Resistance To Change In Organizations: Pros And Cons

The Role of Shareholders’ Interests in Change

Question:

Discuss about the Resistance to Change Management and Dialogue.

The transition is undertaken by the organizations for bringing forth improvements in the organizational structure. However, there are resistances to the change that is being faced by the organization in the market (Fernandez et al., 2012). This section of the report aims at understanding the various characteristic of the resistance that is faced by the organization while implementing the change in the functioning and the manner in which the resistance is being perceived by the mangers in the market.

The job security of the employees influences the change that is being planned by the organization. The transition in the functioning of the companies affects the interest of the employees as the job profile becomes void through the change (Rosemann and vom Brocke, 2015). Thereby the employees resist to the change that is being undertaken by the management of the organization. One such instance of resistance can be found in the change that is being undertaken by Amazon where the workforce is replaced with the installation of lifters, packers and movers based on the robotics technology. 

The interest of the shareholders of the organization plays a major role in determining the different factors of the change that is undertaken by the organization. The long-term goals of profitability of the shareholders are entangled for initiating change.

The economic and the financial position of the organization also pose a serious threat to the transition that is planned by the organization. The resource and the capability of the organization for undertaking the various aspects of the change also acts as an resistance to the transition that is being planned by the organization.

The resistance to the change that is being faced by the organizations is taken as the positive attempts of the workforce in bringing in modifications to the change in the structure and the functioning. According to Larry Page, the manager of Alphabet inc., the resistance is the positive outcome of the transition that is planned by the company. It helps the organization in understanding the pros and cons of the change that is being initiated by the management of the organization (Fairhurst  & Connaughton,  2014).

The transition that is undertaken by the organizations is determined through the urgency that is felt by the management of the organization. However, there are possible threats that are faced by the organizations while undertaking the change in the structure and the functioning of the same. There are possible situations where the change that is implemented by the organization affects the wellbeing and the psychology of the employees. Therefore, there are resistances to the change that are being planned by the organizations.

According to Rosemann and vom Brocke  (2015), the change that is being implemented by the organization affects the employees and their wellbeing. The resistance to the change that is being faced by the organization has helped in undertaking the different aspects of the development of the organization in the market. However, Manzini  (2016) stated that the resistance that is being faced by the organization in implementing the change helps in determining the pros and cons of the transition planned by the organization. It will be helping the organizations in bringing forth changes in the structure and the functioning through the inclusion of the feedbacks. The resistance to the change affects the management of the change and the processes that are planned by the organization. Alternatively, the resistance helps in determining the negative aspects of the change and the cost that the organization might incur from undertaking the same. According to Jabri  (2017) the identification of the uncertainties are enabled through the resistance that is faced by the organization while undertaking the change. Therefore, in many aspects the resistance to the change is being cited as a positive sign of determining the transition despite of the negative atrocities. Doppelt  (2017) stated that the proper understanding of the different factors of the change has helped in determining the necessity of the organization to undertake the same as per the needs of sustenance in the market.

Rational and Socialist Ontologies of Change

The theological ontologies can be divided in the two parts based on the change that is being considered by the organization for bringing in improvements in the performance of the same. The two aspects of the ontologies are being discussed in this section of the analysis.

The rationalist ontology is determined through principles and the objectives of the company for undertaking the change in the functioning of the business in the market. It helps in understanding the objective of the organization inclined towards its growth and expansion in the market. The major aspects of the change that is undertaken by the organization are based on the understanding of the benefits of the organization to make their progress in the market. According to Rosemann and vom Brocke  (2015), the determination of the rational change that is undertaken by the company might not be supported by the employees and the others as their might be a conflict in their interests and the objectives that are being set by the management of the organization for bringing in improvements. 

The socialist ontology of the organization believes in the human efforts and the efforts of the society for bringing in the change in the organizational structure. It is a collaborative effort that is being undertaken by the organization, which helps the same in the successful implementation of the change in the functioning of the business in the market. According to Anderson (2016), the collaborative action of the subordinates and the management helps in the successful processing of the company after the implementation of the change in the functions.

There is a critical relation between the distribution of power and the resistance that is being faced by the organization while implementing the transition. The leadership styles play a major role in determining the change that is being implemented through the utilization of the rational ontology for the change in the market (Hesselbarth  & Schaltegger,  2014). The major factor of the change that is undertaken by the organization is based on the understanding of improvement in the situation. However, at different points of time the resistance to the change and the objectives of the organization for the change collide resulting to the malfunctioning of the change in the organization. According to Menzel  (2012), the power of hierarchy plays a major role in driving the change in the organizational structure. It affects the workforce by forcing the same to bring in the change in the organization. The different approach of power while determining and implementing the change has resulted to the resistance to the change. Dawson and Andriopoulos (2014), stated that the change is of two types- one being ‘employee centric’ and the other ‘organization centric’. An employee centric change helps in enhancing the position and the functioning of the workforce through the determination of the needs of the same for the smooth functioning (Chambers,  Glasgow  & Stange,  2013). On the other hand, the organization centric change is based on the understanding of the objectives and the principles that are being set by the management for bringing in improvements in the situation of the organization. The proper understanding of the two approaches of change helps in determining the leadership behavior and the resistance that it faces in the organization.

The ethical issues that are being faced by the management and the resistances while determining the change in the structure and the functioning of the business is being enumerated in this section of the report.  

The Sense Making approach helps in the understanding of the rationale for the change that is being undertaken by the organization. However, in certain cases there remains a shadow of ambiguity as to the applicability of the change in the organizational structure and the functioning of the same in the market. The change that is undertaken by the firms are based on the factors of determining the possibilities of the change.  According to Booth (2015), the proper understanding of the change that is being undertaken by the organization helps the employees and the management in understanding the value for the change and the benefits that the organization and the individuals can derive from the change. It helps in the proper functioning of the organization through rational decision making system. On the other hand, the lack of this sense making might affect the functioning and give rise to resistance due to the shifts in the decisions. It will be affecting the morale of the employees and the smooth functioning of the organization in the market (Burnes  & By,  2012).

There are ethical issues that are being faced by the organization when the management of the same undertakes ways to pressurize the workforce for accepting the transition that is planned by the company (Booth, 2015). The change might clash with the interests and the emotions of the people working under the management, which affects the smooth functioning of the same. The understanding of the welfare of the people helps in understanding the different aspects of the transition. According to Fugate, Prussia  and Kinicki  (2012), the clash between the management of the employees creates a resistive force that affects the smooth functioning and thereby affects the improvements that are being planned by the organization through the implementation of the change.

The implications that are being faced by the change agent while managing the change ethically is being determined through the understanding of the different approaches are being discussed in this section of the analysis.

The ethical management of the change agent is based on the application of the same on the dialogic approach. The dialogic approach perceives the change that is being planned by the organization holistically. It helps in determining the challenges that are being faced by the employees while performing their respective job roles in the organization (Pieterse, Caniëls  & Homan,  2012). The change agent might feel the pressure from the management for bringing in the change in the organization, which might be not favorable for the employees.  On the other hand, the agent must also adhere to the requirements of the employees as they resist to the change in the organization. Therefore, the change agent must take steps to mitigate the factors that affect the smooth functioning of the business due to the application of power and the resistance and balancing the two quadrants for bringing in the change.

The ethical management that is being undertaken by the change agent based on the problem-centric approach helps in determining the organizational change that shall facilitate the growth of the same in the market. The utilization of the problem-centric approach of change management by the change agent helps the organization to bring in the improvements in the systems of the same. However, it negates the wellbeing of the workforce, which might give rise to clashes between the workforce and the management (Kuipers et al., 2014). Therefore, the change agent must take steps in order to balance the needs of the management and the consoling the employees for undertaking the transition in the functioning of the business in the market. The proper functioning of the change agent helps in ensuring the success of the organization and the sustainability of the same in the market.

References

Anderson, D. L. (2016). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change. Sage Publications.

Booth, S. A. (2015). Crisis management strategy: Competition and change in modern enterprises. Routledge.

Burnes, B., & By, R. T. (2012). Leadership and change: The case for greater ethical clarity. Journal of business ethics, 108(2), 239-252.

Chambers, D. A., Glasgow, R. E., & Stange, K. C. (2013). The dynamic sustainability framework: addressing the paradox of sustainment amid ongoing change. Implementation Science, 8(1), 117.

Dawson, P., & Andriopoulos, C. (2014). Managing change, creativity and innovation. Sage.

Doppelt, B. (2017). Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for business, government and civil society. Routledge.

Fairhurst, G. T., & Connaughton, S. L. (2014). Leadership: A communicative perspective. Leadership, 10(1), 7-35.

Fernandez, S., COMMENTATORS, H. G. R., CONNOR, P. E., THOMPSON, F., MIHM, J. C., & TSCHIRHART, M. (2012). Managing successful organizational change in the public sector. In Debating Public Administration (pp. 33-52). Routledge.

Fugate, M., Prussia, G. E., & Kinicki, A. J. (2012). Managing employee withdrawal during organizational change: The role of threat appraisal. Journal of Management, 38(3), 890-914.

Hesselbarth, C., & Schaltegger, S. (2014). Educating change agents for sustainability–learnings from the first sustainability management master of business administration. Journal of cleaner production, 62, 24-36.

Jabri, M. (2017). Managing organizational change: Process, social construction and dialogue. Palgrave.

Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J., & Van der Voet, J. (2014). The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public administration, 92(1), 1-20.

Manzini, E. (2016). Design culture and dialogic design. Design Issues, 32(1), 52-59.

Menzel, D. C. (2012). Ethics management for public administrators: Leading and building organizations of integrity. ME Sharpe.

Pieterse, J. H., Caniëls, M. C., & Homan, T. (2012). Professional discourses and resistance to change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25(6), 798-818.

Rosemann, M., & vom Brocke, J. (2015). The six core elements of business process management. In Handbook on business process management 1 (pp. 105-122). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

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