The Use of Iconoclasm in the Middle East as a Method of...

Throughout human history power imbalances have been prevalent in almost every civilization. One method of controlling people as well as power is to control how much knowledge gets out to the masses. This paper examines how iconoclasm is used in the Middle East as a method of controlling popular opinions and thoughts on race,sex and many other important details of everyday life. Iconoclasm is the systemic destruction of religious or cultural pieces of artwork for political or religious reasons. The destruction of artifacts can rewrite cultural history and change opinions on how the history of a nation is perceived. This also results in extensive loss of cultural history which can never be recovered. The Middle East is of particular interest in this research paper as it has been in the news recently for such acts. Most Middle Eastern countries have Islam listed as their official religion. In Islam it is forbidden to show the face of Allah, the God of Islam, in any form of artwork. It i s also seen as taboo to have any living creatures such as humans or animals depicted in a mosque, the Islamic place of worship. As such, many buildings which have been converted into mosques have been defaced to suit the proper Islamic code. One such incident of this happening is the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Once a Roman Catholic church, it was converted into a mosque after the conquer of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks and all mosaics depicting Jesus, His mother and saints were

Managing Resistance In Organizations Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Managing Resistance In Organizations. Answer: Introduction As change continues to become one of the most significant aspects that trigger good performance in organizations, employees have different perceptions towards it (Christopher, 2010). Change management in organizations has become one of the key aspects to be consider in organizations because due to various reasons. Because managers understand the importance of chance acceptance in businesses, they try their best to assist their employees understand that not all changes lead to negative influence in organizations. Although managers try much to encourage change in their companies, managing resistance is challenging due to various issues which stem from employees perception that a change is always aimed to influence their wellbeing (Tidd Bessant, 2013). This paper will look at the reasons that make managers to frequently demonise change, the ethical implications of demonising change and the reasons that make employees to resist change. The paper will also examine the relationship between power and resistance in context of organizational change, and the key ethical issues associated with power and resistance. Why employees resist change Although change may be inevitable in organizations, not all employee perceive it as something that can lead to good performance. Employees resist change because of various reasons, one of them being fear of failure (Berman, 2014). In the course of implementing a change, some staff members may feel the need of dwelling on the past because they feel it was more secure and successful. If what they did in the past worked according to their expectations, they may resist accepting the change because of fear that they may not attain much in the future. Bad management of change is also an issue that makes employees to resist change. For change to be successful, the management should use various strategies to make the employees understand why the change is being implemented, and the likely impacts which may result (Fok-Yew, 2014). Failing to manage change process in the right manner may make employees to perceive the change as a threat and end up resisting it. Some employees see a change only from the perspective of the impact it may have on them and their jobs (Ionescu, 2015). They fail to see the big picture, and also fail to realize the positive implication of the change on the organization as a whole. Thus, they perceive the change as disruptive and totally unnecessary in their workplace. Surprise and the fear of unknown is also another factor which makes employee to resist change. When a change is implemented without informing staffs in advance, it can make the employees to push back because of the fear of unknown (Kumar, 2016). Implementing change does not require springing surprises in an organization. The person in charge for the change should use various strategies to prepare people concerning the changes that are to be implemented. In the absence of two way communication with employees, grapevine rumours will always fill the void and disrupt the change efforts. Peer pressure among employees also result to change resistance (Musil, 2012). In some cases, employees resist change with the aim of protecting the interests of their group. This happens especially in organizations where employees feel they should support what their counterparts support and resist what they resist. Why managers frequently consider resistance as a problem that should be addressed Change resistance is a problem which is greatly impacting managers from implementing some of processes that are fundamental for the success of an organizations. Change is fundamental in organizations because without it, firms may experience various challenges like losing their competitive edge, low productivity among others (Kogila, 2016). Managers feel change resistance is an issue that need to be addressed because it may make them to experience challenges in addressing some issues may be threat to good performance of businesses. Although in some cases a change may have negative impact on employees, some of them resist it without good reason (Pihlak, 2013). Managers consider change resistance as an issue that need to be addressed because it significantly impacts implementation of various strategies that are important in making an organization to attain its goals. Change resistance makes managers to experience difficulties in responding to internal and external pressure. One of the reasons why an organization implement changes is to address the pressure which comes from customers, competitors, employees, shareholders, changing government among others (Skvarciany, 2015). When employees resist to change, responding to these kind of pressures becomes hard for the managers. When some of these issues are not addressed, they can lead to serious implications to the company. For managers to direct an organization in a manner that can make it to succeed, they should use various management techniques (Anderson, 2011). For some of these techniques to become effective, various changes must be implemented. When employees resist changes, managers experience difficulties in implementing the right strategies that can assist their firms to operate in a manner that can make them to attain their goals. In some cases, employees resist implementation of new technologies in organizations because they feel it can make them lose their jobs. Adapting technological advancements in organizations plays a major role in assisting organizations to perform better (Oss Hek, 2011). Change resistance makes managers to experience difficulties in implementing such technologies because they feel employees may think they are meant to make them lose their jobs. Change resistance impacts managers from leading their organizations in a manner which can make them remain successful (Bareil, 2013). In some cases, employees tend to develop negative attitude towards managers who implement change from time to time and without using the right process. This kind of relationship may make the employees not commit their efforts in the activities they undertake. Relationship between power and resistance in the context of organisational change Managing an organization where change resistance exist is challenging. Managers need to implement change in their companies for them to succeed (Muo, 2014). If the change is resisted, they often find it hard to lead the organization towards attaining goals. Resistance makes managers to experience difficulties in practicing some forms of leadership styles. Wrong exercise of power results to resistance especially when the employees do not like the leader (Wilson, 2014). The reason why this happens is because when employees develop a negative attitude towards a leader, they always feel what is being done is wrong. Exercising good leadership style especially in organizations where change is implemented from time to time is always fundamental. Exercising some of the leadership styles where change resistance exist is always difficult because some of them like for example dictatorship type of leadership does not allow the right change process to be used. In some cases, the manner in which power is used in organizations determines whether employees will resist or accept changes (Ziemba, 2015). For example in a place where the senior management involves employees in planning for the change, the chances of resistance remains low, but in organizations where the managers feel that they must implement change irrespective of whether it will be accepted or not, the possibility of resisting changes are always high. Key ethical issues associated with power and resistance When employee accept to reject a change, they show to their seniors what they feel is right or wrong (Berman, 2014). When changes are likely to bring negative impact to staff members like for example layoffs, change of processes among others, those who are likely to be affected reject it. By doing so, they express their decision concerning the wrongness of that change. Although in some cases managers may feel change resistance should not happen in an organization, sometimes it plays a significant role in making the decision makers to only make decisions that are right (Kogila, 2016). Resistance to change may also prevent managers from implementing changes that may negatively impact the success of an organization. This means apart from viewing change resistance as an issue that should be addressed, they should also view it as a factor that should exist in organizations especially when the management wants to avoid making decisions which can make the company to fall in various pitfalls. Employers often see employees who resist change as those who do need the organization to prosper (Kumar, 2016). They sometimes develop negative attitude towards such employees and even end up firing or demoting them. It is wrong to do so because a change may have a negative impact on employees and they must resist it because no one wants something which can negatively impact his/her wellbeing. It is unethical to forcefully implement a change is wrong. Managers should always use the right process of bringing a change in an organization (Kumar, 2016). This should involve alerting employees about the change before being implemented, informing them concerning the reasons why the company feel the change is important, telling them about the likely impacts which may result from the change and how the company plans to assist those who may be affected. Managers should always think about transforming their organizations while valuing the wellbeing of their employees. If a change is likely to impact the staff members, the management should come up with good strategies of assisting those employees so that they can feel the company appreciates them (Bareil, 2013). Managers must also ensure a change is meant for the benefits of the organization and not personal gains. This is because it is wrong for organizations heads to only implement changes that give them personal gains without considering how it will hurt the performance or the wellbeing of their employees. The implications of the managerial and of resistant positions for achieving an effective change management programme Managers and supervisors play a critical role in times of change. When wrong strategies of driving change are used, the chances of resistance are always high. Resistance to change has numerous implications in organizations (Tidd Bessant, 2013). Some of these implications comprise of being unable to implement new technologies, new processes among others. When this happens the company experience a lot of pressure from its competitors, a situation which may lead to losing market share, customers, and even collapsing of the business. Change resistance impacts the manner in which managers direct an organization (Tidd Bessant, 2013). If for example employees always resist changes in their workplace, it makes it hard for managers to make some of the decisions which are fundamental for the success of the business (Berman, 2014). Decisions are important because they assist managers to know how they will run the organization in a manner that can assist it to attain its goals. Resistance to change impact important processes that are critical in improving productivity. For example, when a company decides to implement technology in its production process, some employees may feel the suggested technology will make them loose jobs (Pihlak, 2013). This kind of notion makes them to resist the plans even when it is not meant to make anyone loose his/her job. This resistance makes the company to sometimes experience challenges in producing products that can make it to meet the demand of its customers. Conclusions Managers demonize change as an issue that should be addressed because it impacts implementation various things that are fundamental for the success of organizations. There are numerous reasons that make employees to resist change, some of them being fear of unknown, losing jobs, peer pressure, bad management of change process among others. In some cases, change resistance plays a role in preventing managers from making wrong decisions. This means apart from being seen as something which can negatively impact business operations, it should also be perceived as important in making the managers to do what is right. Accepting or resisting a change shows that employees are responding to what they feel is right or wrong. Change is important for organizations and therefore managers should help all employees to understand that not all changes have negative impact on their wellbeing. Although change resistance can be understood as a factors that can prevent an organization from landing in various pitfalls, various ethical implications which can significant impact the success of an organization. When a change is forced, problems arise. These problems may have serious impact to the organization. For example, it can impact critical decisions from being implemented, prevent managers from dealing with internal and external pressure, make an organization not to implement technologies and management styles that can assist the organization to realize success among others. Change management entails thoughtful planning and strategic implementation. Consulting and assisting employees who are likely to be affected by the change is vital. References Anderson, A. (2011). Engaging Resistance: How Ordinary People Successfully Champion Change. Stanford, CA: Stanford Business Books. Bareil, C. (2013). Two Paradigms about Resistance to Change. Organization Development Journal, 31(3), 587-601. Berman, P. (2014). Successful Business Process Management: What You Need to Know to Get Results. New York: American Management Association . Christopher, D. (2010). Leading Culture Change: What Every CEO Needs to Know. 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