Walmsley (2009) defined change management as the process of continually renewing an organization’s direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal customers. Several researchers relate change management practices to the management of the human side of the change as being the most difficult ingredient in the change management process. For example, Hiatt and Creasey (2012) stated that change management is a set of tools, practices and methods to manage the people side of change that are important to transit individuals from a current state to the preferred future one to achieve objectives of a needed change. They mentioned that change management provides ability for both groups and individuals to participate in the change and support it in a way that everyone works to achieve change objectives. Furthermore, Allena et al. (2007) emphasized that change management is not a process that stands alone for designing a business solution but it is about realizing human reactions and anticipating the best strategy to deal with these reactions.
Change management makes it easier for organizations to achieve success in meeting demand and face internal and external challenges (Bashir and Afzal, 2011). Organizational change is affected by outside challenges that cause internal instability (Avey el al., 2008; Mou, 2013). The external changes from the marketplace can include loss of market share, competitors’ acceleration in creating new offers, lower prices, and new business opportunities for growth (Hiatt, 2004). In his book titled Managing Change, Walmsley (2009, p.6) mentioned other external change triggers, which are "mergers or acquisitions", "a serious business downturn", and "legislative changes". He mentioned other change triggers which need a proactive approach such as organization decisions in rising cost, building a new strategy, making sales review or new technology available. O’Neill (2012, p.1) stated five driving forces that affect organizational change: A high degree of talent needed to solve problem in “high level activities", "mobile technology", the need of innovation, and distributed work that relates to the evolution toward less centralized organizational structures, location and work practices, and sustainability
A plethora of obstacles to change are conceivable. Amongst these plausible obstacles are: ineffective change management team, poor support by company’s management, lack of resources and planning, and lack of communication. When organization’s change management team is ineffective, it lacks the capacity to win employees cooperation and participation in change activities. According to Hiatt and Creasey (2012), an ineffective management team is likely to lose the ability to see what is right for an organization. Poor support by organization’s management is another factor that can potentially pose as obstacle to change in organization. Poor support by organization’s management is a situation whereby organization’s leadership are reluctant to acknowledge the need for change (Audia and Brion, 2007; Sirkin et al., 2005). Another probable obstacle to change in organization lies in lack of resources and planning. A successful introduction, acceptance, and implementation of change will not be feasible without sufficient resources and robust plan that is actively supported by management (Sanchez et al., 2012). Lawler and Worley (2006) had earlier made this assertion when they observed that without resources and planning change actions will not be able to achieve its preconceived objective.
A final attribute that the study viewed as a potential obstacle to change is lack of communication. Communication is the process through which information, ideas and knowledge are exchange (Khosa et al., 2015). Communication within the context of change is the mechanism that is utilized to announce, explain, and motivate employees to participate in a change process. Unequivocally, communication is a tool for successful organizational change.
Some of the greatest change management obstacles are include, employee resistance, middle management resistance due to perceived loss of power and or limited involvement in the change process, poor executive sponsorship when the executive sponsor either does not play a key and visible role in supporting the strategic change effort, or shift their support too soon after the process of strategic change, limited time budget and resources and corporate inertia and politics where the organizational culture pushes back the strategic change initiative. The embedded culture can become an obstacle particularly where there are too many long tenured employees (Boomer, 2007).
2.2.9 Resistance and causes of resistance to change
Resistance to change is the action taken by an individual or group that perceives a change as threat. Employees tend to have high inclination to change when environmental factors present no other choice except change. In this situation, organization’s employees are compelled to change (Samuel, 2013). Miller and Friesen (2000) exacerbated the argument on resistance to change by stressing that employees tend to show resistance to change even when the business environment threatens extinction.
