Balancing Change and Employee Involvement: A Case Study

1396 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Why do organizations experience resistance to change? What techniques can managers use to overcome resistance

After reading this case study the two concerns that Mr. Sparks is encountering can be balanced by involving the employees in the detailed change. As stated in the case study “the best way to get people to change is to lay out the objective in basic terms and then ask them how they would go about getting there” (O’Brien, Marakus, 2011, p.33). By involving your employees in the development of a new application system can reduce the risk of end-user resistance. Employees that are encouraged to participate in the development of this technology can help change the attitude towards the new system from resistance to acceptance. Any new way of doing things in an organization can be met with resistance by the employees because instinctively …show more content…

Whether he had to bring in other managers to help with explaining the benefits to the change, or an outside consultant. By doing this he would have been prepared to deliver his case to his employees with all the facts and details about the new system instead of going in there blind. Even though you know all the details and benefits that are associated with a new system, it still doesn’t mean that everybody is going to accept the new system without resistance. In an article it states that “resistance to change can have a significant impact and influence upon the success of an organizational change project” (Van Dijk, & Van Dick, 2009, p.2). Employees instinctively anticipate change as the possible loss of status, pay, or simply loss of comfort in their current work environment. They may not resist the actual change itself, but they do however, resist the possible consequences that is associated with the change. That is why it very important to be open to the possibility of being met with resistance, instead of going in to the situation with the mindset of “this is how we are going to do it, and that is just how it is going to

Show More
Related

  • Intentional Change Case Study Examples

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    For this case study, I met with my prior subordinate, Kristy. Kristy was hired to be my assistant and did so for three years prior to me leaving the company. She was and continues to be a superior performer and invaluable asset to the company. Her hard work, organization, and attention to detail make her an excellent project manager. She is able to manage multiple projects at once with minimal errors. She maintains excellent relationship with both vendors and clients and is professional yet personable.

    Read More

  • The Winning Way: Case Analysis: Winning Ways

    3328 Words  | 7 Pages

    Change had always been a value at Winning Ways, but how change is managed is as important as the substance of the ideas. The implementation of new ideas as well as the mobility of the employees within the company became areas of concern. There was a great deal of confusion regarding company decisions and the purpose of certain initiatives. Although there was a commitment to seeking new management approaches, employees felt as though many ideas were pushed off to the side without ever being considered. Others were implemented, such as teams, but the actual structures were not sustained, creating confusion and tension as employees tried to work within a framework that did not always make sense. Although constant change was once embraced as a vehicle for innovation and increased success, it became increasingly difficult for the employees to follow large shifts. While change can create progress, it can also reflect a lack of focus and/or signify a lack of clear interest in a strategy or approach. In order for changes to be effective, they have to be clear and be implemented in a way that allows for their evaluation. Furthermore, as the company continued to hire from the outside, current employees found themselves isolated with no opportunity for upward mobility. New hires often had higher levels of education as compared to older workers who provided experience, were committed to the company, and had a strong interest in learning. Because people often feel out of the loop, it would be wise for Winning Ways to introduce employee involvement programs. For example, participative management allows for joint decision making in which subordinates share decision-making power with their supervisors (Robbins & Judge, 2012). As a result, employees would feel as though their voice can be heard and have a better

    Read More

  • The Heart Of Change Case Analysis

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Heart of Change,” by John Kotter and Dan S. Cohen can act as a diagram for any organization facing challenges that come with implementing change. In the 21st Century in order to stay competitive with your competitors you have to implement changes, new systems and approaches to keep the organization relevant. With changes there comes errors that a company may encounter, sometimes these errors if not fixed can make the change within the organization impossible. Employees are reluctant and can’t see the views or their leader, and this makes change unsuccessful. That’s where Kotter’s eight step change model can give an organization a guideline and understanding of some of the challenges that they may encounter with change. Comparing Kotter’s

    Read More

  • The Resistance to Change

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a person one might find that we follow a specific routine on the day to day basis. Sudden changes to these routines feels weird and out of place. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily” based in a fictional town called Jefferson taking place during the twentieth century. The time period is indeed an important factor because southern tradition was above all of the highest importance. This short story gives the audience details of life during that time in which they followed the values of southern tradition and the importance to never stray away from those traditions. The context of the story is laced with subliminal messages of humanities resistance to change.

    Read More

  • Change and Conformity

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." This quote rings true to the 1920s in the fact that Americans were changing their lifestyles while simultaneously being forced into conformity. The post World War One America was changing in ways that it never had before. An economic upturn and new technologies of the day made life easier than ever before. Better pay and an eight hour workday left time and money to be spent, and Americans took the opportunity to be social. New ideas and trends spread like wildfire, and post war Americans, who had seen what it was like abroad, were not so ready to accept the traditions and ideals of the past. The Roaring Twenties created several positive changes towards the movement of women's rights and the improvements of African American acceptance in the US, while at the same time Americans were forced into conformity through laws like the 18th amendment.

    Read More

  • Elite Engineering Unable To Change Essay

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elite Engineering has been unable to successfully implement change because they haven’t been able to get the employees to see the need for the change and to believe in the change. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.” (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) Change is often met with resistance. When it comes down to it many people fear change. At Elite Engineering, the engineers were happy with the way things were being run. They enjoyed the billable work they were doing and did not want to take the time to collaborate with others, as it would take away time from their billable work. The engineers saw the billable work they were doing as a way to ensure they received their bonus at the end of the year. However, they were failing to see that the litigation business was going to begin to shrink and in order for them to remain competitive, changes needed to be made. Kotter and Schlesinger state that there are for common reasons that people resist change. The four reasons are the desire not to lose something of value, a misunderstanding of the change and its implications, a belief that the change does not make sense for the organization, and a low tolerance for change. (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) At Elite Engineering, I think upper management was unsuccessful at implementing change because the employees didn’t want to lose their bonuses (something of value to them), they misunderstood the change, and they didn’t feel that the change made sense for the organization.

    Read More

  • Immunity To Change: Chapter Analysis

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    Part two of the book “Immunity to Change” encompasses four chapters. The first chapter in part two is, “Overcoming The Groupwide Immunity To change” which says once a group envisions the value in unearthing the core contradiction and constraining mindset that lives in members of the group, they must then begin to identify the core contradiction and constraining mindset that exists in their group as a whole. In other words, the authors are saying that in dealing with immunity to change the first order of business is to identify individual immunities to change and the second is to identify group immunities to change. This chapter cites three examples of three different groups to assist in the explanation of how group exploration works. The first group, a humanities

    Read More

  • Coping with Change; Change Management Models and Philosophies

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Change is the only constant in life. And therefore it should be understood as part of a continuing work in progress that calls for a much broader canvas that seeks out competing voices, and works with the resulting ambiguities, contradictions and tensions of messy reality (Graetz, F. & Smith, A., 2010). In this submission I try to show that organizational change is majorly based on the environment surrounding it much more than the desire of the members or change agents working in that organization. This view diverts from that of Lippitt, (1958) who suggests that implementing planned organizational changes successfully depends on premeditated interventions intended to modify the functioning of an organization. It also diverts from the traditional approaches to organizational change that generally follow a linear, rational model in which the focus is on controllability under the stewardship of a strong leader or ‘guiding coalition (Collis, 1998). In this discussion therefore, comparison made between the different philosophies of change and I try to show that successful change implantation largely depends on an organizations appreciation of what goes on around it rather than what they have planned as a strategic direction.

    Read More

  • Organizational Change Within The Police Department

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper will be broken down into six sections profiling each critical part of implementing and managing change in an organization. The sections included are; outline for plan creating urgency, the approach to attracting a guiding team, a critique of the organizational profile, the components of change, and how to empower the organization.

    Read More

  • “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail”

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Changing situations throughout the world affect all organizations in business today. Therefore, most organizations acknowledge the need to experience change and transformation in order to survive. The key challenges companies face are due to the advancements in technology, the social environment caused by globalization, the pace of competition, and the demands regarding customer expectations. It is difficult to overcome the obstacles involved with change despite all the articles, books, and publications devoted to the topic. People are naturally resistant to fundamental changes and often intimidated by the process; the old traditional patterns and methods are no longer effective.

    Read More

  • Hospital Case Study

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...y understand of why the change is needed. For example he can provide the employees with the pros and cons of the current process and how the new implemented changes will improve the organization.

    Read More

  • Response to Change

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    Change should be seen as a challenge and embraced with enthusiasm (Marquis & Huston, 2012). In my professional and personal life, I view and respond to change as a way to make improvements to existing regulations and circumstances. I embark upon the quest with determination to succeed at whatever task is presented to me. Life without change can become unchallenging and stagnant (Marquis & Huston, 2012). As society and technology advance, you must incorporate the necessary transformations that arise with it.

    Read More

  • Implementing Change Within The Workplace

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prevention of resistance is most effective when implementing change. Preventing the weight of inertia in a workplace allows the change to happen in a timely manner with minimal problems. As Lee (2004) emphasizes, leaders have the ability to effect change and performance. If someone is accountable for outcomes and poor habits, outcomes will improve. The manager must show a caring attitude over the process of change and welcome any positive innovation. This caring attitude will become contagious to the employees working under him and become a priority to them as well. Approaching the change in an accepting, open-minded manner can decrease the vulnerability and frustration associated with change. How the change is presented can make the biggest difference in the outcome of the change. The manager must show that blaming will be avoided at all costs. One will only ask why, not who, to avoid the feeling of belittlement. This can allow employees to become comfortable with voicing their opinions and mistakes, which can allow an even greater range of improvement. The manager must also encourage...

    Read More

  • Change Management Case Study

    1745 Words  | 4 Pages

    The change process within any organization can prove to be difficult and very stressful, not only for the employees but also for the management team. Hayes (2014), highlights seven core activities that must take place in order for change to be effective: recognizing the need for change, diagnosing the change and formulating a future state, planning the desired change, implementing the strategies, sustaining the implemented change, managing all those involved and learning from the change. Individually, these steps are comprised of key actions and decisions that must be properly addressed in order to move on to the next step. This paper is going to examine how change managers manage the implementation of change and strategies used

    Read More

  • The Impact of Change in an Organization

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    Robbins et al. (2011, p. 186), states ‘Change is an organizational reality and affects every part of a manager’s job’. Today’s wave of change primarily created by economic condition so change is now such a constant feature of organization life (Goodman, E. 2011, p.243). Organizations need to be changed at one point or another in structure, technology or people. These changes are defined as organizational change (Robbins et al. 2011, p.18). Organizational change is important because changes can increase effectiveness and efficiency, the innovation of products, services as well as dealing with changes in external and internal forces (Goodman, E. 2011, p.243). However, ‘the bottom line is that organizational change is difficult because management systems are design and people are rewarded for stability’ (Lawler, E.E. & Worley, C.G. 2006, p.11).

    Read More

More about Balancing Change and Employee Involvement: A Case Study

Open Document