Based on the forces for change, what is a primary reason for problems that organizations face?

• Managers need to know why people resist change and what can be done about their resistance
• Resistance is common for a variety of reasons

o Uncertainty
• Biggest cause of employee resistance to change is uncertainty
• Employees may become anxious and nervous
• May worry about their ability to meet new job demands, may think their job security is threatened or may simply dislike ambiguity
• Nabisco was once the target of an extended and confusing takeover battle, and during the entre time, employees were nervous about the impending change
• HEadquaters staffers in Atlanta know so little about whats happenng in NY that some call their office 'the mushroom complex' where they are kept in the dark
• 12,500 British Airways cabin crew members voted to participate in a strike over the heavily traveled holiday season
• Action against airlines was spurred by high levels of uncertainty as British airways planned to merge with Iberia Airlines and proposed cutting 1,700 jobs and freezing employee wages in the process

o Threatened Sel-interests
• A change might dimish their power or influence within the company, so they fight it
• Managers at sears once developed a plan calling for a new type of store
• New stores would be somewhat smaller than a typical sears would and wouldn't be located in large shopping malls
• Carry clothes and other "soft goods" but not hardware, appliances, furniture, or automobile products
• When execs of excluded lines heard about plan, they raised such strong objections that it was cancelled

o Different Perceptions
• 3rd reason people resist change
• Manager may make a decision and recommend a plan for change on the basis of her own assessment of a situation
• Others may resist change because don't agree with the managers assessment or perceive the situation differently
• EXAMPLE: Execs at 7-11 battled this problem as they tried to enact a major organizational change
• Corp wanted to take its convenience store a bit "upscale" and begin selling fancy fresh foods to go, newest hardcover novels, some gourmet products and higher quality coffee
• But many balked because saw it move as taking the firm away from its core blue-collar customers

o Feeling of Loss
• Because social relationships are important, most people resist any change that might adversely affect those relationships
• Other intangibles threatened by change include power, status, security, familiarity with existing procedures and self confidence

What are the forces for change in an organization?

What are the major challenges for organizational change?

What are the major causes of change in an organization?

What are the most significant issues facing an organization in the change process and why?