Answer to Question #191745 in Management for Shivani

Question

A two year old start up company dealing in 3d printing is undergoing a major overhaul due to covid19 and require help

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

2. Can you help them manage these resistance to chnage

Answer 1

Answer

   

1. Change being now the natural state of operation; COVID-19 has been a global pandemic affecting businesses. Besides, the 3D printing firm cannot afford to ignore changes to remain competitive. Even though progress it will strive to make, its strategies to makes changes will be difficult. Further, Several companies fail to make the required adjustments to ensure their sustainability. At times, it is valid that most employees and middle manager's reluctance to change are often blamed by senior sponsors of organizational change for implementation failures. On the other hand, senior leaders and administrators often overestimate how many transitions they can implement. Some people are still unaware of how difficult it is to lead and execute change effectively. The firm is facing resistance to change because of;

The less knowledge your team members have about the transition and how it will affect them, the more fearful they will be. Besides, there is a climate of mistrust in the firm. In an atmosphere of uncertainty, meaningful organizational change is impossible. The concept of trust entails having confidence in the motives and actions of others. Mutual mistrust will disrupt an otherwise well-intentioned reform initiative.

Moreover, some people oppose reform as a political tactic to "prove" that the decision was made incorrectly. They can even fight to demonstrate that the person in charge of the shift is unfit for the job. Others will object because they would lose some administrative control. These people are dead set on seeing the reform initiative fail in these cases. Nonetheless, the 3D Printing company is fearing failure. Fear is a strong motivator that can harden people's resolve to fight your reform efforts. Therefore, the 3D printing firm will need to help your team members overcome these fears if you want your change effort to get ahead.

 2. Change management practitioners do not rely solely on reactive tactics to deal with opposition to change. Indeed, several constructive actions can be taken to overcome and reduce opposition that should be included in a project's change management plan. Create expected points of resistance and special strategies to handle them during the development of the change management plan, based on readiness assessments.

When resistance is managed solely based on symptoms, it is ineffective. Resistance manifests itself in various ways, including moaning, missing important meetings, failing to provide requested information or services, or simply refusing to follow a new process or behavior. Although these symptoms are more visible, focusing on them will not produce results. It would be best to look deeper at what is causing the resistance to be successful at handling resistance. Effective resistance management necessitates determining the root causes of resistance by identifying why someone is resistant rather than just how it manifests itself.

Change resistance can be reduced if successful change management is implemented from the start of the project. Although resistance to change is a natural human reaction, effective change management will help to alleviate much of this resistance. Change management is more effective as a method for activating and involving workers in a change than as a tool for handling opposition as it emerges. Therefore, the strength of using organized change management from the start of a project is that it can capture and leverage the excitement and positive energy surrounding a change, which can also evade resistance.