Change & Resistance

Change often engenders perceptions of ambiguity and insecurity, leading to feelings of anxiety and fear. These feelings underlie the numerous cases of resistance encountered in organizations when change is introduced.

Most instances of change in an organization have both a technical and a social aspect. Having studied the phenomenon of resistance to change, behavioral scientists have come to propound that people do not resist technical change as much as the accompanying social change.

Resistance to change is likely to occur when:
Those who are affected by the change have not been involved in the planning of the change;
The nature of the change is not clearly explained;
The purpose of the change is not made clear to the people affected by the change;
The change disrupts, or threatens to disrupt, the established relationships with peers and/or superiors.

What can be done to implement change without or with little resistance? Well, first of all ensure that the proposed change is necessary. A change would be called for where there is dissatisfaction with the status quo. Be clear about the objective(s) and the desired impact of the change. Then let the people who are going to be affected by the change have a say in the planning; explain to them the technical aspects involved in the change in terms easily understood by them; ensure that the change does not entail radical changes in the social relationships of people who are to adopt the change. Explain also the anticipated benefits.

When you have done all that, if you still notice some resistance, do not attempt to quell it straight away. It is worthwhile to view the resistance as a signal that something is wrong. Review and re-examine the situation so as to identify the cause, which may be some technical imperfection or social disruption.

The following propositions, gleaned from elsewhere, are useful guidelines for one who plans to introduce any change in an organization:

Change is more acceptable if it has been planned than if it is "experimental";

Change is more acceptable when it is understood than when it is not;

Change is more acceptable when it does not threaten security than when it does;

Change is more acceptable when those affected have helped create it than when it has been externally imposed;

Change is more acceptable when it results from an application of previously established impersonal principles than when it is dictated by a personal order;

Change is more acceptable when it follows a series of successful changes than when it follows a series of failures;

Change is more acceptable when it is inaugurated after prior change has been assimilated than when it is inaugurated during the confusion of other major change(s);

Change is more acceptable to people new on the job than to people old in the job;

Change is more acceptable to people who share in the benefits of change than to those who do not;

Change is more acceptable if the organization has been trained to accept change.

In attempting to introduce any change in your organization, therefore, it is in order and indeed wise to bear in mind the foregoing considerations and carry out a force-field analysis of the situation: Choose the objective, locate the status quo, identify the facilitating & hindering forces and work out ways to strengthen the former and remove or weaken the latter.