Modern Management: concepts and skills, 14/e

Change and Stress

Whenever managers implement changes, they should be concerned about the stress the changes may be creating. If the stress is significant enough, it may well cancel out the improvement that was anticipated from the change. In fact, stress could result in the organization being less effective than it was before the change was implemented. This section defines stress and discusses the importance of studying and managing it.

Defining Stress

The bodily strain that an individual experiences as a result of coping with some environmental factor is stress.³¹ Hans Selye, an early authority on this subject, said stress constitutes the factors resulting in wear and tear on the body. In organizations, this wear and tear is caused primarily ...