demystifying the legend of resistance to change hamid tahbaz tavakoli nader ale ebrahim arash golnam...

Demystifying the Legend of Resistance to Change

Hamid Tahbaz TavakoliNader Ale Ebrahim

Arash GolnamThe R&D Society of Iranian Industries and Mines

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Introduction to RDS

The leading organization for • the discussion• development • and promotion of the research and development in all Iranian

industries and organizations.

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• An independent membership organization • Assisting its members in maintaining their

knowledge, skills and contacts in R&D and innovation since 1998.

• It is unique in Iran in covering all types of business and industry with an interest in R&D, enabling common issues and solutions to be discovered, shared and solved.

Introduction to RDS

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• Having over 1800 members ranging from MNCs (Multi National Corporations) to SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises).

• Auto, Chemical, Food, Home Appliances, Services, Engineering,…

• Aiming at providing services for over 10,000 members by the end of 2010.

Introduction to RDS

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R&D Fund

• A joint partnership with the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology,

• Established in 2005• Nurturing and supporting feasible R&D and

innovation projects by means of loans and grants.

• R&D Fund, the only Iranian funding organization for research and development.

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Change is a word with which we are all familiar, meaning to alter something.

Change

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What is Change?

• Alterations in people• Alterations in structure• Alterations in technology

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In the struggle for survival It's not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, It’s the most responsive to change.

Charles Darwin

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How Have We Changed?

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Some Historic Paradigm Shifts

• Mass production to mass customization• Mainframes to PCs to wireless• Full-time employees to flexible work hours and cottage

industries to outsourcing• British Hong Kong to Communist China to the world’s

manufacturing center• Wax cylinders to vinyl records to CDs to MP3 downloads• Betamax to VHS to DVD• Electronic tubes to transistors to chips to nanotubes• Ballooning to biplanes to propeller planes to jets to space

shuttles

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PeoplePeople TechnologyTechnology

CompetitionCompetition

Information Information Processing & Processing &

CommunicatioCommunicationn

Increasing diversity in age, education, ethnicity, and background.

Manufacturing advancements, artificial intelligenceNano-technology

Increasing globalization of markets

Computer, satellite communications, video conferencing

Forces for Change

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If you are still doing things now the same way you did them five years ago, you are doing something wrong.

Jack Welch

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Change Initiatives within Enterprises• Installing major new technologies• Installing an Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP)• Creating a new high-performance culture• Focusing on business and operational excellence• Becoming a global company• Downsizing, outsourcing, and major cutbacks• Restructuring and redesigning the organization• Improving Six Sigma and quality• Changing supply-chain management• Developing and deploying major new products• Significantly increasing creativity and innovation•Becoming more customer-focused and improving customer service • Conducting mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and alliances….

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75 Percent of All Major Changes Do Not Succeed

The vast majority of major organizational change efforts fail to achieve their intended and desired outcomes.

TimeE

ffic

ienc

y

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The Iceberg View of Change

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Why Change Initiatives Fail?

• Job Cuts and Downsizing• Fragmented Reengineering Fads• Lack of Customer Orientation• Strategic Planning Fragmentation• ….• Resistance to Change

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Management of Change

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Resistance to Change

The reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order.

Machiavelli

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Resistance Defined

• When we raise objections to proposed changes, we call it realistic thinking.

• When other people raise objections to changes we endorse, we call it resistance.

• “Resistance isn't an indication that something is wrong with what you are trying to change. It is an indication that something is happening.” James Hunt

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Resistance to change introduces costs and delays into the change process that are difficult to anticipate but must be taken into consideration.

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+ PositivesEnthusiasmOpportunityChallengeExcitementNew skillsNew knowledgeRewardFulfilmentSurvivalNew startCreates optionsLearning experienceMotivation

- NegativesFearAnxietyShockDistrustAngerStressResentmentConfusionUncertaintyDemotivationDepressionLoss of self-esteemLoss of identity

- NegativesLoss of peer groupLetting goSaying goodbyeDistractionFamily disruptionInsomniaConflictPoliticsStubbornnessCritical reactionsMutinyDisown/BlockMisunderstanding

Individuals’ Reactions to Change

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• Equilibrium• Denial• Anger• Bargaining• Chaos

• Depression• Resignation• Openness• Readiness

EMOTIONAL RESPONSES:Coping through change work

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Underlying Reasons Why Underlying Reasons Why Individuals Resist ChangeIndividuals Resist Change

Perceived lack ofnew skills,loss of old

Fear of the Unknown

Loss of powerbase

Dislike ofuncertaintyambiguity

Loss of rewards

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People in Change

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In a rapidly changing world managers need to increase their skills at diagnosing resistance to change and at choosing the appropriate methods for overcoming it.

Peter Drucker25

History of Dealing with Resistance

• French revolutionaries used the guillotine.

• The Bolsheviks had resisters shot or packed off to the gulags.

• Mao and his communist followers sent them to “reeducation” camps.

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Methods for Dealing with Resistance to ChangeApproach Commonly used in

situation Advantages Drawbacks

Education+communication

Where there is a lack of information or inaccurate information and analysis

Once persuaded, people will often help with the implementation of the change.

Can be very time-consuming if lots of people are involved.

Participation + involvement

Where the initiators does not have all the information they need to design the change, and where others have considerable power to resist.

People who participate will be committed to implementing change, and any relevant information they have will be integrated into the change plan.

Can be very time-consuming if participators design an inappropriate changes

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Facilitation + support

Where people are resisting because of adjustment problems.

No other approach works as well with adjustment problems

Can be time consuming, expensive and still fail.

Negotiation + agreement

Where someone or some group will clearly lose out in a change and where that group that has considerable power to resist.

Sometimes it is a relatively easy way to avoid major resistance.

Can be too expensive in many cases if alerts others to negotiate for compliance.

Methods for Dealing with Resistance to Change`(Con.)

Approach Commonly used in situation

Advantages Drawbacks

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Manipulation + co-optation

Where other tactics will not work or are too expensive.

If can be relatively quick and inexpensive solution to resistance problems.

Can lead to future problems if people feel manipulated.

Explicit + implicit coercion

Where speed is essential and the change initiators possess considerable power.

It is speedy, and can overcome any of resistance.

Can be risky if it leaves people mad at the initiators.

Methods for Dealing with Resistance to Change` (Con.)

Approach Commonly used in situation

Advantages Drawbacks

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Waves of Change in an Organization

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Sir Ernest Shackleton

During Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition, his ship was trapped and crushed in the frozen Weddell Sea. Shackelton and his men made a long and perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land. Not one man was lost.

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Lessons Learned

• Establishing a sense of urgency• Creating and setting the shared vision• Communicating this vision• Building commitment to this vision• Organizing and motivating people and what

they do so that they are aligned and attuned to this vision

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The Change Formula• D x V x F > R

– Dissatisfaction x Vision x First Steps > Resistance to Change

• All three components must be present to overcome the resistance to change in an organization: – Dissatisfaction with the present situation,– a Vision of what is possible in the future, and – achievable First Steps towards reaching this

vision.

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• Explain the purpose

• Paint a picture

• Lay out a plan

• Provide a part

Effective Communication During Change

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• Right People - critical people/groups that need to be communicated to

• Right Message - what are the questions and concerns? the most critical messages?

• Right Time - to communicate

Key Elements In A Communication Strategy

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What Do These Numbers Represent? 26—12—10—3—2

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26

26—The English language is arguably the most complicated on Earth, with at least 650,000 common words and phrases. Yet at its foundation, just 26 letters—the Roman/Latin alphabet—form the entirety of the language.

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12

12—From classical to jazz to folk songs to rap, every musical compositionin the West is created from just twelve musical notes—an octave of seven“whole” or “natural” notes (the white keys on a piano), and five sharps and flats (the black keys).

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10

10—The Western base-ten mathematical system has only ten building blocks (the digits zero through nine).

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33—The foundations of

color are three basic colors of visible light (red, yellow, and blue). Combinations of those three colors, when they hit the eye, result in the literally millions of colors we observe in the natural world.

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2

2—The entire Information Age and computer revolution was built on just two

digits—zero and one.

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Human mind is more complex than all the systems in the world.

Human mind is more complex than all the systems in the world.

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There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

Winston Churchill

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When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.

John M. Richardson

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Presentation file is available athttp://www.iranrd.org

Contacta.golnam@gmail.com

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