The Role of Communication in Minimizing Change Resistance

As the business grows, change is inevitable to meet various market needs and ensure achievement of the needed competitive advantage (Kasemsap, 2016). However, while implementing change, businesses often experience change resistance from the employees, which in turn affect certain organizational practices. Change occurs for several reasons within the organization including new staff roles, acquisition of new technology, changes in the vision, mission, and goals to reach more customers, and realignment of organizational structure.

            The major reason for change resistance is that the recommended change does not accommodate their needs. Some employees might have worked for the company for a long time, and changes in organizational culture might not reflect their needs. When employee feel excluded in organizational decisions, they become demotivated and reduce their productivity level. Most businesses often solicit advance input to ensure that employees voice their ideas and opinions (Marchington & Suter, 2013). Employees are considered the greatest organizational assets and their exclusion from the decision-making process, especially for changes which affect their normal operations, most of them feel less important and might fail to support the initiated change plan.

            Nike is a global company that has a complex communication system considering its scope of operation. Poor communication is another cause of change resistance. Organizational change starts with the decision makers; they then pass the details to the employees and ensure that each question and complaints are handled before implementing the needed change (Zorn, 2008). As the message passes through the hierarchy, the details are skewed, and employees receive inaccurate information regarding the change. With such poor communication, employees receive distorted information, which affects the quality of change needed within the organization.

            Mistrust is another cause of change resistance. Nike has been successful due to trust between the employees and management. Mistrust can detrimental to organizational performance; without adequate trust, the employees become reluctant to the policies and changes recommended by the management. Robbins and Coulter opined that Mistrusts often stem from a wide range of activities including change development with incorporating the needs of the employees (2009). In any business set-up, when employees feel that they cannot trust the management, then it becomes difficult to accept organizational changes. Mistrust might result from misunderstanding the need for change. To some extent, the employees ascribe the changes to some negative underlying reasons including the assumption that they could lose their jobs.

Management Plan to Minimize Change Resistance

            Implementing change plan within the business might present great challenges. To ensure the smooth and easy transition of the needed changes within the company, the management should have a vast knowledge of the employees affected directly or indirectly with the changes and integrate effective communication system to ensure that they understand the need for change (Zorn, 2008). The best way to learn and understand the opinions of the employees is through involving them in the decision-making process. For Nike, to minimize change resistance, there is a need for effective education and communication system. The method involves communicating the change benefits to the employees. Participation and involvement is another critical strategy the company should consider (Marchington & Suter, 2013). In such regard, the managers involve the employees in the decision-making process to make them feel part of the change and own the process of change management.

            Negotiation and consensus are key to effective implementation of the needed change. Through the method, the employees air their views as management offers incentives to the workers opposed to the required changes. Manipulation and coercion push strategy could work within the organization. However, manipulation sometimes does not yield the needed results in long-term (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). The management needs to sit down with the employees to formulate the change plan. To achieve such objective, the management should give out questionnaires to the employees to gain insight into the things they consider important. From the information given, Nike should get a census of what most employees prefer and make change decisions based on the needs of the employees.

Relationship Between Change Resistance and Communication

            Communication is important to ensure the success of change implementation within the organization. When considering organizational change, the business should get input from workers affected by the changes and ensure their satisfaction and understanding of the need for change. Change resistance does not depend on what the management does, but rather how the company explains the changes to the employees. According to Kasemsap (2016), most resistances occur due to failure by the management to consider sensitive issues within the organization especially those affecting the employees. To ensure effective change within the organization, there need for open communication between the employees and top management. Communication might assist to identify some of the weaknesses in the change process. Therefore, the appropriate communication system is key to ensure adequate understanding of the need for change, which in turn enhances acceptability for the recommended changes within the organization.

Communication Strategies

            There are different communication strategies. However, to ensure effective change implementation, an appropriate communication strategy is critical. The best communication strategy involves communicating the information to the stakeholders. Important communication strategies include active participation, understanding the audience and listening to them, and allowing the target audience to ask questions. Employees feel part of the organization when involved in the communication process. Active participation requires the management to include the employees in the decision-making process and enabling to make appropriate suggestions on ways to ensure effective implementation of the needed change. Understanding the audience and giving them the opportunity to address their views is important in strengthening organizational communication system. According to Marchington and Suter (2013), listening to the employees displays commitment to the management to address their needs. Listening should come first before communicating the change to the employees. Employees should also have time to ask questions especially about the things that affect them and concerns regarding the change in question.

Recommended Communication Strategy

            For Nike, the management should consider the active participation of the stakeholders, especially the employees. The strategy enhances transparency within the organization (Kasemsap, 2016). Without adequate transparency, the business would experience a sense of mistrust within the organization. As a result, stakeholders become resistive to organizational change. Transparency enhances understanding of the change. Active participation results in open and clear communication and a sense of belonging for some of the processes taking place within the organization.

Communication Plan

            Communication plan starts with establishing appropriate communication method. For Nike, the communication strategy chosen is active participation and video conferencing considering that it has several satellite offices. However, the management should avoid terminologies, which are not part of the employees’ jobs since they might have different understanding of the information being relayed. The desired results should be explained to the employees and other stakeholders to enable them understand and accept the objectives of the company. The management should explain how the change would assist to achieve the objective. Quality information should include method of implementation and the proposed timeframe to enhance transparency.

References

Kasemsap, K. (2016). The Roles of Organizational Change Management and Resistance to Change in the Modern Business World. Organizational Change Management Strategies in Modern Business, 5(7), 143-171.

Marchington, M., & Suter, J. (2013). Employee Experience of Informal Employee Involvement and Participation Measure. PsycTESTS Dataset, 8(3), 102-117.

Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. K. (2009). Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Zorn, T. E. (2008). Change Management and Communication. The International Encyclopedia of Communication, 3(9), 89-115.