Running head: RESISTANCE TO CHANGE 1

Written Assignment Week 5

Resistance to Change

BUS5113 Organizational Theory and Behavior

Term 2, 2018-2019

University of the People

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Organizational Culture and Change

Every organization has its own culture that makes it distinct from one another.

Organizational culture is the shared values, beliefs, and norms which influence the way employees

think, feel, and act towards others inside and outside the organization (Huczynski & Buchanan,

2013). An organization’s culture does not evolve overnight, it is developed and cultivated over

time based on defined company values and implied traits of its members. According to Edgar

Schein, culture is that pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has created, found or

developed during a learning process owing to problems with external adaptation and internal

integration (Lægaard & Bindslev, 2014). For this reason, changing the organizational culture has

become a very challenging mission. It often raised apprehensions and resistance from members of

the organization who have been acquainted with their current culture.

Changes in the organizational culture could be due either internal and external factor. Since

organizational culture requires mutual agreement between the employer and employee, resistance

could make it difficult to implement changes. In some members of an organization, changes are

deemed as disturbance. Resistance to change could disrupt the implementation of organizational

culture change. Nevertheless, whether the change would give substantial growth to the

organization, to gain competitive advantage, or is brought about by a crisis such as financial

setback or operational dysfunction, change would inevitable and has to be effected.

In the implementation of organizational culture change, the members of the organization

can move forward by setting the necessary steps and action to achieve their goal. Steps in

organizational culture change varies but most are based on research and successful

implementations by management experts. In the article “The 9 Clear Steps to Organizational

Culture Change”, Tim Kuppler (2013) identified these steps as follows:

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1. Evaluate your current culture and performance.

2. Clarify your initial vision.

3. Clarify values and expected behaviors.

4. Clarify strategic priorities.

5. Engage your team in defining smart goals.

6. Clarify and track key measures.

7. Maintain a management system for priorities and goals.

8. Manage communication habits and routines.

9. Build motivation throughout the process.

In their article “Changing an Organization’s Culture, Without Resistance or Blame”, Tom

DiDonato and Noelle Gill (2015), suggested a four-phase approach in changing an organization’s

culture, with focus on awareness, learning, practice, and accountability.

Another significant factor required to achieve a successful organizational culture change is

strong leadership. Leadership plays a more significant role in organizational culture change. A

leader’s actions greatly influence the outcome of organizational culture change. According to Jim

Whitehurst in his article “Leaders Can Shape Company Culture Through Their Behaviors”

building an innovative culture starts by looking at how you behave as a leader toward those trying

to innovate. He further added, “if you are interested in changing the culture of your organization,

your first step should be to look in the mirror and make sure you are setting the kind of behavioral

example you want everyone else to follow”.

Resistance to Change Questionnaire

In the survey given for this week titled Resistance to Change, my results are shown below:
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Picture 1: Resistance to Change Result

According to the interpreted results, my resistance to change is about average. In general,

I agree on most of it. The result shows that I see both the advantages and disadvantages in changes

and I’m not typically inclined to either resist or promote them, which is quite accurate. If I learn

of any change that will be implemented, I tend to accept it but does not really demand others to

adapt the way I do, unless such change would become a crucial part in the operation. The result

about routines is also accurate. It shows that I like doing things on a regular basis, but on occasion,

I do like to do something unexpected or outside my usual routine. Perhaps it is because I do not

want to get stuck on one same thing over and over without a bit of change or any challenge to the

norms. It could probably be the reason why, after over 16 years of continuous employment, I

decided to stay at home and try other things, like studying. Furthermore, the result also shows that

my emotional reaction to changes is mild and that I don’t feel too stressed in their presence, but

not entirely indifferent to them. This however seems to be inaccurate because the most recent big

change that I had to go through has been quite stressful to me. It left me emotionally disturbed for
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some time until I have become acquainted to it. Hence, the result which tells that despite the short-

term inconvenience, I consider the long-term benefits of the said change, is accurate. I also agree

that even though my beliefs are consistent over time, I still change my ways of viewing things.

As mentioned earlier, the most recent big change that I had experienced was difficult. I

resigned from my job and I had to make a choice between accepting a job opportunity in the same

country of move to the neighboring country where my husband is based. I had to weigh the

advantages and disadvantages of both options. As many would say, I should decide to leave and

have a complete family, but there was also an option for my husband adjust and move with us

instead. Other things that I had to consider was employment. I have been used to working full time

since I graduated from college and I was scared of the thought that I would become jobless. I also

had to consider that if I decide to leave, I would be leaving my youngest sister, which being the

oldest, is very hard to do. I eventually decided to join my husband. I can say, there were

apprehensions but I did not completely resist because in the end, my family is complete again

which would definitely give more benefits to us, both financially and emotionally.

Conclusion

In sum, organizational culture may be expressed as the company’s personality (Doyle,

2018), it describes how things are done in their operations, and it defines the relationship within

and outside the company. Since culture is dynamic (Watkins, 2013) and should always adapt to

changing environment, changes in organizational culture will always be an inevitable and long

undertaking. Ultimately, good leadership, well established goals, managed communication, and

mutual agreement and cooperation among members, would are the key in order to achieve a

successful organizational culture.

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References

Bauer, T. and Erdogan, B. (2012). An Introduction to Organizational Behavior. Lardbucket Book

Project. Licensed under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa 3.0. Retrieved from:

https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/an-introduction-to-organizational-behavior-

v1.0.pdf

DiDonato, T. & Gill, N. (2015). Changing an Organization’s Culture, Without Resistance or

Blame. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/07/changing-an-organizations-culture-

without-resistance-or-blame

Huczynski, A. A. & Buchanan, D. A. (2013). Organizational Behaviour (8th ed.). Pearson

Education Limited. Harlow, UK. Retrieved from

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24481067-organizational-behaviour

Lægaard, J. & Bindslev, M. (2014). Organizational Theory. Retrieved from

https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/366056/mod_resource/content/1/TEXT%20Organ

izational%20Theory.pdf

Kuppler, T. (2013). The 9 Clear Steps to Organizational Culture Change. Retrieved from

https://www.tlnt.com/the-9-clear-steps-to-organizational-culture-change/

Strebel, P. (1996). Why Do Employees Resist Change?. Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/1996/05/why-do-employees-resist-change

Watkins, M. D. (2013). What Is Organizational Culture? And Why Should We Care?. Retrieved

from https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture

Whitehurst, J. (2016). Leaders Can Shape Company Culture Through Their Behaviors. Retrieved

from https://hbr.org/2016/10/leaders-can-shape-company-culture-through-their-behaviors
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Understanding Company Culture. (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-company-culture-2062000