Page 263 - Managing Change in Organizations

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Chapter 13 ■ Managing major changes
Discussion
We have already seen that stress is a necessary part of organizational change.
Similarly in the section on the politics of change we saw that conflict was a nec-
essary part of change. We need to develop means of dealing with these linked
phenomena. In particular, we need to examine how we respond to conflict and
whether we are able to minimize or deal with it. Conflict is likely to increase the
level of stress that we experience. Can we limit its impact? Perhaps more impor-
tant, we must face the issue of self-blame. Individuals undergoing changes which
appear to make their skills or experience unnecessary will often blame them-
selves: ‘This proves that I am no use.’ ‘I have been put on the scrap heap.’ People
say these sorts of things when blaming themselves. If change undermines self-
esteem, self-blame merely reinforces that situation. People should be encouraged
to face this issue. Do I blame myself? Do I feel useless, paralysed, confused? Can
I begin to deal with those feelings? What can I do to overcome them? Will work-
ing out a new role in the new situation allow me to do so? Self-blame in these
circumstances seems to be unavoidable; making it explicit can be helpful.

Issues
Do I take stock of my situation? Am I prepared to reflect on myself and how I feel
about change? Do I expect others (perhaps managers or union representatives) to
deal with these issues?
Discussion
Do I respond to change as an independent person or do I allow myself to be
dependent on others? What do I define as my responsibilities? We noted earlier
that discarding the past had an important element of risk and personal growth
attached to it. People handle crises in their non-working lives (divorce, bereave-
ment and so on). There is no reason to suppose that they cannot do so in their
working lives.

Know your situation

Issues
Can I describe the situation? Can I explain the new system? For my own work area?
For the department as a whole? Can I explain why the changes are necessary?

Discussion
If one does not understand the changes to be introduced, one is in no position
to come to terms with them as an individual. There is no better test of under-
standing than the task of explaining to another. If people cannot understand the
changes then this implies a failure to communicate them effectively. While man-
agers often say that they have described the changes to their employees it may
be that they have not done so in a manner which those people find intelligible.
This means describing it in the listener’s own terms, which does not necessarily
mean describing it in a lower or simplified form; rather, it means in a relevant
form. Kirkpatrick (1985) provides us with a useful approach to this problem
focusing on barriers to communication created by the sender and through the

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