An empirical study of the effects of organisational climate on change management.

Abstract

This study will attempt to determine whether and how change management impacts upon employees' perceptions of organisational climate. This is particularly relevant in the South African environment where, due to many years of isolation, organisations have changed little if at all, and now find themselves faced with constant change in order to compete in the global marketplace. "Change begets change. When people in an organisation have seen changes occur, without harmful effects to the organisation or to them or their co-workers, they are likely to accept further changes quite readily. Conversely, unfavourable experience with change encourages resistance. Executives can study their organisational climate and quietly take steps to make it more favourable to new ideas and new methods". (Johns:(l963:29) At the outset, in order to avoid confusion, it must be mentioned that there are two main aspects to change management in an organisation, namely, the management of change from a managers perspe~tive, which focuses on how to effectively manage change, using for example Lewin's model, and the management of change from the employees' perspective, which focuses on how employees are coping with change. These have a direct bearing on each other. 1.2 Importance of the Research A person's perception is their reality. This study will highlight the relationship between the employees' perception of organisational climate and change management. This will allow management to attempt to create the most conducive climate necessary to facilitate change. 1.3 Objectives and Aims of the Study 1. To establish whether a relationship exists between employees' perceptions of organisational climate and change management. 2. To ascertain how employees' perceptions of change management impacts on organisational climate. 1.4. Theoretical Model Indenendent Variable CHANGE MANAGEMENT ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE Man's behaviour in organisations is not the product of cognitive rationality or of a logical and mechanistic mode of processing information. In addition to the structural properties which managers design as a mechanism for guiding behaviour, management has also to consider the psychologicalsociological climate that is equally powerful in affecting individual and group behaviour.