The major problem with getting organizational change to take place is nearly always the same: human opposition. People resist change for a number of different reasons. For one thing, the status quo is often just too comfortable.
Employees ask, “Why should I get out of my comfort zone and try something new?” This is because they are more secure in knowing exactly what they are going to do each day.
Among the other reasons people resist change are:
• Hearing only what they want or expect to hear. All humans create a world based on their unique perception of real- ity. Once that world is built, it resists change. People often choose how they see and hear data, and they ignore information that challenges the stability of their world. If an employee’s perception of reality is threat- ened by any introduction of change, that employee might hear and see the arguments for change in a nega- tive way.
• Fear of the unknown. As is often perceived in the study of human relations, fear is everywhere. What people do or refuse to do is often influenced by fear, but people would never admit this. “Me, afraid? No, I just can’t see
RESISTING CHANGE Employees resist change for several reasons, most of which are based on fear and denial.
How have you seen change resisted in an organization, and what happened?
why we need a change right now.” Fear of the unknown does overwhelm some people—and often becomes a major barrier to organization-wide change.
• Fear of loss. Many people dislike the thought of a major change at work because they feel insecure in their jobs. Back in the 20th century when computerization was new, rumor mills everywhere were issuing stories about people losing their jobs to computers. While jobs did change and some were lost, many new jobs were created. Another common fear involving loss is loss of status. “Maybe I won’t be able to learn to operate a computer, and I’ll be given a lesser job” could have been the cry of a frightened person during that era.
• Resentment of the change agent. The person responsible for an organiza- tional change effort is known as a change agent. Sometimes, change is resisted because of feelings of hostility or distrust toward the change agent. To counteract this, an effective change agent must build good relations and credibility with people who will be affected by the change.
If the change agent is not effective, the change will usually fail. 20
• Belief that the change is wrong. Many people resist change simply because they are not convinced that the change will work. It is very hard to buy into a change that appears to be doomed. Resistance can also come from resentment or distrust of the method that was used to make the change happen. If a company fires several good employees to make a structural change that will save money and guarantee other jobs, other employees may still distrust the company and fear for their own jobs, even if the change does make the promised improvements. This problem can be prevented by encouraging all employees to be involved in the change process in one way or another.
• Rebellion against the speed of change. Many change efforts fail because the pace of change is inappropriate either to the situation or the mood of the people. When change takes place too rapidly, without proper initia- tion or training, employees may rebel.
The other extreme is bringing the change about too slowly. When the pace of change is so sluggish that employees sometimes question whether any real change is going to happen, attitudes again are affected negatively.
change agent
The person responsible for an organizational change effort.
Before Kathleen started college, she had no real sense of what college life would be like. She tried, but she couldn’t paint a mental picture of a typical college day and put herself into it. It was frightening because she did not
know what to expect. Obviously, though, the fear didn’t overwhelm her, because she went on to college—and found that most of the changes she encountered were pleasant ones.
You can probably think of other reasons why people resist change.
Figure 9.6 lists 25 common excuses. Most are related to either fear or insecu- rity. Those are the two common denominators that seem to unite people who resist organizational change.
Nurses at Seattle Children’s Hospital had been stockpiling medical supplies and tools for months, hiding them in their desks and lockers. This, in turn, worsened the shortage that had caused the nurses to hoard supplies in the first place.
Knowing that this supply problem was part of a larger issue at the hospital affecting operations and morale—ultimately impacting patient care—the hospital’s administration decided to act.
They looked to Toyota and other manufacturers in the auto and aerospace industries for inspiration to their supply and morale problem. Corporations in these other industries had been successfully using an approach known as kaizen for years. The main goals of kaizen are to reduce waste
and to increase value for customers through continuous small improvements. As part of their new kaizen approach, which included instituting a new supply system that is more typical in retail and manufacturing than in a hospital set- ting, Seattle Children’s Hospital improved patient care, worker satisfaction—and its bottom line. As a result of its success, other hospitals and health systems across the United States and Europe have followed Seattle Children’s Hospital’s example and instituted similar continuous, incre- mental improvements.
Source: Julie Weed, “Factory Efficiency Comes to the Hospital,”
published by The New York Times, July 10, 2010 (accessed March 17, 2013).
figure 9.6
RESISTING CHANGE Throughout an
organization, people will think of excuses, many similar to those on this list, for resisting change.
They may believe in these excuses very strongly and may spend a lot of effort trying to prevent change from occurring. What can you do when you encounter resistance to change?
EXCUSES FOR RESISTING CHANGE
• We don’t have time to do it.
• We’ve tried something like this before, and it didn’t work.
• It’s impossible; it just won’t work.
• It would have worked years ago, but not now.
• You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
• Let’s spend some more time thinking about it.
• It’s a good idea; it just won’t fit this company.
• It’s unrealistic; reality will kill it.
• It’s not on my job description.
• We’re already too busy to start something new.
• Let’s appoint a committee to look at it.
• We’re too far along to change now.
• The company is doing fine already;
who needs it?
• The union just won’t go for it.
• Top management won’t accept it.
• I like the job the way it is.
• We don’t have the technology to make it work.
• Write a report on it, and I’ll take a look.
• It will cause conflict in the company.
• It will upset our stockholders.
• Our competitors will jump right on it.
• If it fails, we’ll lose our jobs.
• Why haven’t our competitors already tried it?
• The results just aren’t clear to me.
• Too many changes have been made already.
Kaizen is founded upon five main
elements:
Teamwork: The starting point for kaizen is teamwork. A strong business or corporation is one where all employees work as a team towards the common goal of improving the company’s production. Participants work for the good of their colleagues and the company.
Personal Discipline: For the team to succeed, each member of the team must be strong. Indi- vidual team members should have self-discipline in time management and quality assurance, and loyalty to the company and its customers. A lack of personal discipline can negatively affect the employee, and have a negative impact on other employees and clients.
Improved Morale: Employers and manag- ers can encourage strong morale at work by focusing on creating a comfortable, dynamic work environment for their employees, and through motivational strategies like promo- tions, bonuses, and paid medical insurance to create an overall sense of belonging and well-being. When morale is high, a business can have an easier time achieving long-term efficiency and productivity.
Quality Circles: Employees and managers share ideas, skills, resources, and technology in group meetings called “quality circles” that allow the business to discuss its quality and per- formance and brainstorm for ways to improve.
Suggestions for Improvement: The last foundation of the kaizen concept is having an open process for workers to freely provide feedback and suggestions, no matter what their rank in the company. By welcoming and addressing feedback, management can improve morale and address potential prob- lems before they become significant.
Source: Brendan McGuigan, “What Is Kaizen?”
published by Conjecture Corporation, November 29, 2012 (accessed March 17, 2013 at www .wisegeek.org ).
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