Communication as change management vehicle : how to improve change receptivity with organisational communications
Ruissalo, Mari (2015)
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu
2015
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2015120719739
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2015120719739
Tiivistelmä
In today’s organisations changes are no longer happening every now and then, but are the pattern that continuously takes place in various scale. Changes touch people working in the organisation in many ways depending on the impact and frequency of the change efforts. Change resistance is a natural human reaction which may cause significant challenges for those who create and roll out change implementation strategies.
Receptivity, or resistance, of employees who face the organisational change plays crucial role in the success, or fail, of the change. By the means of effective and regular organisational communications the doubts and fears of employees can be reduced. Communication also provides tools for accelerating the change process when creating common understanding on change reasoning and targets.
The objective of this thesis was to examine the interrelation of employee change receptivity and organisational communications in the context of changes taking place in business organisations. Theoretical frame was built around the nature of change, change resistance and strategic change communications. Research method used in this thesis was deductive desk study where researcher reflects her own experiences with recent academic studies on these themes and draws conclusions out of the reflection process and literature review. As a result of the study a communications framework for a change project lifecycle was put together.
The results of the research show that without properly planned communication the organisational changes are doomed to fail. Employees facing the change need to be considered as subjects of the change, not just objects who need to be informed. Active participation and dialogue in all levels of the organisation throughout the change project improves the project success rate significantly. When there are committed change agents in all layers of the organisation instead of only top management, change is better understood and accepted within the majority of the employees.
Receptivity, or resistance, of employees who face the organisational change plays crucial role in the success, or fail, of the change. By the means of effective and regular organisational communications the doubts and fears of employees can be reduced. Communication also provides tools for accelerating the change process when creating common understanding on change reasoning and targets.
The objective of this thesis was to examine the interrelation of employee change receptivity and organisational communications in the context of changes taking place in business organisations. Theoretical frame was built around the nature of change, change resistance and strategic change communications. Research method used in this thesis was deductive desk study where researcher reflects her own experiences with recent academic studies on these themes and draws conclusions out of the reflection process and literature review. As a result of the study a communications framework for a change project lifecycle was put together.
The results of the research show that without properly planned communication the organisational changes are doomed to fail. Employees facing the change need to be considered as subjects of the change, not just objects who need to be informed. Active participation and dialogue in all levels of the organisation throughout the change project improves the project success rate significantly. When there are committed change agents in all layers of the organisation instead of only top management, change is better understood and accepted within the majority of the employees.