23-05-2014, 04:53 PM
Forces for and Resistance to Organizational Change
Resistance to Organizational.pdf (Size: 381.64 KB / Downloads: 790)
ABSTRACT
Organizational change is the movement of an organization away from its present state
and toward some desired future state to increase its effectiveness. The education
environment is constantly changing, and the school organization must adapt to these
forces in order to remain relevant and effective. In this article, I examine the forces for
and resistance to organizational change. Lewin’s force-field theory of change serves as a
useful model in understanding the change process.
INTRODUCTION
The role of the school leader is both intense and diverse. Paradoxically, the only
constant in the school leader’s ever increasing responsibilities is that of change – change
in the physical environment, change in the curriculum, change in faculty and staff,
change in the student body, unexpected change, and most importantly change that can
bring about vast improvements in a school district, community college, or university. The
school leader must be the primary catalyst in order for the change to be both positive and
lasting (Fullan, 2010; Hargreaves, 2011; Marzano & Waters, 2010).
Organizational change is the movement of an organization away from its present
state and toward some desired future state to increase its effectiveness. Why does an
organization need to change the way it performs its activities? The education
environment is constantly changing, and the school organization must adapt to these
forces in order to remain relevant and effective (Blankstein, 2010; Creemers, 2011;
Smylie, 2010). Figure 1 lists the most important forces for and resistance to change that
confront school organizations and its leaders.
Forces for Change
Given a choice, most school organizations prefer stability to change. Why?
Because the more predictable and routine activities are, the higher the level of efficiency
that can be obtained. Thus, the status quo is preferred in many cases. However, schools
are not static, but continuously change in response to a variety of forces coming from
both inside and outside the school (Duke, 2011). For school leaders, the challenge is to
anticipate and direct change processes so that school performance is improved (Szarlan,
2011). Several important factors in each of these categories (internal and external forces)
will now be considered (Fullan, 2011; Hargreaves, 2011; Spector, 2011).
Resistance to Change
Forces for change are a recurring feature of school life. It is also inevitable that
change will be resisted, at least to some extent by both school leaders and staff. There is a
human tendency to resist change, because it forces people to adopt new ways of doing
things. In order to cope with this recurring problem, school leaders must understand why
people resist change. The most powerful impediments to change include uncertainty,
concern over personal loss, group resistance, dependence, trust in administration, and
awareness of weaknesses in the proposed change (Fullan, 2009; Spector, 2011).
Uncertainty
Teachers may resist change because they are worried about how their work and
lives will be affected by the proposed change. Even if they have some appreciable
dissatisfaction with their present jobs, they have learned what their range of
responsibilities are and what their administrator's reaction to their behavior will be in
certain situations. Any change creates some potential uncertainties.
Education and Communication
Resistance can be reduced when school leaders communicate with organization
members to help them see the need for change as well as the logic behind it. This can be
achieved through face-to-face discussions, formal group presentations, or special reports
or publications. The approach works providing the source of resistance is inadequate
communication and that leader-member relations are characterized by mutual trust. If
trust does not exist, the change is unlikely to succeed.
Participation and Involvement
Organization members who participate in planning and implementing a change
are less likely to resist it. Prior to making a change, leaders can allow those who oppose
the change to express their view on the change, indicate potential problems, and suggest
modifications. Such participant involvement can reduce resistance, obtain commitment,
and increase the quality of the change decision.