Mgt 426 Resistance To Change Paper

Resistance to Change
MGT/426
Resistance to Change
One of the many attributes that contribute to the lack of a successful implementation of a change within an organization is the “resistance to change”. As with any form of resistance, resistance to change is something that can bring about a strong response. Many experts refer to the resistance to change as a cancer within the organization, and the main killer of progress and good-intentions. While change and resistance to change will be analyzed in many different ways, simply put, the resistance to change will be the number problem when an organization attempts to change something, and some resistance can “poison” the whole process (Palmer, Dunford, & Akin, 2006, Pg. 145).
Positive Change
(Rock, 2008)
Managing Resistance and Change: Lewin’s Change Model Management So far, we have identified reasons and factors for resistance to change, and even positive factors of change. Change is a common in the new business world, whereas the world has slowly merged in to a competitive and cutthroat global economic environment. This leads to changes within every industry, because without change, the competition will leave you struggling to survive. The concept of change management is something in nearly every business today, but how businesses manage this change varies dependent upon the business, the change, and the people involved. One of the biggest factors in change and change management depends on how much people within the organization understand the change process (Mind Tools, 2012).
Lewin’s Model One of the cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was a development by a physicist and social scientist Kurt Lewin in the 1940’s. His change model is Unfreeze – Change – Refreeze, which describes the three phases of change. The Lewin model is best shown in an analogy of changing the shape of a block of
In order to make the changes needed to get the cone of ice, you have to make it amendable to change, or unfreeze it. Then, you must mold the water into the shape you want, or change. Finally, you must solidify the new change, or refreeze. By looking at change as a process with different stages, management can prepare for what is coming versus jumping in blindly, and manage the transition.
Unfreeze
The first stage (unfreezing) involves preparing the entire organization that change is a necessary, and breaking down the existing status quo so that you can begin to build a new way of operations. The main element of this of this stage is a compelling argument showing why the existing way of doing business is no longer feasible. This information can include evidence such as declining sales, poor financial results, or declining customer satisfaction. These figures can show elements that have to change in a way that everyone can understand. To do this successfully, you have to challenge the beliefs, attitudes, values, culture, and behaviors that define the organization. Consider this step an analogy of a building; you must be prepared to change the existing foundation that holds it up if you intend to add more stories. If you skip this step, the whole building will risk collapsing on itself. By making the organization re-examine its core structure, you essentially