Answer to Question #178700 in Management for Maham

Question

A two-year-old start-up company dealing in 3D Printing is undergoing a major overhaul due to COVID 19 and require your help

a. They are facing a lot of resistance to the changes being implemented and want to understand the reasons for this resistance?

b. Can you help them manage these resistances to change? 

Answer 1

a)     Owing to the exponential growth of computer computing in this knowledge age and its effect on an ever-evolving global economy, change has become the normal state of activity. COVID 19 is a pandemic that is affecting industries and human migration around the world. To stay competitive, the 3D printing company cannot afford to disregard changes. Organizational reform is daunting, despite the fact that progress is all around us. Many businesses, in reality, fail to make the necessary changes to ensure their long-term viability. Senior sponsors of organizational change often blame implementation failures on employee and middle manager resistance to change. This can be true at times. Senior executives and managers, on the other hand, often overestimate the amount of change they can bring to the organization. Some people are also unaware of how difficult it is to lead and implement change effectively. The company is encountering resistance to change as a result of;

           The less your team members know about the change and how it will affect them, the more afraid they will be. Leading transformation also entails not catching the rest of the organization off balance! Your company must be prepared for the transition. Furthermore, there is a distrustful atmosphere in the business. Meaningful organizational reform is unlikely in a skeptic's setting. The principle of trust involves having confidence in other people's intentions and behaviour. Mutual mistrust will sabotage a reform effort that is otherwise well-intentioned. Furthermore, some people reject change as a political strategy to "prove" that the decision was wrong. They can also avoid demonstrating that the shift supervisor is unfit for the job. Others will object because they will lose control of their organizations. These people are dead set on seeing the reform effort fail in these situations. Despite this, the 3D printing business is concerned about failure. Fear is a powerful motivator that can make people more determined to resist your reform efforts. If you want your change effort to succeed, you'll need to help your team members conquer their fears.

b)    When it comes to dealing with change resistance, change management practitioners don't just use reactive strategies. A project's change management plan should involve a range of positive steps that can be taken to address and minimize resistance. Create special strategies to deal with anticipated points of resistance during the implementation of the change management plan, based on readiness assessments. It is futile to treat resistance solely on the basis of symptoms. Moaning, skipping crucial meetings, failing to provide requested information or facilities, or simply refusing to comply are all examples of resistance. Despite the fact that these signs are more obvious, focusing on them will not yield results. To be good at dealing with resistance, you must dig deeper into what is actually causing it. Effective resistance management necessitates understanding the root causes of resistance, rather than just how the resistance manifests itself.

           If effective change management is applied from the outset of the project, change resistance can be minimized. While resistance to change is a normal human reaction, successful change management will help to mitigate a lot of it. Change management is more effective at activating and engaging staff in a change than it is at dealing with resistance when it arises. The advantage of starting a project with coordinated change management is that it can absorb and harness the momentum and positive energy that surrounds a change, reducing resistance.