Mod 4 - resist change 10 reasons

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10 reasons people resist change Rosabeth Moss Kanter identified 10 reasons why people would resist change. These are documented in the Service Transition book.(5.2.10.4). They can be summarized as: -

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Loss of control – If you move people from a process or function with which they are familiar to one they know little about, they will experience a feeling of losing control. Excessive personal uncertainty – the first question most people will ask is “What is this going to mean for me? and for my job?” Avoid surprises – people like to be given the opportunity and the time to think through the implications of change for them. Springing new ideas on people may create resistance. The difference effect – people build identities around many aspects of their work – their role, the job, the office environment, the company name or logo – it gives them a sense of tradition. (This is what people often call the ‘Culture’ of the organization). Loss of face – people dislike moving from a position in which they are skilled and competent to one in which they are novice and must learn. This can often happen when processes and ways of working are introduced. Fear around competence – some people will believe that they cannot adopt the new ways of working or the new responsibilities - “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!”, or “promoting somebody above their competence and comfort” Ripples – the unexpected effect of an action taken in one area upon another. Managers would be naïve to think that a planned change is trouble free; sometimes it is impossible to predict accurately the effect one change will have on another part of the organization. Increase in workload – change frequently results in more work. Past resentments – if the proposed change is associated with an individual, team or organization about which the person has a history of grievance they may resist the change, even if they find it a good idea. Real threats – there are times when change is going to have a negative impact on the individual, and they are justified in resisting. Pretending it is going to be all right does not help.

©ABC@WORK

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