ASSESSMENT POINT 2

TASK:
DISCUSS THE MAJOR BARRIERS OF CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS AND THE
CONCEPT OF RESISTANCE TO CHANGE, AS WELL AS HOW AN EFFECTIVE
CHANGE MANAGEMENT CAN TAKE PLACE TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS
AND ISSUES.

SUBMITTED BY

STUDENT NO: R1901D7315472

MODULE NAME: MANAGEMENT OF CORPORATE CHANGE
COURSE ID: (UU-MBA-719-ZM-27998)
TUTOR: CHARIS KYRIACOU
INTRODUCTION
In a world that is constantly changing, organizations have realized the dangers in remaining
static and becoming obsolete. With the opportunities of a global market, benefits of new
cutting edge technologies, specialist manpower and challenges of customers craving for new
variants in every product, organizations must adopt an agile approach that enables them to
respond quickly and effectively to the demands of market forces in order to retain market
share and gain competitive advantage. Managing change has never been easy, as it requires
huge resources (most of the time), adequate skills and requisite experience to pull off. A
thorough understanding of the current process and its failings are of utmost importance, as
well as changes required, the impact on the organization and the stage-by-stage process of
delivering the change.

Change management is “the practice of applying a structured approach to transition an

organization from a current state to a future state to achieve expected benefits” (Association
of Change Management Professionals). Markus Wanner, in his paper on integrated change
management, defined change management as an “organized, systematic application of the
knowledge, tools and resources of change that provides organizations with a key process to
achieve their strategy. It refers to the application of carefully considered processes, tools and
techniques in moving an organization from its current state to a new improved state that will
enable the organization achieve pre-determined objectives. It is important to emphasize that
one of the most significant factors in driving any change agenda is the people/employees. The
entire change agenda revolves around the employees in the organization. Every process,
policy, procedure and activity is driven or implemented by humans who work in the
organization. Even the automated processes still require human presence to turn on the
machine or control it in some way. This highlights the importance of employees in the change
agenda and why they should be given the highest considerations at every stage of the change
process.

PURPOSE AND NEED FOR CHANGE

The purpose of change management is to design and implement processes that will serve as
guide to change agents in handling the various stages of change management. The change
management has to be planned and initiated, executed, monitored, controlled and evaluated to
measure its impact and overall success. Because of the delicate nature of change
management, every stage requires careful planning and well thought out strategies for its
implementation. Deciding the scope of the change and staying within limits is important as
delivering less than the scope required or extending beyond the scope required could prove
disastrous for the change agenda. Therefore, being able to keep the change within its scope
requires adequate knowledge and experience. This is one of the main reasons why change
management process should be handled by persons with the ability (knowledge and
experience) to deliver successfully.

The need for change in organizations is highlighted now more than ever before. With
technological innovations, demand for smarter products, desire for quicker services and
delivery and many more, organizations have realized that there is need to constantly evolve
and improve, in order to keep pace with the changes in demands and meet expectations of
clients and customers. The world is changing and so does everything that affects business.
Technology is changing, customer trends are changing, population is changing and even the
economy is changing. Every organization must examine its processes, policies and
procedures to determine their suitability with regards to keeping the organization on a
sustained path of competitive advantage. Maintaining competitive advantage requires
organizations to embrace learning and innovating. There is ample proof that leading
organizations in the world are those that invest in organization learning, knowledge
management and organizational change. The process of learning breeds new ideas and
innovation; these ideas and innovation must then be applied or used to replace old practices
or processes. This is what change and change management is all about. Organizations could
pursue change for a host of reasons, which may include;
 New Technology: Organizations may seek change in order to implement a new
technology throughout its network of branches. This technology could be needed to
enhance its processes, especially in the area of automation and reporting. Technology
is one means through which organizations gain competitive advantage as it improves
processes and impacts on outcomes.
 Poor Results: Organizations may be pushed to seek change due to poor results from
key performance indicators. When organizations fail to meet their market and
financial objectives, there will naturally be questions, reviews and analysis of
processes, procedures and strategies with a view to finding out what went wrong,
what was done well and what needs to be changed. A quest for improved
performance will definitely lead to changes in attitude, mindset and operational
processes and procedures.
 Customer Demands: This is another reason why organizations may implement
change. Leading organizations have the ability to respond quickly and effectively to
new demands from the market. With customers’ needs changing at an alarmingly fast
rate, organizations have little or no time to react, hence the need to implement
changes to strengthen their ability to respond.
 New Opportunities/New Markets: Organizations may also implement change to
accelerate their entrance into new markets or take advantage of new opportunities.
With globalization and world trade eliminating trade barriers between and amongst
nations, organizations with resources have expanded to set up international offices,
factories, research centres and logistics hubs, taking advantage of cheap labour,
availability of quality raw materials, availability of competent manpower and so on.
 Challenging Status Quo: Seeking to challenge status quo by asking why things are
done in a particular way also leads to change. New employees particularly bring such
spirit into the organization by injecting new ideas that improve the processes and
sometimes, the behaviour in a manner that impacts the overall performance of the
organization. Modern, learning organizations are good examples of where such
freedom of initiative and innovation can be expressed.
MAJOR BARRIERS TO CHANGE
Despite the obvious and overwhelming evidence of the importance of change, many
organizations have not been successful in implementing change. Organizations have been
faced with a catalogue of barriers that have limited their ability to implement change
effectively. These barriers may vary from organization to organization, but generally, the
major one have been selected for discussion and analysis in this assignment.

a. Unknown Current State: Organizations that lack a clear understanding of their

current state may find it difficult to implement change successfully. A clear definition
and understanding of the current position of the organization is required in order to
chart a new course. Having a clear understanding of the current position and its
attendant challenges is the foundation for creating an organization-wide urgency that
will trigger change.
b. Lack of Clear Scope and Definition: Not having a clear definition and scope for the
change to be implemented can quickly become a barrier to change. It is important to
define what will be changed, why it should be changed and how it should be changed
It is also important to create a picture of the future, that is, how things will become at
the end of the change program. The scope of change should be clearly defined and
strictly followed to guard against unhealthy and unplanned extensions which can
negatively impact budget, quality and schedule.
c. Lack of Employee Involvement: This, perhaps, is the most common and difficult
barrier to change. Making changes to processes, introducing new technology and
other technical aspects of business will not guarantee success, unless and until the
human aspect of business is given attention. Every change implementation plan is
programmed to fail if employees are not involved. Every change plan brings fear to
employees, causing anxiety and tension because of the uncertainties that lie ahead.
Efforts must therefore be made to allay the fears of employees, by getting them
involved in the process of much as possible. Recognizing them as stakeholders can
be of much help in this regard, as well as creating a feedback channel that will give
them confidence to give their opinions objectively.
d. Lack of Effective Communication Strategy: It is important to emphasize that
communication is at the heart of change implementation. Right from the beginning of
the project, communication becomes a critical tool in engaging stakeholders and the
change team. It is always wrong for leaders and change agents to assume that once
the change plan is announced, employees will automatically adjust and cooperate.
This is a deadly assumption that can derail the entire program. There has to be a
deliberate effort to constantly communicate the change; at meetings, briefings,
presentations, lunch breaks, tea breaks and any other opportunity. Change agents
must constantly remind executive management of their responsibility towards the
project. This can only be achieved via effective communication. Employees need
constant communication about their roles and responsibilities towards the success of
 the project, impact analysis, discontents and disruptions must be properly channelled
and reported. An effective communication strategy is thus required to drive the entire
process.
e. Lack of Leadership Support: Any change management project must have sufficient
leadership support to succeed. Change management experts agree that at least 75% of
the leadership team must agree and believe in the project for any chance of success.
Management buy-in is necessary in order to gather support and guarantee the release
of organizational resources for change implementation. The extent of commitment
and interest displayed by the leadership will ultimately determine the fate of the
project. Employees may watch out for the body language of the leadership and will
most likely approach the project with same enthusiasm displayed by them, a good
reason for the leadership to always lead by example. It is not enough to sign cheques
and release resources for the project, it is also important to play an active part in the
project, talking about it, appearing in meetings and presentations just to drive the
message to all employees.
f. Change Resistant Culture and Organizational Structure: The prevailing culture
in an organization plays a huge role in the success of a change implementation
project. Organizational culture means the mentality, work ethics and values inherent
in an organization as portrayed by its owners and employees. Culture can be a major
roadblock to change because it keeps people embedded in comfortable habits. An
organization that promotes high levels of trust and cooperation is more likely to be
successful in implementing change. If the organization is one that has been on a
particular culture for a long period, it will most definitely become difficult to displace
it. On the other hand, an organization that is more dynamic and has experienced
change before, even if on one occasion, is better positioned to give up current culture
and practices to embrace change. Internal politics, poor behaviour and personal
agenda all combine to build resistance to change. Also, the organizational structure
can become another problem. Organizational structure is a system that outlines how
work and other activities flow through the organization. It shows the working
relationship amongst employees and the flow of information. It defines the way an
organizational is set up to run.
g. Organization Complexity: Organizations with complex structures and multiple
change projects at the same time all too often become fatigued with handling too
many must-win projects per time. Employees have little or no time to devout to one
project before being moved on to another one. Even leaders will at some point
become limited in their ability to prioritize the projects at hand. Very large
organizations with complex processes, products and systems present a barrier for
change as well. Employees find it difficult to understand these complexities, while
change managers struggle to navigate through them as well.

CONCEPT OF RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Resistance to change is the act of opposing or refusing modifications, changes or
transformations that alter the status quo. It can also be referred to as the unwillingness to
adapt to altered circumstances (Heathfield, 2021). Resistance to change can be overt, covert,
organized or individual. Employees may resist change, sometimes unknowingly, through
their actions, inactions, language, attitude and conversations in the workplace. Resistance to
change may be expressed via criticisms, sarcastic remarks, missed meetings, unkept
commitments, endless arguments and sabotage. Employees may become resistant when they
are not involved in the decision making process of change implementation. They can also
become resistant when they are not properly introduced to changes that have significant
changes on their job.

REASONS FOR RESISTANCE

a. Lack of Communication: A poorly communicated change program is more likely to

face resistance from employees. When there is no awareness on why the change is
being made, employees’ natural tendency is to oppose and resist. Keeping employees
in the dark is a wring way of implementing change because everything revolves
around them.
b. Self Interest: Every employee is a stakeholder in the organization. When an
employee believe they may lose something valuable as a result of change, they are
likely to resist change. Employees tend to drive their interest over and above that of
the organization and a threat to their interest is met with stiff resistance.
c. Different Evaluations: Situations arise where employees tend to have a different
picture of the impact of the change from that of the change agent and leaders. This
may happen as a result of poor communication or lack of clarity in the vision
presented to the employees.
d. Fear of Job Loss: There is a widely held opinion that change comes with job loss.
Employees will naturally resist anything perceived to lead to job loss. While such
fears can be allayed via counselling and discussions, it is possible and sometimes
inevitable for job losses to occur during change. This can be handled by negotiation
and adequate compensation, if it is for the good of the organization.
e. Lack of Understanding of New Roles: Employees will resist change when there is a
lack of understanding of their new roles. This is why it is important to clearly define
roles and responsibilities in the change and properly communicate same to affected
employees.
Researchers have identified the following types of resistance;
a. Organizational Resistance: Organizational inertia is the tendency for the entire
organization to resist change and strive to maintain status quo. Such organizations
become rigid and fail to adapt to external and internal demands for change.
Organizational culture and reward systems can be pivotal in facilitating acceptance or
resistance to change. The culture of an organization plays a huge role in its ability to
accept or resist change. Those with high levels of trust, cooperation and fairness are
more likely to be successful at implementing change because employees will naturally
believe in the leadership due to the trust levels that exists between both parties.
Organizations with high trust deficit is likely to face more resistance to change for
obvious reasons.
 b. Group Resistance: Having a group work well together and achieve milestones is a
sign of cohesion, trust and adherence to norms. Shared norms in a group are difficult
to change because they affect the group’s identity. Changes to these shared, central
norms will likely be resisted as members will work to protect each other and preserve
the group. If a group is used to centralized decision making and then the change
requires them to decentralize decision making, the group is likely to resist the change.
Group cohesion can cause resistance to change, but can also help push change through
when the group decides to adapt to a change plan against the decision of an individual
or individuals resisting the change.
c. Individual Resistance: Change involves learning new things and doing things
differently. People fear change because of the consequences and too many
uncertainties. “Will I fit in the new system”, “will I master the new skill” or “can I
function in this new group”. These are some questions that bring fear to the minds of
employees and sometimes cause them to resist change. Economic insecurity, lack of
trust and risk of job loss may further heighten the fears of employees, leading them to
resist change deliberately.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS AND MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Organizations and change professionals can overcome barriers and manage resistance to
change by adopting the following strategies:
a. Communication and Education: employees need to be properly informed and
educated about the need for change in the organization. Highlighting the risk of
inaction and further decline in key performance indicators is one way of “selling” the
need for change to employees. Deliberate efforts must be made by leaders and change
agents to inform and educate employees at all levels about the need/importance of
change. There should also be a clear and compelling definition of the change. It must
answer the pertinent questions of what needs to be changed, why it needs to be
changed, what are the consequences of inaction and how impact will be measured.
b. Active Participation: it is important for representation of the different levels of
employees in the design and implementation of the change program. Change
shouldn’t be forced on people, hence there should be consultations at different stages
of the cycle. Collaboration between stakeholders and change leaders will lead to less
resistance and a higher likelihood of success. A study in 2011, showed that
participation reduces resistance. The leadership of the organization must be involved
in the change program to make it popular and increase its chances of acceptability
within the organization.
c. Provide Support: Change involves new ways of working and carrying out tasks in
most cases. Employees experience anxiety because there is a shift from long
established habits and routines. Leaders and change agents should be ready to provide
support by coaching, mentoring and guiding employees through new routines and
tasks, as well as being patient while they master the new skills.
d. Negotiation and Agreement: organizations can engage employees to discuss the
effects of change with a view to allaying their fears. Incentives can be negotiated and
 agreed upon to further strengthen the acceptance of the change across the
organization.
e. Coercion: Coercion may be the only option available when an organization requires
speed in implementing change. This happens when organizations face a race against
time to implement change or faced extinction. At such critical times, employees are
coerced to “fall in line” and accept change.

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