Change and Innovation
Natalie DeVille
University of Phoenix
HCA/250

October 12, 2014
Change and Innovation The scenario I will be writing on is that a major health care organization has decided to use electronic medical records. The employees in this organization are resistant to change, particularly changes that deal with technology. In this paper I will describe strategies to manage change and innovation and attempt to explain why employees resist organizational change. I will also explain how human resources can play a role in managing change. Change in anything is inevitable. Throughout our lives whether it be personal or in our professional lives change is going to happen. There are ways for us to deal with change and innovation and manage it better. First is to accept change. We live in a technology driven global economy, and it is important to accept that change will happen and communicate this to our employees. We should acknowledge that change is constant but manageable. We need to also practice openness. Establish an environment of trust through an open door policy that allows two way feedback and most importantly, the willingness to listen non-defensively to all feedback even when it is critical. Another way to manage change and innovation is through solicit input. Employees do not oppose change rather than oppose change they have no opportunity to influence. Welcome the input of others and the employees will better appreciate and accept the reasons for the change. Also you must provide training. Anyone will kick up their heels and fight back when they are lost and have no clue what is going on. You must let your employees know that with the change does come training. This will allow them to be a little bit more at ease knowing they will have time to become familiar with the new technology and the way it will work. Next accept and recognize. It is inevitable that some failure will occur as management and employees work to implement the change. Accepting failure as part of the learning process sends a positive message to everyone. Also take time to recognize and celebrate success. Change can be very stressful and often requires long hours and extra effort. Recognizing this will go a long way towards motivating others. Let everyone know that their hard work is appreciated and not going unnoticed and that they are not in this alone. (Richards, 2014) Employees can resist organizational change for a number of reasons. According to chapter 7 reading the main reasons include uncertainty, habit, and concern over personal loss, and the belief that the change is not in the organization’s best interest. Change replaces the known with uncertainty. No matter how much you dislike doing something you know what is expected from you. When changes happens you may worry about how you may not be doing something right and not be giving the company what they are expecting. When it comes to habit we are all creatures of it. When change affects what we are used to and how we are used to doing things it makes people stressed out. It is like throwing a stick in front of someone skating down the road. It tends to trip people up. Some people worry that with change will come termination of their position or