The march of time and the" evolution" of change (original) (raw)

An exploration of individual experiences of constant organisational change

Ongoing change is an inevitable part of the current organisational context. Change management practices are often cited as a reason for resistance to change, and as a cause of stress for individuals during change interventions. A qualitative study was undertaken in a technical division of a large South African organisation to explore the individual experiences of employees in the face of constant organisational change. Grounded theory analysis confirmed that constant organisational change and the related change management practices were indeed a source of unpleasant individual experience for employees at the time. Yet, no serious long-term effects of stress were evident. It is suggested that Strümpfer's (1983 work on salutogenesis and fortigenesis may be useful in explaining the outcome. Further research incorporating larger sample sizes and multiple triangulation methods in the data gathering process is recommended.

Organisational transformation": Wavering on the edge of ambiguity

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 2004

Organisational transformation has become one of the most used change concepts of our time, but researchers and practitioners seldom pause to consider the meaning of this concept more explicitly. The meaning parameters of organisational transformation are explored from within the prevailing literature and considered in terms of the results of a qualitative study of limited scope conducted among managers of a local government institution. Both the literature and the findings of the study reveal substantial variation in the meaning of transformation, which is considered undesirable for change management practices. The implications of the study are briefly indicated. Opsomming Organisasie transformasie het een van die mees gebruikte veranderingskonsepte van ons tyd geword, maar navorsers en praktisyns verpoos selde om die betekenis van die konsep meer eksplisiet te oorweeg. Die betekenisparameters van organisasie transformasie word vanuit die bestaande literatuur ondersoek en vergelyk m...

Örgütsel Öğrenmeye Yeni̇den Eleşti̇rel Bakiş: İşletmelerdeki̇ Eği̇ti̇m Süreçleri̇ Perspekti̇fi̇nden Bi̇r Araştirma

Akademik Araştırmalar ve Çalışmalar Dergisi (AKAD), 2020

Organizational learning has been considered as an interesting concept since the 1960s both for the literature and the business world. It can be observed that the studies which examine organizational learning processes are focused more on the positive results of organizational learning such as knowledge creation, improvement, skills development, providing a competitive advantage; and attaining a structure where their employees learn and develop continuously. From the late 1990s and early 2000s, studies, examined the concept with a critical perspective. have also come to light. These studies assess whether organizations actually learn, who learns, whether there is actually an organizational structure in which continuous learning occurs, and whether there is actually a desire for continuous learning. In this study, it is tried to investigate organizational learning from a critical point of view and determine how the unexpected results of organizational learning were perceived in organi...

Structures and processes in administrative change

Scandinavian Journal of Management, 1991

Al~traet-A central debate in organizational theory concerns factors which bring about change. Nils Brunsson argues that reform can be regarded as part of organizational stability and routine rather than of change. One effective way of stopping reforms is to try to implement them, he writes. In this reply a framework of administrative change is presented and used in questioning Brunsson's conclusions. The main criticism concerns the role which an organization's members are given in organizational change, and the unspoken assumption that they always act cynically.

The Estonian organizations - the subjects of transformation

Estonia stayed fifty years under the communist regime. This paper explores the transformation of Estonian organizations within the framework of the Leavitt's model of change where the process is analyzed from the perspective of four organizational elements: people, organizational goals, structure, and technology. In respect with the people the role of individuals is emphasized as well as the polarization of mindsets is discussed. The new era forced to clarify the organizational task because of market economy. The organizational structure does not change as fast as the other elements do and hierarchy considered being important. The formalization tactics (personnel selection and training) have gained new meaning in the process of transformation of organizations. The technology has varied due to the twofold possibilities- advantage to introduce the new informational technology and the usage of the old fashion machinery. Change of the society led to the change of organizations, whic...

The Estonian Organizations – The Subjects of Transformation

Estonia stayed fifty years under the communist regime. Historically the organizations in the former Soviet Union were carefully controlled by the state and served as the tools of controlling individuals and groups. Estonia’s transition to a democratic society provides an intriguing context for analyzing how organizations have changed. The goal of this paper is to show what kind of changes took place in Estonian organizations in the framework of transition of the Estonian society. The changes are discussed from the perspective of four organizational elements: people, organizational goal, structure, and technology. This is an exploratory study, which enables detecting several aspects of the business and public sector organizations, whereas the major focus is on human behavior rather than on economic aspects of organizational life.