Question No.

1:

Why people resist organizational change? (from the literature)

To start with the meaning of Organizational change, organizational change is the movements in
which an organization changes a major component of its organization, such as company culture,
the underlying technologies or infrastructure it uses to operate, or its internal processes.

There are many factors that make organizational change necessary. The following are the most
common factors for organizational change:

 Technological Advancements
 Changes in the Market
 Changes in Leadership
 Legal or Regulatory Changes
 Internal Challenges
 Mergers and Acquisitions
 Globalization

Unfortunately, the process of organizational change is not always smooth. People who find
themselves impacted by the change can resist the newly introduced change.

People resist organizational change for different reasons. Though there can be several reasons
why an employee is resistant to organizational change, here are the most common reasons:

1. Fear and Uncertainty: Most of the time People resist the change duet to the fear of
uncertainties and increased workload associated with change, or skills deficit.
2. Perceived Threats: People feel that the introduced change can be a threat to their
autonomy or control and their job status. They resist the change to protect their status.

3. Emotional Attachment: Most of the time People are comfortable with their current state
of affairs (existing processes, routines, or organizational culture) and get panicked by
uncertainties associated with change.
4. Lack of Trust: People likely resist change and do not support the proposed change if they
do not trust management and the change agents.
 5. Poor Communication and Exclusion: Failure to clearly communicate the reason behind
the change and excluding the employees in the decision-making process can lead to
resistance.
6. Past Failures: The newly introduced change can be resisted by employees if there were
failed changes in the past and poor management.

7. Cultural Barriers: Some organizational cultures prefer the known traditional practices to
innovations.

Question No. 2:

What strategies should be followed for minimizing resistance to change? (from the
literature)

The following strategies should be followed to minimize resistance to change.

1. Training and support

When some changes are implemented in an organization, it is difficult for managers and
employees to accept quickly. It also creates complaints. It is necessary to give different training
to solve this problem. It allows them to be ready for a new system. Making them resolve their
differences of opinion by communicating closely with each other. Provide ongoing training to
ensure they feel confident and comfortable navigating the new change. Clearly explain to the
managers and employees that the change is not to attack them, but to create the capacity to do
better.

2. Frequent clear communication

Facilitate clear communication between employees and managers in the organization. Create a
comfortable environment for them to have a common discussion tea coffee time so that they can
understand that the opinions they give will allow them to work together for change instead of
alienating them. By having a mutual agreement in the organization to change, enabling them to
closely believe that the ongoing change is for one purpose.

3. Show the value of change

After introducing the change, the results that came from the change must be presented and
reported to the employees in the organization. Achieving results for the change will reward those
who have made the greatest contributions and make others work harder to achieve those results.
As a result, low-performing managers and employees may be motivated to perform better.

4. Participation

When an institution implements new systems and procedures, it is necessary to encourage the
participation of the subordinates and employees. Thus, it makes them feel that they are part of
the change. When they feel that the result of the change is their part, they will prepare for the
next work. They also encourage other employees to be motivated for the change. Also, don't
think that it is a change that is being led by only one body. It is good to ask their opinion and
create a platform for them to share their feelings. Also, creating different ways for everyone to
work together for a common goal.

5. Evaluate and adjust

The leaders of the change need to regularly evaluate the results the new system is bringing to the
organization. Be prepared to make improvements if the change does not go as expected. It is
necessary to re-evaluate the current resistance to change and find another direction. If this
implemented method of change is not comfortable to some employees and managers, it is
necessary to accept their opinion and make some changes in the process and be patient for the
desired change to come gradually.

Question No. 3:

What symptom(s) exist in this case to suggest that something has gone wrong? (from the
case)

Even though the managers were being evaluated by the 10 values they themselves prioritized
some symptoms were clearly shown to indicate that something has gone wrong. Among the signs
that something has gone wrong in this situation are the following symptoms:

1. Managerial discomfort and dissatisfaction: Following the survey, several managers

expressed discomfort in staying in their positions, indicating that they had not adequately
prepared for the feedback process.
 2. Low survey scores: Most managers received scores low on key performance metrics,
indicating a high level of employee discontent with the efficacy of their leadership.

3. Unfavorable employee remarks: The comments were very critical and expressed
annoyance, doubt, and mistrust of the promises made by the leadership.

4. Managerial turnover: Three managers asked for transfer of units and two quit,
demonstrating the negative impact the survey and its findings had on morale.

5. Employee distrust: Comments gathered from the survey indicated a lack of trust in
leadership because of previous unmet expectations, and these resulted in employees
mistrust of Wudu's transformation activities.

Question No. 4:

What are the root causes that have led to these symptoms? (from the case)

Depending on the case there are different factors which caused resistance to organizational
transformation at Tana Insurance Corporation (TIC) These are:

1. Rooted Authoritarian Management Practices:

The administration system at TIC does not give the chance for the workers to make any
decision. Any decision made is brough from top to down without any consultation and
engagement.

Over time, this administration style created a lack of trust between workers and their
bosses making workers dubious of any change that appeared to come from the upper
body. When Wudu brought in more participatory measures, workers were already used to
a strict and hierarchical approach, which made them hesitant to adopt new methods of
working.

2. Poor Communication and Lack of Openness:

From the case one can understand that there was lack of efficient communication and
lack of openness about the changes introduced. The workers were not oriented to the
reason behind the survey and feedback collection. This absence of transparency reduced
 trust among workers and created uncertainty, making them question the reason behind
these changes.

3. Lack of Support and Preparation for Change: The programs implemented by Wudu
lacked sufficient foundation. The managers did not get enough training to enable them to
change from the traditional authoritarian management. As a result, the managers were not
well capable of implementing the changes in the right manner, thus making the workers
have poor experience and be unhappy. Although the policies were introduced with good
intentions it was observed that they could not transform the culture of the company due to
inadequate provision of equipment and training.

4. Unaddressed Historical Grievances: It was a major oversight that worker grievances

were not resolved before the new changes were implemented. Worker survey results
highlighting poor ratings for claims managers revealed that the issues predated Wudu's
initiatives and were deeply embedded in the organization's management culture.
Throughout the transition, tensions that have been building for years continue unresolved.
Continual concerns, including poor management and the perception of inadequate worker
support, created resistance to change because workers felt their important concerns were
being ignored.

5. Imposition of Rapid Change: The organizational change introduced by Wudu was very
quick which resulted in uncertainty, anxiety, and resistance. The change was broad and
unexpected. Due to rapid and dramatic changes in the organization, the workers did not get
enough time to adapt to the new working culture which increased their resistance and
intensified their perception of risk associated with the changes.

Question No. 5

What actions should the company take to correct these problems? (from the case)

The company should administer the following strategic actions to resolve issues related to
change resistance, declining worker morale, and the management-staff disconnect.

1. Develop Communication and Transparency

There was insufficient and unclear communication within the organization. regarding new
initiatives and feedback mechanisms. To address this:

 Conduct frequent meetings and open forums to encourage worker feedback.

 Clearly explain every detail the reasons behind changes.
 Give responses to each survey’s results and let the workers know about the corrective
steps taken based.
2. Management Development Programs
The worker was demoralized due to the rigid leadership approach. To resolve this:

 Training programs which focus on collaborative leadership, conflict management, and

motivating staff should be given.
 Evaluate leaders’ performance based on team satisfaction and performance.
 Managers should be mentored in the way to build stronger organizational relationships.
3. Apply Strategic Change Management
 The change should be introduced gradually.
 Test the changes in pilot programs before implementing fully.
4. Increase Worker Participation:
To resolve issues of change resistance which resulted from feeling of exclusion:

 Involve workers in decision-making and strategic planning, through worker committees

or brainstorming sessions.

 Give recognition for workers who actively support changes.

 To keep continuous workers’ feedback there should be quarterly surveys.

5. Establish Accountability
As we can understand from the case there is a lack of accountability. To address this:

 There should be clear roles and responsibility for both staff and management.

 Based on the result of workers’ feedback corrective action should be taken, and managers
should be held responsible for their inappropriate actions.

6. Establish good Organizational Culture

To enhance organizational culture and worker morale, TIC should:
  Uphold work-life balance through flexible schedules and extended flextime initiatives.

 Implement wellness programs to support both physical and mental health.

 Cultivate an inclusive, positive culture through recognition, collaboration, and team-

building activities.

7. Regularly follow-up the Change Strategies

Finally, there should be systematic monitoring of change initiatives:

 Regularly collect feedback from workers about the effectiveness of changes.

 Adjust change strategies based on the feedback and through time when necessary

Question No. 6

Furthermore, following careful case analysis: identify key issues; synthesize information;
conduct thorough analysis; reassess problems; generate solution alternatives; evaluate pros
and cons; assess options; select optimal solution; and develop implementation strategy.

6.1 Problem identified within TIC Organization

 High turnover, high workload and lack of motivation:

 The employees were experiencing a high workload and are working in tiny cubicle
where isolation is apparent and there were promise made by previous leaders about
and the change but now their hope is gone due to previous leaders failing to keep their
promises

 Claim division is managed in a relatively authoritarian, which is in top-down manner

and there is poor working conditions leading to high turnover

 The survey that Wudu required them to complete, along with sharing the results with
employees, worsened morale among managers and employees. The managers were
unsure of what the results would reveal and what would happen if they received poor
ratings. This created harsh feelings between managers and their employees and raised
job security concerns for the managers.

 Resistance to change:
  Managers feared that open feedback and low rating could harm their career

 Since wudu did not adequately explain the benefit of change to a manger its created
misunderstanding and causing it to resistance.

 Managers feared accountability and transparency this makes them get defensive as it’s
a career threatening rather than development

 Poor handling of feedback:

 Sharing the unfiltered comment and exposing the result of the manager to their
employee caused tension between employee and manager leading to conflict

 The absence of training the managers on how to handle feedback makes them take the
feedback poorly and get defensive

6.2 Summary of the TIC Case Analysis

Organizational Background:

 Tana insurance corporation (TIC) case analysis-the organization planned on changes

by hiring a president and wudu is hired as vice president and lead claim division and
he planned to introduced change within the claim department to improve
competitiveness and customer service

 After visiting the claim department Wudu noticed that the claim division is managed in
an authoritarian approach and high workload which makes high turnover and
employee dissatisfaction

Vice President Wudu’s initiatives to introduced Change within the department

 wudu implemented participative strategies open feedback mechanism and employee

survey to solve the issue which clashed with existing authoritarian leadership approach
within the claim division

Survey Results and reaction

 The survey showed moderate to poor rating ranges for most managers and also the
employee commented personal thing about the managers on the survey
  Employees expressed longstanding frustration and doubt about the new initiatives to
bring real change since the previous leaders failed to bring any meaningful changes

 The feedback session between managers and employees created tension and harsh
feeling between them due to unfiltered feedback damaging their relationship.

6.3 Analysis of information

Cultural misalignment

 Wudu’s participative approach conflicted with TIC existing authoritarian culture

Communication Failure

 Since wudu initiatives is to bring real organizational changes and benefits of the survey and
changes on the exiting approach within the department were not communicated effectively,
this led to unwanted outcome which is resistance to change among managers and doubt
among employee

Collection of feedback

 Making the feedback results open to employees without preparing the managers on how to
handle the feedback created tension and harsh feelings between managers and employees.

6.4 Reconsider the problem

The primary issue lies not in Wudu’s initiatives but in their implementation

 The claim division to align its culture wudu’s strategies which is participative management
model

 Poor plaining and communication issue undermine the effectiveness of the model

 The absence of training for employee and managers makes it hard for them to accept changes

6.5 Develop alternative to deal with the problem

The initiative introduced by Wudu is a great solution to address the company’s problems.
However, to resolve the issues that arose during the execution of the plan, TIC or Wudu should
consider the following alternatives:
Alternative 1: Conduct Anonymous Survey and share aggregated result

 To encourage honest feedback without fear, protect the anonymity of the respondent

 Avoid exposure of individual comment and focus on the high-level trends on the survey and
see where the weakness or problem is and take a measure on it.

Alternative 2: Train Managers in handling feedback and conflict resolution

 Since most employee dissatisfaction is raised on how their immediate managers lead their
team so giving training to managers on leadership

 Equip managers with emotional intelligences and conflict resolution skills to build trust
among employee

Alternative 3: Gradually implement Accountability Measures

 Introduce changes gradually to give employee and managers time to adapt to the changes

 Start with voluntary participation in feedback initiatives (this can be managed by

implementing anonymous feedback through a chatroom, allowing employees to provide
feedback directly to the Vice President without requiring their physical presence) and
gradually incorporate these into standard practices.

6.6 Asses advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives Measure

Alternative 1: Anonymous Surveys and Aggregated Results

 Advantages

- Reduce conflict by protecting the anonymity of the respondent

- Encourages honest feedback without fearing the managers

 Disadvantages

- reduced accountability- without knowing the specific source of feedback or contexts it hard
to hold managers or teams accountable for specific behavior

- Aggregated feedback does not allow for follow up questions or clarification leaving critical
concern unaddressed
 Alternative 2: Manager Training

 Advantages:

- Build managerial capacity and they know how to handle conflict and take feedback

- Enhances relationship between managers and employee

 Disadvantages

- Require financial investment and time for the training

Alternative 3: Gradual Implementation of accountability measures

 Advantages:

- Allow smother adaptation to new expectations

- Reduce resistance to change by reducing pressure

 Disadvantages

- Slow progress toward achieving organization goals

6.7 Evaluate Alternatives

Combining alternative 1 and 2 will provides a balanced approach with anonymous survey ensure
confidentiality encouraging honest feedback while protecting relation between managers and
employee and alternative 2 which is managers training will address the root cause of resistance
to change by equipping leaders to handle feedback constructively.

Gradual implementation (alternative 3) can serve as a complementary strategy to reduce

resistance further

6.8 Recommended Alternative

TIC should implement alternative 1(anonymous surveys) to protect feedback confidentiality and
alternative 2 which is training managers to handle feedback constructively together this measure
will address resistance to change.

6.9 Recommend Strategy for implementation

 Short Team Strategy

- Revise the survey process to ensure confidentially

- Design and deliver training for managers on emotional intelligence, conflict resolution,
leadership skill and effective communication

 Medium Term:

- Conduct the anonymous survey and share aggregated result with employee and
managers

- Facilitate feedback discussion between managers and employee supported by regional

directors

 Long Term

- Establish culture of continuous improvement by integrating feedback mechanist in to

regular operation, this makes it easy to solve immediate problem on the spot

- Reduce managerial hierarchical barriers and align the organization with participative
management practice

- monitor the impact of the initiatives through periodic survey and adjust the initiatives if
needed