Effective Change Management: Preventing Resistance in Organizations

This essay explores the critical need for organizations to adapt to change in today's dynamic business environment and addresses the common challenge of employee resistance. It identifies that resistance often stems from perceived threats to personal freedom and highlights the importance of transparent communication, trust-building, and employee involvement in change processes. The essay emphasizes the role of effective leadership in motivating employees and leveraging models like Kurt Lewin's three-stage model (Unfreezing, Changing, Refreezing) to successfully implement organizational changes. By understanding and addressing the underlying fears and concerns of employees, organizations can proactively manage and prevent resistance, fostering a more adaptable and successful workforce.

Running Head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT 1
Organizational Behavior and
Management

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT 2
“Organizational Prevention of Resistance to Change”
In today’s fast changing business world, being able to adapt to changes is the foremost quality
that each and every successful organization needs. It is very important for the companies to
implement changes so that they can survive in today’s technological world for long term. One of
the biggest problems that business executives confront is the employee resistance to change
(Cameron and Green, 2015). This change resistance may take place in different forms like
hostility, chronic quarrels, reduction in productivity, employee strikes etc. The major reason
behind resistance to change is that employees think that these changes will threaten their
personal freedom.
There are various ways which can be used to overcome the employee resistance to change in
organizations. In the workplaces, companies can manage this resistance to by understanding and
assisting the people who fear and resist the change. In order to manage change resistance, the
managers should develop an organizational culture of transparent and shared communication,
culture of trust, positive interpersonal relationships and engaged employees. It is significant for
the organizations to involve the employees in implementing change process so that they can
accept them (Georgalis, Samaratunge, Kimberley, and Lu, 2015). This process will not only
assist the top management to overcome change resistance but it will encourage them to perform
in change situations.
For effective implementation of changes in workplace, there is need of an effective leader who is
ready to take risks and can motivate his followers in change process (Luthans, Luthans, and
Luthans, 2015). In order to prevent resistance and implement changes successfully, organizations
can use 3 stages model of Kurt Lewin i.e.
 Unfreezing: This first stage includes preparing the organization and its people to adapt
the changes are necessary.
 Changing: After unfreezing the environment, the company will be able to make changes
and individuals will look for new ways to perform new things.
 Refreezing: When the changes are shaping and employees are engaged in new ways,
workplace is ready to refreeze (Cummings, Bridgman and Brown, 2016).

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT 3
In this way, the organizations can use different ways and models and they can prevent the
employee resistance to change.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT 4
References
Cameron, Esther, and Mike Green. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers, 2015.
Cummings, Stephen, Todd Bridgman, and Kenneth G. Brown. "Unfreezing change as three
steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management." human relations 69, no. 1
(2016): 33-60.
Georgalis, Joanna, Ramanie Samaratunge, Nell Kimberley, and Ying Lu. "Change process
characteristics and resistance to organisational change: The role of employee perceptions of
justice." Australian Journal of Management 40, no. 1 (2015): 89-113.
Luthans, Fred, Brett C. Luthans, and Kyle W. Luthans. Organizational Behavior: An
EvidenceBased Approach. Information Age Publishing, 2015.