While making any plan for change, it is obvious to believe that it will be implemented as per desire; the organization will be benefited from the planned change, and so on. Management usually plans to make any change and implements it successfully.
Management cannot implement it without help o employees. But sometimes that help cannot see that light of the earth. The obstacle comes on the way of executing the plan. Employees or a portion of managers create barriers to implement it.
These obstacles or barriers are called resistance. It is blocked on the way of making and implementing any decision, plan, or change. That is why; every changemaker should take care of it. He must anticipate the problems and obstacles. Despite sufficient care, if any resistance comes, management should handle it tactfully.
Newstrom and davis: Resistance to change consists of any employee behavior designed to discredit, delay or prevent the implementation of a work change. We can define the term resistance to change as follows: Any kind of oral, behavioral, psychological or physical obstacle or barrier created by the concerned or vested interested parties on the way of implementing plan may be referred to as resistance to change.
Reasons for Resistance to Change in Organizations
Due to a number of reasons employees or managers resist the change. These causes may be varied in nature. Variations take plane owing to some personal, socioeconomic, political, behavioral, logical, and sociological causes. These are:
1. Nature of change: if the nature of change is not traditional and rather new, resistance may come. Until nature is acceptable resistance will continue.
2. The method used: Sometimes unacceptable method is used to make a change pan and implement it. The concerned people who are not habituated with that method may protest against change.
3. Sense of equity: Everybody wants to get the equitable benefit and anything, IN case of violating of equity resistance may come.
4. Uncertainty: Worry about the ability to meet job demands, sweeping commitment, the possibility of promotion, or other benefits that may provoke the people to resist the management.
5. The threat of self-interest: If the employee’s self-interest is threatened in regard to new assignments for higher training aboard, distribution of responsibility resistance may be shown.
6. Feelings of Loss: Some impending changes create feelings of loss of power, status, security, familiarity, social network, and so on. If an employee feels serious about the loss he will go deadly against the proposed change. That is why people resist change.
7. Ego involvement: Ego is sometimes the worst enemy of a human being. Ego involvement may create the people to be reckless and uncompromising and change than may be resisted.
How to overcome resistance to change
Resistance is usually used for negative or in some cases destructive purposes. It may be harmful to peer relationships, productivity, and many. So management must come forward to overcome the resistance as early as possible. For the purpose, a few means can be used as shown in the following figure.:
1. Partnership: Through the partnership of resisting managers and employees change may be implemented and they are convinced about the need for change.
2. Education: Managers and employees may be given proper knowledge about the need for change. Training for performing duties may be useful for overcoming the resistance.
3. Facilitation: Total facilitation, allowing time for adjusting with the change, favorable environment, incentives, etc. may be offered to implementing people to overcome the resistance.
4. Force field analysis: Under this means some forces are identified for and against change. After doing so, the result may be given to the resisting managers and employees.
5. Providing rationale for the change: Highlighting the impersonal grounds, general interest more expectation the part of employees and organization can convince for change. Thus resistance may be removed.
6. Shared Rewards: Every manager and employee may have weaknesses in incentives and rewards. Change deserves more effort from employees. Reasonable regards and incentives help in lifting the resistance.
7. Employee Security: Job security and physical security, while working for gaining the future possibility of career development and the like might contribute to be tolerant to change.
8. Stimulating readiness: Employee readiness and support should be stimulated to overcome the resistance. They may be convinced about the change by an instance of this or other organizations.
9. Working with the total system: Resistance can be reduced by a broader understanding of employee attitudes and usual reaction to change. Managers should try to gain the utmost support of resisting people for change.
10. Divide and rule: Divide and rule is a negative approach to overcoming the resistance. By giving some benefits to a portion of resisting employees this division is created and resistance may be weakened.
There may be other ways to overcome resistance. Sometimes resistance is shown to highlight the significance of resisting employees and for getting some benefits.
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