Topic 8 - Change Flashcards
What are Dent and Galloway’s views?
Dent and Galloway view resistance to change as not being an individual problem, but this includes managers. They take the concept of resistance to change back to the original suggestion of Lewin. Lewin viewed resistance to change as being a systems problem. sources of resistance can be found in a variety of organisation systems. Worker attitude and behaviour can be a factor but is rarely the only reason why change fails.
Individuals may appear to be resisting change but rather they are resisting the loss of their job, money, status, or comfort.
Current formulations of resistance to change are overly simplistic, highly managerial and biased against the workforce. They are very individualist and conceptualised as a psychological problem with irrational fears to a reasonable change proposed by management.
The proposed changes, method of implementation and communication of changes is seldom questioned as workers who resist change are often seen as neurotic or trouble makers. Employees may have perfectly valid reasons (i.e. loss of status, comfort, pay) to resist change.
Dent and Galloway do accept that at times, it is the individual who may be resisting change due to innate characteristics but this is more the exception, with systemic factors playing a greater role.
What does Oreg et al. say about resistance to change?
A lot of work on resistance to change has viewed it as being an individual psychological problem.
Oreg et al. view people differ in their willingness to accept change as a result of innate and measurable personality differences.
They place the blame for resistance to change on the employees. Organisational change is seen as being completely rational and legitimate. Individuals will have an inclination towards change and their disposition towards change is embedded in their personality. They believed disposition to change is directly related to the type of job an individual chose.
Oreg et al. placed the emphasis on the individual and did not take into consideration systemic factors.
Which view do you agree with most and why do you prefer it?
Dent and Galloway’s. Oreg’s view is overly simplistic and places the blame for resistance to change solely on the individual. Oreg fails to consider systemic factors which might influence why a person is perceived to be resisting change.
