Page 220 - DCOM102_DMGT101_PRINCIPLES_AND_PRACTICES_OF_MANAGEMENT

Principles and Practices of Management

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position they felt they were most qualified to fill. Imagine having to apply for whatever
position they felt they were qualified to fill. Imagine having to apply to a company you’d
been with for fifteen years! The restructuring also meant a rethinking of corporate culture.
An examination of culture revealed that making decisions at the hospital become bogged
down by management and dictated by policy.
Eliminating old policies allowed the team to look at things as possibilities rather than
restrictions. Two task forces were formed to look at service lines and functional realignment.
A consulting firm was called in to help the hospital make the transition. The consulting
firm helped strategize and create a time line for the changes.

At the reorganisation meeting, each employee was given an 80-page bound booklet
complete with vision statement, the organisational chart, timetable, reorganisation fact
sheet, copies of all position descriptions, and a question and answer section. The result
was terror, confusion, upheaval, and little by little, understanding cooperation and success.
Instead of approaching the reorganisation as a shameful secret, the task forces highlighted
the changes in the new culture and tied the internal changes to the changes in the health
care industry. Each week “The Grapevine: Reorganisation Update” was distributed. In the
first official day of the new organisation, employees were given flowers and a message
stating “Today starts a new beginning focused on you”.
The new corporate culture involves management by contract. The new VPs walk the
hallways and touch base constantly with what’s going on. The result of the reorganisation
is decision making at lower levels, which results in faster actions. No more ideas die
because of red tape. The reorganisation is fluid and ongoing with employees and managers
still incorporating the new management philosophy and corporate culture into their
daily work lives.
Questions
1. Had you been a part of such a situation, how had your initial reaction been and why?
2. After analysing the case, do you think that such massive change was indeed required
for St Francis Regional Medical Center or was there a mid way out?

Source: M.S. Egan, “Reorganisation as Rebirth,” HR Magazine (January 1995) Page 84-88.
12.3 Resistance to Change

As the manager contemplates and initiates change in the organisation, one phenomenon that is
quite likely to emerge anytime in the change process is the resistance to change. People often
resist change in a rational response based on self-interest. Resistance to change doesn't necessarily
surface in standardized ways. Resistance can be overt, implicit, immediate, or deferred. It is
easiest for management to deal with resistance when it is overt and immediate. The greater
challenge is managing resistance that is implicit or deferred.

12.3.1 Sources of Resistance

The sources of resistance to change can be categorized into two sources: individual and
organisational.
1. Individual Resistance: One aspect of mankind that has remained more or less constant is
his innate resistance to change. Individuals resist change because they attach great preference
to maintaining the status quo. Individual sources of resistance to change reside in basic

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