Organization Theory And Practice Of Change Management

Key Theoretical Concept of Resistance as Pathology

Discuss about the Organization Theory and Practice of Change Management.

Resistance to change is a common scenario for all organisations as employees do not embrace changes much often and rather opposes them. A number of factors lead to resistance to change, the most significant one being poor change management at the managerial level. The typical reasons accounting for resistance to changes are misunderstanding about the requirement fro bringing about the change, fear of the facts that are unknown, lack of adequate competency level, lower level of trust and confidence, poor communication and exhaustion or saturation. Resistance can also arise fro notions regarding the change that individuals hold. In addition, individuals do not want to bring about changes if they feel that the rewards and benefits that they are getting are not enough as compared to the challenges they need to face for abiding by the change. Individuals who believe that the present way of working is according to the best interests of them do not want to adopt to changes and compromise on their interests (Thomas & Hardy, 2011). According to Battilana and Casciaro (2013), people resist changes in an organisation when they feel that the change is not worth of taking active steps. A hard truth regarding resistance to change is that employee often does not have the required experience, skills and competency level to adapt to the changes that are proposed. Another rationale behind change resistance is that individuals do not trust the managerial levels with bringing about the change at the correct time managing them adequately. People also at times are certain that the proposed change is a temporary whim.

Managers expect resistance to changes from the employee’s end nd starts planning for a change management program that allows for effective objectives. Managers view resistance as the means of denying the needs of bringing certain changes in the organisation that can be beneficial for the organisation. In companies, supervisors and managers are the ones to bring about change, and they perceive resistance to change as opposition put forward by the employees against their leadership and management styles and practices. Taking an example from the case study of Walmart, the managers of this highly reputed company of the world have the believe that resistance to change within the organisation is attempts made by the employees to not adopt to new technological advancements. The employees lack motivation for undertaking a continuous complex process involved in practising new technologies and operating them in practice (Benn et al., 2014).

Social Constructivism Approach

The key theoretical concept of resistance as pathology looks into the key symptoms and the implications for the managers. Changes in an organisation initiate with key decision makers. Poor communication leads to resistance to change along with self-interest, feelings of exclusion, lack of trust and dearth of training and skills. Change may be inevitable in the organisation but resistance to change is also a natural phenomenon. There are several ways in which resistance manifests itself. Aggression or hostility is an immediate reaction to change. Tardiness and absenteeism are other signs of resistance. Development of apathy towards work and development of tension and anxiety also indicate resistance. At the distinct levels, additional signs of resistance may be demonstrated. Another strategy adopted by the individuals resorting to resistance is a restriction of output. Resistance as a psychological parameter encompasses the factors pertaining to the psychological needs of the individuals resorting to resistance. Individuals resist changes when they feel that their psychological needs are not met. These needs mainly are  self-fulfilment, achievement and sense of pride. Employees may not be liking criticism possessed in a change that the current method is unsuitable or in adequate. Employees may be having the fear of getting lesser opportunities to bring developments in their personal skills that lead to a reduction in their pride. Monotony and boredom may also be a contributing factor. A negative psychology underpins the resistance to change. This may also be due to lack of knowledge of the complete change and the implications of it. The sociological approach of resistance is a significant topic of discussion. Individuals have typical social needs like belongingness and friendship that are vital for informal relationships in an organisation. They are members of informal groups and form to be members of the group for resisting changes. The resistance to change has a prime focus on human relationships and their issues. Employees usually resist those changes that have a deep impact on the social relationships and pose a threat to their security. A change has the power to incorporate a feeling of significant insecurity as it brings forward challenges in the path of doing things in own way. In addition, individuals may face difficulty in giving up the old customs and habits (Clegg & Matos, 2017).

Social constructivism approach provides a meaningful way of understanding some of the key concepts of organisational culture, including change and resistance. The general assumption of social constructivism is that knowledge is not unbiased and exclusive of embodied aspects of human emotions and experiences. Change is a major subject of social constructionist theory. The method in which change is distinctly shaped by different organisational actors often stimulates conversations about that has equal chances of resulting and not resulting in shared understandings. Resistance may be culturally acceptable in an organisation and may also be thought to be negotiable. However, it may also be unaccepted as a major barrier that is difficult to deal with or difficult to manage. The emotions that individuals have suppressed or expressed at the time of change brought about by an organisation are formed by social relationships within the organisation or outside of it. Scientific objectivism expresses the idea that claims and methods of any scientific procedure are not or must not be influenced by certain personal interests, value commitments and personal perspectives. In relation to resistance in the organisation, it can be stated that resistance is often guided by personal bias and particular perspectives. This approach is not suitable in the organisational context. It is a value that resistance must only be considered when it is ethical and free of personal commitments within the organisational context (Morgan, 2014).

Relationship Between Power and Resistance

Mathews et al., (2016) highlight that the relationship between power and resistance has been subjected to different theories pertaining to different organisational contexts. A suitable starting point to think about the power-resistance-organisation relationship is to look at the organisation as a site for competition for economic and political gains. The relationship between resistance and power is complex to a considerable extent. While considering the relationship between employee resistance and managerial power, the researchers highlighted that interpersonal mistreatment done by managers, by the virtue of power, leads to resistance and retaliation. Conditions where there is multiple unfairness, procedural, interactional and distributive, there is a higher level of retaliatory behaviour. It is to be noted that such behaviour, exercised when one has the supreme power, characterises resistance and vengeance. The common actions considered by employees are disobeying of instructions by management, leaving tasks unfinished and spreading false rumours about the management and fellow employees. Employees engage in resistance for revolting against negative power exhibition and abusive treatment. In addition, individuals expect unconstructive reciprocity to have a deep impact on resistance and abusive management.

Ybema et al., (2016) analyse that positive power authority and an effective communication between the managers and the employees leads to the breakdown of challenges arising in the path of change resistance. When managers and supervisors do not misuse their powers and treat the employees in a justified manner, abiding by all the rules and policies, employees are motivated to embrace the proposed change put forward by the management and are ready to take active steps in this regard. The realities of demands of the workforce are in contradiction with the traditional views of the management. The managers may not be showing interest in considering the inputs of employees in all major decision making processes. On the other hand, if managers consider accumulating the feedback and suggestions from employees, they would feel valued and important as a part of the organisation. As a result, they can be more open to change and ready to bring upgrade their skills and expertise for sustaining the change (Cameron & Green, 2015).

Boohene and Williams (2012) have explored the resistance to organisational change and the relationship between power and resistance based on the case study of Oti Yeboah Complex Limited. As per the authors, in situations where managers do not allow for increased participation of the employees in significant matters of the organisation, it is likely that employees of Oti Yeboah Complex Limited suffer from lack of motivation to contribute to change process and therefore resist it. Poor channels of information exchange and communication from the manager’s end lead to resistance to change in the organisation. The study conducted by the authors demonstrated that if management encouraged employee decision, they gain increased confidence and accept changes.

Positive Power Authority

Ethical issues are critical on both the manager and the employee’s end pertaining to change resistance. It is the duty of the management to abide by ethical principles of deontology and utilitarianism while proposing the change to be brought about in the organisation. This implies that the change is to be for the benefit of the maximum individuals. Moreover, it must be noted that harm is not to be caused to anyone that bring about negative perceptions about the organisation. From the employee’ viewpoint, if the change proposed has the potential to bring benefits for the organisation at large, the employees must consider adopting the change without putting personal benefits at the forefront. Employees need to work as per the best interest of the organisation since this would bring personal and professional developments for the employees. Both managers and employees must promote and encourage proper work ethics within the organisation (Hon et al., 2014).

According to Hayes (2014), change agents in an organisation helps in facilitating strategic transformations. Change agents help in clearing the path for change and eliminating any arising obstacles. The successful change made in an ethical manner needs a psychological understanding of what the actual implications of change are. The most crucial quality of a change is power. The leaders and agents of change can be from any level of the organisational hierarchy. By means of their status, title, expertise and importance the key individuals may utilise power to hold the position of all-important change agents. It is their duty to oversee the whole process of change management and eliminate any growing resistance that is unwanted. Probable change agents usually have power, but they must consider exhibiting the appropriate kind of power in order to be the suitable change agent. Every organisation possess some unique kind of power that draws upon organisational transformation. 

Watson (2013) states that power and resistance operate together to form a web of relations for influencing the change agent. In such a relationship the potentials for resistance is always there whereas power is seldom complete. Power can be exercised with the help of several points of pressure, and the same is the case for resistance. The struggles are not always repressive as there lies a creative potential when negotiation of meanings is done. Cummings and Worley (2014) argue that resistance and power implicate each other and there are no relations of power when resistance is not there. Resistance can be considered as an adaptive reaction to power as resistance works in tandem with power. In addition, resistance forms at those points where we find the power to be exercised. Resistance opposes power, both diametrically as well as transversely. Such acts of predominant refusal involve power. Resistance is a dysfunctional and illegitimate use of power and literature has put emphasis on power as utilised for defeating and conflict and overcoming resistance. From a critical viewpoint, power can accommodate the traditional change theory of organisations. Special attention is to be paid to organisational decision-making, structuring, and resistance done against change. Management of power as an incorporated arrangement of normative and cultural assumptions is crucial. Communication strategies and intervention methods are to be believed and noticed as the tools of change agents for the prevention of resistance and effecting changes from different viewpoints for managerial reasons.

References

Battilana, J., & Casciaro, T. (2013). Overcoming resistance to organizational change: Strong ties and affective cooptation. Management Science, 59(4), 819-836.

Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge.

Boohene, R., & Williams, A. A. (2012). Resistance to organisational change: A case study of Oti Yeboah Complex Limited. International Business and Management, 4(1), 135-145.

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.

Clegg, S. R., & Matos, J. (2017). Sustainability and Organizational Change Management.

Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan.

Hon, A. H., Bloom, M., & Crant, J. M. (2014). Overcoming resistance to change and enhancing creative performance. Journal of Management, 40(3), 919-941.

Mathews, B., Mathews, B., Linski, C. M., & Linski, C. M. (2016). Shifting the paradigm: reevaluating resistance to organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(6), 963-972.

Morgan, G. (2013). Riding the waves of change. Imaginization Inc.

Thomas, R., & Hardy, C. (2011). Reframing resistance to organizational change. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 27(3), 322-331.

Watson, G. (2013). Resistance to change. R. Cohen, J. McManus, D. Fox, & C. Kastelnik, Psych City: A Simulated Community, 246-257.

Ybema, S., Thomas, R., & Hardy, C. (2016). Organizational Change and Resistance: An Identity Perspective. The SAGE Handbook of Resistance, 386.