Module-4

Resistance to
Change
Active Resistance Resistance

3. Oppose 3. Stall
4. Argue 4. Dismantle
5. Obstruct 5. Undermine

Resistance Resistance

3. Observe 3. Ignore
4. Refrain 4. Withdraw
5. Wait 5. Avoid

Passive
Phases in Change Management
 Resistance is incomplete transition in
response to change
 Resistance is any conduct that serves to
maintain the status quo in the face of
pressure to alter the status quo.
 Resistance is temporary attraction to
state of equilibrium.
 Resistance to change

 Resistance to change can also be a

source of functional conflict.
For example, resistance to a
reorganization plan or a change in a
product line can stimulate a healthy
debate over the merits of the idea
and result in a better decision.
 But there is a definite downside to
resistance to change. It hinders
adaptation and progress.
 Resistance to change doesn't
necessarily surface in standardized
ways. Resistance can be overt,
implicit, immediate, or deferred.
Factors causing Resistance to Change

 Fear of unknown
 Such fear is due to uncertainty about the
nature of change, feelings that one does not
know what is doing and what the future holds.
 Loss of control
 Feeling that change is being done to the
person, worry that one has no say in the
situation and the events that are taking place.
Factors causing Resistance to Change

 Loss of face
 Feeling of embarrassment as a result of
change and discerning it in such a way that
the things one has done in the past were
wrong.
 Loss of competency
 Feeling that the existing skills and
competencies that the person has will no
longer be of any use after the change has take
place
Factors causing Resistance to Change

 Need for security

 Worry about ones potential role after the
change has taken place
 Poor timing
 Feeling surprised on how the change
has been sprung on the person being
asked to change at time when one
already feels overworked.
Factors causing Resistance to Change

 Force of habit
 Feeling comfort in the existing routines
and habits and not liking to change
existing way of things
 Lack of support
 Lack of support of direct supervisors and
resources
Factors causing Resistance to Change

 Lack of confidence
 Confident of making things better than
before
 Resentment
 Feeling angry due to a lack of respect for
the people involved and over the way
one has treated during past change
efforts
Why People Resist Change in the
Workplace

1) An individuals’ predisposition
toward change
2) Surprise and fear of the
unknown
3) Climate of mistrust
4) Fear of failure
5) Loss of status and/or job
security
Why People Resist Change in the
Workplace Cont.

1) Peer pressure
2) Disruption of cultural
traditions and/or group
relationships
3) Personality conflicts
4) Lack of tact and/or poor
timing
5) Nonreinforcing reward
systems
 Which resistance is experienced.

 Resistance to the change itself.

 Resistance to the change strategy.

 Resistance to the change agent.

Sources of Resistance

Individualfactors
Group factors
Organizational factors
Social factors
Sources of Resistance to Change

Individual Resistance Organizational

* Perception Resistance
* Personality * Organization design
* Habit * Organizational culture
* Threats to power * Resource limitations
and influence * Fixed investments
* Fear of the unknown * Interorganizational
* Economic reasons agreements

Resistance to Change
 Reasons for Adverse Reactions to Change

Loss of job
Reduction of career prospects
Down grading of work
Effects in pay
Loss of status - “empires”
 Reduction in responsibility or job
interest
 Need to learn new skills
 New and unknown bosses
 New and known (!) bosses
 Break up of established work groups
 Transfer to new, unknown (known!)
locations or departments
 Resistance to change is the action taken
by individuals and groups when they
perceive that a change that is occurring
as a threat to them.
 Sources of resistance are not always
clear, in part because on some level,
resistance to change is a normal,
valued function of existence.
 Habit
 Security
 Economic factors
 Fear of Unknown
 Selective Information Processing
 Threat to Expertise
 Threat to Established Power
Relationships
 Threat to Established Resource
Allocations
 Organizational Resistance
 Structural inertia
 Limited focus of change
 Group Inertia
 Force Field Analysis
Driving forces Resisting forces

High performance goals Group norms for output

New equipment Familiarity with

present equipment

Competition Complacency

Employees with Need to learn new skills

new skills
Desire for increased Fear of reduced
influence and rewards influence and rewards
Current level Desired level
of group of group
performance performance
 Components of Successful Methods for
Overcoming Resistance to Change

 Empathy and support

 To aid in understanding how employees are
experiencing change
 Communication
 To reduce gossip and unfounded fears, thereby
reducing uncertainty about the potential
consequences of change
 Participation and involvement
 To increase employee ownership of and
commitment to the change
The Continuum of Resistance to
Change
Enthusiastic
Acceptance Cooperation
Cooperation under pressure from
management
Acceptance
Passive resignation
Indifference Indifference
Apathy or loss of interest in the job
Doing only what is ordered
Passive Regressive behavior
Resistance Nonlearning
Protests
Working to rule
Active
Doing as little as possible
Resistance
Slowing down
Personal withdrawal
Committing “errors”
Spoliage
Deliberate sabotage
Overcoming Resistance to change

1. Education and Communication

2. Participation and Involvement
3. Facilitation and Support
4. Negotiation and agreement.
5. Manipulation and co-optation
6. Explicit and implicit coercion
What can be done about resistance to change

 Education and communication.

 Educates people about change prior to
implementation and helps them understand
the logic of change.
 Use when people lack information or have
inaccurate information.
 Advantage — creates willingness to help with
the change.
 Disadvantage — can be very time consuming.
 Participation and involvement.
 Allows people to help design and implement
the changes.
 Use when other people have important
information and/or power to resist.
 Advantages — adds information to change
planning; builds commitment to change.
 Disadvantage — can be very time consuming.
 Negotiation and agreement.
 Offers incentives to actual or potential change
resistors.
 Use when a person or group will lose
something because of the change.
 Advantage — helps avoid major resistance.
 Disadvantages — can be expensive; can
cause others to seek similar deals.
 Manipulation and cooptation.
 Use covert (hidden) attempts to influence
others by selectively providing information and
consciously structuring events.
 Use when other methods don’t work or are too
expensive.
 Advantages — can be quick and inexpensive.
 Disadvantage — can create future problems if
people sense manipulation.
 Facilitation and support.
 Provides emotional and material assistance for
people experiencing the hardships of change.
 Use when resistance traces to resource or
adjustment problems.
 Advantage — directly satisfies specific
resource or adjustment needs.
 Disadvantages — can be time consuming; can
be expensive.
 Explicit and implicit coercion.
 Employ the force of authority to
implement change.
 Use when speed is important and the
change agent has power.
 Advantages — quick; overpowers
resistance.
 Disadvantage — risky if people get mad.
 “He who cannot change the very
fabric of his thought will never be
able to change reality, and will never,
therefore, make any progress”
- Anwar Sadat
Overcoming Resistance to Change

Approach Commonly Advantages Drawbacks

Used in
Situations
Education + Where:
There is a lack Once Can be very
Communication of information persuaded, time
or inaccurate people will consuming if
information & often help lots of people
analysis with are involved
implementatio
Participation + The initiators do nPeople
of change
who Can be very
Involvement not have all the participate time
information will be consuming if
they need to
committed to participators
design the
change & others the design an
have implementati inappropriate
considerable on of change change
power to resist
Overcoming Resistance to Change

Approach Commonly Advantages Drawbacks

Used in
Situations
Facilitation + Where:are
People No other Can be very
Support resisting approach time
because of works as well consuming,
adjustment with expensive
problems adjustment and still fail
Negotiation + Someone or problems it
Sometimes Can be too
Agreement some group is a relatively expensive in
will clearly easy way to may cases if
lose out in a avoid major it alerts other
change and change to negotiate
where that for
group has compliance
considerable
power to
resist
Overcoming Resistance to Change

Approach Commonly Advantages Drawbacks

Used in
Situations
Where:
Manipulation + Other tactics It can be Can lead to
Co-optation will not work relatively future
or are too quick and problems if
expensive inexpensive people feel
manipulated
Explicit + Implicit Speed is It is speedy Can be very
coercion essential and and can risky ad leave
where the overcome any people made
change kind of at the
initiators resistance initiators
possess
considerable
power
 A Comprehensive Strategy Includes

• Policies that accommodate evidence-based

practices
• Supportive system administrators
• Willing agency directors
• Skilled clinical supervisors
• Opinion leaders who are convinced
• Skilled service providers
• Opportunities for staff/client input
 Barriers Can Include
• Administrative philosophy
• Organizational policy
• System structure
• Unclear literature
• Agency staff
• Client population
????
So, how do you
decide what to do?
 The Change Book

• Principles
• Strategies
• Activities
• Steps
 Change Initiatives
Must Be

• Relevant • Timely
• Clear • Credible
• Multifaceted • Continuous
• Bi-directional

The Principles
Don’t Forget the Last Three

• Multifaceted
• Continuous
• Bi-directional

The Principles
Creating Your Blueprint
The Ten Steps
Ten Steps of Effective
Change Initiatives
1. Identify the problem
2. Organize a team
3. Identify an outcome
4. Assess your organization
5. Assess your audience

The Steps
Ten Steps of Effective
Change Initiatives
6. Identify the approach
7. Design action and maintenance plans
8. Implement the plans
9. Evaluate your plans
10. Revise your plans

The Steps
Types of Activities
• Administrative/structural
• Bi-directional dialogue
• Information dissemination
• Education
• Person to person
• Evaluation
Systems Change:
A Case Study
Why Change Fails 8 Common Errors in
Organizational Change Efforts

 Allowing too much complacency

 Failing to create a sufficiently powerful
guiding coalition
 Underestimating the power of vision
Why Change Fails 8 Common Errors in
Organizational Change Efforts

 Under communicating the vision

 Permitting obstacles to block the vision
 Failing to create short term wins
 Declaring victory too soon
 Neglecting to anchor changes firmly in
the corporate culture.
The 8 Stage Change Process Defrost a hardened
status quo:

Establisha sense of urgency

Create the guiding coalition
Develop a vision and strategy
Communicate the change vision
Introduce new practices:
 Empower a broad base of people to take
action
 Generate short term wins
 Consolidate gains and producing even more
change
 Ground the changes in the culture, and
making them stick:
 Institutionalize new approaches in the
corporate culture