...Top Ten Reasons People Resist Change: 1. THE RISK OF CHANGE IS SEEN AS GREATER THAN THE RISK OF STANDING STILL Making a change requires a kind of leap of faith: you decide to move in the direction of the unknown on the promise that something will be better for you. But you have no proof. Taking that leap of faith is risky, and people will only take active steps toward the unknown if they genuinely believe – and perhaps more importantly, feel – that the risks of standing still are greater than those of moving forward in a new direction. Making a change is all about managing risk. If you are making the case for change, be sure to set out in stark, truthful terms why you believe the risk situation favors change. Use numbers whenever you can, because we in the West pay attention to numbers. At the very least, they get our attention, and then when the rational mind is engaged, the emotional mind (which is typically most decisive) can begin to grapple with the prospect of change. But if you only sell your idea of change based on idealistic, unseen promises of reward, you won’t be nearly as effective in moving people to action. The power of the human fight-or-flight response can be activated to fight for change, but that begins with the perception of risk. 2. PEOPLE FEEL CONNECTED TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE IDENTIFIED WITH THE OLD WAY We are a social species. We become and like to remains connected to those we know, those who have taught us, those with whom we are familiar – even at...
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...many industries to change the way in which they do business in order to survive. Managers must find ways in which in to motivate their employees to overcome their employees natural resistance to change. Mangers must find ways to communicate a clear intent to diminish unknowns. Once clear goals have been created lay out individual goals to follow and Inspect their progress. Additionally, management must make sure that everyone is part of the plan and honor employee’s success in order to create a smoother transition with minimal resistance. A Business Owner Should Not be Able To Hire Or Fire Anyone Without Interference From The Government In recent history, many industries have suffered a severe economic downturn. Many industries across the board have changed in order to survive. The changes that the industries have endured can be categorized in the following manner: technological, environmental, and internal to the organization. Nevertheless, people are creatures of habits and once they become dedicated to a routine may have difficulty adjusting to changes. Most people tend to resist change when it is unexpected or unknown (Rue, 2014). “If it feels like walking off the cliff, blindfolded people will resist it” (Kanter, 2012). The second reason people resist change is because it lead to more work, which result in personal sacrifice in all affected employees (Rue, 2014). Change by definition is a departure from the past (Kanter, 2012). Additionally, change may signify a loss...
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...Describe Lewin's change model and the systems model of change, and discuss the external and internal forces that create the need for organizational change. * Discuss Kotter's Eight Steps for Leading Organizational Change. * Discuss the 11 Reasons Employees Resist Change. * Discuss the process organizations use to build their learning capabilities and identify alternative strategies for overcoming resistance to change. Respond to at least two of your fellow students' responses. Try to respond to students who picked different statements. Kotter’s eight steps for leading organizational change include: 1 – Establish sense of urgency – Create reason for why change is needed 2 – Create guiding coalition – Get people with enough power and influence to lead change 3 – Develop a vision and strategy – Create plan to guide change process 4 – Communicate change vision – Implement communication strategy that constantly communicates new vision with others 5 – Empower broad based action – Eliminate barriers to change, encourage risk taking and problem solving 6 – Generate short term wins – Plan for short term wins, milestones to be met. Reward those who achieve these results 7 – Consolidate gains and produce more change – Coalition uses credibility from goal achievements/wins and creates additional change. More people are brought into the change process throughout the organization 8 – Anchor new approach in culture – Reinforce change by recognizing change and how it...
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...Leading Change Answers (1) The top 3 reasons why change efforts fail are as follows; (i) Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency: When successful change efforts begin, individuals or group of people look hard at the companies competitive situation and the focus on potential revenue drop or an emerging market that everyone seems to be ignoring. These steps are important but without motivation to carry out these steps, people don’t help and the efforts fail. Some of the reasons why these efforts fail is; Sometimes executives underestimate how hard it can be to drive people out of their comfort zones. Sometimes they grossly overestimate how successful they have already been in increasing urgency. Sometimes they lack patience. (ii) Not Creating a Powerful Enough Guiding Coalition: This is because companies usually underestimate the difficulties of producing change and thus the importance of a powerful guiding coalition. Sometimes companies have no teamwork at the top and therefore undervalue the importance of this type of coalition. They expect the team to be led by a staff executive from human resources, quality, or strategic planning instead of a key line manager. (iii) Lack Vision: This is because companies do not create a vision to help direct the change effect. They do not develop strategies to achieve that vision. (2) The role of a leader in change initiatives include; establishing a sense of urgency, forming a powerful guiding coalition, creating...
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...WHY DO EMPLOYEES RESIST TO CHANGE? Whenever human beings are exposed to change at work (or at home, at play or in relationship), resistance is a natural and common phenomenon. Even if change is the “solution” one needs to plan for resistance. Leaders, managers, supervisors, all of us who are tasked with the role of implementing change efforts, and I think that change is continuous, rather than it happens periodically when caused by a severe disruption. And I agree that small changes occur continuously, but change that will markedly after an organization happens periodically and occurs very quickly. Change be it major or minor is now continuous of any major severe disruptions. Businesses are now aware of the new reality that they face on a regular basis. They want to be the first to disrupt because if it’s going to happen anyway, it’s much more profitable for them to be the disruptor. And I agree that change needs to have a clearly communicated value statement and the endurance to see training through. And people are not against change but against being changed. Force it upon them, and they all will find reasons not to step out of their comfort zone, these include fear. Discomfort and even more so, fear for the outcome, is the outmost important reason for resistance to change. It is about people and not machines. People think, feel and have emotions. All personnel involved always and immediately know, it is not only just about adapting to market changes, but it’s also always...
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...point in which I was personally experiencing it myself. As someone who has undergone a reduction in work force, this course helped me better understand why transitions happen in a company that is going through an economical or global change. As someone who has worked for over 30 years, I experienced this for the first time ever in my life. I did not quite know the gest of what it all meant because I did not have an understanding regarding this matter. This class has help broaden my understanding tremendously on how it is necessary to have an Organization Developer who can help a company go through the process and make it a smooth transition. From the first part of the class, we had an assignment whereas we had to interview someone who was experienced in the field of Organization Development. I chose the instructor because I realized that she had a background in OD and was well versed in the field with her many years of experience. With the experience the instructor has, she was able to emphatically speak about what companies should do upon their transition in order to keep the reputation of the company in good standing as well as help employees cope with the change and keep morale up. Not only is an Organization Developer needed when a company downsizes, but even when a company is going through a growth spurt. Why is this necessary? Primarily because the company must understand that new positions created in the company must have some form of structure and a robust...
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...Change and Innovation Marion Farda HCA 250 April 22nd, 2012 April Doctor Small Change and Innovation The world we live in is constantly changing, this means that technology is always changing, and businesses must change to keep up. Recently there has been a big change in the medical field, from advances in the treatment choices one now has to the way our medical treatment is delivered in terms of the newest equipment that has been created. There has been one very significant change in medical technology and that is in the way our medical history is stored, gone are the days of paper records; we now have been introduced to Electronic Medical Records. This means all of our health information is now stored on a computer. The changes make hand written notes that are at most very hard to read a thing of the past, and giving the health care provider the ease of having all your information at hand with just a few keystrokes compared to searching through stacks of papers in a file. Change is a factor in a person’s personal life as well as in their professional life. “The idea that human beings naturally resist change is deeply embedded in our thinking about change. Our language (e.g. “resistance to change”), our assumptions, and mental models about change all seem to imply that something in our natures lead us to resist change. However, it is easy to find examples of human beings, from childhood on through old age, actively seeking out change of all sorts. Human beings...
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...Organizational Behaviour Organizational Behaviour - Change Organizational Behaviour – Change Introduction Change affects us all in different ways. The reality today is that managing change and coping with change is a never-ending process that can be complex and stressful. Constant change is commonplace in the modern workplace. Specific factors driving change include changes in the work itself, structural and organizational design alterations, shift to the global economy, and increased diversity. There is often resistance to change in organizations. This is usually traced to some combination of individual, group, or organizational characteristics, including the design structure of the organization, changing systems and programs, changing organizational policies, and the organizational culture. Organizations need to remain compatible with their external environments. However, the environments in which organizations operate are constantly changing, so they must recognize the shifts and respond accordingly in order to survive and remain effective. Successful organizations monitor their environment and take appropriate steps to maintain a compatibility with the new external conditions. Given the increasing amount of change that organizations experience, it is critical that all employees learn strategies to manage change and cope with change. Rather than resisting change, employees and successful organizations embrace change as an integral part of organizational life. ...
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...INTRODUCTION Change is defined as pervasive influence, where all aspects are subject to continual change of one form or another (Mullins, 2005 , p.909). Also, change is an inescapable part of both social and organizational life. The abstract of organizational change is in regard to organization change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, update a program. Instance of organizationwide change may include a change in mission, restructuring operations, new technologies, mergers, collaborations, and rightsizing. Change in organizational scheme is an attempt to alter the organization`s alignment with its environment. The Nature and Causes of Resistance to change Employees have to learn something new therefore they resist to change. In many reasons there is not a divide with the advantage of the new process, but rather a fear of the unknown future and about their ability to adapt to it. Forces of Change The general environment is parted in to different dimensions: External forces for change originate outside the organization. First of all, these forces have global effects, they might reason an organization to question the essence of what business it is in and the process by which products and services are produced. There are external forces for change is discussed below: The workforce is more diverse and there is a business responsibility to effectively manage diversity. Thus, organizations need to effectively manage diversity if they are to receive maximum contribution...
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...“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek Change management is one of the most keenly studied management disciplines today. Keeping in mind the fact that the organisations, which embrace change, are likely to be most successful one. For this reason, many firms and institutions are alert to the need of continually monitoring their structure and procedures with a view of improving them. This article focuses not only on the change but the whole process of change – starting from the introduction to the consolidation of change. Definitions of change: o As a society, we have been moving from old to the new. And we are still in motion. Caught between eras, we experience turbulence.' - JOHN NAISBETT Change is inevitable in the life of an organization. o According to Stephen P. Robbins- change is concerned with making things different. Things must be different because they change constantly. o Change can be defined as – when an organizational system is disturbed by some internal or external force, change frequently occurs. Change as a process, is simply modification of the structure or process of a system. It may be good or bad, the concept is descriptive only." Outside environment of the organization is ever changing, even socially and politically we are always on the move, looking for newer and better ways of doing things. The industrial revolution &...
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...and Practice Exam Preparation Resources Module 7: Change, leadership, and interpersonal skills Overview In this module you study the process of change in organizations and how managers can facilitate, measure, and evaluate that change. Change has become a constant rather than sporadic occurrence in the business world. There are many reasons, not the least of which is the changing environment in which organizations operate. Over the past three decades, advances in technology, especially telecommunications, have revolutionized how the world does business and the pace at which it does business. You can now deal with customers and competitors 24 hours a day if you choose. Add to that economic and political changes that favour trade liberalization across and within borders, a more mobile workforce, increasing numbers of consumers with enough buying power and interest in new products and services to reward innovation and risk-taking, and the added complexity of an increasingly volatile financial and economic environment. Accounting standards and financial management techniques are changing to keep pace. This is the world of business today — fast-paced and around the clock, trying to stay abreast of developments and keep one step ahead of the global competition. In such an environment, the manner in which organizations embrace and manage change can be the difference between success and failure. Change is here whether we like it or not — how we deal with it determines...
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...SARAH MARIE ARNAIZ BSBA-4 1. How would you distinguish the diff. between leaders an authority figure? Give example. - A leader is a person who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision, and the skills to make it happen. Every leader has its own vision. A leader is a person who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision, and the skills to make it happen. Whether the goal is to double the company's annual sales, develop a product that will solve a certain problem, or start a company that can achieve the leader's dream, the leader always has a clear target in mind. While the Authority Figure is a person a person whose real or apparent authority over others inspires or demands obedience and emulation, like Parents and teachers are traditional authority figure for the children. 2. In what ways do leaders reflects the group value? - If a leader didn’t show a good attitude to its member automatically they will lose respect to this person, for example, what do you think of a store or restaurant when they have a horrible manager? Same with a bad coach on a sports team. You lose faith in them. 3. Explain this statement "a man who commands efficiently must have obeyed other in the past". - This statement tells us that if the person who acts good and respectful they must be obeyed by someone. Like for example in a sports team if the coach shows a good moral to his or her players of course the payers should...
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...Keywords Empowerment, Language, Leadership, Organizational change, Resistance, Teamwork Abstract Resistance to change is a centerpiece in the traditional change agenda. The author argues that resistance to change is not a basic part of our make-up and he uses the example of his grandfather’s l ife to provide examples of the many dramatic changes that have successfully impacted on people’s l ives during the twentieth centur y. The author outl ines the leadership inadequacies that result in change initiatives being rejected. Central to these leadership problems are a lack of vision, l imited integ r ity, lack of coura ge, inappropr iate langua ge, l imited understanding of true empowerment, and only a passing commitment to leadership as service. The argument concludes that while many modern leaders have been trained in the what and the how of change, the real problem lies in the fact that the why and the who gains remains largely mute. William (Bill) Burdett was born in 1896 in a small village in Northamptonshire, England. Like many of his generation, he fought in, what has been referred to ever since as, The Great War. Indeed, well in to his 80s, he could describe with vivid detail the Battle of Jutland and the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow – events that came alive as he described, not what the history books said, but what he personally witnessed. And though he was not blessed with an unusual level of talent, or even with an extra stroke of luck, this simple...
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...For Companies Both Big and Small Case study Abstract This paper is about the case study of two companies: CPS energy, a Texas- based company and Lloyd’s construction, a Minnesota based company. To put it briefly, these companies, at the time had a problem with implementing new technology at the office. They encountered resistance from employees. And compared to their competitors, they were not productive enough and were far behind in terms of efficiency. Relating to this I have prepared why people resist change and proposed some effective strategies to deal with them. The paper gives a detail understanding of the two company’s situation and how they could also have solved it. Introduction Technology is truly a boon when you know about it and use it. But it becomes a curse when you can’t. That is the bitter truth about technology. And sadly one of the very prominent reason some business fail is because of lack of investment in technology (Bower & Christensen, 1995). This specially happens among companies which have their history and reputation in the society while using their traditional methods or equipments. This case study is the same. CPS energy is a Texas-based, energy providing company owned by the municipal of the region. A decade ago, they had roughly 4000 workforce, providing its services to the community and riding the road to riches (Markas, 2013). Their customers and workforce were satisfied. But from a different perspective, it was very clear that...
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...Managing Change in the Workplace Managing change in the workplace is a constant for all leaders. Managers are constantly having to redefine the way business is be operated the products and services that are being offered and how this will impact their customers and the community. Change is something each business must go through in order to stay up-to-date. This is often times a challenge for those that work within the business. New training, new procedures, new products, and paperwork the list is endless. Moving people out of their comfort zone is a challenge in itself. There are strategies the managers along with all the employees can help with the change with the help of the Human Resource Department, and a well thought out plan with changes can be made with little to no resistance. Some managers find the best approach to tackling change is with urgency. Other’s managers believe is best to simply explain that the necessary changes will take a team effort. Explaining that competitors are or will outperform them if necessary, changes are not meet with head on. That they will see a decline in sales, production, and growth. Managers may also need to explain that there cannot be a pay increase, bonuses, incentives without change and growth. They also may need to explain that growth is necessary for every company. Managers need to make sure the right people are on board with the changes. Somethings to watch for is behaviors, attitudes, and skills. The right skills, attitudes...
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