Organisational Change

Most of the times change is interpreted as an action that makes improvement. Everyone needs change to overcome problems in their environment. Direct implication of change can be applied in organisation as well. Organisation change is one of the keys of a successful growth in organisation. By the definition organisational change is shift from a current state to a new different state with continuous process (Smith, 2005). The purpose of organisational change practice is to improve and develop the organisation’s effectiveness and efficiency through better management, competence, commnications, systems, and structures. Elias (2009) explains that due to the modern world influence that change in a rapid speed, organisation need to adapt in order to prevent organisation’s failure and to survive in the competitive market. There are some major environmental reasons that change organisation such as, technology innovation, and globalisation (Brodbeck, 2002). However, recently organisational change only happened in a low success rate. Low success rate of change means it is going to be hard for organisation to reach success (Burnes, 2009). If company can adapt with change, it can shape the company’s objective and goals in a better way. This essay will explain the factors why the success rate of organisation is low, and discuss how organisational consultant can solve the problem and bring organisation to success.

It is obvious that change is very critical to organisation in order to implementing their business model according to the current trend in the market and to survive among competitors. However, there are some factors in failure of change, the main factor is resistance (Bamford, David, & Paul, 2003). Organisation needs to understand the definition of resistance and the reasons of resistance that can cause failure to change. Burnes (2009) defined resistance to change as a behavior that has a good mind to protect human from the effect of real of even imagined change. Individuals naturally rush to defend the status if they feel that their security and status are threatened (, 2002). Most of organisation are conservative and tend to resist changing. Many business firms are not ready to accept change, and there are some reasons that make them resistant to change (Hill, Sandra, & Dec, 1998). First is that result resistance to change is ambiguity concerning alteration or individual issues, employees may have a psychological resistance to change because they do not feel safe and certain. It makes them has become unwilling to give up the tasks or relationship and do not want any changes (Mabin, Forgeson, & Greene, 2001).  Second is disruption of routine, activities that employee did regularly have become a habit and routine and they will continue to work in similar way (Mabin, Forgeson, & Greene, 2001). Especially when the old routine has resulted in past successes. Those routines will make it hard to have organisational change. Third is loss of the past benefits (Mabin, Forgeson, & Greene, 2001), change can cause workers to feel overwhelmed and not comfortable at work. They can interpret change as individual security and pressure as they cannot work as usual and leave their comfort zone, which has possibility has bring more benefit to them. Last is threat to position power (Mabin, Forgeson, & Greene, 2001), any change that threaten to lower the status or make them feel like loosing their prestige will make resistance to change.