The role of communication in reducing change resistance
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Business |
Bachelor's thesis
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Authors
Date
2021
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Johtaminen
Language
en
Pages
28
Series
Abstract
Change and change resistance have been present throughout the history and continue to do so. Resistance has been seen as a one-way interaction from employees to management, leaving the latter party pretty much outside from analysis. However, management’s role in contributing to change resistance before, during and after change processes should be taken into account. We should also notice the communication between coworkers and how it affects resistance. In this thesis I’m covering all above-mentioned themes. I’m also talking about resistance as a positive asset, as resistance can be seen as a form of communication which we can benefit from. I’m talking about sensemaking and how it is used as a tool to understand change and resistance. After defining how we explain change to ourselves, I move along closer to resistance and proceed explaining with the help of the theory of organizational justice why resistance occurs and how it shows in organizations. I have also reserved a separate section for emotions related to change and resistance. To conclude my findings, we should see change communication and resistance as a two-way, interactive relation between management and employees instead of a one-way attack from employees to management. Additionally, good communication requires firmness, clearness and convincing argumentation and justification from management. Sometimes a softer, more listening and presence-oriented approach is needed, especially in cases where change has caused stress and uncertainty among employees.Description
Thesis advisor
Yli-Kauhaluoma, SariKeywords
change, resistance, organizations, management, employees