Managing Resistance to Change
Most people do not like change however there are approaches that can be taken to help lessen and in some respects alleviate the concerns that come from change. The three approaches that I believe will assist in managing the resistance to change in the hospital nursing scenario would be education and communication; participation; and negotiation. Since the proposed change seems to be based on a new concept or idea there appears to be a lack of information and knowledge that would be aided by the first two approaches, and since there are two teams led by two strong individuals the third approach of negotiation would serve well to meet the desired outcome Each team deemed their work the most important and neither had a clear understanding of what the other team did or their importance to the organization. Letting the team leaders and other employees see the logic of the change and getting them to see how the other side works would be a key to success. The nurses see their jobs as important and valuable. They also see their time as limited. Using education and community to manage the change would be aided by both Kotter’s Eight-Step Plan. Kotter’s approach is important to establish the answer to “Why?” Change for the sake of change isn’t good and just because you read an article in a magazine doesn’t really justify the change. Explaining why the sense of urgency, what the benefits will be, getting others involved will be important. It would educate the group on the bigger picture and the overall importance of the change. It will also help to get them involved and to buy into the concept. The second approach, organizational development values what these two groups already know, collaboration and participation. The teams individually already work well and value their effectiveness and the services they provide. This approach places emphasis on collaboration, something they already know. The values of respect, trust, equal power and participation are
Cited: Robbins, S.P. (2005). Organizational behavior (11th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson Education