CYNICISM ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: AN ATTRIBUTION PROCESS PERSPECTIVE

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 1421 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN P. WANOUS
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Process Perspective ◽  
Attribution Process

Cynicism about Organizational Change: An Attribution Process Perspective

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1421-1434 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Wanous ◽  
Arnon E. Reichers ◽  
James T. Austin
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Organizational Leaders ◽  
Average Correlation ◽  
Utility Company ◽  
Mba Program ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Process Perspective ◽  
Attribution Process ◽  
Situational Attribution

The underlying attribution process for cynicism about organizational change is examined with six samples from four different organizations. The samples include hourly ( n = 777) and salaried employees ( n = 155) from a manufacturing plant, faculty ( n = 293) and staff ( n = 302) from a large university, managers from a utility company ( n = 97), and young managers ( n = 65) from various organizations who were attending an evening MBA program. This form of cynicism is defined as the combination of Pessimism (about future change efforts) and a Dispositional attribution (why past efforts to change failed). Three analyses support this definition. First, an exploratory factor analysis (from the largest sample) produced two factors, one composed of Pessimism and the Dispositional attribution items and the second of the Situational attribution items. Second, the average correlation (across several samples) between Pessimism and Dispositional attribution is much higher (.59) than the average correlation between Pessimism and Situational attribution (.17). Third, scores on two different trait-based measures of cynicism correlate highest with the Dispositional attribution component of cynicism. A practical implication is that organizational leaders may minimize cynicism by managing both employees' pessimism about organizational change and employees' attributions about it. Specific suggestions for how this might be done are offered.

From entity to process: toward more process-based theorizing in the field of organizational change

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Wenzel ◽  
Jochen Koch
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Step Procedure ◽  
Process Perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make a case for more process-based theorizing in the field of organizational change. Design/methodology/approach To emphasize the importance of a process perspective on organizational change, this paper challenges the prevalent theorizing approach that treats organizational change as entity and argues that process-based theorizing can help researchers gain a better understanding of organizational change. Findings To direct future research toward more process-based theorizing, this paper proposes a systematic four-step procedure for the analysis of qualitative data that helps researchers theorize organizational change from a process perspective. Originality/value Overall, this paper contributes to theorizing efforts in the field of organizational change by offering a reflective account on the challenges that entity-based theorizing entails, strengthening the position of process-based theorizing in light of these challenges and providing an outlook on how scholars can develop theoretical insights on organizational change from a process perspective.

scholarly journals Organizational learning in the theory of organizational change

2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (171) ◽  
pp. 7-31
Author(s):  
Nebojsa Janicijevic
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Organizational Development ◽  
Organizational Transformation ◽  
Change Theory ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Cognitive Structures ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Process Perspective

The concept of organizational learning has been presented and placed within the referential frame of the organizational change theory. It appears that organizational changes shows to be a wider concept than organizational learning, since every learning includes change, but every change does not necessarily include learning. Organizational learning presents a particular type of organizational change, one which comprises creation and utilization of knowledge, includes changes of both cognitive structures and behaviors of organizational members, and necessarily is normative by its nature. The referential frame of the theory of organizational change is based on the classification of organizational changes and put together all theories into four perspectives: organizational development, organizational transformation, organizational adaptation and process perspective. It can be concluded that the concept of organizational learning is eclectic one, since it includes all types of organizational changes and encompasses all mentioned perspectives of organizational changes. .

Knowledge Building and Learning in the Public Sector Through Co-Creation and ‘Withness-Thinking'

2021 ◽  
pp. 238-254
Author(s):  
Søren Frimann ◽  
Lone Hersted
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Organizational Studies ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Business World ◽  
The Public ◽  
Process Thinking ◽  
Process Perspective

This chapter discusses the potentials and possibilities of adopting a process perspective in action research for knowledge production, development, and change in the public sector. Often, we see that models from engineering and the business world are taken into use with the goal of implementing organizational change, often without involving organizational members and stakeholders in any kind of dialogic process. The authors wish to challenge these linear assumptions and practices and line out some perspectives for researchers within the field of organizational studies. The chapter builds on the following questions: What would happen if we put co-creation and process in the forefront of our inquiries? How can we, to a higher extent, incorporate co-creation and process-thinking in our research practices? And finally, how can we work from a “withness-thinking” approach, rather than the approach of “aboutness-thinking”? The chapter unfolds these ideas in relation to a specific action research project.

Business: Conceptualizations of Organizational Change Viewed Through the Lens of Power: A Tutorial for the Speech-Language Pathologist/Audiologist Administrator

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17
Author(s):  
Patrick R. Walden
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Health Care Organizations ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Organization Level ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Constant State ◽  
Theories Of Change ◽  
Or Organization

Both educational and health care organizations are in a constant state of change, whether triggered by national, regional, local, or organization-level policy. The speech-language pathologist/audiologist-administrator who aids in the planning and implementation of these changes, however, may not be familiar with the expansive literature on change in organizations. Further, how organizational change is planned and implemented is likely affected by leaders' and administrators' personal conceptualizations of social power, which may affect how front line clinicians experience organizational change processes. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to introduce the speech-language pathologist/audiologist-administrator to a research-based classification system for theories of change and to review the concept of power in social systems. Two prominent approaches to change in organizations are reviewed and then discussed as they relate to one another as well as to social conceptualizations of power.

Leadership and Organizational Change

2000 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-601
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Riggio
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Leadership And Organizational Change

Organizational Change Comes of Age: Learning From Experience

1978 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 920-921
Author(s):  
ANDREW D. SZILAGYI
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Learning From Experience
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