Preview

Understanding and Coping with Change

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1621 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Understanding and Coping with Change
Although change has become commonplace in modern organizations, the reported failure rates of change implementation range from 40% to as high as 70% (McKay et al., 2013). Considering our global economy and technological innovation, this rate is alarmingly high. It is no surprise that these statistics have prompted researchers to investigate the causes underlying change failure in modern organizational settings (McKay et al., 2013). Employee resistance has been identified as a primary source of change implementation failure across a range of organizations and industries worldwide (McKay et al., 2013). Change is a situation that interrupts normal patterns of organization and calls for participants to enact new patterns, involving interplay of deliberate and emergent processes that can be highly ambiguous for everyone involved (Ford et al., 2008). Employees resist change for a variety of more or less logical reasons (Baack, 2012). These reasons will be explored to understand the external and internal factors of change within organizations. In addition, a scenario will be presented to analyze how change was introduced, perceived, and implemented at a real life organization. Change is never an easy task for change enactors or recipients. As human beings, we are naturally hesitant to embrace change (Baack, 2012). However, change is sometimes necessary for organizations to keep up in this ever changing and challenging global economy. It can mean the difference between success and failure for organizations. There are both internal and external factors impacting employees' perception of organizational change. In addition, it may vary greatly from employee to employee, so what's impacting an individual's perception of the change can have opposite reactions on others. Internal changes, or internal driving forces, are the type of changes that occur within a company. External changes, or external driving forces, are changes that occur with no say from the company, such as
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    ZHANG Yuanli Mgts1601 Essay
    • 2246 Words
    • 10 Pages

    ZHANG Yuanli Mgts1601 Essay

    As a result, organisations are responding by embracing change as part of the transformation and strategising process (Pieterse, Caniels & Homan, 2012, p. 799). However, when changes in the organisations occur, employees are likely to resist such changes (Zwick, 2002, p. 542). According to Bovey and Hede (2001, p. 372) when people are confronted with major organisational changes, they are likely to go through a reaction process because change involves moving from known to unknown. Employee resistance to change occurs when managers adopt top-down change process, forgetting that employees are important part of the change process; employee inclusion and motivation is crucial and inevitable.…

    • 2246 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Ldr/300 Week 3 Change Management Research Paper
    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ldr/300 Week 3 Change Management Research Paper

    Change is inevitable in a society for all types of businesses. Various changes need to occur within an organization due to the economy, mergers, customer’s preferences, technology, and globalization. To eliminate the resistance of change leaders should be aware of why managers and employees shun from it. Leaders should also become experts regarding methods to help employees adapt during the change process because of the positive and negative outcomes that can occur. In doing so, the process can become a successful experience.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Theoretical Matrix
    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Theoretical Matrix

    This week’s studies were an examination of organizational and individual barriers to change. We learn to identify the role of strategic renewal, the behavioral aspect of organizational change, analyzed the dynamic of motivating employee behavioral change, differentiated the three faces of change, and finally explored the sources of employee resistance. A primary focus was Lewin’s Field Theory in Social Sciences and for this paper identified three theoretical organization change models.…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Managing Change
    • 2917 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Managing Change

    Dibella, A.J., 2007. Critical Perceptions of Organisational Change. Journal of Change Management, 7 (3-4), 231-242…

    • 2917 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Leadership Strategies for Implementing Change
    • 1780 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Leadership Strategies for Implementing Change

    Organizational change has become very prevalent when discovered amongst successful companies and plays a significant role in designing a lucrative business. Although “change is good”, it is important for management to accept that not all employees will be receptive to changes within the organization. Throughout the transformation, it is important for the organization to maintain a comfortable working environment and be prepared to handle the challenges that may stem from employees that may be resistant to change. Following are common reasons why employees and the organization as a whole may resist change:…

    • 1780 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Understanding and Coping with Change
    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Understanding and Coping with Change

    For many years, the world of business has experienced an increasing rate of change. Alvin Toffler (1970) predicted the trend several decades ago. Toffler also noted that people exhibit a natural tendency to resist change. This resistance to change is a major organizational challenge that organizations must learn to manage. As individuals respond to change in different ways, and as variations in responses produce different outcomes the recognition of this resistance to change is an essential step in the development and implementation of effective change management strategies. Change, positive or negative, is unsettling because people seek stability. Certain individuals are more resistant to change than others, at times there can be situational characteristics such as a lack of trust in management contributing to this resistance to change. Often this resistance to change is out of self interest, at stake can be factors such as income, job security, prestige, power, and personal convenience. Low tolerance for change, lack of trust in management, and self interest are all factors which result in resistance to change. However my experience suggests that lack of understanding of the need for change can be the single greatest contributing factor and is the factor which the organization has the greatest control over.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Change Discussion
    • 593 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Change Discussion

    In response to an organization’s external environment, effectively implementing and adapting to changes is crucial to building success. That being said, change is often not an easy process as it can bring about the many different challenges to those who hold leadership and managerial positions. Leaders and management of an organization faces the many challenges of change such that that they must first identify the need for it and all other alternatives and options that are available to them. They must also decide on the direction that they want to take and how they should execute the strategy to creating change. In addition to finding the way in implementing the change it most important to build on the social value of change within the organization, in which leaders and management must find wide-spread support among all employees. Hence, being a leader during change is very difficult and often require tremendous amount effort and vigilance (Mcshane & Steen, 408).…

    • 593 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Understanding Change
    • 1779 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Understanding Change

    Generally, the most common threat to successful organizational change is posed by the employees of that organization, as any perceived threat to their self-interests increases the level of resistance they exhibit towards that change. A negative response to organizational change is…

    • 1779 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Change And Innovation Research Paper
    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Change And Innovation Research Paper

    One of the reason why employees are resistant to change is lack of understanding around the vision and need for change ("Top Reasons For Change Resistance", n.d.). When people cannot see the reasoning behind something, they seem to be a little more resistant to change. Another reason could be comfort with the status quo and fear of the unknown ("Top Reasons For Change Resistance", n.d.). Some people are just plain out fearful of change and not knowing what to expect. Then there is corporate history and culture ("Top Reasons For Change Resistance", n.d.). Some people do like to be compared to other people of the past. Then there is opposition to the new technologies, requirements and processes introduced by the change ("Top Reasons For Change Resistance", n.d.). Last there is fear of job loss. Employees perceived the business change as a threat to their own job security. Some…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Choosing Strategies for Change: Coping With Change
    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Choosing Strategies for Change: Coping With Change

    “we will just offer the new technology along with our existing line and let the customer decide”…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Managing Resistance to Change
    • 8597 Words
    • 35 Pages

    Managing Resistance to Change

    Through this report, yours truly will conduct a thorough analysis to address the different issues associated with resistance to change and come up with answer to the following questions: Why employees are resistant to change? Why employees stay? Why employees leave? How to motivate employees to work and accept the change initiatives? What are the negative effects of employee’s resistant to change? How to handle employees who doesn’t want to change? What are different steps to implement in order to solve this resistance to change? Also, I’m using our case study on Accent Systems Technology Inc. as one of the case examples. To successfully answer the above questions, I will look into the different change diagnostic models (McKinsey’s 7S Framework, Weisbord’s Six Box Organizational Model and Star Model), change theories (Kotter’s Eight-Step Model, Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory and Lippitt’s Phases of Change Theory) and the different theories of motivation (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory and McGregor’s Theory X & Theory Y and Vroom’s “Expectancy Theory). At the end, I will provide solutions and recommendations to effectively implement the change initiative project.…

    • 8597 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Managing Change
    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Managing Change

    There are several models of change available for use when organizations begin the process of implementing change. The stakeholder analysis model focuses on the position of key stakeholders in regard to the planned change. Stakeholders in a company include individuals or groups inside or outside the company who can influence the success of the change (Palmer, Dunford, and Akin, 2006). This review involves a six step process and includes identifying stakeholders, recognizing the capacity to influence change, checking stakeholder track record, interest in change, ability to affect change, and determine position on change. The main purpose of the stakeholder analysis is to inform the change manager of the likelihood of the change being successful and widely accepted. As a supplement to the analysis, the change manager may use the power-interest matrix to plot the level of stakeholder interest against stakeholder power. The matrix can identify specific action to be taken based on the classification of specific stakeholders. Upon concluding the analysis and power-interest matrix, if the change manager determines weak favorability by key stakeholders, steps can be taken to improve the projection of the change initiative (Palmer, Dunford, and Akin, 2006). The change manager can take action by adding agreeable stakeholders, removing oppositional individuals, or modifying the proposed change to address stakeholder concerns without compromising the initiative. As with all things, there are pros and cons of the stakeholder analysis. A pro is that this analysis is a thorough way to review the business and needs of stakeholders. In addition, it helps to determine the appropriate changes that would benefit the majority. This detailed approach to implementing a change may lead to better results with respect to stakeholder acceptance of the change. A con to…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Embrace Change, Not Resist It
    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Embrace Change, Not Resist It

    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…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Change Management
    • 1734 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Change Management

    Business is about creating an organization that will develop and implement changes that will lead to growth and success. Organizational change is not easy, but is an integral part that often allows the company and its employees to be prosperous. Dealing with change requires management to understand internal and external driving forces that create organizational change. A company needs to strategically devise a theory based plan that will allow implementation of changes based on driving forces. Management must also anticipate employee resistance to change. Therefore, leaders must employ strategies to minimize resistance to change in order to transform the organization.…

    • 1734 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Changes That Affect Managers
    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Changes That Affect Managers

    Two main groups of changes affect managers’ jobs and are significant to an organization: external forces and internal forces. With external forces, the need for change comes from various sources outside the organization: marketplace, governmental laws and regulations, technology, labor markets, and economic changes. Internal forces originate from the internal operations of the organization or from the impact of external changes. They include redefining an organization’s strategy, workforce, new equipment, and employee attitudes. Both types of changes are critical to the success of a manager and his/her organization.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More