Embrace Change, Not Resist It
Abstract
In today’s world changes are relevant because of multiple factors forcing organizations to change faster than ever before. Factors both internal and external include; increased competition, globalization, technological changes, financial upheaval, political uncertainty, and changing workforce demographics. Resistance is an inevitable response to any major change. If management does not understand, accept and make an effort to work with resistance it can undermine the best intentional change efforts.
Key words: Internal factors, external factors, communication
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Embrace Change, Not Resist it
In today’s world changes are relevant because of multiple factors forcing organizations to change faster than ever before. Change factors included; increased competition, globalization, technological changes, financial upheaval, political uncertainty, and changing workforce demographics (Harmon, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to summarize these change factors; external and internal, describe a situation relating to change resistance and explain if it was internally or externally caused, then provide a planned approach using Kotter’s Theory to overcome that resistance.
Change factors are divided into external and internal. External factors originate from outside the organization; they are factors that occur outside of the organization, that create change inside the organization; which are considered beyond the control to the organization (Fullan 2009). These factors include customers, the economy, technology, political and social conditions that influence the organization. Internal factors originate from the organization’s internal environment; that is all conditions under the control of the organization. These factors include administrative process, policies, systems, procedures as well as employees (Fullan, 2009). Research shows that the two most significant internal factors for change come from administrative process and people/employee problems
In today’s world changes are relevant because of multiple factors forcing organizations to change faster than ever before. Factors both internal and external include; increased competition, globalization, technological changes, financial upheaval, political uncertainty, and changing workforce demographics. Resistance is an inevitable response to any major change. If management does not understand, accept and make an effort to work with resistance it can undermine the best intentional change efforts.
Key words: Internal factors, external factors, communication
?
Embrace Change, Not Resist it
In today’s world changes are relevant because of multiple factors forcing organizations to change faster than ever before. Change factors included; increased competition, globalization, technological changes, financial upheaval, political uncertainty, and changing workforce demographics (Harmon, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to summarize these change factors; external and internal, describe a situation relating to change resistance and explain if it was internally or externally caused, then provide a planned approach using Kotter’s Theory to overcome that resistance.
Change factors are divided into external and internal. External factors originate from outside the organization; they are factors that occur outside of the organization, that create change inside the organization; which are considered beyond the control to the organization (Fullan 2009). These factors include customers, the economy, technology, political and social conditions that influence the organization. Internal factors originate from the organization’s internal environment; that is all conditions under the control of the organization. These factors include administrative process, policies, systems, procedures as well as employees (Fullan, 2009). Research shows that the two most significant internal factors for change come from administrative process and people/employee problems