Organization Change

INTRODUCTION

Framework: provide a general overview or background for the article

  The journal article  Where to Bury the Survivors? Exploring Possible Ex Post Effects of Resistance to Change. SAM Advanced Management Journal states that change is a real fact of life. However, it can be resisted if an individual feels so. If managers succeed in significant change, they could be home free. On the other hand, there could  be unwanted side effects if resistance to change continues unabated (Sherman & Garland, 2007).

In addition, there is some possibility that resistance could go underground. The underground resistance could be precipitated from the onslaught of overwhelming pressures from change itself. The jobs of change career agents could be deeply affected if this occurs.  Some of these change career agents could be  lowered six feet below the ground even though they survive the change process (Sherman & Garland, 2007).

Major points: tell what the major points of the article were. 

There are many major points of this article. One point is that the phenomenon of resistance to change  by one or more person within an organization is that the forces friendly to change must overwhelm the forces that are resisting the impending change process. These are the forces that influence the behavior of people to embrace change with a surrendering heart. They include emerging technologies, improved  raw materials, increased business rivals, and the additional pressures brought down by the behemoth  organization. On the other side of the fence, the factors that contribute immensely to the resistance to change include the fear of change itself, complacency, dependence on current skills, and the clamor to cling on to the employees’ current work description.  The resistors to change would try  their bes to put roadblocks to slow down the implementation of the new way of doing things in the organization. The resistors to change could use several methods to delay or even to eliminate the change to dig in (Podlesnik & Chase, 2006).

There are many ways of lessening the resistance to change.  They include giving free worker education  increase in pay, giving additional bonuses and incentives, and other methods to lessen the resistance to change. Organizations could institute regular changes in the way they produce the products and market them  in order to keep up to the competition.  And, many organizations do try to forestall many of the changes in producing and selling goods and service in order to resolve this resistance to change. One major reason for some of the business organizations to  delay the full implementation of work change is to decrease the number of persons or workers who will be change -shocked (Lewis, 2006).

Another reason why some organizations do not immediately institute changes in the workplace is because the change in the way finished products are processed normally shows that production of goods would slow down. The employees would have to learn slowly but surely how the new production process is done.  For, practice makes perfect.  Many organizations would only implement the new production processes if the change would give better benefits to the company as compared to changing the raw materials, direct and indirect labor and factory overhead into finished goods th old -fashioned way.

Further, resistance to change is primarily a motivational subject. many of the resistors to change are fearful that they would not be able to learn the new company procedures because they feel that they are too old to learn new tricks. These resistors to change believe that the old way is the best way because it had been approved and implemented many years ago. Management could open the lines of communication with the employees so that resistance could be largely reduced or even eliminated (Kotey & Folker, 2007).

Another way of convincing the employees to embrace the changes to be done in producing the company’s finish products is to let the affected persons join in the planning and implementation process whenever changes are being contemplated.  A popular saying states that “There is nothing permanent in this world but change itself”(Wiley & Legge, 2006).

Managers must go all out to convince the employees that they must take to heart the changes being implemented by their company. One way is to instill in the minds of the workers that the old ways have to be relegated to the dust bins and forgotten. Managers can decrease the resistance to change by addressing the technical and emotional complaints of the resisting employees.  If all else fails, the management could retrench the resisting employees.  The managers could also transfer the resisting employee to another department  where his or her current outmoded skills could be of better use. This remedy is good only if there is another department that has need of the skills of the complaining individual (Wiley & Legge, 2006). 

Methodology

   This research was done with the use of one methodology. This methodology is the use of secondary materials. The secondary materials used are the professionally refereed journals listed under the bibliography section of this research. It is believed that this method is the best for this type of research. 

Quality and Utility: How is what was read useful to you or your organization

The knowledge learned here under the current topic is very useful. Now, I understand that some employees are resisting change because they fear that they may not learn the new way of doing one good deed or wok.  In addition, I have learned from this article that the managers must go that extra mile in order to convince the employees to embrace the new way of doing things because change is the only way to keep up with or overtake the competition. Also, i have learned that the employees who continue to resist the flow of work from the old ways to the new beginnings could choose between being fired or transferred to another department that needs their services (Trahant, 2007). I have also learned that one way of decreasing or permanently erasing the change resistance movement among the employees is to educate the workers on the advantages of using the new system of government. Lastly, i have learned that the employees’ role in the formulation of the new way of producing the goods in a manufacturing plant would receive lesser resistance if the affected employees are part of the brain storming or planning stages of the new process (Bivens & Weller, 2006).

Conclusion:

I have learned many things from this journal information in the realm of change management. Management is keen to doing its best to cater to the change resistance moods of its employees. I believe change resistance could border on the cognitive, emotional and behavioral arenas of organizational behavior stages.  I have also learned that people who resist change can still be convinced if the right word choices or actions will be used to entice them to join the change – loving employees so that the new way of producing the finished products could immediately be set into motion.

References

Bivens, L. J., & Weller, C. E. (2006). The “Job-Loss” Recovery: Not New, Just Worse. Journal of Economic Issues, 40(3), 603+.

Kotey, B., & Folker, C. (2007). Employee Training in SMEs: Effect of Size and Firm Type-Family and Nonfamily. Journal of Small Business Management, 45(2), 214+.

Lewis, L. K. (2006). Employee Perspectives on Implementation Communication as Predictors of Perceptions of Success and Resistance. Western Journal of Communication, 70(1), 23+.

Podlesnik, C. A., & Chase, P. N. (2006). Sensitivity and Strength: Effects of Instructions on Resistance to Change. The Psychological Record, 56(2), 303+. 06

Sherman, W. S., & Garland, G. E. (2007). Where to Bury the Survivors? Exploring Possible Ex Post Effects of Resistance to Change. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 72(1), 52+.

Trahant, B. (2007). Debunking Five Myths concerning Employee Engagement: A Recent Report Debunks the Myths and Reveals Practices for Enhancing Individual Employee Effectiveness to Improve Organizational Performance. The Public Manager, 36(1), 53+.

Wiley, J. W., & Legge, M. (2006). Disciplined Action Planning Drives Employee Engagement. Human Resource Planning, 29(4), 8+.