Change Essay, Research Paper
Change
?Somebody once said: ?The only one who likes change is a wet baby??
(Mariotti, 1996, p. 30) We as human beings are always resistant to change if we are
comfortable with surroundings and ourselves. We do not like to be challenged with
change because of fear of the unknown. ?Resistance is a natural reaction to change.?
(Maurer, 1996, p. 75) In order to fully change an individual?s style of thinking and
working, we must understand the theory and techniques in order to break down the
barrier of resistance. There are several reasons for resistance to change from employees.
These reasons include fear of the unknown, threatening job security, bad timing, lack of
resources, no personal gain, and fear of incompetence. Individuals that are resistant to
change fear the unknown when they do not know how it will affect their lives, and the
changes it will bring. The perceived threat to job security is a factor that will cause
resistance. People who think that change may cause them to lose their job will oppose it.
Bad timing also plays a major role in the sense that temporary circumstances may suggest
that change should be postponed. At many times corporations may be unsuccessful with
change due to lack of resources. This includes skills, abilities, finances, knowledge, and
staff needed to implement change. Employees may also be resistant because they have
no perception of personal gain with the change. People who think that change will not
benefit them personally and fairly are certain to resist it. One of the most important
resisters to change is fear of incompetence. ?Some people may fear they will not be able
to handle new job requirements.? (Grimaud, 1994)
The real cause of reengineering failure is not the resistance to change itself
but the inability of management to deal with it. Achieving change means responding to
key factors ? including emotions like fear and anger ? which drives human beings
behavior on jobs. Change is painful. When people are pushed to change, they push back.
All changes, no matter how beneficial they may seem, cost someone something.
Resistance to change is natural and inevitable. Two thirds of reengineering efforts fail
due to people?s reluctance to go along and buy management?s own ineptitude and fear.
In order for change to take place management must empower people and listen to their
ideas. They must constantly communicate the company?s goals and how they expect to
achieve them. Management must also lead by example and be consistent. People will
usually believe what they see and not what they hear. It is simpler to grasp and even
champion these notions than it is to actually act on them. ?Unless decision-makers are
willing to acknowledge the full range of reaction to change, reengineering is an
interesting theory and nothing more.? Fisher, 1995)
Although overcoming resistance is no easy task, recognizing the most
common barriers to change can move things along. These barriers include: The element
of surprise. People first reaction to change is often resistance. Instead of surprising
employees with change initiative, management should involve them in the planning
process. ?This will transform surprises into forgone conclusions.? (Armentrout, 1996)
Fear of obsolescence. People will resist change that will make their skills and
competencies obsolete. Implementing programs to retain workers for new jobs and
helping them develop new skills will help management overcome this obstacle. ?The
assurance will make employees more likely to support change.? (Armentrout, 1996)
?If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it? is often the battle cry of those who resist change. The fact
of the matter is that many employees will not support a change until they clearly see the
need for it. To combat this, start selling the benefits of a proposed change before you ask
employees to implement it. ?When employees see the need for change themselves, they
will come aboard.? (Armentrout, 1996) A sense of insecurity. When asked to carry out a
change effort, employees may be reluctant to try new ideas and opt for older methods.
?Acknowledging the fears that change can invoke and creating an environment that
fosters and rewards innovation can help break this barrier.? (Armentrout, 1996) Conflicts
in personality. A clash of personalities can derail an intended change effort. Change will
often require employees to make new relationships with other workers. With these new
alliances comes the potential for conflicts. One of two things can be done to avoid these
conflicts. ?An informal meeting may be called where employees can air their differences
or staffers can be counseled that professionals rise above personality differences to get
the job done.? (Armentrout, 1996)
Today?s managers must visualize the future and engineer the changes to
get there. There are certain steps that can be taken by managers in order to make change
easier on the individual employee and gain his or her commitment. These principles for
managing resistance to change from employees are as follows: 1. PROVIDING
RATIONALE ? Reasoning for change should be shared with employees. Taking the
time to explain the change will benefit the company and aid in achieving the company?s
vision and values. The more that employees see that their intelligence is respected, the
more open-minded they will be to change. 2. BE EMPATHETIC ? Employees need to
know that management appreciates the difficulties such change will create. The effect of
change on employees must be thought out and then some plan implemented to lessen the
negative effects. 3. CLEAR COMMUNICATION ? Communicate all details and
particulars as clear and comprehensive as possible, both verbally and in written form.
Explain in detail the specifics of the transitions that need to occur in order to make the
change complete. 4. EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS ? Show how the change will benefit the
employees. When the employees see the benefits, it becomes incentive for them to help
implement the new way. Explain that the change will answer all questions regarding the
old way. 5. IDENTIFY A CHAMPION ? When appropriate, identify a highly respected
manager who will head the change effort. If the change is big enough, a Transistor
Management Team may be established. Others who may not be in management but are
respected as leaders may be apart of this team. 6. OBTAIN INPUT ? Allow persons
affected by change to offer their input and to express their needs. Show how their ideas
have been incorporated. The more employees think they have a say in the change, the
more support the change will have. Use employees as a resource. They will have a
wealth of ideas that will help the change go smoothly. Empowered employees are
committed employees. 7. BE AWARE OF TIMING ? Make sure that the change does
not interfere with any other happenings. For example, doing inventory in a retail store on
the day after Thanksgiving. Most businesses have certain times during the year when
change cannot be implemented. These times should be avoided. 8. MAINTAIN JOB
SECURITY ? Where feasible, employees job security should be maintained. If jobs must
be eliminated, explain the process of how these decisions will be made. For example,
seniority, performance, etc. The greatest enemy to change is fear. Employee?s fear must
be diffused. 9. PROVIDE TRAINING ? Training or retraining must be made available to
those employees who will need new skills. Training will make employees feel competent
and confident in a new way. The new skills will make employees more valuable to the
organization and other firms. 10. PROCEED AT A MANAGEABLE PACE ? Employees
require time to acclimate. If change is not rushed and is done at a manageable rate, it
does not become threatening to employees. Very often the quickest diffuser of
employees enthusiasm is when they feel overwhelmed by either too many changes or too
quick of a change. 11. TOP MANAGEMENT SUPPORT ? Top management must
behave consistently in ways to support the change. Mixed messages can be fatal to a
change effort. If top management says one thing but does another, the employees will
regard the change as a joke. Employees focus on what top management does, and not
what they say. 12. ?PUBLICIZE SUCCESSES AND MAKE MID-STREAM
CONNECTIONS WHERE NEEDED? ? If things are going well, publicize it. Nothing
serves as a greater motivator as seeing progress. Listen to what employees have to say.
If employees feel that suggestions are not being considered, they will not offer anymore.
Companies cannot afford to let a gold mine of information be forgotten. 13. PROVIDE
SERVICES FOR EMPLOYEES ? Employee anxiety is one factor that will impede the
success of a change effort. ?This anxiety can be managed by counseling, Employee
Assistance Programs, or even early retirement.? (Iskat & Liebowitz, 1996)Implementing
change is a proven approach that provides management with a systematic process of
dealing with the issues critical to the achievement of business reengineering. It helps to
identify potential roadblocks to change efforts. It assists in evaluating and selecting the
persons who will implement the change. It also uncovers possible causes of resistance
from those who are modifying their behavior. ?It enables the change leaders to develop
both basic and specific tactics to follow through with the change throughout the
organization in a way that will create ownership and commitment.? (Arendt, Landis, Russ
& Meister, 1995)
Active Learning is an innovative educational methodology used to help
people remove their fear, resentment, and resistance toward change by immersing them
into the change process itself. Active learning serves as a vehicle for workers to
understand how new knowledge applies to them and their jobs. Role playing,
brainstorming, cooperative learning, and critical analysis are techniques used in this
innovative learning methodology. In traditional lecture-type methodology listening is the
predominant means of acquiring instruction. By nature, human beings tend to become
distracted and disinterested in this method. Active learning results in an increased ability
to understand, retain, and apply the subject matter to working environment. This
methodology prompts creative thinking and perceiving a subject matter from a variety of
different or new perspectives. ?Research suggests that these techniques should be
adopted in manufacturing education to increase interest, understanding , retention, and
application of instructional information.? (Weitz, 1995)
Resistance is an inevitable response to any change. People naturally rush
to defend the status quo if they feel their security or status is threatened. Change is
unnerving to most people, even positive change. If managers do not understand accept
and make an effort to work with resistance, it can undermine even the most well
intentioned and otherwise well-conceived changes. There is no one strategy for dealing
with resistance. Changes take place in today?s workplace and require managers who
have strong communication skills to build staff support and strong planning skills to
make changes happen. Managers must also be flexible and adaptable, able to change
their own management style and approach to work successfully with the end product of
change efforts.