Re: Resistance to Change LO702

Gerry Starnes (gstarnes@bga.com)
Thu, 6 Apr 1995 09:20:40 -0500

Bo Warburton writes in LO681:

> About those who resist change and the larger meaning of their
> resistance: I wonder what tools we can use to gain insight from their
> resistance. Does it make sense to see resistance as symptomatic of an
> adaptive challenge facing the organization as a whole?
> For instance, I am on a systems project now that will require social
> workers to work directly with computers. The union is preparing a
> protest on the grounds that "data entry" is not in the job
> descriptions. While many individuals are rightly concerned about job
> security, maybe there is some broader issue of vision under the
> surface?

IMHO, you are on the right track. It does make sense to _look at_
resistance as adaptive, though in the end you may _see_ it otherwise when
all the results are in. Your current project is an example. It is
impossible to tell what the _real_ reasons for the resistance are early
on. It may turn out that they really are looking only at the potential of
losing their jobs.

But, on the other hand, try to look at the issue from their perspective.
Join their side for a time and see things from their point of view. Why
are they in the field they are in? for example. If it is to help their
clients, what about your project will facilitate that need? If data entry
really is a concern (too much time away from clients), how can the system
adapt to that need.

Your observation that "many individuals are _rightly_ concerned about job
security," however, hints at the possiblity of an underlying agenda, which
because they are sensitive to the issue, means that they are aware of it.
And no one wants to lose their job. What you may be seeing then is fear,
rather than resistance. That is a different issue and needs to be
addressed differently. Being from a 'right-to-work' state, I do not
relate to union issues (for the most part!), but my assumption is that a
basic need of unions is to retain employment for their members. If so,
it's too obvious to note that you should not be surprised at "resistance"
from the union. A question would be: What, if anything, can be done to
address the union's concern about the project?

gerry starnes
austin, tx

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