Discussion Board - Resistance to Change.docx - Give an...

Give an example of an organization (probably a workplace, but it could be a
school or something else) that you have been involved with where you've
noticed resistance to change. Discuss why that resistance occurred.
In relation to this topic, I would like to discuss resistance to change at my previous employer – An award
winning National airline in South Asia – SriLankan Airlines. SriLankan Airlines was a comparatively small
airline with a fleet size of 24. All its aircraft were acquired through leases and thus had heavy monthly
lease payments. The airline used to be state funded but the funding was cut off due to Covid.
Covid-19 came as a severe blow to the global aviation industry, especially to those smaller airlines that
were barely breaking even. SriLankan Airlines was one such small airline. With the passenger operation
coming to an abrupt grinding halt, the airline had to take drastic measures to ensure its survival. This
included starting new flights to cater to cargo requirements. Most of the business during the initial covid
period came as cargo. Aircraft were converted to cater to cargo needs (removal of passenger seats). A
whole new line of logistical arrangements were to be made on very short notice to enable the crew
operation. It was basically like starting a new airline from the ground up.
This meant that there were a lot of changes happening at a rapid pace and not everyone could keep up
with the changes. One key resistance that I noticed was the unwillingness of employees to let go of
traditional sequential workflow and to think of innovative methods of attracting new opportunities and
businesses. A major portion of the employees were used to working in a certain way to cater to the
standard operation. With the standard operation coming to a sudden stop, they, including managers, did
not know how to react or what to do.
Main Reasons for resistance to change:
 Job security was a question
 Unable to cope with the quick changes
 Organizational culture that was slow to changes
 Lack of confidence
 Emotional reactions to changes in routine work
 Fear of failure
 Too many changes too quickly
 Salary cuts due to covid.
 Inability to adjust to working from home.
Steps taken to overcome resistance:
 Communication of changes and short term future plans made aware to all employees through
managers
 Job assurance of permanent staff members
 Management agreement with employees on the pay cuts and timeline
 Teams were made within departments to ensure tasks were carried out on time
 Motivating staff through appreciations and not considering failures as reasons for penalizing

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