Assignment 4: Resistance and Communication
Introduction
Yahoo has had a change in management, and since the takeover by Marissa Mayer as the CEO. It applied stack ranking performance review. The employees collude among themselves to gain proper assessment, thereby risking the loss of competent staff members. The horse trading needs to be eliminated by changing this tool and implementing a new method. The resistance to change leads to increased financial losses in an organization as well as to the demoralization of individuals to apply new ideas in the future of the company. The resistance to change poses the largest roadblock to the success of any given company and requires fast resolution. The resistance patterns are either based on rational or irrational reasons of the employees, therefore, forcing the management to distinguish between the two types.
The rational reasons arise on a reasonable explanation, as well as the employee behavior, that must portray parallel traits to the strength orientation of the given individual. The cause of deviance gets consideration in the determination of the rationality of the resistance of employees. An example is whereby an employee resists the new changes due to fears of the unknown new ways of doing and has concerns as to whether he can guarantee adequate future support. The concern outline rational reasons and get addressed in the implementation of the new changes.
Irrational ideas are contrary to the above and employees oppose the changes without holding any logical explanations as to why they do so. The long-run prevalence of such resistance poisons an organization leading to massive losses if not controlled. The main challenge behind the irrational reasons is that they cannot be eliminated via training, learning or communication. De Jager, (2001) argues that the solving of such non-rational reasons gets determined by the culture existing in a given organization.
Interpret the potential causes of resistance in the company. Identify and describe three possible causes of resistance to your change plan. Detect and describe three possible sources of resistance to your change plan
Resistance to change is quite a natural human reaction in any given setting or institution. Yahoo is no exceptional to having employees that are resistant to planned and rolled out variations in the organization by the HR department as well as the management as a whole. The three top causes of resistance at Yahoo are the fear of change, failure to the quest for consultation as well as poor communication.
Fear of change is the most popular causes of resistance to change. It entails the employees being afraid that they are not “good enough” or concerns for underperforming. It is natural that the employees, as humans, fear the uncertainty and the unknown. Secondly, lack of consultation causes employees to think they don’t qualify as part of the change thus raising resistance. Employee’s desire to feel heard, and Yahoo often encounters resistance due to avoided involvement. Thirdly, communication never becomes termed as excessive, and management needs build channels for strategic communication rather remaining silent.
The three primary sources of resistance are insecurity, possible social loss, and economic losses. “Insecurity” happens where employees have been working in a restful environment for an extended period. The workers tend to be uncertain of the expectations of the new changes causing the feeling of insecurity. The possible social loss is the second source and occurs whereby employees have strong ties in their work groups. Potential shifts in the formation lead to a social loss of the affected. Additionally, it inflicts diminished links in the remaining group. Economic loss, on the contrary, happens where the changes in technology render most employees redundant. Most employees, thus resist technological changes for fear to suffer the “Economic loss.”
Create a plan for minimizing possible resistance to your change management plan
In Yahoo, the resistance to the implementation of the new program will get mitigated through the creation of a robust execution plan. The first and foremost step entails the timely announcement of the intended change as rumors are prone to be fast and un-tamable in propping up. Secondly, management needs to demonstrate the necessity of the changes plus make follow-ups on it via communication and involvement. Thirdly, the management need releases a statement of complementation to former mentors to eliminate the notion of betrayal. Fourthly, the plan entails looking at the reactions of staff and working around their raised concerns, plus the assurance of support and adequate time to familiarize.
The fifth anecdote involves making small change steps to allow understanding of concepts gradually. The sixth adjustment includes the involvement of employees in understanding the difference and the reason for changing. The seventh step shifts to the encouragement of questions by the staff rather than just receiving instructions. The eighth plan entails lots of communication to eliminate uncertainty among employees. Finally, the management needs to enroll training programs to develop the employee's skills. Moreover, the management needs are flexible enough to let go of the changes if they prove un-implementable.
Elaborate on the relationship between resistance to change and communication
Communication gets recognized as the most relevant dimension revolving around the favorable change in any organization. Communication builds up the employee readiness for change which is the much-needed solution to resistance. Moreover, resistance brought about by uncertainty is eliminated via constant communication from management as well as reassurances communicated on available support and time for the adopting new changes. Finally, the communication holds direct relationship between mitigating resistance via the acquisition of commitment from the targeted parties. The communication strategies designed and conducted calls for the integration of multiple perspectives in the analysis so as to reduce the resistance to the changes.
Evaluate three communication strategies.
The communication strategies in an organization vary from company to company with three main strategies that are dominant. The first approach entails the consistent, timely coupled up with honesty, plus accuracy in the change of communication. The plan assists in eliminating gossip and rumors, plus peer influence towards resisting change. Understanding of the given change is emphasized and reviewed through effective communication to analyze needs for further explanations or additional information. The management assesses on message reaching the employees is similar to the initial instruction.
The second strategy entails the explanation of the vision, progress, and plans associated with the change plus the benefits expected from the given changes. Description of the given issues, changes the perception carried by the target group towards the given changes. Unforeseen issues are addressed and resolved promptly thus eliminating the chances of any arising resistance from the employees.
Thirdly, involves the capturing as well as addressing questions and concerns in a prompt manner. The interaction encourages the optimization of the participation of the involved employees as they feel it’s a two-way communication channel, and their opinions are relevant. The management should support the employees hold discussion plus open up dialogue Channel about the given change to facilitate incorporation of the suggested ideas.
Recommend one communication strategy that would apply to your organization.
Diagnose why this communication strategy is best for your organization
At Yahoo, the approach of explaining the vision, plans and expected benefits suits it best. The approach educates the employees on expected outcomes of the change implemented as well as the benefits the change will roll out to the employees as well as the company as a whole. Understanding the reasons for rolling out changes plays a key role in changing how the new change is perceived among the employees and within the enterprise. Yahoo employees are deemed rational, and their behaviors will go in line with the understanding of the purpose of the change.
Create a robust communication plan for your change initiative
The change initiative at Yahoo requires a solid communication plan that will drive home the targeted change action and smoothly. The communication plan should clearly outline the desired message for delivery. It states the desired changes and methodology of their implementation, plus the time frame it estimates to take. Secondly, the ideal plan points out clearly the target parties or the employees affected by the change. It should state each department and the respective conveyors of the information regarding the overall changes that will affect each one of them.
Thirdly, the plan should create awareness of the proposed change, that is, the rationale behind the given changes to partake; the expected benefits are either at the employee levels or the firm as a whole. The step is vital in assisting employees to understand the purpose of the anticipated changes. Fourthly, the communication plan needs to specify the modes and means by which the employees will get engaged in the decision-making process plus the process of educating them on the new changes. The most probable steps entail, use of questionnaires and suggestion boxes. Also, Yahoo requires training sessions and mentorship programs on the new changes to be implemented. Finally, the communication plan points out desired accomplishments from the targeted change plus how the communication channels will assist in attaining this goal.
References
Austin, M. (2011). Communication strategies. Canberra: The Australian National University.
De Jager, P. (2001). Resistance to change: a new view of an old problem. The Futurist, 24-27.
Kebapci, S., & Erkal, H. (2009). Resistance to Change. A Constructive Approach for Managing Resistant Behaviors, 66-67. Baltic Business School.
Lobello., C. (2013, November 13). Why did Yahoo adopt Microsoft's mean-spirited HR policy? Retrieved August 27, 2016, from The Week: http://theweek.com/articles/456569/why-did-yahoo-adopt-microsofts-meanspirited-hr-policy
Matos, P., Simoes, M., & Esposito, M. (2012). Improving Change Management: How Communication Nature Influences Resistance To Change. HAL.
