Overcoming Resistance to Change Essay Example for Free

Overcoming Resistance to Change Essay Overcoming Resistance Resistance is a normal and a perfectly natural reaction to change. Each person has their own amount they can take, but the reasons behind why employees resist in the first place may be surprising. According to these experts, the fear of moving into an unknown future state creates anxiety and stress, even if the current state is painful (Eroke, 2013). A complete understanding of the unique ways that resistance can be apparent is still needed because resistance to change has been acknowledged as an organizational difficulty for many years. If and when employees react to change in different ways, and if discrepancies in response result in different outcomes, identification of those expressions of resistance is a necessary step in the growth and execution of valuable change management strategies. After summarizing internal and external factors contributing to resistance to change, we will look at an example of this, identify the cause and develop a plan to overcome resistance. Internal and External Factors Contributing to Resistance to Change While internal and external factors certainly add to change responses, individuals can react more negatively to change than do others, regardless of the type of change. Individuals oppose beginning and completing self changing efforts, even when change is enviable or necessary. The interactions of these factors suggest inconsistency in individual behaviors, such that indefinite situations are most likely to bring to mind articulated perceptions, beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes. W hile global personality tests are probably not helpful in answering specific questions; an evaluation of outcome dispositions may capitulate greater projecting capability. There is little proof that points to individual disparities inclination to resist change. Conflict is stirred up by a variety of factors that include the environment, personalities; prejudices, appearances, etc. However, the inquiry of which individuals take action in what way, to which change situations, has not been sufficiently answered. The materializations of â€Å"resistance responses† within people and situations must be comprehended to allow management the opportunity to decide which plan can efficiently lessen resistance and if diverse strategies increase or decrease responses. An objective in the study of resistance is to identify individual responses to assist in forecasting probable variables. The more acquainted you are with your staff, the easier it will be to identify, assess, monitor, maintain, and execute change when needed. Example of Resistance to Change Based on Internal and External Factors At times employees felt they were being required to do more with less, or do more for the same pay which when this is the case, there is a huge resistance. Very rarely do you find good people that will go above and beyond for someone else or their company. In the restaurant business there are always tasks that need attention. There was a saying at one job â€Å"if you have time to lean, you have time to clean†. It is not all about serving food to guests and getting tipped for it. When someone does not show up for their shift, then that persons responsibilities are divided out amongst everyone. And when one of them is being asked to do side work that is not theirs, while getting paid such a low wage, there is not a positive reaction to say the least. As a waitress or server at most places, you only make 2-3 dollars an hour so when restaurant is slow and they do not make enough money to barely earn over minim um wage, it is extremely challenging to motivate them into doing manual labor for that amount of pay. Specifically, the most recent restaurant I managed, I relied heavily on the breakfast buffet and maintaining it during business hours as well as when we were closed. This buffet was important because most of the VIP rewards members only came for breakfast and their impression of the appearance, temperatures, and quality are being evaluated to possibly be turned in on comment card to corporate. Once this survey is completed online, these scores are then developed into a daily, monthly, and annual report that rates us on each department separately. A bad score decreases the points as a whole, makes the entire team look bad to corporate, and bad reviews can be seen by anyone, which can keep business from coming in and that will drop revenue. For some reason, we were not capable of securing this position longer than a few weeks which then it was being taken care of by any of the staff or management if they had a minute to help stock or clean it. This obviously is not going to be consistent for guests, appears disorganized or short staffed, and is a dangerous health hazard if someone is not taking temps every thirty minutes. Every single time someone did not show up to set up buffet, the staff and management jumped in to help, but it was like pulling teeth to get anyone to step in and do this job. Out of pure self interest each one of them would voice their opinion about how they do not make enough to do someone else’s job and it was not their job or they did not sign up for this. Resistance is an inevitable response to any major change. Individuals naturally rush to defend the status quo if they feel their security or status is threatened (Bolognese, 2002). I understand it is not their faults that it kept getting abandoned, but I also know how to be reasonable and work as a team. Most people are uncomfortable with change and will resist without giving much thought. Aside from self interest, Baack (2012) says, â€Å"differing assessments of the need for change occur whenemployees do not view a change as necessary, because managers and employees do not see eye to eye on the nature of the issue. Th ose with a low tolerance for change also tend to be resistant. It was challenging for everyone involved because most of them did not understand the nature or reason behind just doing what is asked of you regardless of how it may or may not affect you. The few that had been there many years were the first to help, but also the first to resist. They were all for customer service, pride in their company, and covering for someone as long as they were getting the credit. There were only a couple of employees who were willing to help, go out of their way, without expecting anything in return and those are the ones that were rewarded. Cause of Resistance Resistance will come in many dissimilar shapes and sizes, depending on your precise need. The cause for resistance can come from a variety of reasons, but the main cause behind this particular resistance was this position was not paid enough for the responsibilities that came with the position. Also, the labor involved was far more extensive than any other position in that department. Perhaps some other another reason may be because the buffet person was the low man on the totem pole, all by his lonesome, and getting stiffed by his or her own coworkers. This position was separated as far as opening and closing duties and had many items that contributed to the set up and break down which were placed in other parts of restaurant. The buffet person was usually not the person that â€Å"fit in† and almost always within a short period of time, they would request to be moved or they would find a different company to work for. Planned Approach for Overcoming Resistance Costs of training, risky score-cards, high turnover, unhappy guests and employees are enough of a reason to act on changing the way things have been failing. Upper management can determine who would be the best at changing this situation and making it a positive one that they can lead. Someone has to stand up and be responsible for holding people and themselves accountable and for this change to take place. Address the issue, acknowledge the conflict to employees and thank them for taking on extra work, but also engage with them in brainstorming to see if they may have something creative or valuable to assist in conquering the resistance. Once a new reasonable rate of pay has been distinguished, then a new set of responsibilities can be developed and split with the kitchen. There needs to be some way to mingle the two departments, which are separated by a line, so that this position is â€Å"included† with everyone else. Also, provide gift cards or free meals for adapting to c hange and moving forward during process. Set a goal for ninety days out to reevaluate, make transitions or changes and explain how the pieces fit together as a whole. Additional areas of resistance may surface so it is vital to recognize probable resistance points, as your development execution progresses. No matter which approach is used, managers should remember that change is often an unsettling process (Baack, 2012). Obtaining the preferred information to improve employees understanding of the organizations need for change is also one of the most significant steps in flourishing resistance management. A serious contemplation concerning the customization of your resistance management activities is relied upon the size of the change and the characteristics of the organization. When resistance has resulted in productivity loss and exhausted time and resources, it can be intimidating for the staff to rely solely on reactive procedures. Once the new changes have been implemented, closely maintained