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It is indeed mind boggling when one assesses how people vary in their reaction to change.
Some will welcome the novelty and the variety of the change (think outside of the box) while others primarily coming from the "OLD SCHOOL" prior 1994 era with no change to their mindset and set in the belief that society will wait on them. NOT SO. Many of these "ANTIQUES" fear the exciting change and the sharing of the challenges and opportunities and will do everything in their own little "power block" to resist letting go of thestatus quo as that is all that they have ever been accustomed to.
I am sure of the majority of you are willing to be the CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE and are looking forward to that inherent vision and talents to look and to act far beyond the many areas of resistance to change. Yes it iseasy to put all the blame on government as it is perceived that they did not meet their promises that they made to the broader public. What did we do to ensure that we CHAMPION CHANGE ourselves to the benefit of the greater society?
In fact we have just identified some of the areas resisting change and we have identified some of the warning signals relating to that resistance to change. We, however know that the opportunities exist to bring about improvement and putting in the efforts for successful change, or the implementing process for "CHAMPIONING CHANGE" to the benefit of the greater family members, neighbours, community and society as a whole.
Some of the people who resist change when:
* They believe that it is unnecessary or they believe that it will make mattersworse.
* They fear that change will bring about personal loss ....... security, money, status, friends, "freedom"
andso forth.
* They do not like the way that change was introduced eg. DEMOCRACY OF OUR LAND.
* They had no input to give to change and therefore never discussed with thosewho will be affected.
* It came as a "SURPRISE".
* The changeswere kept a secret and people feel cheated and manipulated (planning).
* The timing of the change was poor.
* Some of us believe that if "something is not broken, why fix it and not taking into account that the environment require you to change eg technology.
*People fear that one may not have the necessary resources to change eg. NEW DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA.
Note: The new Democratic South Africa allow for Freedom of Expression & Association and a number of socio political, economic, environmental, conservation, health etc legislation and regulations, eg The Constitution & The Bill of Rights, Basic Services for All etc. The Government is fairly mature and open to constructive criticism and debate in areas where they need to improve or enhance, I have to add (I am not a politician)
What are we going to do about being some of the many "CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE"? Ignore the few who are resisting to implementing change:
* Ensure that people know about the changes before hand by encouraging people to openly express their thoughts and feelings about the change.
* Where there is resistance (as I have experienced particularly among those who resist change, "over their expiry date", listen carefully to those who resist change, and please do not give a lengthy explanation of why the change is necessary. Give simple but powerful wording explanations and try to use simple and easy language in order for understanding. Try also to understand others as to why they resist change and explore ways of giving simple reasons for change and explore other avenues in order to make it simple for others to understand the necessity for change.
* Always take the feelings and the expressions of others seriously and show empathy and concern. Be sensitive to how people express themselves and handle discussion bearing "PEOPLE'S" emotions and concerns with sensitivity and with respect.
It is important for any person that decide to enter business or entrepreneurship to have the basic understanding of diversity, cultures, religions and societal differences andso on.
Some of us are beset with these differences that we come to believe that we are always right. We resist understanding diversity and the other important societal dynamics and we tend to believe that everyone must just tow the line and come "hell or low" we are the "only leaders" (sic) and only we have the rights to the talents and ingredients of tyrants that rule without feeling for others.
The author was a student of Economics of Dr. Andre Roux who was the Director for Future Research in Economics andan Economist of Note, served on various Economic Advisory Boards that include 1. Chairperson of the Small Business Unit, University of Port elizabeth, 2. Small Business Units of The University of Stellenbosch Business School and The Cape technikon, 3. National advisory Committee on Safety of Dams for The Department of Water affairs, A Committee Member of the SMME Advisory Committee appointed in early 1995 by the then Provincial Minister for Economics Western Cape, Speaker at various National Conferences, Advisor to various Economic Committees, and served the Corporate Sector for more than 35 years.
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