Complacent employees are satisfied with the Status Quo, they do not strive toward improvement and they do not embrace change. Ford et al. (2002) investigated background conversations indicative of complacent attitudes and resistance to change. Change is frightening for most people. It is hard to leave the comfort of our daily routines and embrace the unknown. This sentiment is especially true within organizations, where consistency and predictability are often keys to success. Given that organizations are made up of individuals, it is not hard to imagine that organizational change is often quite difficult. Sometimes, an entire organization can become complacent. In these instances, drastic reconfigurations may be necessary to achieve the desired result--change.
The following is a summary of Choi’s (1995) account of how Samsung was able to restructure and survive the transitional times from the 1980s to the 1990s:
In the late 1980s, Samsung was in trouble. They had traditionally relied on cheap domestic labor to mass-produce computer chips. Because the cost of labor was so low, they were not particularly concerned with quality control. Political change toward the end of the decade resulted in huge increases in labor costs. Additionally, U.S. and Japanese producers began aggressively competing for Samsung’s market share. When the founder’s son, Lee Kun-Hee, took over the company, he realized that it was time to take action.
Lee Kun-Hee’s father spent almost 50 years building a solid organization, and placed a particular emphasis on selecting executives and upper-level managers through an intense and highly competitive process. These highly empowered employees were used to getting their way. Lee spent his first 5 years attempting to communicate the company’s new vision to no avail. It was not until 1993, when Lee drastically changed the work-hours, compensation, empowerment, and meeting locations, that change began to take hold.
Unfortunately, complacency at an organizational level is not easily resolved, and those who point out such behaviors and attitudes may be ostracized. Both the complacent and those pushing for change are motivated by the same goal—future success of the organization. The complacent may be unwilling to take the risks associated with change or overconfident in methods that have worked in the past, but they feel that maintaining the status quo is the solution. Those advocating change also want the organization to succeed, but they see the current methods as flawed or outdated. Employers need to stress the importance of open conversation and create an environment where it is safe to air new ideas, otherwise, a culture of resistance may occur.
The following is a summary of Choi’s (1995) account of how Samsung was able to restructure and survive the transitional times from the 1980s to the 1990s:
In the late 1980s, Samsung was in trouble. They had traditionally relied on cheap domestic labor to mass-produce computer chips. Because the cost of labor was so low, they were not particularly concerned with quality control. Political change toward the end of the decade resulted in huge increases in labor costs. Additionally, U.S. and Japanese producers began aggressively competing for Samsung’s market share. When the founder’s son, Lee Kun-Hee, took over the company, he realized that it was time to take action.
Lee Kun-Hee’s father spent almost 50 years building a solid organization, and placed a particular emphasis on selecting executives and upper-level managers through an intense and highly competitive process. These highly empowered employees were used to getting their way. Lee spent his first 5 years attempting to communicate the company’s new vision to no avail. It was not until 1993, when Lee drastically changed the work-hours, compensation, empowerment, and meeting locations, that change began to take hold.
Unfortunately, complacency at an organizational level is not easily resolved, and those who point out such behaviors and attitudes may be ostracized. Both the complacent and those pushing for change are motivated by the same goal—future success of the organization. The complacent may be unwilling to take the risks associated with change or overconfident in methods that have worked in the past, but they feel that maintaining the status quo is the solution. Those advocating change also want the organization to succeed, but they see the current methods as flawed or outdated. Employers need to stress the importance of open conversation and create an environment where it is safe to air new ideas, otherwise, a culture of resistance may occur.