Home Journal List International Review of Management and Business Research Volume 3 Article Details

The Other Side of Change Resistance

Abstract

It is generally perceived that resistance to change is negative, and that it is the greatest obstacle to the attainment of change objectives. A survey of a diverse sample of managers in 5 South-Western States of Nigeria confirms this perception as 79% agrees that resistance is the greatest obstacle to change management, 60 % believes that the impact of change resistance is mostly negative while only 26% believes that there are some beneficial elements in change resistance. This paper reviews a growing literature and research to the contrary and highlights the various positive sides of resistance. Resistance offers opportunities to strengthen operational outcomes, offers feedback that improves the quality and clarity of objectives and strategy, provides more information, leads to a more meaningful and useful change process, builds interest, participation and engagement, reveals other perspectives and options and leads to more successful implementation. The paper therefore recommends that managers should be cautious in the use of the term ‘change resistance’, stop regarding anyone who questions a change programme as a organizational terrorists to be fought to a standstill, view change resistance as a phenomenon that can yield positive outcomes, be open and consultative about it, encourage those who have issues with the change process to come forward and ensure that negative feedbacks about proposed change programmes are evaluated and possibly accommodated, where meaningful. It also recommends two strategies for attaining this objective: building organized disagreement into the change process and effective use of employee surveys

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