while implementing change due to various factors. This resistance results in failure of the decisions and affects the decisions of the business. There is a need to explain the benefits associated with the implementation of change to the employees or individual resisting to change. Resistance to change holds the power of delay, hinder or slow down the implementation of the change process. Resistance to change develops a negative attitude in the individuals or group of individuals towards the change. Different reasons are responsible for developing this negative attitude among the individuals or group of individuals. These reasons include misunderstanding of the reason behind the change, unknown fear, loss of status or loss of comfort (Khan, et. al., 2017).

Changing environment demands change in the business and its manner of conducting operations for becoming more streamlined. Resistance can create a no-win situation which is against the objectives of the business. Resistance makes it difficult to implement the changes and creates an adverse impact on the performance of the business. It can affect the efforts made by the organisation for the change management. For the successful implementation of the change, the organisation needs to gain the support of the employees. The motive behind the implementation of the change is to stay competitive and as per the changing business environment (Kebapci & Erkal, 2009). For example, Uber cab service provider has faced resistance to change from the industry. With the change in the technology, Uber offered online cab services in which cabs in the area are booked by using an application. This innovation of Uber has affected the performance of traditional taxi companies who resisted to the change implemented by Uber (Bouquet & Renault, 2014).

The focus of the organisations is on reducing the resistance to change for the implementation of the change in an effective manner. Different individuals have different views regarding the change which forms a base for the resistance to change. These different views of the different individuals affect the change management and overall performance of the business. There are various factors which need to be considered as these factors are responsible for the resistance to change in an organisation. Resistance to change affects the change management process as well as reduces the growth and expansion of the business. For the purpose of coping with the resistance to change, there is a need to implement strategies or approaches. These approaches need to be applied as per the need of the business. Changes are good for business and enhance the performance of the business. Communication process needs to be improved as weak communication process increases the chances of resistance to change (Toribio & Hernandez, 2011). For example, Avon has faced resistance to change as Avon has faced a decline in the prices of stock. New CEO was appointed in the year 2012 for overcoming from this adverse situation. Due to the resistance to implement the desired change for enhancing the performance, performance of Avon has affected at large (Trefis, 2015).

Impact of Resistance to Change on Business Performance

Change management decisions are taken by the business for enhancing the capabilities of the business. It is vital to gain the support of the employees and internal stakeholders of the business for implementing change. Resistance to change in a huge challenge which can result in failure of the decision made by the business as well as affects the internal environment of the business at large. Resistance to change can be due to various reasons which need to be analysed for overcoming the challenge and eliminating the impact of resistance to change. There are various factors which have contributed towards the resistance to change in an organisation. These factors which increase the chances of resistance to change in an organisation are fear of losing job, unknown fears, lack of safety, attitude, values and principles of the individual, economic considerations, habits of the employees, culture of the organisation, lack of communication process and engagement of employees which increases miscommunication, lack of trust and poor timings (Y?lmaz & K?l?ço?lu, 2013).

Lack of an effective communication process in an organisation affects the change management process and contributes to resistance to change. This factor affects the flow of information among the employees which affects the thoughts and decisions of the individual. Due to this lack of an effective communication process, employees resist to change. Habits of the employees determine their attitude towards the change business is implementing. Implementation of change includes a change in the manner operations are executed. This affects the habits of the individual which results in resistance to change. Communication is an important aspect which helps in engaging the employees in the operations of the business. The decision of the organisation regarding the implementation of the change may get affected due to the poor timing for change implementation selected by the organisation. The organisation needs to decide proper timings for the implementation of change so as to ensure it is not facing the situation of resistance (Zafar & Naveed, 2014).

Employees fear of losing the job which forms the basis for resistance to change. With the change implementation, a business may need to change the manner in which it is operating. This aspect of the process of change management develops a fear of loss of job among the employees. Trust is developed when there is a proper communication between the employees and organisation. Lack of trust between organisation and employees increases the chances of resistance to change (Khan, et. al., 2017). A misunderstanding between the organisation and employees affects their attitude and behaviour towards the change. Uncertainty among the employees regarding the operations or the changes increases fears among the employees. Companies need to provide a clear view to the employees for encouraging them to participate in the change management process and eliminating the chances of resistance to change. There are chances when an organisation takes decision-related to change in the resources of the business. This aspect develops fear among the employees due to which they resist to change business plans to implement (Tavakolia, 2010).

Strategies for Managing Resistance to Change

Change in the business processes may develop a sense of lack of safety among the employees. For gaining a competitive advantage over the others in the industry, business needs to develop a sense of safety in the mind of employees. This sense of lack of safety has the potential to slow down the process of change implementation. Uncertainty and insecurity affect the satisfaction level of the employees which affects the change management process. Employees may fear of losing their freedom due to the implementation of change. Another fear related to a reduction in the pay of the employees may develop among the employees. This can affect the chances of success of the decision related to change management. Employees may feel that they may cost their power for supporting the change management process.  Knowledge and skills of the employees can also act the process as it can act as a factor for resistance to change (Yang, 2014).

The culture of the business also affects the change management process as culture shapes the behaviour and attitude of the employees towards the business. Structural changes in the organisation can also affect the decision of change management. Flexibility promotes the implementation of change in a better manner and on the contrary, lack of flexibility in the organisation adds on to the chances of resistance to change. Resistance can be in different forms affecting the change management process. These different forms of resistance include blind resistance, political resistance and ideological resistance (Karnes, 2009).

An organisation goes through many changes in the normal course of business.  The employees of the organisation have to adapt to these changes which often create pressures on them.  Changes bring resistance in the employees and it has a huge impact on the organisation and its overall functioning.  Resistance to change can create job dissatisfaction and high employee turnover.  According to Struijs (2012), there is a positive relationship between resistance to change and the turnover of employees. The author conducted a survey which showed that job satisfaction plays a main role in the turnover intention of employees and resistance to change. The employees who experience more resistance to change were less satisfied with their jobs in comparison to those who experience lesser resistance to change in the organisation. Resistance to change affects the satisfaction level of the employees along with the quality of the tasks performed by the employees (Grunberg, et al, 2008).

Case Studies: Resistance to Change in Uber and Avon

Resistance to change has some negative effects on the organisation and on the individuals as well. The organisation whose employees have more resistant to change often depletes the overall performance of the organisation. More requirements of changes from the employees deplete their morale and ultimately, the performance of the workers. They tend to lose their trust from the employer and intend to leave their jobs.  Resistance to change also creates disruptive work environment (Struijs, 2012). The employees who create resistance to the changes required may spread the negativity in the other staff members which can create huge unrest in the employees.  It also increases the expenditures of the organisation in providing training, implementing new tools and techniques and in the process of making the changed procedures a success.  The uncertain change in the organisation creates chronic work stress in the individuals and makes them think of leaving the organisation. It has a great impact on the attitudes of the workers.  The leaders need to understand the impact it could have on the employees (McLaren and Dunn, 2016).

Change is evident in the business organisation which is not a problem but resistance to change is a big problem.  It is needed for the survival of organisation and to have a competitive advantage in the industry. The fear of change may create the misunderstandings between the management and the employees.  The organisation should plan in advance to overcome such situations.  Trust and engagement of employees play a very important role while implementing changes in the organisation.  The employers need to think on the psychological well-being of the employees and to involve them actively to bring success in the workplace (Holten and Brenner, 2015).

Coordination among the employees is required for the purpose of implementing the change. Lack of coordination among the employees affects the change implementation process. This can increase the chances of disputes among the employees due to differences in the thoughts and views. This can result in miscommunication among the employees and increases the chances of conflicts in the internal stakeholders of the business. Morale of the employees also gets affected due to the resistance to change (Karnes, 2009). Views of the individual affect others in the organisation. Groups may get formed in the organisation for resisting the change and affecting the speed of change implementation. Lower morale of the employees can affect their performance and organisational strength. It can affect team spirit and teamwork as different individuals have different views. Teamwork is required for implementing change in a proper manner. Lack of teamwork and team spirit will result in disputes among the team and affects the quality of performance (Fong, et. al., 2011).

Conclusion

Another impact of resistance to change is increase in the employee turnover rates. Employees who are resisting to change need to understand the reason behind the change. Lack of support from the employees for implementing change can develop negative environment. For eliminating this negativity, a business may take actions against the employees who are resisting to change. Negative attitude of the employees affects the behaviour of the employees towards the change. It is crucial to overcome these factors as these affect the change management process. Change management is dependent on the support from the internal stakeholders of the business. Negative attitude of an employee affects the attitude of others in the organisation (Beshtawi & Jaaron, 2014).

It is vital to gain the confidence of employees for implementing change as a process of change management is possible only with the support of employees. There is a need to explain the reason behind the change, business is planning to implement to employees. Management needs to be done of the resistance of change for ensuring that business decisions of change implementation are not getting affected. For the purpose of management of the resistance to change, there is a need to adopt strategies or measures. These strategies or measures will help the business in coping with the factors resulting in resistance to change. These strategies or measures for managing resistance to change include conducting training programs, adopting effective communication process, using motivation, enhancing participation of employees, a delegation of tasks of change management process and conducting one-on-one sessions for presenting a clear view and discussing the need to change with the employees (Katsaros, et. al., 2014).

Training programs need to be conducted for the purpose of making them aware of the change and preparing them for accepting the change. The motive behind conducting training program is to educate the employees of the organisation regarding the change management program. Change can be of different types and employees need to be aware of these different types of changes for providing their support for the change management process. Resistance can be removed or eliminated with the application of training programs. The training session will help in clearing out the doubts of the employees regarding the change. The training program will develop positive attitude in the employees for ensuring that employees are supporting the decision of change (Pohanková, 2010).

A delegation of tasks of change management process will enhance the satisfaction level of the employees as well as develops a sense of belongingness among the employees. Every organisation must engage the employees in the change management process. This will enhance their attitude towards the change which business is implementing (Nickols, 2016). For example, Google has split up under the alphabet umbrella. Different goals have been set for every company so as to focus on the individual goals. For gaining support from the employees, Google explained the importance of change to the employees and set employees free for focusing on their productivity and attainment of the missions (Troyani, 2017).

Adopting effective communication process can enhance the relationship between the employees and organisation. Communication process will help the organisation in promoting transparency in the organisation. It is crucial to make the employees aware of the change and the motive behind the change. This will help the business is eliminating the fear related to job loss, lack of safety and loss of freedom. Communication process will contribute towards the better coordination among the employees of the organisation. Communication process will help in engaging the employees in the decision making process and change which organisation is planning (Rajput & Novitskaya, 2013).

Using motivation will help organisation is encouraging the employees to ensure that change is implemented effectively. Motivational techniques will help in changing the behaviour of the employees towards the change. Change is necessary for the business and for the attainment of the objective, the motivational technique can be used. The motivational technique will enhance the performance as well as ensures that employees are performing as per the expectations or plans of the business (Pohanková, 2010).

Enhancing participation of employees or engaging the employees in the discussion making process of the business enhance their satisfaction level. Satisfied workforce performs in a better manner. For the implementation of change in an effective manner, there is a need to promote participation of the employees in the change management process. Roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined for making the employees aware of the change and role they have to perform (Husain, 2013).

An organisation can conduct meetings, one-on-one sessions for presenting a clear view and making the employees aware of the need of change. The organisation needs to discuss the need to implement change to the employees. This will help in encouraging them to work for implementation of the change in a better manner. One-on-one sessions and meetings will help in communicating with the employees in a better manner and promoting coordination among the employees (Toribio & Hernandez, 2011). For example, British Airways appointed a new chairperson for the purpose of enhancing profits of the company. New chairperson decided to engage in the restructuring process for enhancing the performance. For coping with the resistance to change, it has discussed the change with its employees for gaining their support (Faucheux, 2015).

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded that one of the most important challenges which is faced by the business is resistance to change. With the change in the technology, business environment and level of competition in the industry, companies are implementing changes for coping with the changes. During this process of change management, resistance to change affects the whole process at large. There are various factors due to which chances of resistance to change faced an organisation increases. These factors need to be identified by the business for reducing or eliminating the impact of these factors. The organisation must develop trust among the employees for enhancing their participation in the change management process. A sense of safety needs to be developed among the employees for encouraging them to perform in a better manner and supporting the decision of change management of the business.

Impact of resistance to change can be seen on the performance of the individual employee, performance of the business, the satisfaction level of the employees, coordination among the employees, lower morale, depleting workplace environment and negative attitude of the employees. For enhancing the change management process, there is a need to adopt strategies including training sessions, effective communication process, motivation, the participation of employees, a delegation of change and conducting one-on-one sessions for presenting a clear view.

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