Employees Questions Regarding The Change example essay topic

Organization: JUTHUR National Agricultural & Trading Est. Brief Description: A UAE-based company specialized in importing veterinary pharmaceuticals from internationally reputed manufacturers for Middle East markets. Three random employees at JUTHUR were asked the following question: " In your opinion to what extent does technology affect work in your organization? Please give your answer in the form of a percentage".

Answers were as follows: - Employee #1: Name: Dr. Saeed Mous a Job Description: Technical & International Manager Answer: 60% - Employee #2: Name: Mr. Azm i Sro or Job Description: Accountant Answer: 70% - Employee #3: Name: Mrs. Rema Anas Job Description: Executive Secretary Answer: 35% When taking the average of the above 3 answers, the result was 55%. Analysis of the resulting percentage (55%): The result of the random questioning of employees at JUTHUR clearly indicates that there is obvious resistance to technology at this organization. Here, I will outline possible reasons for technological resistance apparent at JUTHUR: Employees often resist changes which diminish skill requirements in jobs; personal status, authority, power or influence; personal or job security; workplace communication; are not fully understood; are forced upon them; disrupt established social relationships; make people feel ineffective or incompetent, or expose personal weaknesses. Possible sources of resistance at JUTHUR and other organizations may be summarized as follows: Individual Sources of Resistance.

Fear of the Unknown. Self-Interest. Habit. Personality Conflicts. Differing Perceptions.

General Mistrust. Social Disruptions Organizational Sources of Resistance. Structural Inertia. Bureaucratic Inertia.

Group Norms. A Resistant Organizational Culture. Threatened Power. Threatened Expertise. Threatened Resource Allocation When a new technology is introduced without considering the feelings of the employees in the organization, and taking precautions to avoid and contain feelings of antagonism that may arise, there will be very strong resistance due to the overlooking of the social and psychological patterns of the employees. Resistance is a form of stability affecting people and organizations, especially when faced with opportunities for change.

Technology change is seen as a battle between the forces of progress and the forces of resistance. Overcoming Resistance to Change: Integration is needed between new technology and professional behavioral patterns. We need to use dialogue and open channels of connection between leaders and followers to convince people to adapt their behavioral patterns to new technologies. Naturally, there is slow response from human beings toward the fast movement of technology because humans change slower than technology and so we have to direct our efforts to narrowing the cultural gap that is a subsequent result of this.

An organization must be ready for change before it can be effective. Organizational change is less successful when top management fails to keep employees informed about the process of change. Employees' perceptions or interpretations of a change significantly affect resistance. Employees are less likely to resist when they perceive that the benefits of a change overshadow the personal costs. At a minimum then, managers are advised to (1) provide as much information as possible to employees about the change, (2) inform employees about the reasons / rationale for the change, (3) conduct meetings to address employees' questions regarding the change, and (4) provide employees the opportunity to discuss how the proposed change might affect them.