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  • 1.  organizational change

    Posted 02-27-2008 13:48
    Dear colleagues: I have a colleague her at ERAU who is working on a paper regarding organizational change. He is particularly interested in the reasons why organizations accept or reject change. Any suggestions for literature reviews or book chapters will be greatly appreciated.
     
    Below is a copy of his question and more detail on the topic:
    I am preparing a panel paper/article on the National Military Airlift Hearings 1960-61 for presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Military History this April.  These hearings were a pivotal moment in the development of U.S. military airlift policy and, in a more general sense, the shift in U.S. military strategy from massive retaliation (MR) to flexible response (FR).  The central story of the hearings is the confrontation between the U.S. Air Force, which supported MR and a small airlift force equipped to support the Strategic Air Command, and a coalition of certain congressmen, the Army, and leaders of the Air Force's own Military Air Transport Service, pressing for the greatly enlarged and modernized airlift force required to support FR.  As currently in draft, my study focuses on the doctrinal issues involved and the interaction of doctrinal debate and bureaucratic clout in the course and outcome of the hearings.  What I would like to do is to place this core story within a theoretical framework drawn from the literature of institutional change.  Since I am not familiar with that literature and time is fairly short, I would be very grateful if you or one of your colleagues could point me to a couple or three foundational studies on the issue of how organizations change.  In this case, I think, the issue is complicated and made more interesting by the fact that the leaders of the Air Force were "revolutionaries" in their own right, having made important contributions to the service winning independence from the Army, and they were facing and "insurrection" or "counterrevolution" from within their own ranks, and one that had strong linkages to outside critics and bureaucratic competitors.   Standing by and thanks.
     
    Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions, Anke :)
     
    Anke Arnaud, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor
    College of Business
    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
    600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
    Daytona Beach, FL 32114
     


  • 2.  organizational change

    Posted 02-28-2008 01:53
    Dear Anke,

    At the risk of sounding immodest, I'd like to suggest that you read our paper, Hoag, B G, Ritschard, H V, and Cooper, C L (2002). Obstacles to effective organizational change: the underlying reasons. Leadership & Organizational Management Journal, 23(1), 6-15. The literature review is quite extensive and is summarized in a useful table.

    Kind regards,

    Bruce

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    From: Anke U. Arnaud <arnauda@erau.edu>
    Date: 27 Feb 2008 19:47
    Subject: organizational change
    To: OB@aomlists.pace.edu
    Dear colleagues: I have a colleague her at ERAU who is working on a paper regarding organizational change. He is particularly interested in the reasons why organizations accept or reject change. Any suggestions for literature reviews or book chapters will be greatly appreciated.
     
    Below is a copy of his question and more detail on the topic:
    I am preparing a panel paper/article on the National Military Airlift Hearings 1960-61 for presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Military History this April.  These hearings were a pivotal moment in the development of U.S. military airlift policy and, in a more general sense, the shift in U.S. military strategy from massive retaliation (MR) to flexible response (FR).  The central story of the hearings is the confrontation between the U.S. Air Force, which supported MR and a small airlift force equipped to support the Strategic Air Command, and a coalition of certain congressmen, the Army, and leaders of the Air Force's own Military Air Transport Service, pressing for the greatly enlarged and modernized airlift force required to support FR.  As currently in draft, my study focuses on the doctrinal issues involved and the interaction of doctrinal debate and bureaucratic clout in the course and outcome of the hearings.  What I would like to do is to place this core story within a theoretical framework drawn from the literature of institutional change.  Since I am not familiar with that literature and time is fairly short, I would be very grateful if you or one of your colleagues could point me to a couple or three foundational studies on the issue of how organizations change.  In this case, I think, the issue is complicated and made more interesting by the fact that the leaders of the Air Force were "revolutionaries" in their own right, having made important contributions to the service winning independence from the Army, and they were facing and "insurrection" or "counterrevolution" from within their own ranks, and one that had strong linkages to outside critics and bureaucratic competitors.   Standing by and thanks.
     
    Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions, Anke :)
     
    Anke Arnaud, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor
    College of Business
    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
    600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
    Daytona Beach, FL 32114
     


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    University of Maryland University College (Europe)

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  • 3.  organizational change

    Posted 02-28-2008 04:00
    Anke

    One key source that is potentially relevant to this setting lies with the notion of 'receptive context' developed by Andrew Pettigrew and colleagues:
    Pettigrew, A.M., Ferlie, E. and McKee, L. (1992) Shaping Strategic Change: Making Change in Large Organizations - The Case of the National Health Service. London: Sage Publications.

    Don't be deterred by the publication date; this work remains influential and is still frequently cited. The development of the dimensions of the construct of 'receptive context' is of particular interest. While set in healthcare, there appear from your email to be striking similarities between that context and the one that you are studying - the bureaucratic structures and traditions, and the professional tensions between management and medicine - seem to resonate with the issues in your study. I hope this might be of some help.

    Best wishes

    David


    David A. Buchanan
    Professor of Organizational Behaviour
    Cranfield University
    School of Management
    Cranfield
    Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK

    T: + 44 (0) 1234 751 122 x 3481
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    ________________________________

    From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv on behalf of Anke U. Arnaud
    Sent: Wed 27/02/2008 18:47
    To: OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
    Subject: organizational change


    Dear colleagues: I have a colleague her at ERAU who is working on a paper regarding organizational change. He is particularly interested in the reasons why organizations accept or reject change. Any suggestions for literature reviews or book chapters will be greatly appreciated.

    Below is a copy of his question and more detail on the topic:
    I am preparing a panel paper/article on the National Military Airlift Hearings 1960-61 for presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Military History this April. These hearings were a pivotal moment in the development of U.S. military airlift policy and, in a more general sense, the shift in U.S. military strategy from massive retaliation (MR) to flexible response (FR). The central story of the hearings is the confrontation between the U.S. Air Force, which supported MR and a small airlift force equipped to support the Strategic Air Command, and a coalition of certain congressmen, the Army, and leaders of the Air Force's own Military Air Transport Service, pressing for the greatly enlarged and modernized airlift force required to support FR. As currently in draft, my study focuses on the doctrinal issues involved and the interaction of doctrinal debate and bureaucratic clout in the course and outcome of the hearings. What I would like to do is to place this core story within a theoretical framework drawn from the literature of institutional change. Since I am not familiar with that literature and time is fairly short, I would be very grateful if you or one of your colleagues could point me to a couple or three foundational studies on the issue of how organizations change. In this case, I think, the issue is complicated and made more interesting by the fact that the leaders of the Air Force were "revolutionaries" in their own right, having made important contributions to the service winning independence from the Army, and they were facing and "insurrection" or "counterrevolution" from within their own ranks, and one that had strong linkages to outside critics and bureaucratic competitors. Standing by and thanks.

    Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions, Anke :)

    Anke Arnaud, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor
    College of Business
    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
    600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
    Daytona Beach, FL 32114


  • 4.  organizational change

    Posted 02-28-2008 09:04
    Hi Anke,
     
    I use the following readings in my graduate organizational change class to provide my students with a flavor of the process of change. Perhaps these might help your colleague?

    Best Regards,
    Mahesh
    Mahesh Subramony, Ph.D.
    Department of Psychology
    University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
    800 Algoma Blvd, CF 11; Oshkosh, WI 54901
     

     

      1. Dutton, J.E., & Ashford, S.J. (1993). Selling issues to top management. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:personname w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Management</st1:placename></st1:personname></st1:place> Review, 18, 397-428.
      2. Fedor, D.B., <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Caldwell</st1:city></st1:place>, S., & Herold, D.M. (2006). The effects of organizational change on employee commitment: A multilevel investigation. Personnel Psychology, 59, 1-29. 
      3. Gebhardt, G.F., Carpenter, G.S., Sherry, J.F. (2006). Creating a Market Orientation: A longitudinal, multifirm, grounded analysis of cultural transformation. Journal of  Marketing, 70, 37–55.
      4. Hazer, J. T., & Highhouse, S. (1997). Factors influencing managers' reactions to utility analysis: Effects of Sdy method, information frame, and focal interventions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 104-113.
      5. Hemp, P., & Stewart, T.A. (2004).  Leading change when business is good.  Harvard Business Review, 82(12), 60-70.
      6. Kotter, J.P. (1995).  Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail.  Harvard Business Review, 73 (2), 59-67.
      7. Mayerson, D.E. (2002).  Turning an Industry Inside Out: A Conversation with Robert Redford. Harvard Business Review, 80 (5), 57-62
      8. McNutly, E.  (2002). Welcome aboard.  Harvard Business Review, 80 (10), 32-40.
      9. Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. (2006). Evidence based management. Harvard Business Review, 84(1), 62-74.
      10. Reay, T., Golden-Biddle, K., & Germann, K. (2006). Legitimizing a new role: Small wins and microprocessors of change. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:personname w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Management</st1:placename></st1:personname></st1:place> Journal, 49, 977–998.
      11. Stanley, D.J., Meyer, J.P., & Topolnytsky, L. (2005). Employee cynicism and resistance to organizational change. Journal of Business and Psychology, 19, 429-459.
      12. Subramony, M. (2006). Why organizations adopt some human resource management practices and reject others: An exploration of rationales. Human Resource Management, 45, 195-210.

     


    From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv [mailto:OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu] On Behalf Of Anke U. Arnaud
    Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 12:48 PM
    To: OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
    Subject: organizational change

    Dear colleagues: I have a colleague her at ERAU who is working on a paper regarding organizational change. He is particularly interested in the reasons why organizations accept or reject change. Any suggestions for literature reviews or book chapters will be greatly appreciated.
     
    Below is a copy of his question and more detail on the topic:
    I am preparing a panel paper/article on the National Military Airlift Hearings 1960-61 for presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Military History this April.  These hearings were a pivotal moment in the development of U.S. military airlift policy and, in a more general sense, the shift in U.S. military strategy from massive retaliation (MR) to flexible response (FR).  The central story of the hearings is the confrontation between the U.S. Air Force, which supported MR and a small airlift force equipped to support the Strategic Air Command, and a coalition of certain congressmen, the Army, and leaders of the Air Force's own Military Air Transport Service, pressing for the greatly enlarged and modernized airlift force required to support FR.  As currently in draft, my study focuses on the doctrinal issues involved and the interaction of doctrinal debate and bureaucratic clout in the course and outcome of the hearings.  What I would like to do is to place this core story within a theoretical framework drawn from the literature of institutional change.  Since I am not familiar with that literature and time is fairly short, I would be very grateful if you or one of your colleagues could point me to a couple or three foundational studies on the issue of how organizations change.  In this case, I think, the issue is complicated and made more interesting by the fact that the leaders of the Air Force were "revolutionaries" in their own right, having made important contributions to the service winning independence from the Army, and they were facing and "insurrection" or "counterrevolution" from within their own ranks, and one that had strong linkages to outside critics and bureaucratic competitors.   Standing by and thanks.
     
    Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions, Anke :)
     
    Anke Arnaud, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor
    College of Business
    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
    600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
    Daytona Beach, FL 32114