Understanding and Coping with Change

Understanding and Coping with Change

Sandee Jones

Ashford University

Organizational Behaviors

BUS 610

Pamela Gordon

February 18, 2013

Understanding and Coping with Change

For many years, the world of business has experienced an increasing rate of change. Alvin Toffler (Toffler, 1970) predicted the trend several decades ago. Toffler also noted that people exhibit a natural tendency to resist change. This resistance to change is a major organizational challenge that organizations must learn to manage. As individuals respond to change in different ways, and as variations in responses produce different outcomes the recognition of this resistance to change is an essential step in the development and implementation of effective change management strategies. Change, whether positive or negative, is unsettling, because people seek stability. Certain individuals are more resistant to change than others, and at times there can be situational characteristics such as a lack of trust in management contributing to this resistance to change. Often this resistance to change is out of self-interest; at stake can be factors such as income, job security, prestige, power, and personal convenience. Low tolerance for change, lack of trust in management, and self-interest are all factors which result in resistance to change. However, experience suggests that lack of understanding of the need for change can be the single greatest contributing factor and is the factor which the organization has the greatest control over.

A local employer is in the process of implementing a major change in the organizational structure. Without going into too much detail the restructure involves changes to the pay structure and changes in organizational reporting. As is the case with most organizational changes there has been a great deal of resistance involved. Previously it was suggested that the lack of understanding for the need for change can be the single greatest contributing factor and the factor which the organization has the greatest control over. (Kotter, J.P., 2012) The organization has done an absolutely abysmal job in communicating, what the changes will entail and why the changes are needed. As a result of this poor communication there is a great deal of apprehension and resistance to these changes. This poor communication has resulted in a lack of trust in senior management and an ever increasing sentiment that the changes are going to result in a reduction in pay and benefits. (Kotter, J.P. & Cohen, D.S. (2012)).

This protection of self- interest is a natural reaction being that many of the individuals