Leading Change in Organizations. – nursing homework essays

Leading Change in Organizations.

Leading Change in Organizations.

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Leading Change in Organizations
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
Understand the different reasons for resisting change.
Understand the psychological processes involved in making major changes. Leading Change in Organizations.
Understand the different ways that leaders can influence the culture of an organization. Leading Change in Organizations.
Understand the characteristics of an effective vision.
Understand how to develop an appealing vision for the organization.
Understand how to implement a major change in an organization.
Understand the characteristics of a learning organization.
Understand how leaders can increase learning and innovation in organizations.
Leading change is one of the most important and difficult leadership responsibilities. For some theorists, it is the essence of leadership and everything else is secondary. Effective leadership is needed to revitalize an organization and facilitate adaptation to a changing environment. This subject became especially relevant in the 1980s when many private and public sector organizations were confronted with the need to change the way things were done in order to survive. This chapter builds on the previous one and provides a practitioner-oriented perspective on strategic, change-oriented leadership.
Major change in an organization is usually guided by the top management team, but any member of the organization can initiate change or contribute to its success. The chapter describes how leaders can influence the organization culture, develop a vision, implement change, and encourage learning and innovation. The chapter begins by describing different change processes and approaches.
Change Processes in Organizations
Efforts to implement change in an organization are more likely to be successful if a leader understands the reasons why people accept or resist change, sequential phases in the change process, different types of change, and the importance of using appropriate models for understanding organizational problems. Each topic will be examined more closely.
Different Reasons for Accepting Change
The initial reaction to a proposed change may be acceptance, and there are different reasons why a person may be willing to accept change rather than resist it. One explanation is in terms of the types of leader power that are used to influence the person to accept change and the types of influence processes that leaders actually use (see Chapter 7). Compliance with the change is likely if people believe that it is a legitimate exercise of leader authority (legitimate power), or if they fear punishment for resisting the change (coercive power). Commitment is a more likely outcome of a change initiative when people trust their leaders and believe that the change is necessary and likely to be effective (strong referent and expert power). Commitment to change is also facilitated by the leader’s use of an appropriate combination of proactive influence tactics (see Chapter 7). Herscovitch and Meyer (2002) also proposed similar reasons for acceptance of change, but they described the outcome in terms of continuance, normative, and affective commitment. By confounding outcomes with causes, their approach creates unnecessary conceptual confusion.
Resistance to Change
Resistance to change is a common phenomenon for individuals and organizations. There are a number of different reasons why people resist major changes in organizations (Connor, 1995), and they are not mutually exclusive.
1. Lack of trust
A basic reason for resistance to change is distrust of the people who propose it. Distrust can magnify the effect of other sources of resistance. Even without an obvious threat, a change may be resisted if people imagine hidden, ominous implications that will become obvious only at a later time. Mutual mistrust may encourage a leader to be secretive about the reasons for change, thereby further increasing suspicion and resistance.
2. Belief that change is not necessary
Resistance is more likely if the current way of doing things has been successful in the past and there is no clear evidence of serious problems that require major change. The signs of a developing problem are usually ambiguous at the early stage, and it is easy for people to ignore or discount them. If top management has overstated the organization’s performance, then convincing people of the need for change will be even more difficult. Even when a problem is finally recognized, the usual response is to make incremental adjustments in the present strategy, or to do more of the same, rather than to do something different.
3. Belief that the change is not feasible
Even when problems are acknowledged, a proposed change may be resisted because it seems unlikely to succeed. Making a change that is radically different from anything done previously will appear difficult if not impossible to most people. Failure of earlier change programs creates cynicism and makes people doubtful the next one will be any better.
4. Economic threats
Even if a change would benefit the organization, it may be resisted by people who would suffer personal loss of income, benefits, or job security. The latter concern is especially relevant when change involves replacing people with technology or improving processes to make them more efficient. Prior downsizing and layoffs raise anxiety and increase resistance to new proposals, regardless of the actual threat.
5. Relative high cost
Even when a change has obvious benefits for the organization, it always entails some costs, which may be higher than the benefits. Familiar routines must be changed, causing inconvenience and requiring more effort. Resources are necessary to implement change, and resources already invested in doing things the traditional way will be lost. Performance invariably suffers during the transition period as the new ways are learned and new procedures debugged. Concern about costs in relation to benefits will be more difficult to allay when it is not possible to estimate them with any accuracy.
6. Fear of personal failure
Change makes some expertise obsolete and requires learning new ways of doing the work. People who lack self-confidence will be reluctant to trade procedures they have mastered for new ones that may prove too difficult to master. A proposed change will be more acceptable if it includes provisions for helping people learn new ways of doing things.
7. Loss of status and power
Major changes in organizations invariably result in some shift in relative power and status for individuals and subunits. New strategies often require expertise not possessed by some of the people currently enjoying high status as problem solvers. People responsible for activities that will be cut back or eliminated will lose status and power, making them more likely to oppose a change.
8. Threat to values and ideals
Change that appears to be inconsistent with strong values and ideals will be resisted. Threat to a person’s values arouses strong emotions that fuel resistance to change. If the values are embedded in a strong organization culture, resistance will be widespread rather than isolated.
9. Resentment of interference
Some people resist change because they do not want to be controlled by others. Attempts to manipulate them or force change will elicit resentment and hostility. Unless people acknowledge the need for change and perceive they have a choice in determining how to change, they will resist it.
Resistance to change is not merely the result of ignorance or inflexibility; it is a natural reaction by people who want to protect their self-interests and sense of self-determination. Rather than seeing resistance as just another obstacle to batter down or circumvent, it is helpful to view it as energy that can be redirected to improve change (Ford, Ford, & D’Amelio, 2008; Jick, 1993; Maurer, 1996). Active resistance indicates the presence of strong values and emotions that could serve as a source of commitment for opponents who are converted to supporters. As noted in Chapter 4, it is essential for change agents to discuss a proposed or impending change with people who will be affected by it to learn about their concerns and suggestions.
Understanding resistance to change requires going beyond an examination of individual reasons for resisting. Resistance at the individual level is compounded by system dynamics at the group and organization level. Changes in one part of a system may elicit a reaction from other parts that nullifies the effect of the change. The interlocking nature of social systems creates tremendous inertia. Just as it takes miles to turn a supertanker at sea, it often takes years to implement significant change in a large organization.

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