Resistance to change:

Not all change is greeted warmly by members of an organization. The implementation of a new idea or technique quite often results in resistance by those who will be affected most. Resistance is common and it is important for managers to understand and overcome resistance to change. Managers should first identify major reasons for resistance to change and develop methods for overcoming resistance to a change.

Causes of resistance to change

• Self interest:- it is not unusual for managers or workers in an organization to have interest in benefiting themselves directly. Economic gain, power, prestige, status, job security or promotion opportunities are all self interest that many employees have as members of an organization. Resistance is likely to occur if the proposed change in the organization threatens those interest.
• Uncertainty:- with change often comes uncertainty. Organisation members may resist the change because they are worried and nervous about the way a change will affect their work lives. Many times when change is accompanied by uncertainty individuals and groups think the worst will result from the change. Hence the tendency to resist changes.
• Lack of understanding and trust:- many proposed changes are not explained in their entirety to those affected by the change. This may be due to the inability of the initiators of change to communicate effectively or of those affected to totally understand the change. Failure to understand the change increases the probability that members or departments will resist the change.
• Different perceptions:- differences of opinions about the need for change and what the change will accomplish once implemented can be a cause for resistance. Individuals or groups tend to perceive situations and events differently. Often this is as a result of prior experiences and training thus an engineer is likely to view a change in the production process differently from the way an accountant will view it. The engineer may view the change as increasing the task efficiency in production. The accountant may view the change in terms of cost increase that will be reflected on the price of the product thus resistance would result from legitimate disagreement over outcome of change based on different perception based of managers and workers.
• Lack of tolerance to change:- some organization members may resist changes even when members are shown that the change will not threaten their self interest, the outcomes are certain, a full understanding and trust exist and perceptions are in agreement for example some people prefer to drive the same route to work even when they agree that a different route is quicker, safer and less crowded. However, they like the familiarity of the route they presently drive and therefore are unwilling to make the change.