How Ajax Minerals and Perrier dealt with various types of resistance workers and supervisors

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How Ajax Minerals and Perrier dealt with various types of resistance workers and supervisors

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Ajax Minerals, Perrier, resistance workers, supervisors, employees, organization

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Abstract

In the Ajax Minerals' case, the sources of resistance to change were the workers and supervisors. These employees would not be willing to follow any directions given by the management regarding the impending change. According to the case, supervisors and hourly workers were satisfied that work was continually available and they were earning significant amount of money in overtime pay. The organization dealt with the resistance from the workers by opening up to them and involving them in seeking solutions on adapting to the change.

Identify two sources of resistance to change in the Ajax Minerals exercise and describe how the organization dealt with each type of resistance
Identify two sources of resistance to change in the Perrier case study and describe how the organization dealt with each type of resistance
Compare and contrast how management diagnosed and approached change at the two companies and indicate which company dealt with resistance to change in a more effective manner. Justify the reasoning
Consider a situation as a consultant with Ajax Management. Propose two adjustments that should be made to improve its change strategy and provide a justification as to why those adjustments would improve the effectiveness of the strategy
Consider a situation as a consultant with Perrier. Propose at least two adjustments that should be made to improve its change strategy and provide a justification as to why those adjustments would increase the effectiveness of the strategy

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Extract

[...] The Perrier Company is clearly in need of a workforce that is committed to the overall organizational goals rather than personal gains from the employment. At the heart of the problem facing the Perrier managers is the low performance of the workers in relation to the pay they receive and the workers lack any incentive to support the employers. This could be solved through high-involvement culture, where the employees are involved in the decision-making process. High-involvement frameworks are known to result in win-win situations for the companies and workers if the inherent tensions between the parties are managed well (Boxall & Macky, 2009). [...]

[...] The Ajax Minerals' management knew very well that the workers barely complied with decisions handed down to them, therefore compromising the objective of the management. Given the dire need to adapt to change in order to survive as a company, the management approached the issue soberly, marshalling all the support that is necessary from the employees. Notably, the understanding and support from the employees would probably determine if the company continued operating profitably or not. The approach is suitable given that the impending change will affect the employees in a very profound manner. [...]

[...] For employees to be valuable to the organization, they should at least lead to its profitability and not loss-making. The unfortunate situation in the Perrier Company is that the employees are directly involved in making the company operate at a loss. To curb this, high-involvement of the employees and lean process management would be appropriate. Both adjustments would make the employees more empathetic to the cause of the management and influence them to work for the benefit of the company. [...]

[...] In the Ajax Minerals' case, the sources of resistance to change were the workers and supervisors. These employees would not be willing to follow any directions given by the management regarding the impending change. According to the case, supervisors and hourly workers were satisfied that work was continually available and they were earning significant amount of money in overtime pay. The organization dealt with the resistance from the workers by opening up to them and involving them in seeking solutions on adapting to the change. [...]

[...] References Boxall,P & Macky, K. (2009).Research and theory on high-performance work systems: progressing the high-involvement stream. Human Resource Management Journal, 3–23. Fugate, M., Prussia, G. & Kinicki, A. (2012). Managing employee withdrawal during organizational change: the role of threat appraisal. Journal of Management, 890- 914. Martin, A. J., Jones, E. S. [...]

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