Development and Change

This article discusses the challenges and obstacles faced in implementing change in organizations and provides strategies to overcome them. It also explores the difference between major and significant changes.

Running head: DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 1
Development and Change
Name
Institution

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 2
DEVEOPEMENT AND CHANGE
Introduction
People are always reluctant to implement changes in their lives since they are not certain
of the consequences. This is the same case with business organizations. They may want to
implement a change but this may be impeded by employees who may have different reasons to
impede the change. Major changes in an organization may be opposed by employees due to fear,
uncertainty, and lack of support. However, managers should devise appropriate ways to do away
with management change obstacles.
Question 1
Mandatory change refers to a change that is imposed in an organization and the
employees are supposed to adhere or incorporate it even though they are not happy and willing.
This types of implementing change are advantageous since the leaders are the ultimate planners
and their decisions are final. Therefore, there is no long meetings and dissuasions before making
a decision hence saving on time. Contrary, this type of change may be disadvantageous to an
organization because some of the employees may resist the change. This may lead to slow
organization activities which may lead to poor profits. Example, an organization might introduce
a change which requires all employees to put on uniforms. This may face resistance and lower
employees’ moral since some may feel uncomfortable wearing a uniform. Voluntary change
refers to a change which is optional. People are not forced to adopt but they can only do so if
they are willing. This type of change is important because it helps managers to implement
changes in a communal manner. However, this change may have negative implications for the

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 3
organization since not all employees will volunteer to effect a change even though it may be of
importance to the organization. Example, I may volunteer to assist wash clothes for my friend.
Question 2
A major change involves an important amount of work and preparation with complex
situations or major expenses. Major changes may include moving a computer room or upgrading
a corporate business application. ("What is the difference between a major and significant change?",
2019) Example, I was teaching in a school which did not have a group unit and the school wanted
to start a playgroup unit. However, because they were going to deal with young children between
the ages of 2-3years, it was not an easy task. The school had to plan and buy resources which the
kids will be using such as beds and also get government certification before they could
incorporate the change. In an organization or workplace setting, instilling a major change
sometimes becomes stressful and may need a lot of resources. Example, an organization may
want to adopt a technological change. Before this change is adopted in an organization, the
organization will have to train the employees and prepare them mentally for the change also be
aware of behaviors that may arise due to change resistance.
Question 3
There are several factors that enable people to adapt to change. The first factor is that
people should understand that change affects everyone in a different way (Bhasin, 2012. For a
change to be effective, the employees should be empowered, have open door communication,
and clear understanding. This will enhance job security. The second factor is to acknowledge the
past and people in the process. The management should acknowledge what is right and good
about the past and assist people to evolve from the past to fit in the current system. The third

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 4
factor is understanding that different groups will emerge (Rusly, Corner & Sun, 2012). When a
change is adopted or proposed in an organization, there are groups of people that form which
include strong resistors, eager embracers, and the middle majority. The leaders should be on the
forefront to get and direct the energy of the eager embracers so that they can get to the middle
majority. If this does not happen, the middle majority will be influenced by strong resisters. The
fourth factor is offering training and preparation to create confidence. A new in an organization
or in a person brings about uncertainty and also fear. In an organization, managers should give
the employees a chance to prepare for the change by developing more skills and understanding
and training them on how to cope with the change. The managers can give reasons on the
importance of adapting the change both at personal and organization. The fifth factor is for the
change imposers to be relentless. The managers should not manager rather lead people through
each and every transition an organization to minimize fears and remind them to stay steady,
graciously relentless, and positive (Briscoe & Aboud, 2012). According to my personal view,
change is something that is not easy to adapt because of being used to past behaviors. Therefore
organizations should help employees to adopt and accept the changes in a positive way. This is
among the best factors that can be used effectively to achieve positive results.
PART B
Question 1
In my opinion, internal response to change involves reacting to factors that personally
affects you. In a business setting, this refers to reacting to changes in factors such as mission,
leadership, communication, organization structures, and learning. Example, an internal reaction
to bad leadership may be boycotted by the employees (Walker, 2014). This may happen when a

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 5
new person is brought in an organization or an employee is promoted some employees have fear
of change in management. This will hinder the new ideas that the new leader was to instill in the
organization. On the other hand, external response to change involves reacting to a situation that
does not affect a person directly. On the side of a workplace, it involves employees reacting to
changes that affect the organization such as economic, technological, and political that also
affects other people apart from the organization (Stubbs & Higgins, 2014). Example, the
introduction of new technology may lead may employees react by airing their views about the
new technology and refusing to attend training. This may hinder the movement through the
change since the new technology may not function without proper training.
Question 2
Resistance refers to opposing a change that is viewed to bring negative effects to an
organization or a person. The first way that employees respond to change includes fear. Fear is
perceived to be a common human response to any type of change (Cullen, et al., 2014).
However, in an organization, employees fear the change in an organization because of job
security and satisfaction, pay cut, and demotions. In cases where the fear is severe, some of the
employees may resent believing that they have the ability to make a change or develop health
concerns. Another way is anger. Changes such as the status quo may lead to hostility among
employees (Hill, et al., 2012). Anger may be visible and it may be seen by quitting and
emotional outburst. Employees may be frustrated and question the leadership of the organization
in public. Moreover, employees respond to change by showing ambivalence. Not all employees
respond to changes in a negative way. Some may remain positive or neutral about the change.
The employees may take the change positively if they observe commitment from the
management, get regular communications from their leaders (Fugate, Prussia & Kinicki, 2012).

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 6
This will make them feel they as part of the organization hence taking the change positively.
Employees may also react through enthusiasm. Some workers may warmly embrace the leader’s
call for change as they may see this as a chance to them and the company in general. Others may
understand that the change is significant for the well-being of the company (Bidwell, et l., 2014).
Example, I worked as a clerk at a certain education institution, the principal of the school was
changed and almost all the other staffs were resisting the leadership change. The principal was
encouraging laxity among teachers since most of the time he was aware. The residence had the
fear of the strict rules that may be implemented by the new principal.
Question 3
The first obstacle to change is employee apprehension. Most employees fear that
technical and procedural changes will result in unexpected changes in the social environment of
the business. This hinders effective administration of change because the employees would be
ready to venture into something that may lead to new behaviors (Lähteenmäki & Nätti, 2013).
Force of habit is another obstacle. Employees may be used to the old way of handling
organization activities hence making them resist change because of lack of readiness to leave
behind the old ways. Another obstacle is confusion and anxiety. This may be brought about by a
lack of communication during the change periods. The team members may not be certain of the
proper ways to complete task leading to change resistance. Moreover, failed change efforts may
be another obstacle (Grant, 2014). Employees may lack trust in any form of change after several
failures. Additionally, the lack of top management support is another obstacle to change.
Employees may need emotional and physical support to handle the change. If the employee’s
lack such support, they may not willing to cooperate in implementing the change. This obstacle
induces great challenges to a manager who is implementing the change in several ways.

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 7
Example, the manager may lack moral support and the best way to convince strong beliefs. On
the other, removing fear from an individual may something hard for a manager.
Conclusion
The organization must adopt several changes which they believe will be helpful. The
changes may be internal or external. However, these changes may not be welcomed positively.
They face resistance which hinders effective adoption of the change. Employees face several
obstacles that hinder them in complying with the change such as employee apprehension, the
force of habit, lack of support from the management, confusion, and anxiety, and failed change
efforts. These obstacles may hinder change implementation.

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 8
References
Bhasin, S. (2012). An appropriate change strategy for lean success. Management
Decision, 50(3), 439-458.
Bidwell, M., Briscoe, F., Fernandez-Mateo, I., & Sterling, A. (2013). The employment
relationship and inequality: How and why changes in employment practices are reshaping
rewards in organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), 61-121.
Briscoe, C., & Aboud, F. (2012). Behaviour change communication targeting four health
behaviours in developing countries: a review of change techniques. Social science &
medicine, 75(4), 612-621.
Cullen, K. L., Edwards, B. D., Casper, W. C., & Gue, K. R. (2014). Employees’ adaptability and
perceptions of change-related uncertainty: Implications for perceived organizational
support, job satisfaction, and performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29(2),
269-280.
Fugate, M., Prussia, G. E., & Kinicki, A. J. (2012). Managing employee withdrawal during
organizational change: The role of threat appraisal. Journal of Management, 38(3), 890-
914.
Grant, A. M. (2014). The efficacy of executive coaching in times of organisational
change. Journal of Change Management, 14(2), 258-280.

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE 9
Hill, N. S., Seo, M. G., Kang, J. H., & Taylor, M. S. (2012). Building employee commitment to
change across organizational levels: The influence of hierarchical distance and direct
managers' transformational leadership. Organization Science, 23(3), 758-777.
Lähteenmäki, I., & Nätti, S. (2013). Obstacles to upgrading customer value-in-use in retail
banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 31(5), 334-347.
Rusly, F. H., Corner, J. L., & Sun, P. (2012). Positioning change readiness in knowledge
management research. Journal of Knowledge Management, 16(2), 329-355.
Stubbs, W., & Higgins, C. (2014). Integrated reporting and internal mechanisms of
change. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 27(7), 1068-1089.
Walker, R. M. (2014). Internal and external antecedents of process innovation: A review and
extension. Public Management Review, 16(1), 21-44.
What is the difference between a major and significant change?. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.cmcrossroads.com/question/what-difference-between-major-and-significant-
change