Managing Change Resistance at Amazon: Communication Strategies
This paper examines resistance to organizational change at Amazon, focusing on a shift in performance appraisal and management systems. It identifies three potential causes of resistance — fear of performance evaluation, pressure to work more productively, and changes to promotion and compensation structures — alongside three key sources: self-interest, misunderstanding, and differing assessments of the change initiative. The paper proposes a four-step action plan to minimize resistance through communication, learning, recognition, and training. It further evaluates three communication strategies and recommends interactive communication as most suitable for Amazon's scale and culture, concluding with a structured communication plan outlining objectives, audiences, and timelines for implementing the change.
- Introduction: Organizational change, resistance, and Amazon context
- Reasons for Resistance to Change: Causes and sources of resistance to change
- Minimizing Resistance to the Change Management Plan: Four-step action plan to reduce resistance
- Resistance to Change and Communication: Communication strategies evaluated for change management
- Why Interactive Communication Is Best for Amazon: Justification for interactive communication recommendation
- Communication Plan for the Change Initiative: Structured timeline and plan for change communication
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper maintains a clear practical focus, moving logically from diagnosing resistance to prescribing concrete action steps, making it directly applicable to a real organizational context.
- It uses a structured action plan with numbered steps, which improves readability and demonstrates an understanding of how change management frameworks operate in practice.
- The communication plan table effectively synthesizes the paper's recommendations into a concrete, actionable timeline with defined audiences, objectives, and media — a strong applied-business technique.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper consistently grounds its claims in cited literature, referencing peer-reviewed sources such as McKay et al. (2013) and Matos Marques Simoes and Esposito (2014) to support arguments about the relationship between communication and resistance. This blending of theoretical grounding with applied organizational analysis is characteristic of applied business writing at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a general discussion of organizational change and introduces Amazon as the case context. It then identifies causes and sources of resistance, followed by a four-step minimization plan. The next section addresses communication's role in change management, evaluates three strategies, and recommends one. A diagnostic section justifies that recommendation before the paper closes with a detailed communication plan table. The structure moves from problem identification to solution design throughout.
Introduction
Change is a continuing process that is unavoidable, and organizations no longer have an alternative — they must change in order to survive and avoid becoming obsolete. Leaders have an important role to play, as they have a great say in the direction in which the organization is heading. Therefore, managers must understand how to manage change effectively. All organizations face different forces for change — some internal, emanating from within the organization, and some external, originating outside it. Organizational change does face resistance, however, as the majority of members within an organization prefer to maintain the status quo. Organizational resistance is defined as a manifestation of reservation that typically arises as a reaction to change. Resistance to change has long been acknowledged as a critically significant factor that can impact the success of any organizational change effort (Toribio Toribio & Garcia Hernandez, 2011). The following paper discusses change resistance at Amazon with respect to changes in performance appraisal and management.
References
Austin, M. (2016). Communication strategies. Australian National University. Retrieved August 28, 2016, from
Baker, S. L. (1987). Managing resistance to change. Allerton Park Institute (29th: 1987).
LaMarsh Global. (2014). 4 action plans to address resistance to change. Retrieved August 28, 2016, from
Matos Marques Simoes, P., & Esposito, M. (2014). Improving change management: How communication nature influences resistance to change. Journal of Management Development, 33(4), 324–341.
McKay, K., Kuntz, J. R., & Naswall, K. (2013). The effect of affective commitment, communication and participation on resistance to change: The role of change readiness. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 42(2), 29–40.
Toribio Toribio, C., & Garcia Hernandez, R. (2011). Coping with resistance to change in organizations. Linnaeus University.
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