Inability to adapt: The hidden flaw of managerial ineptness

People in managerial positions face a variety of challenges, but perhaps the most difficult is the smooth and effective management of change. As a rule, people are risk averse and will not accept change as the acceptable and attractive alternative to the status quo. For organizations to remain competitive, they must have managers who can respond to new and changing conditions. Managerial adaptation is important because the attitudes of today's workforce are very different from those of their predecessors. Overcoming resistance to changes in the workforce and encouraging managers to accept and welcome those changes is rooted in providing information to, supporting, and rewarding them. Managers can be surveyed using questionnaires or interviews to ascertain their perceptions and attitudes toward the workforce. In any organization, transforming a manager's way of thinking may require a change in the organization's cultural values and norms. The most acceptable approach to handling change is to confront it, acknowledge its inevitability, and accept it with an open mind.