This document discusses barriers to effective planning and change in organizations. It identifies psychological, contextual, and sociological barriers that can cause resistance to change, such as uncertainty, low confidence, fear of job loss, and group conformity. Specific barriers include a lack of understanding goals, poor communication, lack of accountability, threats to power and prestige, and contradictory assessments. The document provides ways to overcome these barriers, such as starting with leadership buy-in, effective communication, participation, training, and creating a climate supportive of planning.

1. BARRIERS TO
EFFECTIVE PLANNING

2. Resistance to
Change

3. “PEOPLE DO NOT RESIST
CHANGE, BUT RESIST
BEING CHANGED”

4. - A lot has changed in the corporate world in the past
years. From the management style to the use of
technology, everything has undergone tremendous change
and the rate at which it is happening is exponentially
increasing.
-Today, businesses deal with new technologies,
government regulations, increased customer demands,
competition, and ever-changing workforce needs.

5. Some of the examples that can cause
resistance to change:
 Lack of Understanding- The absence of a clear goal is a common
barrier that companies overlook. They want to implement change,
but they do not know what they want to achieve.
 Lack of Communication- Any plan will fail without proper
communication, so organizations should find ways to maintain
clear and consistent communication.
 Lack of Accountability- Everyone must play a role in setting and
achieving company goals, and change will not happen when they
are passive.

6. Barriers to Change in an Organization
 Psychological Barriers- People like safety, comfort and feeling of
control. Psychological barriers will prevent them from accepting
change when they feel their security is threatened.
Some of the common Psychological Barriers are:
1. Uncertainty: Individuals resist when details about why and how
change will be implemented are not clear.
2. Low Confidence: Individuals feel threatened that they do not have
the necessary skills to be able to perform in their new role.

7. 3. Anxiety: uncertainty and low confidence creates anxiety and
stress. It’s natural to reduce them by resisting to change.
4. Fear: an individual’s reaction to fear is either to fight or flight.
Fear of unknown will create resistance to change and some
employees will just leave.
5. Personality: some individual have low tolerance to change
irrespective of whether the change is positive and beneficial.

8.  Contextual Barriers- are present within the organizational policy, rules,
structure and facilities.
The three common types of contextual barriers to change acceptance are:
1. Power and Prestige: threats to power and relinquishment of it can trigger
resistance.
2. Job Security: when employees fear losing their jobs due to change, they will
resist the change itself.
3. Intrinsic rewards: changes to tasks and responsibilities might cause a
perceived threat to intrinsic rewards like autonomy, challenge and self-
determination.

9.  Sociological Barriers- the nature of the organization and their surrounding
environment can also influence an individual to resist change.
Group norms and values: groups from strong norms that govern their behavior
with each other.
Group conformity: when an individual is surrounded by group members who
oppose change, tend to develop negative emotions even when they may not fully
agree with a group’s resistance; this is due to the need to feel socially accepted.

10. Causes of Barriers to Change
1.Parochial Self-Interest
2.Contradictory Assessments
3.Misunderstanding and lack of Trust
4.Low Tolerance for Change

11.  Resistance is an inevitable response to any change as
individual’s initial reaction is to defend the status quo when
they feel their security is threatened.
 The resistance to change can have significant effect on
whether or not change gets accepted and implemented by
the organization.
 If a business change is to succeed, then organization and the
people who work in them must be prepared for it.

12. WAYS FOR OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS
TO PLANNING
1. Starting at the top
2. Recognizing the Limits to Planning
3. Communication
4. Participation
5. Revision and Updating
6. Contingency Planning

13. 7. Discussion
8. Training
9. Explanation of Planning Objectives
10. Creation of a Planning Climate
11. Use of Aids of Planning