Area of Change Management, Resistance to Change and Organization Development

Planned change is the result of intentional, goal-oriented change actions. The primary principles of organized and planned change are:

• Increase the organization's capacity for environmental adaptation.
• To make employees more adaptable to change, alter their behavior.

Changes in Structures

• It entails:
• A change in the hierarchy of power, the means of coordination, and the nature of the jobs.
• The formal grouping, dividing, and coordination of the tasks have changed.
• Work teams are used to organize jobs.
• There is now a variable work hour policy.

Changing Technology

• Adapting technology causes changes in:
• Processing of the task may be automated or computerized.
• Tools, techniques, and equipment used: new tools, techniques, and equipment are introduced.

Changing business process

• It entails changing the workspace's spaces and furniture arrangements. Changes can be made to the proportions of the interior design as well as the heat, noise, and cleaning levels. It is focused with the physical demands of the job.

Changing behavior

• Organizational behavior changes are reflected in employee attitudes as well as in skills, expectations, perception, and conduct.

Resistance to change

There are many different types of resistance, such as overt or hidden, individual or organized, aggressive or hesitant.

Change will always occur. Employees typically oppose change. Employee activity intended to undermine, postpone, or obstruct the implementation of change is referred to as resistance.

Sources of opposition to change include:

1. Individual Resistance sources:

• Habits:
  • People are creatures of habit, and when old work patterns are changed, resistance results. Employees frequently react in predictable ways. They consistently oppose change.
• Security:
  • Employees may worry about losing their jobs, getting paid less, or having more work to do. The requirement for safety is threatened by change, and the costs of change might outweigh the advantages of a shift in how employees are viewed.
  • Fear of unknown:
    Changes bring about ambiguity and confusion. Employees dislike ambiguity and uncertainty. They worry about potential job changes and new managers that the move might bring. They could experience discomfort due to the very nature of change. Change may be viewed as a danger to one's current social status and relationships.
• Poor communication:
  • Changes are "resisted" if they are not adequately implemented or poorly explained. Additionally, it causes confusion. Employee resistance to change is also a result of selective information processing. What they want to hear is what they hear.
• Lack of involvement:
  • Resistance is brought on by a lack of participation in the planning and execution of reforms. The workforce do not take ownership of change.
• Vested interests:
  • Some people might have vested interests in keeping things as they are. They reject change because it threatens their established interests.
• Perception in inequity:
  • Employee resistance to change occurs when they do not perceive a personal benefit for themselves. They believe that the advantages of change will accrue to someone else.

2. Organization Resistance Source:

Organization tends to be more conservative. They actively resist change. Some organization resistance sources are:

• Structure inertia
  • Stability-producing mechanisms are incorporated into organizations. Stability is favored by formal policies, regulations, practices, and job descriptions. Because of this structural inertia, change is resisted.
• Group inertia
  • Organizational groups have conventions that encourage group conformity. Conformity and group norms are threatened by change. Change is resisted because of this collective inertia.
• Limited focus
  • Departments within an organization are autonomous. The other departments are impacted by changes in one department. If a change in one area can be resisted by another department, use only limited force.
• Threat to resources allocation
  • Departments may object to changes by receiving fewer resources if they pose a threat to long-standing resource distribution procedures.
• Threat to power relationships
  • Changes could be rejected if they pose a danger to established power structures inside the organization. People's knowledge may be in danger.
• Conflicts
  • Conflicting parties often resist change, which can undermine efforts to implement change.
• Reward system
  • An organization's reward system may encourage preexisting behavior and impede change. Adaptation might not be rewarded.
• Organization culture
  • It alludes to the networks of accepted standards, principles, and viewpoints that make up an organization.

Overcoming Resistance to Change

Resistance to change is not always bad but continued resistance to change can be not good or can be dysfunctional. It can be overcome in the following ways:

• Communication:
  • Clear communication removes ambiguity and offers justification for a change.
• Participation:
  • Involving employees in the development and execution of the change minimizes resistance to change. Individual members can be changed by group influences.
• Facilitation and support:
  • Through education, counseling, therapy, and the development of new skills, supportive efforts and facilitation can be made to overcome resistance to change.
• Employee security:
  • Changes should preserve current benefits and security for employees.
• Shared rewards:
  • By negotiating reward packages with influential opponents of change, opposition to change may be lessened.

Concept of organization development

An organizational development strategy is used to implement deliberate change inside the organization. It is a comprehensive, long-term approach to improving an organization using behavioral interventions. Through adjusting to environmental changes, it enhances an organization's self-renewal process.

Moorhead and Griffin state that:

The process of planned adjustments and organization improvement through the use of behavioral sciences expertise is known as organizational development (OD).

Characteristics of OD

• Planned
• Long-term
• System-wide
• Top management support
• Visioning process
• Empowerment process
• Learning process
• Power solving process

OD Interventions

OD intervention for managing change can be:

• People-based approaches
• Structure-based approaches
• Task/Technology-based approach

1. People-focused Interventions:

Improves ability and motivation of individual and group. They can be:

• Training/management development
  • Increases employee skill.
  • Training programs may cover topics such as machine operation, algebra, stress management, and management by objectives.
  • Training interventions have an impact on how occupations are performed.
• Sensitivity Training
  • Through unstructured group interaction, this type of group training aims to alter behavior. It addresses the interpersonal issue.
  • Sensitivity training involves the following steps:
    • In an atmosphere that is free and open, members are brought together.
    • The participant talks about themself and the interaction.
    • A qualified behaviorist guides conversations in an informal manner and provides opportunity for participants to express ideas, opinions, and attitudes.
    • Through involvement and observation, a member learns. They gain a deeper comprehension of group dynamics.
  • As a result of sensitivity,
    • Increasing one's capacity for empathy.
    • Enhance your listening abilities.
    • Hone your skills at resolving disputes.
    • Greater communication transparency.
• Counseling/Coaching
  • A problem is discussed with a worker in counseling in order to improve his ability to deal with it. In coaching, a manager organizes, directs, facilities, encourages, and cheers the team members without actually paying for the game.
• Survey Responses
  • It entails the following steps:
  • Questionnaires are used to survey employees.
  • Feedback on the data that was produced by the employees is provided. In groups, they diagnose the findings of a survey.
  • Problems and creating plans of action to address them.
  • The primary issues discovered through group action interventions are addressed through the implementation of training and development initiatives.
• Team Building
  • It makes use of highly interactive group activities to boost team members' openness and trust. To increase team effectiveness, the team building process includes goal setting, performance evaluation, role clarification, and process analysis.

2. Structural Interventions:

They are a wide system . They cover whole organization. They consist of:

• Organization restructuring:
  • The structure of the company has changed. Redesigned mechanisms, coordinating structures, and channels of communication exist. Tasks are moved about. Departmental job groupings have altered.
• Goal setting (MBO)
  • Set goals using the management-by-objectives (MBO) technique.
  • In MBO, managers and their subordinates come to mutually agreeable goals that are utilized to assess performances over the course of the following term. MBO determines whether an organization's goals and its workers' personal goals are compatible.
• Quality of work life (QWL) programs
  • They seek to satisfy an employee's demands by fostering a positive overall work environment. They include:
    • A secure and healthy workplace
    • Proper physical setup at the workplace, such as rearranging the area and layout to create a better working environment
    • Social integration and relevance
    • Life span overall, etc.
  • The efficacy of the organization, productivity, and job satisfaction are all increased by QWL initiatives.

3. Task-Technology Interventions:

They involve changes in task and technology. They consist of:

• Job Redesign:
  • Job Rotation: Rotation of the workforce through several positions.
  • Job expansion: Giving employees greater responsibilities.
  • Job Enrichment: Giving employees more discretion over how to complete duties is a type of job enrichment.
  • Job Methods: Work methods have changed, such as going from assembly to teams.
  • Job characteristics: Changes are made to the job's features, including skill veracity, task importance, autonomy, and feedback.
  • Jobs have looser definitions and less rigid programming.
  • Variable work schedules: Work schedules that are flexible: four-day workweeks, job sharing, and telecommuting
• Technological change:
  • With technology, inputs are converted into outputs. Changes in technology can be:
  • Tools and equipment: New tools and equipment are presented. Computerization, robotization, automation, and information technology, for instance
  • Processes: Modifications are made to the work's processing methods. as in the transition from manual to computerized.

Reference:

AGRAWAL, DR. GOVIND RAM. Organization Relations. Bhotahity, Kathmandu: M.K. Publishers & Distributors , 2013. textbook.