Relationship of organizational development techniques with resistance to organizational change: an analysis of the telecom sector of Pakistan

Abstract

Organizational change is a constant phenomenon in today’s competitive and dynamic world. Managers are confronted with the challenge of managing change efficiently. Resistance is a natural offspring of change which needs to be overcome for success ofthe change programs. The subject of organizational development deals with managing change and overcoming resistance through application of various techniques. The common organizational development techniques available to overcome resistance to change are communication, participation, facilitation, negotiation, manipulation and coercion. However, the choice of one or more techniques to overcome resistance is contingent upon thepotency of each technique and the expertise of managersto apply them correctly in a given change situation . Managerial expertise, therefore, acts as a moderator for use of the organizational techniques to overcome resistance. Little researchin quantitative terms has been undertaken so far to ascertain the relationship of various organizational development techniques and the role of managerial expertise to overcome resistance to organizational change. The present study is an effort to fill this gap by carrying out a survey in the selected organizations of Telecom Sector inPakistan. Using the positivistic approach, it is a descriptive study to test a number of hypotheses in order to establish the relationship among the common organizational development techniques, managerial expertise and resistance to change. The findings are helpful to organizational change managers for evaluating and using the common organizational development techniques during the change process. Moreover, the present study also contributes towards theexisting body of knowledge on the subject by establishing the relationships among different variables in quantitative terms.