Resistance to Change

For any operations manager, addressing company culture and an overall sense of resistance to improvement or change is crucial to the success of an organization. Organizations that are inflexible and resist changes to facilitate improvement will ultimately fall behind those companies that seek consistent improvement initiatives. In the ‘No Good Deed’ case, Mark is wrongfully held accountable for a mistake, resulting in confrontations between his volunteer organization and his employer. Mark’s employer, in turn, terminates his position within the company and Mark requested an internal investigation into the printing mistake of the brochure. After submitting a report of the incident, his pleas for change were ignored by the Board of Directors of the volunteer organization. This manner of resistance to change will ultimately result in the eventual decline of the non-profit organization and its festival. 

When planning a method to implement change into an organization or its project, one must first evaluate the current organizational culture to understand the motivations behind the resisting change. In the case of the non-profit organization, the permanent employees have worked together for many years, forming close relationships and tight bonds. Also, there is a general discontent from the volunteers with this organization resulting in a high rate of turnover. In addition, the Board of Directors consists of political allies to the organization, none of which have formal business training or experience. The current organizational culture explains the reasons for the resistance to change. The laissez-faire management style and the close relationships between permanent workers and the Board of Directors facilitate a culture in which the volunteers are seen as expendable and incompetent. Of course, this is not appropriate, and changes are needed to improve the organization’s standing within the community.

The first step to implementing positive changes in the non-profit organization would include increasing the level of training necessary to sit on the organization’s Board of Directors. This will ensure that decisions will be made appropriately and founded within ethical business standards. Also, small changes can be made to correct the interactions between permanent workers and volunteers, including educational initiatives to show the permanent workers the importance of the work each volunteer completes. Emotional intelligence training may also be necessary to reduce the number of negative interactions between permanent workers and volunteers. In addition, policies should be created by the appropriate members of the Board of Directors to ensure the accuracy of the information included in organizational marketing content. Including safeguards for accuracy of the content will ensure duplicate mistakes are not made again (Palmer, 2017). The resistance to change will dissipate when small changes are implemented over time; eventually, the organization will operate on the basis of ethical standards of practice. 

There are many lessons that can be learned from this case. For instance, this case demonstrated the consequences of years of inappropriate business style, minimal leadership, and a lack of employee training. However, the most important lesson to be learned is the necessity of company culture evaluations. As a business manager, it is crucial to be aware of the issues within an organization, positive or negative. Through careful evaluation, small changes can be made to correct culture issues before large mistakes are made, leading to even more negative circumstances (Rosemann, 2014). It is unfortunate that in Mark’s case, the mismanagement of the non-profit organization led to the termination of his employment. However, the non-profit organization can improve its internal operations and company culture through careful evaluation and small changes initiated over time. Eventually, the company will regain the trust of the community, local businesses, and potential volunteers.

References

Palmer, I., Dunford, R. & Buchanan, D. A. (2017). Managing organizational change (3rd ed.) Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Rosemann, M., Brocke, J. (2014) The six core elements of business process management. Handbook on Business Process Management. Pp 105-122. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-642-45100-3_5