Efficient communication is vital for attainment of organizational goals and objectives; when managing change, the change agents need to ensure there is reliable communication system to boost change acceptance. In the case Clinton Homosexual discrimination policy, the president used different change management strategy to ensure that the right decision was reached effectively (Carr, Hard and Trahant, 1996). This paper discusses the change resistance management approach that the president used.
Education & Communication
When using this approach method, the change agent concentrates on initiating some sense to those people whose change is likely to affect of the need of the change, the process aims at preparing the people whom the change will affect.
In the case of Clinton, when announcing the Executive Order, he had studied the relationship and the situation at the military and opted to have an order that would be of the good to the people and the image of the military.
By giving the announcement, the executive was exercising his powers as the president of the United States but he forgot that for change to take effect effectively, the people who are likely to be affected directly need to be consulted and opinions taken (Burke, 2008)
With the resistance that the announcement of the Executive Order, the president was fast to note where he had gone wrong and was willing to change his approach. The involving of military people and the public to a special commission was the start point of his successful change resistance management approach (Diamond, 1986).
Manipulation & cooptation
When President Clinton decided to make the Executive Order without much of consultation, there was an element of dictatorship in the decision. The same can be interpolated that the president wanted to manipulate and dictate how things should be run in the military. As much as there are some elements of dictatorship in the military arenas, the approach that the president had developed was not accommodated by stakeholders (Barbara and Jocelyne, 2006).
According to manipulation & cooptation change resistance approach, management resort to covert attempts to influence others, there is no much of consultation and decisions are reached after the person in authority has given his stand. In the case of Clinton, he tried to exert his influence as the president to the military and change the notion and approach towards discrimination.
After the resistance from the military and other high ranking security officers, the president had to change his tactic and formed a commission to check on the matter. The resultant was a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, approach to dealing with homosexuality in the military, which is working well with the forces. The decision was reached with consultation of the relevant bodies and players; this was what lacked initially (Adrian, 2003).
The involvement of other people meant that they considered all corners and elements that would be caused by the decision by the president. When the decision was made whole some involving all people, the military and the public were willing to support the same. Other than support, the decision was a collective one thus resistance was minimal.
Conclusion
Initially, President Clinton had ignored the role played by communication, consultation, and involvement in managing change resistance. He had taken the move of dictating how social issues should be run in the military however, the change management approach could not hold. After the failure of the first method, the president reverted to using effective communication approach to change management.
References
Adrian, T. ,2003. Managing Change. London: Pearson Education
Barbara, S. and Jocelyne F. ,2006. Organizational change. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Burke, W.W. ,2008. Organization Change: Theory and Practice. California: Sage Publications.
Carr, D.K., Hard, K.J. and Trahant, W.J.,1996. Managing the Change Process: A Field Book for Change Agents, Consultants, Team Leaders, and Reengineering Managers. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Diamond, M. ,1986. Resistance To Change: A Psychoanalytic Critique Of Argyris And Schon’s Contributions To Organization Theory And Intervention. Journal of Management Studies, 23(5), pp. 543-562.