Investigating the relationship between self-leadership and resistance to organizational changes in the nursing managers of hospitals affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 2015

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Change is the only solution for today's organizations. The organization as a social entity is both affected from and affecting the environment. To change the organization, people should change. Involving people in the management of the organization is effective in reducing the resistance to change. Strategies used to change attitudes, behaviors, and recognition of the individuals resulting in their success lie in leadership. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between self-leadership and resistance to organizational change in nursing managers. Materials and Methods: This study being a descriptive correlational study used Houghton and Neck's standard self-leadership questionnaire with 35 questions and reliability of 94 as well as resistance to organizational change scale of Wayne and Andy with twenty questions and reliability of 84 to collect the data. Content and face validities of the research tools were determined through the study of theoretical foundations as well as the opinions of professors and specialists. The population (250 people) included all nursing managers (matrons, supervisors, and head nurses) of educational centers of Isfahan in 2015. One hundred and fifty-six individuals were selected through the available sampling out of the 250 people of the population (males and females). Data analysis was conducted by SPSS software, version 22; in addition, statistical tests of Pearson, t-test, variance analysis, regression model, and Mann-Whitney tests were used. Results: In general, the average rating of the research units is above average (54.0 + 3.88) in self-leadership questionnaire of nursing managers. Besides, the amount of resistance to change in 92.2 of nursing managers is at average level. The findings also showed that there is a positive relationship between self-leadership and resistance to organizational change (P < 0.001, r = 0.310) and the score of self-leadership increases with the increase in job experience (P = 0.049, r = 0.154). It was observed that with the increase in age and job experiences, the resistance to organizational change also increases in nursing managers (P < 0.05). Conclusions: In this study, resistance to organizational change was at an average level with respect to the self-leadership of the managers. Increase in age and experience of nursing managers is associated with self-leadership and resistance to change. Thus, to move toward positive and useful changes in the organization and achieve noble objectives in educational centers, it is important to attract and guide the behavior of experienced managers and increase their knowledge of organizational behavior to reduce the resistance to organizational changes.