Employees Resistance Towards Organizational Change

While starting our thesis, we studied lot of literature on organizational change, and found that the concept of change and its types have been discussed by different authors in a manner that is very difficult to understand.

Every author/researcher discusses his/her own concept regarding organizational change and have differentiated it as per their own study (e.g. Scheins typology, technical-social framework, etc). We have tried to categorize different types of organizational change and present somewhat complete and clear picture of ‘what is change’ for which the existing literature has been used as a basis. After discussing the broad topic of this study, methodologies have been explained. On the basis of categorization of change, we have tried to understand and present the practical change program carried out in our empirical case. This firm has been selected for this study because of its broad business activities and major workforce, operating in a developing economy.

Employees’ resistance, the basic topic of this study, is one of the major problems/threats to successful change program. In our empirical case, employees’ resistance failed an important and well intended change program. The first step after discovering employee’s resistance led us to the exploration of causes of resistance which have been thought by different authors as very important for overcoming it. As according to Mintzberg, the cure might actually prove to be just more of the cause (Mintzberg 1998 p. 324).The study of different causes/antecedents discussed by several authors has given us the opportunity to add another important potential cause of resistance, that is, goal conflict between firm (owners) and individuals (employees). It should be noted that even in normal situation, goal conflict exists between firm (owners) and its employees, but the magnitude and intensity of this conflict is very low and so it is hidden, we call this ‘goal difference’, and both parties (firm & employees) accept each other’s goals. In a strategic and major change program, firms alter their goals (e.g. cost minimization, innovative products, etc), which result in shifting and increasing their focus towards new goals. The shift in focus and increased commitment of firm towards attaining its new goals, increase the magnitude and intensity of goal conflict and it become very difficult for both parties (firm & employees) to accept each other’s goals……

Contents

CHAPTER No. 1
1.0. Organizational Change
1.1. Categories of Change
1.2. Methodology
1.2. Case of change in the firm understudy
1.2.1 Introduction to the firm
1.2.2 Change in Policies of the firm
1.2.3 Change in Technology of the firm
1.2.4 Change in structure and culture of the firm
CHAPTER No. 2
2.0. Resistance to Change
2.1. What is Resistance
2.2. Early research on Employees’ Resistance
2.3. Causes/antecedents of Employees’ Resistance
2.3.1. Potential causes of Employees’ Resistance to change
2.4. Causes/antecedents of employee’s resistance to change in firm understudy
2.4.1. Procedural conflict in the firm
2.4.2. Goal conflict in the firm
2.4.3. Solution proposed by the firm to deal with resistance
CHAPTER No. 3
3.0. Goal Conflict
3.1. Goal
3.2. Change in goals
3.3. Change in Goals of the firm understudy
3.4. Goal Conflict
3.4.1. Theories explaining goal conflict
3.5. Role of Owners, senior managers, middle manager, supervisors and labor
3.6. Goal conflict in the firm understudy
3.7. How to better understand and solve goal conflict
CHAPTER No. 4
4.0. Principal-Agent Theory
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Agency theory & Goal conflict
4.3. Monitoring and Incentives problem
4.4. Alignment of agents’ goals with principal’s goals to resolve goal conflict
CHAPTER No. 5
5.0. Stakeholder Model and Stakeholder Theory
5.1. Stakeholders
5.2. Relation between stakeholders and with the firm
5.3. Who are important stakeholders of the firm
5.4. Stakeholder theory
5.5. Goal conflict between stakeholders and with the firm
5.6. Stakeholders of the firm understudy
5.6.1. Customers
5.6.2. Suppliers
5.6.3. Creditors
5.6.4. Government
5.6.5. Employees
5.7. Solution proposed by Stakeholders’ theory
CHAPTER No. 6
6.0 Comparison of Solution provided by Stakeholders & Agency theory
6.1. Combination of Stockholders and Agency theory
6.2. Recommendations for resolving/harmonizing goal conflict in firm understudy
Limitations of the study
Further Study
Appendix- A

Source: Blekinge Institute of Technology

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