Change:
Work by Wanberg and Banas (1997) establishes attitudes towards change, change acceptance and positive views of organisational change are positively related to job satisfaction. Consequently, employees with lower organisational commitment often have greater stress- job relationships after organisational change than those with greater commitment. It has been suggested that to increase employee openness to change information should be communicated clearly and the option to participate in decisions related to the change should be implemented (Bareil, Savoic, and Meunier, 2007).
In order to lead change successfully, Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) recommend diagnosing the …show more content…
If change is unplanned stakeholders should be informed of how the change will affect them, exactly what has occurred, why the change occurred and what steps will be taken to improvement or entrench the change. Similarly, if change is planned these steps should be started to be implemented before the change occurs so communication and feedback can be considered when developing the change strategy.
Commonly conflict during organisational change can emerge as resistance in stakeholders. Resistance can be seen through actions such as absenteeism, low performance, avoidance and passive aggressive behavior. Lawrence (1954) is highlighted by Dent and Goldberg (1999) for providing five main suggestions as to how management can effectively manage resistance to change. These suggestions include;
- Broadening staff interests (open them to different subject matter within the organisation)
- Using understandable terms (all staff should understand the change)
- Analyzing new resistance (evaluate what is causing the continued resistance)
- Developing new definitions (make all descriptions as specific as possible)
- Revising the role of the administrator (should be someone that understands and communicates with all people with different …show more content…
It’s suggested by scholars such as Henry (2009) and Kzaimoto (2013) that managers should encourage an open communication policy throughout all stages of implementing and resolving organisational change and conflict. Open channels of communication allow for stakeholders to have access to necessary and clarifying information at all times. Open communication assists in reducing rumors and possible informal and formal conflicts that develop from simple miscommunication. Robinson (2010) reinforces the idea of open channels; an undiscussable or ‘elephant in the room’ issue can often be left unresolved due to the stigma behind the issue. Ensuring stakeholders feel all issues can be raised and discussed in a respectful manner without creating defensiveness or negative consequences is a vital component to reducing conflict through