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Unit 12: Organisational Change

human characteristics such as perceptions, personalities and needs. The following are the Notes
reasons:
(a) Economic Reasons: The economic reasons to fear change usually focus on one or more
of the following:
(i) Fear of technological unemployment.
(ii) Fear of reduced work hours and consequently less pay.
(iii) Fear of demotion and thus reduced wages.

(iv) Fear of speed-up and reduced incentive wages.
(b) Fear of the unknown: Change often bring with it substantial uncertainty. Employees
facing a technological change, such as the introduction of a new computer system,
may resist the change simply because it introduces ambiguity into what was once a
comfortable situation for them. This is especially a problem when there has been a
lack of communication about the change.
(c) Fear of Loss: When a change is impending, some employees may fear losing their
jobs, particularly when an advanced technology is introduced. Employees may also
fear losing their status because of a change. Another common fear is that changes
may diminish the positive qualities the individual enjoys in the job. For example,
computerizing the customer service positions, threaten the autonomy that sales
representatives previously enjoyed.
(d) Security: People with a high need for security are likely to resist change because it
threatens their feeling of safety.
(e) Status quo: Perhaps the biggest and most sound reason for the resistance to change is
the status quo. As human beings, we are creatures of habit. Change may pose
disturbance to the existing comforts of status quo. When confronted with change,
this tendency to respond in our accustomed ways becomes a source of resistance.
Change means they will have to find new ways of managing them and their
environment—the ways that might not be successful as those currently used.
(f) Peer Pressure: Individual employees may be prepared to accept change but refuse to
accept it for the sake of the group. Whenever change is unwilling to the peers, they
force the individuals who want to accept change to resist change.
(g) Disruption of Interpersonal Relationships: Employees may resist change that threatens
to limit meaningful interpersonal relationships on the job. Introduction of change
often results in disturbance of the existing social relationships. Change may also
result in breaking up of work groups.

2. Organisational Resistance: Organisations, by their very nature are conservative. They
actively resist change. Some of the organisational resistances are explained below:

(a) Resource Constraints: Resources are major constraints for many organisations. The
necessary financial, material and human resources may not be available to the
organisation to make the needed changes. Further, those groups in organisation
that control sizable resources often see change as a threat. They tend to be content
with the way things are.

(b) Structural Inertia: Some organisational structures have in-built mechanism for
resistance to change. For example, in a bureaucratic structure where jobs are narrowly
defined and lines of authority are clearly spelled out, change would be difficult. This
is so because formalization provides job descriptions, rules, and procedures for
employees to follow. The people who are hired into an organisation are chosen for

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