A presentation on Organizational Change RESISTANCE

By K.Venkateswara Raju

MBA HR(ICFAI)

Types of Resistance

Functional Resistance:• critically assess whether

change will lead to improvements

• exploring the personal consequences of change.

• feelings of regret, anxiety or fear to a previous history of non-disclosure and poor working relations.

Dysfunctional Resistance:

• avoiding dealing with urgent and pressing issues

• declining to work on what really needs to be done.

• blaming and criticising without proposing alternatives

• sabotaging change• non-collaboration with others.

Signs of Resistance: Active

Being criticalFinding faultRidiculingAppealing to fearUsing facts

selectivelyBlaming or

accusingSabotaging

Intimidating or threatening

ManipulatingDistorting factsBlockingUnderminingStarting

rumoursArguing

Signs of Resistance: Passive

Agreeing verbally but not following through (“malicious compliance”)

Failing to implement change

Procrastinating or dragging one’s feet

Feigning ignorance

Withholding information, suggestions, help, or support

Standing by and allowing change to fail

Sources of Resistance to Change

• Ignorance: a failure to understand the situation or the problem• Mistrust: motives for change are considered suspicious• Disbelief: a feeling that the way forward will not work• “Power-Cut”: a fear that sources of influence and control will

be eroded.• Loss: change has unacceptable personal costs• Inadequacy: the benefits from the change are not seen as

sufficient• Anxiety: fear of being unable to cope with the new situation.• Comparison: the way forward is disliked because an

alternative is preferred• Demolition: change threatens the destruction of existing social

networks.

Resistance to Change

Forms of Resistance to Change

Overt and immediate

Voicing complaints, engaging in job actions

Implicit and deferred

Loss of employee loyalty and motivation, increased errors or mistakes, increased absenteeism

Sources of Individual Resistance to Change

Sources of Organizational Resistance to Change

Overcoming Resistance To Change

Overcoming Resistance to Change

• Tactics for dealing with resistance to change:

• Education and communication

• Participation

• Facilitation and support

• Negotiation

• Manipulation and cooptation

• Selecting people who accept change

• Coercion

Managing Resistance• A “Situational” Approach:

– this proposes six methods for managing resistance that should be chosen based on contextual factors.

Method Context

Education & Communication resistance is due to lack of information

Participation & Involvement Resistance is a reaction to a sense of exclusion from the process

Facilitation & Support Resistance is due to anxiety and uncertainty

Negotiation & Agreement Resistors in a strong position to undermine the change process

Manipulation & Cooperation Other methods are too time consuming or resource demanding

Explicit & Implicit Coercion Change recipients have little capacity to resist; survival of the org. is at risk without the change

Images of Managing Change

Images Perspective on Resistance to Change

Director Resistance signifies that not everyone is on board with the change program. Managerial skills can be acquired to overcome this.

Navigator Resistance is expected and represents different interests within the organization. It should be overcome but this is not always possible.

Caretaker Resistance is short-lived and change will occur regardless of attempts to stop it.

Coach Resistance is to be expected and managers need to show others that the resistance does not promote effective teamwork.

Interpreter Resistance occurs when the change is not interpreted well or understood. The manager’s role is to clarify the meaning of change.

Nurturer Resistance is irrelevant to whether the change will occur. Resistance is a matter of guesswork by the resistor.

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