Lecture 9 - Resistance to Change PDF

Resistance to Change Dr Petya Koleva ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Objectives Defensive Routines Defining Resistance Explaining Resistance...

Resistance to Change Dr Petya Koleva ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Objectives Defensive Routines Defining Resistance Explaining Resistance Dealing with Resistance ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Pre-Work Discussion Do you recognise any of the behaviours discussed in the video in yourself? Should resistance to change by individuals be considered dysfunctional behaviour? Is resistance to change in organisations inevitable and is it a bad thing? ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, 2007 “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” Darryl Zanuck, executive at 20th Century Fox, 1946 “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.” President of the Michigan Savings Bank advising Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham, not to invest in the Ford Motor Company, 1903 “The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.” — Sir William Preece, Chief Engineer, British Post Office, 1876 ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Resistance is… “The impeding or stopping effect exerted by one material thing on another” (Google, 2020) ‘A dysfunctional response by subordinates to obstruct the efforts of managers to renew an organisation’ (Dent & Goldberg, 1999) Managers often perceive resistance as “a broad spectrum of behaviours they don’t like – from an innocent question to a roll of the eyes to overt sabotage and view employees who ‘resist’ as disobedient” (Ford & Ford, 2009) ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Resistance is… Driving Restraining Forces Forces Wea Generally portrayed as k irrational & unreasonable Wea k behaviour Moderat e The outcome of a win-lose Stron g situation: change agents vs change recipients The outcome of a complex No Chan combination of Change ge Attitude Context Equilibri s um Process es ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Why Resistance? Low Trust/Misunderstanding When employees do not trust change managers, they are likely to resist Low Tolerance for Change Reluctance to let go, a fear of not being able to develop new required skills Different Assessments Differing views on cost vs. benefits Parochial Self-interest The fear of losing something of value to self personally (Hayes, 2018, Oreg, 2011 ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Stages of Psychological Reaction Moo d Internalisation, reflection and Deni learning al Consolidat Depress ion ion Sho Testi ck ng Letting Go Acceptance of Reality Tim e (Hayes, ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 2018)  Impact of Change (Individual) Phase Experience Perception Emotion Rational View Shock Threat to existing Overwhelmed Panic and Confusion structures helplessness Resistance Attempt to maintain old Wishful Indifference, anger, Defensive structures euphoria Exploration Giving up old structures Facing reality Depression, From dis-organisation to bitterness re-organisation Commitment Accepting new Testing the new Gradually increased Rebuilding structures satisfaction ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Reasons for Resisting Change There isn’t any real need for the change The change is going to make it harder for them to meet their needs The risks seem to outweigh the benefits They don’t think they have the ability to make the change They believe the change will fail Change process is being handled improperly by management The change is inconsistent with their values They believe those responsible for the change can’t be trusted They are not aware of the journey They are not told about change ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 They do not find it relevant or beneficiary for them  Forms of Resistance Behavioural Endless questioning of the rationale, non-compliance or disruption Affective Staying silent & complying without belief in it – ‘resigned behavioural compliance’ Cognitive Tacitly defending the status-quo & working to preserve routines ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Theories of Resistance Resistance comes from psychological propensities of individuals combined with the nature of the organisation itself Four broad theories - see Burnes (2015) for detailed discussion of each Theory 1: Dispositional Resistance Theory 2: The Depth of Intervention Theory 3: Cognitive Dissonance Theory 4: The Psychological Contract ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Theory 1 Dispositional Resistance Individuals are the main source of resistance; ignores organisational factors Individuals vary in the degree to which they are psychologically disposed to accept or resist change Individuals who are dispositionally resistant to change are less likely to voluntarily initiate changes and more likely to form negative attitudes toward changes they encounter (Oreg et al., 2008) ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 Theory 2 Depth of Intervention Schmuck and Miles (1971) looked at the way change agents managed change in schools and focused on employee involvement The deeper the intervention, the greater the impact on psychological make-up of the individual - results in a higher need for involvement of individuals if they are to accept change “As a rule, change recipients who experienced high levels of participation tended to report higher readiness and acceptance of change, ©copyright, appraised Heriot-Watt University, 2024 change as less stressful and exhibited  Theory 3 Cognitive Dissonance Individuals automatically seek consistency in their attitudes and behaviours When they subconsciously sense inconsistency either between two attitudes or between attitudes and behaviours, people experience dissonance They feel frustrated and uncomfortable with the situation, and seek out stable states with minimum dissonance ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 (Burnes and James, 1995)  Theory 4 The Psychological Contract An unwritten set of expectations operating between organisational members and management – employees have expectations about rates of pay, working hours, benefits, privileges etc. Includes implicit aspects and involves individuals’ sense of dignity and worth Perceived violations of these aspects can result in strong negative feelings, leading to labour unrest, strikes, and employee turnover (Aygyris, 1960; Arnold, 1996; ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 Guest, 1998)  Four Theories: Implications Resistance to change not uniform among individuals, depends on individual level of dispositional resistance But an individual’s level of dispositional resistance alone does not necessarily predict their actual level of resistance to any particular change initiative Organisational factors such as culture, history, relations between groups are important, as is scale of change Therefore individual resistance is moderated by context, ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Dealing With Resistance Resistance can provide valuable feedback that can enhance the change initiative (Ford & Ford, 2009) Dealing with resistance requires Leadership Communication Support Also see Kotter & Schlesinger (2008) More of this in the workshop…. ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Kotter’s 8 Step Model ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Kotter’s Accelerators Many people to drive change, from different places – Kotter says 'You need more eyes to see, more brains to think, and more legs to act in order to accelerate' A ‘get-to’ not a ‘have-to’ mindset. It is more powerful to have volunteers involved in making the change, people who are passionate and bring energy to the process. Action needs to be driven by the head and the heart, not just the head. This emphasises the importance of emotional, not just the logical, aspects of change. To capitalise on unpredictable opportunities needs leadership, the ability to recognise and to create passion and enthusiasm for the change. Then effective management is required to embed the changes into ongoing processes. An inseparable partnership between the hierarchy and the network. There must be a constant flow of information between the two. This succeeds in part because people in the network also hold positions in the hierarchy. Education, role modelling, ©copyright, support Heriot-Watt from the top, and celebrating successes as essential to embed University, 2024  Burke ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 & Litwin  Change through Dialogue Many change failures can be traced back to insufficient or ineffective communication: Formal communications e.g. strategy documents, presentations etc. Informal and cascaded conversations and interaction Individual and collective sensemaking People often report that They did not know what they were meant to do They felt excluded from the process ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Role of Communication in Change Convey a compelling vision of a better future Inspire and motivate others to implement change Align individual efforts by communicating a shared understanding of what needs to be done Provide the feedback to sustain change (Hayes, 2018) ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Individual Information Needs Moo d Internalisation, reflection Deni and learning al Consolida Depress tion ion Sho Testi ck ng Letting Go Acceptance of Reality Informat Supp Directi Encourage ion ort on ment Tim e (Hayes, ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 2018)  Communication Networks Directionality Change management as ‘top-down’ process? Effective change communication requires upward and side-to-side communication Role Isolates, boundary-spanners, gatekeepers, ‘playmakers’ Inter-role relationships important (formal and informal) Content Strategic versus operational issues – audience important Ensure fairness and justice (what to communicate, to whom and when) Channel Information and meaning can be communicated in many ways, need to choose one that’s fit for ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Communication Channels Many ways to communicate written communication via hard copy electronic communication via email, texts, tweets and blogs videoconferencing, Skype, Facetime phone face-to-face communication on a one-to- one, one-to-group or group-to-group basis. (Robinson and Simmons, ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 2018)  Organisational Silence Org Structures and Leaders’ fear of policies Centralisation of negative decision-making Lack of feedback formal upward feedback mechanisms Organisati onal Implicit beliefs Silence Employees are self- interested Leadership behaviours Management knows Tendency to reject or best Unity is good and respond negatively to dissent bad dissent or negative feedback Lack of informal (Morrison solicitation of negative & Milliken, feedback ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024 2000)  Org Silence – HBOS Example Long before HBOS failed, the bank had an ‘us and them’ culture and a dysfunctional reporting structure that made it almost impossible for risk managers to share and discuss serious risk- related issues with top managers. Paul Moore, the former head of group regulatory risk, describes how the bank’s culture was threatening for members of his team. Senior executives were resistant to challenge, didn't turn up for meetings, were rude and swore at risk managers, and Moore himself was fired after he warned that the bank was taking excessive risks. The reporting structures made matters worse because the staff in the operational divisions who were responsible for risk reported to line managers ©copyright, in 2024 Heriot-Watt University, the business side of the bank rather than to the  Communication Strategies Spray and Pray Showering information leads to confusion Tell and Sell Stating problem and proposing solutions Underscore and Explore Underlining problems and asking for solutions Identify and Reply Listening and identifying problems Withhold and Uphold (Clampitt, 2000) Holding information until appropriate ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Comms Strategy Audit Questions Who is communicating with whom? What issues are they talking about? Which issues receive the most attention and arouse most anxiety? Do people receive all the information they require? Do people understand and use the information they receive? From what sources do people prefer to get their information? Which channels are most effective? (Hargie, Tourish and Wilson 2002) ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Successful Communication Trust and leadership important Material support Face to face interaction (enhanced by IT systems) Traditional forms (notice boards, flip charts) Listening and involving and engaging employees and other stakeholders Sensitivity to diverse interpretations (Burnes, 2017) ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  Summary Leadership can be looked at and practiced in many different ways, with more or less emphasis on task/relationship, power/assets, feelings/engagement, tactics/vision, stakeholders/partnerships, compassion/awareness. The word leadership embraces a wide range of skills and qualities, and each context requires a particular ‘recipe’. It’s important to note that leadership can come from one person, a leadership team or a network of different types of leader – or all of these! The different phases and stages of change also require different types of leadership. It’s usually helpful to be explicit about these phases/stages as they are happening, so that everyone can play their part in the unfolding ‘story’ of the organization. It’s very helpful to find ways of sustaining and resourcing oneself as a leader, and to take this seriously. This will support your own health and sanity as well as other peoples’. ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024  References Chapter 8 in Burnes, 2018 ARNOLD, J. 1996. The psychological contract: a concept in need of closer scrutiny? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5, 511- 520. BURNES, B. 2015. Understanding resistance to change–building on Coch and French. Journal of change management, 15, 92-116. BURNES, B. & JAMES, H. 1995. Culture, cognitive dissonance and the management of change. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. DENT, E. B. & GOLDBERG, S. G. 1999. Challenging “resistance to change”. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35, 25-41. ©copyright, Heriot-Watt University, 2024