| dc.description.abstract | The fast-changing global business environment has resulted in organisations having to
change their business strategies and processes so as to remain competitive. As
organisations implement the changes, they have been experiencing various forms of
resistant to change. The resistance has been found to come from both the behaviours of
individuals and/or groups of employees who want to protect themselves from the
unknown or imagined outcomes of change. The other type of resistance to change is
systemic resistance where the development of capability lags behind the strategic
development. This arises from lack of appropriate knowledge, information, skills and
managerial capacity. Organisations therefore have had to use various methods to minimise
resistance to change.
This was a case study which covered various forms of resistance to change experienced by
Equity Bank and how the bank has been managing the resistance in the course of
implementation of strategic change. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect
data from the respondents and content analysis was used to analyse the data collected.
The findings indicate that there was both systemic and behavioural resistance experienced
by Equity bank in the course of implementation of strategic changes. The behavioural
resistant to change included, both individual and group resistance to change by various
employees. The employees feared loss of jobs as they -imagined that the bank would undergo retrenchment during the turnaround in 1993 and during the change into a bank
in 2004. They also did not understand why the institution wanted to change to a bank at
the time. The systemic resistance to change included lack of necessary skills to implement
the intended changes; lack of capital; lack of strategic change leaders and the prevailing
unfavourable economic conditions that created negative forces of change. The findings
indicate that Equity Bank managed to overcome these resistances and has now become a
bank to recon with.
Findings show that the bank used the structure tree tool which considered the human
capital as a key element in successful implementation of strategic changes in the Bank. On
behavioural resistance, the tool was used to enhance employees' participation and to
impart knowledge hence reinforcing the acquired change. This helped in reducing
resistance to change to minimum and create excitement on the part of employees and
customers as they embraced change. The findings indicate that systemic resistance was
overcome by incoming of strategic change agent and a strong change leader. Financial
assistance from the donors like DFID and UNDP provided the necessary capital for change.
According to the responses provided, there were other sources of financial assistance that
came for the new bank directors as well as share capital from employees who purchased
shares from the bank. As a result, the bank has in the recent past experienced
tremendous growth in profitability and customer base.
It was recommended that the bank needs to sustain the employees and customers
excitement otherwise the current growth momentum may not be sustainable. Further
research can be conducted on the impact of the model used to manage resistance to
change amongst employees and customers. A similar study can also be performed in
another bank. | en |
