The Nigeria’s telecom sector witnessed a major transformation and change initiative in 2001 with the granting of the global system for mobile telecommunication (GSM) license to providers. With the advent of mobile telecommunication (GSM) that has resulted in a dramatic change in the total number of lines from 866,782 in 1999, to over 60 million lines, in year 2008 out of which GSM operators accounted for 57, 622, 901 lines, fixed line operators accounted for 2,537,504 code division multiple access, CDMA, operators connected 780,938 lines (Ndukwe, 2008). This recent drive in telecom reform and change initiatives has made noticeable impacts on Nigeria. It is therefore imperative to investigate the extent and the magnitude of the impacts of change management on employment, investment, income, transaction cost and most especially the growth and performance of the sector during structural and technological changes. It is however noted that as organizational changes become more frequent and a necessity for survival, the resistance of employees in this sector has become an important human resources management function and a priority for top management to increase chances of success of different change projects (Tang and Gao, 2012). However, managing employees’ resistance during organizational change requires an effective type of change management processes (Jansson, 2013). In particular, communications from the right entity in the organization help improve the employees’ response to organizational change (Kotter and Schilesinger, 2008). O’Neill (2012) explained that management practices related to organizational change must be clear, consistent and based on what is in the change for the individuals to improve their perception, and ultimately, improve their cognitive appraisal about the change. In other words, without appropriate body in the organization to communicate with employees, organizational inappropriate practices may even increase resistance of employees (Tang and Gao, 2012).
Furthermore, Minerich(2008) stated that creating awareness and reasons for change must be clear and simple and that communicating these reasons must be realistic and linked to the vision in the company in order for employees to buy-in. With this in mind, there seems to be lack of change management frameworks that help telecommunication companies choose the most appropriate course of action to navigate successfully during change process. Telecommunication industries should see change as a major issue in their quests for survival, growth and development. The Nigeria Telecommunication Industries is one of such companies. The executives of this company ought to constantly take initiatives that keep the company’s activities abreast with the dynamic nature of the sector. This suggestion is found on the notion that the success of any company is significantly dependent on its ability to align its internal activities to the specifics of its external environment. In view of this realization and given the fact that the Nigeria telecommunications and information technology sector is constantly changing, the need for NITEL to transform in line with the environment becomes imperative. It is stressed however, that it is one thing for an organization to recognize the need for change and it is another situation for the change to be effectively managed. This assertion is hinged on the fact that there is tendency for a well proposed change to impact negatively on overall organization’s performance if such change is improperly managed (Thomas, 2014). Change requires passing through a transitional phase. It is a transformational experience that could be incremental or radical for companies seeking improvements and competitiveness. Several companies have failed to transform in spite of changes in their business environments. These organizations are satisfied with the status quo, they maintain organizational activities the way they are. Although academics and practitioners overtly recommend organizational change for effective alignment with a changing business environment, most companies attempting this transformation often encounter resistance to change in the way company’s activities are carried out. This resistance is conceived to be a problematic factor that impedes overall growth of a company. By and large, resistance t o change should be eliminated and acceptance to change encouraged (Jones and Smith, 2004). Employees have high propensity to resist change when the change is unexpected, sudden, or radical in their view (Gibson and Hodgetts, 2013).
NSince change generally involves the reordering of priorities and the disruption of established relationships, such change tends to be controversial both internally and externally. Buchanan and Boddy (2009) asserts that to remain competitive, modern organizations should aim at uniqueness and superiority in all spheres of their operations, technology, work procedures, goods and services, approaches in the various management functions of planning, organizations, staffing, directing and controlling. These changes are only possible through creative and innovative thinking. It is therefore important to find out how organizations in the telecommunication industry are managing change as the sector is highly dynamic.
