Introduction
Resistance to the change in organizations is one of the main factors that prevent leaders from improving their companies’ strategies and operations. In her article, Saruhan (2014) has examined the relationship between the communication and resistance to change while using the perception of justice as another factor associated with the communication and employees’ perceptions to influence the process of leading change. The paper aims to analyze the researcher’s study and her findings regarding the existing relationship between communication and resistance to change and consequences of the poor communication in organizations.
Review of the Research
It is possible to assume with references to Oreg’s Theoretical Model that employees usually react to change differently, and there are several types of the demonstrated resistance (Saruhan, 2014, p. 146). Still, the effective communication can influence the employees’ reactions and contribute to decreasing the resistance while focusing on the perceived justice. In order to prove the existence of the relationship between the leader’s communication practices and resistance to change, the researcher selected the sample of 583 employees working in the Turkish companies (Saruhan, 2014, p. 151). The sample is rather representative in order to examine the employees’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the communication practice to influence the resistance to change.
Analysis of the Relationship between Communication and Resistance
Communication practices including the elements of the vertical and horizontal communication in a company can influence the employees’ perceptions and reactions to the organizational processes and changes directly. Saruhan (2014) has found that communication is positively related to the employees’ resistance to change when new programs are implemented in organizations. As a result, it is possible to speak about the positive relationship between the leaders’ effective communication with employees and their positive behaviors during the process of the change implementation, as it is also supported by the scholarly literature in the field (Saruhan, 2014). From this point, the discussed research is in line with the other studies in the research area.
Evaluation of the Poor Communication Consequences
While accentuating the relationship between communication and resistance, employees note that the effective communication of managers leads to decreasing their opposition to the change. The reason is in using informal channels, referring to the idea of the organizational justice, and receiving the relevant information in a timely manner (Saruhan, 2014). When leaders use the formal and informal communication channels creatively, employees are informed about the purpose and positive outcomes of the change and the principles of respect and sensitivity in communication are followed, resistance to change can decrease significantly.
However, when the poor communication strategies are used, their consequences can be dramatic for the organization. Thus, the provision of the inappropriate information to employees leads to their inability to understand benefits of the change, adapt to the situation, and accept its necessity. The employees can also feel suspicious regarding the change and demonstrate their resistance.
Conclusion
The conclusions made regarding the relationship between communication and resistance to change in companies are important to predict the employees’ reactions to changes and propose strategies that can contribute to decreasing resistance, focusing on the combination of formal and informal practices in vertical and horizontal communication directions. The discussed research is rather effective to demonstrate how such factors as the effective or poor communication can have positive and negative consequences for leading change in the organization. From this perspective, the focus on the effective communication techniques can be discussed as significant to improve the organizational change process.
Reference
Saruhan, N. (2014). The role of corporate communication and perception of justice during organizational change process. Business and Economics Research Journal, 5(4), 143-166.