vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Information Services
and Library
Washington DC 20460
EPA/IMSD/87-011
December 1987
Selected Management Articles:
Resistance to Change
PEOPLE
-------
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
DECEMBER 1987
HEADQUARTERS LIBRARY
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT & SERVICES DIVISION
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
401 M STREET, SW PM-211A
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
(202) 382-5922
TJ.'S. Environmental Protection "A;:
Begion 5, LU^ry [5i'L-16)
230 S. Dearborn Street, Ho001
Chicago, IL 60604
-------
INTRODUCTION
An organization requires the flexibility to improve through
change. Because even necessary and well intended changes can
provoke resistance among employees, managers must develop methods
of dealing with the resistance. During periods of change the
manager must find ways to balance the needs of the employee with
the needs of the organization. An effective manager can ease
resistance to change with better employee-manager communication.
Communication between managers and their employees is the most
important element in relieving resistance to change. Managers
should discuss the reasons for the change and assure employees
that their jobs are secure. Another technique that may help is to
solicit employee suggestions for implementing the change and
involving them in the implementation.
This bibliography, which is divided into three sections, cites
recent journal articles which discuss change. The articles in the
first section deal with change in general. They discuss the
necessity of change and offer techniques for coping with change.
The secong section, "Effects of New Technology", contains
articles which specifically address the problem of employee
reactions to new technology, especially computers. "Managing
Change" discusses techniques for managerial leadership during
times of change.
Citations were selected for their relevance to the special
interests of EPA program staff. The articles were published in a
variety of management, personnel and human resources journals
between 1986 and 1987. A descriptive abstract is included with
each citation. The bibliography was compiled using the ABI/
Inform, and Management Contents online databases from DIALOG.
There is much more information available on other aspects of
management. An EPA librarian can assist in identifying other
titles for further research. To obtain additional copies of the
bibliography, or copies of any of the articles listed, contact
Mary Hoffman, Chief Reference Librarian, EPA Headquarters
Library, 382-5922.
-------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION i
GENERAL 1
EFFECTS OF NEW TECHNOLOGY 5
MANAGING CHANGE 9
-------
I. GEZBKAL
Change as an Ingredient for Management Dmptovenait
Hoffman, Gerard C.
Industrial Engineering vl9n7 PP: 16-17 Jul 1987 CODEN: IDLEB9
ISSN: 0019-8234 JRNL CODE: INE
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 2 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INPORM
On hearing the word "change," people usually get ready to resist
whatever is caning. Change is seen as another exposure to potential failure
and is associated with more effort or work. It is important to recognize
the need to change present organizational culture, but often companies make
easy changes instead of needed changes. Sometimes, changes do little more
than delay the negative spiral of an organization. The periodic purging of
directives and their later replacement is one example of this. This
represents fixing a symptom rather than studying the symptoms to fix the
cause. The effective manager will discuss organizational problems or
inadequacies with employees and will ask for suggestions. Success depends
upon the recognition that creation of a variable work environment for
encouraging change requires participative team-building and consultation.
Changing everything all at once: work life and technological
change*
Liker, Jeffrey K.; Roitman, David B.; Roskies, Ethel
Sloan Management Review v28 Summ, 1987, p29(19)
SPECIAL FEATURES: illustration; table; graph
This article analyzes employees' reactions to an experiment in
concurrent social and technological change. Their responses were, contrary
to management's expectations, mixed. Statistical analysis revealed that
much of the variation could be explained by how the changes influenced the
individual's job prospects. The authors go on to discuss the benefits of
various approaches to organizational change - and recommend a more
conservative scope and pace than occurred at "Basic Products, Inc."
(Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
-------
Challenging Change
Lahti, Jon Tris
Health Care Supervisor v5n3 PP: 55-60 Apr 1987 ISSN: 0731-3381
JRNL CCDE: HCS
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 6 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFCRM
Even changes that are well-intended and needed can provoke resistance
among employees. Resistance is not always bad — it can prove beneficial by
preventing an organization from embarking on an impossible, unnecessary, or
disastrous strategy. Planning is the key to effective resistance. The first
step in resistance planning is to determine the rationale for change. Using
the determined rationale, the resisters will decide if a problem actually
exists or if governing policy is appropriate. The issue can often be
settled at this point, saving time and effort for both sides. The next
steps are a review of the constraints and resources of the organization, an
analysis of why change might be inappropriate under the circumstances, and
suggestions of alternate goals. The resisters should plan inplementation
and evaluation procedures for the options they suggest. When all attempts
to resist change have been unsuccessful, resisters must determine the costs
of continued opposition before decisions about activities outside the
system are initiated. References.
Selling new ideas properly aids their acceptance within an organization.
(promoting solutions developed by industrial engineers)
Cox, John L.; Dimsdale, Parks B.
Industrial Engineering v!8 Dec, 1986, p30(7)
SPECIAL FEATURES: illustration; chart; graph
Industrial engineering solutions frequently involve change, and change
must be 'sold' to participants and outsiders if the solution is to work.
Solutions such as new facility layouts, new material storage systems,
automated systems, quality circles, new part designs and different
assembling approaches should be carefully marketed; this marketing process
includes identification of the groups that must be sold, development of
strategies to persuade these groups the solution is viable, selection of
approaches to these groups, and implementation of the persuasion techniques
identified. These stages in the process of convincing users and managers
that an industrial design or solution should be implemented are detailed.
Selling the solution to others is the first step in the process of
integrating the solution with existing engineering methods and practices.
-------
Coping with change in these tines, (corporate management.)
Pollock, Ted
Production v97 Feb, 1986, p25(2)
A company must be able to change in order to survive and grow. Among the
'top 100' industrial corporations of 1918, 52 corporations (including
Cambria Steel, General Chemical and United Motors) are now defunct,
primarily because they failed to manage change, either technological or
social. Successful employees must also be ready and willing to change. Ihe
following six steps can help a company or an individual adapt to change:
(1) try to understand the change, (2) assess the situation, (3) identify
.the opportunity, (4) accept the challenge, (5) prepare for the change, and
(6) face the change with confidence.
Business behavior and public co-operation: a structural
perspective.
Boswell, Jonathan S.
Journal of General Management vl2 Wint, 1986, p58(14)
A foundation for good business behavior within the social and political
context of the community is developed based on concepts of partnership,
participation, and cooperation. Business cooperation with society,
structural influences on public cooperation, and the feasibility of general
models are discussed. A partial explanatory model is described, reflecting
the types of institutional and structural factors: proximities facilitated
by underlying social institutions; comprehensive, remedial transparency
(visibility); threshold organizational continuities; and organizational
positive size distributions. These factors may offer clues as to why
certain industries adapt to change successfully, while others experience
resistance and suffer conflict.
-------
Managing culture: the invisible barrier to strategic change.
Lorsch, Jay W.
California Management Review v28 Wntr, 1986, p95(15)
SPECIAL FEMURES: illustration; table
CAPnCNS: Commodity products company - top management culture.; Culture
audit.
The core beliefs of top managers can inhibit strategic change by
producing * strategic myopia' so that the natural response is to keep
managing in the same old way. A company's culture can thus become an
invisible barrier which impedes the process of adapting to changes in the
firm's technological, regulatory/ and competitive environment. The author
presents several steps needed to break this invisible barrier, including
making beliefs visible, using outside directors, bringing in new blood, and
encouraging flexibility throughout the ranks of middle management.
(Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
-------
H. JOiTiiauis OF NEW TECHNOLOGY k
^
Seven easy steps to overcoming PC phobia.
Powe, Tom; Kleiner, Brian H. {
Business v37 apr-Jun, 1987, p54(3)
Motivating employees to use PCs can lead to productivity improvements
and allow a firm to compete effectively in a business environment
increasingly dominated by computer use. Introducing PCs to an office
environment confronts a human tendency to resist change, and employees' may
fear that their competency and influence are somehow threatened. Seven
steps for motivating employees to use PCs include: (1) top management
support, (2) communication about PC capabilities and benefits, (3)
selection of appropriate equipment, (4) provision of a healthy environment,
(5) training, (6) establishment of communication channels, and (7)
controls. Three types of effective employee computer training are: (1)
class room instruction, (2) computer-generated tutorials, and (3) user
manuals.
The industrial engineer as entrepreneurial individual for managing
innovation.
Sarin, Sanjiv; Butts, Bennie
Industrial Engineering v!8 July, 1986, p!6(3)
Although a study performed in 1957 by R. Solow indicated that 80 percent
of all industrial productivity improvements are directly attributable to
technological change, managing technological innovation continues to be a
problematic discipline, even in the 1980s when technological innovation
seems to be at a high point. Industrial engineers may be the most qualified
personnel for managing the implementation of technological changes.
Engineers involved in such projects will encounter resistance to change by
upper management levels due to: costs associated with the change or the
change's upsetting of long-term business plans; a tendency on the part of
business people to 'wait and see' rather than be the first to make changes;
and a reluctance to retrain themselves and others to use the new
technology.
-------
Minimizing employee resistance to technological change.
Mainiero, Lisa A.; DeMchiell, Robert L.
Personnel v63 July, 1986, p32(6)
Automation results in improved productivity and reduced operating
expenses, but only when employees embrace the technology willingly. A
survey of six companies that completed automation projects indicated that
decisions to automate were typically top-down decisions, and employees'
involvement consisted solely of being trained to operate the system
installed. Personnel managers should be aware that automation projects
often result in: employee resistance to change; the need for revised job
descriptions; and new reward systems for employees, as well as the obvious
training needs. These problems, and suggestions to facilitate automation
projects are discussed; the suggestions include: automate slowly, encourage
employee participation, be aware of job changes occasioned by the
automation, plan for replaced workers and training needs, and reward
employees for acceptance and operation of the system.
The role of business ccnmmications practitioners in the
Housel, Thomas J. ; Housel, Marian
Journal of Business Ccmnmication v23 Spr, 1986, p5(8)
The effect of cctnputer technology on work environments is examined, with
methods suggested through which educators and business communications
practitioners can prepare students and workers for future business
environments. It is essential that educators in the area of business
comunications anticipate the technologies that will be present in the
workplace in years to cone to prepare for rather than react to the changes
to occur. After an overview of early office automation schemes, the effects
of office automation on business ccnnunication, employee resistance to
technological change, and the 'fully' automated office of the future are
described.
-------
Fighting computer anxiety.
Faerstein, Paul H.
Personnel v63 Jan, 1986, p!2(6)
Planning automation in the workplace should include techniques for
managing people's reactions to automation, especially when the most likely
reaction is anxiety. Anxiety related to automation can be traced to
people's sense of themselves or to the environment in which they function.
People who are likely to approach automation with high anxiety levels are
identified as those who: need to have control, resist change, desire a
level of status or power, fear the unknown, fear failure, dislike
isolation, or perceive automation as being in conflict with their work
identity. When planning automation Installations, managers must also be
aware of the various effects of automation on the work environment; such
changes are best handled after identifying the computer's capabilities,
skill requirements, information handling capacity, and the organizational
and environmental changes that will be brought about.
-------
8
-------
HI.
Ch-ch-ch-change! ? (management technique to facilitate employee job
changes) \
Brown, Barrel R. I
Management World v!5 Nov-Dec, 1986, p24(2)
Employee resistance to proposed changes involving them is usually based
on perceptions of threat. The threat usually has an economic,
psychological, or social basis that seems very real to those experiencing
such feelings. Management can minimize these feelings of threat by:
restoring feelings of economic security with guarantees; establishing open
camunication (listen and give information); being open to compromise;
allowing the group to participate in 'change' decisions, if possible; and
using a trial period strategy.
Gaining Employee Support for Change
Anonymous
Small Business Report vllnll PP: 98 Nov 1986 JRNL CODE: SBR
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 1 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INPOBM
Companies that initiate changes in operation often experience employee
resistance, which arises out of fear. Old Republic Home Protection Co. (San
Ramon, California), a homeowners' insurance company, anticipated resistance
to computerization and took steps to minimize employee anxiety. First,
management determined the specific activities of each department,
interviewing every employee in the process. After discovering where the
problem areas were, management connunicated to employees the company's
plans and reasons for computerization and solicited input from the
employees, while at the same time assuring the employees that no jobs were
in jeopardy. Those employees most directly affected by the computerization
were given extensive training as well as information on what benefits they
could expect from computerization. Computerization was phased in gradually
and, because of the communication efforts, was implemented smoothly and
efficiently.
-------
The challenge of strategic change, (corporate management)
Richardson, Peter R. ('
Canadian Business Review v!3 Aut, 1986, p29(4)
SPECIAL FEATURES: illustration; table ^
i
For economic survival in the next decade Canadian companies must meet
the challenge of strategic change. Guideiines to modify corporate
strategies are given. Creating the new strategies is simpler than
implementing them, and it will take special executives, committed and
undaunted by risks, to implement visions as well as objectives. Initiating
change requires simultaneous clarification of objectives, developing
understanding, and stimulating caimLtment. Implementation of change
requires proper anticipation and the correct management approach; in a
crisis, change management takes a top-down approach.
Can conflicting values en the change team work?
Bar one, Frank J.
Training & Development Journal v40 Aug, 1986, p50(3)
SPECIAL FEATURES: illustration; table Terminal values of CD agents and
managers.; table Instrumental values of CD agents and managers.
A survey of 950 organizational development agents (personnel managers,
and internal and external organizational managers) with a 43.8 percent
response rate measures the terminal values (the goals of organizational
development) and the instrumental values (the methods of organizational
development) of the managers within the group. The results indicate seven
possible areas for differences of opinion among organizational development
managers; these areas of difference include the fact that seme rank family
security as their most important professional goal, while others rank
acconplishment as the highest motivating factor for entering the field. The
survey demonstrates the importance of defining goals and values within a
change team, prior to attempting to implement changes. Survey results are
presented in two tables.
10
-------
Toward a Theory for the Evaluation of Organizational Change
Carnall, Colin A.
Human Relations v39n8 PP: 745-766 Aug 1986 CODEN: HUREAA ISSN:
0018-7267 JENL CODE: HRL
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 22 Pages
ATOHABILITY: ABI/HJPQRM
With major institutions undergoing dramatic changes, how people and
groups react to change is very important. Organizations have an established
order, and any significant change in the organization will disrupt that
order. The possible responses to change include: 1. resistance, 2.
opposition, 3. acceptance, 4. ritualistic response, 5. acquiescence, and 6.
leaving. The response that emerges will be influenced by the tactical
positions of the interest groups involved. The response may be either
active or passive, and any particular group of people may react through a
combination of responses. Thus, an impetus for action model may be
developed incorporating active and passive responses to advantage and
disadvantage. For example, disadvantage for those who feel able to respond
actively will result in political action toward, change. Organizations are
effective to the extent that advantage may be pursued without causing
disadvantage to other members. Tables. References.
Sinple rules for conplex change, (managing change and implementing
changes)
Johnson, Homer H.; Fredian, Alan J.
Training & Development Journal v40 Aug, 1986, p47(3)
When managing organizational change or implementing operational changes
within corporate environments, personnel managers should recognize the
three phases of change: the pre-announcement phase, which occurs after a
decision to change is made, but before the change is implemented; the
transition phase, when the change is being implemented; and the
consolidation phase, which occurs after the change is in place; in this
phase, the revision work required to resume smooth company operations is
taken care of. During each of these phases, it is important to gain the
support of key people, to develop an adequate plan of attack (a project
plan), and to gain the support of the employees affected by the change.
Using these basic concepts, an outline for implementing changes in
corporate environments is developed.
11
-------
How to Manage Change to Ensure
Kirkham, Poger L.
Industrial Engineering v!8n8 PP: 17-19 Aug 1986 CCDEN: H3LEB9
ISSN: 0019-8234 JKNL CODE: USE
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English. LENGTH: 3 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFOBM
There is no chance for improvement unless there is concomitant change,
and management must learn how to manage change so that employees do not
resist it. Change can be managed either by compliance or by commitment.
Mast organizations use the former approach because it is faster than the
latter, but commitment is far more desirable. To ensure commitment,
managers must address such issues as: 1. identifying and ccnnunicating the
needed changes, 2. progressing toward the desired outcome, 3. managing the
uncertainty and ambiguity of the transition and implementation phase, and
4o determining the critical sponsors, implementors, and users of the
proposed changes. Employees must be made to feel that they are capable of
performing in accordance with the altered procedures and trust those
authorized to implement the changes. Strategies must be developed to
address all 5 of the phases of change: 1. announcement, 2. understanding,
3. positive perception, 4. installation, and 5. improvement. Communication
lines must be kept open, and change implementors must be ready to counter
employee resistance.
A model for changing organizational culture.
Meares, Larry B.
Personnel v63 July, 1986, p38(5)
m a corporate environment, organizational change can be difficult to
manage. Companies wishing to make organizational changes should: (1)
identify the management style and corporate culture of the company prior to
the change, (2) acquire executive support for the change desired, (3)
assess the desired change to ensure that it does not adversely affect the
company's ability to compete, (4) prepare and administer workshops to
assess the need for the change, (5) ccmnunicate the changes effectively,
(6) implement training programs to ensure the organizational changes are
understood and complied with, and (7) follow-up on the changes at all
organizational levels. These steps in the process of implementing
organizational changes are discussed in detail. Processes involving
diagnoses of corporate culture are as important as implementation processes
in achieving corporate cultural changes.
12
-------
Making Changes —t Smoothly
ffcores, Tommy i-
Management World vl5n5 PP: 26-28 Jim 1986 ISSN: 0090-3825
JENL CODE: MWL ^
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper IANGUAGE: English LEM3IH: 3 Pages
AVAILABILITY:
Employees often resist changes in their work environments because of
concerns about pay, job security, and fear of the unknown. A study on
change in the workplace revealed that the less complex a system change
appeared to be, the more satisfied the employees were with the change. For
employees to be happy with a change, their jobs must be positively
affected; managers must play the proper role in the change process; and the
change must be good for the company. Steps managers can take to smooth the
way for change in the workplace include: 1. showing enployees that they
support the change, 2. committing sufficient resources to the change, 3.
reducing workloads until the new system is learned, 4. listening to
suggestions of workers affected by the change, 5. having regular meetings
to allow employees to talk about the change, and 6. reassuring employees
that job security and advancement potential will not be adversely affected.
Tables.
Tactics of implementation, (management techniques for implementing
planned changes)
Nutt, Paul c.
Academy of Management Journal v29 June, 1986, p230(32)
SPECIAL FEATURES: illustration; chart; table
CAPTIONS: The transactional planned change process.; The PEK case.;
Feature of implementation tactics.
Tactics of implementation play an important role when managers need to
introduce changes in an organization. There are four ways of introducing a
change: the persuasion tactic, the participation tactic, implementation by
edict, and the intervention tactic. In a study using 91 cases, a framework
based on transactions and paths found that the intervention tactic was 100
percent effective. This tactic was followed by the participation, tactic and
the persuasion tactic, in terms of success, and these two latter approaches
were also found to be used more frequently. The least efficient was the
edict tactic in which change is dictated from the top with minimal
persuasion and no input from employees. Each of these tactics is discussed
and described, especially the intervention tactic, which is recommended by
the study.
13
-------
Managing: organizational transitions.
Bridges, William
Organizational Dynamics v!5 Surnn, 1986, p24(10)
Many organizations can manage the mechanics of change, bat few are adept
at managing transitions. Transition is a three-part psychological process
that extends over time and which can not be planned using purely rational
criteria. Hie three necessary phases during a period of transition are:
letting go of an old situation and the identity that went with it, going
through a neutral zone between the old reality and a still-unformed new
one, and embracing a new beginning. The keys to making a successful new
beginning are to end previous activities, and to carpensate the people
involved in the transition for any loss of identity* responsibility, or
meaning suffered as a result of the change.
Change management: basics for training.
Ackerman, Tvinrta s.
Training & Development Journal v40 april, 1986, p67(2)
Managing an organization through change requires balancing human needs
and business needs, a process that can be facilitated by proper executive
training. Corporate leaders need to decide not only what to change, but
also how to change it; executives need to control the processes of change
and to resolve a number of issues, such as how to select a future
organizational structure that meets long-term needs, how to make the
necessary changes while maintaining organizational effectiveness, and how
to deal with human reactions to change. Change management training should
focus on the following: comunicating the need for change, assessing the
situation, designing the desired state, analyzing the impact of the change,
organizing and planning the change, implementing the change, formalizing
the new state, evaluating the change process, and monitoring or fine-tuning
the change. The different management processes and leadership skills
required by three types of organizational change are described.
14
-------
Harnessing the energy from change anxiety.
Gillen, Dennis J. ^
Supervisory Management v31 March, 1986, p40(4) ^
Hyper-energy is a natural reaction to changes in one's environment. In I
implementing changes, a supervisor must consider the psychological effect
and plan the approach to be taken with employees. CXamunication must take
place which outlines the change, defines the benefits, and permits the
establishment of group or personal goals. Managers should set flexible
goals containing major objectives, list individuals who might be of
assistance, and try to think in terms of different time segments.
Organization Development: System Change or culture Change?
Dyer, William G.; Dyer, W. Gibb, Jr.
Personnel v63n2 PP: 14-22 Feb 1986 CODEN: PSNLAH ISSN: 0031-5702
JSNL CEDE: PER
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper IANGUZVGE: English LENGTH: 8 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/ENPCFM
The processes of system change and culture change represent 2
significantly different ways in which to view an organization. Managers
need both to diagnose problems and to choose treatments that are
appropriate. Most often, organization development (CD) is system change
that does not affect the underlying culture of an organization. System
change occurs because of problems that arise from a malfunctioning area of
an organizational system. Culture change must be inititated when the
beliefs and values of a company and its' employees must be altered. Two case
studies illustrate culture change and system change. System change was
implemented at the Harwood pajama plant where the environment was
characterized by low production and morale due to worker resistance to
changing from one job to another. Culture change was implemented at an auto
plant where an autocratic style of management was replaced by one with
greater worker participation. Charts.
15
-------
Sub-Optimisation and Resistance to Change: How to Channel ' 'Political
Energies'' by Means of Structure and Skills
Mastenbroek, Wilen F. G.
Leadership & Organization Development Jrnl. (UK) vTnl PP: 3-6 1986
ISSN: 0143-7739 JKNL CCDE: LQD
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENG1H: 4 Pages
AVAILABILITY: MCB Publications Ltd., 198/200 Keighley Rd., Bradford, W.
Yorkshire, England BD9 4JQ
On the horizontal levels in organizations, such tensions as different
objectives and dependence on cannon resources frequently occur.
Subpptimization is inevitably the result of such situations. A structural
approach to suboptimization attempts to reduce intergroup rivalries and to
channel competitive energies toward organizational goals by using
organizational structure and an array of incentives. The skill approach
focuses on the negotiating process as a set of social skills to balance
cooperation and competition. The 2 approaches complement each other.
Resistance to change can be a more significant than suboptimization.
Structural adjustments to combat resistance to change include: 1.
flattening the organization's hierarchy, and 2. delegating
responsibilities. Resistance to change also can be reduced by modifying the
strategic behavior of management. Negotiating skills are important in
handling interdependency and autonomy, which result from the structural
changes described. Tables. Charts.
Matching corporate culture and technology.
Myerson, Paul; Hamilton, Robert D., III
SAM Advanced Management Journal v51 Wntr, 1986, p8(6)
An appropriate corporate culture is critical to the introduction of new
technologies in the work environment-. When the corporate culture is
resistant to change, it must be dealt with in order to move the culture in
a more technologically oriented direction. To change a corporate culture,
management should have a well-defined strategic vision and commitment to a
long-range plan, leadership that can provide new symbols, and an active
selection of people adaptable to changing environments.The blue-collar work
force should be managed differently, ending reductionism and boredom, while
demanding more knowledge and giving more autonomy to workers.
16
------- |