Posted in Change isn’t easy. If it were, we wouldn’t need an entire course devoted to helping us change successfully. There is a laundry list of reasons that our change efforts may not be successful. The article we focus on this week helps us explore one key reason some people may dig in their heels and refuse to embrace change
Initial Post Instructions
Here are three statements for your consideration.
Men are more likely to resist change than women.
Women communicate better than men.
Older workers are more likely to resist change than younger workers.
Respond to the statements above, sharing your agreement or disagreement and why. Your reasoning must go beyond personal opinion and experience. Use and cite a minimum of three scholarly references beyond the texts used in the course to defend your reasoning, minimum 300 words.
Follow Up Posts
After your initial post, read over the items posted by your peers and your instructor. Select at least two different posts and address the following items in your responses:
i. What additional lessons can you learn about change from the supporting evidence that came from the scholarly articles cited by your peers?
ii. Did you notice any logical fallacies in the arguments presented by your peers? If so, comment on those and invite further conversation to see if you can arrive at a mutual understanding.
Samy Exael
Women communicate better than men and if the only example I have is how my wife and I communicate with each other and to others, I would say this is a fair statement. according to Dr. Martinez, Women are more emotional ( not in a bad way) and evocative and men are more analytical and pragmatic. It does not mean that these characteristics are mutually exclusive. When I first started working, I always wanted to have women as my boss versus men, when I go to the bank I would rather have a woman teller than a man. I always felt at ease when I call a care center and the voice on the other line was a woman. The trend was whenever I need something explained to me I feel better if a woman is doing it. I grew up with five women in a household of six and from my early, I saw how effective women can communicate. Some men are very effective communicator but I believe that women are better communicators than men overall. Another thing to consider when considering who communicate better is the environment of the communicator. A woman can be ineffective communicator if she was told early in life that she is not allowed to speak. Communication styles can be determined by elements of well-being, quality of life and health (Sánchez et al 2017). I am not surprised when a man is a good and effective communicator and a woman is a terrible one. I just know overall hand down women are more effective at communicating than we are.
Sánchez Bravo, C., & Watty Martínez, A. (2017). Profiles Using Indicators of Marital Communication, Communication Styles, and Marital Satisfaction in Mexican Couples. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 43(4), 361–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2016.1168332
Patricia McCarthy
In this week discussion question, I examined if older workers are more likely to resist change than younger workers. From my readings I believe that older workers resist change not because they are older and cannot adapt to changes it is because of the lack of training and time.
As technology becomes more prominent in the work force, some older people may not have the knowledge a younger worker does, so there will be a need for more training and retraining activities to stay competitive. There will times when organizations place older workers in positions that will not require a lot of new learning but placing them in positions like these will clearly stop them from learning new tasks. When change occurs, it may take older adults a little longer to learn new skills, but with practice and the support of leadership new skills can be learned. Staying competitive in any line of work means staying up to date with change and workers of any age see the chance to improve and learn new skills through training activities are those who see the benefit of being a participant.
Older workers with more job experience should be motivated by their managers to continue learning and developing to avoid undesirability. Managers regardless of age when change happens should take care of their employees and their job experience in order to adapt to changes sooner.
Lee, C.C, Czaja, S.J. & Shrit, J.(2008). Training older workers for technology-based employment. Educational Gerontology. 35(1), 15-31. doi: 10.1080/03601270802300091
Niessen, C., Swarowsky, C. & Leiz, M.(2010). Age and adaptation to changes in the work place. Journal of Managerial Pyschology. 25(4), 356-383. doi: 10.1108/02683941011035287
