Why change is always resisted in organizations?

All systems, from the simple cell to the biggest organizations, have resistance against a change. This is part of the inbuilt survival mechanism; otherwise the system would easily fall apart or is vulnerable against influences coming from the outside. The once established structure, grown over long time, gives stability and so security, from which individuals within this system, gain their own profit by being part and identified with it. Personality is a system, which functions in the same way: The individual is identified with the once established structure; build by mental concepts and all intellectual knowledge. The same with the emotional structure, which is mostly unconscious and contains all traumas and received influences during lifetime. From this background reactions are triggered, reforcing the established structure. Part of the system is the material form, with which the individual also is identified and the same with all material belongings. The tendency is to add more and more, getting richer or widening ones power by adding more knowledge or emotional excitement. Anything is welcome which serves to make the system more stable and secure. The individual does anything to get confirmation for its existence on all levels, mostly all doing is directed to gain.

A change that will not enrich or confirm the system in its existence will be rejected. Even though a change would be an evolutional step and bring the system to a more advanced level, what might be called a transformational change. By doing this step, resistance and other obstacles might vanish, but to do such a step, the system must grow by itself beyond ones limitation through a growing process, which includes all levels of ones being. Manipulation or force, which is usual used, will not work on the long run... How to make a transformational change happen, is another question. There are ways to support and help, but the system must be ready for it.

BeiYin

Quite a big question. There are lots of reasons, such as psychological contracts, or security needs, or basic human instinct. I'd firstly consider things like how people resist, how management deals with it and so on. Then maybe look at aspects such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and why people rely on security. Also there are many psychological reasons, such as fear of the unknown, and the fact that we are very much creatures of habit. I think age, gender and culture also plays a part, so countries with high uncertainty avoidance will dislike change more than those with a low score.

For a real change to happen there must be a transformation of energy, from the old form to the new form. This process, of the old dying and of the new forming, is perceived by the one having the experience as a sensation of pain. This is because the transformation process itself is biological and the intense heat given off from the old tissue releasing the held energy and changing into the new tissue is truly painful. This is true on all levels of our physical existence including our thoughts, emotions and body (our own form) and also of the forms outside of us, such as organizations or structures, etc. It is painful to find out one might be wrong in one's thinking, it is painful to cry, it is painful to heal torn muscles or broken bones. But know that all pain is healing; pain is the symptom of transformation - of the old giving rise to the new.

We have pain sensors all over our body to protect us in case our life is physically threatened, so our innate tendency is to avoid the experience of pain. The problem comes in with our identification with our personality or self-image. We have the tendency to believe that the energy that keeps the personality together is a physical entity and thus we avoid anything which might threaten its demise, because this kind of transformation also causes pain: mental, emotional and physical. So we avoid anything, which might be painful, because pain for us is a signal that we might be dying.

What we need to know is that the energy held in the personality (and in all forms) is mutable, it's not our permanent self (its not a permament structure), and if we allow for the transformation of this energy we will not die (the things won't disappear). Allowing for transformation to take place means we are allowing ourselves to adapt to changes that are happening around us. With this attitude we are physically mutable and thus much more likely to survive, then if we resist change. If we resist changing ourselves when happenings indicate, then what we are doing is becoming more solid or holding our energy as being the personality in a kind of tension. This holding of energy to try to maintain static familiar shapes is that which restricts the flow of energy and causes pain and subsequently acquired disease, conflict, aging and illness to build up in our physical body. All structures become weaker the more they resist change. If we let go of what we are holding onto, then this pent up energy is released from the personality and back to our body causing a transformation of ourselves - now we feel the pain - as the old part of us dies and another part takes place in it's spot. Nothing is never lost, a new form always supercedes the old, and the new is adapted to the existing changing conditions around us and is thus more likely to survive.

While transformation of one's personality is painful, it doesn't have to be EXPERIENCED that way. This is because we have the ability to be the observer of ‘personal’ transformational energies when they happen - from the observation platform one can observe the process but one doesn't feel pain because one is no longer identified with the old form. This is known as being the observer. It is being in this position as the observer, which then is that which allows the old form to transform into the new. After experiencing this kind of transformation then we become secure in the position of the observer - at the center -knowing that we can never truly lose ourselves or lose anything. Then we see that all is transformation, and to allow ourselves to change we survive, and then we allow change to happen whenever it’s needed.

Betsy

There is the "If it ain't broke - don't fix it" approach to change. The lets re-organize everything and screw up approach. Then there is the evolutionary style of change - that no one objects to - because no one really notices and this type of change usually works. It has worked in nature for millions of years.

Many organizations are often governed by the elder or longer/more influential members.

Newer ideas/members often, either expand the thought process or idea exchange of fresh thinking, thus threatening the status quo.

Any threat to the status quo is a threat to power and privilige. Empire builders hate new ideas as they diminish their power

People don't like change- they like things the way they are- its fear of the unknown.