ABC Company is a retail organisation that consists of 4 managers, 8 supervisors and approximately 100 employees. The area manager noticed that this retail outlet is not performing as monthly targets are not being met. There is a noticeable decrease in sales on a monthly basis. After investigation, he came to the conclusion that the employees are de- motivated and the morale is low which leads to poor customer service. The biggest problem seems to be that the employees are unhappy with the autocratic leadership style of management. The feeling of the employees is that the managers are only interested in their own ambitions and feel nothing for the employees. They are scared that the intervention of the area manager will result in losing their jobs if they agree to the changes being implemented. They dont seem to trust management, not even the area manager and are pessimistic that he is able to bring about change.

The area manager has suggested leadership training for the managers and supervisors but it has been met with resistance and is seen as a waste of time as they know what they are doing and how to manage. One manager stated: Why do we need to train the employees? Do they all want to become managers now?

Many of the staff members are interested in training and development courses, but management will simply not allow training. Their opinion is that the employees know their jobs and do not need training. According to them, the company has insufficient human resources. They cant afford to have people on training as it will result in a shortage of staff.

The area manager approaches you to give him advice on how to manage the resistance to change.

Advise the area manager on the reasons for and how to manage resistance to change in order to achieve the objectives of the organisation.