Permanent tensions in organization

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 654-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noora Jansson
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Planned Change ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Paradox Theory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Organizational Reality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between permanent tensions and organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – This study used paradox theory and a case study. The case organization is a public university hospital in Finland involving several stakeholders. Findings – The analysis suggests that the relationship between permanent tensions and organizational change is a paradox that is part of organizational reality. As an organization learns to live with its permanent tensions, the renewal paradox settles into equilibrium. When tensions are provoked, the paradox is disturbed until it finds a new balance. This flexible nature of the paradox is the force that keeps the different stakeholders simultaneously empowered to maintain their unique missions and cohesive in order to benefit from the larger synergy. Practical implications – This research suggests that identification and evaluation of each permanent tension within an organization is important when executing organizational change. The fact that certain tensions are permanent and cannot be solved may have an influence on how planned change initiatives are executed. The results show that permanent tensions may be harnessed for the benefit of an organizational change. Originality/value – This research demonstrates originality by offering an alternative view of tensions, a view which emphasizes not only their permanent and plural nature but their importance for enabling the organization to change at its own, non-disruptive pace. The research also proposes a new concept, the “renewal paradox”, to enhance understanding of the relationship between permanent tensions and organizational change.

Evidence and leading indicators of change success

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Change Management ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Change Strategies ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Change ◽  
Technological Discontinuities ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper discusses the important issues relating to the management of corporate change and includes an appropriate case study. It will benefit all business leaders, particularly those involved with the development of change strategies and the implementation of those strategies. Paul Arnold’s experience will improve their understanding of change management by providing the tools that will enable them to effectively understand and assess the progress of change initiatives in their organization. Findings – Every organization is subject to change, and virtually, everyone within the organization will be affected by change. Such is the impact of a rapidly evolving marketplace that organizational change management has become a permanent feature of the business landscape. To be effective, organizational change must be able to genuinely transform the business. Yet in the relentless search for new techniques to revolutionize the way things are done, and in the haste to manage technological discontinuities, many organizations fail to adequately develop, communicate and execute their vision for the change. Originality/value – The recently developed Change Index discussed in this paper provides a concrete and clear measurement system that enables management to effectively understand and assess progress of change initiatives in their organization. The paper benefits all business leaders, particularly those involved with the development of change strategies and the implementation of those strategies.

The missing link in systems thinking

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jostein Langstrand
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Infrastructure ◽  
And Behavior

Purpose Systems thinking is well established as an important perspective within the management field. However, the perspective is not always as all-encompassing as sometimes argued. This paper addresses the importance of including structural elements as a part of systems thinking in relation to organizational change. The purpose of the paper is to analyze how organizational infrastructure may influence processes and outcomes of organizational change initiatives. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a longitudinal case study of the introduction of lean in a large Swedish manufacturing company. The case study comprises three embedded cases, and the empirical material is based on interviews, observations and document studies. The material has been analyzed with a systems perspective, focusing on the interplay between ideas, infrastructure and behavior in the organization. Findings This paper suggests that organizational infrastructure may have a profound impact on organizational behavior. Consequently, an ambition to change organizational routines will be influenced by not only people’s sense-making and behavior but also the technology and infrastructure with which people interact. Research limitations/implications Thus, alignment between all these entities will facilitate the change process and increase the likelihood of successful organizational change. Thus, systems thinking requires stronger attention to organizational infrastructure to better understand organizational change processes, and a philosophical approach needs to be balanced against behavioral and technical aspects of change. Originality/value This paper challenges much of the received knowledge and assumptions about systems and suggests an expansion of systems thinking.

Discourse phronesis in organizational change: a narrative analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noora Jansson
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Public University ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Advance ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how discursive practices are involved in organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – This research scrutinizes organizational change by combining discourse and practice approaches. A case study at a public university hospital is conducted with a narrative analysis method. Findings – The key finding of this research is that discursive practices are involved in organizational change through discourse phronesis. Discourse phronesis is a socially and contextually developed phenomenon, and hence discursive practices are particular within context. The case study revealed four particular discursive practices as examples of discourse phronesis: field practices, mandate practices, priority practices and word practices. Practical implications – The results of this research advance awareness of the concealed power within discursive practices and, more importantly, invite practitioners to pursue the intellectual virtue of discourse phronesis while implementing organizational change. Discourse phronesis may be utilized as a gateway to advance change goals and to translate various discourses and actions that otherwise might remain unexplained. Originality/value – Although extensively studied, organizational change has not previously been directly approached through discourse phronesis, and by doing so this empirical research provides novelty value to both organizational change research and discourse analysis. By introducing the concept of discourse phronesis, this research offers scholars an alternative lens, the intellectual practicality lens, through which to approach organizational change and perhaps to develop new understandings of the great challenges that organizational change complexities usually generate.

Examining the relationship between organizational change and financial loss

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Derek Mellert ◽  
Charles Scherbaum ◽  
Justina Oliveira ◽  
Bernd Wilke
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Financial Loss ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Loss Event ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Financial Losses

Purpose – Research on the effectiveness of organizational change initiatives tends to focus primarily on the positive benefits of organizational change including improved financial performance. Rarely are negative outcomes examined, such as financial losses resulting from change initiatives. However, negative outcomes are possible, common, and understudied. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between organizational change and financial loss. Design/methodology/approach – The research used a database of insurance losses from a global reinsurance company over a 30-year period. Each loss event was examined to determine the cause of the loss, the amount of loss, and type of organizational change if any that preceded the loss. Findings – The results indicate that losses attributed to the organization and its employees are preceded by an organizational change initiative more often than not. In particular, the occurrence of losses attributable to the organization and its employees were preceded more often by organizational changes involving mergers, acquisitions and changes to ownership, changes involving downsizing, changes involving restructuring, but not changes to reporting relationships. Originality/value – This research represents one of the few studies to examine financial loss from a wide variety of different types of organizational change and the only that has examined these questions using data from insurance losses. Findings support the growing theoretical movement focussing on the risks of organizational change.

Changes in commitment to change among leaders in home help services

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Westerberg ◽  
Susanne Tafvelin
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Commitment To Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Meetings ◽  
Home Help ◽  
Home Help Services ◽  
One Year ◽  
Over Time

Purpose – The purpose of the this study was to explore the development of commitment to change among leaders in the home help services during organizational change and to study this development in relation to workload and stress. During organizational change initiatives, commitment to change among leaders is important to ensure the implementation of the change. However, little is known of development of commitment of change over time. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a qualitative design with semi-structured interviews with ten leaders by the time an organizational change initiative was launched and follow-up one year later. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the interviews. Findings – Commitment to change is not static, but seems to develop over time and during organizational change. At the first interview, leaders had a varied pattern reflecting different dimensions of commitment to change. One year later, the differences between leaders’ commitment to change was less obvious. Differences in commitment to change had no apparent relationship with workload or stress. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from one organization, and the number of participants were small which could affect the results on workload and stress in relation to commitment to change. Practical implications – It is important to support leaders during organizational change initiatives to maintain their commitment. One way to accomplish this is to use management team meetings to monitor how leaders perceive their situation. Originality/value – Qualitative, longitudinal and leader studies on commitment to change are all unusual, and taken together, this study shows new aspects of commitment.

Doctors’ functional leadership in psychiatric healthcare teams – a reversible leadership logic

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 159-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan M. Berlin
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Healthcare Teams ◽  
Medical Teams ◽  
Difficult Situations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to study how psychiatric doctors practise leadership in multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The paper seeks to answer the question: How do psychiatric doctors lead multidisciplinary teams during treatment conferences? Design/methodology/approach – Six psychiatric teams were studied at a university hospital. Each team was observed over a period of 18 months, and data were collected during four years (2008-2011). Data were collected through interviews with doctors (n = 19) and observations (n = 30) of doctors’ work in multidisciplinary psychiatric teams. Findings – Doctors in a multidisciplinary team use either self-imposed or involuntary leadership style. Oscillating between these two extremes was a strategy for handling the internal tensions of the team. Research limitations/implications – The study was a case study, performed during treatment conferences at psychiatric wards in a university hospital. This limitation means that there is cause for some caution in generalising the results. Practical implications – The results are useful for understanding leadership in multidisciplinary medical teams. By understanding the reversible logic of leadership, cooperation and knowledge sharing can be gained, which means that a situation of mere peaceful coexistence can be avoided. Understanding the importance of the informal contract makes it possible to switch leadership among team members. A reversible leadership with an informal contract makes the team less vulnerable. The team’s professionals can thus easily handle difficult situations and internal tensions, facilitating leadership and management of multidisciplinary teams. Originality/value – Doctors in multidisciplinary psychiatric teams use reversible leadership logic.

Organizational change for sustainability education: a case study of one university’s efforts to create and implement institution-wide sustainability competencies

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-515
Author(s):  
Vanessa R. Levesque ◽  
Cameron P. Wake
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Similar Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Level ◽  
Institutional Sustainability ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how the process of creating and implementing sustainability competencies across a university illuminate dynamics of organizational change. The push to advance education for sustainable development in higher education will likely require transformation of existing policies and practices. A set of shared sustainability competencies could guide the integration of sustainability throughout an institution. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on a case study of one US university, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) that developed institutional-level sustainability competencies. The process used to create and implement sustainability competencies is outlined, and key factors that influenced the associated organizational change are identified. Findings Very few US universities have institutional-level sustainability competencies. At UNH, drivers of organizational change such as overcoming disciplinary boundaries, developing a common vision and working from the bottom-up enabled the creation of institutional sustainability competencies, but the same processes were not enough to drive deeper implementation of the competencies. Originality/value This paper not only identifies the context-specific drivers of the development of institutional sustainability competencies, but also identifies universal themes that can be applied to other institutions embarking on a similar process. Additionally, this paper serves as a foundation for future research exploring how the process of creating institutional sustainability competencies may be linked to how effective they are in shaping subsequent sustainability education.

Communicate belonging? Duoethnography of an organisational change study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Crestani ◽  
Jill Fenton Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Change Initiatives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Employee Resistance ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis duoethnography explores feelings of belonging that emerged as being relevant to the participants of a doctoral organisational change study. It challenges the prolific change management models that inadvertently encourage anti-belonging.Design/methodology/approachA change management practitioner and her doctoral supervisor share their dialogic reflections and reflexivity on the case study to open new conversations and raise questions about how communicating belonging enhances practice. They draw on Ubuntu philosophy (Tutu, 1999) to enrich Pinar's currere (1975) for understandings of belonging, interconnectedness, humanity and transformation.FindingsThe authors show how dialogic practice in giving employees a voice, communicating honestly, using inclusive language and affirmation contribute to a stronger sense of belonging. Suppressing the need for belonging can deepen a communication shadow and create employee resistance and alienation. Sharing in each other's personal transformation, the authors assist others in better understanding the feelings of belonging in organisational change.Practical implicationsPractitioners will need to challenge change initiatives that ignore belonging. This requires thinking of people as relationships, rather than as numbers or costs, communicating dialogically, taking care with language in communicating changes and facilitating employees to be active participants where they feel supported.Originality/valueFor both practice and academy, this duoethnography highlights a need for greater humanity in change management practices. This requires increasing the awareness and understanding of an interconnectedness that lies at the essence of belonging or Ubuntu (Tutu, 1999).

University social responsibility and empathy in organizations during COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariane Lemos Lourenço ◽  
Mara Rosalia Ribeiro Silva ◽  
Rafael Santana Galvão Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
Psychological Assistance ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between empathy and social responsibility (SR) practices in a university organization in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Design/methodology/approach The research was qualitative, using case study methodology. The case study was about the Brazilian organization Ânima Educação, which is the greatest among the five largest publicly traded education companies in Brazil. Secondary data collection and content analysis was carried out. Findings As emotional response toward the problems caused by the pandemic, the company's leadership adopted an empathic behavior, allowing traces of its empathic culture to emerge. Empathy was expressed through the implementation of SR practices aimed at workers (policy of not firing in the first two months of the pandemic), at students (provision of technological apparatus, online classes, physical/psychological assistance and negotiation of late fees) and at the society (assistance to the elderly). Originality/value It was concluded that empathy can be taken as the emotional motivator for companies to engage in SR practices, especially in extreme circumstances in society, as the economic and health challenges that the world is experiencing with the COVID-19 pandemic nowadays. SR practices, in turn, can foster even more empathy in organizations, mobilizing leaders and their respective groups in the creation and implementation of new practices, thus demonstrating that the relationship between empathy and SR practices is a “two-way street.”

Engaging professionals with serious games: the Lean Healthcare Lab at Siena University Hospital

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Barnabè ◽  
Maria Cleofe Giorgino ◽  
Jacopo Guercini ◽  
Caterina Bianciardi ◽  
Vincenzo Mezzatesta
Keyword(s):  
Serious Games ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Lean Thinking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lean Principles ◽  
Lean Healthcare ◽  
Firsthand Experience

Purpose This paper aims to stimulate interest in the potentials of serious games within organizations. Through the examination of a case study, emphasis is given to serious games designed for health care (HC) organizations that are adopting lean thinking principles and tools. Design/methodology/approach The paper discusses how serious games can be designed and implemented in practice by describing a case study based on a HC organization. The program, now in its second year, has been used extensively to train HC professionals. Findings The article is based on the authors’ firsthand experience with serious games and the outcome of several projects carried out in the HC setting under analysis. Serious games were found to be powerful training and management development tools as well as engaging environments for professionals. Specifically, The Lean Healthcare Lab supported professionals in their use and implementation of several Lean principles and techniques. Research limitations/implications The article suggests the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of serious games also to improve team performance and develop leadership skills. Practical implications Serious games have an enormous potential in sustaining processes of both individual and organizational learning, as well as facilitating improved teamwork. Moreover, serious games are very effective educational tools when compared to more conventional programs. Originality/value The approach described in this study can be used to design and implement serious games in any type of organization, in particular, those employing highly skilled professionals. Additionally, this article highlights how serious games can provide learners with a simulated close-to-reality environment where they are challenged to develop policies and use a variety of Lean and management tools.

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