Resistance to changes within an organization is often overlooked by management. Most managers generalize the aspect of how a particular group may react to a given amendment without systematically assessing who in specific will resist and how (Kotter & Schlesinger, 1989). In this essay, I will highlight a personal experience of resistance to change, describe it in relation to Kotter and Schlesinger's model, and gauge the appropriacy of how resistance was managed.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, learning shifted from a classroom-based affair to an online affair. Three weeks after the schools were shut in a bid to curb the pandemic, the school administration that my brother attends issued a memo to both the teaching staff and students, which stated that classes would be conducted via Zoom henceforth. However, this initiative did not accrue to a smooth transition. Approximately 70% of the students were against the whole idea and decided to boycott classes. They claimed that wherever they lived, there was poor internet connectivity and that purchasing internet bundles was a costly, considering the pandemic's hard economic times. Besides, some professors have never engaged the students to conduct classes, which is an indicator of resistance from the teaching staff. The administration kept snubbing the attempts of student representatives who tried to address student grievances about the same. Two weeks later, their school partnered with the internet service providers to provide subsidized bundles for both tutors and students but never looked into the aspect of why some professors were not teaching.
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Kotter & Schlesinger's model of resistance to change may be used to explain what may have caused the resistance from both students and some professors from a generalized perspective. Some professors defied the online classes, probably due to parochial self-interest. Maybe they felt that the school administration was depriving them of their comfort ample time they needed to spend with their families or run their side-jobs (Paycor, 2017). Another reason is low tolerance to change. Most students and a portion of the professors may have felt that the process was hectic to learn and adapt (Tanner, 2020).
In my opinion, the way the administration handled the situation was both a success and a failure in equal measure. It was a success because the management facilitated the students and professors with subsidized bundles, which saw up to 80% of students' attendance for the online classes. However, the administration failed to involve both student representatives and professors, which led to students' initial resistance and the total decline of some professors to teach. If both parties had been involved, probably all parties involved would have agreed on terms, but here is a situation that will force the institution to reschedule classes that were not taught once the pandemic situation normalizes.
References
Kotter J.P., Schlesinger L.A., 1989. Choosing Strategies for Change . In: Asch D., Bowman C. (eds) Readings in Strategic Management . Palgrave, London
Tanner, R., 2020. Organizational Change: 8 Reasons Why People Resist Change . [online]
Management is a Journey®. Available at: <https://managementisajourney.com/organizational-change-8-reasons-why-people-resist-change/> [Accessed 7 July 2020].
Paycor, P., 2019. [online] Paycor.com. Available at: <https://www.paycor.com/resource-center/change-management-in-the-workplace-why-do-employees-resist-it>
