EMPLOYEES RESISTANCE TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Undergraduate
Background
Organizations
perceive change as very important for its survival and prosperity in today’s
most competitive environment and new business challenges. They make change
initiative to keep up the pace with changing environment and new challenging
competition. The success and performance superiority of organizations are very
much dependent on its ability to align its internal arrangement with the demand
of external world. While studying the change literature, the concept of change
and its differentiation/types seem very ambiguous and it was very difficult to
understand the overall picture of change from the scattered literature. As
different authors have defined change, based on their differentiation, in
different manners, e.g. Schien defined change as it can be natural evolutionary, planned
and unplanned change, Leavitt
expanded the technical-social (technical & social change) framework, by
adding structural change (Leavitt, 1965). We will try to present somewhat clear
and complete picture of organizational change based upon the literature and
empirical study, which according to our point of view is very important for
understanding change and its major problem i.e. employees resistance to change
(the main area of this study). Our empirical study is based on a firm operating
in a developing economy, which was under severe pressure from external
environment and internal problems, and made it very important for its survival
to introduce a major change program. Change as an important factor has been
discussed by different authors as, ‘change is the only constant’ and very
important for the firm. But managing change is very challenging & complex
and great amount of care should be taken while making change. One of major
problems/threats to organizational change is employees’ resistance and has
usually very unpleasant and negative implications for organization. The firm
understudy proposed a change program but it was severely resisted by its
employees and the change brought very negative results, opposite to its
demands. Looking at the possible solutions discussed in the literature of
change management, every measure has been applied by the experienced management
of the firm to overcome resistance, but failed.
The purpose of this
study is to understand goal conflict between firm (owners) and individuals
(employees) and how it contributes to employees’ resistance to change as a
major potential cause/antecedent. Different authors have discussed the
importance of causes/antecedents of employees’ resistance to change to know the
right problem and develop strategies to overcome it. According to Mintzberg,
the cure might actually prove to be just more of the cause (Mintzberg 1998 p.
324). After understanding the causes/antecedents of employees’ resistance to
change in the literature, we have got an opportunity to add another potential
but major cause of resistance, that is, goal conflict between firm (owners) and
individuals (employees). Different theories has been discussed which provide
sound basis for understanding and also providing solutions to decrease the
negative affects and intensity of the goal conflict. It will enable us to
provide management with recommendations for possible solutions to employees’
resistance in the firm understudy. Our empirical study helps us understand, how
‘change’ increases the magnitude and intensity of goal conflict and how it
contributes towards employees’ resistance to change. Finally, two theories will
be used to suggest the best solutions to reduce the intensity and harmonize the
goal conflict between firm and individuals (employees) and hence overcome
employees’ resistance. The research questions
are: How goal conflict
between firm (owners) and individuals (employees) contribute towards employees’
resistance to change as a major cause? How to harmonize or
reduce the intensity of goal conflict between firm (owners) and individuals
(employees), to overcome employees’ resistance? The theories are
about organizational change and resistance, principal agent theory, goal theory
and Stakeholders’ theory. Other theories like, the neoclassical, neo-Keynesian
and managerial theory of firm are also presented to strengthen the concept of
goal conflict that exists between firm and its employees. The theory of
organizational change and resistance help us understand the concept of change
and resistance. Principal agent theory, neoclassical, neo-Keynesian, and
managerial theory explain the conflict between firms (owners) and its
employees’ goals and interests. Stakeholder theory and principal agent theory
has been studied and matched with the situation of the firm understudy to
provide solutions/measures and suggest recommendations for reducing and
harmonizing goal conflict, to overcoming resistance to change. Purpose
Theory